After receiving his orders, Major General Stuart led the other officers away from the military banner. The Count was getting on in years and no longer handled specific affairs himself. Most matters had already been handed over to Major General Stuart.
Among the officers, Leo found the man he knew best, Major Willy Belloc. "Company Commander, are your injuries serious?"
Major Willy turned around. When he saw Leo East, some of the gloom on his face eased. "Leo. Come on, let's walk together. My injuries aren't anything serious." Leo hurried a few steps to catch up, and the two of them walked toward the cadet cavalry company.
Major Willy took out a cigarette and sighed. "You don't need to call me 'Company Commander' anymore. I probably won't be Company Commander of a cavalry battalion again."
After exhaling a mouthful of smoke, he continued, "Because of my terrible performance on the battlefield... I was knocked off my horse by an enemy weapon halfway through the charge."
Leo quickly tried to comfort him. "Major Willy, we were facing a new kind of weapon. It was inevitable that our response would have flaws. If we fight them again, we'll definitely do better."
Major Willy sighed again. "I'm always like this... I'm always just one step short when it matters... Fate is always playing tricks on me... If I had been the one leading the cadet cavalry force in the final attack tonight, no one would be laughing at me now."
Leo cut off his self-pity. "Major, don't say that. War is made up of accidents. No one is going to laugh at you."
Major Willy smoked in silence. When the cigarette was finished, he said, "I should thank you, Leo. And I should thank Miss Catherine Cavendish as well. If it weren't for the two of you, the Count would definitely punish me severely now.
"In this battle, Blackport County lost thirty mage cavalrymen. You have to understand, the whole of Blackport County can only scrape together a little over three hundred mage cavalrymen."
Leo had also been thinking about the battle. "Major, everyone in our cadet cavalry force is an E-Grade Mage. Of course there's a gap between us and the West Empire's elites. If we'd had D-Grade mage cavalry, the results would certainly have been far better."
Major Willy said, "Yes. Unfortunately, Major General Stuart's mage cavalry company had more important duties. If we'd had the main force of Blackport County's cavalry company, things would have been very different. Whatever happens, if the cavalry company is expanded, I definitely won't be the new Company Commander."
The Unicorn Legion's military organization was relatively simple. A squad had about ten men. An infantry squad leader held the rank of Warrant Officer or Second Lieutenant, while a cavalry squad leader held the rank of Lieutenant or Captain.
A platoon had about thirty men. An infantry platoon leader held the rank of Lieutenant or Captain, while a cavalry platoon leader held the rank of Major.
A company had about one hundred men. An infantry Company Commander held the rank of Major, while the Company Commander of a cavalry battalion held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel.
A battalion had about three hundred men. The commander of an infantry company held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, while the commander of a cavalry company held the rank of Major General.
A brigade had about one thousand men. An infantry brigade commander held the rank of Colonel. A single county could not support an entire cavalry brigade. Only when all the Unicorn Legion's cavalry was assembled would a cavalry brigade commander be appointed.
Blackport County's 3rd Corps currently had one infantry brigade, one cavalry company, and one city defense company, for a total of more than three hundred cavalry and more than thirteen hundred infantry.
If Major Willy believed he had little chance of becoming Company Commander of a mage cavalry company, then his rank would not rise for the time being. Lieutenant Colonel would remain out of reach.
Leo did not know how to comfort Major Willy. Some people truly were born unlucky. Whatever the reason, when all was said and done, some people simply lacked that small measure of precious luck. Being just a little short every single time was even more despairing. It let you see the first light of hope, only to miss it at the last moment.
Before long, Major Willy and Leo returned to the cadet cavalry company. It was called a company, but forty mages had already died, leaving only sixty.
Major Willy stood at the front of the formation, cleared his throat, and shouted, "Cadet Officers of the Cavendish Military Academy! Mage cavalry of the cadet cavalry company! Your performance tonight has earned the Count's approval!
"I hereby announce that all second-year and third-year Cadet Officers will graduate immediately! All mages are to return to the territories of your respective counts! According to the judgment of the Count of Blackport: war is at hand!"
War was an extremely distant word to people who had grown up in an age of peace. Even after going through a battle only moments before, the young cadet cavalrymen had not realized that they were already in a war. No one whispered among themselves. They were all absorbing Major Willy's declaration.
The shouting made Major Willy cough painfully several times. He had mastered a powerful C-Grade Form spell, the Armor-Shield Rebound spell. It could make iron armor elastic like rubber, and that had allowed him to withstand the impact of a grapeshot ball.
But the grapeshot had been too powerful. His chest and lungs had been compressed by the deformed breastplate, several of his ribs were broken, and his chest now burned with pain.
Major Willy continued, "I hope you remember this night! The night we fought! The night we lost!
"Of course, there were bright moments tonight as well! First, let us congratulate Squad Leader Catherine Cavendish! As Squad Leader of the 1st Squad, Catherine decisively gathered our badly battered formation during the latter half of the charge and saved the cadet cavalry company! For this, Catherine Cavendish has been awarded an Individual Combat Second-Class Merit!"
The young cavalrymen applauded, clapping for the Count's second-in-line heir. They were all Form Mages, and judging from Catherine's actions in battle, she was certainly already a D-Grade Form Mage. Whether in status or ability, the young cavalrymen were thoroughly convinced of Catherine's qualifications.
Major Willy waited for them to absorb the news, then continued, "Next, let us congratulate Leo East! As the Cipher Mage of the 1st Squad, he kept a clear head even in the most chaotic situation and captured the evil weapon of the Fallen Mages of the West! His quick thinking and judgment left a deep impression on the Count. For this, Leo East has been awarded an Individual Combat Third-Class Merit! And remember, this is already Leo East's second combat Third-Class Merit tonight!"
Sparse applause rose from the young mage cavalrymen. Apart from a handful of people, most of them were simply confused.
Leo East? The dockworker's son? That Cipher Mage who had spent two years without attracting any attention?
Leo shrugged helplessly. It seemed he was not very popular...
Under Major Willy's arrangements, the cadet cavalry company led their warhorses toward Blackport City. In silence, Leo waited to return his warhorse, weapons, and knight armor to the 3rd Corps logistics office. All of them were property belonging to the Count.
Brad said beside him, "Leo, a lot of our classmates are whispering about you. They're jealous. What are you going to do?"
Leo said indifferently, "They're jealous of me because the gap between us still isn't large enough. Once they can't even see my back in the distance, they won't think about being jealous anymore. They'll only fear and respect me."
Brad lightly nudged Leo with his elbow. "Say it in words I can understand!"
Leo clutched his injured ribs in pain. "In words you can understand... There's nothing I can do. What am I supposed to do if they're jealous of me?"
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