Chapter 213
(Kyle Calendar Year 511: Age 18)
Territory Tour - Ishtar
Translator : PolterGlast
Since we had left
Teigoon early in the morning, we still had some time to spare after inspecting
Aegis. This was largely because we had been able to proceed from the pass exit
along the defensive wall without any obstacles.
For that reason, we
decided to push on all at once to Ishtar, on the southwestern border of the
former Hiyorimi domain, as originally planned.
The route involved
moving along the skirts of Mount Teigoon, on the edge of the demon territory,
which had not yet been developed.
"Right now, the
weakest part of our defense strategy is the line connecting Aegis and Ishtar
here. We are planning to extend the defensive wall toward Aegis, but we haven't
reached that point yet. We have our hands full just strengthening the Ishtar
side and the exit from the demon territory in the former Hiyorimi domain, as
you instructed last year."
Elan looked
apologetic.
To exit the former Hiyorimi
domain into the demon territory, the largest exit is the gentle valley to the
south of Ishtar. This valley lies between the foothills of Mount Teigoon and
the isolated, slightly elevated peaks that spread out to its east.
For the time being,
after the conferment of honors two years ago, this gentle valley, about 500 m wide,
had been sealed with an earth wall. This seal was one of the points that
Viscount Kämpfer had identified as a hole in our defenses at a glance when he
visited Teigoon last year.
Taking his suggestion,
we had carried out additional construction and established a proper defensive wall,
solidifying the sealed part, but the problem was the small peaks to the east of
the seal.
While these peaks make
mountain crossing difficult for cavalry or pack animals and normally would not
be traversed, it is not impossible for a person to manage passage by climbing
the rocky mountains and cliffs, feeling like a bit of a mountain-climbing.
This is the same for
monsters, so we've made various efforts such as making cuts in various places
and setting up abatis, but these could be removed if human hands were applied.
And to stretch a
defensive wall across those peaks like the Great Wall of China would take
considerable time, and even if we built a wall, if we couldn't station soldiers
to guard it, it would be easily breached.
We don't have the leeway
to gather that many soldiers.
"Elan, don't
worry about it. It's impossible to surround this entire area with defensive
walls anyway, and we can't spare the manpower to guard it. Just as it is now,
cutting into the mountains to make them steep so that pack animals, horses, and
monsters can't cross is fine."
Yes, we had no choice
but to change our way of thinking. In the worst case, we should solidify the
defenses of Ishtar on the premise that infantry could get through.
To be decisive like
Viscount Kämpfer, to deliberately ignore Ishtar and advance even deeper into
the territory... that's not something one can do easily. Rather than risking
such a danger of being attacked from the rear like that, they would take the
town right in front of them that could serve as a base.
With numerical
superiority, any decent commander would cross the mountains and attack Ishtar
first.
So, we just need to
set up traps for interception in Ishtar.
We passed through the
great gate of the checkpoint established as a seal from the demon territory
side and proceeded toward Ishtar. I myself had only seen the initial stages of
construction of Ishtar, which Mary and Sasha, who had studied urban planning in
the Royal Capital, had seriously designed. So, I was very much looking forward
to the results.
※
With Mount Teigoon on
our left, we proceeded for a while until we came to a small hill, from where
the entire view of Ishtar came into sight.
"My, my... This
is... quite interesting, or rather, amazing."
It was an incredible
town design, beyond my imagination.
"The town itself
is a standard construction surrounded by a large moat and castle walls, but we
prioritized coordination with the surrounding pioneer villages and securing
water sources. A waterway is buried within the defensive wall leading to the
far left."
"There's still a
possibility of monsters appearing in this area, and it was originally a place
with poor public order, so we also had to consider bandit attacks. Therefore,
we have connected each pioneer village and the town with secure, dedicated
passages."
Sasha and Mary took
turns explaining.
Seen from a distance,
defensive walls stretched like arms from four points of the town, and these
branched off into several more partway through. At the ends of the branches
were districts surrounded by defensive walls, which appeared to be the
residential areas of the pioneer villages.
It gave the impression
of defensive walls connecting a main castle and surrounding branch castles,
spreading out like the tentacles of an amoeba.
"There is a
spring on the high ground at the foot of Mount Teigoon on the far left. The
abundant spring water there flows into the town of Ishtar using the difference
in elevation. The waterway leading to the river far ahead is for drainage, not
a water source."
Sasha's explanation
made sense.
No matter how many
wells we secured, that alone could not support the town's population, let alone
the thousands of temporarily stationed troops during a defensive battle.
Therefore, they had found
a safe and large-scale water source and skillfully camouflaged it.
When we got closer, we
saw bridges at key points on the earthen walls stretching out like arms in four
directions.
And I had thought the
defensive walls themselves were simply hardened earth on stone foundations, but
they shone unusually white. Upon asking, I learned that the earthen walls had
been coated with something like plaster, making them difficult to climb easily.
"Is that so that
if the defensive wall is taken, we can burn the bridges and drop them?
Something like that?"
"Yes! However, if
the bridge leading to the far end is dropped, the water will stop coming, so we
absolutely must protect it."
"Still, such
large-scale construction... didn't it take considerable effort and time?"
"Well...
that's..."
Huh? The two of them
seemed a little hesitant to speak.
"Um... we
consulted the Headmaster. Then, he called out not only to the Magic Tactics
Research Department but also to Earth Mages throughout the academy and even the
Earth Mages of the Royal Knights... saying we could use them freely."
Mary continued after
Sasha's words.
"Also, after the
overall design was done, I consulted Sarah-san, and she came to help, and she
also borrowed an Earth Mage from Viscount Cornell... Thanks to that, we had 25
Earth Mages and 15 Water Mages in total, so we did it all at once."
"What? ..."
The two of them had
easily pulled off a massive mobilization that even I couldn't do, or would
hesitate to do even if I could.
Seriously, you old fox!
With Yuka-san and now this, aren't you being way too soft on our girls? Even
though you're always so strict with me...
Seeing the two of them
sticking out their tongues and laughing to hide their embarrassment, I was once
again made to realize that they had grown significantly, and darkly (in a
devious way), at the academy.
"A total
mobilization of 40 people... You two pulled off something amazing, and so
easily..."
That was all I could
manage to say.
※
After that, we entered
the town of Ishtar. The wide moat outside the outer wall was filled to the brim
with water, and we crossed the bridge to enter the town.
Teigoon is close to a
terraced mountain castle along a slope in terms of Japanese castles, but this
place had the atmosphere of a hirayamajiro (flatland-mountain castle). The
defensive wall beyond the moat also had a stone foundation and a hardened
plaster upper part, making it solid and high.
The interior was about
2 km square, securing sufficient space.
"Oh? The inside
has a triple structure? The defenses are quite solid."
Just as the Commander
said, inside there were structures like a honmaru (main bailey), ninomaru
(second bailey), and sannomaru (third bailey), with moats and defensive walls
spreading out. And the honmaru spread out against the western outer wall.
The honmaru was 500 m
square, and the ninomaru was 1 km square. The water entering from the aqueduct
on the west side flowed into the honmaru, ninomaru, and sannomaru utilizing the
difference in elevation.
"This outermost
external district is still under construction to establish pastures,
experimental farms, temporary barracks, and the like. The town and residences
are in the central district ahead. From here, I will be your guide."
Baronet Alexis von
Bauner, who had been entrusted with the role of magistrate and defense
commander of Ishtar, stepped forward. He has been entrusted with the governance
of the northern part of the former Hiyorimi domain and the command of 200
garrison soldiers (planned) and 500 longbowmen.
We passed through the
castle gate in the inner wall and entered the central district.
"You can only
enter the central district from the external district through this gate. At
that time, we check the entrants at this guard station and reception center.
In the outer edge of
the central district, we have established laborer dormitories, gold mine worker
dormitories, inns, restaurants, brothels, and a shooting range. Incidentally,
only this shooting range can be used for both crossbows and longbows, and we
have built a large one to match the range of the longbows."
The central district
somehow felt similar in atmosphere to the town of Fran, where mine workers
gathered. It must be quite lively at night, right?
"The overall town
planning is based on Teigoon, so facilities are deployed similarly. There is
still plenty of room for more citizens to live, but people are flocking here
from the northern part of the former Hiyorimi domain and refugees from the
central and southern areas due to worsening public order, so the population is
increasing daily."
As I thought. A new
town on a scale surpassing the former domain capital has been built in a place
that used to be nothing but the frontier of the Hiyorimi domain, and moreover,
it has good public order and is surrounded by safe defensive walls. Commercial
facilities targeting gold mine personnel are being built one after another, and
employment has become a seller's market, too.
"The difficulty
of this town is that the male-to-female ratio is reversed compared to Teigoon.
Because there are many single women who can move easily, and the daycare center
attracts many female workers..."
I see. Would it be an
option to rotate single soldiers here as garrison troops regularly? Teigoon
still has an overwhelming number of men, after all.
While I was thinking
about such things, we were guided to the innermost internal district.
In the internal
district, huge food warehouses, troop accommodation facilities, and an
administration branch office were established. So this is the final keystone of
defense.
In the slightly
elevated internal district, many catapults were installed, especially facing
west.
"Yeah, I'm
relieved to see that Ishtar is showing sufficient presence as the western
keystone. Alexis, I'm counting on you for this town in the future."
After that, we went
around some defensive facilities and the top of the outer wall, receiving
explanations about the watchtowers and traps set up in various places, and I
gained some confidence in the defense here.
But when surrounded by
10,000 infantry, can we defend this place? Even assuming reinforcements from
Viscount Cornell's army... it would be a little over 1,000 at most.
The defensive strength
is still overwhelmingly insufficient.
"Alexis, I give
you permission to recruit soldiers independently in this town and build up
armaments. We plan to increase the garrison here to 300 in the future, but for
the time being, proceed with about 200, within a reasonable range. There's no
point if we harbor spies or those with rebellious intent, so only those whose
families live here or who seem trustworthy will do."
"Yes! Understood.
We have already organized a self-defense force here as well, and there are
already over 100 people who can be converted to part-time soldiers. Depending
on the budget, we will increase the standing army and expand the scope of
part-time soldiers."
Thus, we inspected the
pioneer village with the water source and several other pioneer villages by
moving along the defensive walls, and after finishing the planned inspection of
Ishtar, we decided to stay overnight.
However, despite it
being night, everyone was still working. After dinner, they went out again
according to their respective duties.
·
Christoph inspected the night guard of the defensive
walls connecting the pioneer lands.
·
Mary and Sasha checked and inspected the status of the
defensive walls and waterways.
·
Elan went for an on-site inspection to further
renovate several bridges.
·
The Commander conducted night combat training assuming
a surprise attack with the garrison.
·
Alexis accompanied the Commander and was being
drilled.
·
Claire had a meeting with the dispatched reception
center personnel.
·
Yoltia and Raphael had a meeting with the intelligence
organization.
...
And so, I ended up all
alone. Though Sigur and Karla, having taken over for Anne after she left her
post, were constantly accompanying me in shifts.
Incidentally, I
thought about going to inspect the town at night for a bit, but that was really
just a fleeting thought.
If I go out into the
town at night without accompanying any of my wives and without reason, I'll be
looked at with suspicion. Even if it's just a tavern...
I am different from a
certain Count (my father). I reconsidered and quietly stayed put.
One must not
underestimate the excellence of the spy network Yoltia built.
Incidentally, Ishtar's
"night town" is also one of the intelligence activity bases that
Yoltia, Raphael, and Miseri put their hearts into establishing.
Compared to the
Teigoon area, where intelligence defenses are now quite solid against remnants
of the former Viscount Hiyorimi, bandits and their remnants rampant in the
desolate territories, and spies infiltrating new settlements, this place is the
front line of intelligence activities.
Therefore, the system
is set up so that whenever suspicious movements of people are seen, reports are
sent to them one by one.
Targeting mainly gold
mine personnel, we have hired a woman who was in a brothel in Teigoon as the
manager and dispatched her to the administration-run brothel established in
Ishtar, on Yoltia's recommendation.
I leave all of that to
Miseri and Yoltia. A woman who was in the same position as a prostitute, whom
Yoltia herself calls "Big Sister" and admires, and who apparently has
popularity—she should handle everything well.
She seems to be a
trustworthy person with a track record in intelligence as well. Also, just as a
precaution, I always make sure to mention it to my mother when constructing a
brothel.
I gave instructions to
prepare food and drink as a late-night snack to appreciate the efforts of
everyone who would return from working at night, and then let my thoughts
wander to the next place to visit.
※
At a later date, there
was a certain Count who visited Ishtar under the guise of an inspection between
his official duties and let loose as he pleased in a brothel.
Enjoying a stay of
several days, by the time he started his return journey with a beaming smile,
his actions had already been reported to his wife ahead of time, under the
instructions of Yoltia, who had received a special mission from his wife in
advance.
It is said that the
Count, having returned to his domain, was condemned by his wife, who had been
waiting for him, for pushing his official duties onto her and the steward to
indulge in his hobbies and for his behavior at the brothel, and he turned pale,
his mouth gaping in astonishment.
And... it goes without
saying that the now-customary seiza event unfolded.
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