Defense of the Valharat Western Fortress (2)
Before long, we reached the fortress.
The outer walls, once little more than a crude wooden stockade, were now ringed by solid brick battlements. Clearly someone had judged the place important enough to pour real effort into expanding it.
It was true that the fortress sat in a position of considerable weight for both the Brans Army and the Asius Army. High on a tower, a crimson banner snapped in the wind, declaring in no uncertain terms that this ground belonged to Asius.
"Welcome, Lady Airen."
A few of the soldiers on watch recognized Airen and offered their greetings. The crests etched into their armor marked them as men of the Asius Army. Like us, they now served a different sun.
"Mm. You've done well."
We made straight for the council chamber where Epinel waited. Inside, a woman with teal hair tied back in a ponytail rose to greet us.
"By my lord's command, I, Airen Juliette, have just arrived at the fortress."
"Welcome, Airen. And the strategist as well."
Her gaze swept over our party, then settled on my face.
"So you've come too, Swen. I've been waiting for you."
I bowed my head without a word. She did not seem to expect an answer; turning her attention to all of us, she began to lay out the situation in a grave tone.
"Now that reinforcements have arrived, I'll explain once more. The Brans Army is marching on this fortress with fifty-three thousand men. Their vanguard is led by Chel Brans, I'm told."
Chel himself was coming. That meant they were drawing on the southern forces. Having served under the Brans banner until only recently, I could picture the shape of their movements with almost painful clarity.
"At present, forty-eight thousand soldiers are stationed here. With the three thousand you brought, that makes fifty-one thousand. This is a fortress, not a castle — but with numbers like these, I believe we can hold."
Zinor, who had been listening in silence, spoke in a tone of utmost seriousness.
"…Lady Epinel. Do you truly mean to continue the resistance from this fortress?"
"I do."
"That is not a rational decision. The correct course is to abandon the fortress at once and fall back to the castle."
"Strategist. Our numbers are nearly even. This is not a castle, but we hold a fortress. In a situation where a fight is entirely viable, unconditional defeat is not the only answer."
"I do not fail to understand General Epinel's intent. But I do not believe the Brans invasion will end with an assault of fifty-three thousand. We may manage to hold them off somehow. Yet our side will not walk away with a clean victory — we will suffer significant losses of our own. If this turns into a war of attrition, our army, lacking a solid territorial base, will inevitably be crushed by the overwhelming capacity of the Brans forces."
As he spoke, Zinor bowed his head.
To see a state strategist lower his head before a general — and a man of Zinor's stature, no less.
"General Epinel. Please reconsider. At present, the best course is to concentrate our forces at Valharat Castle and make full use of the advantages of a defensive siege. Once we have dealt with the Charam Army and the Allepel Army, a path will surely open."
Honestly, I agreed with Zinor. Not simply because his Intelligence stood at ninety-nine, but because his reasoning was far more sound.
No matter how much they had expanded the place, holding out in a fortress and holding out in a castle were worlds apart. Fifty-three thousand was a large force, but combining the troops here with those still remaining at Valharat Castle would give us numbers more than capable of stopping them. And once the soldiers who had marched out to fight the Allepel Army returned, our defensive strength would be even more formidable.
But Epinel answered in a voice of absolute resolve.
"Strategist. It is not that I fail to grasp what you are saying. But if we lose this fortress, we will simply fall back into endless stalemate with the Brans Army. Sooner or later we must clash with them. I believe that time is now. If we keep avoiding a full-scale battle, our army will accomplish nothing."
She had a point. The fortress's location was genuinely advantageous. From my perspective, I had thrown it up more or less at random because Airen needed somewhere to station her troops — but whether for Asius or Brans, seizing it would prove remarkably useful. From Epinel's standpoint, with the numbers so nearly matched, surrendering a hard-won fortress simply out of fear of a prolonged war must have seemed the greater loss.
Her judgment itself was understandable. Unlike the blatant miscalculations of someone like Kalintz Brans in the past, this one had real grounds beneath it.
"And I hold a somewhat different view regarding the idea that Brans will keep pouring in more troops. Our intelligence indicates they have concluded a ceasefire with the southern nations. Most of the soldiers marching on us are likely the ones who were guarding the southern border, are they not? That would mean any further reinforcements would have to come from the northern frontier — and if they do that, Serpina's army will not simply sit idle. What do you think?"
"Considering the population of the territories Brans currently holds, further conscription remains a possibility. And if they draw troops not from the northern front but from the western front, the situation changes entirely. Taking everything into account, abandoning the fortress and basing our defense on Valharat Castle is the surest way to shut down the Brans invasion."
"You may be right about shutting down the invasion. But as I said, a road that is forever blocked can never be opened. If we can crush the Brans Army in this battle, the capture of Lacline Castle will no longer be a mere dream."
"I understand how you feel, but the time is not yet right. If we wait, the moment will come."
At Zinor's words, Epinel slowly closed her eyes. When she spoke again, her tone was careful.
"Strategist. I do not wish to dredge up the past, but I still remember the day you boldly declared you would plant the Asius banner atop Lacline Castle. And what became of that?"
"…!"
Wow.
To push back against a strategist that hard — Epinel's influence was clearly formidable. For the record, the person who had blocked that particular bold declaration was me. But nothing good would come of that fact coming to light, so I kept quiet.
"In a sense, this battle is a golden opportunity that has come to our Asius Army. As you say, aiming for Lacline Castle right now may well be a low-probability endeavor. However…"
Epinel's voice took on an almost sentimental quality, as though she were looking back through the years.
"You have not been with us long, Strategist, so you may not know this — but our Asius Army has accomplished countless things. From the day we first gathered and spoke of our cause, to the day we planted our banner at Valharat Castle here in the central lands, all while slipping past Serpina's iron watch over the northern continent. Not a single one of those things looked likely to succeed. And yet we did them. We brothers who share Yuuri's blood have always seized opportunity from crisis, and that is how we have come this far."
"…"
"And within our army, I do not believe there is a single person who is seriously considering abandoning this fortress and retreating."
With that, Epinel finally turned toward the rest of us and raised her voice.
"Am I wrong? Anyone who thinks we should abandon this fight and fall back to Valharat Castle — raise your hand!"
No one did.
I let out a quiet breath of relief. Her little performance hinged on the fact that it was a question — and for that, I was grateful.
Is abandoning the battle and retreating the best course of action?
I swiftly fed Epinel's question into my mind. Both sides had plausible reasons for their positions. An ordinary person would have no way of choosing between them. Without the ability to read the future, no one could say with certainty who was right.
But I was different. As long as I could input a question, I would always receive the correct answer.
Would Zinor's opinion — the man with Intelligence 99 — prove correct?
And the result:
[Somewhat close.]
…???
Huh?
Somewhat close…?
Not the correct answer — just somewhat close?
I had seen a "close" response before. During a regular council of the Brans Army, Airen's opinion had come back as "nearly correct." But this was strange. If retreating was only somewhat close to the right answer, did that mean we still needed to pull the troops out somehow?
Why?
My thoughts tangled for a moment, but Epinel pressed on without pause. No one having raised a hand seemed to please her greatly; strength entered her voice.
"Strategist. We must seize victory in this battle. It is the only path that will allow us to advance into the heart of the continent. Our brothers can do this — just as we always have. I have been granted full authority over the command of this fortress by Yuuri. My word, in other words, is the word of our sovereign. I have no intention of yielding on this point, so I would ask for your cooperation as well, Strategist."
Zinor closed his eyes in thought, then nodded.
"…Understood."
No matter that Zinor was the state strategist, the absolute authority in this nation was its sovereign, Yuuri. And Yuuri placed enormous trust in Epinel — trust so deep it bordered on being led around by her.
But that was not what mattered right now.
If Zinor's opinion was only "somewhat close," then what of Epinel's — the choice to stand and fight the Brans Army without abandoning the fortress?
Is there any natural way to get that question answered?
At that very moment, as if on cue, Epinel turned to me.
"Well then, Swen. This time I'd like to see that ability of yours with my own two eyes."
"My ability, my lady?"
"There's no point playing coy at this stage. I mean the miracle you performed. You prayed to the heavens and brought down a rain of stones, did you not?"
Come to think of it, she had said she had been waiting for me. So she wanted me to use that power.
"Lady Epinel, Swen's ability is—"
I stopped Airen with a small gesture, asking her to leave this to me. She understood at once and fell silent.
"I am deeply sorry, Lady Epinel, but communion with the heavens is not something I can call upon at will. I am merely a man who reads the currents of the sky, discerns the flow of the stars, and guides that flow to our advantage. My desire to be of help is genuine — but at present, that channel is closed."
"Is that so? What if we held a ritual similar to the one before?"
"We could certainly perform one… but there is no guarantee the heavens would answer. If the aim is simply to cloud the eyes of the Brans Army, it is not a bad idea. But as to whether it would have any real effect — I am truly sorry, but I cannot give you a firm answer."
A ritual might serve as a bluff against the Brans Army, of all people — but if nothing actually happened, the problem would only come afterward.
"Hmm… is that so?"
Epinel looked mildly disappointed, then shook her head.
"Well, even without relying on your miracles, our army can defeat the Brans forces here. Wouldn't you agree?"
At her perfectly timed question, I exhaled in quiet relief.
Perfect!
I hadn't planned it, but somehow I had managed to extract the very question I needed.
Second question: Can the Asius Army defeat the Brans Army in this battle?
Whatever answer came back would determine what I did next.
And once again, a mind of Intelligence 100 delivered its verdict as casually as if it were announcing the evening menu.
[It depends on the will of Heaven.]
??????
Once again — a result I had never expected.