Chapter 64

The Beginning of Our Seven-Day War

"Tony, do you think we can win this war?"

Carlo D'Amorgar, the first prince of the Kingdom of D'Amorgar, asked General Tony.

"Of course. We will surely bring victory."

"Is that so? Then I'll leave it to you. I entrust everything to you."

Carlo handed over the command of the operation entirely to Tony.

Carlo is twenty years old.

Although Carlo is the first prince, he is the son of a concubine, and his position is not particularly high.

However, he is the son of the king's most favored princess and resembles his mother, so he is well-liked by his father, King D'Amorgar.

This war has the additional purpose of giving Carlo a chance to earn merit, besides the goal of territorial expansion.

Carlo's abilities are not particularly high.

Born with a weak body and a gentle disposition, this is his first time on the battlefield.

If asked whether he has strong administrative skills, the answer would be no.

He is not particularly intelligent either.

But the one redeeming quality Carlo has is that he is aware of his own incompetence.

This sets him apart from certain others.

Therefore, delegating work to capable subordinates is the norm for Carlo.

Carlo's job is to drink wine, admire the furnishings, and dally with his sex slaves.

Tony is trying to use Carlo for his own purposes.

Tony is Carlo's mother's brother, making him Carlo's uncle.

Originally, Tony's family was not of high standing, but when Carlo's mother entered the palace, Tony gained a powerful patron.

Due to his own exceptional talent, he quickly rose through the ranks and eventually became a general.

Tony is heavily relied upon by Carlo.

There are two reasons for this: he is family, and he is genuinely capable.

Carlo has secured a promise to make Tony the Grand General when he becomes king.

However, Tony is not satisfied with just this. It could be revoked at any time.

Tony intends to marry his daughter to Carlo.

This would strengthen their bond, making his position unassailable.

"What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing, I apologize."

Tony hastily stops fantasizing about his future as the Grand General and begins to think about the strategy for this war.

The objective this time is to capture the As territory.

Once the As territory is taken, capturing the palace of King Rosais will be easy, as it is right next to the As territory.

If possible, they would head straight to the palace of King Rosais after taking the As territory, but this is considered difficult.

King Rosais' kingdom has a population of 170,000, and if all are mobilized, they can gather over 10,000 troops.

This would make the situation quite challenging.

Tony's strategy is to capture the As territory and then negotiate a truce.

During the truce, he plans to turn the nobles of King Rosais' kingdom against him and bring down the kingdom.

He once tried to persuade the noble Dibel to defect, but was refused. Joining with King D'Amorgar's kingdom would guarantee victory, but it would mean a future as a puppet, which the proud Rigar Dibel could not accept.

However, a significant blow might change his mind.

King Rosais' kingdom is the largest in southern Adelnia and has many plains, making it a major producer of wheat.

In other words, capturing this kingdom would secure dominance over southern Adelnia.

Therefore, it must be taken carefully.

This war is also a competition with the Kingdom of Gilbert.

It comes down to which kingdom can advance south first.

"By the way, I've heard that Princess Yuria of King Rosais' kingdom is quite beautiful. It will be enjoyable."

Carlo grumbled while fidgeting.

"If we win, everyone in King Rosais' kingdom will become slaves. They will be yours."

Tony, who secretly intended to take Princess Yuria as a reward, answered with a sense of regret.

In the Adelnia Peninsula, it is common to enslave the citizens of the defeated kingdom.

However, not everyone is enslaved unconditionally.

Those who stop resisting early or cooperate are not made slaves.

About 40% of the defeated kingdom's citizens become slaves.

There are no buyers for hundreds of thousands of slaves anyway.

"Don't look so disappointed. How about the wife of the lord of As territory? I hear she is beautiful."

"A married woman...?"

Tony made a dissatisfied face. His inability to hide his feelings is one of his flaws.

Tony prefers virgins and does not like married women.

"Hmm. You're still the same. That membrane is irrelevant, you know."

"No, the problem isn't the membrane. It's the fact that they have experience."

As they were having this vulgar conversation, the fortress came into view.

As reported, it was a very sturdy structure.

According to reports from spies, about 8,000 troops were preparing to defend the fortress.

"Let's set up camp a little further ahead. Shall we launch an attack immediately?"

"Sure. I'll leave it to you."

A large mountain range, the Adelnia Mountains, lies between the Kingdom of Rosais and the Kingdom of D'Amorgar.

This makes it difficult for large armies to invade.

However, there is one place where the mountains break. According to legend, it was created when the earth shook, or when a giant stepped on it, or when a griffin and a dragon fought.

This is where the As territory, the Kingdom of D'Amorgar, and the Romano Forest meet.

The plain, known as the Tera Plain, is about the size of a cat's forehead.

The Kingdom of D'Amorgar must pass through the Tera Plain to invade the Kingdom of Rosais.

Although called a plain, it has a slight elevation.

The Tera Fortress is located on a small hill in the Tera Plain.

The Tera Fortress has two walls.

The inner wall is made of wood and has existed for a long time. It is very fragile.

The important wall is the outer one, a newly constructed stone wall.

The wall is one meter thick and five meters high.

A moat surrounds the wall, and a drawbridge connects the moat to the gates.

There are two gates: the South Gate and the North Gate.

The walls extend on both sides of the gates, and the extended parts are tower-like structures, about seven meters high.

This design makes it easier to concentrate archer attacks around the gates.

Almus was in the command center of the Tera Fortress.

"Our total forces are 8,000 from the Kingdom of Rosais and 300 from the Equus tribe, totaling 8,300."

The nobles provided more soldiers than expected.

The number is higher than anticipated. However...

"The enemy's total forces are 25,000..."

"They seem to be fully committed," Tera said, reading the report.

According to reports from spies, the enemy has brought many siege weapons.

This is troublesome.

However, there is one good thing.

"The fact that the enemy has brought many siege weapons means they have less food. This is convenient."

The Tera Fortress is on the border between the As territory and the Kingdom of D'Amorgar.

The north side of the Tera Fortress is the Kingdom of D'Amorgar.

It is harvest season, so grain can be sent to the battlefield immediately after being harvested.

Transporting food is not difficult. They probably intend to rely on supply lines.

After the Tera Fortress falls and they advance deeper into the Kingdom of Rosais, they can harvest wheat from the Kingdom of Rosais to secure food.

Therefore, there is no need to carry large amounts of food.

It is more economical to bring siege weapons and capture the fortress quickly.

Although a truce has been made with the Kingdom of Gilbert, relations with the Kingdom of D'Amorgar are still poor.

There is also a competition to see which kingdom can secure the south faster and in greater quantity.

This time, I have appointed Ron and others as leaders of a thousand-man unit.

They must also earn merit. It is a problem that my hereditary vassals are only captains of a hundred-man unit.

"Well, we can win. Three days of resistance should be enough."

I smiled slyly.

The war that would later be called the Seven-Day War was about to begin.

Day 1 of the Siege

"Let's start by surrounding the fortress."

Tony gave the order to the entire army to surround the fortress.

"Hey, Tony. It's a bit late to ask, but... can we just ignore this fortress?"

"It's tough. Our army is around 20,000, and we only have three to four days' worth of food. We can secure food through plunder, but there is a possibility that the enemy will use a scorched earth tactic. Therefore, securing supply lines is essential. This means we must capture the fortress. Additionally, the forces of the Kingdom of Rosais are not all concentrated in this fortress. They can conscript more troops. If we ignore it, we risk being caught in a pincer attack. Also, in the event of defeat, having a place to retreat to makes a difference."

Tony explained carefully to Carlo.

Carlo seemed to understand and nodded in satisfaction.

"What's next?"

"Well... let's start with a reconnaissance