Chapter 212
(Kyle Calendar Year 511: Age 18)
Territory Tour - Aegis
Translator : PolterGlast
The day after the
harvest festival ended, we set out on a tour of the domain, something we had
been wanting to do for a long time. Honestly, I haven't had a chance to tour
the new towns thoroughly, and I've left the development of the domain entirely
to others.
Finally able to
fulfill my wish, I set off on a small trip around the domain, taking with me
300 members of the Frontier Knights branch stationed in Teigoon and the mages
who were free.
First, we visited
Aegis, the gateway on the demon territory side. This place is located inside a
long defensive wall that separates the southern foot of Mount Teigoon from the
demon territory, and inside the outer wall, which serves as a defensive
facility, a fortress, a town, and a settlement are all contained.
The outer wall, about
30 m high, extends east and west from the border of the former Hiyorimi domain
to the exit of the Teigoon pass. And on the eastern side, near the former Hiyorimi
domain, a star-shaped fortress protrudes from the defensive wall, serving as a
defensive base against any invading army.
First, exiting the
pass from Teigoon, there is an outer wall that surrounds the exit in a large
semicircle. From the eastern end of that semicircle, the outer wall extends
straight east, parallel to the slope of Mount Teigoon.
Inside the outer wall,
inner walls extend north and south like partitions, dividing Aegis into several
sections. This is so that, in the unlikely event that part of the outer wall
falls, the damage can be kept to a minimum if the interior is enclosed by the
partitioning inner walls.
Heading east from the
Teigoon pass exit, you first encounter an inner wall. From there, starting as
the point of origin and extending east, the Aegis settlement spreads out.
Aegis is a safe zone
between the mountain slope and the demon territory, measuring 6 km north-south
and 15 km east-west, and the settlement, which occupies most of it, is mainly
in the western 12 km area.
We moved along the
passage established on top of the outer wall, gazing at the settlement that
stretched endlessly along the slope.
"Ooh!"
I couldn't help but
voice my amazement. As we climbed onto the passage on the outer wall to move to
the east side, our field of vision opened up all at once.
The rice paddies and
the land designated for them, which had previously been only covered a part of
the eastern side, now stretched endlessly along the slope like terraced fields.
"By utilizing the
slope and circulating the water from above, we can distribute the water
efficiently. Fortunately, in spring, snowmelt water flows from the mountaintop
from various places, so we can supply enough water to the rice paddies. And
finally, it flows to the sugarcane fields. Even with this, there is still
surplus arable land, but in the future, it is possible to expand the fields a
little higher up."
Elan explained
proudly. The land for rice paddies, effectively utilizing the slope, continued
endlessly all the way to the east, where the rocky area at the foot of the
mountain protruded in a triangular shape toward the demon territory.
"And spreading
out in the flat area are the sugarcane fields... Somehow, it's deeply moving."
The sugarcane that
Bart, Raphael, and Masrour brought from the Empire has now spread into such
vast fields.
I think they really
worked hard over the past four years. I renewed my feelings of gratitude. And I
also want to thank this bountiful earth.
"Not just
sugarcane, the earth of the demon territory is very rich. Thanks to that, the
growth of other crops is also proceeding smoothly. I'm sure these sugarcane
fields will continue to expand. It makes sense that long ago, the first King
Kyle cleared the demon territory and created vast and rich farmland."
Sasha, who explained
this, knows the history of this country because she took the same classes as me
at the academy. She seems to be feeling the same way I am.
"By the way,
isn't it hard to harvest and take care of it when it's this vast?"
"Hahaha, we
Frontier Knights also take turns helping with the farm work during the busy
farming season, alongside our training. The monster subjugation has settled
down, and if we just have numbers, we'll become useless eaters, after
all."
The Commander also
answered with a laugh. It seemed they were being considerate of me, and I felt
a little bad.
Teigoon still requires
everyone's cooperation and is supported by the strength of each individual.
"No, no, there is
no need for concern. The members who have learned the taste of curry rice and
paella are all eager to increase the rice paddies. Please rest assured."
Perhaps sensing my
expression, the Commander followed up.
After that, we resumed
our movement on horseback along the passage on the outer wall, heading steadily
east. After a while, Elan brought his horse closer and spoke to me.
"We divide the
area up to that rocky area protruding in a triangular shape ahead as the West
District, and from the rocky area onward as the East District. If you go
closer, it's quite interesting."
Being told so, I
slowed my horse and looked carefully, as if to confirm, and it was indeed a
strange place.
Only visible from the
top of the castle wall, the inside of the rocky area protruding from the
mountain skirt toward the demon territory had been hollowed out, and when
viewed from directly above, an equilateral triangular space with sides of about
1 km was gaping open.
"When we were developing
this land, we investigated various things and found out for the first time that
this place seems to be some kind of ruin originally. There was a triangular
cavity with sides of about 300 m that didn't seem natural at all. It was a
mysterious place, as if it had been made to hide from monsters."
Ruins... Was it used
by the demonic people who once lived as friends of the demon territory? A very
interesting story.
"So we expanded
this space with the help of many Earth Mages and made it a residential area for
the settlement."
I think this is
certainly an interesting place. Although it is open at the top, from the
surroundings, it looks like nothing more than a steep, rocky area with a base
jutting out. If it is a residential area inside the defensive wall and further
surrounded by safe rocky areas, one can live with peace of mind even near the
demon territory.
But this place... is
quite vast. Applying the area formula for an equilateral triangle, 1,000m *
1,000m * √3/4 = 433,000㎡.
I see, as a rough
estimate, even assuming 25m * 25m per house, that's about 700 houses.
By simple calculation,
if four people live in a house, that's 2,800 people; even with two people,
that's 1,400. Does that mean there is enough space to accommodate the
population of the Aegis settlement?
I imagined the future
of this land and let my thoughts wander.
"Combining the
West District, the East District, and other places, we plan to secure arable
land equivalent to 20 villages."
Elan and the others
aimed to make Aegis alone a territory equivalent to a small barony.
Aegis, and Ishtar,
Dimos, and Gaia, which we will visit next... I became excited to see what kind
of new territories each of them aims to be in the future.
After that, we resumed
our movement eastward on the outer wall again.
The top of this outer
wall secures a width of more than 5 m for the movement of soldiers and
supplies, but circular spaces of about 100 m were provided periodically.
A semicircular part
protruded toward the demon territory side, and another semicircular part toward
the inside, and the installation of catapults was proceeding sequentially on
the demon territory side.
"Production and
installation haven't caught up yet, but we plan to deploy at least three
catapults at each location by sometime next year. If we can do that, we can
defend the outer wall with fewer personnel, even without mages."
I nodded in agreement
with Christoph's explanation. Defending the entire length of the endless outer
wall is impossible even with our current military strength.
So, they're building
bases to compensate for that and wiping out enemy soldiers clinging to the
outer wall with catapults. With this attack, even if it's not a direct hit,
there will be ricochets off the outer wall, so it will probably be a pretty
nasty attack.
Passing through the
triangular residential area, terraced fields and sugarcane cultivation land
spread out beyond that as well, and further ahead was an inner wall extending
up the mountain slope.
"The area
surrounded by that inner wall will be the town of Aegis. It is still under
construction and only a part of the interior is complete, though..."
As I approached the
inner wall, the partitioned interior came into view, and I stared wide-eyed in
surprise. Along the gentle mountain slope, a town larger and more noticeably
terraced than Teigoon was being constructed.
A terraced city!
Somehow, that's very appealing.
"We draw water
from the waterfall basin through a channel excavated in the rocky mountain and
rotate water wheels by lowering it in stages. Since it is terraced, the
transport of goods is somewhat inconvenient, but we have divided the area from
the middle to the top into a residential district, the middle into a lodging
and dining district, and the lower part into a commercial district, and the
flat part at the very bottom is a pasture."
There are still many
areas under construction, and the full picture isn't visible, but I think it
looks like a very interesting town. I became very excited for the day when the
townscape is complete.
I felt that this place
would have sufficient function as a town where 2,000 people reside.
Before that, we must
first win the next battle, though...
For that purpose, the
fortress that serves as the keystone of the defense is expected to play the
biggest role. The deformed star-shaped castle walls protruding from the outer
wall extending east and west showed a particularly large presence.
The tip of one of the
star's protrusions, projecting toward the outer wall, is connected to the outer
wall, and the other five protrusions extend toward various directions of the
demon territory, glaring at the surroundings.
The southwest
protrusion is where we have repeatedly conducted magic cannon firing
demonstrations, but for this fortress alone, the deployment of the planned
number of catapults has already been completed on the other five protrusions as
well, solidifying the defense system.
Inside the fortress
walls, a large garrison for the Frontier Knights branch, various fireproof
warehouses, numerous stables, barracks capable of housing soldiers from other
domains in wartime, and even a large training ground were lined up.
"This fortress is
planned to operate as a base for defense, so the interior is specialized for
that function. Currently, half of the Frontier Knights are stationed here
permanently, and we plan to move the headquarters here soon, with Teigoon
serving as a rear base. The Mercenary Corps will also move its headquarters
here, except for the unit led by Kira responsible for defense and guiding into
the demon territory."
"Commander, if
that happens, what about Teigoon?"
"I am consulting
with Miseri-dono and Carleen-dono, but we are also considering changing the use
of some facilities to boarding schools and the like. However, the difficulty is
that when many soldiers visit Teigoon, like during the last supreme tournament,
the temporary accommodation facilities will decrease..."
"Well, let's
think about that after this place is finished. For the time being, I think it's
fine to prioritize securing staying space for soldiers, even if they become
empty houses for the next two years."
Yes, thinking about
various things can wait for later. Getting through the autumn two years from
now is the number one task.
"Also, we are
secretly constructing several facilities on the demon territory side. Those Empire
army guys will surely be surprised."
Yes, we are thinking
of everything and preparing for the defense. Guerrilla tactics utilizing the
advantage of the terrain are one of them.
Seeing with my own
eyes that Aegis is steadily taking shape, I felt a sense of relief.
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