77. Battle at the Sailon Occupation Zone (1)
Viscount Erwin of the Kallung Grand Territory wore a perpetually displeased expression.
"Ugh! At this rate, my ass is going to catch fire. Is this for real? A territory in this barren wasteland?"
"Didn't the Lord of Lorenne confirm it? We'll see something soon if we keep going a bit further."
Rakins, the former captain who answered, was half-doubting it himself, so his voice lacked conviction. He had heard from Westline Fortress that Young Lord Wayne's territory was somewhere south of the barren lands. But he hadn't placed much stock in the rumors of turning wasteland into a small village.
"We don't have time to waste. I hope this isn't a wild goose chase."
"Even if we can't get other mech warriors, just bringing Young Lord Wayne would be a huge help. He's a legend at Westline!"
"Legend? That's a bit of an exaggeration."
"No exaggeration. I saw it with my own eyes. Riding a 2nd class Gigant at such a young age is impressive enough, but his command skills are exceptional. He moved two hundred Gigants and thousands of soldiers without a single gap."
"Hmph. And if he falls short of my expectations, what then?"
"I'll stake my former captain position on it."
Viscount Erwin shook his head.
"Don't stake your position, no matter what. Every mech warrior counts right now."
That was when it happened!
[Captain, there's a large building ahead.]
"What did I tell you? Let's hurry!"
As the lead escort Gigant sped up, the two followed behind.
Rakins let out a sigh of relief at the surprisingly large village scale. Hundreds of houses dotted the surface, filled with life from the families and relatives of mech warriors who had crossed over from the Dresden Grand Territory.
The two envoys were led to Wayne's office next to the Gigant training grounds.
"Of all places, having to receive guests in this noisy spot. Did they skip etiquette training?"
Viscount Erwin shook his head. He was displeased with the manner of treating envoys.
"Welcome."
Wayne entered. Rakins stood and bowed his head.
"It's been a while, Young Lord Wayne."
"Yeah, it's already been twenty days."
Rakins had nearly died being chased by an ant legion from a red anthill, only saved when Wayne appeared. They were comrades who had fought together on the Westline defense line, so he was genuinely glad to see him.
"This is Viscount Erwin from our Kallung Territory."
"Welcome. Wayne Stein."
"Pleased to meet you. Erwin Tokin."
At that moment, Rakins's face flushed red. Viscount Erwin hadn't used honorifics with Wayne.
"Viscount! This person is..."
"I know. But this isn't Dresden Territory. I hold a viscount title from the grand territory, and I'm older. No need for me to use polite speech, right?"
Wayne smirked at Erwin's arrogant posture.
"Whatever. So, what's the reason for coming all this way?"
"Straight to the point. Lend us troops."
"Troops?"
"Yes. Ten Gigants—that's what we need. We'll provide rations, mechanics, and such, so no worries there."
Even though the man had rudely demanded troops out of nowhere, Wayne showed no anger.
"But do we have to provide them?"
"Of course. Dresden is far away, and Kallung Grand Territory is right next door. If you want to survive with a territory here, you'd better listen to us."
"V-Viscount?"
Rakins looked greatly flustered. This was blatant intimidation.
"Sorry, Sir Wayne. I didn't expect..."
"Quiet, Sir Rakins. I'm in charge of this negotiation."
Rakins bit his lip. Wayne, on the other hand, seemed relaxed.
Hmph! Let's see how long you can keep that composure.
Viscount Erwin pressed harder.
"And if you don't provide Gigants, we'll cut off all food supplies coming into Lorenne Territory from Kallung! Your territory won't get any food then."
Wayne nodded. As Erwin said, Kallung Grand Territory was currently the only nearby source of food.
"Right. You've done quite the investigation on our territory."
"Naturally. Negotiation starts with knowing your opponent."
Erwin exuded confidence.
Heh heh! I've been negotiating since before you were born. Now you'll have no choice but to hand over the Gigants.
As Viscount Erwin smirked smugly,
"Ahem! Now it's my turn to respond?"
"Speak."
"First off, we can't send even a single soldier, let alone Gigants. Feel free to attack us with your Gigants or cut off our food—we don't care."
"What? Do you really want to face punishment?"
Bam!
Erwin slammed the desk, his face fierce. Wayne just smirked.
"Laughing? You find my words funny?"
"I'm laughing because Viscount Erwin's bluff is so obvious."
"What? Bluff?"
"Now let me tell you about Kallung Territory's future."
"Future?"
Erwin glared, as if daring him to speak.
"A few months ago, Kallung sent half its territorial forces to the Estel front. Then, out of greed, it sent more from the Great Forest garrison and territory reserves. Now three-quarters of its total forces are tied up on the Estel front, unable to move. In this situation, the Tarun Kingdom is advancing across the border into the Sailon Occupation Zone. As you know, the occupation zone doesn't have many forces from each grand territory. It can't stand against Tarun. Even if you beg the Emperor for reinforcements, he won't send any. They're eyeing the bigger, juicier prey in the Great Forest. Other grand territories will refuse too—no spare forces, and if they had any, they'd send them to Estel instead."
Wayne accurately described the current state of the Barantia Empire, leaving Erwin stunned.
"In the end, Sailon Occupation Zone will fall to Tarun Kingdom. Then they'll target Kallung Grand Territory on the border with the Ratan Desert. As I said earlier, Kallung lacks forces. So Kallung will fall before our territory. Who in their right mind trades with a territory about to collapse first? Hahaha!"
"Wh-what? That's going too far."
Erwin's face reddened at Wayne's words. Rakins felt utterly exposed.
Wayne continued.
"Plus, there's no proper fortress south of Kallung Territory to stop Gigants. If they attack, your cities will be razed. The only way to block Tarun's Magic Knights is to send forces to Sailon Occupation Zone and defend from the high walls. But you can't pull forces from Kallung—Tarun might head straight there. So the forces Kallung can send are just two 2nd class Gigants and twenty 3rd class from the Great Forest fortress. Plus maybe ten 3rd class each from three nearby territories under your influence, max thirty more. Total: two 2nd class and fifty 3rd class Gigants. Even stretching to sixty, it's laughable against Tarun's forces. What do you think? Am I wrong?"
Now Viscount Erwin's face was filled with shock.
"Heavens! How do you know the empire's situation and our territory's state so well?"
Erwin's tone had completely changed. Bastian had gathered info from grand territory mech warriors at the Westline defense line, especially from nearby Kallung. Plus updates from Lord Fredrik of Lorenne, so he knew their situation inside out.
"The empire seems vast, but narrow when viewed by grand territories. We're neighbors, after all—we should know this much. And Tarun's commanders know at least this much too."
"Then how can you help our territory? No, please help our territory."
"First, let me tell you what forces I can muster. Two 2nd class Gigants—same as Kallung. Fourteen 3rd class Gigants, plus ten Steel Golems comparable to 3rd class. That's more than Kallung. On top of that, three hundred orc warriors who can take down A-rank monsters, and a thousand dwarf warriors."
This time, Wayne wore a smug expression.
"So! What will you give me now?"
Viscount Erwin paled, swallowing dryly repeatedly.
"You've made the right decision."
Wayne grinned, linking arms with Viscount Erwin as they walked out. Erwin looked on the verge of tears.
"Sir Wayne, you must keep your promise. Otherwise, I'm as good as dead."
"Of course. Just make sure I get to command the forces."
"I'll do my best."
Rakins bowed to Wayne.
"Sir Wayne, thank you for making this tough decision."
"No need. We're on the same side now, right?"
"Then I'll lead the forces ahead and wait at Sailon Occupation Zone."
"Yeah, don't worry—we won't be late. Strengthen the walls in the meantime."
"Yes, sir!"
The two hurried back to Kallung Grand Territory.
All the mech warriors gathered in Wayne's office. Curtis asked Wayne,
"How did you know Tarun Kingdom would cross the border?"
"It was just a matter of time. Even I'd seize the chance if I were Tarun. The empire-Est el war has turned into a war of attrition."
Wayne had sent people through the Valhalla Gate to the Sierra Mountains to check the front lines. Other grand territories' forces were bogged down on the endless Estel Plains front, with only Dresden slowly advancing toward the enemy capital in the north.
"What did you ask for as compensation? The envoys looked like they were crying on the way out."
"Everything we're short on."
"Pardon?"
"Food, timber, iron, coal, gold coins, daily necessities. And we'll take all the Sailon refugees who are headaches for them, as a favor. Oh, and a large ship too."
"What? Kallung's envoys aren't idiots— they'll agree to all that?"
Wayne shrugged. The basics of negotiation weren't age, experience, or eloquence, as Viscount Erwin had said. It was information—knowing your opponent and their current situation decided success or failure.
As everyone marveled at Wayne's diplomatic skills, Bastian alone looked grave. The reason was obvious.
"Tarun Kingdom's forces are too many."
Wayne nodded, already aware.
"We won five years ago, but we had more troops then, and now we have far fewer. No Count Boltain either. Plus, the desert is their home turf."
"You all have plenty of desert experience."
At Wayne's words, the mech warriors' faces darkened. They all had desert combat experience, but bitter memories from the Sailon battle five years ago resurfaced—severe injuries forcing them to abandon mech piloting. And fear of the black Magic Knights that had stolen their Odd made their expressions sour.
"Those Tarun bastards! We won't let them off this time!"
Sera Raudi's eyes blazed. Revenge burned hotter than fear in her.
"That's the spirit. No need to cower from one defeat. And I have a good plan I've been thinking about. This is our chance for proper revenge."
Even with severely outnumbered forces, Wayne brimmed with confidence.
A few days later, Wayne set off for Sailon Occupation Zone.