Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Before the Grand Glory, There Was a Humble Beginning (2)
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Intelligence on the Astoria Army marching south kept coming in with constant updates.
Their force numbered around fourteen legions—nearly 34,000 strong.
Of those, the vanguard force of four legions, roughly 9,000 troops exhibiting aggressive tendencies, had already reached a point 200 kilometers from Kazan-adjacent Killigrad. The main body and rearguard were four days behind, pressing southward.
Considering the standard marching speed of infantry, the closest vanguard would hit the front lines in as little as five days, or seven at the latest.
Command HQ not only lacked the time to dispatch reinforcements but barely had enough to even gather our scattered friendly forces.
In the midst of this, the legion commanders were assembling one by one to devise countermeasures.
"The others haven't arrived yet?"
"Can't you see? No banners at the fortress. Banners."
The commanders of the 2nd and 3rd Legions, stationed relatively nearby, were the first to arrive at Lenkamp Fortress.
"I heard there was internal support, but it doesn't look like things went as planned."
"Looking at the state of the fortress, the 8th Legion must've had a rough time."
Following them came the 4th and 5th Legion commanders.
"Burney showed up, but did it have to be here of all places?"
"Hahaha. Isn't Lenkamp the closest to Kazan? If you want anywhere nearer, you'd have to head all the way to Killigrad."
Then the 7th and 9th Legion commanders arrived.
Our allied forces mobilized for this war totaled 35,000 across thirteen legions.
Now, more than half—seven legion commanders—were gathered in one spot.
Adding in Brigadier General Basilus, the vanguard division commander of the 6th Legion attending in place of their imprisoned commander, plus the various division commanders who'd tagged along with their superiors, there were no fewer than fourteen generals present.
Had I ever seen so many generals in one place before?
Their uniforms gleamed with such luster—ornate decorations on a level far beyond field-grade officers—that I wondered if they were even standard-issue supplies.
I was purely impressed.
But the admiration was short-lived.
"The fortress is about to fall, and you're saying we should abandon it?!"
"The fortress isn't the priority right now! One wrong move, and we'll get picked off one by one!"
"Fine, so the 2nd Legion's fulfilled its quota, huh?!"
"Quota my ass! This is war, not a game! If you were so worried, why didn't you do better from the start? Out of everyone here, you're the only one whose legion—3rd Legion—failed to take a fortress!"
Watching the generals quickly raise their voices and tear into each other, my awe turned to sighs.
"Blindly pulling troops isn't the answer. Leaving the Astoria forces in the fortress unchecked means our allies will be fighting with enemies on both flanks."
"Damned if we do, damned if we don't—what are we supposed to do then?"
"Isn't that exactly why we're gathered here today—to discuss it?!"
At this rate, we'd pull an all-nighter without even starting the meeting properly, let alone coming up with a plan.
"You've been spouting nonsense since earlier!"
"What? Spouting? Can't you speak properly? I'm a general. A general!"
"Is there anyone here who's not a general?"
Finally, the 2nd and 3rd Legion commanders shot up from their seats, jabbing fingers at each other.
I silently watched the two generals hurl insults practically nose-to-nose.
In situations like this, the best move was to stay out of it.
Besides, as the only field-grade officer here, I had no choice but to keep quiet anyway.
"Hahaha. The 2nd and 3rd commanders still have so much fire in them. If only that energy went toward Astoria."
"Come to think of it, those two served under the 9th Legion commander once, didn't they? Must've given you plenty of headaches."
"Ancient history. Ancient history."
The other generals seemed to share my thinking, content to just observe.
As expected.
The two generals, who had seemed ready to come to blows, began cooling off.
The venom drained from their barbs; they were clearly dragging out the argument just to find an excuse to back down.
"If there are no more words, shall we start the meeting? Or should we wait longer for the rest? What say you?"
The 8th Legion commander, who'd been watching the scene, stepped in at the perfect moment to give them an out.
"Hmph! I'd hold back today since the other legion commanders are here."
"Look who's talking. Embarrassing ourselves in front of the division commanders. Tch."
The two dropped back into their seats as if they'd been waiting for the cue.
"Then, with everyone's agreement, let's begin."
The 8th Legion commander shot me a glance.
"Royal Cavalry, Major Yannick Schrelgriff."
I stood and gave a brief self-introduction. I was about to dive into an overview of the situation when...
"So you're that Yannick. All the young folks at the fortress talk nonstop about you."
"They say you did great work in this war. Thanks to you, we took the fortress with minimal losses. Outstanding job."
"Quit hanging around the 8th Legion all the time. Next time, team up with our 3rd Legion. I'll back you up fully."
The legion commanders vied to act friendly.
I hadn't expected this level of attention from the generals—I blinked in surprise, eyes wide.
"All undeserved praise. Truly nothing to it. It's all thanks to you generals leading the troops so well—how could any credit come to me? A joint operation with the 3rd Legion... I'll definitely plan something next time."
I bowed belatedly, responding to each one.
"To achieve such feats and still be this humble."
"Prime age to strut around, yet no sign of it."
"Rare. Very rare. Doesn't seem like a young man these days."
The generals grinned approvingly at the sight.
"Looks like the kid's flustered by you all suddenly acting chummy."
The 9th Legion commander, the oldest here, let out a hearty laugh.
He wasn't exceptionally talented but was respected for his thick rapport and steadfastness—someone reliable for commanding legions, or so I'd heard.
"Listen, Major. Everyone here owes you. Without your strategy, without you breaking the Astoria Army's will to fight, our forces would still be taking heavy casualties trying to storm the walls."
Now that I thought about it, that rang true.
"So don't get hung up on rank or position. Speak your mind freely."
If he said to be at ease, then I'd be at ease.
"Thank you."
I bowed once more to the 9th Legion commander in gratitude and launched into the briefing.
"Currently, the Astoria Army is advancing south in a vanguard, main body, and rearguard formation, spaced four days apart. Their top priority is most likely sweeping away our expanded influence across the border forts."
Why else would Astoria release Oscar von Nightheart—who'd essentially been under house arrest—right at this moment?
Come on. Obvious.
They had a fire at their feet.
Left alone, it'd spread across their whole body. So they handed him over 30,000-plus troops and rushed him to the border.
And Oscar von Nightheart had splendidly lived up to their hopes.
Of the two fires on their feet, he'd easily extinguished the big one called Kazan.
All that remained was the fire on the other foot: us in Thracia.
"They could leverage their numerical superiority to reclaim forts one by one for piecemeal defeats, or split into multiple groups to assault several forts simultaneously like we did. Or mix both approaches."
Encirclement and siege, or pitched battles on open fields...
None were ideal.
We were fatigued and battered after over three months of combat.
Our morale was high, but the Astoria forces who'd crushed Kazan were in the same boat.
Even terms being equal, superior numbers would prevail.
And we couldn't abandon the forts we'd fought so hard for, limiting our ability to concentrate forces.
Even stripping forts to bare minimum garrisons and rallying the full army, could we muster half their numbers?
"Does this mean we have to consider abandoning all the forts? What a nightmare. We hammered away day and night for three months to take them, and now surrender without a fight?"
"Defending would be tough—the forts took heavy damage during the sieges. And against that Astoria Army... I don't even want to imagine how many mages are in their 34,000-strong host."
"Worst-case scenario."
The legion commanders steeled themselves, faces resolute even for abandoning forts.
But what could be done?
The true worst case wasn't yielding border forts.
"Our opponent is Nightheart, who shattered our defensive line in a mere three months. He won't stop at just reclaiming what was lost."
From his confinement to his release amid this chain of events, I'd realized something clear.
Astoria's young commander was politically isolated.
Simply restoring the status quo wouldn't secure his shaky position.
Without more, the same could happen again anytime.
"You mean he'll reclaim every fort and invade Thracia again?!"
"About 100 days until winter. He thinks he can retake the forts, launch an offensive, and score meaningful gains in that time. Insane arrogance."
I shook my head once more.
"The order's changed."
Reclaiming forts was a secondary issue from the start.
"Oscar von Nightheart will keep marching south and cross the border as is."
If Thracia's forts fell to Astoria, we'd have no choice but to abandon them and withdraw.
"Absurd! Any delay, and we'll be crushed between our forces pushing up from the south and them from the north—unable to advance or retreat!"
The 3rd Legion commander immediately rejected my prediction.
"This is the man who collapsed our defenses in three months flat. Have our preparations improved since then?"
Quite the opposite.
Thracia had reorganized and bolstered its northern army post-war, but most of that strength was here.
Current garrison at any Thracia border fort barely reached a full division.
"Last year, the Astoria Army that crossed into Thracia numbered just over 20,000. Now it's 34,000—nearly double, just shy."
Yet the enemy's strength had almost doubled.
Worse still, our rear forces lacked proper mage units.
Thracia had traditionally invested in infantry and cavalry.
The mage battalions hastily assigned after last war's debacle were currently deployed beyond the border with us.
"Vanguard: 9,000, four legions. Given Astoria's recent heavy emphasis on mages, that's at least six mage battalions in the van—up to eight. Could our forts withstand eight unleashing bombardment at once?"
"Thracia forts are sturdy. Magic strikes might damage them, but the walls won't crumble."
"The forts might hold. But the troops inside? Melted away."
The legion commanders fell silent at my words.
They'd felt it in their bones already.
Had our Thracia mages overwhelmed the fort garrisons this war, it wouldn't have dragged on like this.
"Allow me to ask the generals directly."
I turned to the most belligerent pair: the 2nd and 3rd Legion commanders.
"How long do you think it'll take Nightheart to break our defensive line this time?"