I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy

Chapter 55: The Hammer & Anvil (8)

“Lieutenant Laura, tell me, when do most people die in a war?”

“I was taught at the academy that the most casualties occur when pursuing retreating enemies.”

“Correct. Those who know little about war imagine that most die in intense battles where both parties clash with their spears, swords, arrows, and magic. But, in reality, most deaths occur when one side has clearly won and is pursuing the remnants of the losing side.”

This was because, in real battles where enemy and ally engage in fierce combat, each would be fighting with the will and ability to resist.

In such situations, like depicted in novels, soldiers don’t just fall like harvested barley or wheat.

However, when one side’s defeat becomes clear, and they begin to retreat, the command system collapses, and units no longer cooperate.

The defeated soldiers, thinking only of survival, lose the will to fight and scatter, unable to resist.

The normally maintained combat power would rapidly drop due to a decrease in morale and an increase to follow survival instincts.

On the other hand, the pursuing, victorious army would move and fight in an organized manner, holding several times the advantage over their opponents.

To prove this theory, our ally troops near me were completely toying with the enemies.

When our cavalry or infantry approached the Chekovian soldiers fleeing in units of one or eight, who were trying to survive, they couldn’t even properly hold their spears due to their numerical inferiority and the psychological disadvantage of being pursued,

“Damn Reich bastards, we surrender! Spare us!”

“You guys even slaughter those who say they surrender?”

“You murderous bastards!”

Thus, even when they screamed like this if they didn’t drop their weapons and surrender immediately…

“Relax, Chekovian trash, it’s easier when you’re dead!”

“Yeah, why did you mess with us?”

“Come, come, prepare your necks. If you’re going to die anyway, might as well die clean in one go.”

The soldiers of the Reich Empire swept through the Chekovian soldiers like farmers reaping barley and wheat with scythes.

In any normal situation, such a gruesome sight would be hard to watch, but for us, trying to earn merit on the battlefield, it was a beautiful sight.

“If you don’t focus, you might miss important targets while reaping these clusters of merits in front of your eyes.”

“Attention, Yaeger Battalion pursuit unit! Don’t waste your attention on the scraps in front of you! We have already conquered the enemy Supreme Commander’s headquarters and seized the flag!”

I spoke and paused, but including Laura, no one in the pursuit unit responded.

Normally, I would be secretly annoyed if no one responded to the Battalion Commander’s words, but I understood their feelings now.

Indeed, how frustrating it would be for the Battalion Commander to tell them to stop in the middle of reaping the Chekovian soldiers that would lead to their promotions and rewards?

But I had other thoughts.

“If we waste our time and energy on catching these improperly armored brats and fail to catch the higher-ups or knights in the enemy army ahead, wouldn’t we, the army of the Reich Empire, be thoroughly humiliated?”

In such pursuit battles, killing one knight or officer was valued more than killing ten soldiers.

“Right!”

“We need to follow the Battalion Commander’s order and target the bigger ones since we’ve risked our lives to get here!”

“Let’s change our destiny in one go!”

And then, I once again looked around at the Chekovian brats scattered around us.

Ignoring their torn and dirty clothes due to the battle, weren’t they dressed in ragged clothes stitched from several pieces, not even proper fabric?

Catching such not-so-important soldiers would be a real loss.

“Everyone, focus on at least getting the head of one knight. Let nobles with family names boast per family. Soldiers, don’t miss this chance to change your fate! Everyone, speed up! Full speed!”

Then I galloped towards the Bisochea Castle at the fastest speed.

There were disadvantages to this, such as the horses getting tired quickly, but catching those fleeing to the Bisochea Castle after abandoning their headquarters, I must pursue them at the fastest speed possible.

When I had covered about 3km at this speed and the keen-eyed cavalry of the Reich Empire came into view,

“Battalion Commander, look to your left! You can see people in armor and cloaks. Even on the battlefield…”

“Walking around in such eye-catching attire, how could we not catch him?”

Hearing this, I turned my head to the left, and indeed, I saw a man wearing armor adorned with a red silk cape, running desperately.

In ordinary situations, someone wearing such conspicuous clothing on the battlefield would have a 99.9% chance of being a high-ranking commander.

Considering the Supreme Commander and nearby high-ranking officers had abandoned their base and were fleeing, would any smart person flee conspicuously?

I would bet my wrist that they wouldn’t.

“That must be a decoy of the enemy’s Supreme Commander or a high-ranking officer! Don’t be fooled! Instead, there will be ones in similar armor fleeing from here. They are the real ones!”

The man who provided me with this information responded reluctantly, though he was not convinced.

“Understood…”

As I advanced a bit further, I saw knights in clean, unstained armor at some distance ahead of me.

They didn’t wear anything luxurious besides plate armor, so they looked like ordinary knight troops fleeing.

But I was certain.

“Attention, battalion! I don’t know who those bastards are, but those ahead are the pricey ones! Would they put out bait otherwise?”

As I shouted so, the soldiers following behind me echoed.

“Let’s catch them!”

“Let’s go kill them!!”

“They’ve run damn far! What’s the point of running this far when they are to die anyway? Stop right there, damn you!”

Those following me might not be certain that those were high-ranking individuals, but they would think this much.

In such situations, the one fleeing first was usually the higher-ranked one.

“Dennis, don’t think about maintaining the assault formation. Just charge with your lance! Make them unable to move anymore! Everyone, run at full speed! We can’t miss a single one!”

Then, the knight company led by Dennis broke formation and started running with their lances at a speed of around 40~45km/h with proficient skill.

They were so fast that they didn’t give the impression of a moving wall, as knights attacking in dense formations usually would.

“Damn Reich bastards! We threw out the bait, so why didn’t they bite?!”

“Stupid commoners! If the Supreme Commander idiot is caught, I should also enter the castle!”

“Dirty things! Speed up! Run!!”

The enemies were indeed terrified, and about forty of them stopped as our lance-wielding knights charged and disrupted their formation.

They were saying something, but I should deal with the ones in front of me before paying attention to that.

“Soldiers, attack freely! We need to strike them down before they regain their senses!”

I knew that, at times like this, the highest-ranking person would usually go to the front to maximize his chance of escape.

Once again, I spurred my horse to run as fast as possible and drew the sword at my waist.

5 meters, 4 meters. Gradually closing the gap, I stabbed my sword into the gap between his armor and helmet.

The sensation of stabbing flesh felt like piercing meat with a kitchen knife. The man fell from his horse, his body rolled away, unable to resist the speed.

Then the surrounding Chekovian knights shouted.

“Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas!”

“Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel!”

“Damn, we are doomed!”

… I assumed the idiot Supreme Commander had escaped early when we broke through the base. So we couldn’t catch him directly.

Nevertheless, our pursuit troop caught the fleeing commanders, and I killed a three-star Lieutenant Colonel with my own hands.

I had done my best, and now it was time to let the pursuing troops earn their merits.

“Pursuit troop, immediately capture or kill the ones in front of you!”