Chapter 45: Things you can obtain in someone else’s territory (8)

***

In the midst of the daily grief and confusion, good news arrived at the royal palace of Roserun for the first time in a long time. Reinforcements were coming; Yudante was overjoyed and unfolded the letter from Yurasia. After reading a few lines, he shouted with joy.

“Rejoice! Reinforcements are coming from Lunan!”

Hearing this, the nobles began to buzz.

“Is that true?”

“Oh!”

However, the king’s expression changed as he read the letter. His expression lost its brightness.

“But…….The number of reinforcements is…….only 30,000…….”

At those words, the air in the royal palace instantly froze. Bellac, the general of the royal army, asked with a wrinkle between his brows.

“Your Majesty, I think you’ve got the wrong numbers. We can never win with such numbers. In the last war, Lunan used 100,000 troops to stop Narja 70,000 troops. How in the world can we fight with 30,000 troops!?”

The king’s words were no longer heard by the nobles. The only thing that mattered to them was the number of reinforcements.

Even Duke Lucheek, who had proposed the request for reinforcements, shook his head, saying that it was a moot point. This was the moment when the option of fleeing to a third country came to the minds of the nobles who remained in the royal capital believing in reinforcements.

Bellac left the palace with a frown on his face. How could they fight with only 30,000 troops? The Royal Army of Roserun was also in a state of disarray due to severe deserting, and there were only about 10,000 troops left.

10,000 troops with no will to fight and 30,000 reinforcements. The enemy, on the other hand, had 60,000 elite soldiers. Not only that, but they had also absorbed the territorial armies from all over Roserun that had surrendered and obtained slave soldiers to serve as arrow shields. With the addition of 20,000 slave soldiers to the existing army, the total army strength was over 80,000.

Bellac, who knew well the morale and training level of the Royal Army, concluded that it was a battle that could not be won. However, his subordinate chief of staff, Kaiten, who was standing next to him, had a different idea.

“General! Even with 30,000 troops, with Count Aintorian here, we can somehow protect the capital.”

“I’m not sure what to say, the number of soldiers is still the same!”

“But he’s a general who has won a larger war……”

“That story is probably exaggerated, that’s what rumors are all about. Besides, in the current situation, the terrain is not the same. We will have to fight on the plains in front of the royal capital. What kind of strategy do you have in mind?”

“Don’t think like that. The lords who have already surrendered are also wrong. The country is in this situation because they only think about surrendering…….We should change our minds and think about fighting seriously now!”

“Will you shut up? Don’t talk to me as if you understand!”

Bellac was angered by Kaiten’s words.

* * *

I met up with the Lunan Royal Army in the southern territories. The training level was 30, morale also 30, it was a terrible unit.

Two Earls, five Viscounts, and ten Barons were placed in command. This was Ronen’s intention, the Viscounts and Barons were local aristocrats who led the soldiers from their respective territories, but the Earls were vassals sent by him. In other words, he would monitor me.

For reinforcements I called only Zint. My other vassals were probably busy with military training in the territory. Since it was a war in another country Zint alone was enough.

The problem was that the king had sent us only 30,000 reinforcements. He explained that we will fight with 30,000 for now, and he would send more troops after us. In other words, he wanted me to make something possible with 30,000 troops first, something like killing the king of Bridget.

Well, that’s the king. It’s good that he sent 30,000 troops before he changed his mind. Anyway, we arrived at the royal capital of Roserun without any hindrance. I went straight to the palace and had an audience with the king. He was still very young, about the age of a junior high school student.

“Your Majesty, I’ve brought reinforcements! This is Earl Aintorian, general of the reinforcements.”

I knelt down next to Yurasia, who introduced me.

“I see! So you’re that Earl Aintorian!”

“I don’t know what you mean by that, but that Earl Aintorian is definitely me.”

When I shook my head, the king asked again with an earnest look on his face.

“I know that there are 30,000 reinforcements from Lunan, but is it possible for more to be sent later?”

The nobles looked at me at the same time as the king asked that question. They seemed to be dissatisfied with the number of soldiers. Well, I admit it. It is true that there are not many.

“This 30,000 is all I have.”

“Oh no……..You can’t stop the enemy with only 30,000 troops, can you?”

All the nobles nodded at the king’s words then Yurasia shook her head.

“Your Majesty, even 30,000 is not an easy number to obtain. Besides, 30,000 troops are more than enough to fight. Don’t worry I will definitely defend the capital in the name of Roserun!”

As if she couldn’t take it anymore, Yurasia, who had been listening silently, shouted.

“I think I can fight well enough!”

It was a good argument, so I agreed with her but the nobles just sighed. All of them already had a defeated look on their faces.

* * *

On the battlements of the royal capital, the place which would soon be the site of a fierce battle, I was talking with General Bellac.

“What is the status of the Royal Army?”

Of course, I could see it in the system, but I needed to hear it anyway. Because it would be weird if I knew before he explained.

“The Royal Army has 10,000 left. We should have gathered troops from all the territories, but they all surrendered and ran away, so we only have the garrison of the royal capital.

“Wait a minute. Most of the territories surrendered without a fight?”

When Yurasia, who was listening, interrupted, Bellac nodded and said.

“That’s the way it is Your Highness.”

In other words, there were no territorial troops that came to support the royal capital. Furthermore, it seemed that no support troops had come from the territories north of the capital that had yet to be invaded.

While the King of Lunan was taking his time to prepare reinforcements, Bridget’s invasion was breaking out at a breakneck pace, making the situation even worse. If we could have come before the invasion the situation would have been completely different. However I still don’t intend to give up.

“But how do you propose to fight them? With the kingdom’s army and reinforcements combined, we only have 40,000 troops…….”

General Bellac asked me.

“We’d better make the most of the siege.”

That’s it for now. However Bellac let out a chuckle at my words.

“A brilliant strategist’s best tactic is siege warfare? Hahaha.”

He sneered, turned his back on me and went down the castle wall on his own. The general of the kingdom army has no intention of fighting. If the general was like that it was only natural that the morale of the kingdom’s army was only eight.

“He’s right.”

Yurasia bit her lip with a sorrowful expression as she watched him.

“I didn’t think Roserun was this pathetic. They all seem to think that 30,000 troops won’t be of any use, even though 30,000 isn’t a small number…….”

“It’s probably because there are so many enemies, especially if you’re not used to war.”

“I believe that we can win if we resist desperately. If we all unite our hearts, we can do it!”

Well, that’s true, we all needed to get our minds together. In other words, I had to raise the troop’s morale. If the soldiers of the country were only thinking about escaping, the morale of the reinforcements would not rise. No matter how good the strategy was, it was meaningless if it could not even be implemented.

She was grateful to me because I was the one who persuaded the King of Lunan to send the 30,000 reinforcements. That’s why she even knelt down in Lunan to express her gratitude to me but that was as far as it went. She didn’t trust me completely, it’s not surprising, since I’ve never presented her with a strategy or shown her any kind of ability.

“I don’t want to ask you to die in another country’s war. If you knew that Roserun was in such a bad situation and didn’t say such things to the King of Lunan you could’ve left now. I admit that the situation has gotten worse but I will fight. I will not let Bridget step on this land until I die!”

She said while looking at me sideways but I don’t have that option. Where would I go without a fight?

“That’s not going to happen. After invading Roserun, the next target for Bridget will definitely be Lunan. We will fight together until the end; please don’t forget that, Your Highness. No matter what happens from now on, you must never give up. If only Your Highness can endure without giving up, I will create a miracle.

The princess bowed her head and thanked me.

“I am very grateful for your help!”

Then, turning her back to me, she put her hand on the castle wall and looked out from above. The silence continued for a while until she asked me a question.

“Will a miracle really happen?”

“If you follow my strategy, Your Highness, I will definitely create a miracle.”

Yurasia clenched her fists and said.

“Then I will repay your kindness by any means necessary!”

“It’s not a favor. If you continue to fight, a miracle will happen.”

“I’ll never give up!”

“Then I’ll make a miracle happen.”

I answered with a voice full of conviction; because that was the reason I came to this place.