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Vol 05 Chapter 165: The Third Southern Expedition I

The countries of Rosais and Lezado estimated that the war would commence in March.

Both countries began their preparations for the war set to start in two months. Lezado started recruiting mercenaries, while Rosais focused on training its soldiers.

Besides direct war potential, the two countries also started diplomatic maneuvers.

A struggle began between Rosais and Lezado to win the city-states situated between them.

Lezado tried to lure them with economic benefits, while Rosais applied military pressure.

As a result of the intense diplomatic battle between the two countries, many of the city-states sided with Rosais.

It was not because King Rosais’ Country was just. The small city-states yielded to its military power.

The military threat of King Rosais’ Country outweighed the economic benefits offered by Lezado.

The reason for this lay in Lezado’s economic decline. In recent years, Lezado had continued to grow its economic power and national strength.

This was because it had been the first to engage in the distribution of paper and distilled liquor produced by King Rosais’ Country.

Lezado had sold these goods through maritime trade and had profited.

Therefore, it was inevitable that Lezado would economically decline once it became hostile to the origin of the products that had enriched it.

When the money runs out, so does the connection. There was no need to continue associating with Lezado at the risk of angering a military powerhouse like King Rosais’ Country.

Furthermore, the way King Rosais’ Country governed the city-states it invaded also played in its favor.

If they surrendered early, they were treated as autonomous cities. The treatment of an autonomous city included full autonomy except for diplomatic and military rights.

In other words, there was no economic loss.

The problem was that with diplomatic and military rights being held by another, the security of their own country was left to an outsider, but…

That was nothing new.

From the start, the security of small countries like them was nearly nonexistent. Rather than fighting among themselves, it would be more economical for them to fall under the protection of a military power like King Rosais’ Country…

This was one way to think about it.

But the most significant factor was Lezado’s handling of the pro-Rosais councilors defection incident.

This incident exposed Lezado to the world, revealing the coup that occurred internally and the incompetence of the coup regime.

The small city-states, seeing Lezado’s lack of leadership, shifted their allegiance to King Rosais’ Country, which had a young and capable king named Almus.

However, it wasn’t all one-sided for Lezado. Besides Lezado, two other big city-states controlled the South of the Southern Adernian Peninsula, Gehenna and Nemes. Lezado asked for the two cities’ help and succeeded in getting the help of Nemes.

Seeing King Rosais’ Country as a threat, Nemes aligned with Lezado.

That was Lezado’s only success. Gehenna declared neutrality and made clear its favorability towards King Rosais’ Country.

The tyrant of Gehenna, Abraham, was the maternal grandfather of Tetra Aris, one of King Almus’s concubines. King Almus wouldn’t mistreat his own grandfather-in-law.

Abraham judged that it would be far more beneficial to maintain friendly relations with King Rosais’ Country rather than to oppose it.

However, the tyrant of Gehenna, Abraham, was a cunning man. Using the movements of the Alvans in the north of Gehenna, the Lupus and Aries tribes as an excuse, he refused King Rosais’ Country’s request for reinforcements.

He probably judged that it would be safer and more rewarding to finish off an injured sheep than to hunt a healthy one. For Lezado, this could be considered a blessing in disguise.

Most of the northern Adernian countries sided with King Rosais’ Country.

King Evile’s Country, King Belvedire’s Country, and the Equus Tribe even declared that they would send reinforcements.

The only ones which showed reticence were King Faldam’s Country and King Gilbed’s Country. They feared the increasing power of King Rosais’ Country and the growing influence that came with it.

In the end, however, they declared neutrality.

The Anti-Gallia Alliance could not exist without King Rosais’ Country. Since they didn’t share a border, any condemnation statement would have little effect.

Furthermore, both countries had little to do with the southern Kirisian states.

Even if the southern Kirisian states came under the control of King Rosais’ Country, the direct impact on them would be minimal.

Thus, they made their decision.

The only country to issue a condemnation statement against King Rosais’ Country was King Zoldias’ Country. However, that was all they did.

They did not take any military action.

The Rozel Kingdom remained silent. They were too busy quelling internal unrest in the north to be concerned with the situation in the South of the Adernian Peninsula.

Both countries continued their preparations and March arrived.

◇

From the balcony of the castle, I looked down at the soldiers gathered below.

To my right stood Bartolo, Raymond, Iarl, and other vassals. To my left stood the general of King Domorgal’s Country, Tonino, and Mutzio chieftain of the Equus Tribe, along with various kings and generals from other countries.

The assembled forces, counting heavy infantry only:

Thirty thousand from King Rosais’ Country (mainland only).

Two thousand from King Evile’s Country.

One thousand from King Belvedire’s Country.

Two thousand from King Domorgal’s Country.

And lastly, five thousand from our country’s allied cities and autonomous cities, and the city-states scattered along the border with Lezado.

In total, forty thousand.

Additionally, King Rosais’ Country mobilized twelve hundred cavalry (two hundred equites conscripted from the patrician families and a thousand members of the praetorian cohort), and the Equus Tribe provided another thousand cavalry.

With the cavalry from the other countries combined, there were three thousand in total.

Bringing the grand total to forty-three thousand.

I’m surprised we managed to gather such a force.

「Bartolo, how many soldiers do you think the enemy will be able to gather?」

「Lezado relies on mercenaries. They won’t be able to gather a significant force. Moreover, mercenaries don’t join losing battles… Even with Nemes, they’ll barely muster around twenty thousand.」

In other words, we have twice their numbers. If we clash head-on, we will win.

The problem is the enemy general, Alexios, but… That won’t be an issue.

I sent Alexios a flood of gifts and letters. Lezado will doubt Alexios loyalty and likely keep him off the battlefield.

The outcome of a war is often decided before the battle begins.

My victory is assured.

「Now, let’s go. We will crush Lezado!」

◇

「How many times do I have to tell you! The enemy is a large force. Even if they have to take the longer route, avoiding the forest, they will take the wide roads!!」

The one making this assertion was a general from Nemes. He led ten thousand troops from Nemes.

The main force of Nemes was the typical Kirisian army consisting mainly of heavily armed hoplites. But these were no ordinary hoplites.

They had reduced the size of their shields and lightened their armor while increasing the length of their spears. In Almus’s world, their formation was similar to the Macedonian phalanx.

However, they were not as lightly armored as the Macedonian phalanx, nor were their spears as long. It was something between the Macedonian and Greek phalanx.

「We can’t be certain they will pick the longer route, the road facing the forest is narrow, but it’s also beside a river. It’s a place where they won’t struggle to acquire firewood or water. There are no city-states around here. Considering supply lines and marching speed, this route is perfectly valid.」

The Gallian mercenary captain hired by Lezado in place of Alexios argued while pointing to the map.

The disagreement between the two was about which route the Rosais army would take. There were many city-states between King Rosais’ Country and Lezado, but almost all of them supported Rosais.

Only a few small city-states at the southern end supported Lezado.

For Lezado, these small city-states were their only stronghold. Hence, they had to set their defensive line before them.

Ideally, Lezado, with its inferior forces, should opt for a siege battle. However, if they chose to besiege within Lezado itself, they would lose control of all the city-states north of Lezado to King Rosais’ Country.

On the other hand, the small city-states allied with Lezado would not agree to a siege, and their walls were too low to sustain a battle.

Thus, they had to settle it with a field battle.

The critical issue was the location of the battlefield.

The initiative lay with the attacking King Rosais’ Country.

Therefore, the defending side had to determine which route the enemy would take.

In this area, a large river ran through the landscape, with a forest spreading out on the other side. There were two potential routes for the Rosais’ army: a wide western road that bypassed the forest, and a relatively narrow eastern road that cut through the forest alongside the river.

The Rosais army could choose either of these routes for their advance.

The uncertainty lay in not knowing which route they would choose.

Adjusting the defensive line either further back or forward would resolve this issue, but politically, that was impossible.

They had to choose one route to defend.

「It has to be this one!」

「No, this is the right choice.」

「Shut up, you barbarian!」

「What! Do you know how many years I’ve fought in Gallia? You pampered noble!」

The argument between the mercenary captain and the general escalated. If this continued, they wouldn’t be able to take action.

The councilor sent from Lezado began to worry.

Delays and indecision had put them on the back foot repeatedly, and they couldn’t afford to make the same mistake again.

「Well, how about this? Captain, you lead the Gallian troops to defend the eastern route. General, you lead Nemes’ hoplites to defend the western route. We can establish a base at the junction of the eastern and western routes for mutual communication. This way, we can respond quickly!」

Upon hearing the delegate’s suggestion, the mercenary captain and the general looked at each other.

「We have no choice. Let’s go with that plan.」

「Ultimately, only King Almus knows which route they’ll take.」

Thus, the military council concluded. Whether this strategy would prove successful or not…

No one could say for sure.

However, there was someone who could predict the result.

◇

「Well, this is quite terrible…」

Alexios let out a sigh of exasperation as he looked at the map detailing Lezado’s troop deployment.

There were suspicions of Alexios being a traitor, though no evidence existed. As a result, he was placed under house arrest.

Ordinarily, Alexios should never have been able to see the map of Lezado’s deployment.

But the councilors of Lezado were not united.

One of the councilors, worried after hearing about the deployment, sought Alexios’ opinion.

「Is this… really a poor strategy?」

「Of course it is. We’re already at a numerical disadvantage, and now they’re dividing our forces. This is sheer mismanagement… Are those commanding the strategy even military personnel? Even an amateur with basic knowledge of tactics knows that dispersing forces is a bad idea.」

Alexios shrugged, as if to say ‘good grief’.

「Which route do you think they’ll take, Alexios?」

「Me? Well… I’d say the wide western road. A large force benefits from a wider path, and there’s no rush. However, there’s a good chance they might take the eastern road to throw us off.」

「Then what should we do?」

Alexios smiled broadly at the asking councilor. He took a sip of his tea and placed the cup back on the table before answering.

「The entire strategy is flawed. Offensively, the attacker has the advantage in war because they can choose the battlefield. We have already lost diplomatically. To overturn this defeat, merely defending won’t be enough. We need to go on the offensive.」

「But if we push the front lines any further, we’ll be in enemy territory.」

「Enemy territory, huh? Are you sure about that? The city-states haven’t sworn loyalty to King Almus. They’ve only yielded to his military pressure. If we show our strength, some of these city-states might cooperate with us.」

Many city-states were filled with anxiety. Isn’t King Almus’s gentle rule only because of the threat posed by Lezado? Once his dominance is assured, won’t he flip his stance?

What happens if the king changes his mind? Even if King Almus was a good ruler, what about his successor? Could they trust a crown prince who hadn’t even been born?

Lezado had lost credibility, but that didn’t mean King Rosais’ Country had gained trust.

What these city-states truly desired was for the military and political balance to be maintained between the two great powers, Rosais and Lezado.

Thus, if Lezado demonstrated strength, even if no open support was given, there could be covert assistance such as guidance on terrain or supplies.

「Well, I think opposing King Rosais’ Country in the first place was a political mistake. It’s not easy to rectify a political blunder through war… The question is, can Lezado weather this storm?」

Alexios shrugged as if all was someone else’s problem.