3 bar menu

Vol 03 Chapter 106: Silver Tongue

Currently, our military strength stands at seven thousand soldiers. It’s impossible to further increase this number. To this, the Equus cavalry of two hundred, brought by Mutzio, will be added. In the Equus tribe, even women and children can be counted as warriors if they can handle a bow; hence, this figure.

The military forces of King Evile’s Country and King Belvedire’s Country are each five thousand, making a total of ten thousand. Redus of the Equus tribe is crossing the mountains with three thousand cavalry.

Meanwhile, in King Domorgal’s Country, Bartolo’s eleven thousand are being besieged by an enemy force of just under nine thousand.

Now, where should we start?

「My king! A letter from the three Kirisian cities has arrived.」

A messenger handed me the letter. It seems that the three countries have held a conference and decided to support our country jointly.

• Lezado and Nemes will each strike King Belvedire’s Country from behind with a thousand troops, totaling two thousand.
• Nemes will assist with supplies such as provisions.
• Furthermore, they are willing to lend military funds if requested by King Rosais’ Country.

When one door closes, another opens, it seems. I’m especially grateful for the military funds…

To be honest, our country’s finances are in dire straits. It’s quite bad. Moreover, we’ve decided to cut taxes starting next year…

I don’t want to think about after the war…

At any rate, being able to take a loan is a good thing. As long as we can keep borrowing, our finances won’t go bankrupt. Bankruptcy happens when you can’t gather funds anymore. As long as we can borrow, we still have room to maneuver.

…There’s nothing more troublesome than borrowing from another country, but… Let’s follow Caesar’s example1 and borrow so much it bothers the lender.

But now the plan is decided.

「Gentlemen, King Belvedire’s Country’s invasion will be held in check by Lezado and Gehenna. We will also send a thousand troops towards King Belvedire’s Country and use delaying tactics to buy time.」

The problem is King Zoldias’ Country… What should we do about that? For now, I’ve asked Iarl to meet with King Zoldias and try to keep King Evile’s Country distracted.

「My king! A letter from Iarl-dono has arrived!」

「That was quick!」

I snatched the letter and immediately read through it.

◇

「Hmm…」

Iarl was reviewing the orders that came from Almus.

He already knew about the encirclement from King Zoldias. Right after being told by King Zoldias that it might be better for him to return to his country.

「What does it say?」

The magician who came with Iarl to maintain communication, asked. Iarl handed the letter to the magician.

「If you read it, you’ll understand… it essentially says to continue meeting with King Zoldias as usual, and to make King Evile wary of our relations with King Zoldias. I was also ordered to form an alliance with King Zoldias if possible.」

Iarl organized his thoughts while explaining.

Firstly, an alliance is impossible. I know this from the many discussions I’ve had with King Zoldias so far. That king perceives our country as the same as King Gilbed’s Country, a danger for his realm.

His intuition was spot on. If King Rosais’ Country were to annex King Evile’s Country, it was clear as day that King Zoldias’ Country would be next on the list.

However, it was also true that King Evile’s Country posed a threat to King Zoldias’ Country.

If King Evile’s Country, grew by annexing the territory of King Rosais Country, the next to be attacked would be King Zoldias’ Country.

「Alright, let’s go.」

Iarl headed towards King Zoldias’ palace.

◇

「Iarl Claudius, is it? What brings you to my presence? Did you came to report you are going back to your homeland?」

「No, there’s nothing I can do even if I return.」

Besides, how am I supposed to return? To get from King Zoldias’ Country to King Rosais’ Country, one must pass through King Evile’s Country territory. I can’t return even if I want.

「Let me make this clear from the start. I will not accept an alliance. I prefer not to have a powerful country as a neighbor. Adernia is better off small and divided.」

King Zoldias bluntly told Iarl.

King Zoldias, was currently twenty-five years old. Though short in stature, his build was solid, befitting a king of a mountainous people whose lands were mostly mountains.

Perhaps due to his youth, or maybe due to his personality, he spoke his mind straightforwardly, without reservation.

「I certainly do not hope for reinforcements. Our country will prevail on its own.」

「Oh?」

King Zoldias narrowed his eyes. He became interested in Iarl, who spoke confidently despite his homeland being in a critical situation.

「It doesn’t seem to me that your country has such leeway.」

「Are you aware of our weapon called the blast javelin? King Rosais is also an inventor. We have various other weapons as well.」

That was a lie. At least, Iarl was unaware of the existence of such weapons.

Nevertheless, the blast javelin was a weapon that no country had thought of before, and still, no country fully understood its principles. Therefore, Iarl’s statement could be true. It had enough persuasive power to make one think so.

「What I am expecting is for King Zoldias’ Country to strike King Evile’s Country.」

「But that’s why I am not sending troops…」

「I am not asking for reinforcements now. I am only asking you to move your forces after King Evile’s Country loses to ours.」

Iarl started talking under the assumption that King Rosais’ Country would win. King Zoldias was unable to read Iarl’s intentions.

If they win, they could simply roll into King Evile’s Country. There would be no need for King Zoldias’ Country’s help.

Iarl’s proposal meant King Zoldias’ Country would scavenge part of King Rosais’ Country’s prey. It seemed there was no benefit for King Rosais’ Country.

「Defeating King Evile’s Country is easy. However, taking its capital would be a tough job. It wouldn’t be a big deal in a one-on-one fight, but we are currently engaged in conflicts with multiple countries, so we can’t afford to spend much time. That’s why, after our victory, I suggest King Zoldias sends in his troops. This way, your country could easily acquire territory from King Evile’s Country. Our country could then leave a small defense force and clear up other battle fronts.」

King Zoldias quietly listened to Iarl and watched him as he spoke. Iarl continued to persuade, gauging King Zoldias’ reactions.

「What do you think? As long as you don’t take down King Evile’s Country, you won’t share a border with our country. We don’t have the leeway to absorb King Evile’s Country right now. If King Evile’s Country remains a buffer state between us, there will be no territorial disputes between our countries.」

King Zoldias started calculating in his mind. Iarl’s proposal presented no disadvantages or risks to King Zoldias’ Country.

After all, it only involved striking at a weakened King Evile.

King Zoldias’ Country was a mountainous nation with few fertile lands. Therefore, seizing territory from King Evile’s Country wouldn’t be a bad deal.

After all, at the border between King Evile’s Country and King Zoldias’ Country, there was a basin where a significant amount of wheat could be harvested, acquiring this area would secure prosperity for his country.

King Zoldias, confident in his military might and still a young king, was naturally inclined to be aggressive—a trait common in young leaders across all worlds.

Thus, King Zoldias responded…

「Understood. What are the conditions? You surely don’t intend to offer me the spoils for free. What does your country want from mine? What do you want me to do? I must say, I will not mobilize troops unless your country is victorious.」

「It’s simple. Just one sentence, ‘King Zoldias supports King Rosais’ Country.’ That’s all we ask.」

King Zoldias pondered for a moment.

(Just saying it should be fine, right? There’s no loss in that…)

「Understood. My country supports King Rosais’ Country.」

「Thank you.」

And thus, a secret agreement was struck.

◇

「Alright, that’s the commitment we needed.」

What Iarl really wanted was King Zoldias’ declaration of support. With that, there would be no problems.

「Bring everyone together.」

Iarl gathered his subordinates and the magicians who accompanied him to King Zoldias’ Country. Then Iarl instructed:

「Listen, everyone. Immediately spread the word throughout King Zoldias’ Country that ‘King Zoldias supports King Rosais’ Country.’ This way, King Evile’s spies are bound to hear it. That’s all we need. This is enough to pressure them.」

The rumor Iarl was trying to spread was the truth, so King Zoldias wouldn’t be able to deny it. Despite being a secret agreement, it was a formal arrangement between countries.

The crucial aspect was that the specifics of the ‘support’ were unclear. It could be interpreted merely as personal sentiment, or as support in terms of supplies and military funds, or even as an actual commitment to a rear assault.

King Evile’s Country will become worried and unable to send reinforcements to the army they sent to invade King Rosais’ Country.

This was all Iarl could do.

「Now, shall I contact King Rosais?」

Iarl prepared some paper and ink.

◇

「Excellent! Iarl has secured the support of King Zoldias!」

The patricians became restless. This is a significant development. Even if it was just a declaration, King Zoldias’ declaration threatened King Evile’s Country from behind.

「My king! There has just been movement in the armies of King Evile and King Belvedire! It appears that two thousand from each have returned to their homelands!」

It’s likely that both countries received the news. King Evile’s Country’s troops returned to deal with King Zoldias’ Country, and King Belvedire’s Country’s troops returned to handle the Lezado-Gehenna coalition forces.

This effectively withdrew four thousand troops from the battlefield without a fight. Still, the enemy forces, including the Equus tribe, totaled nine thousand—more than our own.

「Alright, the strategy is set. We’ll defeat them one by one. First, deploy a thousand each to delay Evile and Belvedire’s armies. I will take the remaining five thousand to defeat the Equus Tribe. After crowning Mutzio, we will lead the Equus reinforcements to flank Belvedire with the Lezado-Gehenna coalition. Then, together with the coalition, we’ll strike down King Evile’s Country before heading to assist Bartolo. Does anyone have objections?」

No one raised their hand. This meant there were no complaints.

「Then let’s take a vote!」

Thus, the counter-encirclement strategy was successfully passed.

TN1: Julius Caesar is known for his many great deeds and his political and military acumen, but when he was alive he was even more known for his enormous debts. He began taking loans since the beginning of his career to pay for lavish games to gain the populace’s favor, and continued to take big loans all his life. His conquest of Gallia is said to have been partly motivated by his need to gain funds to pay his creditors. At one point, his debt reached 25 million sesterces which would be (very, very roughly) around one billion dollars nowadays.