Chapter 227
Chapter 227
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: Siege of the Capital Oslo (4)
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No fortress called impregnable is ever completely without gaps.
Someone's bound to object like this:
"But if there are gaps, then why call it impregnable? It's called that because it's hard to attack and impossible to breach. Saying it has gaps anyway doesn't make sense, does it?"
The reason is simple: there has to be at least a small hole that a few soldiers can slip through back and forth, so even under siege, you can stay in touch with friendly forces outside.
Or you can dispatch a small elite unit through an enemy-unknown hole to ambush the besieging forces, destroy siege weapons, or carry out operations to shatter their morale.
In the worst case, it can be used to evacuate the high-ranking officials inside.
And if you're wondering why I'm thinking about this now...
"Lieutenant General Jaeger, sir, so there are about five rat holes in Oslo Castle here. One near the moat, two under the north gate, one near the west gate, and one at the east gate."
Ever since I burned down the villages around Oslo Castle two weeks ago to crush their morale, more and more guys have been risking their necks to cross over and offer information.
Everything from the number and deployment of the castle's garrison, guard shift times on the walls, food supplies, current soldier morale, to the private lives of the generals and nobles inside.
Thanks to that, the guys in the Imperial Intelligence Department and spy units are swamped collecting, organizing, and reporting the info they provide.
The one in front of me now holds a pretty high position even in the Stockholm Kingdom, so as deputy commander, I'm handling him personally.
"Keep talking, Baron Vinland."
"But the one near the moat and the ones near the north gate are all fakes. As proof, if you enter the castle through those holes, you might slip into Oslo without being spotted. But there's a guard barracks just fifteen meters ahead, so any little noise and you're done for."
"What about the ones at the east and west gates?"
"Those are safe. The east gate one connects to the slums in District 1, and the west gate one leads to a small chapel."
So far, this matches about 95% with the info provided by other traitors from the Stockholm Kingdom—no, good folks coming to serve the Reich Empire—so he doesn't seem to be lying.
No, a kingdom baron staking his life and house on real betrayal...
Still, better test him once more, just in case.
"Alright, then. If you were infiltrating for a raid, when would you do it? I'd go right around dawn."
Baron Vinland's eyes lit up at that.
That sparkle screams ulterior motives, but analyzing his demeanor so far...
It's a mix of betrayal, ambition, lust for promotion, and survival instinct.
In other words, based on what he's shown, he seems like a trustworthy spy.
"Dawn is dangerous. King Christian of Stockholm may be a dimwit, but the Oxenburg Minister of Military Affairs isn't one to underestimate. Better to infiltrate around 9 p.m.—that's safest."
"Why's that?"
"The guards do patrol near those holes, but that's when they're most off-guard. They finish rounds around 8:40, so by 9, they rarely pass by."
I nodded as if intrigued, playing along, but this bastard's mostly truthful—except he's hiding one fatal lie. He's a double agent.
I figured it out cross-verifying patrol times from countless other spies. His timings were subtly off.
Move on his "perfect" raid time, and we'd get massacred.
So I smashed his face with the scabbard at my hip. Teeth flew, blood gushed from his nose.
"No, I gave solid intel! Why hit me..."
I kicked his gut hard and snarled.
"If you're selling info, sell good info. You moron, if you're lying, fake the hole locations or guard numbers per wall section. Lie about patrol times?"
I signaled with my hand to drag him away.
Now this scum'll face the brutal torture we use on scouts and spies. He'll spill everything he knows and doesn't.
"Ha, King Christian of Stockholm must be really desperate. Sending a baron—abandoned like trash—to fool me and buy a shot at survival."
As I muttered to myself, the tent flap opened and Laura entered.
"You were right, Lieutenant General. We just 'convinced' five more suspected double agents. Inside Oslo Royal Castle, rank-and-file soldiers are on the verge of mutiny against platoon and company commanders all the time. Guards on the walls joke daily about just flinging open the gates."
"Worse than I thought—speechless. By the way, wasn't today your day off, Colonel?"
"If it helps you, sir, I'll do anything. Gotta keep up with that cat... no, I mean, can't lose to Colonel Anya."
In this war, unless Laura pulls off a miracle, she can't top Anya—who personally took Ishtaven's head.
Still, her effort's kinda cute.
"Anyway, sir, we seem to have squeezed out all the intel we can. What's the plan? Even with 70% matching info, we could probably crack the east gate of Oslo Castle."
What makes castles terrifying is that attackers must scale those walls to take them.
Once the gates fall, that mighty defense crumbles.
But Oslo Castle can muster nearly 250,000 including civilians. Impossible with our current forces.
Can't seize it, so bluffing open gates won't do much.
"I'd love to crack those gates. But we'd need the power to storm in right after. With our numbers, we can't even meaningfully dent their garrison."
"...If only we had more troops."
"Getting here was a miracle, Colonel—don't regret it too much. Instead, there's a way to instill more fear than opening the gates. Perfect timing now."
"...What could scare them more than breaching the walls?"
Terrorizing the cowering rats inside means making them feel the enemy horde swelling and their doom closing in.
But the ultimate horror? Sowing doubt that fellow defenders might betray them—fear of a knife in the back anytime.
You can see the enemy advancing and plan countermeasures.
But betrayal from behind, without warning? Pure, unavoidable terror.
"Make them unable to trust each other. Isn't it in the Academy basics? The moment trust among allies breaks, even a million elites turn to worthless dust. Time to exploit that thoroughly."
"Specifically, sir? You're not thinking of entrusting that to our informants inside Oslo, are you...?"
"Of course not, Colonel Laura. We're the ones in control—we just use Stockholm prisoners as tools. Get some solid rest tonight; we'll talk tomorrow."
Then Laura glanced between me and Charlotte.
"Sleep well, Lieutenant General. And Charlotte."
That look screamed warning, so I ordered Charlotte to her own tent—though I had no plans anyway.
Getting that silent glare still spooks me a bit.
The next afternoon, I gathered the Stockholm Kingdom prisoners and asked.
"I've got a small favor to ask. What do you say? Willing to hear me out?"