"The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~ - Episode 48

The formation on the Western Front is arranged with the Marquis of the Borderlands’ army at the center, flanked by the armies of other nobles on either side. By placing the strongest army in the middle, it is designed to prevent the entire formation from breaking apart in case of an emergency. This is more a matter of common sense than a strategy devised by Ryu.

“Ugh… the enemy is tough too…!”

“Don’t falter!!!!!!!”

“Show them the power of our Imperial Army!!!”

In contrast, the enemy’s center is being handled by the strongest army of the principality, so it won’t be easy. They have specifically set out from the capital for this battle. This indicates the principality’s full commitment.

The commander of the Border Lord’s army issued orders from the rear.

“Hey, don’t go too far ahead!!! You’ll get within range of the enemy’s arrows!!! Keep an eye on the sides and fight while maintaining formation!!!”

“Ha!!”

The enemy archers are waiting on the ramparts, and unfortunately, their range is superior, so if we advance too far, we will be hit by a volley. Therefore, the strategy for the first day is to maintain a certain distance from the ramparts while gradually reducing the enemy forces.

If you retreat too far, it’s out; if you advance too far, it’s out. It’s quite a difficult adjustment, but the commander of the marquis’ army is managing to give instructions quite well.

Seeing that, Ryu groaned.

“Wow, as expected of the general of the Marquis of the Frontier Army. Even though you’re at the front lines, you can clearly see the entire battlefield from above.”

“That’s our deputy knight commander.”

“I see, that makes sense.”

By the way, the unit directly under the command of the Grand Knight Charlotte, led by the Baron, is currently waiting by the tent, eager to set out. Next to them, the Arden unit, with a somewhat gloomy atmosphere, was also on standby.

At this rate, the first hour went according to plan. However, irregularities are part of war.

“The army on the left flank is advancing too far forward.”

“Not only is Sho unaware, but it also looks like he’s doing it on purpose.”

“Shall we send a fast horse just in case?”

Ryu gave the relevant orders to the nearby cavalry.

The swift horse ran between the battlefield and the forest, approaching the general on the left flank.

“Baron Cassano, a message! We are to retreat immediately. We are to retreat immediately!”

However, it has not reached the baron’s ears.

It seems that the bl00d has rushed to my head, and I’m in a state of extreme excitement.

“Hahaha! Our Cassano army is the strongest! Look to the side. No one can catch up to us! Let’s keep pushing forward!!!”

“Hah‼”

However, the swift horse also perseveres and gets the job done.

Knowing full well the danger, I made my way to the side of the baron at the front line.

“Baron Cassano!!! We have received orders from above to retreat immediately!!!”

“Huh? From above…?”

The baron glanced briefly towards the tent.

“Tch. A brat like you thinks you can challenge me… You’re a hundred years too early!”

“However, since it is the Chief of Staff’s order, please retreat immediately and align the formation…”

“Enough with the noise! You shut up!”

“Baron, calm down… Whoa‼”

The baron knocked the swift horse knight off his horse with the butt of his spear.

Ryu and the Baron were closely observing the entire sequence of events.

“Eh? Oh no…”

“Who on earth is that idiot…?”

“The left side has a lot of noble troops lined up, but I’m pretty sure the one at the far left front is Baron Cassano. You know, the guy whose arm Ryu-kun cut off.”

“Ah, my arm… it’s not like I cut it off myself, you know.”

“Yes, yes”

By the way, that Baron with the clown face was glaring at me the whole time during the daily meetings… For the love of God, can’t he show some sense during wartime? It’s a nuisance to everyone else.

“Lord Grace. In the military strategy book of the eastern island nation, there is a saying: ‘What you should truly fear is not a capable enemy, but an incompetent ally.'”

“That’s a good proverb.”

“People like that are just normal targets for me to cut losses with…”

“Yeah, I’ll allow it. But I think the aftermath will be tough, so be careful, okay?”

“That’s already been taken care of, so it’s fine.”

“As expected of you, Ryu-kun. So, which reserve army do you plan to rely on?”

“Since it’s quite urgent, I’ll go.”

“Eh?”

Ryu dashed down the tent and mounted the Axel.

“Arden Squad, first mission. Follow me.”

“Ha!!”

“Finally, it’s my turn!”

“Ah. The most important thing this time is the stingray. We’ll be using wind magic along the way, so keep that in mind.”

“Understood!”

Ryu, along with a hundred Stingrays, march out.

The Arden Brigade, like the swift horseman from earlier, dashed between the Western Front Army and the forest, heading first to the Count Bran’s forces stationed behind the Baron Army.

Count Blanc

“Oh, Chief of Staff. What brings you here?”

“I think you can see it if you look ahead, but the Cassano Baron Army is ‘deliberately’ pushing forward. If this continues, a rift will form in the front line of the Western Front Army, so I’ve decided to abandon that fool and regroup.”

“I agree too. It would be better to abandon it before the entire army falls into chaos. In other words, I should lead the remnants of Baron Cassano’s army, right?”

“It’s helpful that the conversation is quick.”

“This is also thanks to you.”

When I first met Count Bran, he was quite a stern person, but after two weeks of meetings, he came to understand Ryu’s character well, and now we have a relationship where we can chat casually.

“He’s a good person, isn’t he, Count Blanc?”

“It’s reassuring to have someone like that on our side.”

“Thanks to the Marquis of the Border for placing the Count behind Baron Casa-whatever.”

“Absolutely. I couldn’t think that far.”

The chief of staff exists because of the support from those around him.

While the two had the leisure to engage in small talk, the Ardennes cavalrymen behind them were slightly shrinking back in tension.

“It’s okay. Just follow me. There’s nothing difficult about it.”

The generals of war are mainly divided into two types.

A general who leads from the front and boosts the morale of his soldiers with his presence.

A wise general who stays in the rear, giving detailed instructions and providing reassurance to the soldiers.

In Ryu’s case…

He is a hybrid-type fierce general who leads from the front, inspires his allies from behind, gives detailed instructions, and controls the entire battlefield.

That’s right. Lord Ryu is running in front of us.

How can we cower while our master is out there running?

Currently, on the left flank, the Cassano army and the enemy forces are entangled, creating a chaotic situation. The baron has advanced too far forward, leaving the troops behind stranded. This time, we want to separate the baron and have Count Bran pick up the troops behind.

“I’m going to charge from this position. We’ll take out the enemies as we advance, but if necessary, we can ignore them. Speed is crucial.”

“Hah‼”

At a right angle to the army, the Ardennes unit cuts straight through the battlefield, aligning with the front lines ahead. Of course, the enemy noticed it too.

“Hey, a new guy has arrived!”

“Axel. Crush that noisy guy.”

“Bururu”

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

The archery unit that had been targeting the front lines of the Cassano army noticed Liu’s presence.

“That’s the chief of staff!”

“Focus your fire!”

A large number of arrows are approaching the Arden unit.

“Stingray”

“Leave it to me! ‘Dragon Breath’!”

Her magic blew it all away.

There are others who have also noticed Ryu’s presence.

“To think that a strategist would throw himself into the front lines… what a fool.”

A fierce giant man, carrying a large sword on his back, approached.

When the big man swings his sword from horseback, five soldiers’ heads fly off, and with another swing, three more soldiers are sent flying.

“Who is that unnecessarily big one?”

“Lord Ryu, that is the vice-captain of the Marquisate Knights.”

“Hoho. Well then…”

“Yes. Let’s retreat.”

“If we take him down, it’ll be a huge victory.”

“Huh!? Please wait a moment!! Lord Ryu! Lord Ryu!!!”

The accelerator continued to run straight ahead.

The distance between the two is gradually closing.

The vice-captain shouted.

“To think you would run away from me, how very brave of you!!! Or are you just a fool!?!?”

“……”

“To be so scared that you can’t even open your mouth, you really are just a fool after all!!!”

Ryu does not draw Kurikara.

On the contrary, I won’t even shake hands.

Seeing that, the vice-captain smirked.

Can’t even hold a sword… pathetic..

However, lightning was crackling from Ryu’s left hand.

The vice-captain dramatically raises his weapon.

“Haaaaaa!!!! Dieeeeeee!!!!”

The blade of the great sword approaches Ryu’s neck.

“Ryuu-samaaaaaa!!!!”

However…

“Ryuga Ryuuga”

Clang！！！！！！！

The metallic sound echoed around, accompanied by a flash of lightning.

“You… you took my sword…!?”

Ryu crushes it with his grip as it is.

Crack!!!

“…What?”

This great sword is made of mithril!?

While the vice-captain was still in confusion, he drew the Kurikara with his right hand and struck in a single motion, severing the vice-captain’s torso from his lower body.

“You’re the idiot.”

“Uh… um…”

“F-F-Vice Captain!!!!???”

“You bastard!!!!”

“Here, I’ll give you this big one.”

Ryu didn’t find any particular appeal in bringing back the head, so he threw the torso at the enemy soldier who was flustered in the back.

“The chief of staff has taken down an enemy general!!!”

「「「「「Whoa！！！！」」」」」

Of course, the morale of our allies will rise.

“Ryuu-sama, I thought you were dead… Please don’t do anything reckless.”

“Sorry about that. By the way, is the Arden unit all here?”

“Yes. I have been watching over you from behind the scenes, Lord Ryu.”

“Is that so? By the way, this is the final destination.”

“As planned, we were able to divide Cassano’s forces.”

And when I looked to the side, the Count Blan’s army had already come right up to the front.

Ryu and the count made eye contact,

Leave the rest to me. Understood?

“I’m leaving.”

“Hah‼”

The Ardennes unit passed between the central Margrave’s army and the left Count Blan’s army, and ran back towards the tents.

At that moment, Ryu’s back looked more radiant than anyone else’s in this world.

Ryu-sama…

As I thought, that person is…

You are the one…

On the hill, the marquis welcomed us with applause.

“As expected of you, Ryu-kun. Not only did you manage to divide the forces, but you also took down an enemy commander. The handover to Count Bran was perfect too.”

“No, no. The battle is far from over, so we can’t celebrate too much yet.”

“You’re being humble again.”

Ryu turned around and pointed into the distance.

“More importantly, look at the barrier. I think it’s about to come out.”

“Huh, what?”

Currently, Baron Cassano, who is not looking back at all, is leading the remaining few soldiers to the rampart.

Then…

From beyond the rampart, a giant made of wood revealed its face.

“OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

Previously, Baron Cassano, who had boasted about using the Arden Brigade as bait to lure out the hero, found himself being used as bait to lure out the hero by Ryu.