Kays Translations

Chapter 159: Group Exercise

When I looked again at the field where the knights had come out, it wasn't flat like the stage for royal matches.

I could see walls, ditches, objects like pillars, small hills, tall grass, and even something like a pond crossing the field in the center.

"Was this made with various terrains in mind?!"

Isamu couldn't help but ask, and Eleonora smiled and answered.

"Yes. Because fighting in a place with nothing is less common. We've designed it to be able to fight in any kind of place."

It seemed to be a very sophisticated mock battlefield.

What's more surprising is that it's rebuilt every few years.

It's because if you remember the terrain, you'll unconsciously keep it in mind and act accordingly, so it's to avoid that.

Mercenaries, who are accustomed to fighting in unfamiliar places, need to be flexible.

By the way, this field is a hybrid of earth magic and physical civil engineering, but the problem is that the forest area, which is difficult to reproduce even with magic and is difficult to replant, is fixed.

"Today's mock battle is themed around a battlefield where combat areas are wide but obstacles are plentiful, making it unsuitable for large-scale battles. One side is a unit sent out for reconnaissance, and the other side is one of multiple units attacking the enemy's camp. Ah, neither side knows what kind of units the other side has."

"The setting is quite detailed... Ah, I see. So it's not just training for combat skills, but rather training for tactical actions considering the situation."

"Haha, that's right."

Eleonora nodded at Isamu words.

"Isumu-san, what do you mean?"

Annemarie, who didn't quite understand, asked Isamu.

"In regular combat training, the goal is to defeat the enemy and victory conditions are set, right? But in this training, there are victory and defeat conditions other than that. For the reconnaissance team, the main goal is to return with information, although it's desirable to take down enemy forces for intelligence gathering. So even if you don't defeat the enemy but manage to escape and bring back information, you can still call it a victory."

"I see... Because it's reconnaissance, there's no need to focus on the outcome of the battle."

"That's right. We're training for various situations to make it more practical. However, not just anyone can participate. Only those recognized to have a certain level of combat ability can participate. Those who are not good enough are over there."

Agreeing with Isamu’s explanation, Eleonora added, pointing to the small arena.

It seems that participating in training at the grand arena is like proof of one's maturity.

*Clang, Clang, Clang*

As they were chatting, the sound of a bell echoed.

"Well, it's started."

Eleonora muttered. That bell seemed to signal the start of training.

The field is somewhat long in the east-west direction, with the reconnaissance team attacking from the east to the west, and the enemy camp attacking from the west to the east.

A river about 30 meters wide (represented by a pond) runs north to south through the center of the field, with a bridge about 100 meters south and a straight road stretching east and west from the bridge.

The eastern side of the river is forested from the northern end to about one-third, with a small hill at the northeast end of the northern end of the road.

The rest is basically flat, but there are several small woods and hills scattered around.

On the other hand, the western side of the river has a high cliff running east to west at the southern end, and the road runs parallel to the cliff slightly to the north.

And the north side of the road is clearly divided into two zones.

From about one-fifth from the west end of the field, there is a plain with nothing, and from there to the central river is all forest.

The start point for the reconnaissance team was on top of a hill at the eastern edge.

Considering the good visibility, it wouldn't be a bad choice for a position if they didn't mind being spotted.

Since they were a reconnaissance team, they didn't have any information about the enemy's position.

Although the area along the road that extended straight west from just south of the hill was open and visible, there was no sign of the enemy or their camp.

The rest of the field, about two-thirds of it, was blocked by forests and not visible.

Since the information they desired was somewhere unseen, the reconnaissance team quickly descended from the hill to the north side of the forest and split into two groups once they entered the forest.

"One of the reconnaissance teams has split into two groups."

"Yes, that's right. It's more efficient to gather information that way."

While Felix and Isamu were earnestly observing the situation, one team began moving deeper into the forest, and the other team started heading westward through a relatively shallow part of the forest.

As for the attacking team, their starting point was at the northwest end of the field.

Since it was an empty plain area, the setup was to establish a frontline base here and launch an attack.

There could be roughly three major initial approaches.

One was to head south, reach the road, and quickly move towards the hill, the enemy base, for a quick assault.

The second was to head east without going south and enter the forest.

And the third was to stay relatively still and observe the situation.

"The safest option would be to enter the forest."

"That's right. Since we don't know the enemy's strength, taking the risk of going down the road with little cover is too dangerous."

"Oh, we're definitely heading to the forest!"

As expected by Tiramisu and Mizeroi, the two teams moved as one towards the forest on the east side of the starting point.

Subsequently, the reconnaissance team progressed straight westward through the forest to the river, while the attacking team moved slightly diagonally southeastward into the forest.

The reconnaissance team reached a point where they could see the river first and paused to observe the situation.

In this area, a river flowed just inside the edge of the forest, but a little downstream, it opened up into a clear riverside area with no cover.

On the opposite side, along the river, there was a slight elevation like a bank.

Because there was a risk of being ambushed if the enemy lurked there, they decided to observe the situation for a while.

However, hesitating here would prove to be a mistake in the end.

After a while, the attacking team, which had also reached the river, also hid along the embankment and observed the situation.

Moreover, taking advantage of being invisible to the enemy, they spread out north and south, expanding their reconnaissance range.

They probably expected that they had a high chance of discovering the enemy first, so they thought they would have enough time to gather together after finding them.

And indeed, that plan succeeded.

While they were in a standoff, one of the reconnaissance team's squads, eager for information, began to wade across the river from the northern edge.

At that moment, the attacking team had already entered surveillance mode, and they were quickly spotted and called out.

By the time they had crossed the river, the attacking team had organized their positions, and a simultaneous magica barrage by four magic users was launched.

Although one member of the reconnaissance team had prepared Wind Wall as a defensive measure in anticipation of being attacked, they were outnumbered.

Unable to defend against the four magic users, three members were declared either dead or critically injured and had to withdraw from the front lines.

Since it was a mock battle, there were rules in place for using attack and defense magic at minimal power. A direct hit resulted in a death judgment, and being close to it led to a critical injury judgment and withdrawal from the front lines.

For weapons, they used ones with crushed blades, and stopping just short of the target was the goal, but it was difficult when there was no difference in strength. It's said that skilled healing magic users are always on standby.

By the way, the Eriksen Territory, where there were constantly serious injuries, seemed to be a popular workplace for healing magic users who wanted to improve their skills. It's customary for healing magic users from all over the country to stay there for several years for training.

After their allies were attacked, one of the reconnaissance team's other squads hiding in the forest launched a counterattack with magic, but it was ineffective.

On the other hand, the attacking team deployed a barrage and wall magic, pushed forward their frontline, and successfully crossed the river without injury, while forcing two members in retreat mode to withdraw from the front lines.

At this point, it was only a matter of time, and the victory of the attacking team, which pursued the fleeing reconnaissance team, was assured.

"Well, the result is quite different, but the cause that made the difference was thin. Indeed, this develops a more objective perspective... "

As Isamu expressed his admiration, Eleonora responded happily.

"Haha, that's right, isn't it? Winning or losing in a mock battle is important, but what's more important is the reflection after the mock battle. As Isamu said, victory or defeat hangs by a thread. It's meaningless if the winning team doesn't understand that."

This method, which is easy for both participants and spectators to understand, is very reasonable.

Even just by watching this mock battle, it was evident that the Mercenary Knights, touted as the strongest in the kingdom, were not just a group of battle maniacs.

After another skirmish between two squads, it was time for the main event of the day: a squad versus squad mock battle.

Isamu’s squad, consisting of five selected members, was also set to participate.

"Hmm, quite a bold lineup." 

Eleonora remarked while narrowing her eyes as she looked at the selected members.

"Yes, I've chosen a lineup that focuses more on strength than balance this time." 

The selected members, besides himself, were Annemarie, Felix, Ulysses, and Marcela.

As Isamu said, it was a selection focused on the strength of magic.

"Hehe, I wonder what they'll pull off, but it's exciting." 

"Well, I'll do my best. It's a rare opportunity after all. Well then, I'm off." 

Isamu said, leaving Eleonora, who wasn't participating in the mock battle, in the spectator seats as his squad descended to the field.

"Oh, I knew it would be spacious, but it's wide, or rather, far..." 

Isamu muttered as he jogged to the waiting room for participants.

"It looks wide from above. Since we're moving around the perimeter, it's quite a distance. Well, think of it as a warm-up exercise..." 

Felix, jogging alongside him, also chuckled.

"It's quite something to have made something this big," 

As they were watching from about the center of the east-west direction, it would be an enormous distance to cover, more than two soccer fields, regardless of whether they were on the east or west side.

After a few minutes of jogging, Isamu and his team reached the waiting room on the east side of the field, where they found some familiar faces.

"Oh, Isamu's here. Been waiting forever." 

Gascoigne, the leader of the team greeted as they arrived.

"Gascoigne-san, nice to meet you. This place is too wide..." 

"Hahaha, impressive, isn't it? Well, it's a pain to maintain because it's so vast." 

According to Gascoigne, the team that loses the mock battle is responsible for maintenance afterward.

Hearing this, Isamu’s expression tightened.

"...So the battle we can't afford to lose is here."

"Hahaha, I'm counting on you. You've fought against three of the knights here, but Annmarie, oh, should I call her Lady Annemarie, or maybe Madam, since she's your fiancée, Isamu? I haven't greeted her yet. I'm Gascoigne, nice to meet you." 

"Yes, nice to meet you too, Gascoigne-san." 

Annemarie replied with a bow.

"Ah, I'm not really a fan of formalities, so you don't have to use honorifics with me."

"Haha, understood. Then, if you could just call me Annemarie as well," 

Annemarie said with a smile.

"All right, let's go with that. As for my team here, half of them fought in the semifinals. It's better to know a bit about each other.” 

Behind Gascoigne, the two members who fought in the finals raised their hands.

"The rest of the team is on the other side. Since it's unfair if we don't know anything about your team, Eleonora arranged it so that you were assigned to my team, as we know you well. But it seems they've also assigned someone who knows us to your team, probably to avoid being at a disadvantage due to unfamiliarity." 

"Now, about the setup for this round, we're the rear guard tasked with letting the retreating allies escape." 

"The rear guard?"

It was quite a sharp setup for someone who was participating for the first time.

"Pretty exciting, isn't it? We'll start near the eastern end of the road. From there, if we can safely cross the river to the western end while delaying the enemy to some extent, it's our win." 

Gascoigne explained.

Isamu suddenly realized the real reason why he was called to the east side despite being on the west side: for this setup.

"Is it a retreat on horseback?" 

Isamu asked.

"No, we're on foot this time. We don't know who'll come chasing after us." 

Gascoigne replied.

"I see... And the number of opponents?" 

"Yeah, that's unknown for now. Well, if we're losing and being pursued, it probably means they have more." 

Gascoigne said with a wry smile.

"That's probably true. Well then, shall we quickly discuss our roles and strategies? There's a lot we won't know until we try it out, so it'll be rough at first." 

"Yeah, let's just figure out what everyone's good at and the basic roles." 

Gascoigne agreed.

"Yes. Oh, before that, may I ask one thing? While attack and defense magic are restricted to minimal power, are there no specific restrictions on other types of magic we can make use of?" 

"Yeah, that's right. If anything, just be careful not to overdo it when using body enhancement magic during combat. It's hard to gauge the power of enhancement magic, so it's a bit tricky." 

Gascoigne replied.

"I see. Thank you very much." 

With the remaining 30 minutes allowed for briefing, they roughly discussed roles and strategies.

"Ah, I see, so that's the reason for that selection. You've got quite the ruthless mind don’t you?" 

Gascoigne chuckled nervously upon hearing the roles proposed by Isamu.

"Yes, since we can't use magic swords, the only ones who can engage in melee combat properly are Felix-san and Miseroi-san." 

Isamu carefully explained.

Magic swords are prohibited because they can't be used with restraint. However, since not everyone, like Isamu’s team, possesses multiple magic swords, the rule has mostly been nominal.

"All right, let's go with that as our basic strategy. The rest we'll adjust on the spot." 

Gascoigne concluded.

"Understood!" 

The team replied in unison.

As Gascoigne finished summarizing, there was a knock on the door of the waiting room, signaling that it was time.

"It's time for the western team to get ready! Please prepare!" 

Someone announced from outside.

"Right! Let's go. Hey, Isamu, didn't you guys have some weird chant or something? Let's do it!" 

Gascoigne suggested.

"Haha, understood. Then, everyone, gather around... Please stay safe!" 

"Stay safe!" 

The team echoed.

Thus, with a spirited shout, the western team left the waiting room.

---

"Wow, it doesn't feel like we're in the arena when you actually stand here..." 

Isamu exclaimed as he looked around in amazement after stepping onto the field.

"Yes, there's a sense of presence here, and above all, the scale is completely different. It's almost like an outdoor exercise." 

Felix replied, surveying the surroundings with interest.

Just then...

*Clang, clang, clang*

The sound of bells signaling the start of the battle rang out.

"All right, let's go! Withdraw!" 

Gascoigne ordered simultaneously with the bell, and everyone sprinted westward along the road.

"There they are! Pursue them!" 

However, within seconds of their sprint, voices could be heard from a small hill beside the road, and a group of about ten people descended from it.

"Damn, they're here already!"

While cursing under his breath and glancing backward, Gascoigne noticed the sound of horse hooves after another ten seconds.

"They've caught up! It's time for a chase!"

"Got it!"

This time, from the eastern end of the road, five cavalry and fifteen infantrymen came charging after them.

Presumably, this was the vanguard of the unit chasing them from the main battlefield, and the ones on the hill were probably reserve troops or something.

"I knew they wouldn't like horses! Annemarie, Marcela, go ahead as planned with units one and two! The rest of us will hold them off!" 

Gascoigne commanded.

"Understood!"

Without slowing down, units one and two, along with Annemarie and Marcela, headed west, while Ulysses veered slightly off the road to the south.

Then, Isamu and Ulysses stopped and turned around, placing their hands on the ground.

"Dense swamp that swallows great beasts, turn the ground to mud! Mud Transformation!"

With their incantations, the two cast their spells.

Isamu’s Mud Transformation turned the road into a wide swamp, while Ulysses expanded it to cover an area about ten meters square to the south.

Isamu, with his potent but narrow-range effect, and Ulysses, with his abundant magic power, were in charge of a small and wide range, respectively.

"All right, let's not linger!"

"Understood!"

Confirming the activation of their magic, the two immediately turned on their heels and resumed running down the road.

And thus, the grueling game of cat and mouse began.

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