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Vol 05 Chapter 168: The Third Southern Campaign IV

General Kepka Barca of the Pofenia Republic was the younger brother of the head of the prestigious military family, the Barca Family.

Originally, Kepka Barca’s objective was the island of Triskelia. The island of Triskelia was located between the Adernian Peninsula and the southern continent, serving as a strategic point that separates the Western Tethys Sea and the Eastern Tethys Sea.

With its warm climate, the island of Triskelia was one of the major granaries of the Tethys Sea.

Naturally, the Pofenians were not the only ones eyeing this fertile land. The island had long been settled by the Kirisians as well, and Pofenian and Kirisian colonial cities had been vying for power day and night.

However, with the outcome of the Third Kirisia-Persis War, where most of the Kirisian main polis were conquered by the Persis Empire, the situation began to change rapidly.

Having lost the powerful backing of their suzerains, the Kirisian colonial cities were gradually conquered by Pofenia, and now about two-thirds had already fallen into Pofenian hands.

Nonetheless, Kirisian resistance remained strong. Especially on the Adernian Peninsula, the Kirisian forces were troublesome, and their naval power couldn’t be underestimated.

They had rapidly increased their national power by monopolizing the trade of new commodities such as paper, distilled liquor, and narcotics. For the Kirisian cities in the southern Adernian Peninsula, the entire island of Triskelia falling into Pofenian hands would be equivalent to a bridge being built between the southern continent and the Adernian Peninsula.

Therefore, the cities of the southern Adernian Peninsula had been continuously supporting the Kirisian cities on the island of Triskelia.

Continuing with these skirmishes was not getting anywhere.

Thus, Kepka Barca requested permission for a large-scale expedition to the island of Triskelia from the Pofenian Senate.

The Senate, likely buoyed by the results of the Third Kirisia-Persis War, quickly approved this major undertaking.

Kepka Barca was granted enormous funds, the right to use warships and merchant ships, and military command authority.

What was provided was not soldiers but funds… this was due to the Pofenia Republic military system, Pofenia did not maintain a standing army nor employ conscription. The military system of the Pofenia Republic was based on mercenaries.

Sometimes they would hire local bandits or unruly individuals, other times they would engage ‘war contractors’ who roamed various battlefields with their private armies numbering in the hundreds, and in some cases, they would even hire the entire army of a neighboring country along with its king.

The mercenary system had both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages were that it was cost-effective and even if they lost, it did not directly lead to a decline in Pofenia’s national power.

Money was only needed to maintain the soldiers when they were active. Thus, it was possible to temporarily create a large army.

Additionally, since mercenaries were foreigners, even if they died, it did not diminish Pofenia’s productive capacity.

The disadvantages included the poor conduct of the mercenaries and the high level of skill required from the general who led them.

For example, suppose there is Area A, which is strategically less important but rich, and Area B, which is strategically more important but poor. Ordinarily, priority should be given to Area B.

Area A can be captured after securing victory in Area B.

However, Pofenia tended to prioritize Area A. This was because mercenaries preferred to loot in Area A.

When tens of thousands of soldiers demanded to loot Area A, the employer could not easily refuse. Thus, there were frequent sudden changes in strategy, leading to missed opportunities for victory more than once or twice.

To control mercenaries, high leadership skills were required.

Returning to the main topic. After arriving on the island of Triskelia, Kepka Barca launched a large-scale recruitment of mercenaries.

He recruited local Pofenians and Kirisians on the island of Triskelia (not everyone possesses patriotism), Adernians, and the indigenous people of Triskelia.

Renowned mercenary groups from Gallia and Germanis. Mercenaries who became unemployed after the Third Kirisia-Pofenia War. Archers from the island of Croto, slingers from the Bolfa Islands, cavalry from the Novia region, and other famous mercenaries from various places along the Tethys Sea coast.

He hired them en masse with the promise of money and post-victory looting. For mercenaries, the wealth obtained from looting was more important than the payment from the employer.

It was common for employers to default on payment, and even if they did pay, it was usually not much. However, the wealth that could be obtained from looting… luck played a part, but sometimes it was enough to live in comfort for a lifetime.

Especially in a rich place like the island of Triskelia.

The recruitment of mercenaries quickly exceeded the quota. In the end, more than 40,000 mercenaries flocked to fill the 20,000 slots.

Kepka carefully selected the mercenaries, hiring only 20,000 soldiers.

Twenty thousand soldiers were sufficient for the conquest of the island of Triskelia. Kepka steadily continued his preparations.

However, the situation changed drastically over the past year. The relationship between a monarchical state of the Adernian Peninsula and the Kirisian city-state of Lezado deteriorated rapidly.

The two countries began skirmishing.

Kepka urgently revised his plans and recruited additional mercenaries. He gathered an additional 20,000 soldiers.

He changed his target to the southern part of the Adernian Peninsula. If he could conquer or even just loot the cities in the southern Adernian Peninsula, his dominance over the island of Triskelia would be assured.

He undertook a bold military action.

Thus, the situation began to move in Kepka’s favor. The monarchical state of the Adernian Peninsula and Lezado started fighting.

Kepka crossed over to the Adernian Peninsula with his warships.

◇

「The forces of Lezado are zero. King Rosais’ Country has forty thousand, and our army has thirty thousand. It seems we must deal with King Rosais’ Country first.」

Kepka muttered while sipping wine. It wasn’t normal wine, but distilled liquor, a product of King Rosais’ Country.  He took small sips of the distilled liquor while thinking that, for barbarians, King Rosais’ Country made good wine.

In high spirits, Kepka spread out the map.

「The sea is blocked. According to the spies’ reports, most of Lezado’s council members have fled the country. Lezado is no longer a threat.」

「Perhaps thirty thousand soldiers were too many.」

Kepka reconsidered.

Currently, Kepka had forty thousand soldiers at his disposal. He left ten thousand to defend the island of Triskelia and led thirty thousand to land on the Adernian Peninsula.

「If we win this… it will help Searl-niisan.」

The current head of the Barca family was Searl Barca. Kepka and Searl were very close brothers. They were also rivals who acknowledged each other’s abilities.

「General Kepka, a letter from King Almus of King Rosais’ Country has arrived.」

「Oh, that was a quick reply.」

Kepka had sent a letter to Almus, the king of the barbarians on the Adernian Peninsula. He proposed to divide Lezado between them.

The Adernians could not use the port. Therefore, Kepka suggested that Pofenia would take the ports and coastal areas of Lezado, while the inland areas would be divided with Almus.

Kepka opened the letter. Surprisingly, it was written in beautiful Kirisian, declaring war.

「Seriously… this is why dealing with barbarians is such a hassle…」

The wealth of Lezado stemmed from trade. Hence, the prosperous areas were the coastal and port regions, while the tax revenue from the inland areas couldn’t be highly anticipated.

Kepka’s proposal was akin to saying,

「I’ll eat the apple, and you can have the peel and the core.」

It was natural for it to be rejected.

Well, in the first place, Kepka never had any intention of conceding anything to Almus. And Almus had no intention of conceding to Kepka either.

This exchange of letters was merely a ceremonial act.

「Now, let’s conquer Lezado before King Almus does… We’ll make him regret rejecting our generous proposal. Prepare yourselves barbarians.」

◇

「Your Majesty, a letter from General Kepka Barca has arrived.」

「Show me.」

I read the letter from Kepka Barca, a general of Pofenia. It stated that they accepted our declaration of war.

「Well, given his arrogant demands, he never intended to divide the land with us in the first place.」

Well, I had no such intentions either.

「Bartolo, can we win?」

I asked Bartolo. As we hurried our advance towards Lezado, I had also tasked Bartolo with investigating the composition and numbers of the Pofenian army.

Pofenia was an unknown enemy to us. Their culture, religion, and way of fighting were all unfamiliar to us.

「Their number is thirty thousand, primarily mercenaries. The troublesome part is that they have as many as seven thousand cavalry. Don’t worry, Your Majesty has me.」

Bartolo said with a grin.

In other words, there is a chance of victory.

「The problem is Lezado. The way we fight will depend on whether Lezado surrenders to us or Pofenia.」

I would prefer if Lezado joined our side…

「Your Majesty! A letter has arrived from Lezado!」

「Is that true?」

Perfect timing.

I suppressed my excitement and opened the letter from Lezado.

…Hmm.

「They are requesting that we prevent looting by Pofenia in exchange for their unconditional surrender.」

「That’s troublesome. Even if we head to Lezado now, it will take at least three days at best. On the other hand, Pofenia is within a day’s reach. The question is whether Lezado can hold out.」

According to the letter, Lezado has no remaining soldiers. Even though they have walls, can they really withstand an army of over thirty thousand?

「Well, Alexios Barca is in Lezado, so they should be able to hold out for a while… Let’s hurry.」

◇

「Hmm… This is problematic.」

Abraham, the tyrant of Gehenna was troubled.

Pofenia suddenly changed its target and advanced toward the Adernian Peninsula.

The army of Pofenia, while not entirely under civilian control, was heavily influenced by the Senate. Since they relied on mercenaries, they put a lot of effort into controlling their military forces.

Thus, deviating significantly from the strategy decided by the Senate was prohibited.

According to the information Abraham had gathered, Pofenia’s strategic goal was the island of Triskelia, not the Adernian Peninsula.

「How is Kepka Barca going to explain his actions to the Senate? Is he going to claim that conquering the Adernian Peninsula, which serves as a rear base for Triskelia, is a tactical decision…? To do this while we are in the middle of the Nemes campaign… Damn Pofenians!」

Abraham was in a dilemma, should he continue attacking Nemes or stop and prepare to intercept Pofenia?

Between Nemes and Pofenia, Pofenia was a far greater threat.

A temporary truce here would be desirable. No, without it, Pofenia would seize everything.

「Damn it… I’ll send a letter of apology to King Almus and propose a truce, then return to the Gehenna.」

Pofenia’s navy was a significant threat. If he didn’t mobilize the Gehenna navy soon, they risked a naval blockade.

「Damn, the timing is really infuriating.」

Abraham muttered, scratching his head in frustration.

◇

Thus, Nemes and Gehenna hurriedly concluded a truce. Both countries organized their navies to counter the threat from Pofenia and sought a meeting with King Almus.