Subjugating the Female General (13)
Count Banel finished his campaign preparations faster than anyone had expected. Marquis Metz had grumbled, of course — but when it came time to actually deliver, he proved the sort of man who got things done. After conferring with Count Banel, he had the supply lines ready in short order.
They held a modest departure ceremony and put the army on the march at once. Ordinarily, an emperor's personal departure for war would have been marked by a grand send-off, but Dong-hyun had refused one. Word later had it that Marquis Metz was thoroughly pleased by that decision.
The army under Dong-hyun's command pressed hard toward the Kairan Kingdom. Reaching the Kairan border would take roughly seven days; if they didn't keep up the pace, the entire campaign could unravel.
Throughout the southward march, Dong-hyun received a steady stream of reports. Most of them were bad.
Three days of siege, and Cadis Fortress still stood as firm as ever. That much would have been tolerable. But Duke Balanos's army, starved of proper supplies, had seen its morale and stamina collapse — they had been forced to withdraw from the Cadis Gorge. And in the process, they had been hit by one enemy ambush after another, suffering heavy losses before they could even pull back.
Had Dong-hyun not taken the field himself, the war might well have ended then and there. But an emperor who had personally marched to war could not simply let it fizzle out.
The one burning with anxiety over all this was Duke Edinal. Adrian had blackmailed him into delaying the supplies, but now that the emperor himself had taken the field, being caught holding back provisions could easily be branded as treason. He couldn't abandon his son either, so he was twisting himself into knots trying to get the supplies through somehow.
Duke Balanos had fallen back to the border, where he was requisitioning the border garrison's supplies and trying to reorganize his army. With the emperor on the march, he needed to get his forces back in fighting shape as quickly as possible and return to Cadis Fortress. If they still hadn't taken it by the time the emperor arrived, the situation would become extremely awkward. But Cadis Fortress continued to hold strong, leaving Duke Balanos stuck — unable to advance, unable to retreat.
While Duke Balanos's army was still locked in the siege, Dong-hyun's forces reached the border.
Contrary to the duke's expectations, the Imperial Guard did not head for Cadis Fortress. Dong-hyun had decided that since Duke Balanos was already handling the fortress, he would take a flanking route instead. They were retracing the very path Adrian had taken on his way down.
This was possible for two reasons. First, the two armies had separate supply lines — Duke Edinal handled Duke Balanos's army, while Marquis Metz handled the Imperial Guard. Second, Duke Balanos's forces were already assaulting Cadis Fortress.
Bypassing Cadis Fortress was normally a dangerous proposition. Leaving a major enemy stronghold at your back invited rear attacks and cut supply lines. But the fortress no longer had the strength to strike at anyone's rear. Duke Balanos's army was launching siege assaults nearly every day; the defenders simply had no attention to spare for Dong-hyun's Imperial Guard.
If anything, Dong-hyun's movement put Cadis Fortress itself at risk of encirclement. If the supply route to the fortress were cut, the garrison could very well starve to death inside their own walls.
The only one who could stop the Imperial Guard now was Adrian.
Adrian had returned to his stronghold, where he now commanded a force of two thousand — a thousand troops held in reserve, plus his own personal guard. He, too, had received word that the Emperor of the Krantz Empire had taken the field in person — and that, of all things, he was coming around Cadis Fortress rather than through it.
"Your Grace. What do you intend to do?"
Muriel Max, commander of the Phoenix Knights, asked Adrian.
"If we can capture the emperor, nothing could be better for us."
"But that would be far too dangerous."
"I know. So let's take it slow. No need to do anything reckless."
"Understood."
A fierce fire had kindled in Adrian's eyes. Muriel watched it with unease.
During the flanking march, Dong-hyun chose to make camp. He summoned his commanders, knight-captains, and other key officers to his tent for a council of war.
"You're saying we should split the army?"
"I am. I intend to divide our twenty thousand troops and send them in three directions."
"How do you plan to divide them?"
Count Banel asked again.
"We'll split into three commands — myself, Count Banel, and Count Taino Albert, commander of the Dragon Knights. Count Banel, you'll circle around to the rear of Cadis Fortress and support Duke Balanos's assault. The Dragon Knights commander will push deep into the Kairan Kingdom and reduce the surrounding castles one by one. I will advance slowly and handle supply and support for both forces."
Count Banel and Count Albert both nodded at Dong-hyun's explanation. The emperor's strategy was reasonably sound. There was just one problem: whether the emperor himself could actually command the remaining troops.
"Can Your Majesty command the remaining forces?"
Count Banel asked bluntly.
"I'll leave individual engagements to the division commanders. I'll handle the larger picture. Besides, I have Count Lien Schmalz with me. I'll take his counsel."
Lien Schmalz was the commander of the Kranz Knights. True to his title as the Emperor's Guardian Blade, he was known as a formidable swordsman.
"Hrm. If that is Your Majesty's judgment, we shall follow it. But Duke Adrian remains a threat. I urge you to be careful."
"I understand."
Even Banel had to admit it wasn't a bad strategy. It was a way to take a grinding, drawn-out war and end it cleanly through sheer numerical superiority.
And so the twenty thousand were divided: Count Banel took six thousand, Count Albert took six thousand, and eight thousand remained with Dong-hyun.
Dong-hyun had split the army specifically to bait Adrian. If twenty thousand troops stood at the emperor's side, even Adrian wouldn't dare attack. But with the army split and only eight thousand left beside the emperor, it might just be tempting enough to take a shot.
And Dong-hyun's calculation proved correct.
"We've received intelligence that the Krantz Emperor has split his army into three."
"What? Is he an idiot? Or just fearless?"
"Either way, it's good news for us."
Muriel had come to Adrian — who had been watching for any opening to strike the emperor — with the report.
"Could it be a trap?"
"Unlikely. The Guard commander is heading for Cadis Fortress, and the other force has gone further south. Even if they wanted to send reinforcements, they couldn't."
"Hrm. Is that so...?"
Adrian's eyes grew darker still — the eyes of a predator the instant before it struck.
"Frontal assault, or a night raid?"
Adrian asked Muriel.
"They outnumber us four to one, so a frontal assault could be difficult. A night raid, though — that should be doable."
"It's still the emperor's camp. Will it be as sloppy as last time?"
"With our skill, it will be more than enough."
Muriel spoke with confidence.
"Good. Have the troops stand by near the enemy's main camp and prepare for any contingency. We move at dawn tomorrow."
"Understood."
Adrian's forces approached Dong-hyun's position in complete silence. Dong-hyun had no idea they were coming. The terrain was that familiar to Adrian, and their movements that stealthy.
On a deep night thick with cloud, the moon blotted out, soldiers in black moved in silence. They were Adrian's men.
The remaining fifteen hundred waited nearby. The force moving now numbered five hundred. This was clearly not their first night raid — not a single sound escaped their movements.
At the front, Muriel's finger pointed toward the Krantz Empire's encampment. At his signal, three men flattened themselves to the ground and crawled toward the palisade. They had mapped the sentries' positions and shift changes the day before — the first principle of any night raid.
The men approached the fence with calm precision, then vaulted it in a flash and neutralized the sentries. The moment a torch shifted, Muriel led Adrian's force forward.
They eliminated the sentries one by one, then made for the tent they had already identified as the emperor's. Two guards stood watch at the entrance, so Adrian went around to the back.
Inside, it was quiet — as if someone were asleep. Adrian drew the dagger from his belt and silently slit the tent canvas. Once the opening was wide enough, he slipped inside.
A candle burned within, enough to see by. The emperor appeared to be sleeping soundly on the cot. Adrian, dagger in hand, approached slowly and pulled back the blanket.
!!
Where the emperor should have been lying, there was only a straw dummy.
In that instant Adrian knew it was a trap. He spun to get out — and in that same instant, a blade flashed out from beneath the cot and slashed across his calf.
"Ghk—"
At the sudden attack, Adrian drew his sword and turned to face his assailant. A man emerged from under the cot, blade leveled.
"Who are you?"
"Lien Schmalz."
The man with the sword spoke only his name, quietly.
"The Kranz Knights Commander?"
Dong-hyun had anticipated the raid and switched sleeping quarters with his knight-commander. That judgment had been dead on.
Schmalz gave no reply. He simply swung. It was a fast, heavy blow.
Adrian caught the strike and simultaneously threw himself backward through the slit he had cut. This was not an opponent he could finish in a single exchange. Fighting here was an absolute disadvantage. The raid had failed. The best move now was to get out fast.
Outside, the clash of steel was already ringing. By the time he emerged from the tent, the sound of blades colliding was coming from every direction. Enemy soldiers who had been all but invisible at first began appearing one after another, until Adrian's force found itself thoroughly surrounded.
"Retreat! Get out!!"
Adrian roared the order and sprinted back the way they had come, cutting down anyone who tried to bar his path, carving a way toward an exit.
And then, somewhere in the chaos, he spotted a face he knew.
A man with blond hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Handsome enough — but wearing that slick, lingering smile...