Chapter 141
Eastern
Border War ⑤ - Building
a Castle Overnight
Translator : PolterGlast
※※※ Second Day of the War
After the war council
concluded, the Kyle Kingdom army, with all its forces, began preparations for
conquering the enemy's fortifications. Basically, the enemy army was in a 『waiting』 formation, so we decided to take advantage of that.
First, bait for the
bait. The Royal Capital Knights' Second Army positioned themselves 900 m in
front of the enemy's fortifications, feigning a charge. The enemy was expected
to assume their formation as they had yesterday. Then, they would break into
small groups of about 100 cavalry, conduct multiple charges, and turn back at
500 m from the enemy lines. This action was repeated.
"You lot! It
doesn't matter how many enemy arrows come, as long as you don't die! Go ahead
and provoke the enemy! Those who suffer honorable wounds will be healed by the
Solis family's Goddesses (Holy Mages)!"
"Yeah!"
No... Commander
Hoffman, what kind of morale-boosting is that? Indeed, morale was incredibly
high, but still...
They were subjected to
long-range suppressive fire from the enemy lines several times. However, for an
enemy force of only about 100 cavalry, it wasn't worth it, and the arrows'
power was weak, unable to penetrate their heavy armor. However, some horses,
struck by arrows, reared up, throwing their riders. But since they were
prepared for that, no serious harm was done, and they were moving in small
groups, so no one was trampled by friendly hooves. Thus, the provocation
against the Imperial Kingdom army continued.
While the open
provocation continued on the battlefield, 20,000 soldiers entered the forest at
a safe distance and began felling trees. The purpose was to make a large number
of stakes. The biggest threat in this operation was the enemy hidden in the
forest, the longbowmen. If they secretly advanced through the forest to our
side, and both flanking armies launched a simultaneous longbow volley at the
right moment, we would suffer considerable losses. Our first step was to
contain them in the forest, preventing them from advancing beyond 500 m into
the forest from the enemy lines.
"We need to
construct a defensive line in the forest before sunset, if possible... Will we
make it?"
"Hahaha! It's a
human wave with 20,000 people. We'll manage somehow. It was a good idea to send
people to gather tools yesterday."
As Commander Weiss
said, it was unfortunate that not everyone had tools, but thanks to Margrave
Hamish's immediate order to send express riders to nearby villages and towns to
gather tools, a considerable number were ready by morning. Half a day later, when
a sufficient number of stakes were assembled, construction teams, each
protected by 2,000 guards, advanced into the forests on both flanks and
simultaneously began constructing defensive lines within the forest.
"There's a mark
on the tree at 500 m. First, find it! Once found, report to the Earth Mages.
The escort unit will advance in front of them and protect the construction
team. Enemy archers might be hidden somewhere. Don't let your guard down. The
construction team will drive stakes into the trenches dug by the Earth Mages.
It's fine if it's a bit rough, just hurry!"
In the forest, the
leader of the construction team barked orders. Somehow, by sunset, a defensive
line was constructed in the forest about 500 m from the enemy lines.
"Now... all that's
left is to defend this defensive line."
"Yes, Count
Model, please take care of the left flank."
He had suffered war
wounds in yesterday's first battle and had survived thanks to treatment by Holy
Mages. Nevertheless, he was still in a condition that required rest. Despite
this, the Count pressed on, participated in the morning meeting, and calmed my
outburst. And even now, despite his injuries, he insists on taking command of
the left flank's defensive line and remains here.
"Please, do take
care of yourself. You still need to be resting, after all."
"Understood. All
that remains is to execute the instructed response. I can manage, even in my
current state."
Count Model sat in the
chair I offered him and puffed out his chest. Even for the defense of this
defensive line, we had repeatedly gone through hypothetical scenarios with
Commander Weiss and considered countermeasures.
"What about
preparations for a night attack?"
"Once the
defensive line is complete, 2,000 men will be stationed on each flank in three
shifts until tomorrow morning. How about 2,000 immediate response forces on
each flank, with 4,000 reserve forces?"
"What about
measures to detect enemy approaches in the darkness?"
"We'll spread a
layer of small branches, felled during logging, a little in front of the
stakes. It will be impossible for them to sneak up silently."
"What about
countermeasures if they use fire?"
"We'll also
deploy Wind Mages on both flanks in three shifts. They will use their magic to
direct the fire back towards the enemy."
"What about
countermeasures if they use long-range archery?"
"We have leftover
wood and bamboo cut from the bamboo thicket. We'll line these up to create
simple roofs. For arrows coming from diagonally above, if installed to maximize
the angle of incidence, they can easily deflect arrows. I believe it will be
enough to build them only at the troop standby areas and rest areas."
In addition to these,
several other countermeasures were discussed and implemented. As expected,
there were sporadic reconnaissance attacks and long-range bombardments from the
Imperial Kingdom army, but nothing serious occurred. And then... night fell.
From here, the real
second phase began. This was the Solis Mage Corps' time to shine.
In the midst of utter
darkness, about 600 m in front of the enemy's fortifications, a group worked
secretly.
"Raphael,
maintain stealth as much as possible! Everyone, even though we're in stealth,
keep the lights as small as possible, and be extremely careful!"
Commander Weiss had three
types of items brought (via spatial storage) by Bart, in addition to my
instructions. One of them was a large quantity of large stone blocks, cut for
construction during Teigun's development. Well, bringing stone materials for
the remaining secret plan might be the more accurate way to put it.
In the darkness, we
stacked the stone materials that Bart had taken out, building small, inverted
V-shaped, triangle-shaped fortifications without a base. Honestly, Bart's
transportation capability alone is arguably our greatest strength.
"The foundation
is solid. Astor, proceed with the next stage. As quietly and as quickly as
possible. Others, please set each one onto its base."
Astor, along with two
Earth Mages, dug a tunnel from inside the stone fortifications, emerging on the
enemy's side. From there, they used Earth Magic to dig trenches. The ground
here was soft enough to turn to mud with rainfall. The passage quickly extended
towards the enemy lines. Those with free hands gathered planks from all over, some
even tearing them off packhorses due to shortage, laid them as a roof over the
small opening on the surface of the passage, and covered them with earth. The
passage, once it passed 500 m from the enemy lines, branched into three rows
horizontally, becoming trenches. These, however, had no roofs. From the enemy
lines far in front, the horizontally extending trenches were invisible, and
they were also sufficiently far from the forest. It was likely they wouldn't be
noticed unless approached.
Just in case, the
entire area within 500 m of the enemy lines was strewn with leafy branches. We
hoped the Imperial Kingdom army would mistakenly think we were measuring the
longbow's range, or that it was a measure against enemy infiltration under the
cover of night...
＜Istoria
Imperial Kingdom Army Camp＞
▼ ▼▼▼▼▼▼ ▼▼▼▼▼▼ ▼
▼ ▼ ◇◇◇◇ ▼ ▼ ◇◇◇◇ ▼ ▼
▼ ▼ ▼
-100M-
-200M-
-300M-
-400M-
←←←←←←←←←↑→→→→→→→→→
↑ -500M-
↑
／ ＼
／ ★ ＼ -600M-
-700M-
-800M-
＜Kyle Kingdom
Army Main Camp＞
★ Kyle Kingdom
Army Fortification
↑ Kyle Kingdom
Army Trench
▼ Istoria
Imperial Kingdom Army Longbowman
◇ Istoria
Imperial Kingdom Army Heavy Infantry
Before dawn, when the
Imperial Kingdom army soldiers could finally see the battlefield, they would be
astonished, doubting their own eyes.
"Hey! Is there
something wrong with my eyes? That wasn't there yesterday, was it?!"
"As I thought...
can you see it too? That's probably an enemy fortification, isn't it?"
The Imperial Kingdom
army soldiers on patrol stood there, unable to comprehend what had happened. A
triangular structure, 10 m high and 60 m wide, appearing suddenly in front of
their fortifications, seemed to be an enemy fortification.
※
It was the same for
the soldiers of the Kyle Kingdom army, our allies. Everyone was astonished and
speechless at the suddenly appearing fortification, like a small castle.
"I knew it, but I
never imagined they could build this much in one night..."
Margrave Hamish was
too surprised for words.
"What is that?
That can't be possible." Commander Hoffman shouted.
"Good heavens, so
this is what it means to master Mages. I think I finally understand His
Majesty's intent now."
Commander Schultz
seemed to understand something and was convinced.
"Commander, we
did it!"
"Yes, if even our
allies are like this, the enemy army's confusion must be immeasurable. With
this, the second phase of the plan is complete."
Behind this small
fortification, weapons whose origin was unknown were installed, and at the apex
of the triangle, there was even an observation deck with a watchtower.
The soldiers began
calling this fortification and the defensive wall in the forest the "Solis
One-Night Castle," and it would be recounted as a battlefield tale.
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