Chapter 270
Chapter 270
Iron Emperor — Chapter 270
"Gauri has stated unequivocally that they will support us with troops."
"Hmm."
King Alsein let out a long sigh at Duke Baikal's words. War was coming to Roselin's soil once again. They had reclaimed a nation that had once been destroyed, and had even achieved unification—Roselin's long-cherished dream, if not yet a perfect one. But war gave them no rest.
Their soldiers were undoubtedly strong. Having fought through countless real battles, the combat power of Roselin's soldiers was not the issue. But Roselin's problem was that its finances were so drained that covering the costs of war was nearly impossible.
When North Roselin had previously occupied the South Roselin region, it had plundered it down to the last grain of wheat. The newly integrated northern territories were in equally dire straits, as they had stripped their own people bare to attack South Roselin and to offer tribute to the Holy Empire.
The only reason the commoners weren't starving more was that the Haian Kingdom and the Malin Kingdom had provided food aid. They had managed to harvest crops each autumn, of course, but with so much farmland lost, trying to recover in one or two years was absurd.
"Hoo... at any rate, how goes the renovation of the fortresses?"
Pushing his troubled thoughts aside, Alsein asked Duke Baikal about the strategic fortresses. Repairing and renovating them was one of the first tasks Alsein and Duke Baikal had undertaken while stabilizing Roselin. After seeing Gauri's superior fortification methods, they had begun adopting bastions and parapets in earnest.
They'd known at the time it was an overreach, but they had needed to prepare against any possible provocations from the surviving northern regions. The opponent had merely changed now to the Holy Empire. The fact that they had pushed themselves back then was now their one comfort.
"We completed the renovation of the main citadels first this past autumn. Work is temporarily halted now because of the winter."
"At least we were fortunate to finish the key fortresses first."
"We were pressed for time back then as well."
Duke Baikal offered a wry smile as he spoke, as if trying to comfort Alsein.
"Your Highness, things will work out."
"They must."
"Your Highness! An envoy has arrived from Gauri."
"What!"
At the news that an envoy had come without any prior word, Alsein sprang up from his seat. That was how great a comfort Gauri's existence had become to him in the current situation.
Rushing out with Duke Baikal to the place where the Gauri envoy group had arrived, Alsein saw Risel standing among some fifty elite soldiers.
"I greet the Archmage."
"Your Highness Alsein, I trust you have been well."
At Alsein's respectful greeting, Risel bent at the waist in return. In truth, Risel was only treated so roughly in Gauri; anywhere else, his station entitled him to treatment equivalent to royalty.
"But what brings you here in person?"
"This old man is merely following the Yeolje's orders."
Those were his words, but the truth was he had been given practical training orders for transporting wartime supplies. One of the armed Gauri soldiers who had been standing still until then stepped forward and called out.
"The blessings of the Three-legged Crow upon His Majesty the King of Roselin!"
Duke Baikal's eyes widened when he saw the warrior who had rendered the salute so gallantly.
"Could that be General Hailon?"
"I, Daehyeong Hailon, greet His Highness Alsein."
When Duke Baikal acknowledged him, Hailon dipped his head sharply and offered his salute once more. The moment he heard the name Hailon, Alsein's eyes flew open.
"You are none other than Hailon of the Iron Wall!"
"I... am humbled."
Hailon's reputation for facing a massive North Roselin army and allowing not a single enemy past Gaemun Mountain Fortress was well known. The detached force had played the decisive role in the victory, but had Hailon failed to hold, that force would not have escaped unscathed either.
At the sudden warm reception, Hailon looked flustered, unlike when he had first appeared.
"Daehyeong Hailon is scheduled to remain stationed here."
"Is that truly so?"
At Risel's words, the faces of Alsein and Duke Baikal brightened. They had remodeled the castles based on Gauri's fortresses, but the experience of someone who had actually commanded soldiers in such a fortress was immensely valuable. With Hailon appearing just at the right time, they felt as if they had gained an army of ten thousand.
"These here are the deputies and soldiers who will serve alongside me."
"I hope you will be of much help to us."
"And His Majesty sent this as well."
Risel indicated the goods piled up behind the soldiers. There were some thirty boxes in total.
"These five smaller boxes contain gold. The remaining boxes hold a modest number of tanned leather armor and weapons—though they are items that Gauri soldiers once used. I am also scheduled to continue transporting necessary supplies here for the next seven days."
"This... how on earth..."
Alsein was so stunned he could not finish his sentence. The weapons and armor were one thing, but the gold filling those boxes was no small amount. He had known Gauri as a state barely capable of self-sufficiency, so seeing this much in the way of supplies naturally astonished him.
"Five hundred leather armor suits and one thousand swords and sabers. Spears, arrows, and the like are to be sent at a later date. And we have been told that the crews for the siege weapon Yudonno, along with the orcs needed to work it, will be dispatched early next month once their formation is complete."
Alsein clenched both fists as he listened to Hailon's matter-of-fact explanation, reminding himself that however limited their supplies were, they had to prepare thoroughly....
Gerard stood before the communication orb, his face twisted into a grimace.
"What happened to what you took last time? You're asking me to send more already?"
[It means I used it all up, so send more.]
"......"
Inside the magic crystal orb used for the communication, Go Jin-cheon stood with his arms crossed, staring back with brazen eyes. Gerard, momentarily at a loss for words, asked again.
"What did you spend it on?"
[Helping the less fortunate.]
"Ugh."
He had a rough idea.
It had probably been sent to Roselin. In a sense, Jin-cheon's actions were only natural. But the way he had demanded treasures be handed over without any preamble made Gerard's temper flare.
"Do you think treasure just pops out of the ground if you dig it up?"
[It came out when I swam for it.]
"......"
Jin-cheon ended the call inside the crystal orb by telling him to stop yapping and just go dig up more treasure and send it, then left the spot. Dae Mu-deok took his place.
[Daesaja, try to understand. We could send requests for assistance to the Haian and Malin Kingdoms to gather materiel, but that would cause delays. That is why we handled it this way first.]
"I understand what you mean."
[You know well that war is fought with money.]
Mu-deok's calm words cooled Gerard's rising anger. Gerard let out a small sigh, nodded, and said to him,
"I will mobilize as many people as I can."
[If possible, haul up a lot.]
"......"
At Mu-deok's final remark, Gerard felt the back of his head throb again.
"Dammit, helping the less fortunate by shaking down pirates' purses..."
Somehow, his own lot in life felt wretched. Once he stepped out of this room, Chunsam probably would not be able to leave the water for days—for the crime of having a Siren for a wife.
Hailon was frowning and raising his voice, apparently displeased with the movements of the Roselin soldiers.
"At this rate, the sun will set and the work will be pushed to tomorrow again! I said move faster!"
Every time Hailon's shouting erupted, the soldiers flinched and showed signs of hurrying, but it was only temporary; a moment's distraction and they reverted to their previous pace. It wasn't that they were deliberately shirking, but none of them moved with any real urgency.
'Well, of course.'
Hailon no longer prodded the soldiers, gazing at them instead with pitying eyes. Their eyes held the same look he had once seen in Gauri's soldiers. A vague fear of a powerful enemy was what had made them this way. On top of that, the long war was perhaps exhausting them even further.
"Hajeil."
"Yes, sir!"
At Hailon's call, a young deputy who had been supervising soldiers to one side shouted his reply and ran over.
"Take the deputies and some soldiers out. We need to do some hunting."
"Sir? Father, but then..."
"We'll need to provide some meat and liquor."
"Then I will request some guides and head out at once."
Hailon looked at his eldest son, Hajeil, and smiled with satisfaction.
The boy was not his blood son, but as the eldest he led the younger ones well. He had also earned recognition for his skill in the barracks and had recently risen to the rank of Sohyeong. Believing the boy would succeed him well, Hailon had made a special request and was keeping him at his side as an adjutant. Hadn't Hailon himself ended up in his current position because he had learned his trade on the battlefield?
Coming to a distant foreign land and being praised as Hailon of the Iron Wall felt burdensome to him at times. But he was not afraid of facing the Holy Empire as his opponent. If their faith lay in their Lord God, then his faith lay in Gauri and the Yeolje.
"Careful you don't fall from up there!"
Hailon approached a young noble who was shouting at the top of his lungs at the soldiers atop the wall, placed a hand on his shoulder, and called his name.
"Baron Paul, my good man."
"Ah! You've come."
The man called Paul turned around and saluted Hailon with utmost courtesy. To the young nobles, Hailon was an idol in a different sense than Duke Baikal.
How worried had the many refugees been when North Roselin's great army had marched on Gauri? Even if they had held them off, they had expected catastrophic damage.
The glad tidings that had arrived while they were consumed with worry bore one name: Hailon. His fame had been earned by repulsing the enemy at Gaemun Mountain Fortress, which was effectively Gauri's gateway. Gauri had deliberately inflated his battle achievements, of course, but people remembered only his name.
The rumors had grown until even in Roselin his fame rivaled Duke Baikal's, the man who had repelled countless enemy soldiers. Judging only by results, comparing the two was absurd, but the circumstances were different: Roselin had already fallen as a nation at the time.
The one who had appeared then was Hailon. That was what had made Hailon's renown rank alongside Duke Baikal's.
"Take this and go buy us some liquor."
"Liquor, you say?"
At Hailon's sudden talk of drink, Baron Paul cocked his head and opened the pouch.
"......."
Gold coins glinted seductively at Baron Paul.
"Buy as much as that money will get you."
"I mean, what kind of liquor..."
It was a considerable sum, so Baron Paul could not hide his flustered reaction and asked again. At that, Hailon let out a chuckle and said,
"The cheapest liquor, obviously."
"Pardon? Then?"
As Baron Paul glanced urgently at the working soldiers, Hailon clapped him on the shoulder.
"What's the harm? Letting loose once in a while is good for morale. Our soldiers have gone hunting, so there's no worry about food to go with it. You just arrange the liquor and the feast."
"My apologies. This is something I obviously should have seen to on my own..."
Baron Paul's face reddened and he lowered his head. That reaction seemed to please Hailon even more; he took hold of the man's shoulders with both hands and spoke.
"What does it matter who does it? All that matters is that the soldiers are happy and their morale rises... Are Roselin and Gauri not brothers?"
"You are right."
At Hailon's warm tone, Baron Paul looked back at him and smiled. The word 'brothers' had truly struck home.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
As a rough bell rang out, the soldiers straightened their backs and began to slowly make their way out of the work site.
"My hands are about to freeze off. It's nearly winter; how long are we going to have to keep this up...?"
"That's exactly why we're doing this drudgery now, friend—because winter is coming. They say we have to finish as much as we can before it arrives."
"Anyway, is the Holy Empire really going to invade?"