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Vol 02 Chapter 67: The Seven-Day War IV

While the Rosais and Domorgal armies were clashing at the Teria fortress, Raymond, Roswald, Mutzio, Vilgar, Soyon, and Dola were descending the Adernian mountain range. Once they descended, they would have to pass through the Romalia forest and enter Domorgal territory.

Everyone was riding horses. As it was difficult to pass through the forest with a horse-drawn carriage, they were carrying it disassembled. It was designed to be easily reassembled using nails, so they could quickly put it back together. The carriage was essential not only for transporting loot but also for carrying wounded soldiers and important prisoners.

The strategy this time was to invade King Domorgal’s Country while the Domorgal army was preoccupied with the Teria fortress. After passing through the Romalia forest, they would attack and destroy the supply bases of the Domorgal army and wreak havoc around the country.

If that happened, the Domorgal army would have no choice but to retreat. The Rosais’ main force would then pursue them striking a devastating blow.

Afterward, the separate detachment would run around as much as possible to exhaust the Domorgal army. When the time was right, they would regroup with the main force to completely defeat the Domorgal army.

「It’s amazing how you can find these small animal trails in such a densely wooded forest. 」

「This forest is like a backyard for me and Roswald,」

Soyon replied with a smile to Mutzio’s question. Naturally, they had done their reconnaissance, so there was no hesitation in their guidance.

Thanks to the guidance of Soyon and Roswald, the soldiers could march without worrying about Griffon’s divine punishment. Well, since more than half of the soldiers were Alvans or Germanis and they didn’t live adjacent to the Romalia forest, they didn’t know much about the legends of the Griffon, so they weren’t particularly scared anyway.

「Don’t worry even after we enter King Domorgal’s Country. I’m originally from there. I lived there until I was ten years old.」

Soyon added.

She had also used an owl to scout at night. Her knowledge of the geography was perfect.

「By the way, about that owl. It doesn’t seem to be a species native to the Adernian Peninsula… where did you get it?」

Dola asked Soyon.

Although Dola was older, Soyon was her senior in rank. Additionally, Soyon’s skills as a magician were superior as well.

「I acquired it from a Kirisian merchant five months ago.」

「Five, five months ago…」

Dola was astonished. Normally, it would take at least three years to establish a bond deep enough to use the control spell in an animal.

「Soyon is second to none when it comes to animals… She’s really incredible.」

Roswald praised Soyon.

「Oops, we’re about to leave the forest… Everyone, stay sharp,」

Raymond gave his commands to the army of five hundred.

Officially, Raymond was the commander of this separate detachment. Since Mutzio was a prince, Roswald couldn’t be the commander, the commander needed to be of a higher rank.

Raymond had no experience commanding cavalry, but that was not a problem with Roswald, Vilgar, and Mutzio around.

「Ah, we’ve finally emerged from the forest! Come on, captain. Let’s get moving!」

Vilgar, eager to dash off, was halted by Roswald grabbing his chain.

「Ow, that hurts! Why did you do that!」

「Idiot, it’s already getting dark. We can’t march properly now.」

The day was already fading. If they started the operation now, the entire army would disperse and get lost, and using torches would make them too conspicuous.

「There’s a stream about ten minutes from here, the trees are sparse, so I think we can camp there.」

Soyon suggested, pointing through the forest.

The horses couldn’t run in the forest, and they needed to choose their path carefully, so it took time. They had already anticipated that it would be night by the time they emerged from the forest.

「Well, that’s fine. The horses are tired too.」

With Mutzio’s agreement, it was decided that they would spend the night in the forest.

◇

Early morning. The sun had not fully risen yet.

It was dim, but not completely dark.

「Let’s go!」

With Raymond leading the way the separate detachment set off.

Horses truly showed their worth on flat terrain. Thus, the detachment advanced along narrow paths frequently used by farmers.

Other areas had swamps or forests, making it difficult for horses to pass. But naturally, there were villages along these paths.

The detachment occupied these villages without avoiding them.

The village, which had no guards, was quickly occupied by the detachment. The villagers, believing that the Domorgal army had been defeated, immediately bowed their heads to Raymond.

「Please, take all our food. We will even offer you the young women of the village. But please don’t enslave all the villagers…」

「No, we don’t need food or women. We are in a hurry… Actually, village chief, I want you to come with us.」

Saying this, Raymond only ordered them to raise the flag of King Rosais’ Country instead of King Domorgal’s Country’s and quickly departed, taking only the village chief with him. The villagers could only stare blankly as the cavalry left.

「Was that okay? Couldn’t we at least have burned it down?」

Mutzio asked Raymond.

Raymond shook his head.

「No, there’s no need for that. All the food in this area is gathered in Dress Village. What’s left in the village is only the bare minimum the villagers need to survive. Burning that won’t cause significant damage to an army of twenty thousand. It’s better to show that our army will not do anything to them if they don’t resist. Right, Mr. Village Chief?」

Raymond smiled at the village chief, who was seated in the horse-drawn carriage, causing the chief to shiver involuntarily.

There was also the fact that they didn’t have the leisure to walk around taking slaves, nor the time to kill peasants.

The detachment continued to raid villages, only raising King Rosais’ Country’s flag before leaving and abducting the village chiefs.

For villages that showed the will to resist, they sent the abducted village chiefs to negotiate a bloodless surrender. By noon that day, they had arrived at Dress Village.

◇

「What is going on? There’s no information about the main force being annihilated! Where did the enemy troops come from?」

「No… we have no idea…」

「So, what? Did they teleport here using magic? That’s impossible!」

The captain of the Dress Village garrison yelled.

The captain’s frustration was understandable. It wasn’t surprising to be confused when an unreported enemy force of five hundred appeared out of nowhere.

「So, the enemy is all cavalry?」

「Yes, that seems to be the case.」

「Then close the gates and defend them firmly! We only have three hundred infantrymen. We can’t stand against cavalry. Hey, order the magicians to send out the hawks! We need to request reinforcements immediately.」

Dress Village was a very strong fortress, constructed from a combination of stone and timber, with high walls.

With the wooden gates reinforced by multiple layers of wood and a physical barrier cast by several magicians, breaking through them would not be easy.

◇

「So, how do you plan to break through?」

「We’ll use the ballistae. Remember, we assembled them last night?」

The separate detachment had brought four ballistae with them, or rather, their components, which they had assembled the previous night. After assembling them on the plains, they transported them by cart.

The projectiles were, of course, blast javelins.

「If the ballistae don’t bring it down, we’ll have no choice but to use a battering ram. We can probably make one from nearby trees. But first, before we destroy the gates with the ballistae…」

Raymond paused for a moment.

「Shall we start with a demand for surrender? Village chiefs, please help us convince your fellow countrymen.」

Raymond said, smiling warmly. The village chiefs headed towards the garrison commander.

◇

「「I apologize profusely!」 」

The village chiefs first prostrated himself and apologized to the garrison commander.

「There’s nothing you can do. Your villages have no soldiers. So, you’ve come to offer a surrender demand?」

The garrison commander spoke, and the village chiefs, trembling, nodded.

「The Domorgal army will surely come to our aid once they realize something is amiss. We intend to resist until they arrive. Tell them that it is they who should surrender.」

The village chiefs hurried back to the Rosais army.

◇

「Hmm. Well, it can’t be helped.」

「Finally, a battle.」

Mutzio said, picking up a bow, looking pleased.

The separate detachment faced its first battle.

「Ballistae setup complete! Firing in five seconds. Four, three, two, one, fire!!」

As Roswald shouted, the ballistae shot the blast javelins, hitting the wooden gate. The javelins deeply embed themselves into the gate before exploding.

The gate suffered repeated damage from the blast javelins. Since these blast javelins were designed to explode after embedding themselves, they were highly effective at breaching the gate.

「Charge!!」

The Rosais army flowed through the broken gate.

The battle was quickly resolved. The enemy, who was prepared to fight a siege, was overwhelmed by the sudden flames, smoke, noise, and cavalry, and the soldiers were quickly either slain or captured without being able to mount a significant resistance.

The last to resist was the captain of the garrison but outnumbered, he was swiftly captured. The magicians attempted to send out hawks with the news but were quickly restrained. Now, they couldn’t send any messages; if they tried, their empty bodies would be destroyed immediately.

Death of the body means the soul cannot return. For the people of the Adernian peninsula, dying without being able to return to the earth was a terrifying prospect.

Following the village chiefs’ pleas, the villagers of Dress Village were captured without resistance by the separate detachment.

◇

Raymond gathered the villagers and the captured hundred enemy soldiers to make a declaration.

「We only have business with King Domorgal and his subordinates, who are attempting to invade our country. Therefore, we do not intend to kill the villagers. Instead, you must tell us the locations of all the food stores in the supply base. Rest assured; we will leave just enough food for you to survive.」

The villagers cheered with joy. For them, as long as they had enough food to live, there was no problem.

Then he addressed the hundred soldiers.

「Normally, we would have to kill you. But you have families, don’t you? Therefore, we will not kill you. Instead, I want you to convey a message. Our aim is only the Domorgal army. If you do not resist, we will spare the villagers.」

After saying that, Raymond had the soldiers disarm and released them.

There were three reasons for releasing them.

First, it would be a waste of time to kill everyone. If they attempted to kill them all, the soldiers would obviously struggle. Second, if they killed everyone, the resistance of the Domorgal army would intensify in the future, and the desire for revenge would boost the enemy’s morale. Conversely, if the enemy knew that surrendering would save their lives, the rest of the operation would proceed smoothly. Third, taking prisoners and transporting them would slow down their marching speed, so it was not feasible.

◇

「Oh, there are horses. Hmm, not bad. Alright, let’s take them. Horses won’t be a nuisance!」

Mutzio and his men started to distribute the spoils of war. The Domorgal army’s equipment was especially popular.

Seventy percent of the Domorgal army’s arrows had iron arrowheads. For Mutzio and his soldiers, who were using stone arrowheads, this was a treasure trove.

Raymond watched the Equus Tribe looting from a distance. Iron equipment was heavy, so it couldn’t be carried around.

Moreover, there was no need to collect it now since a large amount of iron equipment would be obtained when the main force pursued the enemy’s main force. With some free time, Raymond approached Soyon, who was nearby.

「You’re originally from King Domorgal’s Country, aren’t you? Where were you born?」

「I was born in this village.」

「Oh, so you are from this village… eh?」

Raymond was taken aback and asked again. Soyon smiled softly.

「I used to live here, in this village. My family ran a farm, quite a large one actually, with slaves and several cattle.」

「Is that so…」

Raymond responded, feeling a bit uncomfortable, sensing a somber tone in her story. He tried to change the subject, but Soyon continued without pause.

「But then my mother died of a plague… and my father was conscripted into the army and died. After that, all our property was taken by our relatives…」

「Sorry, that’s enough.」

Raymond cut off the conversation abruptly. Soyon looked puzzled.

「Is that okay? There’s more to the story. I was going to tell you about the happy chapter where I meet Ron-kun and argue with him while our love grows, and the sad chapter where Ron-kun’s father dies of a plague, and we both get sent to live with Ron-kun’s relatives. Then there’s the new hope chapter where we’re abandoned in the forest due to the widespread famine, only to be saved by Griffon-sama and then helped by Almus-san.」

「No, really, I’ve heard enough…」

Raymond, while slightly curious, disliked grim stories, so he refused to hear any more of Soyon’s life story.

「Is that so? That’s too bad. But don’t worry, I’ve been to the city of Blouse many times with my father to pay taxes. I remember the way!」

◇

「Is this the last food storage?」

Roswald asked, and the villager nodded. Roswald commanded Vilgar to set up black powder and oil.

Once ignited, the fire started to burn fiercely. Observing the smoke in the distance, curious villagers from neighboring villages would likely come to investigate. They would then head to the checkpoints close to their villages, from where couriers would be dispatched. However, by the time the courier arrived and enemy reinforcements came, they would no longer be in the area.

「It’s a waste… With that much wheat, you could feed tens of thousands of people.」

「It’s just heavy. Besides, we need to make room for something much better.」

「What’s that better thing? Stop holding out and tell us, captain.」

Vilgar’s words made Roswald scratch his head in confusion.

「Huh? Didn’t I mention our final objective?」

「You said it would be a surprise and didn’t tell us!」

At Vilgar’s exclamation, the other members nodded in agreement. Roswald laughed it off while scratching his head.

「Ahaha, sorry about that. Our target this time is the town of Blouse, the capital of the Blouse Family, a powerful patrician family… In other words, the town that controls the garnet mines.」