Chapter 26

The battle between the Immortal Brigade and the One-Eyed Goblin Alliance took place precisely at noon.

As I mentioned earlier, the disparity in forces was roughly three to one. 900 against 300; if we fought a straightforward battle, we would have almost no chance of winning.

Well, if I stood at the front lines and didn't mind the casualties among the Immortal Brigade, we might be able to win.

I had that much confidence in my own magic, and I trusted my subordinates in the Immortal Brigade.

However, if we fought a straightforward battle, the casualties would be too high. Jace is a traitor.

His subordinates betrayed Sefiro, their leader, and showed no gratitude, so there was no room for sympathy. But I didn't want the members of the Immortal Brigade to die if I could help it.

Jiron, the cautious and calculating orc strategist,

Lilith, the succubus who isn't promiscuous,

Taro, the kobold as cute as a puppy,

All of them, including the others, were my precious subordinates. I didn't want them to die if I could help it.

In this chaotic world, where I serve as a brigade commander in the Demon King's army, it might sound presumptuous, but that was my true feeling.

However, battles aren't won by idealistic talk.

I decided to stand at the front lines myself to minimize casualties among my allies.

The enemy army was approaching from the front. Jace's forces were primarily composed of goblins.

Goblins are among the weakest of monsters, on par with kobolds, but Jace's army was different.

Jace himself, known as the One-Eyed Goblin, was essentially a Goblin Lord.

Naturally, the goblins serving him were all fierce warriors.

Not only the officers but even the regular soldiers included hobgoblins, a higher form of goblin.

If our goblin unit faced them head-on, they would be crushed in no time.

But I wasn't going to do that. Mounting my horse, I charged toward the enemy.

The enemy probably never expected me to charge in alone. They were in a tight formation.

The tight formation, or phalanx, is a classical battle formation used by the famous Alexander the Great to conquer the world, but it's quite difficult to execute.

Jace must have been spying on the battle where I drove away the White Rose Knights the other day.

He seems to believe that if you just pack heavily armed soldiers together and form a wall of spears, you can create a tight formation.

"Really, what a shallow man," I muttered with a wry smile.

The phalanx, which was once a formidable formation in ancient times, quickly disappeared with the advent of certain weapons.

Those weapons were guns and cannons.

The appearance of guns, in particular, had a significant impact. As they became more common, the phalanx gradually disappeared, and the advent of automatic rifles and mortars sealed its fate.

There's no easier task than firing bullets or cannonballs into a tightly packed group of enemies.

With guns, you don't even need to aim, and with cannons, a tightly packed group is a sitting duck.

Of course, this world doesn't have guns or cannons.

However, in this "other world," there is a convenient thing called magic.

I aimed a magic spell, *Pillar of Fire*, at the group of goblins in tight formation.

Ideally, I would have liked to use a spell like *Meteor Shower*, but I couldn't cast it yet.

To be precise, I could activate it, but it required a magic circle and a lengthy incantation.

Moreover, I lacked the confidence to hit a precise location like Sefiro.

So I decided to use the *Pillar of Fire* spell. *Pillar of Fire* is an advanced form of *Fireball*.

While *Fireball* literally shoots a ball of fire, *Pillar of Fire* unleashes a pillar of fire.

A massive pillar of fire rises at the targeted location.

"Ugh!"

The goblins' screams echoed across the battlefield. It was pitiful, but such is the nature of war.

I didn't hold back.

If I did, my comrades' lives would be in danger. The smell of burning goblins reached me.

It wasn't much different from the smell of burning humans. It was unpleasant, but one gets used to it after years on the battlefield.

I slaughtered the goblins one by one, who were imitating the tight formation.

Jace, the enemy commander, finally realized the futility of the tight formation and ordered his troops to scatter.

This formation is not only useless but counterproductive when facing a powerful mage.

A mage's powerful firepower can replace cannons and mortars.

(Though, there aren't many mages like me.)

I allowed myself a bit of pride.

However, being too proud and casting spells recklessly isn't good.

My goal was to

"Deal enough damage to the enemy so they don't underestimate us, while intentionally losing."

I shouted loudly enough for the enemy to hear.

"Ugh, my magic is depleted. We have no choice but to retreat!!"

With that, I turned around dramatically.

The enemy soldiers, seeing my back, might have felt relieved or thought I lacked resolve.

It didn't matter which, but I hoped they would pursue me.

I spurred my horse and glanced back.

Good, the enemy is chasing me.

Jace, after all, is just a short-tempered goblin.

He wouldn't stand idly by after being toyed with like this.

Jace, breathing heavily, shouted,

"Charge! Charge! Charge is the only way! Anyone who shows their back to the enemy will be cut down by me!"

The goblins followed his orders.

Perhaps they were elite among goblins, or they feared Jace greatly.

Or maybe they trusted him.

Despite being overwhelmed by my magic, the enemy's numbers were still significant.

They might still have the will to fight.

"That would be a problem," I muttered.

I spurred my horse and handed over to the reserve forces.

The reserve forces were primarily composed of skeleton soldiers.

I was fighting with the intention of losing.

While I felt reluctant to kill my goblin and orc subordinates, the feeling was lessened with skeletons.

Jiron might say,

"But, Sir Ike, aren't you an undead? Doesn't it hurt your heart?"

But fortunately, my inner self was human.

The death of already dead skeletons, who are magical creatures, didn't affect me.

However, I was a bit afraid of the sarcastic comments from the mad alchemist who diligently created the skeleton soldiers.

I could imagine her scolding me after the battle.

"Fool. Do you know how much trouble it is to create so many skeleton soldiers?!"

She would definitely say that.

But if I can explain now, it's better than other living creatures dying.

"Anyway, lose beautifully," I muttered as I gave orders to the skeleton soldiers.

As I retreated, Jace's forces regained their momentum.

They mowed down the Immortal Brigade, primarily composed of skeleton soldiers.

Perhaps because I had thoroughly defeated them earlier, they were now driven by a hatred for me and the skeletons.

They even destroyed the skeletons that could no longer move, thoroughly.

They must be quite satisfied.

I watched Jace's forces carry out their one-sided slaughter from the rear.

Jiron, sweating profusely, asked me,

"Sir Ike, are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was worried that Jace might realize our plan."

"Probably not. Besides, it would be more troublesome if we completely defeated them here and they escaped to the city of Loware. It's one of the best-fortified cities on the continent."

"I understand the logic, but how does that connect to intentionally losing?"

Jiron asked, looking puzzled.

"You'll see soon," I said and continued.

"By the way, did the 'example' I asked the leader for arrive?"

"Yes, it just arrived a moment ago."

Sefiro is reliable. He didn't miss a thing.

"Good. If it arrived, it's quick. Tell the messenger to order the Immortal Brigade to retreat."

Jiron immediately responded to the order.

"Make it look like we're retreating miserably and obviously."

"Exactly."

"But, intentionally losing is quite difficult."

Jiron sighed deeply.

"Why?" I asked, and Jiron replied,

"Because our brigade has never lost since its formation. We've never retreated. It's hard for them to pretend to retreat."

I see, that's the issue.

Indeed, that's true, so I couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Well, everything is an experience. We might lose someday. Think of it as a rehearsal and bear with it."

I said this and watched the brigade's retreat from the rear.