Chapter 146: Once in a lifetime offer

Even though it was for different reasons, sieges always were a nightmare for both sides in the conflict. That was most likely the reason behind the local lord's strategy. Instead of enclosing his entire army within a single area and risking starvation, he decided to give Fen's forces a battle right outside of a small valley that they had to go through.

Basing on pure strategy, this move was counterproductive. With how relatively narrow the passage was, lord's forces could only use a small part of their questionable strength, allowing the mercenaries to thrive. 

Yet, once human's psyche came to play, this was one of the deadliest traps that Fen has ever faced in his short history as a mercenary. Surely, with the insane difference of personal fighting ability, the veterans wouldn't have any problems dealing with any number of opponents they would face in this scenario… But…

This one variable changed everything. Because how long would a sane man keep reaping heaps of random serfs? All those people were husbands, brothers, fathers of some families back in their respective homes. While the war had its rules and those veterans could cope with them on a regular basis, for how long would one be willing to fight if ultimately, getting to the first lane meant certain death against unending rows and rows of enemies?

Yeah, a skilled fighter could easily cut through several tens of people, but for how long would his stamina last? With this kind of battle going for long enough, everyone in Fen's camp agreed that they would most likely end up losing.

And that's why, instead of charging head-on for no reason, with his ultimate command of the entire force, Victor… backed off.

While sieges were nightmares for both sides, although for different reasons, attacking force still had it way easier.

Unable to keep his huge army in the field for the extended periods of time, after just a week of stalemate during which Victor's army scavenged the land to obtain supplies while the lord's forces simply ransacked all the villages that they could still control. With their entire force now pulling back to the Shataz, Victor quickly pressured this huge group of individuals that made up his army to make this one last effort…

And then the siege began.

After catching up to the city, Fen and his company was met with quite a novel way of reinforcing the city before the lasting encirclement. Instead of burning down the homes in three small districts around the walls, the lord somehow managed to bring a miracle and turn those former shanty towns into a properly reinforced and manned forward defences. 

From one side, the attackers could simply make a greater encirclement in order to not put their people at risk from those forward positions shaped like triangles with one of its ends looming over the areas perfect for setting the camp otherwise. 

In the current situation, Victor simply lacked enough men to establish a proper encirclement that would stop the city form reaching out for help… But the local lord didn't have any mobile force that he could use to ignore the besieging army and scavenge the lands around. On the other side, before any relief force could be ever formed from former heptarchy, the siege would long collapse from starvation.

In essence, walls and forts were never supposed to be the main axis of conducting warfare. Their one and only target was to stop the enemy from taking over the local land by threatening him with a huge military presence while stalling for as long as possible for the help to come. But in the current situation, the local lord had nowhere to look for saviours.

"Move on! We need to secure those points as quickly as possible!"

Even though he never really had the chance to learn how to command other peoples as within his mercenary group everyone operated on the colleague terms, Fen still managed to find the will to take control over a third of the mercenary army. 

For some reason, instead of leading the majority of her group, Orsha decided to take some troops and join his side, while leaving her own unit for her second-in-command. Officially it was a move made so that the two different groups of mercenaries could start to merge, as they would be the future noble class of their newly carved piece of country. And what was a better way to unify people than by turning them into brothers in arms?

"Are you really sure it will work out? Without blocking the entire perimeter, they will be able to safely pass by our lines! Who knows, maybe their veterans could set an ambush at our backs?"

Time and time again, the lack of hands to work proved to be the worst problem that mercenaries had to cope with. While reinforcing the front of the tree camps that they set vis-a-vis the three gates of the city was doable, doing the same all around their resting place would be a task unachievable within a short time-frame.

"That's what I hope for. Listen, all those people are not here to fight for their homes. They are here because they were forced to follow their lord. You do not understand the nature of the soul of those people. Let's assume that some of them will sooner or later attempt to forage the lands while using the gaps in our lines. And guess what happens to those people once they leave the direct control of that Lord's veterans? How many of them will dare to return to this place? How many of them will support the lord that burned their villages down and stolen all their food, when they could just return to the homes that we spared on our way here?"

As great as the difference of experience between the two sides was, the numbers still mattered. That's why, instead of attempting to forcefully increase their own lines all the while accepting many of the drawbacks related to it, if they could simply let the enemy forces melt away? 

"But truthfully, I don't think this siege will last long. I already have a certain idea that you might be surprised about, but it's execution solely depends on the next move of the lord. But you will most likely see it soon for yourself."

Smiling mysteriously, Fen didn't bother to explain what was going through his head to the girl. And soon enough, his words proved to be prophetic, as the gates of the city opened and a delegation of expensively dressed knights rode out with a huge, white flag fluttering on the wind above their heads.

"So, they want to talk? Is that according to your plan?"

Quite surprised that Fen's words would fulfil themselves so quickly, Orsha stared at the young mercenary with a certain dose of awe in her eyes.

"Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe babe, I don't really know."

Shrugging his arms, Fen patted Orsha's head before marching towards the approaching group. Out of everything, the one strange element was that instead of using either west or east gate to make contact with the attacking force, the lord's entourage picked the small, north one. Compared to the gates that stood on one of the most important pieces of the road in the entire area, the north entrance was for the sole purpose of the farmlands that stretched on the open plain where Fen set the camp for his detachment of the army.

"Welcome. May we speak with someone regarding the terms of surrender?"

The first thing that Fen heard once he approached the group with a few other mercenaries that voluntarily came to defend him already managed to confirm the first guess that he had.

This lord wasn't some stupid and naive idiot that could only enjoy his life in luxury. This was a lingering idea in Fen's mind ever since he saw how efficiently and cleverly he was using his forces in the attempts to improve his situation.

Sadly, his methods didn't put any limits to the damage that the countryside would receive, putting him at odds with the main idea that caused the entire situation to happen right now. But form several markings that he saw in the villages, Fen could tell that it wasn't the sadistic soul of the lord that made him treat his serfs like he did, but the feeling of urgency and having nothing to lose.

And it was Fen's job to make sure to change that mindset of the lord.

"While I can't make any binding decisions alone, I may be your best choice to talk with right now."

Smiling in response to the inquiry of one of the knights that spoke a moment earlier, Fen stepped a few paces forward, leaving his voluntary guards behind. In response to his actions, the lord himself also left the protection of his veteran subordinates and approached the young mercenary.

"What are the terms that you are willing to offer?"

Instead of trying to coax the other side or flaunt how good his situation is in order to demoralise the other party, the lord quickly moved the entire conversation to its actually important part.

"Terms… What an ugly word. How could we offer you terms if we are not at war in the first place?"

Rather than replying in a normal fashion, Fen once again smiled, angled his head to the side and asked with a mischievous grin on his lips.

"Excuse me sir, but I fail to understand what you are hinting at…"

For one, Fen managed to succeed with the first step of his plan. He managed to turn the situation from tough sacrifice for the lord, to an actually puzzling and interesting interaction.

"On the other hand, I think I'm quite clear about the intention behind what I said. You used to be just a tool in the heptarchy's council hands to control this territory and manage it according to their wishes. But with how this land was officially passed over to us under the law of conquest and just remuneration, I fail to recall for the lord that we made that deal with to ever mention that the local manager of those lands was to be our enemy. Dear sir, what if I were to say that we chased after you in order to make sure the new orders as to how this land should be overseen reached your hands?"

While the entire idea wasn't all that complicated if Fen said it clearly then both the knights of the lord and those few mercenaries that followed him would quickly see through his words. And in those kinds of situations, it was better to keep the politics away from simple soldiers.

"Hmm… That's an interesting way of putting it… But may I know if this approach is shared by your entire force?"

The lord's intentions were clear. Given his intellect, he had to be aware of how bad his situation was right now. That's why, the solution that Fen proposed just seemed to good to be true, even with all the obvious limitations that would come into play once such a daring plan would be implemented. And the most basic way of fooling others in politics was to say something that one had absolutely no power over whatsoever!

"And that's the main point that I came here to discuss. For now, what I said is just an idea of mine that I can propose to my friends. The true question though is to whether you would be willing to… adapt to the new rules that we would like to implement on those lands."

The situation was pretty simple. From what Fen noticed about the lord's actions, that man was someone who would find any way to improve his position and achieve his goals. Fighting against such person was a great pain in the ass, but what if instead of forcing him to conduct warfare at any cost, he would be put to use as someone tasked with overseeing an insanely profitable enterprise? 

What if someone of this man's focus, commitment and sheer fucking will, were to be put in management over a place that could quickly turn into one of the most important trading posts in the new political landscape that appeared with the diffusion of the Kiznarian Heptarchy?

"As long as they are achievable and not worse than what heptarchy was forcing us to do…"