Chapter 69

Today is a double update.

Early on the third day.

Braus, who was stationed in Dress Village, received news that Braus Town had fallen.

Braus hurriedly set out to retake Braus Town.

Normally, he should have joined forces with the main army, the Domorgal forces.

However, as Braus was a noble who guarded the border of the Kingdom of Domorgal, he was unaware of the high cavalry attack power. Therefore, he thought that if the enemy numbered five hundred, he could easily defeat them.

Moreover, he couldn't afford to wait calmly with his mansion captured and his family taken as prisoners.

Thus, Braus left five hundred to guard Dress Village and set out for Braus Town with a forced march of fifteen hundred.

On the third day, the Rozweiss army, which had set out from Braus Town in the late morning, loaded the captured wagons and carriages with prisoners and set off.

They also obtained horses for changing, so they could carry many of the plundered goods.

The return march would be slower due to the heavy load of plunder, but it was still much faster than infantry.

Around noon, they encountered two hundred Domorgal cavalry.

"Let's fight right away. Great! We'll show you the power of the Equus clan!!"

As soon as he shouted, the Equus clan charged forward with great momentum.

They drew their bows and fired in unison.

One after another, the two hundred Domorgal cavalry were shot through, and their momentum was broken.

As the Equus clan approached the Domorgal army, they quickly put away their short bows and drew their swords and spears to charge.

The Equus clan, born cavalry, slaughtered the Domorgal army one after another.

The Equus clan used saddles supplied by Almus.

With the born cavalry using saddles and wielding spears and swords, the two hundred Domorgal cavalry on bareback had no chance of winning.

In no time, the Domorgal cavalry were annihilated.

Incidentally, the Domorgal army had one hundred dead, eighty prisoners, and twenty who fled.

On the other hand, the Equus clan had three dead and five injured.

It was a decisive battle.

"Isn't our presence unnecessary now?"

"Hey, don't say things you shouldn't!"

Rozward silenced Virgal.

"Let's start the interrogation. There's no way it's just two hundred."

Mutio interrogated the captured enemy soldiers.

The information obtained was that the lord Braus was heading to Braus Town with fifteen hundred.

He had set out in the early morning, but the distance from Braus Town to Dress Village was considerable.

They probably wouldn't meet today.

Even with the use of wagons, they were carrying treasures and prisoners.

Early on the third day, at Terial Fortress

Currently, the military council of the Domorgal army was in a heated debate.

The opinions were divided between immediate retreat and continuing the attack on the fortress.

It was already clear that a retreat was necessary once Braus Town had fallen.

However, the nobles couldn't easily back down.

War required a lot of money.

It was impossible to retreat without making any profit.

There was even a risk of bankruptcy.

"Let's retreat."

Carlo, who had been silent until then, spoke.

The room fell silent instantly.

"Is, is it okay!?"

Tonino asked Carlo with a trembling voice.

If they retreated now, Carlo would never become king.

"There's no other way, is there? I think we should retreat while the damage is still minimal. Fortunately, we haven't suffered significant damage yet. After driving the enemy out of the Braus territory, we can regroup and plan again. It's much better than getting stuck in a quagmire."

The lord, Carlo, decided to retreat.

Tonino and the generals had no choice but to remain silent.

"I understand. Let's start preparing for the retreat. I'll take the rear guard."

With Tonino's words, the military council ended.

The Domorgal army began preparing for the retreat.

"The enemy seems to be preparing for a retreat."

"Is that so? Then let's start preparing for a pursuit."

The Rozweiss army left five hundred at the fortress and took about seven thousand in a battle formation.

The vanguard was the elite five hundred heavy infantry of the As army.

As soon as the Domorgal army turned their backs to start the retreat, the Rozweiss army opened the city gates and began a fierce pursuit.

They threw black powder from bomb lances and catapults, and then charged into the enemy's rear guard.

At the moment of explosion, particles of grass that created hallucinations scattered, and with them, illusions of fire were produced.

While in the previous territorial dispute, there was only one mage, Soyon, this time there were several mages from the Kingdom of Rozweiss.

The mages of the Kingdom of Domorgal tried to dispel the illusions, but the entire Domorgal army fell into a state of panic first.

Realizing their defeat and with their morale plummeting, the Domorgal soldiers scattered and fled.

As their formation broke, the Rozweiss army attacked, causing a chain reaction of damage to the Domorgal army.

The Domorgal army managed to shake off the Rozweiss army and escape back to the Braus territory, but their strength, which had been twenty-five thousand, had been reduced to twenty thousand.

The Rozweiss army invaded the Braus territory to deal further blows.

The surrounding villages, upon learning of the Domorgal army's defeat, immediately bowed their heads and surrendered.

Night

"It seems that the detachment has defeated the enemy's two hundred cavalry. It was a decisive victory. They report that they will defeat the enemy infantry tomorrow and join us by evening."

When I said this, the nobles of the Rozweiss army were elated.

The atmosphere was such that a banquet might start immediately.

"Still, isn't the enemy foolish to disperse their forces?"

Balthro frowned. Two thousand infantry should not have been sent to Braus Town.

They should have retreated to Dress Village and joined forces to meet the attack.

"The commander of the two thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry who first went to Dress Village was Braus, the noble of this land. There was no other choice."

If he knew his territory was being ravaged, he couldn't wait.

After all, with a four-to-one advantage, he would try to defeat them at all costs.

The war had entered its fourth day.

Fourth day

The ten thousand Domorgal army, under intense pursuit, managed to reach Dress Village by noon.

They set up camp in Dress Village.

Since all the defensive facilities had been destroyed by the Rozweiss army, they had to rebuild them from scratch.

"Really, Lord Braus... why did he set out...?"

Tonino sighed.

He had received a message that Braus was heading to retake Braus Town.

However, with the significant reduction in troops, the two thousand were a very valuable force.

He had urgently ordered them to return via hawk messenger, but there was no sign of them returning.

"Lord Tonino... a reply from King Domorgal has arrived..."

Tonino had sent a request for reinforcements to King Domorgal on the morning of the third day.

The reply had just arrived.

"I see. Your face doesn't look good."

Tonino read the reply from King Domorgal.

In summary, he wanted to help but couldn't move because the Kingdom of Rozelle was trying to invade.

He was urgently forming an army.

He asked them to hold on for at least three more days.

"What do we do, Lord Tonino?"

The nobles looked at Tonino.

All of them had poor expressions.

"First, let's rest the troops. Then we'll wait for Lord Braus's fifteen hundred to return. After that, we'll settle it in the field. We still have the numerical advantage."

Dress Village was not a fortress, and all the defensive facilities had been destroyed.

It would be better to fight in the field.

"Will the enemy wait for us?"

"The enemy won't move until the detachment arrives. So it's a race to see whether Lord Braus returns first or the enemy's detachment arrives first."

On the Rozweiss side

"Sakura. I was worried that with you here, we might lose. But you did a great job. You're not an unlucky horse at all. Yeah."

I talked to Sakura.

Her name was originally nameless, but I named her Sakura.

The origin is horse meat... no, don't bite me.

Her coat reminded me of the sun, and that led me to think of Japan, and then Sakura. You know, because she's a girl.

...No talking about falling easily.

"Almus. Balthro and the others are calling you."

"Understood. I'll go now."

I returned to the camp with Tera.

"Should we attack now?"

"We can defeat them now!"

Ordvis and Perm approached me with excited faces.

Indeed, the Rozweiss army was on a roll. They could probably win even with a two-to-one disadvantage.

However, I thought it was important not to be complacent. A cornered rat will bite a cat.

The enemy reinforcements were still far away, so it was probably best to wait and see for a while.

"Let's wait for the detachment to arrive. They should be here by this evening. Besides, the troops are tired from the continuous pursuit. Let them rest well today. Serve some wine."

"Ah, as expected of the general. Wine is a good idea."

Balthro said, drinking wine.

You should hold back, idiot.

The Rozweiss detachment and the Domorgal army led by Braus were facing each other.

It was noon.

The sun was shining brightly over both sides.

"I am Raymond, the leader of this detachment. Your wife, son, and daughter are all in our custody. They are all safe. If you want them back, surrender. Or would you like to join our country?"

"Who would!! I'll take them back in battle right now!"

The negotiations broke down quickly.

Raymond considered killing one of Braus's family members but decided against it as it would only anger the enemy without any real benefit.

"What should we do..."

This was his first real battle.

In siege battles, they had been overwhelmingly dominant, or the enemy had surrendered the castle before the battle began.

The two hundred cavalry had been completely slaughtered by the Equus clan, so no special instructions were necessary.

But this time, the enemy was two thousand infantry. It wouldn't be that easy.

"Don't worry. I have a plan."

Rozward explained the strategy.

It was a very simple and straightforward tactic.

"Sounds good. It's easier than doing something complicated."

Mutio smiled.

Thus, the battle began.

Under the watchful eye of the sun...

The Equus clan approached the enemy heavy infantry to their limit and fired arrows in unison.

Arrows rained down on the heavy infantry.

"Scatter them!!"

On Braus's command, the heavy infantry charged at the Equus clan.

The Equus clan fled while firing arrows at the heavy infantry.

Naturally, humans couldn't catch up to horses.

The heavy infantry, who had been on a forced march, quickly ran out of stamina, slowed down, and their formation became disordered.

"Charge!!"

The Equus clan charged from the front, Rozward and Virgal from the right flank, and Raymond from the left flank.

The exhausted heavy infantry were easily flanked and surrounded from the front and sides.

Their formation quickly collapsed, and the Domorgal army began to flee.

"Not letting you go!!"

The Rozweiss detachment fiercely pursued them, and soon a pile of corpses formed.

"Alright, Lord Braus. Be calm. You'll see your son soon."

Rozward stabbed the rear of Braus's horse with his sword.

The horse went wild, and Braus fell off.

Virgal pounced and captured him.

"We've captured the enemy commander, Braus!!"

Thus, the Rozweiss detachment easily won the battle.

Evening.

The Rozweiss detachment joined the main Rozweiss army, and the Domorgal army in Dress Village learned of Braus's defeat at the same time.

"Good job, Raymond."

"Hehe, I didn't really do much. It's all thanks to Lord Mutio and Lord Rozward."

Raymond answered with a smile.

In reality, Raymond wasn't that useful. At best, his presence served as a deterrent to the Equus clan.

"And here are the spoils of war."

Raymond showed the treasures, slaves, mages, and the Braus family he had captured.

Braus said bitterly,

"Listen, my son will definitely cut off your heads..."

"Is that so? If we take your entire family as hostages, your son won't be able to move, will he?"

Even if it were just one or two, with the entire family captured, he would be too worried about them to fight properly...

"Anyway, this will be the final battle. Let's prepare for tomorrow's fight!!"

The Rozweiss army cheered.

On the other hand, the Domorgal army was enveloped in a funeral-like atmosphere.

"Lord Tonino. More deserters. Should we pursue them?"

"...We'll lose more soldiers if we do. Let them go."

More and more Domorgal soldiers were deserting.

Morale was at its worst.

Reinforcements were hopeless.

"Lord Tonino. Prince Carlo is calling a military council. Please attend."

"Prince Carlo? It's unusual for him to suggest it... Understood."

"First, how many troops do we have?"

"About nine thousand."

Tonino answered.

"How many enemy troops?"

"About seven thousand."

Tonino nodded satisfactorily and asked,

"Is there anyone here who thinks we can defeat the Rozweiss army? If so, present a specific plan."

Everyone remained silent.

Even with a numerical and quality advantage in weapons, they were losing significantly in morale.

The soldiers might flee before the battle even began.

There was a possibility of a complete collapse right after the battle started.

"Then there's no choice but to surrender. Let's negotiate peace."

When Carlo said this, the nobles looked at him as if he had jumped up.

"Prince Carlo! If we do this, we'll be forced to accept very unfavorable terms! The entire Braus territory might fall to the enemy!!"

"That's true. But if we lose, we'll have to accept even worse terms. Besides, behind our country are the Kingdom of Rozelle, the Kingdom of Faldaume, and the Kingdom of Gilbert. If we lose a significant number of troops here, our country will surely fall. Even I, a fool, can see that. We can't win, can we? Then let's negotiate peace."

No one could oppose Carlo.

"Lord Almus. Thank you for the opportunity to negotiate peace."

"No, I also want to reconcile with your country."

I tried to be as friendly as possible to Prince Carlo.

He is the prince of a superior country, after all.

"First, how about a one-year ceasefire agreement?"

Hmm, that means you're not giving up on your southward policy.

I understand that you can't give it up.

Even if we defeat the Domorgal army now, the one-year ceasefire agreement won't change.

We would need to invade further, but we don't have siege weapons.

We could use the siege weapons left behind by the enemy, but it would take time to retrieve them.

It's not feasible.

We should settle for one year.

"Understood. A one-year ceasefire agreement is fine. Regarding compensation..."

"Let's give you the entire Braus territory. And as compensation, we'll pay three times the war expenses of your country over ten years."

It's a generous offer.

But we've already captured Braus Town. It's a fair compensation.

However...

We can't defend such a large border.

Prince Carlo probably thinks he can take it back, which is why he's offering these terms.

"The western half of the Braus territory and the area around Braus Town will be sufficient. In return, can we have twenty blacksmiths? Blacksmiths who can forge iron."

"…Alright. We'll give you twenty blacksmiths."

This will allow us to mass-produce iron.

Our blacksmiths are still inexperienced.

"And the compensation can be two times, but I want a lump sum payment. In return, we'll return all the members of the Braus family."

"…Understood."

This will prevent them from defaulting.

The rest is...

"I have two more requests. One is that you and the Braus family stay in our country until the contract is fulfilled."

"Of course. That's reasonable. What's the other one?"

"The other one is…"

When I stated the condition, Carlo's eyes widened.

"Wow, you have the worst character..."

"I'm honored by your praise. …Well, I am the next king, after all."

Checkmate (Whose, I wonder?)

Next update at 7 PM