Chapter 190 - Sitting Face-to-Face with the Marshal (13)
As the Imperial Army's vanguard, 2nd Company had surged ahead and for a brief moment found themselves fighting Estelle without support from any other unit.
Estelle knew there was no point in testing Ernest any further—if she hesitated, she would only invite needless losses to his sharp shooting and command.
More importantly, the only troops immediately protecting Ernest were Bruno, Isaac—who had expended much of their strength in the previous fight—and about a hundred ordinary soldiers.
So the moment Estelle laid eyes on Ernest, she charged at him head-on without a trace of hesitation.
"Fire!"
Glancing at Ernest, who was oddly silent, Robert gave the firing order in his place.
Formed up in a dense formation, 2nd Company unleashed a volley at Estelle as she plunged down from the sky.
Pa-papapam!
Estelle, who had been barreling straight at Ernest, abruptly shifted her angle and swooped lower.
Only a few of the bullets fired by the soldiers in the front line struck her Barrier—most of the rest skimmed past over her head.
As Estelle's altitude dropped, the soldiers positioned toward the rear of 2nd Company could no longer fire on her because their line of sight was blocked by their own allies.
Estelle could have landed fully on the ground, severely restricting the angle from which she could be fired upon.
She'd used that tactic before, during the battle with the 6th Division.
But against Ernest, this maneuver was too dangerous.
Even if it meant burning through her Barrier to withstand enemy fire, it was far better than letting Ernest slip out of sight for even a moment.
She couldn't afford to lose track of him for even a second—no one could predict what that cockroach might pull off if left unchecked.
With that single volley from 2nd Company, Estelle suddenly closed the distance between them.
The soldiers directly facing her were so rattled that—even though they technically had time to fire again—they fumbled, unable even to reload properly.
"Take cover!"
At that moment, Ernest's voice rang out sharply.
The soldiers, who had frozen in terror, snapped back to their senses and threw themselves to either side.
In the opening that formed, Ernest, Isaac, and Bruno appeared.
As the path cleared and Ernest came into full view, Estelle lowered her altitude, skimming close to the ground in a flying rush.
Ernest stood between Isaac and Bruno, hands resting on their shoulders.
His rifle was slung over his own shoulder.
Ernest's eyes were frighteningly cold.
There wasn't a trace of anger in them.
Instead of burning with rage, he meant to pierce Estelle through and kill her with an icy, razor-honed killing intent.
"Fire!"
Bang bang bang!
At the urgent shout from the platoon leaders, another wave of gunfire was unleashed at Estelle as she charged toward Ernest.
Not many bullets were fired—only some of the soldiers who'd thrown themselves aside at Ernest's order, and a few in the back who now had a clear shot, managed to fire.
Estelle's sturdy Barrier easily deflected all the bullets.
For a moment, the spot where the shots struck shimmered, obscuring her vision just a bit.
For the briefest instant, that flash of light blocked them from seeing each other.
It really was just a fraction of a second, as fleeting as the shimmer itself.
Without a word, Ernest gripped Isaac's and Bruno's shoulders even tighter, pressing down with force.
While Robert gave the order to fire on Ernest's behalf, he had quietly issued instructions earlier, so the two Baltrachers responded instantly.
Crash! Shhrrrak!
With Isaac and Bruno's telekinetic force slamming down from above, Estelle—who had been charging in at low altitude—was slammed into the ground.
The sharp, forward-pointed Balt Shield bit into the earth, sending dirt flying in all directions and kicking up a blinding spray.
"Isaac, block her."
In a dispassionate voice that felt strangely detached from the situation, Ernest spoke firmly, then released his grip from Isaac's and Bruno's shoulders.
In the next instant, he grabbed the rifle slung over his shoulder, brought it up, and aimed in one swift motion.
Fragments of shattered earth and scattered leaves flew everywhere. Estelle's speed slowed, but even as she tore through the ground, she was still barreling straight for Ernest, utterly determined to kill him.
Between clumps of flying dirt—in a fleeting instant that neither side could consciously register—their eyes, gleaming with murderous intent, met.
He fired.
The pale light of the Balt Light, expelled from the chamber, flashed across his vision, and the bullet sped from the muzzle, sucked into a gap in the Barrier Estelle had created.
Bang! Whish! Thwack!
The gunshot rang in his ears.
The bullet slipped through the opening in her Barrier, grazing past Estelle's head.
At the same time, a blade thrown by Estelle skimmed by the bullet and shot straight at Ernest, only to be stopped by a Barrier thrown up by Isaac.
Having predicted that Estelle would throw her blade, Ernest had aimed at the instant she created a gap in her Barrier.
The moment their eyes met through the flying dirt, they attacked each other without hesitation.
It was a situation where neither would be surprised to die.
But in the split second after Ernest pulled the trigger, the hammer struck the Balt Battery in the chamber, and just before the shot was fired, Estelle reacted—turning her head to dodge the bullet.
Because Estelle broke her focus to avoid the bullet, the blade she was controlling with telekinesis was blocked by Isaac's Barrier.
As Estelle jerked her head sharply to the left, her direction of movement shifted slightly as well.
In the blink of an eye, Ernest reloaded.
He pressed the barrel of his rifle firmly against Bruno's left arm—positioned on his right flank where Estelle was approaching—and precisely aimed the muzzle at her.
Seeing this, Estelle's eyes widened a little.
She suddenly realized that Ernest had perfectly predicted her movements, almost as if he could see the future.
Facing the combined force of Isaac and Bruno, Estelle could sense that Isaac was running low on strength.
If Estelle had changed her attack direction to the right instead of the left at that moment, she would have come face-to-face with Isaac.
Right now, Isaac didn't have the strength to block her, not even for a moment.
But Bruno was nearly at full strength, and if he unleashed everything he had, he could stop Estelle—if only for a split second.
How?
Estelle realized that this situation hadn't come about by chance.
The moment she looked into Ernest's deep, dark eyes, she knew.
But she couldn't figure out how Ernest had read her movements.
"When attacked in the face, she always turns her head to the left."
Ernest had predicted Estelle's movement based on past experience.
Estelle had a habit of dodging to the left when under attack.
It was probably a habit even she herself wasn't aware of.
In the final act of the Battle of Bertagne Forest, during the breakthrough of the Triple Trench Line—when Yurgen fell—and even in the last skirmish in the woods in front of Lanosel, Estelle had always dodged to the left.
Because Ernest remembered all this, he didn't just predict Estelle's movement—he was able to guide it, and by placing Bruno, who still had plenty of strength, on the right flank, he engineered this situation.
"Push."
Bang!
Ernest pressed Bruno's arm with the barrel and gave the order in a firm voice, pulling the trigger.
The bullet, once again, swept toward Estelle's face with deadly precision.
Even though there was no real reason she needed to dodge, Estelle, feeling as if Ernest could see right through her, instinctively jerked her head to the left again to avoid the bullet.
It all happened in the split second when the hammer struck the Balt Battery and the shot fired.
As expected, the bullet was easily blocked by Estelle's Barrier.
Thud!
At that very instant, following Ernest's push with the rifle, Bruno unleashed the full force of his Balt Psychokinesis and struck hard at Estelle's right side.
With Estelle's head twisting to the left, making her shift even further in that direction, Bruno hit her right side with his telekinesis.
The impact of Bruno's power sent Estelle skidding leftward, sliding right past the tightly packed formation of the 2nd Company.
Estelle knew that if she forced herself to change direction and attack Ernest, she might have a chance to kill him.
But if she failed, she could lose her life right here.
'She must already be starting to lose consciousness.'
As he tracked Estelle streaking past the 2nd Company at tremendous speed, Ernest thought to himself,
'Your frail body can't keep up with your handling of Balt. This is your limit, Star of Summer.'
Ernest knew exactly what Estelle's weakness was.
Estelle's ability to wield Balt was clearly beyond conventional understanding.
Aside from the Emperor, Walter Ulrich Mihahil, who was a Master Baltracher, there was likely no Baltracher in the world stronger than Estelle in single combat.
But compared to those overwhelming Balt-handling abilities, Estelle's own body was nothing more than that of a small, delicate woman, one that hadn't even been properly trained.
After fighting Estelle several times, Ernest had seen her gasp with a pale face, unable to bear the immense strain from her own movements, her pallid features often stained with her own blood.
When Estelle had accelerated in a straight line to kill Ernest, it was the right decision in and of itself.
However, since Ernest fully understood her weakness, that right decision had become the wrong one.
The moment Estelle made her initial burst of speed, she experienced immense strain.
She should have gradually increased her speed to minimize the burden on her body, but she made the mistake of rushing, desperate to seize the opportunity to kill Ernest.
Next, in order to dodge the gunfire, she sharply dropped her altitude.
The sudden movement must have sent all the blood rushing up to her head.
While blood was still pooled in her head, following Ernest's orders, Isaac and Bruno suppressed her from above, forcing her movement downward once again.
Skimming the ground, her trajectory flattened out to become parallel with the surface, and her speed abruptly slowed.
Not only had the blood suddenly dropped downwards, but with the deceleration, it now surged forward as well.
After that, because of the two shots Ernest fired to guide her, Estelle had been forced to change direction to the left twice.
The first evasive movement was minor enough to be almost negligible, but after Bruno hit her with his telekinesis, her direction shifted dramatically.
The strain this imposed on Estelle's frail body was far too great for her to endure.
In this situation, if Estelle tried to force her body to change direction again, she really could have passed out on the spot.
Even if she thought there was a golden opportunity here, with her consciousness already flickering in and out, she couldn't be sure she'd be able to kill Ernest.
If she failed, she'd end up completely incapacitated and fall right into Ernest's hands.
Estelle was used to the strain from moving under her own power.
She could skillfully control her speed and change directions, minimizing the burden on her body.
But she was not used to situations where she was battered by external forces like this—after all, besides Ernest, there was no other enemy capable of truly reacting to her movements.
"Krieger…!"
Estelle's anger burned hotly, true to her nickname, but Ernest met it with cold composure.
In the end, Estelle had no choice but to veer away and fly past the 2nd Company instead of attacking Ernest directly.
The strain on her body was so intense that she couldn't even turn or slow down carelessly.
She swept obliquely along the flank of the 2nd Company and only managed to stop far in the distance.
"Haah! Haah! Ugh…!"
Barely stopping and taking cover behind a tree, Estelle began to retch.
Before a battle, she didn't eat at all, and she'd sometimes force herself to vomit to completely empty her stomach.
All that came up was thin, watery gastric juice.
"Ptoo!"
Estelle spat out the drool and stomach acid, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and upon seeing the blood smeared there, realized she was bleeding profusely from her nose.
She clenched her teeth tightly.
While creating a Barrier to guard herself, Estelle cautiously peeked her head out from behind the tree.
Thunk! Bang!
Ernest's bullet struck the Barrier with perfect accuracy, and the gunshot echoed a moment later.
Estelle flinched and jerked her head away.
Once again, she moved to the left.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Taking cover behind the tree again, Estelle spat out curses, bitter with frustration.
Now that Estelle's location was confirmed, the 1st Battalion swiftly moved under Soren's orders, closing ranks into a dense formation.
Ernest now had as many as six Baltrachers at his disposal.
Previously, even with Ernest commanding, he had only ever had to face up to four Baltrachers at a time.
But Estelle had ended up giving Ernest far too much information: how slight she truly was, her habits, what she was thinking—little by little, without even realizing it, she had revealed countless weaknesses.
As a result, Estelle now struggled to handle even two Baltrachers under Ernest's command.
Back when she faced the 16th Regiment, Estelle had been confident she could toy with and kill six Baltrachers alone, without any help from her allies.
Estelle realized she had been far too hasty.
Rushing in alone, thinking only that she needed to kill Ernest and not even waiting for backup, was a mistake from the start.
If she had brought even a single Baltracher with her, by now Ernest's corpse might be a mess of blood on the ground and the Imperial Army would be in chaos.
With a sense of utter despair, Estelle could only admit to herself that she had stupidly thrown away a golden opportunity.
She was so upset and frustrated she was on the verge of tears.
Here she was, in a battlefield of forests, possessing enough power to influence an entire regiment by herself—yet she couldn't even kill Ernest, who commanded nothing more than a single company
"Ahhhhhh!"
Estelle's scream echoed through the forest, sending a chilling tremor through the air.
When word spread that the Star of Summer had appeared, and upon seeing the 1st Battalion in the vanguard halt and form a dense formation, the other units also stopped and did the same.
If it were anyone else, Estelle could have attacked and shattered entire battalions even now.
But if she did that, that damned bastard Ernest Krieger would break through the front line while she was away.
Estelle had let a golden chance slip away with a single rash decision.
It was a catastrophic failure, all happening in less than ten seconds after she recognized Ernest and launched her attack.
"Fall back! Form a new front line!"
At the command of Soren, the 1st Battalion Commander of the 13th Regiment, the 1st Battalion quickly retreated and began forming a new front line.
It was the very same spot where they had previously clashed with Bertrand and set up a defensive line.
"Attack! Attack them!"
"Waaaah!"
With that, the Belliang Army charged, aiming at the backs of the retreating Imperial forces.
"What are you waiting for? Charge!"
"..."
But the Konchanya Army's commander, who had just suffered a crushing defeat without putting up a proper fight, didn't budge despite the Belliang Army commander's order to charge.
The loss had been so overwhelming that the will to fight had completely vanished.
Still, inspired by the Belliang Army's fearless charge, a few from the Konchanya Army joined the attack.
Bang! Bang!
"Put up the barrier!"
"Take cover!"
Because the Imperial Army had formed a dense formation to counter Estelle, they were now vulnerable to enemy gunfire and couldn't mount a proper counterattack.
No matter how you looked at it, Estelle's mere presence was enough to tip the battle situation.
The Imperial Army hastily created barriers to block the bullets and scrambled for cover in the brief respite.
"It's the Star of Summer!"
"Stop her!"
Estelle, who had been blasted far to the north edge of the battlefield by Ernest and had just managed to stop herself, began moving again.
The Imperial Army, fearing Estelle charging from behind, held back on using the Power of Baltracher and stood ready.
Thud!
"..."
"..."
A bullet slammed into the barrier surrounding Estelle as she maneuvered to skirt around the 1st Battalion, 13th Regiment. Estelle, tears of frustration streaming down her bloodshot face, whipped her head toward Ernest and glared fiercely at him.
Ernest, eyes cold, swiftly reloaded and opened fire on Estelle again.
He wasn't trying to break through her barrier and kill her.
Just as Estelle had missed a golden opportunity, Ernest too had let one slip by.
At this point, killing Estelle in this situation was impossible for him
So, that was just a warning.
'You'd better retreat quietly. I'm watching you.'
If Estelle got bogged down attacking another battalion, Ernest would immediately switch to the offensive, crush the charging Belliang Army, and break through to the front line.
Estelle glanced back at the Belliang soldiers making their charge.
Inner turmoil crashed through her like waves, but she pulled back.
Soldiers are regarded as expendable.
You deploy them expecting losses during the battle.
Especially since the advent of guns, soldiers die even more easily.
If she used them as bait to inflict severe losses on the Imperial Army and then struck carefully, perhaps she could kill Ernest.
"Damn it!"
But Estelle couldn't do it.
Just a few days ago, she might have gone through with it—but not now.
Those soldiers had followed Bertrand all the way to this faraway Konchanya, risking their lives for a homeland already lost.
They were Belliang's last strength, hope, and future.
And, each of them was someone's son, father, older brother, younger brother, or sibling.
"Retreat!"
Instead of attacking the Imperial Army, Estelle swiftly moved between them, shielding the Belliang Army and ordering the withdrawal.
The Belliang troops, who had missed their chance because the Konchanya Army hadn't charged in time, grit their teeth but quickly pulled back, reforming ranks at their original line.
The Imperial Army also withdrew cautiously, maintaining order, and re-established their front.
In the end, the two armies glared at each other from the exact same lines as after the first battle, locked in stalemate.
"Report to the Regimental Commander that the battle is over."
Soren let out a sigh as he spoke to the courier.
He knew full well that the fighting would not resume under these circumstances.
The Imperial Army had no intention of charging Bertrand's front, where Estelle, the Star of Summer, was positioned.
Having suffered a crushing defeat, the Konchanya Army had lost its will to fight and had no desire to charge the Imperial Army, nor did the Belliang Army want to attack the front where Ernest was stationed.
And so, the battle ended in nothing but futility.
The Imperial and Belliang Armies had taken almost no losses, while only the Konchanya Army had suffered heavy casualties, with the forest once again divided more or less evenly between the two sides.
It was a situation no one could possibly be satisfied with, but they had to accept it and stop here.
Otherwise, they would only repeat the same mistakes.
This was, without a doubt, an utterly maddening predicament