The Empty Fort Strategy (2)
The sun had climbed high, and noon was fast approaching.
Flutter.
“Commander, how’s your body holding up?”
Hans had come looking for me at the barracks where I was staying.
“Well, as you can see.”
I rolled up my pants leg to show him the bandages wrapped thickly around my thigh. The wound had been so bad you could see bone, yet here I was, able to move around on my own. Truly, potions are the greatest invention ever.
When Hans saw me trying to stand and walk by myself, he immediately tried to stop me. He sat down on a nearby chair and spoke.
“Commander, we’ve got an operation this afternoon, right? What should we do? Are we charging the enemy camp again like last night?”
“No. This time there won’t be any charging.”
I pulled the tactical map on the desk toward us and showed it to Hans. Then I picked up one of the wooden pieces and placed it at the foot of the mountain.
“Alright. This piece is our current position.”
Tap!
I picked up several more pieces and set them on the mid-slope of the mountain.
“This is where the enemy is right now.”
Tap!
Finally, I placed the last piece inside Hartzfeld Castle.
“At first they’ll be inside the castle. Then, right around the time the 2nd Prince’s army arrives at Hartzfeld Castle—”
I moved the 1st Prince’s pieces and repositioned them at the rear gate.
“A small number of troops will remain at the front gate and open it. The rest will quickly exit through the rear gate and split into two forces on either side.”
Tap! Tap!
I moved the 1st Prince’s pieces again, placing them in the forests on both sides of the castle.
Hartzfeld Castle sat on a relatively low peak flanked by two tall ridges, essentially guarding a mountain pass. The slopes on either side were steep and rugged, but they were covered in dense broadleaf forests—more than enough to hide an army.
It wouldn’t be suitable for a long-term encampment, but for a short ambush? It would work perfectly.
‘Plus, I’ve heard the 1st Prince’s troops are elite.’
Thanks to the 1st Prince’s generous and caring nature, their morale was surprisingly well-maintained despite the food shortage.
“Once the ambush is set, we’ll signal the troops left inside the castle to throw the front gates wide open. That concludes Phase One of this Empty Fort Strategy.”
“Phase One, huh… Then what about Phase Two?”
“Phase Two is… we do nothing.”
“Huh?”
Hans looked utterly bewildered by my answer.
It probably sounded ridiculous, but there was a reason.
“Just wait, I’ll explain. Everything has a purpose.”
“Halt!”
“Halt! The order is to halt all units!”
“Stay in formation! Do not break ranks!”
Chaos erupted among the infantry, but none of it reached the 2nd Prince’s eyes.
“W-why is that gate open?”
Right now, the 2nd Prince’s gaze was fixed solely on the wide-open gates of Hartzfeld Castle.
“C-Count! Count Wint-Hafenal!”
The 2nd Prince began calling for Count Wint-Hafenal.
The man was certainly suspicious, but whenever questions like this arose, he was the one who provided clear answers.
Before long, Count Wint-Hafenal arrived before the 2nd Prince.
“You called for me.”
“Y-yes, Count. Look at that… have you seen it?”
“You mean the fact that Hartzfeld Castle appears to be empty?”
“Y-yes! They must have slipped away like rats in the night! We have to pursue them at once—”
“Please calm yourself.”
Count Wint-Hafenal spoke softly yet with an underlying pressure that forced the 2nd Prince to settle down. Then, with his usual theatrical expression, he continued.
“Hehe. A force of over a thousand soldiers moved without leaving a single trace? And the 1st Prince’s army, no less—the ones suffering from severe food shortages? That’s simply impossible.”
Even as he spoke, the Count gripped the 2nd Prince’s shoulder and forcibly turned his body so they faced each other.
“Your Highness, what do you think is happening?”
“W-well… I-I’m not sure—”
“Haha, not sure? You’re being far too modest.”
Count Wint-Hafenal pressed the 2nd Prince as if it were unthinkable that he wouldn’t know. His mouth smiled, but his eyes were cold and vicious.
The 2nd Prince, frightened by that gaze, could only look away. He showed no sign of speaking further.
After a moment, Count Wint-Hafenal gently released the prince’s shoulder and began issuing orders to those around them.
“Scouts! Search the surrounding area immediately! Especially send men to inspect inside the castle! Hurry!”
“Yes, sir!”
Clop, clop!
The sound of a messenger’s horse galloping away to relay the orders echoed across the field.
“The reason we do nothing in Phase Two is to force the enemy to stop right in front of the castle.”
If, after days of besieging a castle, you finally march up today only to find it completely deserted with the front gate wide open, how would you react?
Option one: boldly march straight through the open gate?
Option two: panic at the strange situation and freeze?
In my opinion, it’s option three. They’d stop their advance to assess the situation and begin scouting.
“When the gate is blatantly left open, and the enemy you’ve been chasing has vanished without a trace, who wouldn’t want to scout first before making a move?”
Anyone would react that way.
Of course, if the opponent had the brain of a macho meathead who didn’t think normally and just charged straight in, what then?
Well, even in that case, we had preparations ready. We’d still achieve some results.
Meanwhile, at Hartzfeld Castle.
The 2nd Prince’s scouts had just entered through the front gate.
They were being led by a certain noble.
The man wore armor engraved with flashy patterns completely unsuited for the battlefield. Thirsty for military merit, he had insisted on joining a scouting mission he didn’t need to attend.
“My lord! Could you come look at this? I have no idea what this sour smell is.”
“What is it! Have you found something that could earn me merit?”
“There’s something shiny hanging right above the gate. It looks like jewelry… or maybe a gem?”
“Hand it over at once!”
The noble snatched the object from the scout’s hand like he was stealing it.
Upon closer inspection, the item in his hand appeared to be some kind of artifact.
The moment that thought crossed his mind—
Click!
As soon as it was in the noble’s hand, a mechanical sound rang out. His mana began draining rapidly.
Vrrrrrrrr—!
Something was very wrong.
The instant he realized it—
BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion engulfed the front gate of Hartzfeld Castle.
BOOOOOOM!
The sound of an explosion echoed from the direction of Hartzfeld Castle in the distance.
It seemed the bomb I had modified from the Flame Buster had gone off.
The idea had come from reverse thinking: if an unstable artifact kept threatening to explode, why not make it extremely unstable on purpose and pack it with as much mana as possible so it would sweep away everything around it? The result was a makeshift bomb born from a failed prototype.
‘I set it so that anyone who can handle mana would trigger the final threshold by feeding it mana, causing it to detonate.’
Whether that person was the commander or just some fearless idiot, I didn’t know.
“Hans, we move out. Tell Sir Grout to prepare for battle.”
This was the final Phase Three. With the enemy thrown into utter chaos by the bomb, we would surround and assault them from the outside.
BOOOOOOM!
A tremendous explosion erupted at the castle’s front gate.
The 3rd Prince watched it and felt his heart drop.
When he had first received the device, he had nearly touched it by mistake.
‘If the messenger hadn’t stopped me in time…’
The blast might have gone off right in front of his eyes.
‘Seriously, how can one person be like that?’
Just thinking about Alvaro, who had become his vassal a little over a year ago, gave him a headache.
The man had casually whipped up something like this and handed it over, saying they needed more chaos for the plan. His abilities were clearly outstanding, yet his behavior was straight-up insane…
‘He seems to operate within common sense at first, but the next moment he’s dancing far beyond it. Every time I see him charging into fire while carrying firewood, I just…’
The reports that came through Sir Essenrot always left the same impression.
Even from their first meeting, he was an extraordinary figure in every possible sense of the word.
“All troops!”
Clang, clang, clang!
The sound of weapons being raised in unison rang out.
Even the ordinary soldiers in his older brother’s army were exceptionally well-trained. The 3rd Prince found it fascinating, and at the same time, it filled him with tremendous confidence.
The confidence that they could overcome this crisis.
“Charge!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Thududududu!
War cries and the thunder of charging feet echoed from all directions.
Their target was the 2nd Prince’s army. Their role was to cut off the enemy’s retreat!
“I grant you the glory of victory! Forward! With me!”
BOOOOOOM!
The promised time for the counterattack had arrived.
“All troops! Weapons up!”
Clang-clang-clang!
The overlapping sound of weapons being raised rang out like a song.
Not bad. He had worried they wouldn’t have much strength after starving for so long, but they were in far better shape than expected.
The 1st Prince shouted in a booming voice.
“Who stands before you!”
“The 1st Prince! The 1st Prince! The 1st Prince!”
“Then who is your enemy!”
“The insolent one! The traitor! The wicked one!”
The 1st Prince grinned widely, satisfied with his soldiers’ answers, and continued his speech.
“To honor chivalry and protect the weak is our duty!”
As the 1st Prince led the chant—
“To eliminate evil and bring peace is our duty!”
The soldiers answered in kind.
“Uahahahaha! Everyone! Are you ready to tear apart this horde of evil?”
“We are!”
The answer came back with a roar so loud it shook the entire forest. The element of surprise was probably gone now, but thanks to that, the 1st Prince’s army’s morale was at its peak.
“Then charge!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Thududududu!
The 1st Prince’s advance had begun.