episode_0140

Adria Battle (1)

When Juno’s majestic army reached the outskirts of Adria, the entire Adria was naturally put on alert.

“Is the return of the 8th and 9th Corps that went to attack Kent still far away?”

Secretary Marquis García, standing under the throne, trembled and answered Henry’s question.

Originally, the question would have been answered by the Minister of Defense or his subordinates, but since Henry had kicked out all the nobles except for a few of his generals from the State Council, only a few subjects remained, making it an empty palace.

“Yes… Unexpectedly, we received a message that it would be difficult to return on time due to the rebels in Kent not responding to the cease-fire negotiations and being persistent. They come and say they don’t know if they can even protect it!”

“Really, they are all just incompetent people!! I, the emperor, am trying to lead and develop this Balkan country, but these subjects are nothing but useless people and they are holding me back from running!!!”

“Your Majesty… Please fix it. If His Majesty the Emperor shows his might, those traitors will quickly curl their tails and retreat back to the east”

The Marquis García, who was barely calming down the enraged Henry, became angry when he saw the Marquis Dietrich entering the palace.

“Prime Minister!! How are the preparations going? Your Majesty is very concerned”

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. The formation of the citizen army has already been completed. His Majesty’s subjects volunteered to take up arms. Still, there might be traitors in the mix, so we formed a group of mainly citizens with children and took them hostage”

“Khahahaha. After all, he is the prime minister. Even if I had a hundred useless nobles attached to me, they wouldn’t even be able to compare to you. And… I guess you’re ready for the courtesy I mentioned last time, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They have already arrived in Adria and have completed preparations”

“Good job. If you overcome this crisis, I will kill Prinz and Yuno, seal the Wind Rage territory as your territory, and elevate you to dukedom”

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!”

Heinrich, who had already lost his anger at Dietrich’s words, chuckled and headed to his harem in search of his new mistress.

When Chancellor Dietrich also left, saying that he had to finish preparing, the Marquis García, who was left alone in front of the king, walked towards his mansion, feeling anxiety soaking his heart.

next day. Juno’s army appeared in front of the Adriatic gate.

The morale of Yuno’s army, which numbered as many as 40,000 men, was sky-high.

The Imperial Army Legionnaires, who pride themselves on having grown into much stronger soldiers than before thanks to their hellish training, the Prinz Army, who fought on the Eastern Front to rival such legionnaires, and the Legionnaires, who are proud of having the highest level of elite even though their numbers are small. Since all the soldiers of the Sidanikana territory had gathered, they were confident that they could win no matter what enemy came.

In addition, Adriatic Castle had only low walls that were not suitable for defense, and no defensive facilities such as spires were prepared.

Since Juno had absorbed the entire capital corps, Henry had no army left, and it was obvious that there would only be about 1,000 imperial palace defenders at most, so they looked at the battlefield with extreme optimism and raised the tip of their spears towards the Adriatic castle.

Before a full-scale battle, Baron Derian led his horse and headed to the castle gate to announce the Yuno army’s declaration of war and inform the citizens to prepare.

“Heinrich II, you immoral person who assassinated the previous emperor and sat on the throne illegally, listen! His Highness Prinz, the rightful crown prince of the empire, has brought his troops here to establish justice in the empire and regain his throne!! So, immediately kneel down, surrender, and ask for forgiveness! If you do that, His Highness the Merciful Prince Prinz has said that, in view of the brotherly affection, he will forgive you by executing the execution on the tomb and committing honorable suicide!!”

Despite his declaration of war, which was full of provocative phrases, there was no response from the gate. Baron Derian, who had been nervous, expecting to hear boos or arrows flying at the defenders standing on the castle wall, continued speaking as he felt his blood drain.

“Citizens and defenders in Adriatic, listen up!! I know very well that there are currently no troops inside Adria that can handle our army!! So, don’t throw away your precious lives in vain, and the defenders calmly open the castle gate!! Then the fight can end peacefully without anyone dying!! And citizens inside Adria, please stay in your homes!! Our military will also be careful not to attack citizens, but if you are walking around on the streets, you may be mistaken for an assassin or an enemy soldier and attacked, so please wait at home until this situation is over!!”

Baron Derian’s words rang loudly throughout the city of Adriatic through Isabella’s loudspeaker magic.

Not long after his voice was heard, the gate opened, and Baron Derian, who thought the defenders had fallen for his words, smiled brightly at the thought that the gate had opened earlier than expected.

But the smile quickly disappeared from his face.

The castle gate was opened and armed soldiers were coming out inside. Baron Derian, who was worried that the army’s morale would fall if he was attacked and his life was lost, retreated to the main camp.

Meanwhile, soldiers were constantly flowing out of the Adriatic gate, and the size of the army had already reached 50,000, surpassing Juno’s army.

“Ah… No, where did so many soldiers come from… Apparently, the scout cavalry led by Lord Cordelia reported that the 8th and 9th corps were tied to the Kent rebels… Hmm?”

Baron Derian was embarrassed to see such enemy soldiers, but soon he discovered something strange in Heinrich’s army and rushed to Prinz and Juno at the command post.

“Your Highness Heo Eok Heo Eok!! Your Majesty!!”

Prinz looked pitifully at Derian, who was trying to catch his breath from running so fast, and patted him on the back to calm him down.

“Baron Derian! You can calm down and speak slowly. We have already heard that Heinrich mobilized an unidentified army. I guess there was a hidden trick that we weren’t aware of. Either hired a large number of mercenaries…”

“That… That’s not it! A member of the enemy…”

Baron Derian explained that the members of Heinrich’s army were mostly composed of citizens of Adriatic, and the leaders of Juno’s army, surprised by his words, all headed to the front.

“Keu~ What Baron Derian said is true. The soldiers on the front line are mostly made up of Adriatic defenders and imperial palace defenders… but after that, they all appear to be ordinary citizens”

“There are even women in the mix! I guess they sent me away together with my husband. Then, since we have to protect each other, we won’t be able to desert and run away”

“You mobilize citizen soldiers in a civil war that is not an invasion by foreign enemies!! This is ridiculous! What on earth are the nobles in the capital doing and not stopping Heinrich from doing something like that?!”

“Heinrich… Are you sure you would do something like this?! If you were to kneel down and apologize to your father right now, I would have shown you some mercy!!”

Seeing Prinz, the corps commanders, and the nobles venting their anger, Yuno clapped his hands to brighten up the surroundings.

“Sleep! Getting angry now won’t change the situation. First, let’s set a policy to overcome the current situation. Meyer. How is the morale of the soldiers?”

“Phew~ It’s not good. Our Tessidanikan Army, which is based in the Monster Mountains, and the 3rd Corps, which is based in the east, have no acquaintances or family here, so it doesn’t matter at all, but the soldiers of the 1st, 4th Corps, and the Capital Corps are extremely shaken”

“In particular, the soldiers of the Capital Corps are anxious to check on the safety of their families right away. If a battle breaks out in Adriatic Castle, even desertion is a risk”

Upon hearing Baron Derian’s report following Mayer, sighs came from the staff.

“Of course, if we risk an all-out war, we can crush them regardless of our military superiority…”

“Public opinion will explode that the citizens were massacred, and the cause of our military, which stood up to punish the corrupt emperor Henry and establish justice in the empire, will be greatly weakened”

Mayer opened his mouth as he looked at Prinz, who was moaning and holding his head.

“If an all-out war breaks out, Heinrich will be well aware that the citizen army will suffer a crushing defeat. Nevertheless, the fact that the citizen army was sent out means that there is some scheming”

“Hmm? Kkungkkungi?”

“Yes. If we send a messenger, there is a possibility that they will propose a short-term decisive battle. Over there, now that Count Cassus has died, Count Speyer, who can be called the strongest master in the empire, excluding Count Liechtenauer, remains”

“But Count Kashu was also defeated by us, so would they propose a short decisive battle?”

Mayer continued answering Yuno’s questions.

“I would probably nominate His Highness Juno, excluding Count Liechtenauer. I spread the rumor that the person who defeated Count Cassus was Count Liechtenauer, who came under His Highness Juno”

Everyone nodded at Mayer’s words.

“Sure… Yuno is the center of our army’s core strength… I guess he thinks that if Yuno falls, both Count Liechtenauer and Princess Eliza will leave”

“Yes, that’s right. Of course, there is a possibility that it will not be a short-term decisive battle but an all-out war… but in that case, we also have a plan to suggest. If you suggest a short-term decisive battle to reduce unnecessary sacrifices, I will agree to it”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Mayer’s strategy, but suddenly one person stood up and pointed out Mayer’s plan.

“Wait!! Isn’t there a possibility that His Highness Yuno will be defeated in the decisive battle proposed by Commander Mayer? Your Majesty Yuno. Your Majesty is not yet at a level where you can guarantee that you can definitely defeat Speyer!! Speyer is a subordinate and colleague who has been with me for many years. I know his level very well. He is actually a much better swordsman than Count Kashu!!”

He was Count Liechtenauer, and he tried to stop Mayer’s plan out of concern that Juno might be defeated.

Juno knew that Count Cash was the second-in-command of the empire, and had the experience of blocking his sneak attack with all his might in the last decisive battle, so he was thinking of an easy victory against Speyer, who was inferior to Count Cash, but when he heard Liechtenauer’s words, his face changed. solidified

“But… as it is, it’s really just an all-out war. And then our plans would be completely shattered. I think it would be better for me to have an adventure here”

“Your Highness!!!”

Juno approached Count Liechtenauer, who was about to get angry, grabbed his shoulder, and quietly headed to the back of the command barracks.

“Teacher. Please trust me. No, please trust Brother Prinz, the commanders, and my subordinates and soldiers who believe in and support me. I don’t die easily. I will never lose, even for the sake of my women”

Liechtenauer ended up laughing as he watched Juno emphasize his women.

“You crazy guy.. Do whatever you want. However, Speyer will not be easy. Although he is below me, he is a knight who has been protecting the Knights of the Guard for a long time with me since I was appointed as the leader, and is currently the leader leading the Knights of the Guard”

“But don’t you know very well that I am no easy task?

“Well… with your current skills, you won’t lose easily. Except for technical skills and sense, you actually surpass me in every way. But you know that in a battle where your life is at stake, you will rarely encounter strength versus strength, right?”

“Yes~ I know very well. And it’s been quite a while since you’ve been with me properly, right? In the meantime, I became stronger. Hehehe… Ah! And you never know. We can also persuade Director Speyer to take our side, right?”

“Tsk tsk… That stubborn guy will never betray. First of all, it is true that Heinrich was crowned emperor, so he will remain as a knight of the guard fighting for the emperor until the end”

“Well, then you have to use your skills to press it. Isn’t the most important factor in persuading an opponent long ago being strong force?”

“… If you can do it, that’s best…”

Patting the back of Liechtenauer, who was still looking at him with untrustworthy eyes, Juno went back into the command barracks and told his staff to write a letter proposing a short-term decisive battle, and the letter was sent to Henry’s camp through a messenger.