The fortified city atop the Radoa mountain range---Silke
After sending out our letter asking for them to capitulate, I received reports from our scouts that a large force of Amrzs soldiers were marching onto this fortress and headed towards the reception hall.
Once I entered inside, Theo yelled, "Salute to Lord-dono."
Then, the 32 Radol commanders stood up at once, formed a line, and straightened their posture.
I guess this was a Radol salute. I was a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry for being late."
"Not a problem. We just arrived as well."
"By the way, didn't I tell you to not bring any women or children into this operation?" I asked Theo while sending a glare towards the women with short white hair sitting next to him.
"Sorry."
I learned about this after the fact, but the white-haired girl was Theo's younger sister, Lucia, who was also the Radol's miko. Apparently, the kingdom's forces hadn't touched her so that they could get the Radols to surrender quietly.
The women who were being sexually assaulted by the kingdom's forces had sacrificed themselves to protect the miko and the children, and Lucia had no idea it was happening. Well, whether that's a good thing or not is a different matter.
"If we're talking about women and children, then aren't you a child?"
"......"
I was lost for words. Well whatever. If Theo couldn't hold his own sister back, then I had no chance. She was already an adult, so I'll just let her do what she wants.
"Now then, you will be my aide for this battle, understood?" I said to Lucia.
"Yes, got it."
I thought for sure that she would have a problem with something, but she obediently followed my order.
Now, time was running short, so Istarted the meeting immediately.
"Just now, I received a report from our scouts that 7000 Amrzs soldiers are marching onto this land."
"7000......" muttered one commander.
Unease crept onto their faces.
"Why the long face? The wind is finally blowing our way now that they've sent 7000 soldiers our way instead of barricading themselves in Arkroy," I said.
And I meant it. Normally, you'd need several times more soldiers than those in the fortress to attack it. Even if we did have our weapons, there's no way I'd attack a fortress with over ten times our number.
That's why we need to cut down their numbers as much as possible here. We had modern day heavy weapons that were remarkably superior, too. All we had to do was lead them to a fixed location and it'd be like shooting fish in a barrel.
"I understand. You're saying it, so it must be true," replied Theo, whose words blasted away the others' unease as if it were never there.
This attitude was a bit tricky to deal with. Well, I guess him obediently following my orders isn't really a problem.
"So? Are the preparations going smoothly?"
"Yes. They've attacked the tent and have recovered that thing," replied Kurama.
I kept my cool. The operation would go to waste if we retreated here.
"So now they won't stop."
The only thing left to do was to move onto the next step of the operation.
"You're a frightening person, just like I thought," he said with a hint of amazement.
I looked over the Radol commanders and said, "Listen up. This is a war to obtain your civil rights. Defeat here means the death of all Radols. Remember that!"
"Yes sir!!" they stomped and said in unison.
"Once again, this is war. There's no need for mercy or emotions. Act with the utmost decorum and send them to hell! I'll take full responsibility for their massacre!"
The gunshots echoed one after another, and cartridges danced in the air. Then, the enemy soldiers fell from their horses, their heads having been perfectly shot through.
After a moment, Calogero grinned, having slaughtered five soldiers in the blink of an eye. He turned back to the artillery and marksman squads and rested his gun on the ground. With that signal, all the cannons and muzzles pointed towards the soldiers.
Calogero aimed his rifle at the sky and shouted, "First team, begin firing!!"
In an instant, the shots created an ear splitting boom as the ground burst open and was enveloped in a cloud of dust.
Just like that, the battlefield descended into hell.
"Ah! That hurts!!"
"M-my arm!!"
Shrieks, roars of pain, and groans befell the battlefield. Once the dust swept away, we were left with the sight of several small craters and collapsed soldiers.
"Second team, begin firing!!"
Gunshots ripped apart the air, and with each shot, another kingdom soldier lost their life. The knights who were pursuing Theo's squad had almost all been wiped out, and the ones who survived fell into panic.
"What are you guys doing! Fight, goddammit!"
I'll praise his guts for not running away and continuing to scream at his own people, but that's having the exact opposite effect.
"Everyone's gone back inside," reported Lucia.
"They're finished."
I once again raised my hand to signal one final bombardment, and the thunderous booms accompanied true hell on Earth.
Booooooom!
The ground trembled in response to the explosion. Dynamite had exploded atop the cliff which turned into giant boulders and broken rocks that rained onto the soldiers' heads.
The raining bedrock upon the soldiers was like a giant elephant stepping on ants; the rocks utterly crushed and pulverized the soldiers.
In just a few seconds, they lost their ability to scream and over half of the kingdom's soldiers had been pinned beneath the rubble where they died.
Nobody said a word. This wasn't even a one-sided war, but rather simply a slaughter, after all.
"Grey-dono...... any further and......" pleaded Lucia.
But that wouldn't do. If the Radols didn't prove just how powerful and merciless they were to the world, the kingdom will soon send a second and even third wave of soldiers.
They'd have to prevent the empire from moving, at least until they stabilized their forces. We couldn't relax here.
"Track down the remaining soldiers," I ordered Kurama.
He quickly disappeared into the battlefield, followed soon after by Calogero and his marksmen squad.
The ones tracking the soldiers were the cream of the crop of archers and marksmen. The wounded, confused, and even now mentally crippled soldiers stood no chance.
"What's wrong? Are you disillusioned?" I asked Lucia, who just silently bit her lip.
"No, you probably made the correct decision, Grey-sama. But just don't push yourself too much."
"Huh? Push myself too much?"
"Yes. You're normally a very kind person after all."
"Me? Kind? Don't be stupid. There's no way a kind person could think up a plan like this."
The word kind was for people like Satella and Aquido, who wouldn't stain their own hands. The descriptor was about as far as she could get from someone as unscrupulous as I.
"You do the exact opposite of what you want to do. Yep. I got it. You're hopelessly dishonest with yourself."
Damn, this girl is hard to deal with. Well whatever. I'll probably never interact with her after this war.
Before long, Kurama came back reporting of our complete victory.