Chapter 360
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Southern Front ④ The Orchestrated Trap
Translator : PolterGlast
The new territory, ceded by the Sura
Principality, occupied a
vast domain stretching across the southern part of the Empire. The cornerstone of governing this region was Ende—the southernmost city of the Empire—which had served for many years
as the single most critical logistics hub established under the command of the
Third Prince. In this battle, it yielded its role as a logistics base to
the Big Bridge Fortress, but even so, Ende, which had developed
into one of the Empire's preeminent
cities, never lost its presence as an emergency retreat path and an important
city connecting the new territory and the old Empire territory. And it was
clear to anyone's eyes that if they lost Ende, the military forces led
by the Third Prince would become rats in a bag in enemy territory and suffer
the miserable fate of encirclement annihilation.
Against the military
forces of the Eral Knight Kingdom that advanced to threaten that Ende,
Count Astray laid out a formation in a land about a day away to the west
from the city, confronting them to defend Ende to the death. Because the
military forces of the Knight Kingdom were entirely composed of cavalry, they
initially advanced through the Empire territory with unstoppable momentum, but for some reason, they
stopped upon arriving just before Ende, glaring head-on at Count Astray's
army which had received the interception mission and retreated, and both sides
fell into a delicate state of equilibrium, showing signs of a highly volatile
situation.
While both armies
continued to glare at each other, there were those who took advantage of that
opening, leading an army from the north to threaten Ende.
「Open
the gates! Open the gates!」
「...」
In response to the
words of the herald messenger, the Ende defense army maintained an eerie
silence and did not open the gates.
「What's
the matter? We are your allies, and what's more, we are the army led by none
other than His Highness Prince Glorious
himself! Open the gates at once and welcome us in!」
「Why is
that?」
After a brief
silence, a single man finally appeared from the city walls on the Ende
side, and standing atop the demilune built on the outer edge of the city,
responded with a carefree demeanor.
「There's
no 'why' about it! We are reinforcements, and moreover, an army directly under
His Highness Glorious! At this rate, it constitutes the crime of
lèse-majesté, so if you value your lives, open the gates immediately!」
「Thank
you for your hard work on your duty as a messenger. We too are military men of
the Empire, therefore we fully
understand the weight of military orders. We too have been strictly admonished
by His Excellency Chief of the General Staff Kampfer to absolutely not
let anyone pass other than the orders of His Highness Grat or His
Excellency the Chief of the General Staff...」
「Wh- We
are allied forces, you know!」
「The
order we received is, even if it is an allied force of the Empire! The only one who can overturn the orders of those two is
His Majesty the Emperor, so we cannot let you pass!」
Truthfully, Sieghart
had not unprincipledly forbidden the entry of the Empire Army. He had merely given strict
orders not to let the First Prince's military forces pass. He merely instructed
them to refuse using the aforementioned explanation as an expedient.
「What
insolence do you speak?! The First Prince, His Highness Glorious, is the
next successor to the imperial throne, the person at the pinnacle of supremacy
next to His Majesty the Emperor, then his orders are equivalent to His Majesty
the Emperor's! Furthermore, we are an army dispatched with the official
sanction and seal of His Majesty himself!」
「My
word! You say strange things. The imperial succession should have been
confirmed for His Highness Grat. Does the messenger make light of the
intentions of His Majesty the Emperor, and the orders of the person at the
pinnacle of supremacy next to His Majesty! That itself becomes the target of
condemnation for the crime of lèse-majesté!」
Completely changing
from the carefree demeanor up to now, the soldier on the Ende side also
became infuriated and responded to the messenger.
「Guh...」
The messenger had
the words he accidentally let slip used against him, and lost his words. From
there, it was merely a barren exchange of "Let us pass!" and "We
cannot let you pass!", only wasting time in vain.
There, the First
Prince in question arrived. Because he firmly believed that up to Ende
was the sphere of influence of the Empire Army, he was advancing at the head of the army to show off
his own majesty even during the march.
「What
is the matter? The city gates are still closed, and the drawbridge remains
raised?」
「Yes,
foolishly the defending soldiers stubbornly refuse to let anyone pass other
than the orders of their lord...」
「Hmph,
fools who cannot see the times. We are over 10,000 strong, can't we just push
our way through?」
「That
is... the road leading to the city gates has multiple moats stretched across
it, and a demilune glaring down, so we cannot advance easily...」
Actually, back when they received the news of
the harvest festival that Takuhir
had invited them to, the construction work that Sieghart had arranged in Ende—which the Third Prince was
inspecting—was precisely the additional construction of these defensive
fortifications. They were built not against their archenemy, the Sura
Principality, but rather against a potential enemy, an enemy that was
supposed to be an allied force that would likely surge from the north.
「Guh,
those guys... doing pointless
things.」
Muttering in
displeasure, Glorious, the First Prince, advanced his horse close to the
drawbridge leading to the city gates and raised a loud voice.
「Men,
listen! Your lord (Grat)
was defeated by the Sura Principality army in the new territory, and is
now in a state where his life or death is unknown. In such a situation, it is
natural for me to take charge of the Empire's
military power. Open the gates immediately, or else you will be struck down as
rebels, is that clear!」
In response to these
words, the Ende defense captain who had been dealing with the messenger
from the beginning stepped forward to the opposite shore of the moat lying across
the highway and bowed respectfully.
※
About half a year
before this day, when Sieghart departed Ende, he had entrusted a
certain mission to the defense captain.
「When
we face the decisive battle, I think burglars aiming for our absence will
surely come to steal Ende. To make His Highness a rat in a bag, you see.」
「At
that time, defend this place to the death, is that your order?」
Defend to the death;
it's easy for the one giving the order, but unbearable for the one receiving
it. Because in this kind of case, it's often words equivalent to being told to
fight prepared for annihilation. But to the defense captain whose expression
became grim, Sieghart smiled warmly and replied.
「No,
look—with our current military strength, no matter how hard we struggle, it’s
going to be taken in the end anyway. So, if it becomes impossible to hold, you
can just cleanly surrender it. The real issue is…… how we let them take it, I
suppose?」
「Ah……
n-no…… I was entirely under the impression that you were going to command us to
fight to the absolute bitter end……」
「Hahaha,
even I don't want to give such a horrible order, and if we fight a thorough war of resistance,
there will be sacrifices among the city's residents too. I think making the
opponent erupt a little and then losing amidst the confusion is best. For a
later date, you see.」
Sieghart's
tone speaking so as relaxed and casual as it always was, but only his eyes were
different. He had a sharp look like a bird of prey hunting prey.
「I
myself also don't want to cause sacrifices among the soldiers, and if possible,
I want a corresponding number to remain in Ende, hide as residents in
the city after opening the castle to prolong their lives, and prepare for a
later date.」
「Y...
yes? Ah, no, excuse me.」
The defense captain simply could
not keep up with a proposition so utterly out of left field. If it becomes
disadvantageous, it's fine to hand it over. But what does it mean that 'how you
lose is important'?
「Um... I
understand the intent behind your words, but is such a feat even truly
possible?」
「Because
the renovation construction was for that purpose, you see. The demilune built
specifically on the north side of the city, if you pass through its underground
passage, you can escape into the city without being noticed. And I expect this
demilune to function as a trap to bring them down.」
「Th-Then,
His Excellency the Chief of the General Staff, could you have predicted this
situation from the beginning of the construction?」
「Hahaha,
from even before that. I forgot when it was, but probably since the battle with
the Sura Principality was settled and we obtained the new territory, I
guess.」
Exactly—Sieghart understood the supreme importance of Ende better than anyone else. It was
the absolute linchpin supporting the new territory. If Ende were to be captured while their own forces were fighting
deeper within that newly ceded domain, their entire army would become rats in a
bag, completely trapped and facing total annihilation……The trap created
to prevent that—or rather, the mechanism installed by looking even further
ahead—was the network of detached bastions, moats, secondary enclosures, and
tertiary walls woven around the city's outer perimeter.
「I want
you to heavily deploy troops along the northern outer perimeter to make it look
like we are firmly consolidating our defenses, but have them fully prepared to
evacuate into the city via the underground tunnels at a moment's notice. The
absolute ideal scenario would be if those bastards wasted their time attacking
that completely vacated outer perimeter—that would be just perfect, wouldn't
it?」
「A-Attack?
Would they really go that far against an allied force?」
「Normally
you'd think so, normally, that is... But to those blinded by the imperial succession
right before their eyes, we are not allied forces, you see. The city supporting
us is the same.」
Yes, under normal
circumstances, the concept of an Empire army launching an attack on a city of
the Empire was utterly unthinkable. Much
less, the one ruling Ende is the Third Prince, the successor to the
imperial throne who is in a position next to the Emperor in the Empire.
「And...
the most terrifying thing about fools who would even contemplate such an
absurdity is that, precisely because they are fools, there is a possibility
they will take actions we cannot even fathom. Therefore, to return to my
original point: a fool is meant to be guided, coaxed, and triggered exactly the
way we want them to violently erupt.」
Saying this, Sieghart
floated a chilling smile, and imparted the scheme to the defense captain in a
completely flat, detached tone.
※
The defense captain
on the opposite shore bowed respectfully to the First Prince and then raised a
loud voice.
「Knowing
it is a discourtesy because it is wartime, I shall ask. The one present there
is His Highness Glorious, is it not?」
「Exactly—can
you not see it with your own eyes?! Lower the drawbridge and open the city
gates to welcome us in this instant! If you act now, your insolence toward the
Imperial family may be excused with nothing more than a simple reprimand.
However, I must warn you…… I am not a particularly patient man.」
「I
express my gratitude for your consideration. However, I shall convey once again
that we cannot let you pass.」
「What
did you say! You bastard... have you gone mad!」
「Excuse
me, but I am perfectly sane, therefore I speak. This city is not Your
Highness's domain. The lord
is His Highness Grat, and the acting administrator is Count Kampfer.
If there is no good word from those two, we cannot let anyone pass other than
His Majesty the Emperor; this is clear even in light of the Empire's military law.」
「Wha- I
lead an allied force of tens of thousands, and am the proxy of His Majesty the
Emperor!」
「Those
reinforcements are the problem. Because this city sent all its supplies to the
front lines, we do not even have food to fill everyone's stomachs. Therefore,
we absolutely cannot provide food and the like. If a large army stations here,
it is a situation where we would immediately fall into starvation.」
「What
did you say!」
「More
importantly, we have been entrusted with orders from His Highness Grat,
the next Emperor who governs this city.」
「Tch,
what does that guy say?」
「If
reinforcements from the Empire
arrive during his absence... First,
the reinforcement unit shall enter the command of His Highness, who has been
entrusted with the governance of the new territory. Second, the reinforcement unit shall not
mind Ende and turn their army to the southeast, undertaking the
interception of the Turncoat Kingdom army. These two points.」
「Are
you telling me to go to the front lines? Follow that guy's orders? Don't mess
with me!」
「With
all due respect, the
future Emperor.」
Calling the Third
Prince the next Emperor specially to differentiate him. This response of the
defense captain was also actually advice put into his head by Sieghart.
Compared to a mere royalty or a candidate for imperial succession, the position
of the next successor to the imperial throne is at an isolated height. That was
the fact the First Prince (Glorious) wanted to admit the least.
「Do you
mock me! In the first place, isn't our food a matter that can be sufficed by
requisitioning it from the city's residents! Besides, that guy has now suffered
a crushing defeat and is in a state where his life or death is unknown; if he
dies, there's no way he can become the next Emperor!」
The First Prince was
already on the verge of erupting. But the defense captain, who was
intentionally guiding that, replied without flinching.
「Requisition
from the territory residents, you say!? What on earth are you saying! Do you honestly believe such a
monstrous tyranny would ever be permitted?! Ende is the city that Lord Grat
protected and cherished. Do you truly intend to trample it under your horses'
hooves?!」
At Glorious's
words, the defense captain was genuinely appalled, no, angered. In the first
place, if a military force of 10,000, tens of thousands including the
followers, stations here, a massive amount of daily provisions will also be
necessary. In the past Ende, it was possible to support an army of that
scale, but right now the Big Bridge Fortress bears that role. If a large
army carelessly stays put, the city will exceed its limits in a few days, and
the territory residents will suffer from starvation.
『Did
you fly out of Griffin naked without even arranging decent logistics? I
can only call you an idiot.』
Because the other party was a royalty, the defense
captain swallowed the words he thought. Actually, the reason the following unit
led by Harry was late was also for such preparations. Impatient for
merits, Glorious, who couldn't wait for that, had shaken off the
restraint and advanced up to here, so he had absolutely no leeway to arrange
logistics. No, accurately speaking, he was calculating on taking over Ende
and eating the enemy's (Grat's) meals.
Feeling that his innermost designs had been
subtly exposed, the First Prince flew into a towering rage. Glaring across at
the defense captain on the opposite bank, he finally spat out his words in a
low, trembling voice of pure fury.
「Fine……
then you shall pay for your insolence with your lives. Attack!」
「Y-Your
Highness! You mustn’t!」
The close aides who
had quietly watched the exchange between the two up to now also hurriedly urged
their lord to change
his mind in a great panic. But Glorious himself was burning with anger
at having received an insult.
「Silence!
Not only have those wretches mocked me—the rightful successor to the imperial
throne—but they have willfully obstructed our military movements! This is not
merely a crime of lèse-majesté to be impeached; it is nothing less than aiding
the enemy. In my own name, they shall be purged!」
「But
Your Highness, they are our allies. And what's more, this is His Highness Grat's territory. If
we launch even a single attack, there will be no turning back.」
「Even
granting that we do attack, our arrows won't even reach the city gates—we are completely
blocked by the moats and ramparts right in front of our eyes. Furthermore, if this turns into a
brute-force siege, our forces, being primarily cavalry and entirely unprepared
for such an assault, will suffer catastrophic casualties!」
「Your
Highness, please wait a little longer, a little longer. If it's provisions,
Lord Harry is arranging them. At least until the Duke arrives...」
The close aides
hurriedly urged their lord
to change his mind from both material and psychological aspects in a great panic.
Because they knew that if they attacked even once, it would become an
irreversible situation. To their words, Glorious laughed fearlessly.
「That
guy is already dead anyway. By some chance, even if he is still surviving, it
just means we will bury him. Besides, for attacking, don't we have the perfect
means? Order them and have them prepare for attack immediately!」
「Your
Highness! D-Don't tell me, such a thing...」
The close aides who
knew the circumstances were greatly dismayed and lost their words. There are
people of the type who endure and hide their trump cards until the very end,
and the type who just can't wait to use them early on. Glorious was
overwhelmingly the latter. He relied only on a fragment of past success, and
forgot the failure it invited...
「Those
who do not obey my orders will be considered as guilty as those guys and
punished. There is no second time to my words.」
To the lord who declared so, the
close aides had no choice but to follow his orders. The unit entrusted to Duke Harry to be used as a
trump card was called from the rear ranks and deployed to the front.
Here, the First
Prince finally crosses the line that must not be crossed. Due to his own
desires and pride...
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