Success, Failure, and Creaking
The 15,000 Polaris Knights led by Yuya. Their advance was smooth indeed. Even after passing through the border, there were no enemies blocking their way. They were simply heading straight for the capital.
They were advancing within the Valius Kingdom, which is located to the east of the Luine Kingdom. It is the first hostile nation located past the territory of the dominant country of the Luine Kingdom. Naturally, it is a member of the Northern Alliance.
"Shouldn't we hold the towns along the way?"
It was a perfectly reasonable question. Yuya had overlooked a number of towns so far.
Some of them have garrisons. It is natural to be wary of being attacked in the rear.
"The enemy's main army is the one we are dealing with. There is no need to deal with other small fries."
Quincy Hutton, the leader of the Black Iron Order, categorically was denied by Yuya's words. Of the 15,000 that are marching, 5,000 are his knights, and he is accompanying him as second in command of the entire army. In short, he is the chaperone.
"When will this main army appear?"
"At the latest, they will appear if we surround the royal capital."
"Even I know that much."
"I beg your pardon. We have sent out scouts, but so far they have not detected anyone."
"Could they be behind us?"
"We have scouts in the rear."
"I see."
Yuya had come this far with a certain amount of courage and a certain amount of anxiety about the real war, but the fact that the enemy had not appeared at any time made him more anxious. The fact that the Nord Empire is behind the Northern Alliance has Yuya on his guard.
"We will arrive at the capital tomorrow. If you are nervous now, you won't last."
"I'm not nervous. I'm just a little worried that something might be going on."
"It's our duty to uncover it."
"I know."
The Luine Kingdom was also wary of the strategy. Is there anything set up in the process of moving eastward? It was the role of Yuya and his group to investigate. In some cases, it was to fall into a trap.
It is a mission that requires sacrifice. That is why the former Saint Miriam Kingdom's army was brought to be incorporated into the Polaris Order.
They continued their march with vigilance. But in the end, the march ended without incident on this day.
◇◇◇
The tent in the center of the encampment is the tent of the general of this army, Yuya. A table that can be used by more than 10 people is placed just outside the entrance, and it serves as a meeting room. Behind the conference room is a small office, which is filled with his entourage. Further in is the bedroom. Yuya's bedroom is surrounded by the bedrooms of his entourage and guards. It is the same size as a small house.
Yuya finished the meeting early and went into the bedroom. Even if it is called a meeting, the content is not that important if you are just marching. There are more important things for Yuya right now.
"Yuya, please. In a place like this."
"There's a bed in the room."
"People can hear us."
"That's... don't let out your voice."
"No, they should be done by now."
Amalia accompanies the march. Her position is really ambiguous. She only has the title of belonging to the Polaris Knights.
The reason why they were allowed to move in such a position is because it would be useful when they reached the Saint Miriam territory without any problems. That is the situation of the country, and for Yuya, Amalia's accompaniment has another meaning. He wanted to take this opportunity to somehow restore his relationship with Amalia.
It is a very selfish story, but Yuya has his own reasons. A good reason. Yuya is not lacking in women. But it is only a physical relationship, and there is no opportunity for Yuya to fall in love with a princess or a noblewoman, which he had expected.
Yuya's position is that of a hero. In the Luine Kingdom, he is a slave. No princess or noblewoman would ever try to fall in love with a slave.
In the Luine Kingdom, which is a large country with a strong aristocratic system, such preoccupation with status is firmly rooted in each individual. It is not that they despise them because of their low status, but because they do not see the difference in status as an object at all, which means that there is no possibility at all.
This was frustrating to Yuya. It was fortuitous for Yuya that Amalia, a former princess, appeared as a love interest.
And another reason. This was selfish but a little thoughtful. Yuya also wanted to make use of the Great War as an opportunity to stand up for himself. He wanted to be treated better than he was now. One of them was to become a lord of the occupied country. Even if it is called a lord, it is the same as a king.
And the shortest way to that is to become the lord of Saint Miriam, Amalia's home country. Whether it is a shortcut or not is Yuya's standard, and whether it actually is or not is another story, but there is no doubt that Amalia, a former royalty, is at least useful in ruling it. As Amalia's lover, it is best for him to become a lord. That is the logic.
Anyway, Yuya would like to somehow restore the relationship. During the march, he took every opportunity to make advances toward Amalia. There is some talk about whether asking for a relationship out of the blue is seduction, but Amalia who visits the bedroom is also Amalia. I guess that's what it means.
The only thing standing in the way of their relationship are the words uttered by Amalia. It means the eyes and ears of those around them.
From Yuya's bedroom, one can hear Yuya making advances late into the night and Amalia refusing. It was a real nuisance for the entourage.
◇◇◇
Amalia, a woman, also has her own tent. It is much smaller than Yuya's tent, but it is enough for two women to sleep. Amalia and her maid, Emily. Emily was also accompanying the army. In the tent where Amalia was absent, Emily was trying her best to stifle her voice.
"Is it really impossible?"
"......No, I'll hold out so that the outside can't hear us, so let's stay like this."
"If I knew when you'd be back, we could go outside."
"That's impossible, so let's just stay here."
"...I'm horny, after all"
"That's, me too..."
"Emily is normal. I'm holding a woman in the middle of the enemy camp."
The silver hair floats vaguely in the darkness. Emily was wrapped in a black cloak, held by Ren, who was sitting on the ground.
Inside the cloak, their bodies are already connected. Every time the cloak swung, Emily bit her lip and held in a gasp.
Eventually, perhaps unable to bear it any longer, Emily put her arms around Ren's neck and hugged him tightly, biting down on his cloak and stifling her voice.
As it was, she shook herself once, shaking loudly, and then went limp and rested herself against Ren's body.
"……I'm sorry."
After a while, Emily looked up and rubbed the wrinkled cloak with her hand as she apologized.
"It's all right. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I can't take it easy."
"No. What will happen after this?"
"As expected, I didn't come this far just to see Emily."
"That's, yes, I understand. I'm glad you went to the trouble to stop by."
"...When you say things like that, it makes me not want to leave."
Emily is the type of person who is simply devoted to Ren. She spends very little time with him, but she is grateful for the little time she does have and never complains about it. Her single-mindedness is the only thing that Ren keeps her close to him, even though she never knows when she will see him again.
It could be said that she is the exact opposite of Shizuku.
"If you have something to do, don't mind me."
"Yeah. It's going to be a little noisy, but It'll be fine if you stay still here."
"Yes"
"See you later. I can't promise when, but I look forward to seeing you again."
"Me too"
Ren left the tent as if he had disappeared.
Just as Ren said, the camp suddenly became noisy a short time later. She could hear the soldiers shouting in anger and the light outside the tent growing brighter. Still, Emily remained still in the tent as Ren had told her. Trusting Ren, she waited for her chance for revenge. That was the meaning of Emily's existence.
◇◇◇
The royal capital of the Valius Kingdom is only a day away. Yuya and his group were stuck there for a week.
The reason was a fire that broke out at the encampment. Many of their transportation were burnt and lost. They had to wait for the arrival of the transport unit that was following them.
"It was still strange."
At one of the daily meetings, Commander Hutton suddenly muttered.
"About the fire the other day? Wasn't it the cigarette mismanagement?"
"That's not it. Why is the army of the Valius Kingdom not showing up?"
"Because we're going to fight in the capital, right?"
"Even if that were the case, why didn't they send out scouts?"
"They don't need to send out scouts, they already know our position."
"That may be so. Still, it would be nice to see some movement."
"Then we should make our move. The enemy's capital is only a day away. The remaining Transportation will be enough."
"That's one way."
It's a strange story to siege a castle with only a small amount of cargo, but there's no doubt that it will eventually arrive. Stopping the advance and consuming the cargo is more of a problem. That's what Hutton, the leader of the Black Iron Knights, thinks. This is because he has a good grasp of the situation in the country.
"Is the royal city well defended?"
"It is incomparable to the royal capital of our country."
"Then it's fine, right?"
"That's right. It's not a bad idea to drop the city at once and take its supplies."
"All right. Then, let's go to battle. We will attack the enemy's capital."
Once the two agreed, the decision-making process was complete. The battle was about to begin. With such tension in the air, the army of the Luine Kingdom marched toward the royal capital of the Valius Kingdom.
The march started in the morning, and by evening they were approaching the capital. The Luine Kingdom side started to attack the capital with the momentum of the march. However, contrary to expectations, the defense of the royal capital of the Valius Kingdom was firm.
The day's attack ended at nightfall without reaching the city walls surrounding the capital. The army was withdrawn and went into night camp.
From that day on, the hardships of the army of the Luine Kingdom began.
The enemy only closed the gates tightly and was on the defensive. Even if they tried to force their way into the walls by sheer force of numbers, they would only suffer more casualties from the stones, wood, and even hot oil that fell from above.
At night, the enemy offensive began in a different way. Suspicious fires broke out every night. Enemy night raids appear out of nowhere. No amount of vigilance could prevent them.
The lack of sleep eventually began to affect the daytime battles, and there was no sign of the royal city falling.
Still, they did not retreat because, surprisingly, there was little loss of troops. They could not retreat even though their losses were low and they were not defeated. In this way, the army of the Luine Kingdom continued to fight.
◇◇◇
The battle of the invading Polaris Knights is regularly reported to the upper echelons of the Luine Kingdom. The wrinkles on the faces of the upper echelons seem to increase every time they hear about it.
"Isn't it time for a decision?"
Crown Prince Albert, who until now had refrained from expressing his opinion, was the first to open his mouth. That is how bad the situation has become.
"We are not losing, so why should we back down?
"It's not that we haven't lost, it's that they won't let us lose. If we keep on being so preoccupied with face value, our treasury will go broke."
"...How much did it consume?"
"Right now, it's still about a month's worth of an army of 50,000."
"That's in two months."
The amount is far from enough to break the treasury, but the fact that he doesn't say it's only that much is what makes it so outstanding.
"The consumption is the same, but we have already spent two months. Isn't this already what Nord wants?"
"I thought I was going to outsmart them, but they got us just as they wanted."
"No, I don't think so. The main thing is that they should want to reduce the number of troops in our country. The fact that they are not doing that means they still need more time."
"...Time?"
Giving the enemy time, their own military spending is slowly being cut back. It is exactly what the Nord Empire wants, even if they are not being outwitted.
"If there was a mistake, it would be that we didn’t start the backup at the first point when the attack on the royal capital stumbled. We should have sent out troops and allowed the Polaris Knights to advance."
"Why not do that now?"
"If the enemy is ready, the Polaris Knights may be targeted for defeat individually."
"Sequential deployment of forces is a foolish tactic. Then, we should launch a combined force."
"Or we could pull back."
"...You want us to lose?"
That's what withdrawing the army means. The fact that the great Luine Kingdom is defeated by a coalition of smaller countries is unacceptable not only to the king of Luine, but also to his subjects. That is what Crown Prince Albert is proposing.
"You may take it that way."
"...Let's hear the reason"
"The Northern Alliance is not the ruler of the Nord Empire, and the alliance itself is only connected by interests."
"Is the union fragile?"
"The Northern Alliance is formed out of a sense of danger to our country and the Lemberg Empire. If that is the case, it will collapse if that sense of danger is weakened."
"So we need to let them win. But it is not enough."
There is no way the Northern Alliance would feel relieved just by winning once. Even after the withdrawal of the army, various efforts will be necessary.
"We need to cut off the Northern Alliance through diplomacy and isolate the Nord Empire. There are many things we need to do."
"It takes time."
"That's why I asked you to make a decision."
"What?"
He did not ask for a decision just to withdraw the army. The way Prince Albert said it indicated that he intended to do so. Then, what did he ask for a decision on?
"Can you give up the idea of conquering the continent in your generation? I will accomplish that."
What Prince Albert asked for was a decision that could be called a national policy.
"...Then only your name will remain in history."
"What parent in the world would be jealous of their son? Isn't a parent willing to be a stepping stone for his son?"
"It's your fault for having a talent that makes anyone jealous. But to hear you say it here..."
The talented Prince Albert. However, he had been showing an attitude of suppressing it on such a public stage. Even though they are father and son, they are publicly the king and his subject. He believes that he should not do anything that might provoke the people he serves.
"If things continue as they are now, it will be difficult for you to conquer the continent in your own generation."
"Hoh. Is that it?"
"That's it"
"I see. Are you in trouble?"
"…Why are you asking that?"
King Luine's face is smiling when he hears this. The king's smile is very meaningful, and it makes Crown Prince Albert curious.
"You're being a child, if you say you're in trouble, I'd like to help you as a parent."
"That's not how parents behave"
"Say it. You're in trouble, aren't you?"
"...Yeah. I'm in trouble."
"All right. Then let me help my son. Review your strategy with the Nord Empire as our greatest enemy."
"Your Majesty!?"
Prime Minister Holdings was surprised by King Luine's decision. The magnitude of the situation is one thing, but the banter leading up to it makes it hard to tell how serious he is.
"I have to admit it. The nations are being played by Nord Empire. Nord is the source of the confusion. Unless this is destroyed, we don't know how things will turn out."
King Luine is serious. He recognizes that his true greatest enemy is the Nord Empire, and he is willing to use up his own generation to destroy it.
"That is true, but..."
"Think of every possible means. Ignore the prestige of a great power. I will bear the stigma."
"That's!?"
"This is what I mean by determination. I've made my decision, and I'm going to stick to it."
"...Ha"
"We're going to remind them of the horrors of a serious superpower. Is that clear!"
"""Ha!!"""
The naive look has disappeared from the Luine Kingdom. For Ren, who thought he had been working behind the scenes and trying not to raise the alarm of the Luine Kingdom, the change at this stage was a complete miscalculation.
The seriousness of a great power. Ren already understands the horror of it. That is why he has tried not to let that happen, but it never came to pass.
◇◇◇
Before the Luine Kingdom made its move, there were already frictions within the Northern Alliance. The current friction is not with the alliance itself, but with the discrepancy between the Northern Alliance and Ren.
A place westward from the capital of the Valius Kingdom. There, an encampment of the Northern Alliance had been established.
In a large tent inside the encampment, Ren was staring at his surroundings with a face as if he was biting a bitter bug.
"Why did you attack the army of the Luine Kingdom?"
Ren's words were polite, but they clearly showed a sense of reprimand.
"No matter what you say, the enemy is weakened. It's a perfect opportunity to attack."
The answering side also refuses to admit anything wrong, as if there is no right to be blamed.
"I thought I told you that our policy was to weaken them and make us less of a threat, so that we could buy time."
"I know that. But we have been at war with the army of the Luine Kingdom for more than two months now. Being in a state of war is a big deal in itself."
They must draw in the Luine Royal Army, which has been in front of them, deprive them of food, make them lose their ability to fight, and yet make it impossible for them to retreat. If there were transports of supplies, they would take them, and if reinforcements came to help, they would exhaust the army in the same way.
They will not overreach in one place. They would repeat this process over and over again in the territory of each country in the Northern Alliance, and finally, when the supply lines of the Luine Kingdom were completely extended, they would cut off the transportation routes in the rear and leave the army to wither and die.
That was Ren's strategy. The countries were supposed to be satisfied with this strategy, but they suddenly went against it and attacked the Polaris Knights led by Yuya.
The Royal Army of Luine was considerably exhausted, and although they were able to win, it was not enough to inflict catastrophic damage, and they allowed the enemy to retreat.
If the Nord Imperial Army had been present, the result might have been different, but Ren had brought with him only intelligence forces, mainly from the Vampire race.
As a result, the army of the Luine Kingdom moved to a complete retreat. The Luine Kingdom would not make the same mistake again. The point of this tactic was to take the preceding army hostage and force them into a situation where they could not back down, even if they knew it was a trap.
Ren is very worried about this failure. On the other hand, the Northern Alliance was happy that they had successfully forced the army of the Luine Kingdom to retreat. The Northern Alliance is not entirely to blame. Ren's plan was based on sacrificing the countries in the west, and while the alliance as a whole may have been satisfied, individual countries were still dissatisfied.
"...The first battle is over."
"Are we not going to go on the offensive?"
"There are close to 100,000 troops in the Luine Kingdom. If we fight them close enough, they will come out."
"I see……"
"So it's over. Let's see what the Luine Kingdom will do next and think about how to respond."
"……Yeah."
Seeing Ren, who was clearly depressed, the Northern Alliance members who were in high spirits also changed their expressions. What will the Luine Kingdom do next? They don't know that.
If that were the case, they would become anxious about what they should do next. Finally, Ren left the tent, leaving behind the Northern Alliance members who had developed a slight sense of crisis.
"Anyway, we need to start gathering information all over again. They should not be able to push out a large army all at once. But they shouldn't be able to attack in the same way either. I can't think of anything right now."
"Strengthen the intelligence."
As soon as he left the tent, he received a reply to his muttered words. Before he knew it, a Vampire man was walking right behind Ren.
"Just don't get caught in a trap by rushing. Right now, our intelligence capabilities are the only thing that's superior to other countries. We can't afford to weaken that power."
"……I understand"
"I hope this will give us more time... Is it too much to hope for?"
Words that sound like whining. That's proof that Ren is in a hurry.
He ended up moving the plan in a half-baked way. As he knew, the Northern Alliance was still unreliable. It would still take time for them to manage on their own, and time is not always an ally. The Luine Kingdom has stopped, but the Lemberg Empire and the Izrim Magic Kingdom are still expanding their power at this very moment.
Ren's battle has moved to the next step. It is a transition to a more difficult fight.
thanks for the chapter!
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