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Madan no Ou to Vanadis - Volume 14 - Chapter 3.1




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Chapter 3.1 – Strife over the Capital

The Muozinel army, which passed through Fort Severac, went north along the highway without even making an effort to maneuver the fort. Three days later they forced the city of Veecus situated along the highway to surrender; several days after, they besieged the Gelgovia Fort with 10,000 soldiers just as they did with Severac before.

The commander of the unit besieging the fort was Murat.

His hair was short and he wore a deep black beard under his nose. Since he was reserved and reticent by nature, he was teased as a bad gambling opponent by his peers. However, as commander he is superb, having earned him Kureys’ deep trust.

The Muozinel army, which had become 120,000 man strong, marched on.
Not only was the fort of Wilzon unmanned, it also wasn’t fit for use as it had turned into a complete ruin after having been set on fire from within, and thus the army simply went past it.

“Contrary to Severac and Gelgovia, the master of this fort apparently was a smart man”, Kureys commented while appraising the Wilzon Fort from atop his palanquin.

Two days after that, Kureys left 10,000 soldiers behind in the city of Laferte which had capitulated, and requisitioned food and material. As Laferte is a mere two days on foot from Nice, the main force of the Muozinel army could come rushing right away if contingency demanded. Once he confirmed to have enough food stored to maintain the troops for an extended period of time if the supply line were to be severed, Kureys ordered the departure.

At this time, one of his aides advised him that it was certainly important to protect the supply line, but deploying 40,000 men at four different places with 10,000 per location would very likely turn them into good targets for annihilation.

“Individual annihilation, eh? Isn’t that great?” (Kureys)

The aide looked dumbfounded due to Kureys’ assertion while smiling happily. The red-bearded younger brother of the crown prince detained the aid on the spot and summoned Damad. He then made the black-haired warrior listen to the aide’s advice.

“Try telling me what you think,” Kureys queried.

Damad thought that he might be tested here, but as it was Kureys’ order, he had to respond to it.

“If Brune possesses enough military forces, it might be possible for them to aim at crushing the units individually. However, if you exclude the militia from the enemy forces, they have at most 70,000 soldiers. By all rights, that’s a number where they have to struggle to just protect their capital.” (Damad)

Based on the information they had obtained from the scout reports and the cities that had surrendered, Kureys had mostly grasped the precise amount of troops left in the Moonlight Knight Army. Damad too had been informed about the numbers by Kureys.

“For the enemy to sever our supply lines, they have no other option but to recapture the port city Massilia or Laferte, where we are gathering our food and goods. But both Laferte and Massilia are cities with sturdy walls. They should be able to hold out against a siege for a few days.” (Damad)

The main force of the Muozinel army was close to Laferte, and Avshall’s unit was close to Massilia. Murat’s unit could maneuver either way. As long as they could resist for several days, reinforcements would definitely arrive.

“That’s how it is.” (Kureys)

Obviously bringing the matter to a close, Kureys laughed.

“If Brune aims at crushing the units individually, they can go for it. If the capital’s defense wanes because of that, it will be the best result we could ask for. To the bitter end it’s the capital we’re targeting.” (Kureys)

Damad thought, what a frightening man, while bowing his head at Kureys. This royal prince even uses the very long supply line as provocation towards the enemy.

Even if their supply line were to be cut off, the Muozinel army always had the option to pillage. Kureys hadn’t permitted the soldiers to pillage after leaving Massilia at all. That’s not only owed to him trying to keep up a reputation of being generous in the cities that surrendered.
Once the aide and Damad stepped back, Kureys looked out over the soldiers marching in front in satisfaction. The distance from Massilia to Nice amounts to 500 belsta (approximately 500 km). The generals had calculated that it would likely take 20 days in total to arrive at Nice, and that has proven to be correct.

──However, the soldiers’ fighting spirit has risen plentifully during the long march with not a single battle. I will have them throw this eagerness against the capital’s walls.

“Now then, Star ShooterSilvash, Princess Regin, how are you going to move?” (Kureys)

Red Beard revealed a daring smile while the feeling of exaltation before a battle overflowed his body.

 

The one who discovered their presence in the morning of that day was a soldier manning the capital’s southern wall.

No sooner than the morning mist which was about to fade beyond the horizon swayed unnaturally, black dots became visible as if black ink had been spilled within the fog.
The black dots gradually filled the highway while resolving into contorted shapes.
The soldier, who had thought that he had been seeing things until then, hailed his nearby comrade in panic. Mashas, Lim, and Mila, who received the report shortly thereafter, appeared on the southern wall. All three of them were fully armored.

They understood that these shapes, which had by now turned into an uninterrupted, muddy, black stream, were clearly heading their way.

“I heard about the enemy having 110,000 soldiers, but good gracious…”

Mashas’s face cramped up and he leaked a low groan. Lim and Mila barely managed to suppress a tremble. The soldiers and knights protecting the other sections of the wall also rushed over in succession. All of them stood stock still with blank faces.

“That’s the Muozinel army, huh?”

Fearful whispers were exchanged atop the wall which had become full of soldiers.
It was apparently a big shock even for soldiers who had served as lookouts for a long time. At the time when figures become visible in the distance, they can estimate the number of people and the distance to those people based on their prior experience. However, even they couldn’t say anything in the present situation besides it being an outrageous number.

“There’s no point in being anxious about it. The enemy surely has a big army, but it’s not like they can fly through the air,” Mashas grinned at the soldiers while deliberately using a jovial tone. “You guys appear to be surprised by that big army, but once they arrive here, they will likely be surprised by this wall. The moat is wide and deep, too. Let’s teach them that they cannot overcome this wall even with a hundred thousand soldiers.”

The moat, which had been drastically widened below the wall by the militia, has a width of 17 alsin and a depth of 40 chet (four meter) in the south and east. The western and northern moats weren’t as deep and wide, but when one left through the wall on the capital’s northern side, the terrain immediately turned into a slope, and a river is flowing in the vicinity of the western side. Neither side was really suited for the deployment of a large army.

Even just the attempt to bury those moats will likely earn them a considerable number of days.

The soldiers somewhat rally under Mashas’s encouragement. Even after witnessing the same sight as them, the elderly Earl’s composure of being able to smile calmly, and his short and stout stature hidden behind armor and helmet possessed an odd dignity.
Once someone raised a loud yell in order to rouse himself, the others also shouted from their diaphragms in response to that.
Lim and Mila looked and then nodded at each other. If one’s overpowered before a battle, they could not hope to triumph.

Lim returned to her usual, unsociable expression, and called out to Mashas.

“The enemy being visible from here means that they will likely arrive in around two hours. I think that we should check every place once more in advance.” (Lim)

“Very true. This is exactly the time when one must stick to the basics.” (Mashas)

There were plenty of places that ought to be checked such as the water and sewer systems connecting the capital to the river flowing in the west; whether there was room to move around below the wall; whether there were any problems with the weapons and goods stored on the wall, and whether they had forgotten to close the gates.

And then, when the sun climbed the zenith, Muozinel’s army arrived in front of the Capital Nice.


They stopped their march around 500 alsin away from the wall and set up their camp. The one who had been appointed to this duty was one of the generals, Ekrem.
Under his command, close to 15,000 white tents, shared by six or seven soldiers, were spread out. Once it came to such numbers disorder would manifest by tents clashing with each other or there being no gaps for the soldiers to pass through. But Ekrem made them finish the job in a short time by dealing with it skillfully.

The tents of the generals like Ekrem and Yargash were luxurious, lavish red and blue silk constructions with violet and silver embroideries and were more than double the size of the tents of the soldiers.

Kureys’ tents was close to ten times the size of the soldiers’ tents. It was a combination of several dozen tents, had a total of 20 rooms provided within, and was supported by ten pillars as thick as an adult’s torso. The tent’s color was snow white, but it was obvious to anyone that it had been set up like that to emphasize the golden embroidery. It featured a big motif of the God of War Vahram holding a golden sword and wearing a horned, golden helmet.
And at last the ground was completely covered by tents of Muozinel’s soldiers as far as the eyes could see.

For the soldiers standing on the wall it was (not such1) an oppressive view. Of course there were also some who somehow managed to avoid falling on their knees by propping themselves up with their spears after losing their cool.

It took two hours to finish the camp’s establishment. Evening was already approaching, but the strong summer sun was still flooding the land.
4,000 soldiers advanced out of the Muozinel’s army camp while basking in the intense sunlight. Kureys Shahim Balamir was at their front riding his palanquin.
Once they proceeded up to a position just out of range of arrows and stones, they dispersed to the left and right, forming up in horizontal lines.

“Ruler of Brune, Your Highness Princess Regin!”

The 4,000 soldiers repeated Kureys’s shout in a chorus. Their shouts drowned out all other sound and made the air rumble, reaching even the ears of Nice’s residents across the wall.

The children running across the streets, the housewives chattering near the street stalls, the militia men engaging in various tasks near the wall, and the elderly burdened by the summer sun, all of them stood still with startled expressions and looked up the wall. Kureys’ words were spoken in such fluent Brunish that even children comprehended their meaning.

“I shall allow you to surrender!” (Kureys)

There was no doubt that all soldiers atop the wall were dumbfounded by that appeal. Kureys and the Muozinel army continued.

“You may choose whether to leave Brune’s soil for eternity or become slaves of Muozinel. Your lives shall be guaranteed, unnecessary pillaging will be avoided, and you will be able to prevent the destruction of this beautiful capital. ──But!” (Kureys)

The Muozinel soldiers raise their voices all at once. “If you hear these words and still turn your blades against us, this capital will literally vanish from the surface. We will carry it away without leaving even a single piece of the wall behind, and all living beings will be taken away as slaves. The only thing remaining will be a desolated Luberon Mountain! If it’s now, you can still avoid such a tragic future!” Kureys concluded.

Kureys’ words were powerful and full of a confidence that overwhelmed those listening to them. One soldier after the other appeared who could vividly picture the tragic future depicted by him. Even once they tried to return words of objections, a huge camp and more than 100,000 soldiers filled their vision as soon as they looked down at Kureys.

“…What a preposterous lot.” (Lyudmila)

Mila spat out with a grim expression while looking down at the Muozinel army from atop the wall together with the soldiers of Brune and Zhcted. Her irritation wasn’t pointed only at Muozinel’s army, but also at the soldiers around her. The fear of a single person easily infects many. Especially in a situation like this. Since we’re talking about Kureys here, I’m sure he’s actually aiming for that too, but it’s going to be hard if they end up getting cold feet this easily, Mila thought.

Lim, who was standing next to Mila, asked carefully even while worrying about the soldiers’ state,

“Are they really going to follow up on what he said?” (Limalisha)

“The troublesome aspect of those guys is that you can’t laugh it off as mere threatening.” (Lyudmila)

Mila laughed and answered, but her expression is lacking its typical frankness and indifference.

If they are going to rule all of Brune, Nice turns into an important location. But, if it’s them, they wouldn’t hesitate to destroy Nice and build a Muozinel-styled city on top of the remains.
──If only Tigre was here, he could at least shoot arrows at those guys…
Even if they wouldn’t reach, they still would clearly declare their will to the opponents, and it would also be possible to restore the soldiers’ morale.
Possibly Mashas may be fine as well. His act today morning, which gave the soldiers a peace of mind, was something only he can do. At the moment he should be in the royal palace to put the entire army in order, though.

It happened when Mila was thinking about such things. A commotion welled up behind her. Mila and Lim, who turned around wondering what was going on, widened their eyes in surprise.

Regin had shown up with two guards on either side. She wore an armor atop her silken clothes, and had put on a mantle. The armor could be called lightweight as it didn’t cover her entire body, but she possessed such gallantry, nobility and beauty that it made those seeing her swallow their breath.
While her pale golden hair fluttered in the summer wind, Regin harbored an unbreakable, resolute attitude even towards Kureys’s terrifying threats.

The soldiers opened a path for her. Once Regin walked to the center of the wall, she stepped forward so that the Muozinel soldiers could see her properly. Her blue eyes coldly looked down upon Kureys on the ground.

A female guard held a sword, which she carried under her left arm, with both arms and presented it to Regin.

“Please, Your Majesty.” (Selena)

“Thanks, Selena” (Regin)

Regin took that sword and drew it out of its scabbard. Once she hoisted it up as far as she could, the hilt and guard made out of gold, and the steel-colored blade dazzlingly reflected the sunlight.

The soldiers raised voices full of astonishment. It was because the sword held by Regin had the same shape as the invincible sword extolled as the Kingdom’s treasured sword.
What’s different was its size. The original Durandal was a barely balanced great-sword wielded by the huge warrior Roland who was called Black Knight. There were records left that stated that the founder Charles, who wielded Durandal, had been a giant, as well.

However, the sword held by her was two sizes smaller.

Regin swung that sword straight down without saying anything. Mila and Lim could faintly hear how the air was slashed.

Regin sheathed the longsword and handed it back to Selena. Then she turned around and silently surveyed the soldiers with her eyes which had determination dwell within them. She put her hand on her chest, inhaled a bit, and spoke,

“──They are the enemies we must defeat.”

No trembling could be felt from Regin’s voice. It was tinged with a fighting spirit, inspiring everybody.

“We have prepared means for the sake of winning. However, to make those succeed, everyone’s power is necessary. Please lend me your strength for the sake of protecting what I want to protect.” (Regin)

Those words reached the soldiers’ ears riding upon a cool breeze.
One person yelled out loud. Several followed after him. And in the blink of an eye, all soldiers at the southern wall raised battle cries. Their enthusiasm carried over to the other sections of the wall, resulting in all soldiers manning the wall roaring at last.

──Holy cow, I’ve really got to hand it to you.
Mila sent forth her heartfelt admiration to Regin without voicing it out. I wonder how many people can adopt such a bold attitude while in front of a hundred thousand enemies?

The Regin in Mila’s memory was a girl with a far more unreliable impression. At the very least, the Regin back during the civil war in this country two years ago apparently couldn’t do much more than rely on Tigre after being rescued by him. Back then Mila had clearly regarded Regin as “hindrance.” However, she had splendidly grown up unbeknown to Mila to the extent of appearing trustworthy.

Regin noticed Mila and Lim, and walked over to them. She held out her hand with a smile.

“Lady Lyudmila. I cannot find enough words to express my gratitude for you honoring us with your participation as Zhcted’s War Princess. At the same time of being a guest of honor, I consider you to be a comrade-in-arms. We shall repay your brave fighting as much as it is possible for our country.” (Regin)

Being called a comrade-in-arms by the ruler of a country might be called the biggest compliment. Mila respectfully grasped Regin’s hand and bowed courteously. The princess’ blue eyes and the war maiden’s blue eyes meet for an instant.

 

 

 

 

———————- End of Part 1 ———————-





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