3,000-word Theater of the Immediate Fall

On the banner that fluttered in the sunlight were the holy seal and the spiral light that represented the breath of God.

It was the national emblem of the Holy Kingdom of Diletta, the protector of faith and the oldest nation on the continent.

A great number of soldiers were advancing along the streets.

Although there were individual differences in their attire, the one thing they all had in common was the conspicuous presence of the Holy Seal.
The same was true of the fluttering military flags, the large relief-like carvings on the chests of knight's armor, the surcoats worn over armor, the small ones hanging from belts, and even the miscellaneous soldiers carried the holy seal on their hands and chests.
The destination was the north. The land of Ciel-Terra.

There was a shadow staring at the march of such a splendid army.

The one who was lying down on a hill covered with a green carpet and observing the army with magic binoculars was a girl (at least in appearance) dressed like an adventurer, wearing comfortable clothes and a light corset.

＊ ＊ ＊

The strategy meeting room in the castle of Terra Ruale was filled with a tense atmosphere, almost like thunderclouds had filled the room.

Surrounding the long, rugged desk were Everis, Mialanze, Alastair, Udanosuke, and others who were the main figures among René's subordinates.

At the far end of the table, René sat with a blood-rose military banner on the wall, and Tracy, who had just returned from the south, was standing in front of her.

"First of all, Tracy. How was your reconnaissance trip?"

"Well, ... it's already warm over there this time of year. With the thermal protection magic items, I could camp out in the field without a sleeping bag."

Everis, the facilitator of the proceedings, interjected, and Tracy sounded impressed.

He had been on a forced march of reconnaissance.

The Holy Kingdom of Diletta was organizing a force to invade the Dead Land of Ciel-Terra...

This information had been received about half a month earlier.

Marquis Edfeldt had also requested Diletta's cooperation through Erminio Drolet, the son of one of Diletta's senior officials. Therefore, the flow of events had already begun, and it could be said that this turn of events was predictable.

However, even so, Diletta's movement was sudden.

There were rumors that the Drolet family, who had somehow sniffed out that 'René murdered Erminio', had played a major role in the preparations for this war, but the truth was unknown. The internal affairs of Diletta distant from the Ciel-Terra were impossible to know.

"The numbers?"

René asked simply.

Incidentally, René was sitting on a chair that had been specially raised up because the chair provided with the room would only allow her shoulders to go up to the table.

René was quite reluctant because it reminded her of a child's chair in a family restaurant, but she made a hard decision because she felt that the lack of seat height would not be more appealing to her.

"... 50,000 or so."

Tracy smiled a little wickedly and spread his white fish-like fingers.

No one spoke up.

Only Mialanze's triangular ears fell down.

René currently had about 8,000 troops on hand.

If it were a defense of the homeland, she could use the supply of magic from the earth's veins to maintain the undead and reduce the burden, but even so, she was still outnumbered.

And not only were they outnumbered, but they were also outmatched. The undead would perish if their evil energy was neutralized by holy energy, but the humans, on the other hand, would not die immediately even if they were exposed to some evil energy.

The Holy Kingdom of Diletta's army was skilled in the use of holy energy and had many users of holy magic. If they were to be crushed by sheer numbers, how many times more undead would be needed?

"Of course, I'm talking about this number of soldiers, counting only the combatants. If you look at it in detail, there are about 3,000 cavalrymen and 200 ... airborne cavalrymen. Oh, that's right. What surprised me was that I couldn't find any "wagons". I saw a group that looked like a cavalry unit, but I didn't see any of the magic artifact weapons that they use. Of course, there were people pulling horses and cavalry, but they were carrying nothing more than their personal cargo."

"As expected. Diletta is bringing out quite a few magic items for transportation. Diletta is serious. If there are only those who can walk on their own feet, the magic used for marching will be exceptional. They may be here in a week or less."

Everis gave a pessimistic forecast.

Even for the undead, who can move without sleep or rest, there was not enough time to prepare to intercept them.

“I guess what surprised me more was the number of Temple Knights. You know, the Temple Knights with their banner with just the Holy Seal? I think there were about 5,000 of them."

"I wonder if the Temple Knights from the headquarters would come out in such numbers. The only time they do any real military action is when they fight the Demon King's Army."

“And they're buying up all the charm-resistant accessories in the towns along the way. It seems that people have heard about the battle that took place when we destroyed Noacurio's supply convoy. Whether Noacurio told them or Diletta intercepted it on its own, I have no idea!"

"It's tough. Even if it is impossible to make everyone have an accessory, if there are a certain number of users of holy magic left, the charm will be lifted."

"The number of adventurers and mercenaries is small, maybe a thousand or so."

"Hmm. Since the Diletta's army and the Temple Knights would probably have the advantage in a battle against the undead, we would only use undead material to increase the number of meat shields..."

"The problem is the breakdown: almost all of the thousand are from the 'White Axe Brigade', and the rest are 5th class or higher adventurers."

"Hey, wait a minute, Diletta-san. How can you make a profit?"

A skeleton, acting as scribe, wrote out Tracy's reports one after another on the blackboard on the wall.

Everis was scratching her head through her indecent purple hair.

“The 'White Axe Brigade'?"

"A famous group of mercenaries based in Diletta. They are greedy for money, but they have a reputation that one mercenary can do the work of five soldiers."

Tracy answered René's question.

The difference between mercenaries and adventurers was a bit ambiguous, but generally speaking, mercenaries were those who engaged in combat against humans and armies. Since small clients hired adventurers, mercenaries inevitably sought out large clients and were the ones with large establishments.

Sometimes those who did not belong to the Adventurers' Guild but accepted adventurer-like requests would call themselves "free mercenaries", but sooner or later these people would be noticed by the Adventurers' Guild and would end up in a not-so-pleasant situation.

In a battle between two small countries, the winner could even be decided by which of the two sides brought in a strong mercenary group.

If it was a well-known mercenary group, it would be more of a threat than just the number of men.

"So ..., let me get right to the point, Tracy. How many "Moon Eaters" were there?"

"Fufu, I've gone a little deeper to establish the number of people. Praise me."

Everis said graciously, and Tracy responded with the same.

“There are 23 combatants. Of them, 'Saishi'? I think they call them 'Saishi' or something like that. There are three high-ranking members who have that rank."

Silence filled the conference room.

Only the sound of the scribe skeleton's merciless chalk echoed through the room like the sound of a ticking time bomb.

"Everis, let me hear your analysis.... Can we win?"

"Well,... we can't. They are not careless and they are not proud. They are not going to let their guard down, they are not going to be complacent, they are going to come out with a lineup that can destroy us three times over."

Everis, with a hint of regret, did not mince her words.

“In any case, our compatibility is too bad. If we were to go head-to-head with our current forces, ten Moon Eater combatants would probably be enough to annihilate us. If there are twice that many, there is a limit to how much we can deceive them. As long as they are a powerful "individual" force, military tactics will not work. Moreover, they will not come alone. As part of a powerful army, they will probably try to attack the strong and outnumbered individuals such as Princess-sama and Udanosuke. If that happens, there is no way to stop the enemy army."

René had no particular argument to refute Everis' analysis.

They were overwhelmingly inferior in terms of both numbers and quality of their forces. If it came to a siege, an undead-led army, whose morale and supply were irrelevant, would have an advantage, but if the number of soldiers and siege weapons of the opponent were overwhelming, they would eventually be overwhelmed.

The number of airborne cavalry was also too different. If they lost the air battle, they would be exposed to attacks from the air without interruption, and the siege itself would become difficult.

What warns us even more was the "Moon Eaters". René herself knew firsthand the horror of the "Battle Stigma". the inner secret of the "Moon Eaters". No matter how much René had tried to strengthen herself, she didn't think she could take on several people like that at once.

She would lose in a battle of army against army, and she would lose in a battle of the elites against the elites. Namely, that was.

"Princess, I would like to advise you of the responsibility I have as your Chief of Staff."

"Don't tell everyone, Everis. I understand."

René interrupted Everis and made a decision.

"The Dead Land of Ciel-Terra will abandon its capital, Terra Ruale."

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