Chapter 52: Medieval Bulldozer (4)
Chapter 52: Medieval Bulldozer (4)
The defending forces were smashed as if a gigantic boulder had rolled over them. The sight made any will to resist evaporate among the defenders still scattered throughout the castle.
"Kneel, you bastards!"
"Jesson! That one's not dead yet."
The able-bodied were disarmed and forced to kneel in rows, while the gravely wounded received the merciful blade.
Meanwhile, the knight who had achieved the greatest merit was being examined for injuries.
"I'm fine. It was far less taxing than when I smashed that ship last time."
Varda carefully observed Eugene's upper body, then nodded.
"You really are unharmed. Honestly, your body is absurd in both strength and durability."
"Throwing a javelin only overworks the right arm, but hauling the battering ram used every muscle in my body evenly. This was actually far less exhausting."
"A battering ram is meant for breaking gates, not for plowing into infantry formed up in a battle line."
"I had only intended to break the gate and pull back, but once I saw the inside, my thinking changed."
After the gate was shattered, the infantry visible through the observation window ahead looked far too appetizing to pass up.
"My master used to say that a warrior must know how to listen to the counsel offered by instinct."
"That means focusing on what's called a 'gut feeling,' not doing something reckless."
"But thanks to that, we minimized our own casualties, didn't we? Even with the gate broken, an elite infantry force was blocking the entrance. If we had fought normally, many would have died or been wounded."
In the end, since Eugene's judgment had proven correct, Varda said no more.
Finding the best path on the battlefield is a knight's virtue. It was not a matter for a mage like herself to fuss over. She feared that excessive advice might limit the judgment of a knight still in the midst of his growth.
Roxane approached Eugene once his injury examination was finished.
"When you charged out alone, I wondered what on earth you intended to do. You always surpass my imagination, Sir Eugene."
At Roxane's amused words, the escort knights looked at Eugene with eyes full of admiration.
Martial prowess that could fell the Emperor's own Imperial Guard knights in one or two exchanges. And on top of that, a charge that punched clean through both a castle gate and its defensive garrison.
Charging fearlessly at the enemy was the highest virtue to a knight. If anything, the insane charge they had just witnessed set their hearts ablaze.
"It was thanks to the dwarves who prepared such a magnificent battering ram. Without them, I would have been reduced to fish paste in front of that gate."
"I know. I shall have rewards distributed to the dwarf smiths."
"And you must not forget the men who pushed the ram with me. It was thanks to them that I could exert my strength without worrying about a blade in my back."
"There are truly so many to look after. Don't worry. Isn't a gold mine meant exactly for times like this?"
The scribe beside Roxane noted down all of the reward recipients Eugene had mentioned.
"This should far exceed my father's standard for a passing grade by now. Allow me to congratulate you in advance on becoming a lord."
"Thank you."
Even by his own estimation, Eugene felt confident he had done more than enough.
'A steady income at last.'
Knighthood was too uncertain a profession to live without some kind of foundation, however small. Anything that could offset the wages his mercenaries burned through just by breathing was welcome.
In the meantime, the external situation had been changing rapidly as well.
Two couriers of House Morad rode hard toward Roxane's army at Codon Castle. With the army on the offensive, carrier pigeons that relied on returning home could not be used.
"Damn it! If we deliver news like this, won't we get flogged? You know the young lady is infamous for her foul temper."
"You worry too much. She's not the sort to take her anger out on the wrong people."
What the couriers had to deliver was news of a defeat. The main army led by Timothy had been driven from Goldford.
-I must achieve a feat that utterly eclipses Roxane. We shall capture Goldford Castle.
Goldford was the core territory of House Duran and one of the greatest granaries in all of Roman. It took its name from the golden wheat said to flow like a river during harvest season.
-Would it not be better to choose a somewhat easier target?
Many vassals advised him to choose a different target. Taking Goldford would deal a tremendous blow, but the enemy would also defend it desperately.
Timothy was no complete fool either.
-Is it not harvest season? The land overflows with food and supplies to plunder in every direction. Moreover, simply holding our position here blocks the flow of logistics. They must be growing anxious, cooped up inside the city.
-That is true, but still.
It was a position where taking the city would be a tremendous achievement and merely holding their ground was profitable. The vassals found it difficult to object.
Indeed, as the flow of logistics was severed and the trebuchet neared half-completion, a sortie force burst out from the castle.
The problem arose when Timothy eagerly took the bait.
-Charge, in the name of His Majesty the Emperor!
Imperial reinforcements appeared from the right and launched a fierce assault. They were an elite force composed largely of cavalry.
-Slaughter the Morad dogs! Turn them into fertilizer for the wheat fields!
From the left, the coalition of Duran family vassals came crashing in.
In an instant, they were being attacked from both sides. While Timothy stammered in confusion, his capable vassals swiftly assessed the situation.
-We target the Duran vassal coalition! Knights, charge!
The Duran vassal coalition was centered on infantry. They had rushed to complete the encirclement, leaving the soldiers exhausted and their formation loose.
Recognizing that weakness, the Morad vassals punched through a single point in the left-hand encirclement and escaped.
"How great were the losses? I didn't get to hear that part."
"We lost all the supplies we had brought, and many of the mercenaries fell. But the knights and household troops were mostly unscathed."
Quite a few of the mercenaries thrown away as sacrificial pawns during the escape had died, but the very purpose of mercenaries was to be used in such a manner.
Inside Codon Castle, construction was in full swing.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Bare to the waist, the dwarves hammered away on all sides, thick muscles bulging as they worked.
"Hurry! The hinges must be secured by today!"
Capturing a castle was meaningless if they could not hold it. The gate Eugene had destroyed was beyond any hope of repair and had to be built anew.
"We have plenty of materials and craftsmen, so it will be completed quickly."
The dwarf representative Torim reported to Roxane, who had come to inspect.
Eugene and Varda stood at Roxane's side; in strength and wisdom respectively, they surpassed anyone else she had brought with her.
The siege engine that had captured the castle was dismantled, and the additional timber and iron plates they had brought were all mobilized.
"We shall build it far sturdier than the original gate. Please trust us."
Torim and the other dwarves wore expressions of relief. They bowed their heads deeply, not to Roxane, but toward Eugene.
-Thanks to you, Sir, we have all been able to fulfill our final cherished wish. When we return to the Underground Kingdom, we shall praise your name.
Eugene recalled Torim's gratitude right after the siege. It was a place he certainly wished to visit someday, and this would surely prove helpful.
"Now if Duke Timothy would only oblige us with a victory, things would be perfect."
"Are you serious?"
At Eugene's remark, Roxane's eyebrows rose from the contented expression she had worn while surveying the work.
"Is he not on our side?"
"Just because someone carries the same banner does not make them an ally. Since ancient times, the most dangerous enemy on the battlefield has been..."
"A stupid ally."
"Hmph! You say that knowing full well?"
"Duke Timothy may be an enemy, but the knights and soldiers he leads are our allies."
"...!"
At Eugene's unfiltered remark, Roxane instinctively glanced around. She had the feeling their positions had somehow been reversed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Pull! Harder!"
"Heave-ho!"
Eugene's voice had been quiet, and with everyone shouting raucously as they worked, no one had heard him.
"You are the first person I have met who speaks more bluntly about Timothy than I do."
"I joined you, Lady Roxane. We're in the same boat now. I don't play slippery guessing games. You prefer people to speak plainly too, whether it's advice or a joke, don't you?"
"...I shall not forget that mindset. But do watch your words. It would be troublesome if they reached the ears of anyone besides me."
Despite the cautionary tone, Roxane's face was filled with a smile. Perhaps the atmosphere seemed favorable, for Varda discreetly stepped two paces back.
What Eugene needed most right now was gold and connections to powerful nobles. Roxane could reliably provide both.
Regrettably, however, the good mood did not last long.
"Timothy has been captured, and the army is retreating to Goldhill."
Upon receiving the courier's report, Roxane pressed her hand to her forehead as if a headache were setting in. The courier, in contrast, wore a face of disbelief that the castle had already fallen.
"I knew he was incompetent, but I never thought he was this bad. He took those elite troops and ruined them? Then got himself captured?"
Perhaps to assert his dignity as commander, Timothy had been at the front with sword in hand, urging the troops on.
Because of that, when the encirclement attack began and the vanguard fell into confusion, he had been captured in an instant.
His vassals had no time to rescue him. Any unnecessary delay in the retreat would have endangered the entire army.
"At any rate, it is fortunate that the family's main force was preserved."
"That is precisely why I am staying calm right now."
If they had lost a number of knights and household troops as well, Roxane's reaction would have been far worse.
Moreover, even during the retreat, the knights of House Morad had inflicted significant damage on the Duran vassal army. They had even taken some nobles prisoner, which was astonishing.
"With the Imperial reinforcements having left immediately for another location, it seems we are safe here."
"Calls for help are coming from every direction, so the Imperial force cannot stay in one place. This castle matters only to House Morad and House Duran."
Codon was a barren stronghold, artificially built, and sparsely populated. For the Emperor, whose own predicament was severe, there was no reason to send troops this far.
That left them with one victory and one defeat in battle, but something close to victory in the war. They had lost only what money could replace and gained what money could not buy.
Roxane's frown eased once her thoughts reached that point. Aside from the damage to her family's prestige, the situation was not bad.
"Will we remain here for the time being?"
"We should make this hard-won castle secure first."
"And what about ownership of the castle?"
"Naturally, our family shall take it."
This was not an ordinary hereditary domain but something closer to a recently built outpost. By custom, there was nothing problematic about annexing it regardless of bloodline or succession.
The head of House Duran abandoned the notion of retaking Codon Castle by force. Winter was approaching, and the main army of House Morad remained intact.
He begged them to return the castle, offering to return Timothy and pay compensation on top of it, but his envoys were not even allowed inside.
"With your main army defeated, are you not afraid of His Majesty the Emperor's wrath?"
"There must be more than ten places begging for his help. How long would it take to make the rounds of all of them? Imagine how stoutly fortified this castle will be by then."
Roxane stood with arms arrogantly crossed atop the gate's watchtower, looking down on them. Bluffs held no sway over her.
"Taking this stance is tantamount to declaring you will remain eternal foes of House Duran. Please, think carefully."
"Those who launched an unprovoked attack without a declaration of war have no standing to say such things. Could you say the same to the wives and children who lost their patriarch to your cowardly assault? Furthermore, your garrison commander proposed settling the castle's ownership by duel, and then broke his word."
The Duran envoys bit their lips. They could not let matters end like this. They had to produce some result, somehow.
"There must have been a misunderstanding between the two sides. The garrison commander I know is not that sort of man. Please allow us to meet him."
"That is not difficult. I shall arrange for you to meet him right now."
"Thank you!"
The envoys were startled, never having imagined she would actually grant the request.
"Send out the garrison commander!"
Roxane shouted toward the interior of the castle.
"Mmmpf! Hrrrrgh!"
Bound tightly and gagged, the garrison commander thrashed desperately, tears and snot streaming down his face. He had been placed in the sling of a newly repaired trebuchet.
"The experience of flying through the sky is not something just anyone can have. Consider this an honor, in its own way."
The garrison commander trembled violently at the sight of the grinning dwarf approaching.
"Fire!"
The moment the dwarf cut the rope with a carpenter's axe, the counterweight swung and launched the garrison commander into the sky.
"Hrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!"
His bound body flew over the castle wall, hurtling toward the delegation.