The Battle of the Georg Plains - 1
The war drums thundered. Thump! Thump! Thump!
Countless people had gathered atop the city walls outside the gates, cheering wildly. An army of soldiers and knights assembled under the command of their benevolent lord. It was a majestic march that would stir anyone into a frenzy of excitement.
At the very front stood a colossal carriage. I climbed atop it.
“Kyaaaaaaaah!”
“Long live our lord! Long live Muller!”
“May the blessings of the Sun God be with you!”
Flower petals and thunderous cheers rained down. The same overwhelming welcome I had once witnessed in Franz was now being directed at me.
I slowly scanned the city of Muller. Seeing the commoners screaming in adoration as they looked at me filled me with a strange new emotion. But they weren’t the only ones. The soldiers, mercenaries, and knights marching off to war stared at me as well.
I raised my voice and shouted.
“By the bloodline of the Golden Lion, I have now descended upon this land in the name of the sun.”
The golden lion, symbol of victory, prosperity, and success. Now, my symbol was the sun itself, its eyes opened wide.
“Behold.”
I pointed toward the sky.
“As long as that sun shines eternally above us—”
Eternity. A sun that would burn forever. A lifespan nearing infinity. Could the humans of this world even comprehend such a concept? I didn’t know. So let it be eternal.
“Its light shall never be extinguished.”
Brilliant radiance burst forth from my body. Not flames, but pure light. It poured from every inch of me, coalescing into a small, blazing sun.
“March forth, my soldiers!”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
At my command, the army began to move. Their destination: the Georg Basin. Hundreds of troops moved as one, like a single colossal living creature.
In essence, it was a formal declaration of war. Afterward, we reviewed our strategy.
Shhhhhhrrrrrrk!
The intellectuals serving as my staff officers unfurled a map created from countless reconnaissance and scouting missions.
“The precision of this newly made map is truly remarkable.”
It was detailed enough to impress even them. We had used technology based on magic stones crafted into cameras. While not actual photographs, the map was drawn from recorded visuals and included contour lines. We had even hired adventurers native to the area to gather weather data.
My eyes settled on the small basin drawn on the map. A depression surrounded by modest mountains, situated right beside the waterway flowing from the Great Mountain Range.
“So this is the Georg Basin.”
“Yes, my lord. It is close to the Great Mountain Range, but not part of it. There is no rejection reaction either.”
“So they’re just ordinary mountains?”
“Correct.”
Mount Gulan sits at the edge of the Great Mountain Range and carries some of its influence, but the mountains encircling the Georg Basin are merely nearby. They lack any particular peculiarities, according to the scouts.
“Our scouts on site also reported no unusual findings.”
“What about monsters?”
“There are a few small groups, but nothing on a large scale. Baron Aslan conducts regular subjugation campaigns as well.”
“Makes sense. It’s their bread and butter, after all.”
Now the war was truly beginning. As I had said before, nobles who possessed near-nuclear levels of power rarely took the field themselves. If a noble entered the fray directly, a single gesture could shatter an infantry formation, and even knights would eventually fall no matter how many attacks they blocked.
Of course, if the opponent moved first, the story would change.
“Do you think Baron Aslan will take the field personally?”
“It’s possible, but the probability isn’t high.”
The Aslan family had relatively few direct and collateral bloodlines. If they committed fully, the tide of battle would swing heavily in their favor, and even I couldn’t guarantee victory. I might have to summon Triana immediately.
However, we judged that such a scenario was unlikely.
“The Aslan territory is small but rich. Farmland is rare in the South, and they profit mostly through trade. To them, the Georg Basin isn’t that significant.”
“Moreover, even if they commit everything, they cannot be certain of victory.”
“Exactly. We also have Lady Triana and Lady Irina. Since we are currently restricting information about those two, the enemy must remain wary of the possibility that they might appear.”
Hmm.
“But they must be quite furious after the letter I sent.”
“Yes. We should prepare for that as well. As long as we don’t let our guard down, we’ll be fine.”
Even as he spoke, his eyes toward me were filled with absolute trust. So if the worst came to pass, I would have to step forward myself?
I was prepared. If the opponent was a noble, I too would have to risk my life in battle. During the fight against the large-scale monster Mucker, it had been a stealth type with relatively weak direct combat ability. As long as I was careful of its predation phase, which took time to activate, I hadn’t considered it truly dangerous.
In my heart, I wanted to charge in immediately, but war had its unspoken rules. A formal declaration of war was one of them. It could not be ignored. If we disregarded it, we would truly be screwed.
Even if another territory launched a surprise attack on Muller instead of Aslan, the royal family would have no justification to intervene, nor could we call them cowards. That was precisely why we had properly issued our declaration of war. The justification was somewhat forced, but we had created one nonetheless.
“Where will the battle take place?”
“On the plains.”
The staff officer pointed to two sections of the map.
“The first option is the plains. The second is the mountains.”
The route our army was currently marching along led through the plains. Once we crossed the mountains ahead, the Georg Basin would appear immediately, with the city and river lying within it.
“The enemy has designated the plains.”
“They seem confident.”
Baron Aslan likely had more troops. That was why he chose the plains, and we accepted. Yet I didn’t feel particularly disadvantaged.
“The numbers of soldiers and knights should be roughly even.”
Although I had received the title of count, I previously held no rank, and Muller’s knight order had been reduced during the civil war. Even with the knights who followed me from Franz Territory, the overall forces were judged to be similar.
“If we break through like this and reach the Georg Basin, we will have achieved our primary objective. Since the mountains are small, crossing them shouldn’t pose any major problems.”
If someone asked whether it was true that battle locations were formally designated, the answer was yes. This was a territorial war, after all. If this were a war between nations, proper hostilities would begin only after the declaration. Capturing enemy nobles as prisoners and sending them back cleanly was common practice. The nobles of this world were quite barbaric in that regard.
But since this was a territorial conflict, there was an unspoken etiquette that one shouldn’t go too far against fellow countrymen. Of course, many nobles didn’t care about such honor since defeat could mean the extermination of their entire clan, but that was a discussion for the later stages of war.
We needed to win cleanly so that no further justification could be created against us later.
What? Justification regarding the Georg Basin? I don’t know. Isn’t it perfectly legitimate?
“What is at stake in this war is solely the ownership of the Georg Basin. Taking the entire Aslan Territory that you desire, my lord, will likely be difficult.”
“I know. I kept provoking them, but they refused to take the bait.”
The Georg Basin had been dragged into this territorial war with some coercion, but it seemed they wouldn’t easily fall for anything beyond that. Of course, we could continue the war regardless…
“It will be difficult. Not only the surrounding territories, but the capital will likely intervene to mediate.”
“The Georg Basin is enough.”
Was it because I had forced the issue? Political pressure kept coming from every direction. No matter how strong I was, one hand couldn’t block ten. Franz and Boreng were helping behind the scenes regarding this war, but the enemy was deliberately shaping public opinion.
The moment I obtained the entire Aslan Territory, I would gain the greatest influence in the entire southern region. From trade to food self-sufficiency, it would allow complete independence. Naturally, they wanted to stop it at all costs.
Still, the Georg Basin was sufficient. Once obtained, I could even carve a road through the mountains if necessary. Being near the Great Mountain Range was a bit unsettling, but I could handle it. Simply securing trading rights through my connection with Princess Amelia would be more than enough.
When put this way, victory seemed incredibly profitable, but defeat would mean losing just as much. After all, we had forcibly manufactured justification for this territorial war.
“Then I shall explain our strategy for the battle on the plains. Sir Giro.”
“Yes. My lord, I will now explain the plan for this engagement.”
Not only the staff officers but also the knights who had been waiting quietly nearby began to speak in turn. Chloe and Isabel listened in silence. In matters like this, knowledge was important, but experience mattered even more. Though they held higher ranks, they chose to listen quietly as juniors this time.
“…and we will move in this formation.”
“…Hmm. It doesn’t seem like there’s any special strategy?”
It was more like straightforward frontal assault. There were no particular deceptions or tricks. At my words, a middle-aged knight smiled and replied.
“For those who are truly strong, there is no need for complicated plans or schemes that require many hands.”
“Huh?”
“A complex operation collapses entirely if it fails even once. The simpler war is, the better.”
Is that so? When I looked around, everyone was nodding in agreement. Well, since I lack experience in this, I suppose they’re right.
“Moreover, as long as we have our lord’s protection, we cannot be defeated.”
The middle-aged knight grinned. His words were so confident they almost made me anxious, but I decided to trust the experts.