Chapter 77 : Pandemic (1)

R-19 Story Summary.

Kalia and Ishmael had sex all day from the moment they woke up until they fell asleep.

They did it so many times that they lost count.

The Saint secretly watched from outside and pleasured herself voyeuristically.

*****

Everything comes with consequences.

When a mission is completed, there’s a reward.

When a mission fails, there’s punishment.

Depending on the culture or era, the severity may vary, but the basic principle remains the same everywhere.

This applies equally to the rulers and the ruled.

When the ruling class achieves success, they are praised, but when they make mistakes, they are criticized and their approval drops.

From this perspective,The powerholders of the Artium Empire were already driven to the edge.

“Our ally, the Kingdom of Allein, has achieved a great victory.”

“They say they’ve seized a vast amount of territory and shattered the enemy’s defense lines.”

“Who would’ve thought the front lines would shift so drastically…”

The rulers of Artium—the Tsar and the noble boyars—were far from good leaders, even by the most generous standards.

They constantly levied taxes, imposed heavy labor, and treated the commoners and territory residents as personal property.

Even the harsh realities of the now widespread total war system paled in comparison to the tyranny of these rulers.

And yet, the regime was maintained solely through authority.

For hundreds of years, they had brainwashed the lower classes into believing in the nobility of the aristocrats and the sanctity of the monarch.

They enforced loyalty through this, suppressing any expression of discontent by instilling a culture of unconditional obedience and submission.

But now, that ironclad authority was on the verge of collapse.

All because of mistakes they themselves had made.

“So, what are they planning to do next?”

“Well, I imagine they’ll focus on managing the newly occupied territories and fortifying the strongholds. You know, by the book.”

Except for the early phase, the war had been a continuous stream of defeats.

Shrinking national territory.

A population growing more destitute by the day.

What began as a war to eliminate a national security threat had become a string of military blunders for Artium.

Aside from the initial offensive campaign, they were always on the losing side.

Instead of gaining anything, they only continued to lose more.

The front line constantly retreated eastward—toward their own heartland.

No matter how many soldiers they conscripted or weapons they produced, nothing changed.

Even victories in localized skirmishes couldn’t alter the bigger picture.

They were slowly withering away.

In short,The Artium Empire was collapsing—just like the Russian Empire during World War I.

With the country in such a state, could the people still feel any loyalty toward the ruling elite?

Of course not.

They took so much, yet couldn’t get anything right.

Why serve them at all?

Some might even wish to tear the whole system down.

So far, things had held together, but even the smallest incident could now trigger an explosive public backlash.

“Then we must act. It’s time to drive those Navre bastards off our homeland!”

“Indeed! While they’re distracted reorganizing their broken forces, now’s our chance!”

Given their dire situation,It was only natural for the Tsar and the boyars to rejoice at the news from the Kingdom of Allein.

*****

“How many troops do we currently have available for offensive deployment?”

“Including reserves and new recruits, 110,000. That’s if we scrape together even the troops currently stationed on the defensive lines.”

“Not bad. That should be enough to drive back the invaders.”

The Kingdom of Navre is on the brink of collapse.

They’ve lost 20% of their territory and suffered massive losses in both civilian population and military strength.

It’s impossible to even estimate how many resources and how much time it will take to recover from this damage.

In other words, from the invader’s perspective, this is the perfect opportunity.

“But we can’t guarantee the quality of our soldiers. We’re just scraping people together from all over the place.”

“That’s fine. As long as we have the numbers, we can make up for any lack in quality. More importantly, have the conscription orders been issued properly?”

“Yes. By now, they should all be heading to the assembly points.”

Even if it meant overexerting themselves, they decided to amass a large army and gather artillery.

If they attacked now, while the enemy was still in disarray, they might be able to reclaim their lost land.

If luck was on their side, they might even aim for Navre’s own territory.

With this calculation in mind, the Tsar and the boyars launched an all-out mobilization.

In a hurry, they pulled together manpower and materials and managed to cobble together an army of over 100,000.

That’s roughly the same size as the initial expeditionary force they sent, so it was by no means a small army.

“But how are we handling supplies…”

“There’s no time to transport food or clothing. Secure what you need by seizing enemy supplies or requisitioning locally.”

“What?! And how are we supposed to feed an army of 110,000 like that?”

“You make it work! Humans are herbivores by nature! If it gets bad, they can survive by chewing on grass on the roadside!”

Since it was a hastily made plan, the rear support was lacking—but that didn’t matter.

As long as they won, everything would be solved.

They could just pillage and requisition on the spot to make ends meet.

“General Stukov, I entrust you with command. Bring victory to the Empire.”

“Leave it to me, Your Majesty!”

Judging that they had sufficient forces to win, they launched a massive offensive.

“What the hell are these morons? Did they think we’d fall apart just because they charged in?”

“Do these savages even understand what tactics are? Enough chatter—open fire!”

“Keep shooting until we’re out of gunpowder! Fire every cannon and gun until the barrels melt down!!”

“Just because the Allein bastards beat us, did you think you could too?!”

They didn’t even make it a few miles before being completely wiped out.

It happened in early November, in the city of Rzhev.

*****

“Idiots.”

“Do they even have brains?”

“Maybe they really don’t.”

As soon as we heard about the defeat, sighs came out instinctively.

Kalia and I both let out long sighs at almost the same time.

I mean… it was just pathetic.

They were given such a great opportunity, and this was the best they could do?

“They had 110,000 troops. Do you know how much you can achieve with that kind of force?”

“What would you have done?”

“A war of attrition. I’d split the army and wear down the enemy slowly.”

Just like Kalia said, perched on my lap.

With 110,000 troops, the strategic possibilities are endless.

Especially in a pre-modern era.

“Back then, even mobilizing a few thousand for one battle was tough.”

According to our intelligence, the army Navre had stationed against Artium was just under 40,000.

They had drawn forces north to block breaches, drastically weakening their front.

That means the difference in strength was nearly 3 to 1?

With that much advantage, a series of small-scale attacks would have been more effective.

Probe the enemy lines with smaller units, find the weak spots, and then strike when they’re worn down.

Or they could’ve split their forces into two and executed a pincer movement.

Even to an amateur like me, there were plenty of better strategies.

“Whatever it is, I wouldn’t have done a reckless frontal assault like that. What’s the point of having a commander if they fight like that?”

“True.”

“A charge without thought is something you do in bed, not on the battlefield.”

“…..”

Anyway.

Despite all these other options, the Artium Imperial Army chose a full-frontal assault, deploying their entire army head-on.

And it’s not like their troops were well-trained or their communication lines were solid.

“They basically offered their soldiers up as sacrifices.”

A unit that can’t maneuver tactically and can’t even communicate properly is nothing more than cannon fodder on the battlefield.

With the imperial army largely composed of such poorly trained troops, they ended up offering tens of thousands of lives to the plains of Rzhev.

They threw their troops into fortified enemy positions without suppression fire, skipped artillery support due to a gunpowder shortage—just a disaster of mismanagement and incompetence.

Casualties… nearly 70,000?

At that point, it’s practically annihilation.

There’s no way they’ll be able to mount another offensive after this.

‘The kingdom must’ve regained its momentum from this.’

By contrast, the Navre army’s losses were only a few thousand at most.

It was a record-breaking exchange ratio.

You’d be hard-pressed to find such a one-sided battle even in the history books.

For those who’d been demoralized, it was the perfect morale-boosting propaganda.

“I wonder what’s happening in Artium’s political circles now.”

“They’re probably in full-blown hysteria. Like your lower half at night when it’s bouncing around inside me.”

“Kalia…..”

I had no words.

Seriously, why does every conversation with her devolve into a dirty joke?

*****

As expected, the Tsar and the boyars had descended into chaos and madness.

Madness born from mutual blame and bickering.

“This is all your fault! If you hadn’t sent such useless troops, we could’ve won!”

“How is it my fault?! It’s your garbage artillery that failed, our artillery corps was decimated because of you!!”

“Everyone, enough with the accusations! We should be discussing how to plug the breach in the defensive line—”

“Cut the crap! You’re one to talk, Count Makarov! You’re the main reason the battle was a disaster!!”

Endless insults and mutual criticism.

Even though none of them were free of responsibility, they all pointed fingers at each other.

As if blaming others would erase their own sins.

Even now, the triumphant Navre army was marching forward, yet instead of managing the damage, they wasted time on power struggles.

“Idiots with noble blood.”

Still, under normal circumstances, they might have endured.

Artium is vast, after all.

The empire had always weathered national crises with sheer size.

They would’ve lost more land and people, but continued resisting with what remained, biding their time for a counterattack.

“U-urgent report!”

But unfortunately.

“A plague is spreading! And not just one strain!!”

This was no ordinary time.

*****

“(The outfit Kalia wore throughout today’s conversation.jpg)”