Ch.156Proxy War

Clank! Clank!

A long supply convoy travels along the bumpy road toward the homeland.

Since adventurers had been hired to clear the path, the surrounding area was still filled with uncleared corpses and the pungent scent of blood.

“Ah… I’m dying of exhaustion.”

“Stop complaining. At least we’re escorting these wagons, so we don’t have to fight directly.”

“Hmph. That’s true.”

Watching the escort guards exchange trivial conversation were attack units from the enemy nation, hiding in the roadside bushes.

Silently…

Eventually, when the convoy reached the appropriate position, the attack unit commander raised his hand and…

“Fire!”

Whoosh!

With those words, he raised his hand to signal the start of the attack.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Argh!”

The soldiers who had been lying in ambush in the bushes began their surprise attack on the supply convoy heading to the city, with longbowmen positioned strategically.

In an instant, the wagons, riddled with arrows, came to a halt. Upon confirming that the drivers had become porcupines, the escort guards blew their horns to alert their comrades of the ambush.

“We’re under attack!”

“Protect the wagons! The cargo must not fall into enemy hands!”

Shing!

The escort guards drew their swords and shouted, and soon a desperate struggle to protect the cargo ensued.

“Die! Amurtat’s hounds!”

“Slaves of Fahrenheit, how dare you!”

The two groups hurled colorful insults at each other.

As evident from their insults, the groups currently engaged in battle were soldiers belonging to nations allied with Amurtat and Fahrenheit respectively.

The cargo that “Amurtat’s hounds” were transporting consisted of guns, cannons, bullets, and shells provided by Tiberius, along with the gunpowder needed to fire them.

The “slaves of Fahrenheit” had somehow determined the convoy’s route and had set up an ambush to prevent the gunpowder weapons from falling into enemy hands.

“Even if you kill us and burn the cargo, do you think you can win?! The tide has already turned! Your bows and catapults cannot overcome the firepower of rifles and cannons!”

“War is decided not by the superiority of weapons but by the value of the ideals one holds! What remains if Amurtat wins? Nothing but countless weapons to burn this northern region!”

Just as in Earth’s Cold War, ideologies and beliefs were like drugs that made countless people desire war of their own accord.

For the sake of the world they wanted and the ideals they followed, humans were a species capable of killing even their own friends and family with their own hands.

“Mage! What are you doing? Hurry up and destroy the cargo!”

As the situation devolved into a chaotic and prolonged battle, the attack unit commander pressured his mage to directly strike the cargo.

“B-but at this distance, our own forces will be caught in it!”

“Even if we all die, these weapons must not fall into enemy hands! Follow orders now!”

However, the commander ignored the mage’s protest that even with careful control, friendly forces would be caught in the blast, and repeated his order to destroy the cargo.

It was a ruthless command, but anyone who understood the destructive power of gunpowder weapons would not hastily criticize his judgment.

“Ngh…!”

The attacking mage began casting the most powerful spell he knew with a groan, and noticing this, the escort’s mage quickly started chanting a protective spell.

“I beseech the water that forms the clouds… Pour your anger through me… Let the sky’s righteous fury rain down upon the enemy…”

“Firmness of the earth, manifest through me. Under your protection, no ferocity shall harm us.”

Attack spell: ‘Lightning Strike’

Protection spell: ‘Earth Barrier’

The two spells activated simultaneously, and immediately, the rising dirt and gravel began to block the lightning descending from the sky.

“Aaaaargh!!!”

“Everyone down!!!”

As lightning struck above their heads, both the attack unit and escort guards instantly lost morale and flattened themselves against the ground.

Eventually, both spells ran their course, and the two mages collapsed, unconscious from the aftereffects of deploying their maximum power.

“The spell failed…?! Retreat… retreat!”

“The enemy’s spell has failed! Don’t miss this opportunity! Quickly move the cargo!”

And the power of the sky could not overcome the protection of the earth.

As dirt and gravel acted as lightning rods to block the lightning, the attack unit, having no way to break through the escort guards, quickly retreated. Taking advantage of this, the escort guards successfully replaced the dead drivers and swiftly began moving the cargo to their homeland.

Thus, this proxy war ended in victory for the Amurtat faction.

*

As Amurtat and Fahrenheit began providing weapons and resources to their vassal states, proxy wars between the affiliated nations broke out across the northern region.

It wasn’t particularly strange. After all, that’s why they provided weapons and resources in the first place.

Just as no war can be one-sided, the Amurtat faction and Fahrenheit faction were trading victories and defeats back and forth.

In fact, all of Amurtat’s vassal states combined made up half of Amurtat’s population, while Fahrenheit’s vassal states combined made up a quarter of Fahrenheit’s population, so no matter how well they fought, they were bound to take some hits.

Setting that aside, the Amurtat faction generally showed strength in frontal and firepower-based warfare using gunpowder weapons, while the Fahrenheit faction excelled in guerrilla warfare and large-scale mobile operations, leveraging the concealability and convenience of cold weapons.

After all, gunpowder weapons were vulnerable to moisture, making them inferior in many ways compared to wooden bows treated with preservatives or iron bows with moisture-proof treatments.

However, the reverse was also true—in large-scale battles on open plains, gunpowder weapons could overwhelm cold weapons.

“Finally, it’s time to teach those Kalochien gentlemen a lesson! Prepare the cannons!”

“Let’s show those Bakirus old-timers our strength! Gather all the cavalry!”

And now, with factional logic added to the rivalry between neighboring countries that had been fighting tooth and nail, nations that were never on good terms to begin with were waging indiscriminate wars of mutual destruction.

Naturally, Amurtat and Fahrenheit’s resources were being rapidly drained to support them, but the forces these nations mobilized for total war were of a scale that could be recruited with just a cough from Fahrenheit or Amurtat, so it didn’t pose a significant financial problem.

Fahrenheit simply had a lot of money saved up over 370 years, and Amurtat also had its own savings, plus they both focused on providing material support that could be used immediately rather than money that couldn’t be eaten.

“Fight harder! This is a holy war to bring down the wicked Amurtat!”

“Do not hesitate to kill the enemy! Behind you stands Lord Tiberius, the master of steel!”

For the officials and media of both countries, these proxy wars were delicious prey.

The media of both nations, as if in collusion, exaggerated their own victories and downplayed defeats, while officials mobilized nationwide propaganda and agitation to awaken the national spirit.

The most effective method was using the media, followed by theater performances, and finally street speeches.

“Fahrenheit is indomitable! For the past 370 years and 7 more! How much hardship have we endured?! Yet despite all that suffering, we stand here now! And we will continue to stand! Do not bow your heads to those evil gunpowder demons! The true master of the north is only Fahrenheit…!! Only His Majesty Marcus, who sits on the Grand Monarch’s throne!”

“Infinite glory to Amurtat! For 77 years, we have continued to develop and progress! The lives of those who have lived until now guarantee this, and the prosperity and abundance of the homeland you live in proves it! We were once weak, but we have become a magnificent nation! This is all thanks to Lord Tiberius’s genius wisdom and boundless courage, so you must do your best to ensure that the true master of this northern region sits on the rightful throne!”

Grand Monarch and Monarch.

Lord and Majesty.

Vassal states and suzerain states.

Great nations and small nations.

Dichotomous black-and-white logic began to dominate the north.

Who was black, who was white.

Who was good, who was evil.

Though no one could truly know, people unanimously proclaimed that their side was good and just, while the other side was evil and unjust.

It was the year 77 in the Amurtat calendar.

A time when Amurtat’s population exceeded 8.4 million, and Fahrenheit’s population reached 11.2 million.