Many Problems on the Central Front (2) (NSFW Illustration)
Many Problems on the Central Front (2) (NSFW Illustration)
Hildea recalled the day she received her fief.
The day she had her final audience with the King.
Since no one dared eavesdrop on a private audience through a Sword Master's ki sense, the King had worn a rare relaxed expression and spoken his mind freely.
'Count Balckenhardt, this is my final command to you.'
That there would be no new orders of any kind going forward,
his last injunction to judge solely for the well-being of the county and Ainshuvan.
「If I ever attempt to revoke this command, the me of that time will not be the me you knew.
I will be nothing more than an empty shell who has succumbed to the Noble Council's pressure and had all will crushed, unworthy of even your loyalty.」
That unwavering gaze remained vivid as the North Star in Hildea's memory.
And that deeply apologetic expression.
「To bestow only such a small and poor fief upon the kingdom's foremost knight... I am truly sorry.」
A small and poor territory.
Yet for Hildea, born a commoner, it was her first precious asset.
She was always grateful to have obtained this land.
Thanks to receiving this harsh and impoverished fief....
-Name and rank. Gentlemen, name and rank.
-S-Second Lieutenant Piel!
-Adjutant, I'll take Second Lieutenant Piel as my duty officer.
She had met Piel, backed by a suspiciously wealthy and powerful fallen-resurgent family.
"Lieutenant Colonel Piel, we need only pursue the prosperity of this place, Ainshuvan."
***
The Noble Council's rampage was worse than I'd thought.
Anyway, it's getting exposed like this that these bastards couldn't properly subjugate the Ancient Tree Legion that swept through Marquis Oltain's territory.
"That rude messenger fellow, I told them to give him brick biscuit and watery soup."
"Well done. That bastard doesn't deserve corn soup."
Not because he's from the rude Noble Council, but for security, all outside visitors are given the old low-quality meals.
The corn soup served three times a day is extremely thick, high-calorie soup, serving as indirect proof that the Northern Army's food situation is good.
Naturally, the 4th Army serves the exact same.
"Those impertinent central nobles have requested reinforcements from us."
Rebecca, Basel Brigadier General, Dvill Colonel, and a few senior officers gathered at the official residence.
And Hildea explained what had erupted in the rear.
"Serves them right. Their forged reports about subjugating the Ancient Tree Legion must be completely blown wide open."
"False reporting is a capital offense, ma'am."
"Wait, then doesn't that mean those bastards embezzled some of those expensive Extinguishing Soul Torches?"
"That could very well be the case."
"With the skill they claimed repelled 2,000 Ancient Tree Legion monsters and slew 1,000 in their first deployment, let them hold out nicely on their own."
Everyone snickered, finding the situation bearing down on the central region immensely satisfying.
"Food and weapons are provided by the Marshall family, and everything else can be fully covered by my marquisate. Even if the center collapses, our North has little to be shaken by."
"Construction material supply volume will face slight issues, but that much can be handled by the marquisate."
"Prices may rise a bit, but it's hardly to the point we can't supply."
I should start wrapping this up.
"I too take great pleasure in watching the Noble Council's pigs flounder helplessly, unable to properly extinguish the fire that's fallen at their feet due to their plump, bulging bellies."
When I opened my mouth, everyone from Hildea and Rebecca onward opened their ears and focused.
"Then how long shall we watch those bastards thrash about in distress? The lower limit must be set."
"Lower limit...?"
"Surely none of you wish to see the center completely swept away and the region south of the Dwein River become incorporated into the Elf Legion's sphere of power, do you?"
Sir Basel tilted his head quizzically and spoke.
"Still, it's only 1,000 of them. If the central and southern bastards join forces, won't they manage to hold them off, albeit with some damage?"
They're people who managed to hold off that much even back in the days before I existed.
I guarantee it, these people could never be good supervisors.
"They're useless bastards who came lugging Extinguishing Soul Torches, couldn't even properly repel the Ancient Tree Legion, and just submitted false reports."
"...."
"Don't think those bastards will play a human role on the battlefield.
We must consider them an army composed of lunatics who trip up their allies and throw fits screaming 'if I can't die alone, let's die together,' and prepare accordingly."
The misconception of those for whom war has become a long-standing routine.
They cannot even begin to imagine the abyss, just how far people steeped in peace will descend into the terror of battle and death.
Rebecca asked.
"So Piel is saying we should levy a relief force and send it down to the rear?"
"If the other side makes a satisfactory offer, then yes."
This time Hildea asked, curious.
"A satisfactory offer?"
"Isn't the territory west of the Baltics River currently in an ownerless state?"
"L-Lieutenant Colonel Piel!"
"Wow, Piel. Are you serious? If that works out, it'll be a jackpot."
Supply budget comes in proportionate to the number of troops in my direct unit.
So far, there have been no issues.
But eventually, a problem will break out.
Because....
【Brigadier General : 10,000 personnel】
【Major General : 25,000 personnel】
【Lieutenant General : 60,000 personnel】
【General : 150,000 personnel】
【Marshal : 500,000 personnel】
【General Officer : 2,000,000 personnel】
The supply cheat takes America as its baseline — widespread nitrogen fixation, abundant energy, crop-dusting by airplane.
But this place is happy medieval-land.
Before I arrived, food was so scarce that even meals for soldiers on this critical frontline were inadequate.
'Hildea's territory residents number approximately 100,000. Among them, 20,000 are serving in the 3rd Army. Of the remaining 80,000, even rounding up aggressively, males aged 20 to 40 max out at 20,000.'
The fact that 20,000 out of 100,000 are knights and soldiers is itself proof that the county operates under an extreme military-first system.
A deformed structure where the territory couldn't possibly stand independently without logistics sent from the rear from the start.
A tragic Sword Master leashed by the Noble Council, which held the logistics support rights from the beginning — that was Hildea's fate before I came.
'Even if we conscripted every remaining able-bodied man, we couldn't even fill out a Major General's formation.'
Budget is life.
To increase that gauge, you need the headcount to back it up, but it's been screwed from birth.
Even if I gobble up the county and gobble up every marquisate too, I might not be able to attain Lieutenant General or General.
Because we lack troop headcount.
'Rogue One sequels, Civilization 7, The Last of Us Part II, The Youngest Daughter of a Conglomerate drama edition.... Anyway, to enjoy modern entertainment content, I might have to promote to at least Lieutenant General or higher.'
It's not just for entertainment content either.
Putting survival aside, to truly live well and eat well, I absolutely must climb to the highest rank.
Population doesn't surge in a short period, so I have to start as fast as possible.
My generously distributing flour to the territory through labor soldiers is part of that effort.
"I wish for us to seize the entirety of the kingdom's northern region, including the west of Ainshuvan."
I have no intention of personally going to provide support.
No point wasting precious budget using supply cheat weapons either.
'With a Machete Knight Order carrying stacks of high-calorie combat rations, mandrake roots, and just one priest — a mere 1,000 Ancient Trees are nothing at all.'
Since this is a chance to acquire vast, ownerless territory for a few pennies of budget.
***
"You may call me Marshall jungnyeong."
"Y-Yes.... Marshall jungnyeong-nim."
Not wanting to spread my name to the Noble Council, I gave my family name.
The moment that bastard returns, he'll be digging furiously to find out what kind of house name Marshall is.
With Hildea sitting cross-legged beside him polishing her machete, the messenger bastard couldn't straighten his hunched shoulders.
"The top-priority order Count Balckenhardt-nim received is to hold the Ainshuvan front. The Elf Legion's offensive is too fierce to spare a separate relief force."
"The bastards bypassed Ainshuvan through the ivory whale lake and invaded south. Wouldn't that mean the Northern Front has gained some breathing room?"
"The opposite. The enemy's strength is so formidable they could detach a legion of 1,000 to the rear."
"Kkhk...! But at this rate, the damage to the rear territories will be extreme! There will be disruptions to the harvest, and it could adversely affect frontline supply!"
"Are you trying to shake the leash using supplies now? Like you've been doing all along?"
"...."
When I aimed the pistol, the bastard flinched.
It's his first time seeing it, but he'll recognize it as a magical device that fires something lethally.
"If you're not careful with that mouth, you'll be processed as a straggler who never arrived in the North and go missing. Is that what you want?"
The bastard's face went pale.
Did I... have a talent for intimidation?
No, it's not that — he's crushed under the killing intent Hildea is radiating.
Maybe because I've gotten used to her begging for late-night snack burgers every evening, right now she feels like a stranger.
"First, let's hear the token of goodwill you've come prepared with."
"A-A token of goodwill, you say...?"
"For god's sake! Are you trying to insult our Count Balckenhardt-nim right now!"
The little bastard isn't completely clueless.
He glanced at Hildea and immediately flattened his bluster, only then reeling off a string of gift packages.
But not a single one satisfied me.
'These bastards still think my Hildea is a penniless count without two balls to her name.'
"Get lost! Return immediately this instant!"
"M-Marshall jungnyeong-nim! Please don't do this and just hear my story a little more...!"
"I said get lost because it's not worth hearing!"
What I really want to do is kick his shin.
But if I do that, it'd only tickle him and kill my own charisma.
The nameless Noble Council messenger was driven out of the barracks that very moment.
***
Hildea could sense just how desperately pressed the rear nobles were.
The very next day after the messenger left, a new messenger arrived.
They must have dispatched the next messenger before even receiving a reply.
Whether the new messenger had met yesterday's one midway and communicated, he committed no breach of etiquette.
The terms were far better too.
But.
"You moronic son of a bitch! With that much additional supply, we can't even cover half the calories our knight order expends on the march!
The central region is truly teeming with swindler bastards who have serpents' tongues!"
Piel kicked out the second messenger, too.
And the third, fourth, and fifth messengers kept getting kicked out in the same fashion.
Thanks to relay feedback between encounters, the terms kept climbing day by day, but Piel only pretended to listen and kicked every single one of them out.
Watching this, Hildea thought to herself.
'The old me would have accepted by now, wouldn't I?'
Not because she possessed the King's written orders, but she might have sent support just to lick up even the scraps they tossed as if doing charity.
But to Hildea's eyes, continuously exposed to the Marshall family's grace, it was a compensation that didn't please her in the slightest.
If this is how it seems to even her, how utterly flabbergasted must Piel be.
***
The very first messenger who'd been rejected and returned came back.
Along with a middle-aged Military Inspector General Minister from the Noble Council.
"Count Balckenhardt, this Minister comes with full authority. Any agreement whatsoever can be concluded with this Minister."
"Understood, Military Inspector General Minister."
Piel quietly stepped aside this time.
The Military Inspector General Minister didn't even glance at some lieutenant colonel duty officer.
"First, we desire food to feed our entire territory population for one year. It must be a lump-sum payment."
At those words, the Military Inspector General Minister let out a dumbfounded laugh for a moment.
"Food for 100,000 people for a year.... If that was it, you could have sent word to this fellow from the beginning. Ultimately, you've merely compelled this Minister into a cumbersome journey."
"All the food must be live livestock."
"...Are you joking right now?"
Live livestock cannot be transported via storage warehouse magic.
It requires large-scale transport manpower, and you must also account for the feed consumed during transit.
On top of that, meat for 100,000 people for a full year would require requisitioning an astronomical amount of livestock....
"No matter how abundant our south is, that is an insane, preposterous demand! Meat that 100,000 people can eat for a whole year!
Even Count Anbelrum's territory, where food rots in surplus, couldn't provide even one-twentieth of that!"
Hildea had been coached beforehand by Piel.
First, present an offer that the other party could absolutely never accept and would plunge them into great shock.
"The negotiation ends here. Please return."
"C-Count...!"
Only then did the inspector's expression harden, and he began to fidget anxiously.
Hildea recalled Piel's words again.
'He said if I do this, they'll accept that I have absolutely no intention of providing support and am just making an absurd proposal, right?'
The past her, always scraping by, wouldn't have been able to breathe properly in front of the Military Inspector General.
She would have groveled to obtain anything, and certainly would have completed a full barracks deep-clean before he even arrived.
"The negotiation is over. Return whenever you wish."
Hildea, as Piel instructed, first shattered the game board.
She evaded the Military Inspector General and departed for several days of patrol through the 1st and 2nd Army regions.
A joyous meat party with Piel continued for several days like a dream.
By the time she returned, the Military Inspector General was completely broken in spirit.
"Livestock for 100,000 people for a year is logistically impossible.... About a week's worth is feasible."
"I tried to raise 100,000 livestock, so no."
"Count! Please, please...! I'll provide a week's worth of livestock, so please request the remainder in something else!
How about rye? We can supply rye for 100,000 people for 2 years as a lump sum!"
At those words, Hildea felt a surge of fury.
Wasn't this essentially a confession from his own mouth that the rear had that much surplus constantly stockpiled?
Receiving Piel's eye signal, she suppressed the rage about to explode and opened her mouth.
"The western land of Ainshuvan once governed by the 1st Army Commander."
"...Count?"
"The irreversible annexation of that land. Guarantee of unlimited free operational authority for the relief force.
Rye for 100,000 people for 2 years, and live livestock for 1 week. 100,000 gold coins.
And also...."
Gazing with pleasure at her own reflection in the inspector's trembling pupils, shaking with shock, Hildea added her final demand.
"One additional star on my rank insignia. That is all."
***Rear Warning***
(1 illustration of Rebecca accidentally omitted yesterday)
