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Vol 06 Chapter 187: The First Zoldias War & The First Western Subjugation III

「Follow me!!」

Ron kicked his horse’s belly, raised his sword, and chased after the fleeing enemies. Following him, ten thousand soldiers of the Rosais army pursued.

Just south of King Evile’s Country, southeast of King Zoldias’ Country, was a small country… A country in name only, more like a single patrician’s domain. Ron fought against their small army of a thousand and won. The enemy tried to use their knowledge of the land to launch a surprise attack at dawn to annihilate the ten thousand-strong Rosais army. But Ron, using Bartolo’s teachings, set up a strong, fortress-like camp and easily repulsed the attack, turning the tables on them.

「You are the enemy commander, right? Face me in a fair duel!!」

The enemy king, having given up on fleeing, confronted Ron. Of course, there was no need to accept a duel in such an overwhelmingly favorable situation.

However, Ron accepted the duel. He feared it would impact their morale if he didn’t.

「Ron Aemilius!」

「Kishu Manukeros!!」

The swords of the enemy king, who introduced himself as Kishu Manukeros, and Ron crossed. Manukeros’ sword tip danced in the air, and blood stained the ground.

「…Impressive.」

Manukeros sank into a pool of blood. Ron cut off Manukeros’ head and raised it to the sky.

「The enemy commander has been slain by me, Ron Aemilius!!」

Upon learning of their king’s death, the enemy soldiers dropped their shoulders in defeat. The Rosais army ended with about thirty dead and fifty wounded. Manukeros’ army losses amounted to about three hundred dead, four hundred wounded, and three hundred captured.

Thus, one small country on the Adernian Peninsula disappeared from the map.

◇

「The adult men of the Manukeros Family are to be imprisoned. The women and children will be escorted to the capital.」

In the mansion located in the capital of King Manukeros’ Country, a city with a population of three thousand, Ron issued instructions to the soldiers. In war, it is more important to manage the aftermath of a victory than the victory itself.

Normally, tasks like these would be handled by Iarl or Raymond, but King Manukeros’ Country had a population of only about ten thousand. For such a small country, it was unnecessary for the major politicians of King Rosais’ Country to get involved directly. As this was also a good opportunity to give Ron some political experience. Almus entrusted Ron with the post-war handling.

「Ron, what about the local patricians… or rather, the local leaders?」

Gram asked Ron. He rephrased it because their scale was too small to be called patricians.

At best, they were village chiefs.

「Wouldn’t it be better to keep them? It would be more convenient for the officials who will be assigned later.」

Local leaders serve as a bridge between the common citizens and the rulers. It is more useful to preserve them than to kill them.

「Ron, I’ll lead the next one, okay?」

「I know. We decided to take turns.」

Roswald confirmed with Ron. Almus had ordered the three of them to take turns leading the army to ensure they all gained equal achievements and experience.

They had agreed to a three-day rotation.

「How many more countries are allied with King Zoldias’ Country?」

「There are still over thirty. All of them are small countries or minor patrician domains.」

Gram spread out the map and answered Ron’s question. It was clear that the war would have to continue for some time.

At least until King Zoldias’ Country decided to take action.

「Ron Aemilius-sama! An envoy from the Hikekoshi Family has arrived. What shall we do?」

「Let him in.」

The Hikekoshi Family, a patrician family located to the west of here, was the leader of a small country allied with the country led by the Manukeros Family. It was the next target for Ron and his companions.

The envoy bowed deeply to the three of them and expressed their willingness to surrender, depending on the conditions.

「If you recognize the rule of the Hikekoshi Family over our lands, or allow us to join the ranks of King Rosais’ Country nobility, we would be willing to surrender…」

「Sorry, but neither is acceptable. The lands of the Hikekoshi Family will be confiscated, and they will be relocated to the capital as subjects with full subject rights.」

Ron shook his head. It was an obvious decision.

Like the Manukeros Family, the Hikekoshi Family had a total force of about a thousand. There was no need to fear them. The potential future losses of allowing the Hikekoshi Family to continue as patricians or nobles outweighed any immediate gains.

The nobles are valuable when there are few of them. Once they increase too much they become a problem.

「But, this will lead to war!」

「I don’t mind, in fact, it’s exactly what I want.」

Ron replied with a smile.

The envoy was at a loss for words.

The threat of ‘we’ll go to war’ doesn’t work when there is an overwhelming difference in strength. Especially when you are dealing with a predator intent on preying on you from the start.

「Oh, by the way…」

Ron added, pressing the now pale-faced envoy further.

「We are not idle. We don’t have the time to repeatedly listen to your demands. However, we are merciful. If you surrender by tomorrow, we will not touch any of your property other than the lands, and we won’t execute, imprison, or exile the Hikekoshi Family adult men.」

The envoy’s expression turned from pale to ashen white. He quickly turned on his heel and left in a hurry.

「I shall return with an answer.」

「We expect a good response.」

The next day at noon, an envoy from the Hikekoshi Family arrived to convey their surrender.

◇

Meanwhile, Iarl was visiting relatively large patrician domains and small countries which were big enough to call themselves a country. Iarl was tasked with persuading the larger countries, while Ron and the others were responsible for destroying the smaller ones through force.

This was the basic strategy of the Western Subjugation. Unlike the Southern Subjugation, there were no major powers like Lezado that could lead the small countries.

Furthermore, the targets lacked significant economic or military strength, making persuasion even easier than with the Kirisian city-states.

「Mieharis-dono, our country does not shy away from conflict with you. However, war results in casualties. This is something both sides wish to avoid. Senseless conflict should be avoided. We hope for a wise decision from the prudent Mieharis-dono.」

Iarl urged the head of the Mieharis Family, the largest power in the southeastern part of King Zoldias’ Country, to surrender. The Mieharis Family had a total force of four thousand. They were not a significant threat to Ron, Roswald, and Gram who had much better and bigger forces.

What Ron’s group feared was that the surrounding countries would rally under the Mieharis Family. In that case, their numbers could reach ten thousand.

Conversely, if the Mieharis Family surrendered, the difficulty of the Western Subjugation would significantly decrease.

There were only a handful of countries in the western region that had a military force comparable to the Mieharis Family.

「Hmm, I don’t desire conflict either… but it depends on the conditions.」

The head of the Mieharis Family shook his corpulent belly as he stroked his chin pensively. His hand glittered with ornate rings.

Despite their exceptional military strength in the surrounding area, the Mieharis Family had never managed to establish themselves as a true country, primarily due to their obsession with luxury.

For generations, the Mieharis Family had been extremely vain. They loved spending the collected taxes on jewels and fine silk clothing rather than on infrastructure or military expenses. They also imposed heavy taxes to fund their lavish lifestyle, which left their people exhausted and impoverished.

Even now, the head of the family was considering which option would allow for greater indulgence and ostentation.

If Almus were in the position of the Mieharis Family, he would have used King Rosais’ Country’s invasion as an opportunity to unite the surrounding countries and form a real country. In fact, Almus had been using the threat of Rozel and Pofenia to elevate his country’s status.

However, Mieharis was timid. He lacked the courage to confront a major power like Rosais.

「Mieharis-dono, you and your entire family will move to our capital. You will be granted noble status and provided with a sizable estate.」

The choice was clear: to end up as a small local patrician, or to become a noble in a powerful country that was growing stronger by the moment.

「I understand. From now on, the Mieharis Family pledges its loyalty to King Rosais’ Country and joins the ranks of its nobility!」

Thus, the Mieharis Family surrendered to the Rosais Kingdom. As a result, the possibility of the southeastern region of King Zoldias’ Country uniting was completely eliminated.

Three years later, the Mieharis Family would go bankrupt due to debts, losing their estate and everything else, eventually falling to the status of mere plebeians. But this was something unknown to Almus at the time.

◇

A month had passed since the start of the First Western Subjugation. Ron and his companions had eliminated a total of seven countries.

Ron took down three, while Gram and Roswald each took down two. Including the Mieharis Family, a total of eight patrician families had been destroyed in one month.

This was the result of the major power, King Rosais’ Country, entering the region that had previously maintained a balance as a buffer zone between the three countries: Evile, Belvedire, and Zoldias.

The three houses south of the Mieharis Family surrendered unconditionally, so the entire region surrounded by the three countries, Zoldias, Evile, and Rosais, became directly controlled by Almus.

Ron, Roswald, and Gram visited the former Mieharis territory to extend the conquest further south and west. The Mieharis Family’s mansion, as expected of the base of a prominent family, was equipped with adequate defensive facilities.

Ron’s group planned to renovate it and use it as a base for future Western Subjugations.

「Hmm, this land is in terrible shape. The people are emaciated.」

「Many farmlands have been abandoned.」

「The riverbanks are breached and left unrepaired.」

The three of them shared their observations. They stopped a nearby, emaciated farmer and questioned him.

「Hey, how much tax did your lord take?」

「Sixty percent, sir.」

The three of them exchanged glances.

「We’ll have to do something about this later.」

Ron said with a shrug.

When the three arrived at the mansion, Iarl was already waiting for them. He greeted them with a smile.

「Everyone, you must be tired, right? For now, I have prepared a bath and a meal. Would you like to start with the bath, the meal, or perhaps…」

Iarl pulled out a piece of paper.

「Would you like to hear the orders from General Bartolo?」

「The orders!!!」

The three of them shouted in unison.

Iarl handed Bartolo’s directive to Ron. Gram and Roswald leaned in to read over Ron’s shoulder.

「What does it say…」

It read:

‘King Zoldias has moved. There will be a confrontation in three days. Return to the King Evile’s Country immediately.’

Thus, as the First Western Subjugation was coming to a close, so too was the First Zoldias War about to reach its conclusion.