episode_0041

“Commander… You came back alive?”

“Please take it quickly.”

“Wait, it might be an impersonation like last time. Don’t expect too much… ”

“We know faces, so why worry? Just take it in.”

And when Lee Si-hyeon came in.

“Sir, Commander?”

“Commander!”

Everyone was shocked to see Lee Si-hyeon’s face.

“You are the real commander!”

“Your hair is a different color? My skin also got a little tan.”

“Are you stupid? They have the same face! Say something!”

“Hmm… Hello?”

“Look! Your voice is the same!”

Chloe, who said that, was suddenly hugged by Lee Si-hyun. Everyone was surprised by that scene. Among these, Chloe was the one who had the most negative impact on the commander’s survival.

“Where have you been? You waited!”

“Ah, Viné Franz’s soldiers were scouring the mountain, so I had to hide… Colonel Chloe. Report the situation.”

“Situation report? Ah, that’s right. Currently, our military has 50,000 soldiers. The reason the number of soldiers was greater than expected was largely because Viné Franz focused on occupying Arcadia rather than pursuing the defeated soldiers, and troops from other nobles joined the northern army. However, what is disappointing is the lack of high-quality units such as cavalry. Most of them died in the last battle. In one word… ”

“50,000 infantry only, excluding advanced soldiers.”

“Yes. ha… It can be seen as such a situation.”

It was understandable that Chloe was worried. In this situation, it becomes a major problem in waging war.

“What are the trends in Binet Franz?”

“Bine Franz is currently trying to kill the emperor in Arcadia and replace the Arcadia family as emperor. Although the coronation ceremony has already been completed, I know that there are many people who are opposed to it. They may not be able to come to harm us right now, but once we grow stronger, our turn will come someday.”

“Because we were hostile to Vinnet Franz.”

“Yes. Because the perception that Commander is Vinnet Franz’s rival has spread widely in the world. There is no way we can save the commander in this situation.”

“I need to increase my strength until Biene Franz comes.”

“Yes. That’s how it should be. If you don’t want to die.”

But I knew. The real problem wasn’t Binet Franz. If my knowledge of the future is correct, after Vinnet Franz killed the emperor, a wise man came and lost his gun and became a fool. Would he go back to his hometown, enjoy an idyllic life, and then die?

A bigger problem than that is the Rekjit people. While we were messing around and fighting a civil war in the east, the Rekhgit in the north would have grown in strength and stabilized the civil war.

“What is the trend to the north?”

“Oh, I was going to say that, but actually… ”

The situation in the north that Chloe told me about was more serious than I thought.

The Rekjit were divided into the Kerdu and Perta tribes, and the Kerdu had already almost won the civil war.

In other words, the Kerdu tribe could push down to the northern army at any time. It was not good news at all from our perspective.

“This is a letter from Akalit, the chieftain of the Kerdu tribe.”

The letter said this:

[We, the Kerdu tribe, now dominate most of the vast plains. If you small landowners rebel, we Kerdu people will never show mercy. They will burn the stone houses and massacre the people. However, if you surrender, I swear by the name of Akalit, the warchief of the Kerdu tribe, that you will have mercy. Akalit Kerdu, the honorable warchief of the Great Kerdu tribe.]

In one word, it means surrender early. Since this letter did not arrive before the Northern Army weakened, it was said that they were being looked down upon quite a bit now. Actually, it wasn’t unreasonable. 50,000 infantry. It was impossible to block Rekjit with just this force.

Rekjit were people who could mobilize 100,000 people if they wanted to. It was impossible to stop them with only 50,000. And that was without cavalry.

“The real problem may not be the Biene Franz in the distance, but the recit in front of you. So, Commander, what will you do?”

“Lieutenant Colonel Chloe.”

“Yes.”

“Specially promote Lieutenant Colonel Lucas to level 2. He died protecting me. Compensate your family generously. And make arrangements with Warchief Akalit. I will go to meet you with only the minimum number of guards.”

“Ha, but… It’s dangerous! They’re barbarians who don’t know anything about diplomatic conventions! If we go and get caught, our Northern Army will be ruined! I barely made it back, but if it disappears again, the northern army will collapse!”

“Even if it stays like this, it will still collapse. If Moro Garden collapses, we have to do whatever we can. Send a letter to Akalit… The commander of the Northern Army, Georges Brestmaier, wants to meet you.”

“… Are you serious?”

“I am so sincere.”

“In that case, I will send you a letter. But I won’t go with you. You will have to remove them from the escort force.”

“It was not included in the head count from the beginning.”

He said that with a smile and I looked at my trusty Major Mario. Then Major Mario carefully avoided his eyes.

‘Major Mario?’

It seems that even this trustworthy man was afraid of Rekjiit.

—–

In the ger of the steppe, the warchief’s shaman was reading a letter on behalf of the warchief, who could not read.

“So, the commander of the Northern Army, Georges Breastmire, wants to meet Akalit Kerdu, the ruler of the grasslands and the warchief of the Kerdu tribe. We would be grateful if Akalit Kerdu would generously take the time to welcome us. I will do it. It’s called. Warchief.”

“Hmm. Is this a declaration of surrender?”

“No. The word surrender is nowhere to be found. I just ask you to make time to meet me.”

“If it’s not surrender, it’s meaningless.”

The Kerdu people also knew well how bad the northern army was. Moreover, the military power of the Kerdu tribe was overwhelmingly strong. What’s the point of meeting you when you can push in at any time?

“Where should we meet?”

“They said they would come directly.”

“Cowards will come to the grassland? Among those hiding behind stone walls, there seems to be one with quite a bit of guts.”

Akalit revised its assessment of Georges Brestmaier. He was a much more manly character than I thought.

“If you have that level of sincerity, there is no need to not meet you. but… ”

but. The shaman already knew what would come next.

If I don’t like it, I’ll cut it. I guess that’s what it means.

Because that was the Kerdu way. The two powers that seemed unlikely to meet each other made an appointment to meet.

—–

And the long-awaited appointment day.

Georges Brestmaier arrived at the meadow with a handful of guards, less than 300 men.

Guard troops were also sent from the grasslands, but the guard troops dispatched from the grasslands alone amounted to 3,000 cavalry. It was 10 times the number of Georges’ troops.

Georges felt bitter about his diminished power and followed the guards to Warchief Akalite’s tent.

An incredibly large tent village had been built around his tent.

There were so many tents spread out that it could almost be considered a city, and many large families were living in those tents.

As Georges passed by, many people, perhaps amazed by his white skin, came out and started looking at Georges and his guards. The guards were nervous that they might be attacked, but Georges waved his hand leisurely. One child was waving along with Georges but was stopped by his mother.

And after walking for a while, we arrived at the tent of Warchief Akalit. Warchief Akalit’s tent was large and ornate. It was so much so that it could be called a building rather than a tent.

And when I entered the warchief’s tent, numerous warriors were glaring at Georges with their hands on their weapons. Georges couldn’t help but feel nervous at this moment.

“Sit down.’

The warchief who was sitting back said. As Georges sat down, the warchief who had turned around and sharpened his curved sword put down his weapon and sat down.

”Imperial people use straight swords, but steppe people use curved swords. Do you know why?“

”This is because the curve of the sword absorbs the recoil when cutting an enemy, reducing the shock to the rider.“

”You studied in your own way. But that’s not all. The reason why grassland people use curved knives is because they lack iron. Since there is a lack of iron, you cannot wear iron armor, and since you cannot wear iron armor, straight swords that are easy to pierce iron armor are not popular, and curved swords that are easy to cut raw flesh are popular.“

”… “

That may not be a wrong opinion either. Even if it is the same phenomenon, there are a hundred ways to look at it.

”I will make straight swords popular in the prairies.“

”That means… “

”We will take control of the empire and place iron production at our feet.“

For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall froze. His words were tantamount to a declaration of war. It was no different from saying that they were going to attack the northern army.

It has to be resolved somehow. I opened my mouth right away.

”Before that, let’s listen to one.“

”What is it?“

”Is there a saying in the prairie called pure hammerhead?“

”Summary… What?“

It seems like there isn’t one.

I need to teach the people of this world a lesson.