Chapter 277
Chapter 277
Iron Emperor — Chapter 277
At Duke Baikal's words, Marquis Bels fell silent. Having fought alongside him for so long, Marquis Bels could read what lay beneath the duke's surface.
The battle had merely been intended to probe the enemy's strength, but Duke Baikal had invested considerable effort into it.
The reason was that the terrain itself favored their own forces, and they needed to seize a victory in the opening engagement to raise the morale of their troops, who were clearly the weaker side.
Duke Baikal had not expected to inflict substantial damage on the Holy Empire in the first battle.
No matter how advantageous the narrow entrance made the ground, dealing real harm to a massive army of 150,000 would require their own forces to sustain significant losses as well.
Even if, by some miracle, they annihilated all 150,000, the Holy Empire possessed more than enough strength to raise an army of that size again, while for Roselin, Duke Baikal's troops were the entirety of their forces.
That was the fundamental problem of a Roselin that had endured war for so long.
"Baron Pailan is here."
A young nobleman's voice came from outside.
"Enter."
On behalf of the silently seated Duke Baikal, Marquis Bels summoned Baron Pailan inside.
Baron Pailan's face was clouded with worry as he stepped in. Seeing his expression, Marquis Bels's own face hardened in turn.
He had sent Baron Pailan to assess the army's morale, after all.
"I planted several men among the soldiers to spread pride in our victory in the first engagement, but..."
Even as he gave his report, he hesitated briefly.
"Speak."
Duke Baikal lifted his head and prompted him with an impassive expression, and Baron Pailan lowered his head slightly and continued.
"A considerable number of soldiers are terrified of the Holy Empire's magic corps."
"They would be."
If the Holy Empire soldiers who had died in today's battle had all been burned to death and toppled as Duke Baikal had planned, the morale of the Roselin army would surely have soared, no matter how few they were.
But had not nearly all of the casualties been the product of the Holy Empire's own actions?
The ruthlessness of striking down even their own troops when the situation was deemed dangerous had instilled fear in the soldiers. And the empire's systematically organized magic corps would seem all the more terrifying on top of that.
"Go out and distribute food generously."
"Your Grace..."
"Right now, we cannot afford even the slightest fear."
Marquis Bels looked at Duke Baikal with pitying eyes. But in the end, he could only close his mouth.
It was simply devastating that they had to dole out food to boost the soldiers' morale even after a battle consisting of nothing more than a few volleys of arrows.
The only consolation, if it could be called that, was that their thorough preparations for retreat offered the soldiers some comfort. Though they had also acquired fear, the fact that they had fostered a deep trust in the command staff was, in its own way, fortunate.
* * *
The results of Duke Baikal's battle were swiftly disseminated in all directions. King Alsein Roselin also widely proclaimed the victory in the first engagement to the people, who had been trembling with anxiety.
To the people, the hidden realities behind this battle meant nothing. Only victory or defeat mattered.
However, the allied forces leading their troops were informed of the facts as they were.
In the current situation, pride was a useless sentiment.
They were the ones who had started a war that looked impossible from the beginning. Apprising them of the exact state of the war was the only way to be of any help in a conflict that would determine Roselin's very survival.
"The Holy Empire has five magic corps in total, so two corps would be about forty percent of their strength."
Go Jin-cheon nodded and murmured at the news he had received.
"That is correct."
Siaron Risel answered with greater caution and deference than ever before.
It was no exaggeration to say that the bulk of Gauri's magical power was concentrated in Risel alone. Naturally, Risel could not help but be wary, given that he might be ordered to go toe-to-toe with two enemy magic corps.
"Uljeol."
"Go ahead."
"If it were you, how much could you handle?"
"......"
Risel's eyes seemed to ask, 'Surely you aren't planning to make me face two magic corps alone as some atrocity—or human experiment—disguised as an operation?'
Under Risel's uneasy gaze, Jin-cheon cleared his throat softly and asked again.
"It is not a matter of great importance, but I am asking how we should handle it should we come under attack."
"I-is that so? This one had thought you might be committing an atrocity disguised as an order, telling me to handle all of them by myself. Hohoho."
"......"
"Hoho, ho..."
Risel's awkward laughter was quietly buried under Jin-cheon's silence.
"So it is impossible after all..."
Jin-cheon murmured as if to himself, gazing at the stars spread across the sky outside the barracks, and Risel retorted in a resolute voice.
"I would rather face an infantry corps."
"Is that possible?"
At Risel's strong rejection, Jin-cheon's eyes lit up.
"...Let me correct myself. I will devote myself to the supply struggle."
Risel felt that, in the current circumstances, he had to be selective even with jokes and emphatic denials. More than anything, the cold sweat trickling down his spine proved it.
"For now, if we combine the magical power of each nation, a solution will emerge. And I also feel that if I personally step in, it will be manageable to a degree."
Yeon Hwi-garam cut in and rescued Risel.
At his answer, Jin-cheon nodded faintly. Hwi-garam's sorcery was unfamiliar on the continent, so the idea was not entirely impossible.
That at least eased the weight on Risel's shoulders.
"A magic corps..."
Jin-cheon's gaze settled again on the battle footage sent by the Roselin royal house. The images of the Holy Empire displayed through the crystal orb prompted him to reflect on the wizards Gauri had so far disdained.
As he stared at the magical footage, Jin-cheon suddenly rose to his feet.
"Have you perhaps devised a countermeasure?"
Seeing this, Risel asked with a hint of expectation.
"I'll sleep."
"Pardon?"
Jin-cheon answered Risel's questioning look nonchalantly.
"The night is late, so it's time to sleep."
"......"
There was no countermeasure.
Risel's sigh only deepened.
* * *
Duke Helios Baikal's forces were rapidly moving south. One might wonder how fast an army of fifty thousand could possibly be, but compared to the Holy Empire's forces, they could move far more swiftly.
And all the while, they continued to carry out the evacuation of the civilian population.
The grain planted in the fields would soon reach the season for bearing seed heads, but all of it was set ablaze without mercy. Even the grass meant for horse fodder was burned away in its entirety.
Faced with the reality that the fields they had barely managed to till and plant, in a region where the ravages of war had only recently passed, were going up in flames, the people shed heavy tears, shouldered their baggage, and followed the soldiers in flight.
The current enemy was not North Roselin.
The people knew this well, so while they cast resentful eyes at the soldiers setting fire to the wheat fields, they moved their feet in resignation.
Of course, the fact that the cruelty hidden behind the Holy Empire's name of Saint Public was widely known also helped in this regard.
"It truly is an unsavory business."
"Indeed."
A complicated mix of emotions filled the eyes of Duke Baikal and Marquis Bels as they gazed at the fields where flames were surging upward.
The Holy Empire's invasion was no longer just Roselin's problem. Because of that, the exchange of opinions was only natural as they prepared the core strategy for the operation. And the strategy the Gauri side had proposed was this.
It had been during the war council a few days earlier. Go Jin-cheon had spoken to the troubled commanders of each nation.
"We will employ a scorched-earth strategy."
It was an operation to clear the fields completely so that not a single grain would fall into enemy hands and they would be unable to procure provisions.
Initially, when they heard the outline of this plan, Roselin's Duke Baikal, Marlon's Duke Ken, Haian's Marquess Gaun, and the others could not bring themselves to interrupt Jin-cheon's words directly.
Was such a thing not, in truth, a basic principle of war?
There was no reason to make a point of proposing it.
It was not as if Jin-cheon was unaware of their reaction.
Watching the expressions of the supreme commanders from each nation displayed in the magic crystal orb, Jin-cheon had to add a few more words.
[It seems you do not understand.]
"Not at all."
Duke Baikal answered Jin-cheon's words swiftly.
Not only at this council table, but even in gatherings where kings were present, Jin-cheon's position was no different from that of an emperor. For that very reason, those who had to be even more cautious sought to avoid offending him.
"We have already issued an evacuation order for the villages along the enemy's expected route. We are securing all the food we can, and whatever remains is being incinerated."
Marquis Bels stepped forward cautiously and explained the current situation to Jin-cheon. But Jin-cheon's expression reflected in the crystal orb showed no particular change. No, there was one.
A deep furrow carved between his brows...
Others might not know, but Duke Baikal and Marquis Bels understood what that meant.
'Wh-what is it!'
Marquis Bels was restless, as if he had committed a crime, while Duke Baikal beside him fell into intense contemplation.
Of course, the commanders of Marlon and Haian merely sensed the odd atmosphere and gauged the mood.
[Then what has been done with the fields?]
A wholly unexpected question.
"The fields?"
[Even if the harvest season is still a ways off, there must be things planted there.]
"In any case, they are inedible even if left alone."
Marquis Bels carefully voiced his objection. What was he supposed to do with them when the plants had not even borne fruit yet?
[Burn them all. Whether they have borne fruit or not, burn everything. This war will require a long time. There is no reason to leave them and give the enemy daily provisions for no good reason.]
"Ah, understood."
At Jin-cheon's words, Marquis Bels nodded quickly. It was a reasonable point. But Jin-cheon's words did not end there.
[Burn the mountains and fields as well. All of them.]
"What can you possibly mean by that..."
[It means do not leave behind grass the enemy cavalry can eat, or tree bark that can substitute for provisions.]
"To that extent!"
Duke Baikal and everyone attending the meeting stared with startled eyes. Whether they were shocked or not, Jin-cheon's voice continued without hesitation.
[Fill in every village well as well. Poison the lakes. If you have no poison, douse them with sewage. Not even a single minnow should be caught even if you cast a fishing line. Houses are no exception. Burn them. Tear them down. Would you hand the enemy a comfortable place to rest?]
"T-to that extent..."
[Leave behind not even a scrap of leather, let alone a piece of iron. Contact every fortress and mobilize anything with wheels and anything that could serve as a warhorse. Whatever remains after that, destroy it and leave the land bare without hesitation.]