The Ideal Sponger Life: Volume 12 by Tsunehiko Watanabe

Author:Tsunehiko Watanabe [WATANABE, TSUNEHIKO]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Published: 2023-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

Intermission — The One-Eyed Mercenary’s Battle

The next day, Yan led his twelve hundred men out of Pomorskie and north along the roads. They continued for the day before making camp and setting up watches as the sun set. Then, they began marching again after their rest.

“Mercenary” was a wide-ranging title, but those under the employ of Pomorskie—one of the leading cities in the country—were more skilled than not. Still, they would not be a match for the knights.

“Which means asking for too much skill could end up getting us burned instead. It would be best to ambush them on a narrow path in the forest, but taking command of an improvised battalion with poor visibility is a recipe for disaster.”

Yan had been considering things throughout the march. The majority of his men were infantry, but they had several horses as well. In particular, they had three especially swift horses that would be their trump card if needed. The horses had skilled riders who were entirely forbidden from participating in the battle itself. They had a single role: if Yan’s men were unable to succeed, they would return to Pomorskie as quickly as possible to report.

Yan had two predictions about where they would be called upon. The first was if they lost to the knights. Frankly, it seemed all too possible, even to him. He had no desire to throw his life away here, so if they were in a no-win position, he would cede the road to their foe.

The issue was the second possibility—that they wouldn’t find the knights. In other words, if his predictions were either wrong or mostly right but fell apart on the specifics, with the two parties managing to miss each other. News needed to get back to Pomorskie as quickly as possible in that case.

“We just don’t have enough information...or prep time, for that matter. We’re having to assume that we’re making the right moves. Will the princess even forgive us for making a mistake?”

The general let out a massive sigh as if trying to expel the melancholy as he complained to himself about the situation.

Eventually, they made their way through the forest and out onto grassy plains, setting up along the road. If the men were as trained as he preferred, they could hide in the forest and ambush the knights as they entered. But given the size of the trees, the men he was leading, and their skill levels, he had his doubts that they would manage to conceal themselves.

Failing the ambush and fighting in the trees was the worst choice for them. While the knights could not use their vaunted speed and charges in the trees, they would have clearly superior skill, equipment, and training on an individual level. Carelessly engaging them could end with even more casualties.

One of the captains had suggested forming up on a nearby hill, but Yan had refused. If they lay in wait off the road, the knights could just ignore them and they’d look like fools. The speed of the knights was a threat.

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