Chapter 53

General Darius's expeditionary force had departed from the capital, and this news, relayed by Zoan scouts who had infiltrated the interior of the Holmea Kingdom despite the danger, reached Volnis in less than a day. It was astonishingly fast, considering that it would take several days even with a relay of swift horses from the capital of Holmea to Volnis.

This speed was made possible by a new method of information transmission devised by Sōma. Having grown up in modern Japan, Sōma understood the value of information and the importance of its transmission speed better than anyone in this world. It was only natural that he sought a means to transmit information more quickly and accurately.

What caught Sōma's attention was the drums of Zoan. In this era, a swift horse could travel about ten kiri (approximately 30 to 40 kilometers) in half an hour (about one hour). In contrast, the sound of a drum travels at the speed of sound, about 340 meters per second. Simply put, the speed of information transmission by drum sound is 30 to 40 times faster than by horse.

Of course, relay points had to be established within the range the drum sound could reach, but even considering this, the speed was valuable. Moreover, according to records from that time, the drums of Zoan could be heard from a distance of one kiri (about three kilometers) on a clear, windless day, which was quite surprising.

In this era, the fastest method of information transmission was probably the signal fire. However, signal fires were affected by weather conditions such as wind and rain, and could not be used in situations where the smoke was not visible, such as at night. Additionally, the amount of information that could be transmitted was extremely limited, as it relied solely on the color and presence of the smoke.

In comparison, the drums of Zoan were not only less affected by wind and rain and could be used at night, but also had the advantage of transmitting a much larger amount of information. Furthermore, to ensure the accuracy of the information in case the drum transmission was interrupted for some reason, Sōma had the warriors who finished drumming relay the information orally, like a relay race.

Later, Sōma would build an information transmission system that incorporated the special abilities of the Merman and Harpy, but the prototype was already created at this time.

When the first report from the Zoan drums arrived, Sōma and his companions were being taught the tactics of the Holmea army by Marconis.

"This is the dense formation of heavy spear infantry that the Holmea army excels at," Marconis said, pointing to a unit formed by temporarily converting the city's guard into heavy infantry.

The soldiers' armor was the same as that of the general soldiers of Holmea that Sōma and his companions had seen before. The only difference was the long spears they held in their right hands. The spears were about four to five meters long, and when planted in the ground, they looked like pole vaulters waiting for the start.

Three such equipped soldiers stood in a row, and this row was repeated in twelve columns.

"This formation has only three soldiers in a row and twelve columns in depth, but when they conquered the Solbiant plain, the formation had 128 soldiers in a row and 64 columns in depth," Marconis explained.

When the great defeat of Zoan in the war was mentioned, the Zoan present all grimaced.

"Isn't this formation too dense?" Sōma asked, looking at the dense formation. It was understandable that he thought so. The soldiers in the row were almost touching shoulders, and in the columns, the chests of the rear soldiers almost touched the backs of the front soldiers. It must have been very difficult to move.

"The key to a dense formation is how densely it can be packed. The famous General Darius of Holmea used to encourage his soldiers, 'Those who think they are brave, step forward one more step.' ——You'll see when you actually see it," Marconis said, turning to the soldiers forming the dense formation and giving the command.

"Spear, ready!"

At Marconis's command, the soldiers in the first six rows raised their spears with a sound.

"Wow. This is..."

Sōma, who was looking at the formation from the front, understood well why Zoan had been defeated. From the front, even if he was facing one soldier, the spear tips of the five soldiers behind him were slightly protruding, ready to stab. If he dodged the spear of the front soldier, he would still face five more spear tips.

It was like fighting an Asura with six arms, each holding a weapon. No matter how physically capable the Zoan were, challenging this formation head-on would be suicidal.

"Wouldn't it be impossible unless we break the formation with arrows from a distance?"

At Sōma's muttering, Marconis smiled.

"In that case, we do this. ——Shield, ready!"

This time, the soldiers raised their shields in unison.

"Th-This is..."

The front row of soldiers lined up their shields in front of them like a wall, with no gaps. The soldiers in the second row and beyond held their shields above their heads like a roof.

Marconis picked up a few pebbles from the ground and threw them at the front and above the dense formation. All the pebbles were deflected by the shields.

"Even a master archer would have to get very close to shoot an arrow through those gaps. The famous General Inkdius of the Empire once used this dense formation to defend against the rain of arrows from the Elven archers and then crushed them when they got close," Marconis explained.

In this world, the Elves were known for their archery skills. Even the Elven archers had been defeated by this dense formation.

"Especially in Holmea, the offensive power of the front is enhanced. While the length of spears in other countries is usually two to three meters, in Holmea, they are four to five meters long. To handle these spears with one hand, a leather strap is hung from the shoulder to support the spear. With this, the dense formation of Holmea can be said to be invincible in a head-on clash," Marconis said.

The length of the weapon was a significant advantage. Simply put, being able to attack from a distance where the enemy's weapon couldn't reach made a big difference. In Japan, Oda Nobunaga, who created a spear unit with spears three meters long (about 6.4 meters) when the standard length was 2.7 meters, achieved great success.

Sōma noticed that Marconis had emphasized the front and asked, "What about the sides and rear?"

"They are weak," Marconis stated. "Because of the dense formation and the long spears and large shields, it is difficult to change direction. Without the commander's command and signals from drums or whistles, they can't even turn properly. If they hastily try to change direction, the soldiers will collide with each other, and the formation will fall apart. Of course, this is well known, and usually, infantry or chariot units are placed on either side of the dense formation for defense."

Tightening his resolve, Sōma firmly remembered this. At that moment, a Zoan warrior rushed in with incredible speed.

"A report from the drums has arrived! A human army, believed to be the expeditionary force, has been confirmed to be marching towards a city called Luoma!"

Tension spread through everyone like an electric shock at the warrior's words.

"Finally, they're here!" Zugg said, striking his left palm with his right fist with a loud sound.

The excitement of the long-awaited expeditionary force was not limited to Zugg. Garam clenched his fist slightly, Dvalin closed the stopper of the leather bag of ale he had been drinking from, and Jahangir was tapping his tail on the ground nervously.

"How many are they?" Sōma asked.

The Zoan warrior replied, "Yes! The enemy numbers over seven thousand! Both the second and third drums reported the same number, so there's no mistake!"

"Over seven thousand?!"

Sōma's voice rose in surprise at the larger number than expected. However, if he showed his unease, everyone would become anxious. He quickly cleared his throat to hide his shock.

"More than we expected."

"Indeed. Isn't it later and different in number from what you said?" Zugg said to Marconis, his voice tinged with a warning. This was also a way to check Marconis, who had taken on a role similar to a military advisor to Sōma.

Marconis, realizing his recent overstepping, reflected on it. He had recognized Sōma as a civilian with no military experience and had tried to sell his expertise. However, as they conversed, he realized that Sōma was not just inexperienced but almost ignorant.

However, this did not mean he was dull. Sōma absorbed what Marconis taught like water in the desert sand. As a teacher, there was no more teachable student. Thus, he had become too involved, forgetting the eyes of others.

"I apologize. It seems my judgment was off."

Marconis apologized sincerely. He understood Zugg's concern. The speech had gained support not only from the Zoan but also from the Dwarves and Dinosaurs. However, how solid this support was remained uncertain. If Sōma, a human, favored Marconis, a fellow human, the hard-won support might waver.

"Enough, Zugg," Garam intervened, sensing the awkwardness.

"Regardless of the enemy, our duty is to fulfill our role."

Zugg understood the value of Marconis's advice. Having achieved his goal of checking Marconis, he only snorted and did not argue with Garam. Garam punched Zugg's thick chest with a backhand. It looked like a light tap, but a heavy impact sound was heard, and Zugg grunted.

"Zoan shows strength through results, not words. Right?"

"…That's right, yeah!"

Zugg retaliated by slapping Garam's back. The force was so strong that Garam almost stumbled forward. Garam glared, and Zugg turned away with a feigned look, but he was also rubbing his right hand, which was in pain.

"I said to show strength, not brute force."

"Yeah, I meant to pat him lightly, but maybe it was too much for the weak Great Clan Leader?"

Suddenly, Sōma worried if it was a good idea to leave the surprise attack to these two. Looking to Shemul for help, she sighed and said, "They're just roughhousing. It's silly to worry."

Sōma could only laugh wryly at Shemul's blunt words.

◆◇◆◇◆

Two days had passed since Garam and Zugg, along with the elite warriors they had selected from the Zoan in Volnis, set out to launch a surprise attack on the expeditionary force.

The Zoan surprise attack unit had been lying in wait near the bridge, waiting for the expeditionary force to arrive, but the expeditionary force's march was slower than expected, and no reports of the battle starting had come in yet.

Instead, the warriors who had confirmed the expeditionary force and beaten the drums began to return, bringing more detailed information about the expeditionary force to Sōma. According to the reports, the expeditionary force was mostly infantry, with cavalry and chariots limited to a few officers. From the Zoan warriors' observations, the morale of the expeditionary force was high, and the soldiers were well-trained.

Sōma muttered, "This isn't a very encouraging report."

"It's better than being underestimated. In battle, one stakes all their strength and honor. That's what war is," Shemul said proudly.

Sōma whispered to himself, "It would be easier if they underestimated us," but Zoan's sharp ears caught it, and Shemul sighed, "What a disappointing leader."

"When do you think they'll reach the bridge?"

Asked by Sōma, the warrior, recalling the expeditionary force he had seen, answered, "Well, they are moving slowly, but I think they'll be here in a few hours."

"I see. It's finally happening."

Sōma wished for Garam and Zugg to succeed in their surprise attack. Despite his lingering unease, he had to believe in them. However, something nagged at the back of his mind.

"Wait a moment!"

Sōma hurriedly reconsidered what had bothered him in their conversation. By the time the warrior, worried that he had said something wrong, Sōma had finally raised his head.

"You said 'slowly' just now?"

"Uh, yes... I did say that, but..."

Sōma pressed further, "Is the human army moving more slowly than usual?"

The warrior, not having intended anything specific by saying "slowly," was taken aback and stammered, "Well... I just felt that way..."

Sōma had a bad feeling. It was like suddenly realizing the tip of a knife was pointed at his nose. A chill ran down his spine, his blood vessels constricted, and his heart pounded.

Something is wrong. Terribly wrong.

"What's the matter, Sōma?"

Noticing Sōma's change, Shemul asked with a puzzled voice. Sōma snapped back to reality and took a deep breath to calm down. He then thought about why he was bothered by those words. After some consideration, he reached a conclusion.

"Could they be on guard?"

However, he immediately thought, "That's ridiculous."

As Garam and others had said, the Zoan had never attacked outside the plains. Even when Sōma proposed capturing this city, the Zoan were hesitant to leave the plains. Capturing this city was an exceptional event. Who could have imagined that they would come out of the city and launch a surprise attack? Moreover, they were outnumbered. It was inconceivable that they would attack a superior force.

He told himself it was just a misjudgment, but his instincts were sounding a loud alarm. Sōma also highly valued the instincts of the Zoan, a hunting race. He couldn't ignore what a Zoan warrior had sensed.

He recalled that the expeditionary force's march was slower than Marconis had initially predicted. Marconis had said his instincts were off, but was there a reason for this?

Sōma considered the possibility that the expeditionary force was deliberately moving slowly for some reason that Marconis hadn't anticipated.

"But why would they take their time?"

The Holmea Kingdom would want to suppress this rebellion as quickly as possible. Yet, he tried to think of a reason for them to deliberately slow their march.

"Are they waiting for something?"

The first thing that came to mind was the presence of reinforcements. If Marconis was to be believed, there were no more mobilizable national troops. However, the Holmea Kingdom still had the private armies of the lords.

But with fewer than two thousand of their own, the expeditionary force numbered over seven thousand. It seemed unlikely that they would give the rebels time to seek reinforcements from the lords. Moreover, the rebellion could inspire others in different regions. The lords would need to be prepared for such unforeseen events, so it was unlikely they would send reinforcements.

Then, what are they waiting for?

As Sōma thought, a worst-case scenario came to mind.

"Could they be waiting for us to attack?"

Sōma hastily spread out the map and stared at it as if challenging an enemy.

If he were the commander of the expeditionary force and expected a Zoan surprise attack, what would he do? The answer came quickly.

"Set a trap."

Sōma chose the bridge as the site for the surprise attack because there was no other place to do it. In short, if a surprise attack were to be launched, it had to be here.

However, the same would be true for the enemy. If the Zoan were to launch a surprise attack, it would have to be here.

If the enemy knew the time and place of the attack, setting a trap and ambushing the attackers would be easy. If Sōma were the commander of the expeditionary force, he would definitely do it.

"!"

Sōma felt the shadow of an unseen commander in the map and involuntarily stepped back. Until now, the enemy had been unaware of his existence and easily fell into his plans. But