Editing Tales of Leo Attiel:Volume2 Chapter6 (section)

===Part 3===


Leo Attiel had shot three arrows to settle this battle.

The first arrow had led to the annihilation of Dytiann’s forces near Allion’s territory.

The second one was preventing the advance of five hundred of Allion’s soldiers who had been attempting to approach Conscon Temple from the rear.

While Percy and Camus were in charge of the first and second arrow respectively, Kuon was responsible for the third one.

He was guiding two hundred of the soldiers who had originally been serving under Nauma Laumarl, as well as a further hundred that Kuon himself had selected from the peasant militia. At Percy's suggestion, Kuon was also acting as their commanding officer.

“If you give him soldiers to lead, he will probably show a rapid transformation,” Percy had told Leo.

It was true that Percy had high hopes for Kuon’s future prospects, but actually, this was a case of Percy magnificently overdoing things in a bid to give Kuon – who seemed unsettled and liable to wander aimlessly to some other land once this fight was over – a sense of responsibility and of accomplishment, so as to convince him to stay in Atall.

The regular Atallese soldiers were naturally baffled by this decision, and there were some who had objected, but since it was a direct order from Lord Leo, they had no choice but to obey this boy before them. And depite all of that, the three hundred men that Kuon was leading actually held the key role in this battle around the temple.

Not long before dawn, they had marched along a certain mountain path. But not one on Mount Conscon. Nor was it a path up the hill where Dytiann had concealed their ship.

Travelling the steep and rugged mountain paths while fully armed was dizzyingly difficult, yet Kuon seemed unconcerned as he led his unit. This was not only because he had been born and raised in mountains, but also because he had already taken this route more than once.

Indeed, they were in Allion’s territory. They were south of Claude’s castle, in the area where Lord Leo had once fled to, and which Kuon and the others had penetrated to go and help him.

On top of that, fires were lit all along the way, so it was far different from the previous time, when he had been forced to move around stealthily, and Kuon was practically humming a tune as he went along the paths. Claude had placed those fires as a defence measure, yet currently, there was not a single soldier from Allion to be seen as Kuon and the others continued their way. That was all due to the secret conversation which had taken place between Leo and Claude shortly before the battle began.

The third time that Kuon had passed through these mountains was that very time when Leo had entered Allion, taking only Percy and Kuon with him, to meet with Claude. Back then, Leo had made one request to Claude:

“Please allow my soldiers to pass along the road that Percy and the others once used to for their planned attack.”

It was hardly surprising that Claude had then flown into a rage and ordered Leo to “leave!” It was virtually the same as saying that – ''we intend to attempt another attack on Allion’s headquarters, so Sir Claude, I would like you to look the other way''. In other words, it was asking Claude to betray his country.

That, however, had been before he was informed Dytiann’s participation.

When Claude was informed that ''the great eastern power will be intervening in this war'', his expression turned grim. Thereupon, Leo had explained the self-same plan that Camus had once objected to.

“It seems that Dytiann’s army is going to come over by air carrier. If we can guide this ship, there is a very good chance that we will be able to offer you the entirety of their troops, Sir Claude.”

Who could guess just how great Claude Anglatt’s surprise had been? His entire face – which looked just like a bandit’s at first glance – was scrunched into a scowl while he sank deep into thought.

“…You’re a damned villain,” he cursed.

The situation surrounding the temple would turn into something huge if Dytiann joined the fray. It might turn into a drawn-out standoff as both sides entrenched themselves in their positions. On a personal level, because of Hayden’s dislike for him, Claude was under suspicion of being linked to the temple and to Atall, but he would be able to rack up considerable merit from stopping the unforeseen incursion of a foreign enemy.

What made Claude call Leo a “villain” was the way he had seized Allion’s weak point: while Dytiann’s intervention would undoubtedly be a problem for Allion, it would also, by all rights, be one for Atall as well. Yet Leo was breezily bringing it up as a ‘bargaining chip’, even though he was actually forcing Claude’s hand.

All of this explained that none of Claude's soldiers were stationed along the route that Kuon and his group were travelling. The excuse that would be given was that Claude “suspected that Dytiann was making its move,” and had thus taken “every available soldier” to go and stop the trespassing ship.

Kuon’s party was able to approach the enemy headquarters without anyone suspecting a thing. The watch fires, built in iron baskets, which were originally supposed to help guard against a surprise attack had, ironically, served as a guide for the attack corps.

By the time the sky had turned a light purple, the enemy fortress was before their eyes. Although for all that it could be called a fortress, being large in scale and having quite a few soldiers stationed there, it was just a hastily built construction. Since he had been in no position to request generous funding, Hayden had probably felt it was enough as long as it could house the soldiers and store the weapons and provisions.

Looking down at the fort beneath them might have been an almost nostalgic scene for Kuon. Back then, they had also gotten very close to it, but Claude’s soldiers had found them immediately afterwards. They didn’t need to worry about that now, though; there weren’t even any sentries around the fortress.

“…?”

Kuon creased his brow and made a movement like a dog sniffing at the air. Let alone not having any sentries, the fortress gave no sign of any kind of human presence.

– On this one point, Leo’s reading had been off.

The third arrow that he had shot was supposed to a lethal one, which would pierce Hayden Swift in the throat.

Hayden had sent out many of the soldiers to capture the temple, leaving no more than two hundred men at the headquarters. Since he needed to immobilise the temple’s artillery, he had also sent out all of his cannons. With defence being so fragile, if Kuon and his elite group had attacked that night, there was a very good chance that they would have been able to kill Hayden himself.

Perhaps fate was on the side of Allion’s commander: even though up until then, Hayden Swift had not once gone to the frontlines, earlier, after having sent out most of the soldiers and while it was still night, he had whimsically decided that: “I want the see the situation at the temple with my own two eyes.”

He had woken up virtually all of the remaining soldiers, who had all already gone to sleep, and, astride his own horse, he had personally left for the temple. The fortress was basically completely empty. The only ones left behind were the young servants who helped take care of Hayden and of the soldiers, and although there were a few who grabbed a spear in response to the surprise attack by Kuon’s group, they quickly realised that they were at a complete disadvantage, and readily surrendered.

Kuon gnashed his teeth; he had just lost the perfect opportunity to take the head of the enemy general.

But not only that – the unit that Hayden was leading was about to become a new player in the struggle at the temple, and there was a risk that it would turn into a threat from behind for Kuon’s companions.

Moreover, in this fight, Kuon’s arrow had been their greatest hope for overall victory. Even if they were able to drive several hundred soldiers away from the temple, it would hardly end in the complete routing of their opponents. Although any number of fights were sure to break out from here on, none of them would earn them anything more than a single, small-scale win.

Right, it was to settle things ‘from here on’ that Leo had given Kuon the strict order to “get Hayden at all cost, even if he’s the only one.”

The blood rushing to his head, Kuon grabbed hold of all of the horses which were left in the enemy stable and shouted, “We’re chasing after the enemy general!”

The soldiers had all been ordered to obey Kuon as they would Leo. And yet –

“Hold up,” one of the regular Atallese soldiers called out to him.

“What?” Kuon glared at him from atop his horse. The man had probably spoken because he hated having to follow some brat from the sticks.

The soldier’s plump, unshaven face broke out into a broad grin.

“Aren’t we going to set fire to the fortress, Captain, Sir?”



Fate.

Just a moment ago, I stated that fate might have been on Hayden Swift’s side. When the Heavens – I use ‘heavens’ here in a generic way, and it makes no difference to think of it as referring to the God of Heaven, to the myriad Spirits, to the Dragon Gods, they who are said to have inherited the wisdom of the ancients, or to any of the great beings that various people believe in – when, then, the Heavens look down, they are never a fair and impartial ally, and this time as well, they were inclined to grant Hayden just a little more luck than others.

At the same time as Hayden Swift was advancing on a position overlooking the temple from the north with a little under two hundred of his soldiers, Leo Attiel was also approaching the temple. After completing all sorts of preparations in Savan’s territory, Leo had vanished from Guinbar Castle.

I have already mentioned that he had built several encampments near the border and had billeted soldiers there, but I have not yet said that one of those was actually built a little further west of the others, and was actually across the border. Percy and Camus had chosen the location. 

When they had been stationed in one of the villages at the foot of Mount Conscon, they had crushed a base belonging to the marauders who were attacking in that same neighbourhood. After that, they discovered another, then yet another of these bases, and Percy had used their relative positions to work out where the other enemy camps which were scattered around were situated. He had linked their various positions in a line which roughly enclosed Allion’s field of activities. And they had built that last encampment just beyond the line.

It was audaciously close to the temple. In othered words, it was only a stone’s throw away from Allion’s forces.

That was where Leo was. Kuon’s group had also previously been hidden there. While keeping an eye on the situation at the temple, they had spent a few days gathering soldiers from the other encampments and, when Leo decided that the time was right, he had sent Kuon to the north. And then, at a moment which was very close to what Leo had predicted from his various observations, the beacon had been lit on Mount Conscon.

Leo left the encampment with three hundred of the soldiers that he had summoned there. Given how many regular Atallese soldiers had joined Kuon’s unit, and taking into account that a hundred had been left under Nauma’s command to act as the rear-guard, most of his soldiers were from the peasant militia.

If Leo’s guess proved correct, those of Allion’s troops which had advanced to the foot of the mountain would currently be in the middle of fighting the temple’s forces, while Allion’s detached unit would have arrived at the other side. Leo intended to join in the former of those two fights.

Those in the most dangerous position in this battle were the ones who had to attract Allion’s attention. Because it was vital that they annihilate the detached force in one strike, all of the temple’s few remaining bullets had been given to the troop lying in ambush on the rear-side of the mountain.

Allion’s troops were similarly intending to attract the enemy’s attention so that it would be easier for their detached force to make its move. As such, they would not be intending to penetrate too deeply onto the mountain. However, if they realised that, “The enemy is weaker than ever before; they don't even have bullets or arrows anymore,” then they would no longer be cautious about their opponents, and they might decide that rather than drag things on, they should take them down in one go. And Leo would move into position to attack them from behind.

Hayden was moving to the exact same position to watch the temple fall. If both of their groups continued on their current trajectories, they would inevitably meet.

Both units had sent out scouts on horseback, but this was where Allion’s skill made a difference. The scouts that Leo despatched were, after all, simply amateurs. Allion’s party, on the other hand, noticed the presence of an enemy reconnaissance unit, and hid behind a clump of trees. Once the enemy scouts had passed them by, they made a rough guess of where the enemy unit probably was, before hurrying over there. After thoroughly observing that enemy force from a distance, they headed back.

The report reached Hayden at once. The enemy was Atall’s army – they had apparently openly been flying several flags of the principality. This in itself came as a surprise to him, but on top of that, there was information about a flag with the emblem of a cross that was flying so close to the others it was almost overlapping with them.

''Leo Attiel!?''

Hayden’s Swift’s eyes opened wide. There was no one else in Atall other than Leo who had a connection to the Cross Faith. The moment he was aware that Leo was on the battlefield, Hayden decided to destroy both him and his troop.

There was no definite proof that Lord Leo himself was part of the unit, but Atall, which had once denied sending reinforcements to the temple, had now brazenly crossed the border. There was no way Hayden was going to let them get away with it.

The surprise attack on the temple should already have begun. It would fall within the next few hours. Once the reinforcements lost their purpose, Atall would no doubt turn back and leave, so it wouldn’t be bad to catch them out before that happened.

''You won’t be able to slip out of it with vague excuses anymore, Magrid'' – Hayden smiled from horseback.

Perhaps it was because of the excitement of experiencing combat from close up for the first time that his emotions were running wild. Hayden had the scouts lead the way, and ordered his men to advance more quickly.  Most of them were on horseback.

Half an hour later, Leo Attiel’s unit was moving west along the river which flowed in the plain at the foot of Mount Conscon. They were about five or six kilometres away from the first of the temple’s main gates. When he though about how the fighting had surely begun on the mountain, Leo’s expression turned grim.

There were wooden houses in the area, so this had probably been a settlement which had been established to open up the forest by the riverbank. It seemed, however, that Allion’s raids had caused to villagers to flee either to some other area or to the temple, and there was no one to be seen. Only a few emaciated dogs were prowling around.

The mountains’ ridgeline was starting to turn white, the buildings’ shadows were slowly standing out from their dark surroundings. From the other side of the river came the sound of successive horses’ hooves. When Leo looked towards it out of reflex, he saw a group of armoured riders. There wasn’t even time to cry out.

In that moment where everything seemed to be holding its breath, the gazes of the commanders met.

If Leo Attiel was, of course, surprised, then Hayden Swift was too. But his startled eyes quickly gave way to a joyful expression.

“The prince is there,” he shouted out from horseback. “Those dogs from Atall are swarming around the leftover scraps! Get them, bring them down!”

The mounted group crossed the bridge. Leo and his party were in no position to bring that bridge down, but then in the first place, Leo was far too astounded to even think of doing so.

Hayden was here. Which meant that Kuon’s surprise attack had not been on time. On realising that Hayden was not at his headquarters, Leo thought the same thing as Kuon had. Even if the measures put in place at the temple succeeded and managed to drive Allion’s forces away for a while, given that Hayden was still there, that victory – paid for with so many sacrifices – would be for naught.

“Prince, please withdraw!”

Faster than Leo could recover his senses, the militiamen had put themselves at the ready to counterattack. They were full of zeal, and some of them were even rushing forward.

“Wait! Please wait!” Though Leo tried to stop them, he was too late.

Allion’s riders made nothing of the spear-wielding militiamen. Some of the soldiers’ long-handled halberds crushed through the farmers’ skulls, while the spearheads that other soldiers thrust downwards pierced through the craftsmen’s leather-clad chests.

Leo’s peasant-soldiers shuddered. Yet they did not flee. They stood firm in front of him, as though to halt the enemy onslaught. As they did so, those of the young men who had once been hunters quickly stepped forward and, while some of them kneeled in front and others stood behind, they nocked arrows to their bows and shot them. It was a movement they had learned through training, using the skill they had acquired through hunting every day. About five riders fell from their horses. Seizing that opportunity, the foot soldiers, whose unusually long-handled spears they had received from Leo, shouted out “Let’s go!”, and moved forward together.

As though his horse’s hooves were stitched to the ground, Leo could not move away. All he could see was red blood spurting.

The small houses were clustered around a narrow road, and now that their initial momentum had been halted, the enemy did not seem able to advance as easily as they had expected to. But now that it had turned into close combat, the difference in skill naturally became apparent. One after another, the militiamen had their arms sliced through, their legs pierced, or their heads cut off.

Leo’s head ached furiously.

The blood coursing to his brain was increasing the pressure beyond what it could bear, and it felt as though his head would explode at any moment. He was seized by the impulse to tear off his helmet and throw it away.

While he remained like that, Leo’s people, whom he loved, fell prey to the enemy’s swords and spears. Even so, he couldn’t think of anything. He couldn’t even feel anything.

“Please, please escape,” shouted one of the militiamen who stood closest to him. He almost looked like a child. “We’ll stay and protect you, so Prince, please hurry and escape!”

He was so close that when he opened his mouth wide, Leo could even see his two rows of teeth.

It was then that ''somebody'' whispered in Leo’s ear.

“Use fire.”

Leo started in surprise.

In that moment, Leo Attiel’s mind dredged up the information he needed from the books of tactics that he had read voraciously up until then. He snatched one of the torches that they used on their march from one of his men, and flung it towards one of the houses. He then grabbed another and repeated the action with the house opposite the first one, then again with the house behind it.

The soldiers who were standing on guard around the prince looked blank, but once he ordered them to “do it!”, they all started mimicking his actions. The area began to be engulfed in flames, and a hot wind blew against everyone there. Leo also gave swift instructions to those of the youths who had originally been carpenters, and they took their axes to the houses on either side.

“Pull back, pull back from here!” Leo ordered his companions who were still engaged in fighting, and he himself turned his horse back around to the way they had come.

As the prince ran, the militiamen followed. Without a second’s delay, Allion’s riders moved to do the same but, at that moment, the carpenters’ axes brought down a pillar.

The house’s structure had been a very simple one, so even when just a single pillar fell, the roof on either side of it collapsed onto the street. Smoke and flames crashed down, and Allion’s horses reared up. It seemed the flames would prevent them from advancing.

“Don’t let him escape!” Hayden shouted out from the rear. He himself sprang his horse onward; abandoning the idea of giving chase by going straight forward, he instead raced around to the side.

Leo too recklessly galloped forward.

“The enemy – no, Hayden’s target is ''you'', and you alone,” that voice whispered once again.

“I know,” Leo replied, kicking his horse’s flanks. He hurried forward, even though it meant leaving his soldiers behind.
Leo knew full well who it was who had been whispering to him since earlier.

There was no one there who could give him orders. No one other than he himself.

He urged his horse forward so as to pass through the south of the village.

The Heavens, however, seemed to have decided to continue favouring Hayden. An arrow shot by one of Allion’s soldiers struck Leo’s horse in the rump. This time, it was his mount which reared upwards, forelegs in the air, before toppling over sideways.

Leo was thrown off, and knocked his head hard. In that moment, his helmet came off, and tumbled along the side of the road.

The horse that Hayden Swift was riding kicked it away as it came thundering up towards him.



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