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Vol 02 Chapter 64: The Seven-Day War I

「Tonino, do you think we can win this war?」

Prince Carlo Domorgal, the first prince of King Domorgal’s Country, asked General Tonino.

「Of course. I will surely bring us victory,」

Tonino assured him.

「Is that so? Then I’m counting on you. I leave everything in your hands.」

Carlo entrusted all command of the strategy to Tonino. Carlo was twenty years old.

Although Carlo was the first prince, he was born to a concubine, making his position not a particularly high one. However, he was the child of the king’s most favored consort and resembled his mother, which made King Domorgal fond of him.

The purpose of this war was not only territorial expansion but also to build Carlo’s achievements for his eventual succession.

To put it mildly, Carlo’s abilities were not outstanding. He was not born with a strong body and he had a gentle disposition, so this war was his first battle.

Even if he was not fit for battle, he might have other talents, such as strong administrative skills or high intelligence, but unfortunately, he had neither.

However, he wasn’t entirely lacking in the qualities necessary to become king. He had one quality that set him apart from his brothers. His only redeeming quality was his awareness of his own incompetence.

Therefore, he delegated work to his capable subordinates and refrained from interfering in their decisions. Carlo’s responsibilities included appreciating art, indulging in alcohol, and flirting with his sex slaves.

Tonino saw Carlo’s disposition and tried to take advantage of him. Tonino was the brother of Carlo’s mother… in other words, Carlo’s uncle.

Originally, Tonino’s family was not of high status, but as Carlo’s mother became the concubine of King Domorgal, Tonino gained powerful backing. With his exceptional military talent, he rapidly advanced his career and eventually was entrusted with an army.

Carlo highly valued Tonino and made him his most trusted vassal. Carlo had two reasons for his trust: Tonino was family and he was genuinely capable. Carlo had promised to appoint Tonino as the Grand General once he ascended to the throne.

Despite this, Tonino was not at ease with just that level of assurance. He knew all too well that promises could be easily broken.

Tonino planned to arrange for his daughter to marry Carlo. That way, their bond would strengthen, and his own position would become unassailable.

「What are you grinning about?」

「Oh, my apologies.」

Tonino abruptly ended his daydreaming about becoming the Grand General and refocused on the current strategy.

The objective of this operation was to conquer Aris territory. I If they could seize Aris territory, the path to taking down King Rosais’ capital would be clear, as it was just a stone’s throw away from the territory.

If possible, after taking over Aris territory, they would like to immediately march towards King Rosais’ capital… but Tonino considered this difficult to execute. King Rosais’ Country had a population of 170,000. If the country mobilized all the forces it could without thinking of the consequences, it could gather a force of over 10,000. That would be quite problematic so Tonino decided on a more cautious strategy.

His plan was first to capture Aris territory and then negotiate peace. During the peace negotiations, he planned to incite the patricians of King Rosais’ Country to defect and destroy the country from the inside.

He had already suggested the patricians of the Dibel faction of King Rosais’ Country to defect once, but they had refused. While an alliance with King Domorgal’s Country would likely secure their victory in the civil war, it would also mean becoming a vassal state to his country. That was something Rigal Dibel, with his high pride, could hardly accept.

However, an overwhelming military defeat might just make them waver.

As the largest country in the southern part of the Adernian peninsula, King Rosais’ Country boasted extensive plains and high wheat production.

In other words, gaining control of this country would virtually ensure King Domorgal’s Country’s dominance over the southern part of the Adernian peninsula. Hence, it was crucial to carefully conquer this country.

This war was part of the battle for supremacy against King Gilbed’s Country. It was a race to see what country would succeed in their southward advance first.

「Speaking of which, I hear that Princess Julia of King Rosais’ Country is quite a beauty. I’m looking forward to getting her.」

Carlo muttered absentmindedly.

「If we win, all the people of King Rosais’ Country will become slaves. You will be able to do whatever you want with them.」

Tonino tried to hide his frustration as he responded. He had been hoping that Princess Julia would be his reward.

In the Adernian peninsula, it was common to enslave the citizens of a defeated country. However, not everyone was unconditionally turned into a slave.

Those who ceased resistance early or cooperated with the invasion were not enslaved. About forty percent of the defeated country’s population would end up as slaves.

After all, there wouldn’t be enough buyers to buy hundreds of thousands of slaves.

「Don’t look so disappointed. I will give you the wife of the lord of Aris territory instead, I hear she’s very beautiful.」

「A married woman, huh?」

Tonino made a displeased face, revealing his feelings with ease—a trait that often betrayed him. He preferred virgins, so he wasn’t fond of married women or those with experience.

「Hmm, you’re still the same, aren’t you? Why does it matter if they have that membrane or not?」

「No, it’s not about the membrane. The problem is if they’ve had any experience at all.」

While they engaged in this vulgar conversation, a fortress came into view. Just as reported, it was extremely robust.

Spy reports indicated that around eight thousand troops were preparing for a siege.

「Let’s advance a bit more and set up camp. Should we commence the attack promptly?」

「Hmm, I leave it to you.」

◇

An extensive mountain range, the Adernian Mountains, lay between King Rosais’ Country and King Domorgal’s Country, making it difficult for large armies to invade.

However, there was one place where the mountain range broke.

Various legends explained the gap’s formation: one attributed it to a massive earthquake, another to the stomp of a giant, and yet another claimed it was the site of an ancient battle between a Griffon and a Divine Dragon.

This place was where the borders of Aris territory, King Domorgal’s Country, and Romalia Forest met.

There lay a small plain called the Teria Plain. Whenever King Domorgal’s Country invades King Rosais’ Country, their forces must traverse the Teria Plain.

Though termed a plain, the area featured slight elevations and depressions. Teria Fortress was situated on a slightly elevated hill in Teria Plain.

Teria Fortress had two walls.

First, the inner wall. Made of wood, it was the original wall of the fortress that had been there since the fortress was built and was quite fragile.

The second wall is the important one, the outer wall, a newly constructed stone wall commissioned by Almus.

The wall was one meter thick and five meters tall. There was a moat outside the wall, and between the ditch and the gate, a drawbridge was installed. There were two gates, the south gate, and the north gate.

The wall protruded on both sides of the gates, forming structures that resembled towers more than walls, with these towers standing about seven meters tall. Essentially, this design let the archers concentrate their attacks on the area around the gates.

Almus was in the command center of the reborn Teria Fortress.

◇

「Our total force is 8,000 troops from King Rosais’ Country and 300 cavalrymen from the Equus tribe, totaling 8,300 .」

The patricians provided more soldiers than I expected. Our number was higher than anticipated, but…

「The enemy’s total force is 25,000…」

「It feels like they’re really putting their back into this, doesn’t it?」

Tetra said while reading the report.

Moreover, our spies report that the enemy has brought numerous siege weapons

Those siege weapons are a problem.

However, there is one good aspect.

「If the enemy has brought many siege weapons, it means they couldn’t bring as much food. That’s convenient for us.」

Teria Fortress is located on the border between Aris territory and King Domorgal’s Country. This means the north side of Teria Fortress is part of King Domorgal’s Country.

Given it’s harvest season, they can easily gather wheat and send it to the battlefield for provisions as needed. It’s not difficult to transport food even if they didn’t bring it along.

All of this means they plan to rely mostly on their supply lines. After the fall of the Teria Fortress, once they advance deep into King Rosais’ Country, they can harvest the wheat from our country to secure their food supply.

Therefore, they don’t need to carry a large amount of provisions while marching. Instead, it’s more efficient for them to bring siege weapons and aim for a quick victory by taking down the fortress as fast as possible.

Although they signed a ceasefire agreement with King Gilbed’s Country, their relationship with King Domorgal’s Country is still not good. There’s also a competition between them over who can secure more of the southern region faster.

For this battle, I have appointed Ron, Roswald, and Gram as tribunes1 of the army. They need to earn some achievements as well. It’s a problem if my most loyal vassals remain as simple Centurions.

「With this, we can win. If we can hold out for three days our victory is certain.」

I smirked confidently.

The war that would later be known as the Seven-Day War was about to begin.

◇

Siege Day One

「Well then, shall we start by surrounding them?」

Tonino commanded the entire army to encircle the fortress.

「Hey, Tonino. It might be strange to ask this now, but… can’t we just bypass this fortress?」

Carlo inquired.

「That would be difficult. Our army has around 20,000 troops. We’ve only brought enough food for three or four days. While we can secure food through plundering, there’s a risk that the enemy might employ scorched earth tactics. Hence, securing a supply line is essential. Therefore, we must take down this fortress or our supply line will be in danger. Furthermore, not all of the Kingdom of Rosais’s military forces are present here; they can still conscript additional troops. If we ignore it, there’s a chance we might get caught in a pincer attack. Although it is unpleasant to consider… not having a place to retreat to would be a significant disadvantage if we were to be defeated. Such a scenario could lead to our army’s annihilation.」

Tonino explained carefully to Carlo, who seemed to be satisfied and nodded in agreement.

「What’s the next step?」

「Well, let’s start with a reconnaissance in force. I’ll send out the slave soldiers.」

At Tonino’s command, the battle slaves assembled into formation. They were slaves acquired during the war with King Gilbed’ Country.

A thousand slave soldiers charged at the fortress.

◇

「Here comes the first wave… They’re wearing collars and chains. Are they battle slaves?」

Perm muttered.

Upon closer inspection, the soldiers attacking the fortress were wearing collars and chains. Their equipment was also very rudimentary, with some wearing only a loincloth and others armed only with clubs. They were clearly expendable.

The thousand slave soldiers split into two groups, initiating attacks on the south and north gates respectively. Naturally, they couldn’t walk over the water in the moat.

The slaves jumped into the ditch, swimming towards the gates. Ironically, their minimal equipment proved advantageous, as few of them drowned.

However…

「Listen up. No need to aim. Just lay down a barrage.」

「Haha, nice. Show them the fruits of your training.」

Bartolo and Gram ordered the archers to attack.

In warfare, bows are generally not used for targeted shooting but for laying down a barrage of arrows. The idea is that if you shoot enough arrows, some are bound to hit. Taking time to aim could give the enemy an opportunity to strike back.

The current enemies were swimming in the moat, making them slow-moving and easy targets.

The enemy slave soldiers were pierced by arrows one after another, sinking into the water.

Despite this, they desperately tried to build a bridge across the moat. Slave soldiers ran across it, placed ladders against the wall, and started climbing.

「What are they going to do with such poor equipment?」

Gram muttered as his arrow pierced through a slave soldier. The slaves were half-naked, without shields to protect themselves, and were being shot down one by one.

「Ah, they’re retreating.」

Bartolo observed, sipping his drink while watching the soldiers turn their backs. He stopped the archers from targeting the fleeing men.

There was no need to waste arrows unnecessarily. Their fate was already sealed.

◇

「Ha, useless fools. I thought at least one would manage to climb the wall… but it was a vain hope,」

Tonino remarked, watching the returning slaves. He then gave orders to the archers.

「Shoot them down.」

Within ten seconds, the slaves who had fled back were shot dead.

「Now, check their faces and names. Kill the families of these cowards. Those without names were brave warriors who died in battle. Send a message by hawk to release their families.」

Tonino ordered. He was a man who kept his promises, even if the recipients were slaves.

「Well then, thank you, slave soldiers. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten! Good, a simple bridge has been built over the moat. Commence the attack… huh?」

Tonino couldn’t believe his eyes. The bridge that had been laid across the moat was suddenly blown away.

He was utterly confused.

「Ah, that must be the rumored ‘secret medicine of fire’… that’s unfair!」

With this, the siege went back to square one.

TN: Tribuni Militum was an officer of the Roman army, higher than the centurions, but lower than the Legati and the Proconsul (who were the generals of the army). The Tribuni Militum had a mixture of command, administrative, and logistic roles. Before the Marian Reforms (the creation of the Legions) the Tribuni Militum consisted mainly of young men of the equites class (wealthy citizens not part of the patrician class, Ron and the other kids fall in this category) who were assigned this post to gain experience in command.