Chapter 362
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Northern Front ① – The Deceivers
and the Deceived
Translator : PolterGlast
Two days had passed since Alexis instructed the Westlights
Demon Territory Dukedom Army and the Imperial forces led by Viscount Durul
to strategically retreat against the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy army
that had invaded the northern part of the Empire,
intentionally setting a network of traps at a stronghold further in the rear.
Invading from the border, they ruthlessly raided the villages
along their march, plundering all supplies and harvests by the roots as they
advanced further north.
However, when they reached a position just half a day's
march before the narrow pass where Alexis and his forces lay in wait,
they abruptly halted their advance.
It was almost as if they were openly mocking the defending
army's calculations...
Around the exact same time, the combined forces of the three
nations—pushed forward by the eager King Ville—were advancing deeper and
deeper north into the Griffonia Empire territory, across the vast lands
near the border between the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy and the Empire in the northeast.
They pushed their army forward as if marching through an
entirely unpopulated wilderness; their invasion was progressing remarkably
smoothly.
However... while the invasion itself was smooth, the harsh
reality was that they had gained virtually nothing of substance.
「 What on earth is the meaning of
this? There is absolutely nothing here! 」
「 Report! It appears the enemy forces
withdrew their military without offering any resistance, Sire... 」
Exasperated by his close aide's
completely irrelevant response, King Ville snapped.
「 Do you not understand what I am
saying?! Pushing this far north has brought absolutely no benefit to us! 」
What he had anticipated from this campaign was not merely
the acquisition of raw territory. He seized land specifically for the harvests
it yielded, the wealth it held, and the people he could subjugate.
However, the inhabitants of the raided villages had almost
entirely evacuated to the safe rear, and any remaining civilians, agricultural
lands, and wealth had already been requisitioned by the Istoria Orthodox
Theocracy army. Even the crops that had not yet fully ripened were
completely harvested. Wherever the advancing forces of the three-nation
coalition went, a desolate landscape resembling the aftermath of an attack by a
massive swarm of locusts merely spread out in vain.
The villages scattered along their path of advance were left
with nothing but thoroughly stripped, plundered fields and the charred,
blackened remnants of houses that survived being set ablaze.
「 Those damned fanatics! 」 King
Ville spat out, cursing in extreme anger.
「 While
loudly proclaiming they possess 'no territorial ambitions,' they have
completely gutted the land and stolen everything inside it! 」
At this rate, even if they successfully invaded and seized
the land, they would gain absolutely nothing, and it would be utterly
impossible to even procure provisions locally.
「 Your Majesty, how do you intend to
proceed from here? Given the circumstances, I humbly advise that we temporarily
withdraw our army and retreat near the border. 」
As if seeing straight through his sovereign's inner turmoil,
an old general who had firmly opposed this expedition from the very beginning
interjected to offer his counsel.
「 Even if we were to incorporate this
land into our domain, we would be forced to defend it until the next harvest.
Yet, there is no one left to till the soil, and it appears even the seeds
themselves have been lost. Furthermore, Your Majesty surely understands that
this terrain is fundamentally disadvantageous for defensive warfare. 」
The old general spoke his mind unflinchingly, staring
directly into the eyes of his country's King. Within his gaze lay a resolute
will, shadowed by a faint trace of sorrow.
If only it were King Divide the Great... If only it
were the founding King Ville...
Such unbidden thoughts inadvertently flashed through his mind.
『 Good
grief, living too long is truly a curse. It seems I, too, have completely
misjudged the timing of my retirement. To think I would end up placing myself
in such an utterly worthless war...
』
Yet, even amidst these bitter thoughts, his sense of duty
never wavered, and he refused to stop offering his honest counsel to ensure the
best possible outcome.
「 If I were to do such a thing, I
would be branded a foolish king who merely played with his soldiers and
fruitlessly squandered resources! Furthermore, I would be subjected to endless
slander for having let a golden opportunity slip through my fingers! 」
「 A golden opportunity... Sire? Right
now, retreat is possible without suffering any catastrophic casualties. Surely,
I believe that in itself would be the greatest possible achievement. 」
「 An achievement?! Without gathering
the fruits of victory, by what right can you call that an achievement?! 」
「 By invading Empire territory, we
have successfully deprived that
nation of the opportunity to intervene in their civil war. Surely, this will
suffice to save face before His Highness of the Empire? 」
「 What do I care about that?! Enough!
You have already been entrusted with the command of the ten-thousand-strong
vanguard army. You had better wield your tactical command so that you do not
fall behind those arrogant princes of Lute and Cain! 」
The old general closed his eyes in silent resignation. The
sovereign standing before him was utterly incapable of looking at the overall
strategy from a bird's-eye view.
In this war, what the Empire
desired were two specific things. First, to completely prevent the ally of
their rival Third Prince—the Westlights Demon Territory Dukedom Army—from
intervening in the civil war. Second, to ensure that the three-nation coalition
and the Duchy completely exhausted their military strength and bled each other
dry in the process of fighting.
Therefore, the correct means for a small nation to survive
was to play along with their intent on the surface but completely fail to meet
their expectations—meaning, they must avoid wasting their own strength in
futile combat.
『 It
seems he simply does not possess the caliber required to comprehend that... 』
The old general swallowed the words rising in his throat.
If it were King Divide the Great... or rather, if it
were any of the previous kings, they would have executed such delicate political
maneuvering with absolute ease.
「 Very well then... The ten thousand
troops under my command shall adopt independent movements to ensure that our
allies do not suffer catastrophic casualties to their manpower. I trust you
have no objections to this, Your Majesty? 」
「 Hmph, but of course. For what other
reason do you think I entrusted you with more soldiers than my own direct royal
division? While ensuring that our own forces suffer no losses, go achieve
military results that will not pale in comparison to the other two nations. 」
「 Your words are deeply engraved,
Sire. However, even speaking of military results... we can hardly achieve them
if we simply continue to trail behind the dust left by the Istoria Orthodox
Theocracy. 」
「 I am well aware of that! We shall
temporarily withdraw our military from enemy territory, falling back away from
the lands ravaged by those locusts. Right after, we shall pivot westward and
push northward through the central sector, where their defenses are spread
thin. Surely you understand the reason? 」
「 Because the enemy forces are
heavily concentrated along the eastern front... 」
「 Then I leave the clearing of the
path to you and the ten thousand soldiers entrusted to your command. 」
「 Understood. However... I implore
you, under no circumstances must you overextend your lines. 」
With those final words, the old general turned on his heel
and departed to mobilize his vanguard division.
This brief exchange revealed a subtle discrepancy in
understanding between the two men—a minor rift that would later snowball into a
massive, catastrophic blunder—though at this moment, King Ville remained
entirely oblivious to it.
Having rid himself of the eyesore, King Ville took a
breath and turned to question his close aide anew.
「 So, how
are the movements of the other two nations at present? 」
「 They are maintaining a fixed
distance behind us, following in our rear. Both armies harbor deep
dissatisfaction with the current reality of having gained zero spoils of war,
and it appears the princes of both nations are right on the verge of violently
erupting. At this rate, even we will no longer be able to keep them under
control... 」
「 Hahaha! If they are impatient, then
that is entirely perfect. Send an emissary to them at once! Tell them: 『 From
this moment, we shall temporarily fall back and pivot to the west. Whether you
wish to follow us to secure spoils of war or return to your own homelands is
entirely up to you. However, the lands lying ahead along our new path of advance
consist solely of pristine villages untouched by the locusts. Those lands shall
be a free-for-all for plundering and cutting down as you please, so go secure
your spoils of war to your heart's content!
』
」
「 Understood, Sire. But... are you
truly certain about this? 」
「 Of
course. To keep those beasts tethered to us, we must provide them with proper
bait. Even if we advance deep into their territory, the enemy military
possesses only a meager force; they will be forced to scatter their troops
across multiple locations to mount a defense. How could they possibly execute
an effective counter-defense under such conditions? After all, they have less
than half the total manpower that we possess. 」
「 Understood. And what shall be the
marching routes for our forces and the other two nations? 」
「 We shall distance ourselves from
those greedy locusts (Istoria) and advance through the westernmost sector, furthest
removed from our allied forces. Then, in the lands untouched by locusts, we
shall thoroughly plunder everything there is to steal. Exactly as they did. 」
「 Is that not perilous, Sire? There
is a grave danger of becoming completely isolated deep within enemy lines... 」
「 Hmph, and how exactly are they
going to mount a counter-attack? Their military is heavily concentrated on the
eastern side to intercept those fanatics. Even if they were to detach a portion
of their forces to launch an interception, they would be forced to stretch
themselves thin from east to west to respond. That plays directly into our
hands. 」
「 I see... That is why you are
choosing the westernmost advance, Sire. Using the armies of the other two
nations as a meat-shield wall... 」
「 Hahaha! They will choose the path
to act as a shield entirely of their own volition. It is no concern of mine! 」
Saying this, King Ville let an ominous, gloomy smile
spread across his face.
Within his mind, a vivid and calculated post-war blueprint
had already been meticulously drawn.
·
First, to take advantage of the
chaos of war to plunder food and wealth from the Empire territory.
·
Second, to
incite the two allied nations to become entirely consumed by reckless looting.
·
Third, to push
these two nations as far forward into the front lines as much as possible.
·
Fourth, to
ensure that the enemy forces, upon launching their counter-offensive, inflict
the maximum possible attrition and casualties upon the armies of those two
nations.
·
Finally, to thoroughly absorb the
two nations depleted by this conflict once the war concludes, thereby fully
restoring the ancient national prestige of their kingdom.
While appearing as though he had been thoroughly manipulated
by Lugner, he was actually moving covertly based on completely different
calculations.
Even before the old general pointed it out, he had suspected
from the very beginning that the promise of freely cutting down and annexing Empire
territory was too good to be true. He merely pretended to take the bait in
order to steer the situation toward his own ultimate blueprint.
Ultimately, Duke Harry, Lugner, and King
Ville were merely riding the exact same ship while harboring three entirely
different, conflicting agendas that completely deviated from their public
treaties.
「 We are forced by circumstances to
alter our invasion route and advance from the westernmost sector. We shall move
to commandeer the bounty of the earth and the treasures sleeping in those
lands, which have not yet been brutally overrun by those fanatics. Convey this
intent to the armies of Lute and Cain at once! 」
The reason the armies under the command of Lugner and
Azel had thoroughly stripped and
plundered every village along their path of advance was precisely to lure the
three-nation coalition further and further to the west.
And now, they were intentionally halting the populace they
had brought along to serve as shields, merely waiting for the three nations to
push deep into the Empire territory.
Consequently, King Ville’s movements were playing out
exactly in accordance with their deepest wishes.
「 But are you truly certain this is
wise, Sire? Judging by the sheer arrogance of those young princes, if we grant
them a free-for-all for plundering, I fear they will lose all semblance of
military discipline and become entirely uncontrollable... 」
「 That is perfectly fine. Let them
rage to their heart's content to satisfy their base desires at most. Both of
those princes harbor grandiose, arrogant ambitions within their chests, but
warfare is hardly as simple as those fools believe, and their actual caliber is
pitifully small compared to the grand delusions they hold. 」
When someone exists on the exact same base dimension as
oneself, their true nature becomes remarkably easy to see through.
In that regard, the scathing words King Ville used to
describe the two young princes reflected his own personality as if staring
directly into a mirror...
The three sons who thoroughly understood the immense
hardships of their father, King Divide the Great, had always maintained
a sense of reason even while squabbling among themselves, cooperating from a broader perspective whenever necessity demanded it.
However, King Ville, the son of the youngest brother,
possessed absolutely no memory or understanding of the immense political
struggles his grandfather endured.
Furthermore, the young princes of Lute and Cain,
who were his great-grandchildren, were entirely out of the question.
The moment they received the notice granting them 『 freedom
to seize 』, the two young princes were completely ecstatic and
immediately ordered their militaries to march out.
They were utterly consumed by the desire to outmaneuver King Ville, who was acting as the self-appointed leader of this expedition despite hailing from the lowest-ranking nation among them...
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