What Do You Wish For With Murky Eyes: Record of Highserk War - Chapter 14

The one entrusted with the command of the Ferrius Kingdom’s Myard Front Army was Winston Ferrius, who also belonged to the royal family.

Ranked second in line for the throne and a graduate at the top of the military academy, Winston was considered suitable for the position of commander in the great war, even without favoritism. Excelling in the management of groups and, thanks to his childhood education as a prodigy, possessing individual skills on par with a knight, he had dealt with everything from minor skirmishes to full-fledged field battles, approaching this expedition with confidence.

The staff officers and generals assisting him were also renowned for their daily training and accumulated experience, all of them elites. Winston, facing a strong sense of impatience for the first time in his life, received one piece of distressing news after another.

“The enemy’s momentum won’t stop!”

“The anti-cavalry barricades are being knocked down. The enemy is closing in.”

With each piece of alarming news, Winston gritted his teeth so hard it felt like they would shatter.

“If it were just cavalry, it would be manageable, but the enemy, while facing off against a battalion of infantry over a 6 km road, has reached the hill. Why are we being overwhelmed by such people!?”

Unbelievable. Yes, it’s unbelievable, Winston thought as he tried to organize the situation. The Myard, mixed with militia, was not suitable for advanced mobile warfare.

Therefore, planned in a pre-war council, they had intended to fortify the defense of the hill leading to the Myard capital, restrain the Highserk forces that had latched onto either the Ferrius or Myard positions on the front lines, establish a siege, and annihilate the field forces.

As expected, the enemy launched an attack on the Myard position, where weak soldiers gathered. Furthermore, they couldn’t break through the fortified Myard troops’ position, leading to a stalemate on the front lines.

When the enemy forces, becoming more aggressive, were semi-surrounded, Winston was convinced that defeat was impossible. Yet now, he found himself in a dire situation.

Winston and his troops had anticipated that the enemy cavalry would launch a fierce assault on their position. They had prepared meticulous anti-cavalry barricades and 2,000 reserve soldiers for the main camp.

Unlike Myard, these were standing troops who received regular training. They were supposed to be able to handle even the battle-hardened Highserk soldiers who were accustomed to war.

Winston had never heard of light infantry chasing after cavalry charges. Even if they could chase after them, they would be too exhausted for any meaningful combat.

However, the Highserk Imperial Army achieved this. They trampled the Myard infantry units that were closing in from the left flank, together with cavalry, and were even on the verge of breaking through the defensive position of the Ferrius troops on the hill.

“…Winston-sama, this is dangerous. We must regroup with the rearmost battalion.”

One of the determined strategists began persuading Winston.

“Ridiculous. Are you telling me to abandon the main camp and run?”

On the right flank, the main force continued its fierce assault. Abandoning the main camp here and leaving the hill free would deal a severe blow to the main force. Winston found this proposal difficult to accept.

“If the commander is killed in battle, the entire army will fall into disarray. Now is the time to relinquish the hill and regroup!”

“Ugh…”

In response to the strategist’s suggestion, Winston hesitated with a groan. The enemy consisted of a 4,000-strong group. If the following battalions could join, they could still hold out. The Myard units scattered on the left, prioritizing speed over combat effectiveness, still retained some fighting capability. If they could buy time, victory for Ferrius was certain.

Winston couldn’t make an immediate decision. Abandoning the hill here would make victory on the plains distant.

On the front lines, the roar of magic echoed. The screams carried by the wind undoubtedly belonged to Ferrius soldiers. As a military man and a member of the royal family, Winston couldn’t bring himself to abandon his duty and retreat.

Bloody soldiers rolled into the main camp.

“What’s happening? You’re in front of Winston-sama!”

Ignoring the reprimanding knight, the soldiers shouted.

“The anti-cavalry barricades have been breached. The enemy cavalry is pouring in like an avalanche. We can no longer hold our ground!”

That news was enough to instill despair in everyone at the main camp.

“Winston-sama, evacuate immediately! Leave this area to us!”

The first to react were the soldiers directly under Winston.

“Take him with you!”

Before Winston could make a decision, the soldiers and the strategist under him pushed him and took him away from the main camp.

“Let the decoy group evacuate too. The enemy is closing in fast.”

The main camp’s tent exploded in flames, and the enemy was quickly approaching Winston.

“Hold them back at all costs!”

“They’re here. Light infantry.”

At the edge of his field of vision, Winston saw the elite guards he had placed great trust in being taken down by the enemy’s grunts.

One was a muscular man, but Winston’s attention was captivated by another. An ordinary-looking, seemingly harmless man activated a skill and severed the elite guard, armor and all.

“Highserk soldiers are formidable…”

If even the foot soldiers possessed such skill, Winston realized that a decisive battle on the plains was reckless. He understood that they should have involved the capital of Myard, Aidenburg, and engaged in a siege.

Nevertheless, the elite guards continued to work to let their master, Winston, escape. If there was a problem, it was the existence of individuals in this world who could overturn tactics and numerical differences of a dozen people.

Winston felt a heat on his back, and as he turned around, he noticed that the soldiers on both sides had covered him. Shortly after, unbearable heat and fierce flames spread around.

“What…?”

In his hazy consciousness, Winston saw a scene of flames and wind. The soldiers who had desperately tried to protect Winston were engulfed in flames, their limbs flailed wildly, then became motionless.

The soldier who shielded Winston had half of his body charred, struggling to breathe.

“Hey, pull yourself together!”

Winston recalled an old story from the battlefield. An experienced soldier who served as an instructor told him, “If you see blue flames on the battlefield, it’s a funeral pyre for the underworld. If you’re invited, death awaits. Its name is—”

Winston thought it was just a superstition or a tall tale, but it was real and approaching him.

“Oh… «Ignis Fatuus»“

The enemy with that skill was the ordinary-looking soldier from earlier. Walking leisurely among the burning soldiers, he approached Winston.

“All that’s left is you… Commander.”

The man spoke to Winston with an expression as if looking at neglected weeds.