Otherworld Nation Founding Chronicles - Chapter 64

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Chapter 64

“Tonino . Do you think we’ll win this war?”

The first prince of the De Morgal Empire, Carlo De Morgal, asks his general, Tonino .

“Certainly . Without fail, I will bring us victory . ” (Tonino)

“Is that so? Then I’ll leave this to you . I entrust everything to you . ” (Carlo)

Carlo completely puts all command of the war to Tonino .

Carlo is 20 years old .

Although he is the first prince, since he is the child of a concubine, his status, by any standards, is not that high .

However, since he is the child of the king’s favorite consort plus he looks a lot like his mother, he is quite doted upon by the king .

The objective of this war is to expand territory as well as to give Carlo some achievements .

You really can’t say that his ability is high .

By nature, his body is not strong plus his disposition is docile . Furthermore, this is his first battle .

Then how about his administrative skills? If you asked, then prepare to be disappointed .

He’s not one of the sharpest tools in the shed either .

His one saving grace, however, is that he himself understands that he is incompetent .

That’s what separates him from the others .

Therefore, it’s basic sense for him to pass on the tasks to a much more competent subordinate .

Carlo’s only jobs are to drink liquor, admire the fine things in life, and to flirt with his sex slaves .

The one using such a Carlo is Tonino . He is the younger brother of Carlo’s mother… . . In other words, he’s Carlo’s uncle .

From the very beginning, Tonino’s family was not of a good pedigree but when his sister rose up in the imperial court he was able to secure a big patron in her .

Tonino himself was quite the prodigy that he managed to obtain promotions left and right . Then, just like that, he was made in charge of a whole army .

There are two reasons why Tonino was appointed by Carlo . First, he’s family . Second, he’s a genius .

In the event that Carlo becomes king, Tonino was promised that he would be appointed supreme commander of the army . That being said, he still doesn’t have peace of mind . It won’t be funny if he somehow gets axed after all .

Therefore, he intends to bind his own daughter to Carlo . With this, he would be able further strengthen their connection and completely secure his own status .

“What are you doing standing there grinning?” (Carlo)

“Ah no, I humbly apologize . ” (Tonino)

Tonino hurriedly stops his delusions about what would happen after he becomes the supreme commander . He then begins to ponder over this battle’s strategy .

The current objective is to seize the Ars Territory .

Once they seize this territory, taking down the Rosythian Imperial Palace would be a walk in the park . The two are a stone’s throw away from each other after all .

If things went well, they might be able to immediately head for the Rosythian capital after the fall of the Ars Territory .

However,………… . he’s thinking he might be pushing their luck here .

The Rosyth Kingdom’s population is around 170,000 . If they mobilized to the limit, then they should be able to gather more than 10,000 troops .

If that were the case, then it would be quite a difficult war .

Tonino’s strategy is to first seize the Ars Territory then make peace .

Then, in the ensuing peace time, they would destroy the Rosyth Kingdom by fomenting dissent amongst the Rosythian great clansmen .

One time, he tried winning over one of the Rosythian factions, the DeBell faction . However, he was refused . The faction realized that, although by allying themselves with the De Morgal Kingdom would certainly result in victory, they would have no choice but to submit as a puppet in the process .

Regal, whose self-respect was high, probably found it difficult to agree to such a prospect .

However, there is still a possibility to make the plan work by making one big strike .

The Rosyth Kingdom is the biggest kingdom on the southern portion of the southern Adernia Peninsula . They have vast fields with rich yields of wheat .

In other words, the moment they secure control of this country then De Morgal Hegemony over the southern part of the southern Adernia Peninsula would be all but assured .

That’s why it is imperative that they exercise great caution in taking over this country .

The Gillbed Kingdom is also fighting this war .

Whoever first successfully seizes the south would certainly be exhausted by then .

“Come to think of it, the Rosyth Kingdom’s Princess Julia is quite the beauty, I heard . I’m so looking forward to her . ” (Carlo)

Carlo let’s out his thoughts while unconsciously tapping his feet .

“Once we win, we’ll turn all Rosythians into slaves . That’s why she’ll soon belong to you, you know . ” (Tonino)

In reality, Tonino wanted to have Princess Julia as a reward . However, he nevertheless declared such while truly feeling disappointed inside .

In the Adernia Peninsula, the citizens of a losing country are generally made into slaves . Nevertheless, it’s not like all of them fall unto slavery unconditionally .

Those who seize all resistance at an early stage and those who cooperate are all spared from such a fate . In all, about 40% of the losing side’s population usually fall into slavery .

“Don’t make such a disappointed face . In exchange, how about you get the wife of the Ars Territory’s lord? I heard she’s quite the beauty, too . ” (Carlo)

“Another’s wife, huh……” (Tonino)

Tonino makes a dissatisfied face . One of Tonino’s bad points was that you can easily see what he’s thinking in his face .

Tonino is a unicorn so he won’t be satisfied by another man’s wife .

(TLN: I don’t know if it’s how they use unicorn now in the Japanese internet/literature or if the author probably just wants to popularize “unicorn” – ユニコーン to refer to as “virgin-lovers” – 処女厨 since it does make sense . )

“Hmm . You don’t change, huh . You should just stop caring about that membrane . ” (Carlo)

“Ah, no . I’m not concerned about the membrane, you know . I’m more concerned about the fact that she already has experience even if just once . ” (Tonino)

As they were starting the dirty talk, the fort comes into view .

Just like the reports said, it was exceptionally made .

According to the mice’s reports, about 8,000 troops were seen manning the fort .

“Well then, let’s advance so we can set up camp in a little while . Shall we immediately commence our attack?” (Tonino)

“Yeah, I’ll leave it all to you . ” (Carlo)

The Adernia Mountain Range is a huge mountain range located between the Rosyth Kingdom and the De Morgal Kingdom .

Because of this mountain range, invading with a large army is difficult .

Nonetheless, there’s a point that cuts the mountain range into two . Its origins vary according to different legends . One says that the ground shook violently and divided the range into two . Another says that giants had stepped on that very spot and crushed it . Another said that the Griffon and a Divine Dragon had a duel and in the process made that spot .

This point is where the De Morgal Kingdom, the Ars Territory, and the Romano Forest all meet .

Possessing very little area, this point is called the Terrier plains .

In the event that the De Morgal Kingdom comes to invade the Rosyth Kingdom, they would certainly have to pass through this plain .

Although it is called a plain, its terrain is gently rolling .

It is on top of a slightly elevated hill in the area that Fort Terrier is located .

Fort Terrier has two sets of walls .

First is the inner wall .

It’s a wooden wall that has existed since the very first fort . It is exceedingly fragile .

Next is the most important one, the outer walls .

It’s a newly constructed stone wall .

Its width is around a meter while its height was around 5 meters .

They dug a moat around the outer wall and hung a drawbridge to connect a gate to the outside .

The fort, by the way, has two gates – one on the south and one on the north .

The wall protrudes on both sides of a gate . This protrusion is not a rampart but rather a tower like structure . Its height is around 7 meters .

In short, the structures around the gates made it easier for bowmen to gather and concentrate their fire .

In the headquarters of this fort, Almis had set up his command .

“Our combined forces are around 8,000 Rosythian troops and around 300 Equus troops . In total, 8,300 troops . ”

More great clans than I expected brought out their forces . Furthermore, the numbers were beyond expectations too . However…

“The enemy’s combined force is around 25,000……”

“You can feel their seriousness, huh . ”

Tetra says while the report was being read .

Furthermore, according to the mice’s reports, the enemy has brought with them a lot of siege equipment .

We’re in trouble .

There’s one saving grace however .

“Since the enemy has brought that many equipment, it could only mean that they couldn’t have brought that much rations . This is convenient for us . ”

Fort Terrier is in the border between the De Morgal Kingdom and the Ars Territory .

In other words, the northern side is De Morgal Territory .

It’s harvest season so army provisions would, depending upon circumstances, be met once the wheat is harvested and immediately sent to the battlefield .

Even if they hadn’t brought anything in advance, transporting the rations would not be that difficult . In other words, they intend to completely rely on a supply line .

After taking Fort Terrier and advancing deep inside the Rosyth Kingdom, they would then secure rations from the Rosyth Kingdom’s harvested wheat .

Therefore, there would be no need to march while carrying a lot of rations .

With that, it would be more economical to just bring more siege equipment to make the fort fall faster in a decisive engagement .

Although they are bound in a cease-fire agreement with the Gillbed Kingdom, they are still in bad terms .

They’re also competing in who gets to secure much of the southern Adernia Peninsula .

In this battle, Ron and the others has taken up the roles of Chiliarchs . (TLN: Literally meaning commander of a thousand soldiers . It’s Greek though, because I couldn’t find a Latin equivalent . “Tribune” or “Tribunus Militum” doesn’t sit well with me for some reason . Maybe I’ll revise the other titles like centurion and decanus into Greek later . )

We also need to have them get achievements . It would be problematic if my vassals stop at the centurion rank .

“Well, we should be able to win . All we need is to put up with the siege for three days to succeed . ”

I laugh while grinning .

Thus, the war which will be called the Seven Days War in the future begins .

First day of the Siege

“Now then, first, let’s encircle them . ”

At Tonino’s command, his entire army surrounds Fort Terrier .

“Hey, Tonino . Though I know it’s strange to be asking this late but……Wouldn’t it be just fine for us to ignore this fort?” (Carlo)

“That would be a long shot, you see . Our army is approximately 20,000 strong . We’ve only brought enough rations for three to four days . Although we could obtain rations by pillaging, there’s a possibility that the enemy would resort to scorched-earth tactics . That’s why it’s necessary that we rely on a supply line .

As far as that is concerned, this fort needs to fall . Furthermore, it’s not like all the Rosyth Kingdom’s forces have been gathered in this fort . They should be able to scrape up more soldiers through conscription after all . If we leave them as is, there’s a possibility that they would come after us in a pincer attack .

Also should we be defeated, although I pray it won’t have to come to that, there’s a huge difference between having and not having a line of retreat . ” (Tonino)

Tonino carefully explains to Carlo .

Carlo, having understood the matter, nods to show his satisfaction to Tonino’s answer .

“Then what would you do next?” (Carlo)

“Let’s see…… . For the meantime, let’s test their military potential . I’ll bring out the slave soldiers . ”(Tonino)

At Tonino’s order, the battle slaves line up to formation . They are slaves obtained from the war with the Gillbed Kingdom .

The one thousand slaves assault Fort Terrier .

“The first wave has come…… . They’re wearing collars and chains, huh . It seems they have sent slaves first . ”

Perm mutters so .

Now that he mentioned it, they certainly are wearing collars and chains .

Furthermore, their equipment is crude too . There are even some who wear only a piece loin cloth and wield only a stick as weapon . This means they’re completely disposable to them, huh .

The thousand slaves separate into two groups . Each began to attack the North and South Gates respectively . Naturally, they aren’t able to cross the moat .

They tried reaching the fort gates by jumping into the moat and swimming across . Their lack of equipment was a blessing in disguise as not a lot of them drowned on the way .

However…

“Listen . There’s no need to aim . Just let it fly into a barrage . ”

“Haha . Ain’t this convenient . We’ll show you the fruits of our practice!”

Gram and Bartolo signal the archers to attack .

Fundamentally speaking, bows are not meant to be aimed in war . You fire them in volleys . In other words, it’s basically firing a lot hoping some hit the target .

If you went the other way and tried aiming the bow, you’d only give the enemy an opening to attack .

The enemies are currently swimming across the moat .

Because of a movement spell, they were easy targets for the bowmen .

The battle slaves sink in the water after they get hit one after another .

However, they desperately put up a bridge . The slaves ran across that, bringing over ladders, and tried to climb over the fort walls .

“At any rate, their equipment is so crude, huh . ”

Gram hits a slave with an arrow .

The battle slaves are wearing nothing above their waists and have no form of protection whatsoever . One by one they get hit by the arrows and sink into the water .

“Oh, they’re retreating, huh . ”

Bartolo drinks liquor while looking at the soldiers turn their backs . He stops his bowmen from shooting at them .

It’s pointless to waste valuable arrows . Their fates have been sealed after all .

“Haa, you incompetent lot . I thought at least one of you would’ve made it up across the fort walls but……I guess it was my fault for raising my hopes on you, huh . ”

Tonino gazes at the returning battle slaves .

He then orders his bowmen .

“Kill them all . ”

Not even ten seconds have passed . All retreating slaves were shot and killed .

“Now then, let’s confirm their identities . Let’s also have their families killed . Those who aren’t here shall be considered heroically killed-in-action . Send a message via falcon to have their families released from slavery . ”

Tonino keeps his promises .

Even if it was made with slaves .

“Now then, battle slaves . Your sacrifice won’t be forgotten!! With this, a bridge across the moat was established . Main army, advanc……what the?”