Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: The Little War
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And so, the Viscountcy of Loien and the Barony of Zelcard each spent their time preparing for war.
Then, in autumn, when the wheat turned a golden hue. On this day, after the harvest had ended and chilly winds had begun to blow, a small war finally broke out.
On the plains stretching west of Callermain Castle, the armies of both sides began to slowly gather and set up their respective encampments.
As it was a war between families with existing disputes, no other family's banners were seen—only those of Viscount Loien and Baron Zelcard. Before the battle commenced, the upper echelons of both sides were busy observing the enemy's forces, discussing what preparations had been made and what strategy to employ.
"Let's see... The numbers are overwhelmingly in their favor, Lord Beonald."
"They maintained their mercenary contracts for surprisingly long. They must have spent a fortune, no?"
At a rough glance, the enemy forces numbered about 1,200. In contrast, Beonald's forces were a mere 800 at most.
Here, judgment varied based on the ratio of direct territorial soldiers to mercenaries. On Beonald's side, about 600 were soldiers conscripted from his territory to the maximum extent possible, and he had barely managed to hire around 200 mercenaries to make up the numbers.
"They say they've mobilized everyone for forced labor, monster subjugation, agriculture, and so on... doing everything possible to minimize losses. Of course, even then, some contracts were terminated and then re-hired."
"Hmm, I see. But... over there, in what looks like the mercenary camp, their movements are strangely disciplined."
"...Huh? What? Now that you mention it!"
It was a subtle movement, one you'd only notice if you observed the enemy camp in great detail.
Had Beonald not pointed it out, Baron Zelcard likely wouldn't have noticed. Their movements and gait were oddly uniform and measured, and some even exuded an air of dignity not typical of mercenaries.
"How did this..."
"It's obvious. Using the inter-family war as a pretext, they borrowed knights and elite soldiers from other families."
"...What! How dare they! Isn't that a huge problem?"
"No, it's within expected parameters. If they didn't have that much confidence, this gamble wouldn't have materialized. They might already be sounding the victory drums."
Their hidden scheme hadn't been uncovered, and on top of that, their troop numbers were vastly superior.
1,200 versus 800. Essentially a 1.5x difference. If they secretly borrowed knights from other nobles to inflate their numbers, they must feel there's no need to even gauge the battle's outcome.
The battlefield was an open plain for a frontal assault, a fight decided purely by the strength of numbers, leaving little room for strategy to intervene.
"There's nothing more enjoyable than crushing an enemy brimming with such... confidence. Anyway, the time?"
"The battle commences at noon. Around 11:30, the declaration of war by Count Callermain, Sir Maldrov, and the High Priest will begin, followed by the clash of both armies. The battle will continue until one side surrenders or the enemy forces are routed or annihilated, with the victor claiming everything from the defeated family."
"Understood. Then let's prepare as well. I too should... start getting ready."
"Yes."
Returning to the encampment with Baron Zelcard, Beonald began changing into his armor and preparing.
Originally, he preferred the type to sit comfortably in the command post and direct operations. But now, even with his trump card, they were inferior in sheer force, so to prevent variables, he had to take to the field himself.
Donning his armor and helmet, and taking up his sword and shield, he intended to participate as infantry.
"Um, are you really sure about this, Lord Beonald? Alterio rightfully belongs to you..."
As he finished preparations and headed for the battlefield, Heidi, mounted on the heavily armored Alterio, approached and asked.
The beautiful armor forged from the Benofis River and the massive lance tailored to her strength and Alterio's size shimmered in the sunlight, giving her the bearing of a goddess of war.
Even with a blank expression, she would exude immense dignity, but right now she wore a look of helpless concern as she addressed Beonald, who was walking toward the battlefield.
"There's a saying about the right person for the right job. Heidi, are you doubting my judgment?"
"N-no, it's not that... It's just, my liege going to the most dangerous place... Who wouldn't worry!"
"Hmm, it is dangerous, indeed. But the most dangerous place is precisely where the decisive moment lies. So trust me and fight with all your might. Do not forget that my honor rests upon you."
"...Yes! Understood!"
"Ah, and there's one piece of advice I'd like to give you secretly... Lend me your ear..."
As if something suddenly occurred to him, Beonald spoke. Without a hint of suspicion, she even removed her helmet and leaned her head toward Beonald.
Then, Beonald instantly turned his head and directly kissed her.
Startled by the sudden act, Heidi's face flushed crimson as she reflexively flinched back and cried out.
"B-B-B-B-Beonald?! Wh-what is this... all of a sudden?!"
"Heh, sorry. I thought, what if this were the last moment of my life? This should ease some regrets. Anyway, let's postpone the next part until after victory."
"N-next? What do you mean?!"
"Of course, next time I'll ask for permission, so don't worry. Well then~"
Having said that, Beonald put his helmet back on and ran toward the infantry phalanx.
Heidi, still seemingly shocked by the kiss, stared blankly at Beonald as he joined the phalanx and began his speech to the infantry. Only when the trumpet call summoning the knights sounded did she finally snap out of it and resolve herself.
"I will definitely... present victory to Lord Beonald! Let's go! Alterio!"
Piiiiii!
As the sun gradually approached noon, both armies completed their deployments. When the time came, the acting head of the Lengel family, the High Priest, Baron Zelcard, and Viscount Loien began the process of declaring war as scheduled.
The acting Lengel head delivered a speech on the circumstances and conditions that led to this war, followed by the High Priest's prayers, and other rituals proceeded in that manner.
"It'll start soon."
"I wonder who will win?"
"Probably Viscount Loien, right? Their troop numbers are overwhelmingly greater..."
Murmur murmur...
And currently, numerous people were watching this from the walls of Callermain Castle. As it was a war where families staked their fates, not only had families under Count Callermain's jurisdiction gathered, but even officials and nobles from the Imperial capital had come to witness it.
'Will it end safely...?'
Since it was essentially a civil war occurring within the Empire, they had come prepared in case it escalated or one side refused to accept the outcome.
Additionally, many commoners had secretly taken positions on and below the castle walls to watch the battle unfolding on the plains.
"Finally... it begins. Ohohohohoh!"
"Madam, are you really alright being here? You are, after all, the mistress of the Callermain Earldom..."
"Be quiet. I must see him captured and brought before me."
"Sigh..."
Incidentally, Lady Meira, who by rights should have been watching from atop the castle walls, insisted on being in Viscount Loien's camp tent, claiming she was also a victim.
The pretext was to have Sir Zed, a knight, participate in the battle, but ultimately, she had come because she desperately wanted to see Beonald, who had reduced her to this state, captured or killed with her own eyes.
Initially, Viscount Loien, her father, tried to dissuade his daughter, but upon learning about the state of her face and thinking it utterly unforgivable, he eventually permitted her presence in the camp.
"The sun at its zenith... noon... the rituals are over... Now the war finally begins! Madam."
"Yes, finally! Finally! The time has come to fulfill my long-cherished wish!"
The thunderous sound of trumpets, waving banners, the shouts of knights echoing from all directions, and the marching footsteps of soldiers.
The war between the Loien and Zelcard families had officially begun.
The composition of Viscount Loien's forces was 500 territorial soldiers and 700 mercenaries. However, among these, 200 were soldiers from the Delmain territory, so effectively, the elite troops numbered 700, with 500 mercenaries.
Looking at the detailed breakdown: the number of knights, including the 10 borrowed from Viscount Delmain, totaled 20, of which 3 were intermediate knights. Including the knights, there were 50 heavy cavalry in full armor, 150 light cavalry, and 500 infantry, including archers.
The mercenaries had few horses, so there were 100 light cavalry, and the rest were all ordinary infantry, totaling 400. Combined, that made 900 infantry and 300 cavalry.
"Sir Alun, please take command of the mercenary unit and handle the flank. Revenge is best taken personally. Ugh!"
"Given our disguised position as mercenaries, I shall gladly do so. However, you summoned us to overwhelm the knights in battle... wouldn't it be better for us to at least join the cavalry?"
"That is certainly a valid point. However, since we have superior numbers anyway, once a frontal battle unfolds, we can strike the enemy's flanks. If you break and ravage their flank after our family's soldiers clash with their center, it will make things easier."
"Hmm, understood. If you say so."
The knights of the Loien family and those of the Delmain family were deployed separately. The Delmain knights joined the mercenary command camp and took on the role of crushing the flanks.
Thus, the Loien infantry first formed a long, wide line and began advancing. Archers, maintaining some distance, walked slowly with arrows nocked, waiting for the range to close.
After the knights took their positions, the cavalry waited at the rear flanks outside bow range for the infantry to engage, slowly advancing. The mercenary camp also advanced, and each unit's commanders assessed the enemy's movements.
'Are they waiting for us to come? Well, with fewer troops, going on the defensive is unavoidable. But even so, we can just surround and overwhelm them. They haven't been marching, so the soldiers aren't tired, so there's no prob... wait, what's that?'
In the enemy formation visible to the Loien knights, there were strangely well-equipped soldiers.
They looked like heavy infantry seen in the capital, holding shields and spears. Suddenly, they raised them, preparing to throw.
"Javelins? A futile gesture..."
At the same moment, the Zelcard soldiers collectively threw their javelins. The trained soldiers immediately formed a shield wall to block them.
But as they raised their shields skyward, looking only at the heavens, a single javelin flew straight at high speed and struck their shield formation.
"Gyaaaaah!"
"Strike! Nice, in one hit... about 4, right? Alright, prepare the second volley of javelins! Don't put too much force into your shoulders, throw smoothly as if pushing upward. Fire!"
From the Zelcard infantry formation, Beonald counted the soldiers felled by his thrown javelin and ordered the next volley.
Again, the soldiers threw upward, while Beonald threw straight, forcing the enemy soldiers into a dilemma.
"Damn it! In that case, charge! They won't be able to keep that up once we get into close combat. Our archers will provide covering fire anyway! So, do as you've been trained!"
"Yes! All troops, charge!"
"Waaaaaah!"
True to an army tempered by fighting monsters and gaining combat experience in turbulent times, they didn't retreat just because a few were killed or injured. They knew well how to respond to the enemy's attacks.
Trusting in the covering fire from the archers in the rear, they charged with shields raised to engage the Zelcard forces in close combat.
'Let's see... I think we reduced them by about 30–40 with javelins, but they show no sign of fear. However, it's not just our front line that has javelins.'
The rain of javelins wasn't pouring down only from Beonald's side.
Beonald had supplied javelins not only to the infantry but also to allied knights and mercenaries.
Because it was conducted under Count Callermain's control, the war date was pushed past the harvest, allowing more time. Thanks to that, he could supply a larger quantity of Benofis River metal than initially thought.
'Of course, it wasn't exactly abundant, but making them into javelins allowed for greater supply. Moreover... I altered the design slightly.'
For javelins, only the spearhead was metal, while the shaft was carved wood. Most territories stockpiled shafts, so if they ran short, they could buy more from nearby territories.
Thus, they could produce far more javelins than other weapons. The javelins with Benofis River metal spearheads pierced through the enemy's wooden shields, even steel shields, tore through armor, and severed lives.
"Ghk! Wh-what is this? What on earth?"
"Something's different! This spearhead is like... a harpoon? No, how does it maintain strength like this?"
"Graaaaah! It won't come out! It went through the bone! Aaaaaah!"
Not only that, but the javelins, designed with sharpness for penetration and asymmetrical, scale-like barbs, caused tremendous pain and bleeding once embedded, requiring flesh and bone to be torn to remove them. Being completely pierced through was arguably better, but in these turbulent times, the Loien family's elite troops were all well-equipped with defenses, so being embedded was far more common than being pierced through.
'Hmm~ I applied the structure of javelins used by southern fishermen. Not bad at all.'
The fundamental method of winning a war ultimately comes down to lethality.
Humans aware of this devised various methods to enhance it since primitive times—weapons, strategies, tactics, formations... all sorts of wisdom was born.
And 500 years ago, the 'Unified Empire' undertook a project to compile all such knowledge and records. Beonald, the Empire's second-in-command who fought on battlefields across the continent in the Emperor's stead, naturally had to master all that knowledge and wisdom.
The structure of the javelin head he was using now was precisely what southern fishermen of the Imperial era used to hunt large magical beasts like whales or giant krakens. Beonald, curious about how they caught creatures armored with skin as thick as most armor, had taken note of it.
'But still, there are more piercing cases than I thought. Hmm~ I shouldn't have made them with Benofis River metal. That's my mistake. Tsk...'
It didn't yield the perfect result he envisioned, but still, supplied to 800 men and launched simultaneously from the front and flanks, the javelin barrage significantly dampened the momentum of the enemy infantry charging at the forefront.
Putting aside the disappointing aspects for later improvement, Beonald drew his sword, raised his shield, and charged out at the very front. He slammed his shield into the enemy infantry's shield wall and plunged directly into the chaotic melee.