Chapter 49: Medieval Bulldozer (1)
Chapter 49: Medieval Bulldozer (1)
What Roxane was targeting was Codon Castle, the forward base of the Duran family.
"It doesn't look like that formidable a fortress, does it?"
That was Eugene's assessment after surveying the whole from a hill. The castle was built on flat ground, and with no river flowing nearby, it had no moat.
However, when the Morad and Duran families pressed against each other, it became a place of tremendous strategic importance.
"It's a castle with a short history. The Duran family, who had been bowing as the second power in the west, built it while aiming for regional hegemony."
"Did the Morad family just stand by and watch while this was being built?"
"At the time, the current count was not yet the head of the family. He hadn't even inherited a domain yet, so he had no choice but to watch with his eyes open."
The previous head of the family was now dead. He was said to have been a weak figure, excellent in commerce but lacking in political vision and charisma.
"I heard he repeatedly advised attacking during construction, but was refused every time. That incident completely soured the father-son relationship, and it's said he didn't shed a single tear even at his father's funeral."
When the hundred-strong relief force appeared, the defenders on the wall grew even more grim-faced. By contrast, the envoys Roxane had sent wore the brightest of expressions.
"Thank you for coming to me. It couldn't have been an easy choice."
When they arrived at the command tent, Roxane rose to greet them.
Most of the knights with her were second or third sons of the family. All they had for family backing was their body and equipment.
Even with Roxane's exceptional skill and popularity, that was an unavoidable reality unless one was the heir. It was remarkable enough that this many knights had followed her voluntarily.
"After I replied to you, Sir Roxane, Duke Timothy's letter arrived. I have come to keep the promise I first made as a knight."
"Right, I'm sure you did."
The corners of Roxane's eyes curved like crescent moons, and the knights laughed as well. It was, after all, a tactful phrase everyone here had used at least once.
"That aside, your numbers seem different from when you left?"
"There have been wounded, but none dead."
"Impressive. Just finishing the job and coming back that fast is amazing enough."
For Roxane, who had heard the details of the subjugation by messenger pigeon, it was nothing short of astonishing.
Not to lose a single subordinate while subduing four bugbears and pirates as well. Leaving aside personal bravery, it meant his competence as a commander was also immense.
"But how did you catch the pirates? They're troublesome bastards who bite like wolves and run like rabbits."
Since it was an urgent dispatch, only the results had been sent in brief, so Roxane didn't know the details.
"...Luck was on my side. I was able to hit them properly when the pirates were defenseless."
If he said he had broken the longship with a javelin, everyone would look at him as if he were a braggart. Eugene answered within the bounds of not lying.
"Luck is a skill, and seizing it is a commander's ability. I welcome you once again to my army. You are truly reassuring."
When the war council ended, Roxane personally escorted Eugene and gave him a tour of the camp.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
In a place screened off by a large tent, dwarf smiths were manufacturing siege ladders.
Beside them, a nearly completed battering ram boasted its imposing presence. It was the weapon capable of delivering the greatest punching force humanity could muster in this era.
"Are you planning to hammer the castle from the front?"
"Codon Castle is on flat ground with no moat and no double gate. Since we have the new battering ram, I'm going to attempt a gate breach. If that doesn't work, we have no choice but to starve them out."
"The ladders are insurance, then. I honestly hope there's no occasion to use them."
"The war is just beginning. It would be troublesome if we lost men piling up mountains of corpses to scale the walls."
Siege warfare in this era fundamentally relied on surrounding the enemy and starving them. Even with superior numbers, the moment they tried to climb the walls, severe casualties were inevitable.
"How much food is stockpiled in the castle?"
"Not even three months' worth. We smashed their supply unit."
"Oh! That is good news."
"Can't you see these?"
Roxane pointed to the corners of her eyes with a playful smile. On her beautiful face, free of makeup, fading dark circles remained.
At the time when the decision to strike Codon Castle had just been made, Roxane had learned of Codon Castle's supply plan through a planted spy.
She entrusted the unprepared main force to her adjutant and raced out herself leading the knights and elite cavalry.
At the end, she even took stimulants provided by a scribe and pushed a forced march without sleep.
As a result, she succeeded in annihilating the supply unit that had been moving vulnerably, trying to hastily deliver food to the castle.
"To just stand by and watch while something like that was being built. My incompetent grandfather nearly ran the family into the ground. Shouldn't we take it over this time?"
There was a reason Roxane had confidently attempted this siege.
The situation inside Codon Castle was worse than Eugene had thought.
"For the crime of negligence on guard duty, thirty lashes."
"P-Please have mercy! I won't fall asleep again!"
A mercenary who was weeping and begging at the garrison commander's order was dragged away. Thirty lashes was a punishment tantamount to being half-dead.
"He wasn't even on the outer perimeter. Show him some mercy."
His adjutant spoke cautiously.
The one dragged away had fallen asleep while guarding one of the castle wells. With morale at rock bottom now, harsh punishment could act as a negative factor.
"If I let one off, the others will slacken. Absolutely not."
The garrison commander was a self-made man who had risen from a common mercenary to earn a knighthood and even the command of a castle.
If he just held the castle, he was promised a noble title and official appointment as Castle Lord. He had no choice but to commit to the defense with his very life at stake.
"What about the reinforcements that were supposed to come?"
"The Morad family got a hundred more men just yesterday."
The garrison commander gritted his teeth at the agitation of the mercenary officers.
-Timothy's army is targeting Goldford. Stopping them there is urgent, so there will be no reinforcements.
That was the family head's reply to the request for support.
Goldford was the granary and transportation hub of the Duran family. Its importance was on a different level from Codon Castle.
-The Emperor said he would send knights separately. Join forces with them and hold on as best you can.
All the family head had promised, as if granting a favor, was a handful of troops.
'Damn it. Holding a castle doesn't take a few knights, it takes an army and supplies!'
The garrison commander was burning up inside but had no way out.
That night, the knights and cavalry sent by the Emperor joined them through the back gate of Codon Castle.
"Sir Geist. Thank you for coming."
The garrison commander greeted him respectfully.
Their numbers were few, but Imperial Guard knights were among them. When listing the strongest knights in Roman, Geist ranked within the top five.
"I apologize for the small numbers. His Majesty's relief forces had to be directed to Goldford."
"I am most grateful for the aid, but given our current situation..."
The garrison commander trailed off. No matter how excellent the knights, the gap in troops and supplies was too great.
"I understand the difficult situation, but you must endure. Once the main force at Goldford is broken, those bastards will have to pull back as well."
Geist knew the situation was unfavorable too. But he was an Imperial Guard. He had a duty to produce results with what he had been given, trusting the Emperor.
The brilliant Emperor also understood the value of Codon Castle and hoped to somehow secure a future through an armistice.
That was the reason the Duran family, despite having already received the reward of a count title without achieving any particular merit, could still propose a ceasefire.
The next morning.
Small groups of cavalry faced each other for parley. The escort knights, holding their family banners, glared at the opposing side with hardened faces.
It was a negotiation, and since Eugene was not a vassal, he remained in camp.
"I understand you have formally requested a ceasefire, but I wonder why you brought such a large army."
The garrison commander was irritated by the sound of something being hammered together in Roxane's camp. It was because it stood in stark contrast to his own poor circumstances, where they couldn't even fix one broken catapult in the castle.
The sight of the food piled like mountains and the heavy infantry with their healthy complexions took his breath away.
"You think if you beat up on us all you want and then ask to stop, we'll just accept it?"
"Haven't we shown sufficient sincerity? I heard Duke Timothy was tempted."
"He's someone who takes after his grandfather, someone who lets things slide for the sake of a quiet life. But my father and I are different."
Roxane pushed up her sleeve to reveal her arm. A sword scar that had not yet fully healed ran across it. The garrison commander sensed intuitively that a peaceful compromise would be difficult.
"Winter will come soon."
"It's only early autumn. You exaggerate."
"I acknowledge your forces are many, but even so, you cannot cross Codon's walls."
"I already know well that the situation inside the castle is not good. Even if winter comes, you'll be the ones suffering."
In every aspect—troops, food, morale, and justification—Roxane's army held the advantage. The more the conversation continued, the more the garrison commander felt himself shrinking.
"I'll wait two days. Take that flag down."
Roxane pointed at the Duran family flag flying above the gate.
"If you all disarm, open the gates, and surrender, your lives will be spared. You, your adjutants, and the soldiers—all of you."
"A generous measure."
Roxane greatly resembled Count Morad and was notorious for her cruelty toward those who opposed her.
"Since I came as a commander, not as a knight, I can't act on my temper alone. So, will you accept it or not?"
"We will never surrender. Whether you win or lose, a great deal of blood will flow. Fighting against a castle is never a trivial matter."
"Well, good luck then."
Roxane grinned.
"There's no need to waste time and troops unnecessarily, is there?"
A knight who had been standing behind the garrison commander spurred his horse and stepped forward. He was a large man in splendid armor.
"This is Sir Geist, an Imperial Guard sent by His Majesty the Emperor."
The garrison commander answered Roxane's silent, questioning look.
"Why drag this out messily? Let's not sacrifice soldiers needlessly and settle this in a noble fashion. By sending out our best knights to fight."
Geist was demanding that the battle be decided by a duel in place of the armies.
"Look here. Aren't you the commander of that castle? Even if he's the Emperor's knight, are you just going to watch him run his mouth like this?"
The garrison commander's face flushed with shame. Though it was clearly an overstep, as Roxane said, it was also true that there was no alternative. Things were at the point where they would crumble on their own by the time winter came anyway.
"Are you afraid? If you're afraid, you're welcome to tuck tail and run."
The garrison commander forced a laugh and made an obvious provocation.
"I'll accept."
But Roxane nodded.
"...!"
"You proposed it, so why do you both look surprised? Did you think I'd refuse?"
Roxane let out a chuckle at the two men's dumbfounded expressions. She felt an intense exhilaration at being fully in control, shaking the situation at will.
'I didn't think she'd actually accept.'
Geist felt both bewilderment and hope simultaneously.
This duel challenge hadn't been discussed beforehand. He had thrown it out on his own, as if struggling in desperation. Because comparing the encircling army he saw up close with the inside of the castle, there seemed to be no chance of winning at all.
"Let's hold the duel tomorrow at noon. That much I can decide, right?"
"Of course."
The garrison commander nodded as well. He had to get through the immediate crisis, after all.
If Geist and the Imperial Guard knights won, the problem would be resolved in a way he had never imagined.
And the odds weren't low. All the outstanding knights of the Morad family had followed Timothy.
"I need men to ride out in the mounted duel."
When Roxane returned and explained the situation, knights stepped forward with near-fanatical excitement.
"I will fight!"
"I am a relative of Sir Gaus. Please grant me this chance for revenge!"
"I have been training all this time for this fight! Please, the honor of the vanguard!"
Since it was a duel held before the eyes of countless warriors, the spectators were a knight's strength, and victory earned there would be sweeter than anything.
If they distinguished themselves in the duel, word would surely reach Count Morad's ears. For knights who were second or third sons, it was a brilliant chance for advancement.
"Sir Geist is among the opponents."
"The sword of Morad is no less sharp than the Emperor's sword!"
Even though the opponent was extremely dangerous, the knights did not back down. Far from calculating the odds, it was a fanatical faith that their own courage would overcome all enemies. That was what it meant to be a knight.
Regrettably, however, from the moment Roxane had accepted the duel, one spot was already filled.
"You. Why are you not saying anything?"
Roxane looked at Eugene, a peculiar smile on her lips. Everyone's gaze turned toward him.
"Uh..."
Eugene, who had been hesitating for a moment with his arms crossed, continued.
"I thought I was already included. Was I not?"
"Pfft."
At his slightly chagrined reply, Roxane and a few others couldn't hold back their laughter.