When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 13

Episode 13

Half a day before Jez and the others swept through the 500-strong monster army along the road from Kohane to Graysian. It was midnight.

Finn Morgan, the commander of the 8th Corps, who was already asleep, was abruptly awakened by the sound of the alarm bell and reports from his subordinates informing him of the enemy attack.

He hastily prepared himself and headed to the base headquarters. The personnel were already gathering, and various pieces of information were being organized.

Upon entering the headquarters, everyone saluted simultaneously with a tense expression. Finn lightly returned the salute and succinctly inquired, “What’s the situation?”

Oscar Bailey, the commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 8th Corps, who was on night duty, responded, “Confirmed a large-scale invasion of monsters. Some units believed to be the vanguard attacked the Graysian city walls, but we managed to repel them. There is no pursuit from the monster army, and we are currently in a standoff.”

“Attacked the city walls out of nowhere?” Finn asked with a slightly surprised expression. It was rare for city walls to be attacked suddenly. Typically, sentries would spot approaching monsters near the city, and then the city would send out troops to intercept and eliminate them, which was the initial response in urban defense.

An attack directly on the city was a situation where frontline units would either be wiped out or resort to a siege. Indeed, in Graysian, there shouldn’t have been a direct attack on the city walls in the past 20 years.

Finn Morgan had been the commander of the 8th Corps, tasked with protecting Graysian, for over 10 years, and there had never been such an incident during his tenure.

Furthermore, vigilance had been raised since the increase in monster activity a few months ago. There should have been no complacency among the soldiers.

Understanding this background, Finn was surprised. However, Oscar, who understood this, wore a very grim expression as he said, “Suddenly, a large group of monsters appeared in the urban south, within the range we could barely observe. While the troops were all focused on that, preparing for interception, a small unit that seemed to have received concealment magic from the southeast approached.”

The 1,500 soldiers of the 8th Corps’ 2nd Regiment led by Oscar were by no means slacking off. On the contrary, they had been approaching their duties with even more tension than usual for the past few months.

Because of this, there was an aspect of being overly responsive when faced with the appearance of a large enemy army. They were led to divert their attention to the larger army, creating a significant vulnerability.

Fortunately, the monster army that reached the city walls was not a significant force, numbering only a few hundred, and they were successfully repelled. Nevertheless, it was a complete failure.

After confirming these details, Finn nodded once and said, “I understand the situation. Oscar, you have faithfully fulfilled your duty. Don’t look so despairing. We can make up for this failure in the upcoming battles.”

Upon hearing this, Oscar nodded and replied firmly, “Certainly.”

“Nevertheless, is this a diversion by the monsters? Moreover, a large-scale invasion. Has a King-class appeared?” Considering the efficiency of the monsters this time and the enemy’s invasion preparations, there was a possibility that the monster king had appeared. Furthermore, in the worst case, there was a possibility of an Emperor-class beyond the King-class, but there was no need to fuel anxiety at the speculative stage.

Finn, upon hearing Oscar’s words, agreed, saying, “Yes, that possibility seems high. However, while multiple General-class monsters have been confirmed, we have yet to discover any King-class ones. Depending on the situation, there could be further enemy reinforcements or ambushes.”

Later, at the 8th Corps headquarters, Finn, Oscar, along with the staff and the commanders of the 1st and 3rd Regiments, discussed countermeasures.

The conclusion reached by Finn’s 8th Corps was to engage in a siege. There were several reasons for this, but conducting a night battle, which would be even more difficult due to being caught off guard by the surprise attack, posed high risks.

Furthermore, requests for reinforcements had already been sent to the 7th Corps and the Central Command, with the 7th Corps predicted to arrive in Graysian within approximately a week. The plan was to await the arrival of the 7th Corps and then encircle and annihilate the enemy.

Above all, what was expected of the corps stationed at the forefront of the monster territory was not aggressive offensive action but the absolute defense of the human survival area. If the 8th Corps base were to fall, it could spell not just a national crisis but a crisis for all humanity.

Understanding these circumstances and responsibilities, Finn Morgan, a seasoned commander of the 8th Corps, decided on a short-term siege.

Along with this decision, messengers were dispatched to Kohane and the 9th Corps area.

Since the sudden attack by the monster army on Finn and the others and the subsequent transition to a full-fledged siege had been over half a day, they had already repelled several attacks by the monster army so far without any problems.

The enemy’s movements were not a sudden all-out attack but rather an attack that seemed to be searching for weaknesses, which was quite unsettling.

In the midst of such a situation, Finn, who had been stationed at the headquarters without a break, received good news.

“Commander! I have a report! Approximately a hundred riders, believed to be an advance party of the 7th Corps, have been spotted on the road from Kohane!”

As Jamil and the Al-Faz’s unit, having Graysian in their sights, the mass of monsters deployed around Graysian numbered over tens of thousands, forming a large army that encircled Graysian.

Judging from the situation, it seemed that Graysian was still holding strong, apparently opting for a siege. It was likely due to the imminent arrival of reinforcements from the 7th Corps.

The timing was truly miraculous. With that in mind, Jamil issued instructions.

“Display our allegiance to Graysian’s allies! Raise the corps flag!”

Fluttering in the wind of the battlefield was the crimson flag of the 7th Corps. Its emblem symbolized the royal sword and fiery wings of René Tashman, the corps commander and a member of the royal family.

Thus began the Graysian siege battle, which would later be known as the prelude to the Southern Great Uprising, as observed by Jamil and the Al-Faz’s unit, marking the beginning of a series of battles.