Elf Tensei Kara no Cheat Kenkoku-ki

Vol 05 Chapter 18-2: Cluster Bomb

After some time, we reached a place that seemed safe, so I leaned against a nearby tree and sat down. Everyone was trembling as they listened to my explanation. 「What the… What is this!? Why does something like this even exist?」 Roleau shouted, overwhelmed with fear. The cluster bomb, which so easily decimated hundreds of lives, terrified him. And the act of committing such an unreal level of killing had wounded his heart. 「Roleau, I explained from the beginning what kind of weapon the cluster bomb was. Control yourself.」 I reprimanded him calmly. However, Roleau seemed unconvinced, looking at me as if he had something to say. Amidst this, Yukino stood between me and Roleau. 「…Roleau-sama, you don’t want to use this? Are you afraid of killing so many people?」 Yukino quietly questioned Roleau. 「Wha- Yukino-chan… I mean, I…」 Roleau became flustered, feeling accused by Yukino, whom he was in love with. 「Don't want to, right? Then Yukino will. Yukino will help Cyril-niisama instead of you. Yukino will kill many people from the Empire.」 Roleau froze at Yukino's words. 「Cyril-niisama said we can't win without using the cluster bomb. Then we have no choice but to use it. Yukino knows what happens if we lose to the Empire …Yukino’s friends who went to another village were all killed, their magic stones and tails taken. Yukino absolutely doesn't want everyone in Erucy to suffer the same fate. Yukino will do horrible things if necessary for that.」 Yukino had always been afraid of Roleau, intimidated by his large physique and loud voice. Yet now, she looked directly into his eyes, declaring her readiness to fight. I remembered Kuu saying that Yukino had become a fine warrior. I gently placed my hand on Yukino's head. 「Roleau, what will you do?」 「…I'll do it. My companions are important to me, too.」 「Alright, thank you.」 I paused for a moment, letting a brief silence fall over us. 「Let's talk about what comes next.」 Everyone looked at me with serious eyes. 「The best scenario is if the Imperial troops get scared of the cluster bomb's power and flee. After all, two hundred died and seven hundred were injured. Even if the Empire has over ten thousand soldiers, this is not damage they can ignore.」 They suffered a ten percent loss of their forces. Conventionally, a thirty percent loss would mean the annihilation of their forces. And most importantly… 「Roleau, you said you're afraid of a weapon that kills so many at once. But think about how much scarier it must be for the enemies who have to face it. If it were me, I'd run.」 There would undoubtedly be deserters, and even those in command might want to flee. 「Cyril, what if they don't run away?」 「In that case, we have no choice but to fight. We'll use the cluster bombs to the fullest until they lose the will to fight.」 We had six more points where we could deploy the bombs. If the strategy worked well, we could reduce their numbers by another four thousand. 「We'll keep hitting them, weakening them, and when they reach Erucy, we'll make one final stand in a siege.」 「Understood, Cyril. Let's go with that plan.」 「I have no objections, Leader.」 「Mm, Yukino trusts Cyril-niisama」 Each of them responded in their own way. With their support, it seemed we could manage. I let a smile cross my face. There was one thing I didn't mention, though. The minimum condition for the siege to work was that someone had to hold Ashno back. If she was free to move, Erucy could easily fall. I believed that if anyone could hold her back, it would be me. Should they reach Erucy, my plan was to challenge Ashno to a one-on-one duel. Depending on her condition, I might end up being completely overpowered. How much I could weaken her was deeply linked to the outcome of the battle. ◇ For a month, we continued to fight, keeping our distance from the Imperial soldiers. We successfully executed two more cluster bomb attacks. Thanks to that, the Empire had suffered over a thousand deaths and more than three times that number in injuries. Additionally, by targeting the rear, we destroyed their food supplies and rendered a significant number of their supply wagons unusable. This significantly slowed them down. Ashno, leading the front, was nearing her limit. She was trying various methods to counteract the cluster bomb attacks, but these efforts only increased her burden. I began to hope that maybe we could annihilate them before they reached Erucy. But then, something unexpected happened while we were preparing for the fourth attack. 「Cyril, Ashno has disappeared from the front. I have been searching, but I can't find her anywhere.」 Lucy said with a puzzled tone while looking through the binoculars. 「But they’re still advancing, right?」 Removing Ashno from the front would mean the Imperial Army was vulnerable to the landmines, could the Empire really accept such a situation? And then, the answer became clear as an Imperial soldier stepped on a landmine and was blown away. 「Leader, aren't they afraid of the landmines?」 「No, it's different. Look closely.」 I handed Roleau a spare pair of binoculars. 「What the…! How can they do this!?」 The wounded were being forced to walk at the front, with Imperial soldiers holding spears standing a short distance behind them. They were using the injured, now considered a burden, to trigger the landmines, simultaneously disposing of them and clearing the mines. It was an effective tactic, indeed. But was it really possible that Ashno herself had devised such an inhumane strategy?? That question was quickly answered. Behind the group forcing the injured to walk was one of the Empire's four Dukes, Duke Voldeck. It made sense. He wouldn’t doubt to issue such an order. 「What should we do? Leader, do we attack?」 「No, let's give up on this point. It's okay, we've achieved the minimum goal.」 We had caused more than thirty percent casualties. Additionally, we had significantly slowed down the enemy and weakened Ashno. This expedition could be considered a resounding success. 「Everyone, from here on out, if we find Ashno, we’ll attack. Wait for the chance and only attack when you’re completely sure.」 With that, we continued towards Erucy, keeping watch over the Imperial soldiers. ◇ In the end, on the way to Erucy, there were only two opportunities to use the cluster bombs. One of them was shot down by Ashno using a bow from a kilometer away, greatly reducing its effectiveness. However, due to their inhumane tactics combined with the fear of the cluster bombs, there were many deserters among the soldiers. We managed to reduce their unscathed troops to about four thousand. Thanks to our thorough delay tactics, we managed to postpone the Empire's arrival at Erucy by two months. By the time they arrived, the Imperial soldiers were exhausted and low on supplies. The leading group of the Empire was visibly stunned when they saw the massive defensive wall protecting Erucy. They had not expected Erucy to have built such a fortification. Now, the siege battle would begin. And with it, my direct confrontation with Ashno.