CH 348

Warning: Brutal spec-ops tactics and psychological warfare here. If inhumane ways of killing off enemy soldiers, treating their bodies, and scaring the survivors disturb you, you have been warned.

Guillaume Noln, the Duke of Noln in the Kingdom of Frasia, was drunk on the wine of victory.

“The caste where Harold is holed up will fall in a few days. Once that happens, I will be the King of Wessek. Hahaha…! HAHAHAHAHA…!”

Guillaume had already taken control of most of the Kingdom of Wessek and did not doubt his victory. Finally, the siege of the center-east region where his enemy is barricading themselves has already been completed. According to the latest reports, they had already launched an all-out attack on the castle many times, and he heard that it was only a matter of time before it fell.

If Harold and his family members are all killed, there will be no one claiming the right to inherit the Throne of Wessek anymore. As long as Guillaume is crowned King of Wesek, the regions still rebelling will soon become docile.

Unfortunately, there are still many Anghel-Sakzens who do not recognize himself as king. Even so, if Harold, the hope of the Anghel-Sakzens was defeated, it would be over.

The Alvaland region in the north and Welez region in the west are not big enemies. Once Wessek is done, the rest can be handled in any way. Now all he has to do is get rid of Harold and his clan without letting anyone escape.

As long as he became King of Wessek…if he can gain control of the Kingdom of Wessek in addition to the Noln Dukedom in the Kingdom of Frasia… his House may eventually be able to rule even Frasia. It’s still impossible in his generation, but it’s not impossible if he rules over Blish Island and the Principality of Noln.

Even now, he has 10,000 soldiers brought from Frasia, 3,000 nobles and knights who served on the Blish Isles, to make a large army of 13,000. If they take them back to Frasia right now and launch a surprise preemptive attack, they might be able to take down the royal capital.

Of course, if the Kingdom of Frasia prepares for a counterattack, there is a high possibility that they will be defeated. Victory or defeat will be determined by how many enemies can be crushed with 13,000 soldiers and how many can be recruited to their side.

Rather than making such a gamble, it would be better for him to quietly acquire the Blish Isles for now and strengthen his control over both the Noln Dukedom and the Blish Isles. If he can do that, someday he will be able to surpass the power of the Frasian Royal Family and obtain the Throne of Frasia for himself.

For that reason, he will try to claim the Kingdom of Wessek while conserving his power as much as possible, and eventually get Alvaland, Welez, and even the western island of Ehrland. He sips his wine while dreaming of his bright future.

""

“In-Incoming report!”

“What is it? You’re so noisy,” Guillaume said.

He was completely drunk with the current situation and scowled at the messenger rushing in and making so much fuss.

“The forces that surrounded Harold’s men…” the messenger started.

“Umu.”

However, after hearing those words, Guillaume nodded enthusiastically, thinking that he had finally come. He had received good news. He can’t help but feel the excitement among his subordinates. Waiting for those words, he corrected his posture a little.

“Our besieging army has been annihilated!”

“Is that so? Finally, Harold, too has… hm?”

For a moment, Guillaume thought that he would hear the words he had been dreaming about, but did not understand what the messenger actually said. After a short silence, the messenger speaks again.

“Our army, which was heading to subdue King Harold, has been annihilated!”

“Wha-What the?! What nonsense is this, you idiot?!”

When Guillaume finally realized the meaning of the words, he fell out of his chair in shock. He spills his wine over his head and gets wet, but he can’t afford to worry about that.

“Don’t be ridiculous! 6,000! The army we sent to subjugate Harold was 6,000 strong!”

“Ah… no… it seems that some of them fled back to the rear fort,” the messenger said.

“Ah, I suppose they would have… Don’t be so surprised…”

Guillaume had gotten back up to his chair and refilled his wooden cup with wine. Speaking of an army of 6,000, it’s a large army that can rival the total military strength of a small country. Even in the Kingdom of Frasia, if it were suddenly attacked by 6,000 soldiers, it would fall into chaos. Even if the country does not fall, a surprise attack in such numbers would cause great damage.

Not to mention Harold and his party no longer had any allies and were reduced to a small group of people barricading themselves in a single castle, and just a few days ago Guillaume’s forces reported that they were on the verge of collapse, but now 6,000 of Guillaume’s men were annihilated in just a few days, it all sounds so impossible.

“It seems that about 1,000 have returned,” the messenger said.

“Bufuuu!” Guillaume spat out the wine in his mouth and fell off his chair again.

“5-5,000 soldiers were killed in just a few days!?”

“No… some soldiers seem to have escaped under the cover of the chaos,” the messenger said.

“Ah, I suppose they would have… Don’t be surprised…”

Guillaume, who fell out of his chair and spilled wine on himself twice over, once again sat back in his chair and poured himself a new cup of wine.

Of the 6,000 they sent out, 2,000 were local soldiers. The nobles, knights, and mercenaries of the Kingdom of Wessek, who had not yet pledged allegiance to Guillaume, would quickly run away if they thought the situation was going poorly.

Of the 6,000, 2,000 fled, and 1,000 returned. It means that 3,000 people have been killed, but if, for example, the Kingdom of Alvaland were to launch a surprise attack while they were supposed to be attacking Harold together, it might be possible to cause that much damage.

“They said they were destroyed in a minute, not a few days,” the messenger said.

“–! Buha! Geho! Goho!”

Guillaume drowned from the wine he was about to swallow, fell out of his chair for the third time, and writhed. Frustrated, Guillaume yells at the messenger,

“Explain this properly!”

“Sire…”

The messenger obeyed the unreasonable order of his master, even though he thought he had explained it properly.

The Noln Army held an emergency meeting. There’s no way they can laugh at the report they heard earlier.

The 6,000 soldiers who were heading to subdue Harold had been advancing smoothly until just the other day. The troops that had cornered Harold and his vassals at the castle on the coast cooperated with the Alvaland to attack the castle. It was just the other day that they reported that Harold could be subjugated in just a short while longer.

But then suddenly things change. According to reports from those who fled back, a large number of huge ships suddenly appeared from the sea to the east, just as Harold was about to be killed. The unit received an outrageous amount of magic attacks from that ship and was destroyed in no time. It is said that only 1,000 soldiers escaped and came crawling back.

They don’t think all the remaining 5,000 died, but they must have suffered considerable damage. And 2,000 out of 6,000 are local soldiers. Those soldiers must have deserted during that time.

If only 1,000 out of 6,000 troops returned, Guillaume and the Noln Army would have lost 5,000 soldiers. Even with the 1,000 who returned, there were only 7,000 Frasian soldiers and 1,000 local soldiers left, a total of 8,000. Even with 8,000, it’s a large army that can crush a small country, but if it’s true that they defeated 6,000 soldiers in a blink of an eye, it’s not possible to let your guard down.

“I don’t understand the situation! First, send out a scout! Reports from those who have fled back won’t get you the truth. We can’t ask our home country for help with reports like this!”

Guillaume had already planned to ask for reinforcements from his home country, Frasia. But if he asks for reinforcements, he must explain accordingly. He can’t just say a mysterious army suddenly appeared and he lost 5,000 soldiers to them, now, could he?

Without detailed information such as the enemy’s affiliation, size, purpose, strength, and how they defeated the Noln Army, there was no way he could persuade Frasia. While preparing to request additional support and reinforcements from his home country, Guillaume first gave instructions to gather information.

In the depths of the forest, the Noln Army scouts were walking cautiously. Up until now, several other scouting units have gone into the forest and disappeared. No one has returned, and no one knows what is happening in the forest. It’s this latest unit’s job to find out.

“It’s so creepy…”

“Haven’t they already sent hundreds of men out? Why hasn’t anyone come back?”

They already ran out of good scouts. It’s just infantry on patrol right now. It was as if no information had been collected, and no one who had been sent out ever reported back. The dedicated scouts were already exhausted, and the rest were just ordinary soldiers timidly advancing through the forest.

“…………”

“………… Hey?”

The soldier was suspicious of the lack of response, turned around, and saw…

“U-Uwaah!?!”

The other soldier he had been talking to just a moment ago now hung from a tree with rope. The soldiers who were walking ahead also raised their voices in surprise, but they couldn’t utter any more past that. That soldier heard a thud in his ear, and then the cold ground touching his face. He couldn’t move his neck, so when he looked up with just his eyes, the headless corpse of a fellow soldier almost made him collapse. And then his consciousness ended there.

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DON! The sound of a fist slamming on the desk resounded in the tent.

“What’s going on!? Why hasn’t anyone come back!?”

The Advance Unit Captain was getting irritated. Hundreds of people should have been deployed into the forest, but no one has returned. He just told them to bring back information about the area around the castle where Harold and his men were barricading themselves. He didn’t tell them to break into the castle. Why did they lose in the previous battle? Which army intervened? If you can’t find out just that…

Why do you send out hundreds of people without success, and why do you keep repeating the same thing and sending out scouts one after another? That’s because it’s an order from his Lord, Duke Noln.

Duke Noln was at the southwest base. From there, he’s headed for this frontline fort while he’s gathering orders for the surrounding units as well. Troops from all over the region who received the messenger’s report are gathering at this fort one after another. And the fort’s troops are under orders to gather information before the main force arrives. So this fort sent out scouts to gather information hastily.

But no one came back. He had no choice but to send out scouts from the troops to join him later. They don’t come back either. When the other troops came, they sent out more scouts one after another, but there was no sign of anyone coming back. And finally, the professional scouts were gone.

It can’t be helped if there is no other alternative. Even if they aren’t specialized scouts, if they increase the number of people and send them out, they’ll probably bring back some information. Anyway, if they don’t carry out Duke Noln’s orders, they will all be punished. Therefore, one after another, scouts are being sent one after another like May rain showers, starting and stopping. For some reason, no one came back.

They don’t know how many days before Duke Noln will be here. Besides, they’ll have to send the information to His Grace before he arrives. If they don’t send a messenger and give solid information while His Grace is heading this way, they would be punished for that. Anyway, before His Grace arrives, no, rather they have to get the information as soon as possible…

Driven by this necessity, the Advance Unit sent out more scout units one after another.

In the silent forest, Janzicka rested his back against a tree and exhaled.

“This job is quite laborious, Captain Armand,” he said.

“I heard that this is the first time for you to do this kind of work, but for a newbie, you’re doing quite well, Lord Janzicka,” Armand said, smiling refreshingly at Janzicka without the slightest sign of fatigue himself.

And while Janzicka and his forces were dirty and tired, Armand’s forces did not look exhausted at all.

Even though they’ve been constantly bleeding the Frasian soldiers who come one after another in this deep forest, they don’t get dirty with blood.

“The smell of blood will be noticed immediately,” Armand said. “Monsters and beasts can also come close, so it’s not good to get splattered in blood or leave your sword wet with it.”

“So I see……” Janzicka said, nodding obediently.

This unit is an anomaly. No, it’s not just this unit. Princess Flora’s troops as a whole are all too abnormal.

Janzicka would be superior in terms of sword skill, strength, agility, physical strength, and so on. In fact, almost no one can match Janzicka even in training. However, if the units conduct joint training, there is no way that he can win.

Morale, coordination, tactics, unit-by-unit battles, Janzicka has never won them against Flora’s troops. Even if Janzicka can put up a good fight with just his personal skills, he won’t be able to win if he tries to achieve his goal in a mock battle.

It is difficult to kill Janzicka in a real battle. There is no other way but to have someone with hero-like strength equal to or more than Janzicka hit them and clash upfront.

However… in a real battle, no matter how many enemy soldiers Janzicka mowed down, it would be meaningless if the place he had to protect was taken down while he was occupied. Castles, forts, royal capitals… he was thoroughly reminded that if it was a defense mission, it would be meaningless for Janzicka to go on a rampage alone.

On top of that, there are a few monsters under Flora that surpass Janzicka. Above all, he doesn’t want to fight House Carruthers ever again. That mother and child are too abnormal. Compared to that, fighting in this forest is easy.

“Now then… it’s almost time for our next guests to arrive. Let’s get ready to welcome them,” Armand said.

“Ah! Roger that!”

Along with Armand and the others, Janzicka’s unit also prepares. In the end, they had killed 1,500 enemies before the main enemy force arrived and kept the information flow dead as no one was left alive.