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Vol 04 Chapter 116: Siege Warfare II

「I’m not good at siege warfare…」

General Kuryuu started preparing for the siege, albeit with a wry smile. He ordered the soldiers to construct siege engines.

The material needed to build them, wood, was easily procured so it wasn’t an issue.

「Maybe I should have brought siege engines with me.」

「If you had, you wouldn’t have arrived in time.」

Mari told Kuryuu. The Gallians were a tribe that hunted and gathered in the forest, and thus were skilled in moving and fighting within the woods. However, when it came to constructing using the forest’s wood, they weren’t as adept.

They were clumsy with their hands and easily tired from long hours of work. Such mundane tasks were the specialty of the Adernians.

「However, this castle is quite formidable. A direct attack would cause too much damage.」

「Should we starve them out?」

「That would be ideal. But is King Almus so carefree he would allow us so much time?」

Thanks to Mari’s maneuvers, the armies of three countries—the Equus Tribe, King Evile’s Country, and King Belvedire’s Country— were advancing towards King Rosais’ Country. Defeating these three armies and rescuing their allies would be tough but not impossible.

「But a frontal attack would only increase our casualties… a starvation siege is our only option. We must also consider the risk of being caught between the besieged side and the army sent to rescue them.」

Kuryuu pondered over the situation. Mari, having little to contribute to military strategies, didn’t interrupt him.

「The enemy had little time to prepare. Additionally, thanks to the fear caused by our army looting the villages on our path, many local residents have fled inside the castle walls. Considering these two factors, the food supply inside might last from four to six months… Alright, a siege it is. First…」

Kuryuu sent a courier back to the Rozel Kingdom’s capital to request for large reinforcements. He had brought with him a force of ten thousand elite troops, but when it comes to sieging a castle, numbers were more important than skill.

Sieging with ten thousand troops was not the best strategy. While waiting for reinforcements, he continued preparations for the siege.

「The construction of the siege engines should continue as it is. Those who aren’t skillful enough will dig trenches. Dig like your life depends on it!」

At Kuryuu’s command, a double trench was dug around the castle walls.

The inner trench was made to completely enclose the enemy. The outer trench was prepared in case King Almus’s reinforcements tried to sandwich them.

However, the Gallians weren’t particularly skilled in such technical work. Even if they called it a trench, it was just deep enough that a horse couldn’t jump over it, and the fences they set up were a nuisance at most.

Yet, having these defenses made a significant difference.

By demonstrating to the enemy that they were completely enclosed, it added psychological pressure. Moreover, the fences and trenches could prevent enemy night raids, allowing the soldiers to rest.

「But they’re quite skilled, aren’t they? A normal Gallian would have given up on such construction work, right?」

「Well, we’ve been repeating siege warfare for many years in the northeast of Gallia. Even though our technical skills are low, we can manage to build something decent.」

Kuryuu replied with a wry smile.

「So, we’re not attacking?」

「No, we’ll start the attack as soon as the siege wall is ready and the construction of the trenches is finished. We need to wear the enemy down.」

They didn’t come to build. They came to defeat the enemy.

「So we won’t move to attack for a while?」

「That’s right.」

「Then… how about we kill some time by going hunting?」

◇

「Alright, that’s the fifth one!」

Mari went to retrieve the rabbit she had shot. She gently kicked her horse’s belly to approach the rabbit quickly, dismounted, and picked up the rabbit.

The arrow had struck the rabbit’s head in a single shot, killing it instantly.

「You have it good, being able to die in an instant… So, how are you doing, Kuryuu?」

Mari asked Kuryuu with a grin. Kuryuu, as if to surrender, raised both hands in the air.

「I have no talent with the bow and arrow. I could take down a bear or even a dragon with a sword, but… However, your skill with the bow is remarkable, Balloon-dono.」

「Well, yeah.」

While saying this, Mari drew her bow while on horseback, dashed forward, and aimed into the sky. She pulled the bowstring tight and released the arrow.

After a while, a large bird fell to the grassland.

「Probably the prey of the day. Should we head back soon?」

「Yes, it seems I wouldn’t last many hours against you, Madrid-dono.」

Kuryuu shrugged his shoulders.

「But really, your skill is incredible. Did you learn it from the flat-faced tribe?」

「Yes. For them, such skill is normal. Remember the enemy had Alva cavalry? They are good at mounted archery too, being descendants of the flat-faced tribe. Well, my experience in the archery club also helped…」

「Archery club?」

「Yes. It was just for fun. But I got the basics down there, so it wasn’t too hard. That’s all.」

Mari said and then fell silent.

(I chose the wrong topic…)

Kuryuu regretted the conversation a bit as they headed back to the main camp.

◇

「Ohhhhhh ！！！！！」

「Uaaaaaaaa ！！！！」

In the dead of night, the loud voices of enemy soldiers resounded, and flaming arrows sliced through the air, raining down like shooting stars. These arrows beautifully ablaze, flew over the castle walls and pierced the roofs of the houses within.

The houses in King Domorgal’s Country were made of stone, but due to weight considerations, the roofs were made of wood. Naturally, they would catch fire.

The summers on the Adernian Peninsula are dry, increasing the likelihood of fires. As a result, the residents were collectively engaged in firefighting efforts.

「I’m surprised they don’t get bored of doing the same thing every single night.」

「You guys did the same to us, didn’t you?」

「We did that, didn’t we…」

Tonino and Bartolo exchanged banter while watching the enemy. No enemy soldiers were seen climbing the walls or trying to destroy the gates.

Conducting such actions in the middle of the night would only increase the risk of friendly fire and additional casualties.

Shooting flaming arrows was safer, so the enemy persisted in this tactic every night. One might wonder where they found so much oil—likely, it was olive oil pillaged from the villages close to the capital.

The Adernian Peninsula was known for its abundant production of olives and grapes.

Initially, the soldiers were plagued by sleep deprivation due to fear of nighttime raids, but now, having grown accustomed to this routine over two weeks, they acted more calmly. Soldiers assigned to daytime duties were comfortably asleep in borrowed homes.

「However, the enemy doesn’t seem to be attacking seriously, do they?」

「They are probably waiting for reinforcements. We outnumber them after all.」

Indeed, the besieged allied forces slightly outnumbered the enemy. Yet, a reckless sortie at this stage of the siege would inevitably lead to heavy losses. Moreover, the soldiers morale hadn’t fully recovered.

Some soldiers, after seeing the enormous hairy creatures referred to in prisoner testimonies as ‘elephants’, were so terrified by just the sight of them that they tremble. Knowing this, the enemy purposefully made the elephants trumpet, the strange cries of the beasts lowered the morale of the allied forces even more.

「Well, it’s not all bad. It gives us time to prepare.」

Just as the besieging forces needed time to prepare, so did those under siege.

For instance, the production of arrows and weapons. Arrows were consumable items, and it was natural for weapons to break.

Blacksmiths had been mobilized to produce these in large quantities to ensure supplies could be quickly replenished.

Additionally, materials such as stones and lumber had been prepared in advance to quickly repair any breach in the walls, small stones to be dropped from the walls were collected, and militia were trained. The besieged side had a lot of things to do .

「But there’s one thing that bothers me. The enemy’s reinforcements are slow.」

「The reason remains unknown.」

Bartolo and Tonino had placed magicians outside the castle walls to gather information from the enemy. According to this intelligence, forty thousand enemy troops were heading this way as reinforcements, with the first wave expected to arrive in another two weeks.

Since the siege began two weeks ago, it meant it took a total of four weeks for the enemy reinforcements to arrive from the Rozel Kingdom’s capital.

「Doesn’t that seem strange? While it’s true there’s a distance… General Kuryuu got here in no time. A man like General Kuryuu would have prepared his troops even before arriving in King Domorgal’s Country if he anticipated a siege. And yet…」

「Perhaps there are political reasons. Such baffling situations are usually political. …Thinking about it, I envy you, Bartolo-dono.」

Bartolo took a sip of his wine before responding.

「Our king lets me handle all military matters. I didn’t receive any order for dismissal yet, even after that embarrassing display. It’s easy for us soldiers to work under him… Well, he is basically dumping everything on me too, though.」

Almus was aware of his own lack of military talent, he was at best slightly above average.

Thus, he entrusted military matters entirely to capable generals like Bartolo.

But it was not just military matters. Almus, due to his background, had few connections with the powerful clans.

Therefore, he left all dealings with the patrician families to Raymond.

The right man for the right job, as they say.

「Well, this time might be bad though. I’ve talked big and lost… I’m prepared for the consequences. I hope for leniency, though. Looks like the enemy’s attacks are easing up… I’m going to sleep soon.」

「Understood. I’ll stay up a bit longer.」

Bartolo walked away from the spot and, looking at the stars, muttered to himself.

「I have to make it back alive. At the very least, I need to see my daughter’s wedding… though, I’m not sure I want to.」

Bartolo was reminded of the greatness of the previous king who had calmly celebrated his only daughter’s wedding.

◇

「Kailas-dono, aren’t you a bit late?」

「Hmm, I admit that it took longer than expected. However, considering I’ve come as reinforcements, I find your attitude questionable, Kuryuu-dono. Besides, I had informed you beforehand that there would be a delay.」

Kailas Al Rozel. He was a cousin of the current King of Rozel.

If you were asked what kind of person he was, the answer would be… he came from a good lineage, but his abilities were average. Having average abilities means he could manage the army competently and govern without any trouble. In other words, as long as he didn’t make any significant mistakes, he could advance his career normally.

His problem wasn’t his capabilities; it was his temperament.

He was arrogant, lacked empathy with others, was careless, vain, and loved ostentation.

If he were incompetent, he would be dismissed without mercy, and if he were capable, his faults might be tolerated. But he was just average.

He was a man in a very troublesome position.

「Why were you delayed? Please, explain.」

「You make it sound as if the fault lies with me. As you know, our kingdom is surrounded by formidable enemies like Gilbed, Faldam, the Northeastern Gallian tribes, and the Germanis tribes. It isn’t easy to mobilize the army freely.」

「But didn’t it take longer than usual to gather your forces and arrive here?」

Kuryuu expressed his criticism, and Kailas answered nonchalantly.

「There was no helping it. The resistance from the locals was fierce.」

「That’s what happens when you engage in pointless looting.」

Looting had many advantages. It secured provisions and saved the effort of procuring prostitutes for the troops. More importantly, it helped maintain soldier morale.

However, one must also be prepared for intense resistance.

Therefore, Kuryuu engaged in looting the villages and towns on his path but avoided making detours specifically for looting, as it would negate the advantage of speeding up the march by procuring provisions locally.

The goal was victory in war, and looting was merely one means to that end.

「Whether there’s meaning in it or not is for me, the field commander, to decide… But, Kuryuu-dono, can you prove that my looting was meaningless?」

「…Enough. Ensure such things do not happen again.」

Kuryuu sighed. Pursuing responsibility was futile; executing Kailas was out of the question. King Rozel was lenient with his relatives.

If Kuryuu were to kill Kailas, it would endanger his own life.

As Kailas walked away, Kuryuu called out to him.

「I am the commander of this operation. Do not forget that.」