Chapter 135
(Kyle
Calendar Year 509: Age 16)
Tensions on the Eastern Border
Translator : PolterGlast
"Hey! Did you
hear? The Istoria Imperial Kingdom, fed up with the truce between the Kingdom
and the Empire, seems to be preparing to attack us again!"
Within the academy,
even important national secrets openly became topics of student conversation as
rumors.
"Yeah, it seems
Margrave Hamish and the nobles of the Eastern Frontier under his command will
receive mobilization orders."
"I heard that
too! The Royal Capital Knights will dispatch 10,000 cavalry as a vanguard, and
another 10,000 cavalry will be sent as soon as preparations are complete!"
"Not just that,
there are rumors that mobilization orders will be issued to other nobles across
the entire eastern region."
Even I, a loner, heard
such rumors.
Honestly, we are
ignorant of the information regarding the eastern border. We only know the
Istoria Imperial Kingdom by name. However, due to the incident involving the
Mages, the situation is no longer someone else's problem for me.
"Everyone, we
will also be accompanying this expedition. We will probably depart with the
later detachment of Knights, but until then, please gather information about
the eastern border and the Istoria Imperial Kingdom, as much as you can. I
have... a bad feeling about this."
I explained the
situation to everyone, directly to those staying in the Royal Capital, and
through Anri and letters to Teigun. Everyone diligently worked to gather
information.
After a while,
information was surprisingly easy to gather. This was because there were people
from the Eastern Frontier region in both the Knight Training Course and the
Combat Mage Training Course. In addition, Gold and the others were collecting
information from the Royal Capital Knights.
〇 Eastern Border Standing Defense Force:
Margrave Hamish: 2,400
personnel
Under his command, 4
Viscount armies: 2,400 personnel
Under his command, 4
Baron armies: 800 personnel
Total: 5,600 personnel
The eastern border,
excluding the south, has ample military strength compared to other regions.
However, they suffered a painful defeat in the previous war and have not fully
recovered from the damage. Currently, their fighting strength seems to be
around 4,000 personnel.
To this, 20,000
cavalry will be dispatched from the Royal Capital Knights, bringing the total
defensive strength to approximately 24,000 personnel. In contrast, the Istoria
Imperial Kingdom is expected to attack with a force of around 30,000.
When we fought the
Empire at Southern Gate previously, there were no real battles on the eastern
border; it remained a standoff. It seems the Istoria Imperial Kingdom, which
was thought to be playing into the Griffonia Empire's hands, was also watching
the progress of the southern battle, hoping to reap the benefits. However, upon
hearing the news of the Empire's crushing defeat, they withdrew their forces to
the border fortress they had previously seized from the Kingdom and retreated.
And after that, upon
learning of the truce agreement between the Kingdom and the Empire, they
decided to invade the Kyle Kingdom on their own this time, and the result of
their preparations is this current expedition.
"The Istoria
Imperial Kingdom's army, though having few cavalry, is well-equipped with
archers, and their longbows surpass the Kingdom's archers in both range and
power. Furthermore, when these archers are deployed in groups, they
overwhelmingly outnumber the Kingdom's forces. It seems Margrave Hamish
suffered a painful defeat previously due to these archers."
Upon receiving Gold's
investigation report, I pondered.
In the southern
frontier region, the introduction of crossbows and the conversion of all
soldiers into archers are progressing, but other regions remain with their
traditional formations. Archers are only a part of the infantry and make up a
small percentage of the total forces. The only exception outside the south is
the Royal Capital Knights' Third Army. At the discretion of Commander Gouras,
who witnessed the results of the crossbow units in the southern battle and
Teigun, this unit of 10,000 cavalry is experimentally introducing crossbows and
is currently researching their use as mounted archers.
However, I know from
historical knowledge that in European history, England's longbow units
overwhelmed the French army equipped with crossbows in the first half of the
Hundred Years' War. Longbows surpass crossbows in range and rate of fire.
Moreover, if used in overwhelming numbers, we would have no chance of winning.
In the southern
battlefield, the archers, including the Solis army, were able to perform well
because they had a sufficient number of crossbows (Estol bows) and the support
of Wind Mages for defense and attack.
"Even if the
enemy army is 30,000, it is said that more than half of them are archers. If
15,000 archers are deployed, it will be a terrible situation on the
battlefield." Gold's words accurately pointed out one of my concerns.
"We must pick
chestnuts from a burning fire, so to speak. More than anything, there's a
strong possibility that the higher echelons of the Kingdom, who know our power,
will put us on the front lines." Anri's point is my greatest fear.
Surely, the Restorationist
faction intends to use all Mages, protected by the Imperial Mage system, to
wear them down and weaken them. They must be thinking something like that.
『We are counting on the Baron's achievements in the
Kingdom's time of crisis.』
It was clear that such
a thing would be said in an emergency. And at that time, I would probably have
no room to refuse.
"Lilia, how many
archers can one Wind Mage support?"
"Hmm, if it's a
Solis army Wind Mage... I believe they could manage a shooting unit of 50 to
100 people wide in a dense defensive formation. Given that there would be at
least three people in a column, they could probably handle 200 to 300
individuals in total. For offensive purposes alone, extending the range of
focused volleys is even more feasible. At Southern Gate, a single mage was
responsible for nearly 800 people, with a front of 150 and five deep in
columns. However, I think academy students would likely struggle to handle more
than a 10-person width, managing perhaps 30 to 50 individuals at most."
Therefore, to
effectively utilize 10,000 Royal Capital Knights, we would need at least 33
excellent Wind Mages of Lilia-caliber... That's not realistic. Currently, only
three Wind Mages are accompanying me in the Royal Capital; that number is
overwhelmingly insufficient. So, just in case, it means I need to arrange for a
few more to be summoned, right? And I clearly understood that the Wind Mages
currently studying in the Royal Capital cannot be expected to be a fighting
force.
I confirmed two points:
to continue gathering information and to prepare for the expedition. I
immediately wrote several letters and arranged for fast horses.
To Margrave Hastburg
and my father, I explained the circumstances, that I would likely be ordered to
participate in the war, and requested permission to move Teigun's forces under
my command. Additionally, I asked my father for permission to gather all
crossbows in the territory, including reserves, and entrust them to Bart to
transport to the Royal Capital. And regarding the contents to entrust to my
comrades remaining in Teigun...
※
One day, as the snow
began to melt on the peak of Teigun Mountain, and soft sunlight announcing the
arrival of spring streamed down, Danke returned to the town of Teigun as an
urgent messenger from the Royal Capital, having changed horses along the way.
Upon his arrival, Miseri and Claire, who were in charge of the absent Lord,
urgently convened the key members.
Soon after, Commander
Weiss from the Frontier Knights branch, Kira from the Mercenary Corps,
Christoph the Gate Defense Commanding Officer, Gale the Garrison Commanding
Officer, Elan the Fortress Construction Commanding Officer, Marianne the Aid
Unit Commanding Officer, Bart the Logistics Commanding Officer, and Raphael the
Intelligence Unit Commanding Officer gathered with Miseri, Claire, and Yoltia.
First, the letter
entrusted by Takuhir was read aloud to everyone present, and Danke provided
supplementary explanations of the circumstances.
"Those Royal
Capital bastards, they're going to use Takuhir-sama right away!" Gale
immediately revealed his anger.
"If the enemy
army is primarily archers, even I would seek the help of Baron Solis. Those who
know his past achievements and the actual situation should accurately
understand his value." Commander Weiss's words were undeniable to
everyone.
"So, what's our
response? The letter said to sufficiently solidify Teigun's defenses."
"Elan, perhaps...
we will leave Teigun to protect our Lord. If we do, those who aim to stir up
trouble in our absence will emerge. That's what he's concerned about."
"Christoph is
probably right. We have always prepared and taken countermeasures against
Takuhir-sama's concerns. Considering how we've been saved by them before, I
think we need to be very cautious this time too."
"I believe
Claire-san's words are the most important for us right now. As the one in
charge during his absence, I have a request for everyone. Everyone wants to
rush to Takuhir-sama's side. This feeling is the same for all of us. However,
as before, I ask those in charge of key missions to remain."
Miseri bowed her head
to everyone.
"According to
Danke's story, the assistance from Wind Mages will be necessary. Considering
Teigun's defense, we'll need to send two, or ideally three, additional Mages as
reinforcements. This time, we have little information on the enemy forces. I
intend to be of use on the intelligence front as well."
"That's right. I
think it's fine to leave intelligence to Raphael and logistics to Bart. For
Wind Mages, it would be best for Brandt and me to go. We are both Imperial
Mages, after all. In addition, I want to lead 100 cavalry from the garrison and
head there."
"Commanding
Officer Gale, the garrison is currently undergoing personnel replenishment, and
with many new recruits and part-time soldiers, won't there be lingering
concerns? Could you entrust the handling of the troops under your command
entirely to me?"
"Indeed. I think
the Commander's point is valid. May I leave it to you?"
"Thank you. In
that case, I need to make sure things are in order, so I'd like to start
preparations immediately, but I also want to bring a few Holy Mages just in
case. There will likely be other injured people to deal with, besides us. Is
that alright?"
At the Commander's
words, everyone looked at Marianne. The Holy Mages must be completely occupied
with the plague countermeasures right now. Everyone thought so.
"Yes, by
Takuhir-sama's instructions, I and one other, a total of two, are preparing to
participate in the war. We are already operating under that premise, so there
is no problem."
Marianne's answer
surprised those around her. This meant that despite their busy schedule, they
were simultaneously preparing to go to the battlefield.
"By the way,
Gale-san, you are also one of the key people in charge of the garrison forces,
so you'll be staying here."
Gale nodded
regretfully at Miseri's remark.
Thus, the plan for
those remaining in Teigun was solidified.
For those heading to
the Royal Capital, there will be three Wind Mages: Ilyana, Brandt, and Folke,
who recently joined through a ritual. Bart, the Space-Time Mage, will be in
charge of logistics, and Raphael, as a Dark Mage, will handle intelligence. It
was decided that Marianne and Lanatoria, both Holy Mages, would go and
rendezvous with Rosa in the Royal Capital. Commander Weiss was to select the
soldiers to lead from Teigun.
Thus, the response
regarding reinforcements was decided, and preparations were urgently advanced,
while Danke carried that information and returned to the Royal Capital ahead of
them.
Those who go, those
who remain—no one yet senses the greatest ordeal that awaits them.
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