Territory War (2)
Rodriguez Territory, the Grand Council Chamber.
A rolled map lay spread across the long conference table. Lines of red ink marked the borders; black dotted trails traced the principal fortresses and villages. The Rodriguez territory, the Randolph Duchy, and the broad plains and rugged mountain ranges between them were all laid out in careful detail.
Illys frowned down at the map.
"If House Randolph moves its forces… which routes would they take?"
The Knight Commander answered.
"Aye. The Randolph Duchy surrounds our Rodriguez lands in an L-shape. The west is too mountainous for an easy approach, so that leaves north, east, and south—three main paths."
His calloused finger pressed to the parchment.
"First, the northern route. The road is narrow, but it is the shortest distance from their ducal castle. Midway lies Hinton Castle here, which would make resupply convenient for them."
He swept from the north toward the east.
"Second, the eastern road. Farther from their castle than the north, but the road itself is wide. If they come with infantry-heavy forces, this path is a strong possibility."
"Hmm. I see."
"Third, a long southern detour around the mountains."
"Quite the roundabout way, then?"
"Yes. But we cannot dismiss it. Were I the enemy, I would peel off a small force along that southern bypass first—purpose: a strike from the rear. Then, with staggered timing, I would send the main host north and east at once, and the encirclement would form of its own accord."
"Would House Randolph do that?"
"I cannot say with certainty. With such a disparity in numbers, they may grow arrogant. They may simply pick north or east and drive straight down upon us."
"Is there no way to settle this through diplomacy? If we offered them grain, they might leave us alone."
"That would of course be best. But in the end, we must be ready to hold with our own strength."
Illys's brow tightened.
"Have they ever received the patronage of a Constellation?"
"They have. Two hundred years ago, the present duke's great-grandfather was so favored. That blessing is what has kept the house standing to this day. In particular, the patronage granted awakenings to their knights—so their knightly order remains formidable still."
The Commander lowered his voice.
"Fortunately, the current head of the house has not reached the Master realm. But… five Experts of the highest grade, equal to myself. Folk call them the Five Great Generals."
"Do we have a chance?"
"Frankly, in open-field battle of force against force, it would be hard. Even a knights' duel would leave us at a disadvantage. But we have unlimited grain. If we judge the enemy is coming, we peel off part of our strength to strike their supply lines and keep the rest locked behind our walls. Time would then be our ally—for our food never runs dry."
"Good. Keep a close watch."
"Spies are already in place. We will continue to monitor Randolph's troop movements."
Illys nodded heavily.
In a drought that had stretched into its third year, conflict over food could become the spark of war at any moment.
Studying the map more carefully still, Illys asked on a sudden thought,
"Is there any other route besides the ones you just named? A mountain path, for instance—rougher, but possible?"
"A handful of mages or knights, perhaps. Large infantry formations, no. The reason is supply."
"Supply?"
"Aye. If a war lasts two months, you need two months' grain. The longer the campaign, the more the supply burden swells without end. That requires wagons. The only roads a large force can use are the roads wagons can travel."
"I see. I was thinking too much like a mage. Hmm… but if supply is the heart of it, couldn't we run a somewhat different kind of operation?"
"My lord?"
"If the Constellation provides us grain, we could move without any worry for supply."
"Hah! True enough. Unlimited remote resupply… that would open strategies and tactics history has never seen. From the enemy's perspective, it would feel as though an army had simply dropped out of the sky."
At that moment a soldier burst in, gasping for breath.
"My lord! Monsters!"
The chamber froze.
"…What did you say?"
"Refugees are pouring in—at least a thousand of them! And monsters are coming right behind them!"
Illys shot to his feet so hard the chair toppled backward.
"We're going."
Everyone raced with him for the battlements.
Standing atop the wall, Illys looked down. A dust-raising throng of people was racing toward the castle, and farther behind them, silver masses moved.
"…Silver Wolves."
Silver Wolves were pack monsters. At a glance, there looked to be a hundred of them.
The Knight Commander spoke.
"At this rate the refugees will be slaughtered."
"Then what do we do?"
"Give the order. Leave them be and the damage will only grow. We must purge them."
Illys nodded.
"All right. We go together. I'm a 5-Circle Mage, after all."
The Commander turned on his knights and bellowed,
"Knights!"
"Sir!"
"Prepare to sortie! All infantry, form dense ranks before the gate!"
He did not fling the gates open at once; he took a moment to ready them.
"Aaaagh!"
"Help us!"
Refugees were already dying, but the judgment he made was cold and clear.
"Are all of you ready!"
"Sir!"
"Open the gates!"
Rrrumble.
The gates swung wide.
"Charge!"
"Haaah!"
"Wedge formation—forward!"
The knights thundered out on horseback. At the point rode Knight Commander Carlton. Illys rode a white horse at the center of the formation.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Fifty knights. Not a great number—but few though they were, they were strong. And among them rode a 5-Circle Mage.
Illys's magic fired first.
"Freeze the earth! Ice Field!"
Shhhhhh—!
A wave of cold slammed into the wolf pack.
"Kyeeeng!"
The knights drove hard at the wolves caught in the frost.
"Power Strike!"
"Piercing Thrust!"
"Kyaang!"
Magic and steel together—slow them, then break them. Illys and the knights became a single awl, punching through the monsters again and again. A hundred Silver Wolves were not enough against that combination.
The refugees used the opening to sprint for the castle. Infantry waited to receive them.
"This way!"
"Over here!"
In no time nearly a thousand foot soldiers had formed up before the walls. Infantry held the gate; the knights pressed the attack. The wolves, eyes fixed on the knights, lost focus on the refugees. The people slipped through the gaps in the dense ranks and into the castle.
But to the Silver Wolves, the infantry were a wall.
"Hold them!"
"Strike!"
"Push!"
A few ordinary soldiers could not kill a Silver Wolf—but many soldiers together became a wall in their own right.
"Help us!"
Some of the wounded could not run. From the rear of the knightly charge, Illys ordered the trailing riders,
"Bring them!"
"Aye!"
Several knights peeled back, scooped refugees onto their saddles, and hauled them clear.
"Hold on!"
"Hang on tight!"
Sudden as the crisis was, the operation flowed like water.
"Graaawr!"
The Silver Wolves seemed to have lost their temper.
"Hold them a moment. I'm going to drop something big."
"Understood."
Illys gathered mana.
"In the name of mana I call… become a single ice that freezes the foe, and freeze them. Ice Blast."
A 5-Circle spell, Ice Blast, ignited.
Shrrrk—!
When Illys had risen to the fifth circle, the insight that came with it had been space. Even ice magic was different when pure cold was joined to an awakening of space. A swarm of tiny ice cores streaked toward the Silver Wolves like guided missiles.
Crack.
The instant a core touched a wolf, it swelled into a growing crystal.
Ch-ch-ch-ch—!
Every Silver Wolf the cores struck was seized in hexagonal ice. Still alive—but locked motionless inside the crystal.
"We pull back for now."
"Wheel right—for the castle!"
Hit and run. The knights spurred their mounts.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
In a short, sharp fight, the first purpose—saving the refugees—was achieved.
"Grrrrr."
Illys called every soldier back inside and shut the gates.
"Well done."
"You have worked hard, my lord. But Silver Wolves remain outside the walls. Leave them and they will scatter and cause trouble."
"Hmm…"
Wiping them out while they were still gathered would be ideal. But the Silver Wolves kept a careful distance from the castle and would not charge. They had rushed in while the refugees were there; now people lined the battlements. It would have been convenient if they had been stupid enough to fling themselves at the walls—but they were not that dull.
"Ah!"
Something occurred to Illys.
"Hanwoo! Throw Hanwoo!"
"My lord?"
"Toss Hanwoo right in front of the wall."
"Ah! Bait them with food!"
Soldiers brought the beef.
"Fire!"
Illys seared part of the meat with a quick Fire spell.
"Wind!"
He raised a breeze and sent the scent rolling toward the Silver Wolves.
"Kyeeeng?"
"Kuwang?"
"Kreeeeak!"
"Kwaak-kwaak!"
The wolves' reaction was unmistakable.
"Throw it!"
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Some raw, some cooked, the Hanwoo rained down beneath the walls.
"Kwaang!"
Three years of drought. Hunger was not the refugees' alone. The wolves charged in to seize the meat fallen at the foot of the wall.
Rodriguez soldiers were more than capable of dealing with enemies that close.
"Loose!"
Fsssshhhhh—!
Arrows plunged nearly straight down from the battlements. Draw strength and gravity worked together.
Thuk-thuk-thuk!
"Kreeeeeee!"
Eyes glazed by the Hanwoo, the wolves were riddled into skewers under the storm of shafts.
An open yard inside the castle.
The refugees had been gathered in one place under watch. Most of them, drained of strength, simply sat where they were. They had heard rumors that Rodriguez was prosperous—but they had no idea how the people here would actually treat them.
In this world, becoming a slave was common enough. Lose a war, commit a crime, fail to pay a debt—and slavery was the usual end. As refugees, they had nowhere to appeal even if they were taken as slaves.
A child asked her mother,
"Mama… is it okay now?"
"Shh."
"…"
Child, mother, and many other refugees watched the Rodriguez soldiers carefully for any sign of mood.
From far off came the sounds of battle—shouts, war cries, something screaming. The noise only made the refugees more anxious. They had run here because they were starving. Looked at another way, they had brought a trail of monsters with them. What if those monsters hurt this place? What if the people here took that anger out on them? What if they raged that soldiers had died because of them?
They might not even be made slaves. They might simply be killed—and they would have no recourse at all.
A great shout rose in the distance. It sounded like the cry of a fight ending.
And not long after—
"The lord approaches."
Illys came forward between ranks of soldiers standing in perfect order. The refugees flattened themselves to the ground, taut with fear. The lord held an arrow in his hand. At the sight of a weapon, the refugees grew still more afraid.
Then, from somewhere, came a delicious smell.
Sniff.
They had come this far driven by hunger; it was a scent they could not refuse—the smell of roasted meat.
A sidelong glance.
One of the children among the refugees lifted her head just a little.
"Ah!"
Roasted meat was skewered on the arrow. The child's eyes met the lord's. And the lord pulled the meat free and held it out to her.
"It's meat called Hanwoo."
The adults watched uneasily, but the child put the meat in her mouth without hesitation. It melted on her tongue like magic. Her eyes went round. How could meat melt in your mouth? It was a sensation she had never known in her life, and she could not make sense of it.
"Good, isn't it?"
The child nodded hard.
"There's a saying that's been popular in our territory for a little while now."
As the child's clear eyes looked up at him, Illys said,
"Hanwoo is love."