Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Striking Ramis.
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We were advancing near the beach alongside the camel troops, moving slowly in tight formation, ranks and files perfectly aligned. It was still the dim hours before dawn, shrouded in thick sea mist that limited visibility. Rushing ahead risked scattering the unit into chaos.
I glanced toward the eastern sky, where dawn was slowly breaking.
The sun was at our backs, with the pre-dawn darkness and mist concealing our approach. And the enemy had no idea we were coming. No matter how I looked at it, this was the perfect timing for a surprise attack.
But it wasn't mere coincidence. This ambush was the inevitable clash between Duke Bastain's renowned tactics and my knowledge from a past life.
Duke Bastain's strategies and maneuvers were like textbooks for any aspiring commander. In my previous life, I'd analyzed his campaigns hour by hour, including the fact that morning fog would blanket this beach for the next two days.
Of course, now that we'd reached this point, the fog hardly mattered. Still, it would greatly reduce casualties on our attacking side.
"Timing's right. Follow me as quietly as you can."
Kasim, Najir, and Bayan whispered my orders back through the ranks upon hearing them.
As we pressed on like this, a sudden thud echoed nearby, followed by a loud metallic clang. It sounded like a minor collision. I turned toward the noise and widened my eyes. A fully armed Lobros soldier had crashed onto his rear after bumping into a camel and was staring at us in shock.
It was a Lobros army soldier.
"E-Enemy...! Gah!"
The soldier soon collapsed with a gurgle as Najir's sword pierced his throat. Letting out a sigh of relief, I scanned the surroundings and kept moving. But something felt off. The further we advanced, the more traces of human mana I sensed—countless presences.
A little more walking, and the outlines of buildings and roads emerged through the mist.
Soon, I spotted two Lobros soldiers approaching us in pairs. I instantly grasped the situation. We'd already penetrated deep into enemy territory.
No walls on a supply fortress? Not even a palisade?
But there was no time for bewilderment. I spurred my mount forward, wheeled around, and cut down the fleeing Lobros soldiers in one swift stroke before shouting,
"We've reached the enemy camp! Charge!"
The Kara camel troops surged ahead in unison. Paired by squads of ten, they fanned out, mercilessly cutting down every Lobros soldier in sight.
I pushed forward as well.
"Graaaah!"
Screams from Lobros soldiers rang out from all directions. Having seized the initiative from the start, we overwhelmed them, occupying key points throughout the fortress.
I sliced through a Lobros soldier who'd wandered out mid-yawn and galloped down a wide avenue. Victory seemed assured, yet I couldn't shake a nagging unease.
Lobros troops were everywhere I looked, confirming this was Ramis, but the surroundings didn't resemble a fortress at all. I wondered if we'd hit the wrong city, but Ramis Village was so remote—called the edge of the world—that no other settlements were nearby.
And what were these vast boulevards and shops? Such wasteful space would hinder fortress wall construction. For the Lobros navy, desperate to establish defenses quickly, these were structures they should never have built.
Did we walk into a trap?
Anxiety began to creep in. It made no sense for Duke Bastain's forces to set up such a flimsy fortress. Unless it was bait to lure us in, this couldn't be.
Yet countless Lobros soldiers were being slaughtered without resistance. They weren't mere disposable decoys, and this sprawling cityscape was far too meticulously built for a trap.
After riding some distance, I spotted an unfinished wall structure. Though partial, it seemed intended to enclose the city's outskirts, suggesting this was indeed a fortress of sorts.
Slightly relieved, I threw myself fully into the fray.
"Enemies! The enemy is invading!"
Emergency bells finally tolled, alerting them to our assault. But Kara forces had already seized much of the city. Unarmored Lobros troops without proper weapons stood no chance.
White flags soon rose from buildings everywhere, with Lobros soldiers surrendering en masse, hands held high.
"Don't kill those who surrender!"
The battle was wrapping up in an anticlimactically perfect victory. Kara troops dragged in prisoners from all sides, and the clash of arms had all but faded.
Then, a shout from what looked like Najir rang out from afar.
"We've captured Admiral Locke alive! Victory is ours!"
The cry spread through the Kara ranks, echoing across the city.
I galloped toward Najir. Admiral Locke held marquis rank and commanded the entire Lobros navy in this war. Capturing the enemy commander was huge.
Arriving at the scene, I saw an elderly man in dignified undergarments being hauled along. Dismounting, I approached Najir, who was dragging the man forward.
"Is that really Admiral Locke?"
"Yes. Here's his seal as proof."
Najir presented the admiral's seal, engraved with "Anton Hafner Locke." It certainly looked authentic.
I glared at the elderly man, who seemed to be Marquis Locke.
"You really Admiral Locke?"
"Y-Yes... Though a defeated commander, I ask that you treat me with the dignity befitting my nobility."
His brazen assertion of noble rights made it seem plausible.
"Najir. Where'd you catch him?"
"In that fancy mansion down there. Took him alive."
"Gather all documents from that mansion, sort them separately, and bring them to me immediately. House Marquis Locke under polite confinement."
"Yes, sir!"
Najir proudly led Marquis Locke away. He'd earned the top merit by capturing the supreme commander—worthy of major rewards.
As the mist lifted, my view opened to a harbor packed with hundreds of ships and the vast city beyond.
Seeing Lobros soldiers bound and marched off everywhere, I scratched my head.
The ambush was flawless, with barely any bloodshed—a total victory. I should have been thrilled, but an inexplicable unease lingered. This Ramis Village, fashioned as a Lobros supply base, bore no resemblance to the ironclad fortress I'd anticipated.
We'd won easily because of it, but I couldn't fathom why the Lobros army had built it this way.
I set aside reports to Kara for now and rifled through Lobros documents. Ramis Fortress was structured far too vulnerably to external attacks—more like a city with half-built walls than a proper stronghold.
If Duke Bastain had done this, there had to be a reason. I needed to confirm it before moving on. Otherwise, the uncertainty would haunt my next battle.
Soon, I found a chilling magic communication transcript.
'Magasta City discovered. Confirmed sea route to Agenka Continent exists. Planning to meet local merchants soon to check feasibility of maritime trade.'
My hand trembled holding the message.
A sea route to the Agenka Continent. That meant the Lobros Kingdom could import spices and incense from Agenka without relying on the Great Desert trade route.
A world map flashed in my mind—the one from the Age of Ruin, pieced together from refugees who'd fled by sea to the Lobros Continent from the Eastern and Agenka Continents.
This world's geography centered on the Great Desert: Prosia Continent to the west, Agenka to the southeast, Eastern Continent to the east. Trade routes across the desert had exchanged specialties between them.
But there was another route: by sea. With continents connected, the oceans naturally linked too.
Of course, people here hadn't realized it yet. But now, someone had—Duke Bastain.
And so had I. In the Age of Ruin, I'd seen Eastern and Agenka refugees who'd braved the seas to reach Prosia. If they'd come here, we could sail back the other way.
I immediately summoned Admiral Locke. I had a rough idea of Bastain's intent but needed confirmation.
His aides brought Marquis Locke before me, and I cut straight to it.
"Marquis. What is Duke Bastain planning right now?"
"......"
Locke hesitated.
"I'm asking because I have a hunch. You're opening a sea route to another continent for maritime trade, right?"
Locke's eyes bulged.
"How did you know?"
I waved the transcript in his face.
"Proof right here. You sent a ship with a magic comm station eastward, reached Agenka, and plan to scout trade options? It's obvious."
"Guh......"
"Be honest. You never intended to attack Kara in the first place, did you? Makes sense—no need when it'll soon be worthless land."
Locke's brow twitched. I'd hit the mark.
"Correct. Duke Bastain planned to strangle Kara. Pioneering a sea trade route would render the desert route obsolete, turning Kara into a backwater village."
"Heh. And wipe out those pesky Great Desert bandits in the process?"
"Exactly."
The desert bandits lived off plundering desert caravans. Kill the desert route with sea trade, and they'd starve too.
The duke had planned to turn Ramis Village into a trade city, not a fortress.
East of Ramis stretched endless desert—a barren deathland uninhabitable by man or beast.
Thus, Ramis had to be a trade hub, the final waypoint before the long voyage to Agenka.
That explained why the duke hadn't marched on Kara despite the massive war costs.
He'd never planned to come at all.
Block the desert route with war? Solve it via sea trade. The enormous war expenses from a prolonged conflict? Withdraw most troops after colonizing the western plains and southern desert coast, leaving just garrisons.
Damn, Duke Bastain and his cunning schemes... When the war turned messy, he pivoted to a bypass strategy, aiming to erase both Kara and the bandits at once.
Strategically, avoiding battle with Kara was best. Hold out, and Lobros would withdraw due to economic strain and costs.
But Bastain twisted that advantage, planning to starve us out. Sea trade kills the desert route, isolating Kara in the sands to wither slowly over time.
Even more absurd: history as I knew it had no record of this. In my past life, Bastain conquered Kara and seized the desert route outright.
Meaning when conquest proved tough, he'd improvised this world-altering strategy on the fly. What a ridiculous genius.
But Marquis Fabius's expeditionary force had derailed it completely. Kara's victory there gave us an opening to strike Ramis now.
Otherwise, I never would've reached here. Facing 200,000 troops paving their way, no way we'd push to Ramis. Lobros was distracted with defeat cleanup, creating this chance.
I truly owed the Lobros old king a debt of gratitude. By sacrificing his nation's shot at superpower status to send Fabius's force as a gift, he'd nearly doomed oblivious Kara.
I called Kasim at once.
"Kasim. You're staying here to hold Ramis Village. Separate the prisoners—navigators and shipwrights—and treat them specially. Once settled, attach smart ones to learn navigation and shipbuilding."
Kasim looked bewildered at the strategic shift.
"Master? Weren't we building a POW camp and burning Ramis Fortress and all ships?"
"Changed my mind. Ramis and every ship in the harbor are ours now."
"But if the whole unit stays, how do we fight the next battle?"
"Najir and Bayan's units will manage. Ramis must be held at all costs. Lose it to the enemy, and Kara has no future. Got it?"
"Yes."
I departed in haste. I'd planned to stay ten days to wrap things up, but with Kasim's full unit remaining, no need now. Leave Ramis to Kasim; I'd strike Duke Bastain directly.
Striking Ramis. End