29
Chapter 29
Meanwhile, at Grand Duke Kronor's military camp.
"We must retreat our forces immediately."
Emilia von Kronor, a key figure in the battle at the Imor River, was taking the rare step of voicing her opinion to her father, Karl von Kronor.
"What are you talking about, Emilia?"
Karl asked, and Emilia replied.
"Our forces are currently in an extremely disadvantageous position."
Karl von Kronor frowned at the sudden remark. Had anyone else uttered such nonsense, the Grand Duke would have already lashed them with a whip. However, Emilia had defeated Dian de Valboa and was the hero of the previous battle, so even Karl could not easily silence her. To be honest, Karl felt it was awkward to strike her and simply wished she would disappear, but Emilia refused to back down.
"What do you mean, disadvantageous position?"
"We have three thousand troops besieging Crotea Castle and ten thousand troops defending Seize Castle."
"That may be so, but..."
"But if you look at the map here, you will see that Tallinn Castle, where the enemy's main force is located, is very close to Crotea Castle."
"Ridiculous. The sea stands between them."
"The sea is no obstacle; they can simply cross it. Charles Jean Rochefort—a man like him would requisition all the merchant ships anchored in the harbor to invade the Crotea Peninsula. He would then join forces with the Crotea Garrison to annihilate the siege army and cut off our supply lines from the rear."
Emilia's analysis was spot on. It aligned perfectly with the strategy Charles Jean Rochefort had devised. Naturally, this was the most viable way for the Crown Prince's Army to win.
"Emilia, I acknowledge your performance in the last battle."
"Then, about the retreat..."
"Enough with this bullshit that kills our morale! We won a great victory at the Imor River. Since we won the battle, it's only natural that a city or two should fall to us! What is the point of winning if you don't take the castles and cities? Is it not a hollow victory without any gain? Emilia! Ever since you started rambling about some Goddess, you've become a ridiculous girl! Get out! Don't show your face in my tent until I call for you! Otherwise, I'll kill you!"
Emilia von Kronor.
A person with the greatest combat power in the story and top-tier military leadership.
Yet, Emilia was currently powerless. She was neither a monarch nor a general, but merely the daughter of the Grand Duke.
'I need power... I need my own force...'
To freely carry out the will of the Goddess of War, she needed her own influence. To do that...
'The Grand Duke is in the way.'
Emilia believed her father was an obstacle to spreading the name of the Goddess of War throughout the world.
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The next day, the Crown Prince led twelve thousand troops toward Seize Castle, while Charles Jean Rochefort simultaneously led three thousand troops across the sea.
The Crown Prince marched toward Seize Castle from the north, and Charles marched toward Crotea Castle from the south. The plan was to protect Crotea Castle, which was on the verge of falling, by advancing from both directions.
Meanwhile, Grand Duke Kronor's plan was the exact opposite. He intended to make Crotea Castle fall by besieging it with three thousand soldiers, while holding the enemy at Seize Castle to prevent the Crown Prince's Army from advancing.
As a result, he would seize both Seize Castle and Crotea Castle. That was Grand Duke Kronor's strategy.
However, Charles Jean Rochefort felt that the Grand Duke's strategy was quite amateurish. While the Grand Duke might have been a decent tactician, he was completely lacking as a strategist.
This was because the Grand Duke failed to realize that he was actually in a disadvantageous position. At this rate, he would gain nothing and only suffer losses.
There were various qualities required of a general. There were tactical qualities and strategic qualities. Tactics involve viewing a war from a microscopic perspective, whereas strategy involves viewing it from a macroscopic one.
That might sound complicated, but a simple analogy suffices. Tactics are about how to win a battle, while strategy is about how to leverage that victory to achieve the greatest possible gain.
In that sense, Grand Duke Kronor knew how to win a battle, but he didn't know how to leverage that victory for actual gain. That was why he was now making such a risky move.
"I should teach Grand Duke Kronor a lesson."
Although the Grand Duke didn't have much time left to live according to the story, they say learning continues until death. Charles thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to give him one final lesson.
With that thought, Charles crossed the sea and arrived at the Crotea Peninsula. The peninsula was dotted with several small castles centered around Crotea Castle, the largest in the region. Since even the Kronor army, with only three thousand troops, couldn't possibly besiege all these small castles, Charles was able to move relatively freely within the peninsula.
Charles's force of three thousand entered a small fortress called Coromo Castle. After allowing his soldiers to recover from the fatigue of the voyage through rest, Charles left Coromo Castle the next day, July 25, 1501, and marched toward Crotea Castle, which was besieged by the Grand Duke's detachment.
Crotea Castle, owned by Dian de Valboa, was quite well-fortified. The north was a natural fortress of cliffs, the east bordered the sea, and large moats were dug to the west and south, making it a location that could not be easily attacked.
Consequently, the attackers had been unable to launch a direct assault and could only wait idly for the food supplies inside the castle to run out.
And the food reserves inside the castle were not plentiful; they had enough for only a few months at most.
Of course, the real problem wasn't how much food was left. Rather, it was the fear that the garrison, seeing the dwindling supplies, might mistakenly feel abandoned and surrender.
That was why Charles rushed straight toward Crotea Castle. Then, at 11:30 AM on July 25, Charles Jean Rochefort attempted to ambush the Kronor army from the rear.
However, the Kronor scouts weren't idle, and they noticed the presence of the Valboa Army when Charles's forces were about two kilometers away.
The general leading the Kronor detachment was quite shocked to see the enemy suddenly appear from the rear.
"Where on earth did the enemy come from...! Grand Duke Kronor is still holding the front!"
It was hard to imagine they had crossed the rough seas. Since the Kronor army was a Northern power, their intelligence network in the Central region was limited, and they never expected anyone to ignore Seize Castle at the front to immediately rescue Crotea Castle in the rear. Was this not a strategy that defied the common sense of military art?
But Charles was not bound by textbooks. Whether a path was orthodox or unorthodox were merely terms people created for convenience. Regardless of the method, as long as he won, that was all that mattered. That was Charles's philosophy.
Just as Charles was about to give the order to attack, Paul and Hugo summoned all the commanders of the Valboa Army.
For a regular commander to summon all other commanders of the Valboa Army was essentially a breach of protocol. However, Charles complied, figuring this was simply the fate of an outsider.
It was a bizarre scene, with subordinates summoning their superior. Charles answered the call from Paul and Hugo, as did the other commanders.
Wondering if they were planning some secret conspiracy, Charles arrived at the tent early and tapped his fingers on the desk until Paul and Hugo appeared.
"Paul, Hugo. What could be so urgent that a regular commander felt the need to call a meeting?"
"We heard you're planning to order an attack on the enemy."
"I am. Is there an issue?"
"Absolutely not!"
Sigh. Just as he expected. They wouldn't have bothered with a summons unless they wanted to throw a wrench in his plans. Another power struggle.
"Why not? We have three thousand men, and the enemy has three thousand. It's an even match; we can win this."
"It's not the same three thousand! We lost too many heavy infantry and heavy cavalry at the Imor River! We're left mostly with light infantry and archers! Charging an equal force with such an unbalanced army is sheer madness!"
He had a point, but it wasn't something Charles needed to worry about. He had already taken those factors into account before ordering the march.
"I'm sorry, but the order to attack has been decided. I will not hear any further objections. We fight tonight."
"You lunatic! One rogue element is leading the Valboa Army to its doom!"
With that shout, Paul and Hugo both drew their swords.
"I'd rather kill you here and replace the commander than let the Valboa Army be ruined by the likes of you! Everyone! Strike him down!"
At Paul's signal, Paul, Hugo, and several guards lunged at Charles simultaneously.