Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: March to the Garrison
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We wrapped up an early lunch in Zabrinsk and set out.
To keep the all-infantry soldiers from feeling resentful that only a few officers were on horseback, I marched on foot at the front alongside the officers.
The horses Josef had provided were coming with wagons, which we arranged to carry the soldiers who were unwell.
"Hm."
"Is something wrong, sir?"
"...It's nothing."
One reason I'd taken the lead was to keep monitoring the minimap.
The smaller I kept the minimap's display range, the clearer each individual dot became, letting me detect suspicious movements more quickly and accurately.
In fact, I could confirm gray dots occasionally lurking around us.
They were showing up more frequently than when we'd set out, which suggested Josef had indeed shifted some troops.
The groups were small in number, though, and they kept their distance before veering back toward Josef's garrison, so I didn't pay them much mind.
"We've arrived. We'll camp here for the night and depart tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir!"
Thanks to our leisurely pace with regular breaks, we reached the planned spot right around 7 p.m.
We unloaded the wagons, sorted the gear, and pitched tents for temporary shelter.
I kept checking the minimap, and shortly after we stopped, I spotted a cluster of gray dots approaching.
Having a good guess as to who they were, I prepared to greet them casually with a few officers.
A short while later.
"Josef Steiner."
"Good to see you, Victor!"
The garrison commander, Josef Steiner, approached waving cheerfully.
His friendly, nonchalant reaction revealed both his delight at this achievement falling into his lap and his relaxed confidence in holding the upper hand.
I walked toward him with a hardened expression.
He rode right up without dismounting, scanning our makeshift camp from horseback.
"The letter must have been genuine. I had no idea what was going on in Zabrinsk, so I worried it might be part of some scheme."
I didn't bother calling out his attitude of looming over me as he spoke.
After all, people who thought they were in control and at ease were the easiest to predict.
"On the condition that my soldiers' safety is guaranteed. Their treatment shouldn't change after I leave for Rainesburg."
"Of course! As long as they don't cause trouble, the Empire is always merciful to those who surrender!"
I'm sure you will.
Regardless of the Empire's general policy toward prisoners, Josef had no reason to mistreat troops who could bolster his own forces down the line.
These were conscripts, but they'd survived two years of war as soldiers all the same.
Josef was ambitious.
In the game, he'd positioned himself as the Noble Faction's leader in his thirst for power, and coming here first was likely his way of staking a claim in my surrender.
Unless prisoner treatment was specified otherwise, he'd manage the surrendered soldiers directly at his garrison and claim the credit.
There was a high chance he'd try to sway them to push for the Ruth Kingdom's surrender or bolster his own strength.
The more he coveted using these troops, the better they'd be treated.
Not a bad outcome.
"...I'll trust you."
"Hahaha! Wise choice! You'll reach the garrison tomorrow, right? I'll prepare barracks for you."
"Fine."
But I couldn't let on that I'd anticipated this, especially since he was openly looking down on me to humiliate me.
I clenched my fists, trembling with barely contained fury, and gritted my teeth in a way that didn't look too servile as I replied.
"Great. See you tomorrow!"
Satisfied with my reaction, he laughed and rode off from our camp.
"General."
"..."
I stared at his retreating back for a moment.
"Hoo... Let's get moving. The soldiers are working hard—we should help."
"Understood."
Though my hostility hadn't fully faded, I wanted to appear as if I was swallowing my pride for the men's sake.
I deliberately relaxed the scowl I'd twisted onto my face while looking at the officers nearby.
Early morning.
To personally escort Victor's army, I set out from the garrison ahead of time with a few officers.
I'd swapped my armor for a crisply pressed officer's uniform, so he'd see me as the key figure behind this surrender.
We arrived around 9 a.m., just as his troops had finished packing and were preparing to march.
"Time to head out, eh?"
"..."
Victor, at the front, nodded curtly with a displeased look.
Looking down at him from horseback—the man who'd made me endure every hardship on the battlefield—felt pretty good.
"I'll guide you to the garrison myself."
"...Got it."
He hesitated briefly, as if grasping the implication that command had shifted to me the moment he surrendered, then replied.
"Move out!"
"Yes, sir!"
He mounted one of the warhorses I'd lent him and followed a horse-length behind me.
As we proceeded quietly toward the garrison.
"By the way, Victor."
"Hm?"
I gestured for the officers to hang back a bit, then rode up alongside him to talk.
From what I'd heard, his deal with the Emperor only went as far as turning back over—he'd be gone soon, so this was my only chance to get intel from him.
"It hasn't even been a few days since you entered Zabrinsk. What on earth happened?"
Victor had entered Zabrinsk alone less than a week ago.
In that short time, he'd become supreme commander again and led his men out to surrender.
It had to be tied to the rebellion in Zabrinsk. Others would report details soon enough, but I wanted to hear it straight from Victor, who'd been at the center.
"What happened?"
"I heard there was a rebellion, but..."
The moment I mentioned rebellion, he glared at me fiercely.
I could sense intense anger and hatred in that gaze—things hadn't gone the way he wanted.
"So it was true."
"..."
He kept glaring at me, then...
"...Yeah."
As if he had no intention of saying more, he gave a curt affirmation and faced forward again.
"Could you tell me more?"
Confirmation of the rebellion wasn't enough, so I pressed him.
If everything was already settled, it didn't matter much.
With the Ruth Kingdom bereft of its main army and Victor, even giving them a year wouldn't make them scary—we could just wait out the truce.
But if this surrender stemmed from severe chaos, we needed to move fast.
A Ruth Kingdom stripped of most of its forces might fold with just a little pressure from me.
That would make the kingdom's surrender my achievement too, offsetting much of our Northern War losses.
"..."
His gaze toward me was odd.
"Didn't you already know?"
"What?"
"You got pretty close—I figured it was intentional. Was the troop movement just coincidence?"
While I reeled from realizing he'd even noticed our minor scouting reinforcements...
He spurred his horse closer, almost brushing my leg.
"You'll find out soon enough, but I'll tell you now: most of the nobles were executed for treason, and a new king from a branch family ascended yesterday."
"...Ha."
After casually dropping that intel, Victor pulled away as if nothing had happened.
"Haha."
This was as good as telling me everything.
Nobles executed, new king, divided army.
Plenty to piece the situation together.
The king must have died in the nobles' revolt, sparking some conflict in the suppressing army for whatever reason.
I couldn't know the details, but this surrender was likely the result of friction between the newly formed court and military.
That explained surrendering in the supreme commander's name—not the king's—and leaving some troops behind.
The scale of troops and supplies wasn't something you could prepare in a rush either.
Meaning the opposing faction left in Zabrinsk was too weak to stop it.
In that case.
A light troop nudge for pressure, show good treatment to tempt them...?
The Ruth Kingdom would surrender without much fuss.
"Hm, hm."
Still just a hypothesis, so I tamped down my excitement.
I had no idea why Victor had spilled so readily, and no proof it was all true yet.
"Why tell me that?"
No need to fear Victor anymore, so I rode up and asked again.
He paused for a moment, then...
"...Let's just say I have something I want."
With that, he looked straight ahead.
"I see."
He'd tried to play it coy, but his face twitched faintly at my question.
Revenge against those who'd ousted him? Hatred toward someone he'd clashed with?
If it were feelings toward me, he'd have hidden it better—so it wasn't about me.
That was fine.
It felt a bit like being used, which was unsettling, but that alone wasn't reason enough to hold back when the Ruth Kingdom was such a sweet prize.
...Just need to verify credibility a bit more before acting.
"..."
I weighed the risks and rewards in my head as we headed to the garrison.
After Victor's army departed Zabrinsk, the remaining holdouts immediately convened a meeting.
The council had dissolved, leaving the nominally enthroned king and court nobles with authority—but it was all propped up by Victor's prestige and power.
They were utterly useless against Victor's sudden move, and those who knew it didn't even try.
Yuri Igorev and Pavel Andreyev had rejected surrender, but they had only about 4,000 troops left under them.
The current court lacked both legitimacy and control over the kingdom.
Even if they rallied forces now, scaling up enough to hold off the Empire within a year was next to impossible.
"What do we do?"
"Should we surrender?"
"But the truce is still in effect."
"Troops are on the move!"
Anxiety gripped those left in the kingdom, and the meeting devolved into a barrage of negative voices.
"For now, let's observe the situation more."
"...Agreed."
Yuri and Pavel persuaded them to hold off for the kingdom's sake, but they sensed the nobles and king were already leaning toward surrender.
After the meeting, Yuri secretly sought out Pavel.
"We need to make a decision."
"..."
At Yuri's words, Pavel quietly led him deeper into the tent.