Volume 6 - CH 11

Chapter 11 – Stalemate

Having decided to say his thoughts, Eto wanted to meet with the Commander, but was refused because he was busy. And after being turned down for the third time, Eto consulted with Narl, who immediately left after saying just one word, “Understood”. And that night, it seems Narl had straightened things so that Eto could meet the Commander.

When Eto’s group of six, including Narl and Nii, visited the Commander, they found that the Hero’s party was also in the tent. Soon after bowing and greeting the Commander, Eto asked the Commander the doubts he felt while watching the Knights fight.

“Commander-dono, you seem to be having a hard time breaking through the first gate, do you have a plan to break through the magically protected gate?”

“Of course! As long as we annihilate the enemy soldiers at the castle gate, the gate can be destroyed by our battering ram.”

“With all due respect, I think it is difficult to break that gate with that battering ram. Or at least, I think it will surely be tough if you don’t reinforce the battering ram, and increase the number of personnel.”

Hearing that, the Commander’s face turned red and began to get angry.

“Who are you to say that! Our Knights are elites. It will be easy for them to destroy such a gate!”

“In other words, you don’t have any plans besides that battering ram.”

“Like I said, it is unnecessary!”

Unable to hold his anger, the Commander finally shouted.

“Alright. Suppose your Knights managed to break the first gate. Then, when you want to cross the connecting bridge, how do you intend to prevent the attacks of enemy archers and mages on the second gate?”

“They are using the hostages as a shield to block the attacks from our side.”

“Ee, I know. At this rate, our side will be attacked by the enemy without being able to defend when crossing the connecting bridge.”

“Umu, it is as you say. However, we, Knights, will never flinch at the enemy’s despicable deeds. We will prevent everything from the enemy’s arrows and magic with our shields.”

“Are you perhaps planning to enchant the shields?”

“There is no such thing!”

“Then, are those shields magic tools?”

“There is no way we can use such an expensive shield-type magic tool in this kind of place!”

“It is difficult to block arrows and magic barrage with ordinary shields. It will cause many casualties, you know?”

“You… are you trying to dishonor the pride of the Knights because you chickened out?!”

A blue streak emerges on the Commander’s forehead, as his bright red face shakes. The Commander may have pride as a Knight, but he seems to lack the intelligence and calmness to think about how to deal with problems.

“The last question. Let’s say you broke through the first gate and crossed the connecting bridge with minimal damage,”

“That will absolutely happen!”

“Do YOU have a way to rescue the hostages at the second gate?”

“…”

“Commander-dono?”

The small-mustached Commander hatefully glared at Eto, but refused to answer anything.

“Commander-dono, do you have a way to rescue the hostages?”

“We, Knights, will do our best to rescue the hostages. That’s it! In the first place, there is no way we can say something like that to an outsider like you!”

The Commander’s anger seemed to have reached its peak, and with that momentum, he was about to drive Eto and his group out of the tent.

From the Commander’s reply, Eto found that he had almost no strategy in capturing the southern fort and rescuing the hostages. The Commander apparently will only try to push in with raw power. Of course, Eto didn’t deny that it was also one of the effective strategies due to the large number of allies. Because even if they are unable to capture the fort, as long as the stalemate continues, the enemy’s supplies will be exhausted first. And the siege battle cannot be continued for a long time without supplies. Plus, looking at the situation on the battlefield, the Commander’s approach is, indeed, not so wrong.

However, if the battle continues just like this, the casualties in the allies will surely be increased. And the biggest problem is that the odds of the hostages being saved are definitely low. It’s not just because of the danger of being involved in the battle, resulting in them losing their lives. But also if the supplies in the fort are reduced, the hostages will surely be the first to be discarded. Eto didn’t know how much the hostages, who were exhausted physically and mentally, could endure this situation. Which means, in order to minimize the damage to the hostages, it is a bad idea to prolong the attack.

“Eto-san, do you have a plan? Just complaining will not improve anything.”

Then, Master Magician Mirei, who had been listening silently until then, spoke to Eto. Although she said it while putting on airs like usual, this time, she seems to have the intention to hold a discussion with Eto. Eto wondered if he could propose a strategy by answering Mirei’s question, with that, the Commander might listen to what he says.

“Let’s see. First of all, you can acknowledge that we are currently in a stalemate, right?”

As Eto said that, the Commander immediately tried to argue. However, to Eto’s surprise, Ronaldo stopped him.

“Aa, I admit it. Please continue.”

Ronaldo’s expression seems to be really trying to listen to what Eto wanted to say. And at this time, Eto didn’t care whether he had a hidden plan or not. Because it was great that he was given the opportunity to express his opinion.

“The Acting Lord Riesenbolt wouldn’t be able to defend this fort, this is a fact. In other words, the few and unreliable army he had, will soon be besieged by us. If they couldn’t move out of the fort, they soon would be annihilated. Which means, our priority should be the lives of the hostages.”

Saying that, Eto looked at Ronaldo and the Commander. Apparently, they share the same thinking so far.

“So, I propose to sign a ceasefire agreement and ask for the release of the hostages. Of course, it is unlikely that the enemy will accept it. Because if the hostages are gone, we will be able to attack the second gate. With that, I will make a second suggestion. We can request them to let us send a medical team to check the health condition of the hostages.”

Ronaldo put his hand on his chin and began to think. Meanwhile, the Commander glanced at Eto with scary eyes, while glancing at Ronaldo’s reaction.

“I think it is a good idea to ask them if we can take care of the hostages with extremely poor health here. Since this is about the hostages, giving them food is also one of the options. Because if the hostages are weakened, the enemy will also be in trouble. If that’s the case, I think it would be an acceptable proposal for both parties. The trend of war is already on. So, it would be wise to choose a method that causes as little casualties as possible.”

Eto stared at the Commander. Because the one who has the power to decide things on this battlefield was not Ronaldo, but that small mustached Commander.

However, the Commander in the end vehemently opposed Eto’s proposal. He even accused Eto of being a spy who wanted to send food to the enemy, and argued that the enemy was entirely responsible for the hostages. He also screamed that if they showed any weaknesses, the enemy would only take advantage of it. Then, Eto and his group were kicked out of the tent by the Commander who was furious that he didn’t want to hear such a weak proposal. In the end, Eto’s proposal ended in failure.