episode_0028

Bloody Battle of Fortress Streb (2)

next day. The battle began with the attack of the Balkan Empire’s 5th Corps.

The fact that the 5th Corps’ heavy infantry was guarding the siege tower was the same, but the defenders of Fort Streb were puzzled by the appearance of the siege tower, which seemed slightly different from yesterday.

“Don’t panic and shoot! It’s the same thing that needs to be destroyed anyway!!”

However, no matter what happened, he had to kill his enemies in order to survive, so he soon came to his senses and began firing fiery arrows according to the orders of the commander of the castle wall guard.

Then the siege tower began to burn, but the Balkan heavy infantry blocked the incoming arrows and continued to push the burning siege tower toward the moat.

“Hahaha, you idiots, no matter how many arrows you pack… I guess I’ll have to tell the kids to pick up the arrows carefully. Hahaha”

“5 Corps Commander? What the hell is that…”

The 5th Corps commander Derian, who was laughing at the Tesseito army, answered the crown prince’s question.

“Watching the battle yesterday, I thought that it would be difficult to solve that double moat with regular siege weapons. It could be done, but the sacrifice of the light infantry would be too great. So, the cart that would carry the dirt pile was disguised as a siege tower”

“So, there’s dirt and sand in there?”

“Yes, that’s right. majesty. Since it was a modified version of a regular cart, it didn’t take much time, and since it was only disguised as a siege tower, it didn’t require water-soaked cowhide. All you have to do is let it burn in front of the moat and then push the dirt inside”

“Hoo~ Thank you for your hard work. Thanks to the 5th Corps commander, that moat will be filled soon”

The crown prince saw that the double moat that had been created yesterday was being filled with camouflaged siege towers, and at the same time, four siege towers were closing in on the Streto fortress, which made him somewhat relieved.

“I think that if all of that goes in, the moat will be filled. We request you to prepare for sequential input”

“Good! 1st Corps Commander, 4th Corps Commander.!! Once the moat is filled, join the 5th Corps and prepare for siege as soon as preparations are complete! I hope that the archers of the 5th Corps will also engage in suppressing fire!”

“I will follow your orders. Your Majesty!”

—–

From the command tower of Fortress Streve, Count Redelmo watched the battle unfold.

“Hoo~ Even among the Balkan guys, there are some whose heads spin”

“The commander of the 5th Corps in the Balkans is said to have been an engineer and rose to the rank of corps commander even though he was a commoner. So, I guess I should consider him as someone who has proven some level of ability”

When the moat was completely filled and the imperial archers built the wall and started shooting arrows, the Teseito army that was shooting arrows from the castle wall was falling one by one.

“Hmm… If this happens, I’ll have to prepare it a little early. Defeat the archers located on the castle walls! There is no need to sacrifice archers at this point!”

“Yes! Okay!”

—-

“The enemy arrows have stopped! It looks like an arrow fell!”

“It’s an opportunity!! 1.4 Corps charge! Hang a ladder and climb the castle wall!! The engineers must quickly move the siege tower when the arrows stop shooting! The first soldier to reach the castle walls will be awarded the title of baron along with a thousand gold!”

Prinz’s command echoed throughout the battlefield through loudspeaker magic, and the imperial army quickly clung to the castle walls with their eyes averted.

“The arrows really don’t fly?”

“Get out of the way!! I will be the first to go up!!”

“What crazy talk! I will be the first to go up and receive the prize!”

The legionnaires pushed each other and tried to climb up first. Dozens of ladders were hung on the walls of the castle, and more than 10 legionnaires were attached to the ladders and quickly climbed them.

“Now is the time!!!”

As the command from the commander of the Tesseito garrison rang out, a strong black liquid spurted out from between the cracks in the castle wall. The black liquid stuck to the legionnaires climbing the castle wall, and was sprayed onto the soldiers waiting below.

“This…what is this? It’s sticky yet slippery…”

“Ghee…it’s oil!! Come down!! Come down!! Get down quickly!!!”

“Retreat!! All troops retreat!!!”

Suddenly, the formation became a mess and the legionnaires began to rush down the ladder, and the corps commanders and Prinz, who were watching from afar, frowned.

“What are you doing now? Retreat without orders? You have to attack when you run out of arrows…”

Grrr!!

Even before Prinz finished his words of reprimanding the corps commanders, his eyes caught the sight of a huge flame bursting out ahead.

“Kwaaaa!!”

“Sa… Save me!! Aaaa!!”

The fire spread widely, igniting the bodies of over a thousand soldiers at once, and the screams made the imperial army even more devastated.

“Now is the time!! Shoot!!”

A huge rain of arrows began to rain down on the backs of the imperial soldiers, who were terrified by the shrill screams and the acrid smell of their comrades’ burning bodies.

“Wow, it’s an arrow!!”

When the screams of our soldiers were suddenly heard due to the rain of arrows, Prinz went to the front of the base to assess the situation.

“What is that again? The top of their castle walls must be full of heat from the fire, so how could they shoot arrows… no, that!!”

What even shocked Prinz was the defense tower that rose inside Fortress Streb. The Tesseito archers safely fired arrows from the defense tower located much higher than the castle wall, and the arrows that the imperial army counterattacked only reached the top of the castle wall, but did not reach the defense tower.

“Stay in line!! You must raise your shield to block arrows and retreat slowly!!”

The commanders shouted at the top of their lungs, but the legionnaires, whose morale was already broken, retreated indiscriminately. As the arrows caused even greater damage, the ranks became tangled, and the soldiers pushed each other, fell, and were crushed to death.

But this was not the end of the imperial army’s nightmare.

Count Le Delmo, who was observing the situation, ordered to march.

“Cordelia! Sortie! It seems like those guys have forgotten what Teseito-kun specializes in. Let the Vulcans know clearly what the real Tesseito-kun is!”

After hearing Ledelmo’s orders, Adjutant Cordelia grabbed the rope installed on the command tower and jumped down.

The soldiers who were already on standby armed Cordelia as she came down, and she quickly finished arming herself, then mounted her horse and spurred on.

Then the gates opened and Tesseito’s heavy cavalry rushed out. Since it was a defensive fortress, the number seemed to be only about 100, but it was a nightmare for the imperial army, which retreated indiscriminately and was in a jumbled mess.

“Show the power of Tesseito to the Balkan guys!! Make it so that they can never even dare to visit this place again!! Streb will become the graveyard of the Empire!!!”

“For His Excellency Ledelmo!! For Tesseito!!”

Tesseito’s heavy cavalry rushed out and attacked the rear of the retreating legionnaires. The cavalry’s spears and heavy horses attacked the frightened imperial army, and the imperial legionnaires were destroyed.

“Save our allies!! 58 Archers!! Keep shooting!! Don’t spare your arrows!! Free fire for each archer!! ”

“51,52 Heavy infantry charge and form a square!! 59th Cavalry, sortie!! Cut off the enemy’s back!!”

Still, due to the proper command of the 5th Corps Commander Derian, the imperial army was able to prevent further damage.

Upon seeing the light cavalry of the Balkan Empire sortie, Cordelia ordered a retreat because she judged that there was a risk of being captured if she pursued any longer.

“Tch… It’s the 5th Corps… It’s a bit disappointing. I thought I could wipe out at least one infantry corps”

“Don’t worry too much. Adjutant. Now that you’ve tasted bitterness today, why don’t you curl your tail and go back to your centipede’s house? Hahahaha”

“That would be nice, but… let’s go back first!”

The second day of the Battle of Fortress Streve came to an end, leaving behind countless corpses of the Imperial Army.

“…What happens to the damage?”

In response to Prinz’s extremely gloomy voice, Baron Hassau, commander of the 1st Corps, reported in a low voice.

“1 Corps 12th Heavy Infantry halved, 13th, 15th, 16th Light Infantry annihilated, 4th Corps 44th Light Infantry annihilated… 45. 46th Light Infantry…”

“Stop!! What is the total loss of troops? Report in summary”

When Prinz shouted, Baron Hassau flinched and retreated, and 5th Corps Commander Derian continued to report.

“There were approximately 5,000 casualties. 1,500 light infantry were destroyed on the walls, and about 1,000 were trampled to death by our troops while retreating to avoid enemy cavalry”

“… What about the injured soldiers?”

“About 1,000 were judged to be unable to carry out combat due to serious injuries and were repatriated to their home countries, and around 1,500 are expected to be able to perform their duties again after a few days of rest”

“Whoa… We lost about 4,000 troops since yesterday… But we couldn’t even get a single piece of gold into that damn fortress!!”

As Prinz lost his temper, the corps commanders and staff kept their mouths shut.

“First, tell the enemy to collect the bodies and send a request for a ceasefire for one day. If they use the outbreak of an infectious disease as the reason, they will accept it”

“Your Majesty! If we give them time, there is a risk that reinforcements will arrive in the meantime!”

When an aide remonstrated with Prinz, Prinz unleashed a ferocious force that had never been seen before, grabbed the neck of the aide who had just spoken, and pulled out a sword from his waist.

“Kahahah… Your Majesty…”

“So… If you continue the offensive now, is there a way to break through that fortress? I’m wondering if there’s some amazing trick to break through their defenses. I really hope that they don’t just say that we should continue the offensive at the cost of all of our soldiers’ lives. If you do that, I think I’ll cut off your head”

“Wow… I made a mistake… Please forgive me…”

Prinz put his staff on the floor and continued giving instructions again.

“Tomorrow, all staff members must come up with a plan to somehow attack that fortress! Otherwise, you guys will be at the forefront of the next offensive!!”

Under Prinz’s ferocious gaze, the staff saluted and left the barracks.

“Each corps commander must take care of his soldiers and comfort the wounded soldiers. Morale must have dropped to the bottom, so console the soldiers with special food and alcohol, gather only the elite soldiers, and finish clearing the battlefield by tomorrow”

“Your judgment is correct. majesty. I think this is a necessary measure to prevent the morale of soldiers from falling after seeing the horribly mutilated bodies of their comrades”

“Whew… At least the 5th Corps commander understands my intentions. First, let’s send a short-term truce letter. Only then can the battlefield be cleared safely…”

That night, when the document containing the short-term armistice with the imperial crown prince’s seal was delivered to Fort Streve, Count Le Delmo chuckled and sent a reply saying that he would allow unarmed troops to access the fortress.

“Your Excellency. Did you really need to accept it? It would have been even more threatening if those corpses had been left behind”

“Well… as they said, there are concerns that an infectious disease could break out… shouldn’t they also be allowed to hold a funeral? Besides, there is no harm in taking our time. The surrounding lords will send reinforcements to us, and reinforcements will have departed from Carmarthen by now”

“But if we defeat them with reinforcements, won’t your Excellency’s achievements go down? In that case, even if it’s a bit excessive…!!”

Kwaang!!!

“Lord Cordelia! Make no mistake! War is not someone’s chance to get ahead! There is only honorable sacrifice for the motherland!! Me too, Gyeongdo! Our soldiers who fell since yesterday! Even Balkan soldiers!! It is simply a sacrifice for one’s country. So, in order to reduce the sacrifice, achievements are not important. It is my mission and will to defeat my enemies by achieving maximum success with minimal damage”

“Sorry. dismissal. I made a mistake”

When Cordelia prostrated herself and lowered her head, Count Le Delmo stroked her head and helped her up.

“You are still young. So you can be greedy like that. But to win the war, you have to cherish the lives of your soldiers. Only then can there be a future and a nation. Even if you win the battle, it’s not a win if a lot of soldiers are sacrificed. Mark my words!!”

“Yes. dismissal!! I will engrave your advice on my bones like gold and jade ”

“Hahaha, why are you talking so much… Then, let’s have a quick drink! I hope that our soldiers who lost their lives today can rest in peace… Oh, and that the enemy soldiers who died countless times also sleep peacefully when they die…”

“Yes sir!”

Cordelia slowly tilted her glass, looking at her superior with eyes filled with respect.

*Illustration by Count Le Delmo