Chapter 404: Waging War Like Hell (4)
The knight who had arrived was a member of Count Glasgow’s Second Legion.
Recognizing him, Marquis Roderick stammered as he asked,
“M-My castle has been captured? Linderstein has fallen this quickly?”
Marquis Roderick kept repeating the same words in disbelief.
The knight, wearing a grim expression, responded,
“Yes, Linderstein was seized by Count Fenris, and the defensive forces have been annihilated.”
“I left twenty thousand behind! The Second Legion? What happened to Count Glasgow’s Second Legion? They must have arrived, right?”
“Our Second Legion was… also annihilated by Count Fenris. Count Glasgow himself was captured and beheaded by Count Fenris.”
“Uuaaargh!”
Marquis Roderick let out a scream and collapsed on the spot.
“Marquis!”
Tennant rushed to support him. With difficulty, Roderick managed to stand again, his face contorted in rage.
“How! How could a combined army of sixty thousand be defeated by just ten thousand cavalry?! And so quickly, at that! What in the world did they do to take Linderstein this fast?”
Marquis Roderick glared at the messenger, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Tell me! Who did it? Which traitor opened the gates?!”
“They destroyed the castle walls with trebuchets…”
“Idiot! Speak some sense! They’re all cavalry! What trebuchet?! You can’t possibly drag siege weapons at that speed across the western front!”
The speed was beyond belief. If such a feat were possible, no fortress would be safe from Fenris’ raids anywhere.
“I-I’m serious! They destroyed the walls with a trebuchet and seized the castle. Then we were struck down by the same trebuchet.”
The knight, clearly feeling wronged, did his best to explain the strange trebuchet he had seen.
Yet, the expressions of the listeners remained unconvinced. It was already hard to believe after witnessing it firsthand, let alone hearing about it secondhand.
However, the knight’s battered state made it clear that the Second Legion had truly been annihilated and the fortress had fallen. It was impossible not to believe him.
Marquis Roderick, breathing heavily, asked again,
“So, has Count Fenris settled in Linderstein?”
“Perhaps… he has. He captured many prisoners, so I doubt he would abandon them and move elsewhere.”
The knight had ridden directly to the north after the defeat, so he was unaware of the current situation in Linderstein and the western front.
This time, Marquis Roderick turned his glare on Tennant.
“Tennant! Sixty thousand troops were annihilated by Count Fenris, and our main camp was seized!”
“…”
Tennant could not say a word. It was he who had proposed the feint operation.
Yet, the outcome was so absurd that he couldn’t help but feel wronged.
Who could have imagined an army moving so swiftly with siege weapons?
Something was clearly wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what, which only made his frustration worse.
“Ugh… Useless fools!”
Marquis Roderick finally burst out in curses.
Including the defensive troops, their army had numbered a staggering 120,000. Yet now, only 30,000 remain.
They hadn’t even managed to put up a proper fight before being decimated.
“How can anyone call this the strongest army in the west?!”
No one dared to speak against Marquis Roderick’s furious ranting.
“Dranesh! What are the mages doing? They were utterly useless in this battle!”
His anger shifted towards the mages. There were three 6th-circle mages and six 5th-circle mages, yet they had achieved nothing.
Dranesh, sweating profusely, stammered a response.
“It seems… Count Fenris has a remarkably skilled mage on his side. We were all occupied trying to hold him back…”
“Who is it, then?! Are you telling me Fenris has a 7th-circle mage?!”
“…”
No one could answer. A 7th-circle mage was practically a superhuman. If Fenris had such a figure, his name would have already echoed throughout the kingdom alongside his own.
The retainers of the Roderick Marquisate felt as if they were losing their minds. Everything seemed shrouded in mist. Nothing made sense.
Even if they won now, it wouldn’t be a true victory. In reality, they had already lost.
Marquis Roderick, now visibly haggard, finally spoke again with difficulty.
“The supplies… what are we going to do about supplies…?”
Though half their force was gone, 30,000 soldiers were still a massive number. The daily consumption of food was immense. At this rate, they would run out of provisions for even the journey back.
No, there was nowhere left to return to.
Count Fenris had aimed to leave them without a retreat, and now, they had trapped themselves in that very fate.
“If we cannot reclaim that place, we are as good as dead.”
To fight Count Fenris again, they had to seize Fortress Silverlight and reorganize.
However, it was a place they had failed to conquer even with sixty thousand troops. Their siege weapons had all been ruined, bogged down in the mud.
“Could the mages dry out that mud completely?”
“…”
The mages remained silent. If they tried anything, the enemy would undoubtedly counter it.
Besides, what was the point of drying the mud now? As they advanced, they would be slaughtered by the enemy’s arrows and trebuchet attacks.
“Why is no one saying anything?! Find a way! I said find a way!”
Even with thirty thousand soldiers under his command, they were on the brink of death due to supply shortages. Marquis Roderick couldn’t accept the situation.
Finally, Tennant cautiously stepped forward.
“We should raid the nearby villages to secure some food, at least temporarily.”
“Go on.”
“Attacking that fortress immediately is impossible. Even if we succeed, the losses will be severe. Fighting Count Fenris when he returns would be even harder.”
“So you’re saying we should raid them to capture the fortress?”
“Count Fenris is known for protecting his people. If we burn and pillage the surrounding villages, the defenders in that fortress will have no choice but to come out and face us.”
“Hmm…”
“In any case, we’ll have to fight Count Fenris once we return. It would be better to lure out those bastards while Fenris remains tied up at Linderstein.”
Count Fenris would not easily abandon Linderstein since it was crucial for severing their supply lines.
For now, Tennant’s plan to draw the enemy out seemed the best option.
Marquis Roderick spoke with a cold glint in his eyes.
“Take ten thousand troops and burn everything nearby. Leave no one alive. The rest will stand by when those in the fortress come out, engage them.”
After reorganizing, Roderick’s army positioned itself a short distance from the fortress. They believed that if they raided and destroyed the surroundings, Fenris’s forces would surely react.
The ten thousand soldiers spread out and returned after just two days. The commander who had led them came back with a pale, deathly face.
“M-My Lord, there are no villages at all.”
“What? That makes no sense!”
“It’s true. Not a single village exists nearby. We scouted far, but there are only castles and fortresses.”
“…”
Something was terribly wrong with this territory. Everyone began to feel a deep, ominous dread.
* * *
The battlefield, now a muddy swamp, was filled with the corpses of Marquis Roderick’s soldiers. It was a massive victory for Fenris.
At a glance, nearly half of that west’s grand army had been obliterated. The results were staggering, an overwhelming victory with a single battle.
Fenris’ retainers stared at the battlefield in disbelief.
“Wow… This actually worked?”
“They seriously thought of turning the entire area into a swamp? That’s insane.”
“Guess he’s not the fool we thought he was. I figured he was just a figurehead…”
People were now looking at Claude with a newfound respect. When the lord had appointed him as Supreme Commander, there had been doubts. But he had clearly proven himself capable.
It wasn’t even as if any heroes had stood out in the fight. The enemy had been devastated simply through careful preparation and well-laid traps. War seemed almost too easy.
Of course, it was possible because Vanessa had completely neutralized the enemy mages. But even that had been part of Claude’s plan.
He had redirected Vanessa’s immense magical power to neutralize the enemy without giving them a chance to retaliate.
Excluding Vanessa, the victory had been achieved by ordinary people and the traps they had prepared. And despite such simple preparations, half the enemy forces were obliterated.
Wendy, who often felt ashamed because of Claude, was finally wearing a proud smile.
‘He really pulls through when it matters.’
Claude was often underestimated in the territory. He’d caused quite a few headaches with his antics and completely lacked the dignity expected of his position.
Yet, in times of crisis, he displayed undeniable competence. Honestly, the smooth operation of the territory could largely be credited to him.
‘He’s nothing like Alfoi.’
Claude was often grouped together with Alfoi, but Wendy thought Claude was clearly more capable. Now that she thought about it, even his sly appearance seemed better than Alfoi’s.
Though Alfoi had been making a name for himself lately, it was Claude who always handled the truly critical matters.
As if he could read Wendy’s thoughts, Alfoi puffed out his chest and boasted,
“So, how was it? Did you see my skills? I’m just this good. Honestly, if I reach the 6th Circle, I might be too powerful. Maybe I shouldn’t advance any further, it would be too dangerous, right?”
“Idio… I mean, good job. I believed in you, bro. After all, we’re the greatest minds in the territory.”
Claude and Alfoi exchanged a smug fist bump, their expressions full of self-satisfaction.
Watching them, the others once again wore uncomfortable expressions.
“Those two actually succeeded…?”
“I never thought I’d live to see this.”
“Guess we’ll have to endure their bragging for a while.”
Unlike the rest, Wendy and Vanessa looked rather pleased.
Since both had been looking after these rather clueless individuals, their sense of pride was even greater when they managed to succeed.
Belinda, wearing a scowl like she had chewed rotten ginger, cleared her throat and asked,
“Ahem, I didn’t expect you to have such strategic and tactical skills, Supreme Commander.”
“Feel the difference in intelligence?”
“…Anyway, we’ve won this time, so”
“No, I won.”
“What?”
Claude cut her off, crossing his legs smugly.
“I won, not we.”
Why was he so infuriating? Belinda wanted to punch him in the face, but she couldn’t just hit the Supreme Commander in front of everyone.
“…Fine. So, what now? The enemy’s numbers have greatly diminished, but they’ll probably retreat since they can’t breach the fortress.”
The siege weapons had all been bogged down in the mud. Roderick’s forces had barely managed to save themselves, leaving most of the siege engines behind.
Attacking with their remaining forces was impossible.
Though thirty thousand was still a sizable force, Fortress Silverlight was guarded by ten thousand Galvaniium-armored soldiers. Fighting against a fortified position without siege weapons would be a bloodbath.
Claude mused aloud,
“Hmm… Their next move depends on whether the Lord has succeeded in the west or not…”
He ordered the entire army to stand by. Their actions would depend on whether their lord had successfully seized the western territories.
As they waited, part of Roderick’s army suddenly scattered in multiple directions. Seeing this, Claude smirked.
“Oh? Looks like the Lord succeeded.”
A strategist nearby, puzzled by the enemy’s movements, asked,
“What are they doing? Why are they splitting up like that?”
Claude shrugged.
“They’re probably running low on supplies. That’s why they’re moving so desperately.”
“Ah… Then?”
“Yes. The Lord must have taken Linderstein. No doubt about it.”
Roderick’s forces seemed intent on pillaging nearby settlements for food and baiting them out of the fortress.
But there was nothing left for them to raid. Fenris had already evacuated the local populace into the castles and fortresses long before the war began, leaving no villages behind.
Claude’s smirk widened.
“Seeing how desperate they are, we should be hearing news soon. Probably through that Dark fellow, right?”
Sure enough, not long after, a crow flew in and landed before Claude.
“Hey, Claude.”
“…”
“Sorry, I took a wrong turn on the way here. Looks like the other side already got the news, huh? What’s with that face? You think I wanted to be late? Do I look like a map? How am I supposed to know all the routes?”
“…Fine.”
Dark’s arrogance was now widely accepted. Since he was essentially a summoned creature, there wasn’t much point in punishing him, it wouldn’t hurt him anyway.
Claude shook his head a few times and asked,
“So, how did things go on the Lord’s side?”
“He seized Linderstein and left someone else in charge there. He’ll be returning north soon. Told me to relay that you should hold the line until then… By the way, you really killed a lot of them, huh?”
Dark had seen the field of corpses himself while approaching the fortress. Even without an explanation, it was clear they had won a decisive victory.
Claude, with his usual smugness, nodded.
“Nothing special. Now those guys are going to start acting desperately. Time to wrap this up. Dark, inform the mercenaries on standby.”
With their supply lines cut off, Roderick’s forces would soon resort to any means necessary. But they had only two options left:
Either they would have to find new supplies and attempt a prolonged siege, or retreat west to reclaim Linderstein.
Of course, neither plan would succeed. Claude intended to wipe them out completely in the north.