"Your Majesty, withdraw first. I'll lead the troops out!" Galahad called out, immediately preparing to spur his horse forward.
"No. Raise the banner—we'll regroup the troops right here!"
Galahad grew anxious at once. "Your Majesty, even if we lose this battle, it won't be enough to seriously weaken us. Count Theus will provide support as well. There's no need to take such a risk!"
But Isabella shook her head and pointed her riding crop toward the steam tank in the distance. "Look over there. Every time that steam tank fires, the priest has to step forward and pray. And judging by how chaotically they operate it... I suspect those Candlelight Society people barely know how to use it at all."
"But we don't have much heavy firepower. We simply can't penetrate its armor!"
"We don't need to penetrate it. We only need to stop it from moving." Isabella looked down at the ground beneath them. "This area is all gravel. A little farther north, beyond this battlefield, there's a lake. The recent rains have raised the water level, so the ground there must be terribly muddy. It's the perfect graveyard for those tanks."
Galahad fell silent for a moment, clearly tempted.
He had learned quite a bit about machinery in Blood Port as well. Steam engines had always been synonymous with bulk and clumsiness. Castel had once tried to build a steam-powered four-wheeled vehicle, but it had been so absurdly large that it was practically useless.
That enormous steam tank before them... had most likely been forced to increase its size to accommodate its steam engine.
That meant it could not possibly be light. And if muddy ground swallowed it up, it would be nearly impossible to pull free with manpower alone.
That was Isabella's plan.
"If everything goes smoothly,