Chapter 237
Chapter 237: Deception, Encirclement, Annihilation (1)
“Oh….”
Claude let out a hollow laugh, unable to say anything. Indeed, it was clear that communication was failing. I had expected as much.
So, what to do now?
The answer came from Ghislaine.
“Well, you know it’s pointless to discuss this any further, right? Let’s move on quickly.”
Claude simply gave up and pointed to a few spots on the map.
“Yes, yes. As expected, the nearby tribes have gathered along our path. They’ve sent warriors in all directions to monitor our movements. However, they lack the basics and keep getting spotted as they move. Ugh, such simple-minded fools.”
Claude sent scouts daily to verify the surroundings and organize the information, then informed Ghislaine.
Since the barbarians moved around regularly, Ghislaine didn’t precisely know their locations. Thus, scouts were sent each time to confirm the current positions of the tribes.
Truth be told, this task should have fallen to Lowell, the intelligence officer, but Ghislaine had brought Claude along after quite a while.
Perhaps it felt more natural for her to bring Claude than Lowell because they had traveled together in their previous lives.
Moreover, Claude was an exceptional commander and operations officer. It seemed he didn’t realize his talent, being too occupied with daily affairs.
“Alright, we need to capture those guys as our next target. Can you predict how they will move?”
Ghislaine asked knowingly. It was time to extract Claude’s hidden talents slowly. In future battles without her presence, they would rely on him to plan and lead.
Claude scratched his chin a couple of times before answering.
“Well… given the current situation, it’s obvious. Others might just charge in blindly, but their chief, the Soundwind Tribe Leader, seems to be a bit clever.”
“Usually, those who fumble around are the most pathetic.”
“True, but… they have an overwhelming number. It’s more than double ours. What do you plan to do? Just block them?”
“I have a tactic I love to use.”
“Chase, ambush, annihilate?”
“That’s right. But this time, we might need to do it a little differently.”
“How so?”
“Deception, encirclement, annihilation.”
“Pfft.”
Claude chuckled, shaking his shoulders.
“How do we encircle when we’re outnumbered?”
Ghislaine laughed along and replied.
“Encirclement doesn’t mean blocking every direction from the start. We just need to block the key paths. Now let’s devise a plan. Those fools may be strong, but they’re simple enough for any strategy to work.”
*
Kushtu shouted for the capture of the fortress, but not all the tribe leaders immediately agreed.
They knew well that they were weak in siege warfare. Having poked at fortresses a few times, they understood that breaching one wasn’t easy.
There was also resentment towards following someone else’s opinion. After all, each of them believed they were the best as tribe leaders.
“Why bother attacking the fortress? When their main force is out, we could just wipe them all out with our numbers!”
“Yeah! Didn’t you say there are only a few hundred left? Let’s charge in and stomp them like true warriors!”
“We don’t even have proper siege equipment!”
In the chaotic atmosphere, Kushtu frowned. These ignorant fools had no understanding of strategy.
Unlike them, he was different. He was powerful, but most importantly, he knew how to think. That was the biggest difference. That’s why his Soundwind Tribe had become a great tribe, competing for dominance in the North.
If it weren’t for the Perdium people, the Soundwind Tribe would have already trampled the other tribes by now.
“Think about it. Their main force may be just a few hundred, but each one is on par with or better than our great warriors. They’ve already wiped out at least 2,000 of our warriors without loss. Don’t you think the damage would be colossal if we engaged head-on?”
“We have over 5,000 on our side! No matter how strong they are, can they really not win against a few hundred? You’re not acting like a warrior! Forget about that!”
“Even if we win, more than half of our warriors would perish! Maybe even more than that. Kingdom knights are just like that.”
If they were just ordinary knights, there would be nothing wrong with Kushtu’s assertion, but he didn’t know that the Knights of Penris had great explosive power but poor sustainability.
If they were to face an army of 5,000, they wouldn’t even win; they would tire out long before killing even half of them. Given their peak performance, half would be their limit.
However, the other leaders were equally ignorant of that fact, leaving them unable to counter Kushtu’s words and silent. Losing their warriors would mean they could no longer survive in the North. As leaders of their tribes, they had lines they must uphold.
“Ugh! So what are we going to do?”
“…I already said.”
“Capture the fortress? Isn’t that just a casualty-free move?”
“There will be casualties, sure. But it’s better than facing the knights head-on. The fortress is relatively small. With their main force away, they won’t have their sturdy soldiers left. Now think about 5,000 warriors surrounding it. How will they hold up?”
“Oh….”
The other leaders nodded. It made sense when they thought about it. They hadn’t had this many forces attacking a fortress before.
What if they encircled a small fortress quickly and their warriors scaled the walls? Could they block from every side with weakened soldiers?
No one could hold off all ten sides with just one hand. In the end, gaps would appear all around.
The notion of an utterly unpreventable attack grew more alluring the more they pondered it.
“Alright, and what about next? What will happen to the ones who went out?”
“What do you mean, what will happen? If we sit on the fortress, what can they do? There are rumors of plenty of food inside the fortress. Those who lose their base will have no choice but to flee to the Kingdom. They won’t get supplies.”
“Oh… You really are quite smart.”
“Yeah, it’s all about using your head. Once we take the castle, those guys with no siege equipment and sparse troops will be powerless.”
“That’s right! Those without homes will have no choice but to roam!”
“Plus, if we breach the fortress, it’ll be incredibly easy to loot the interior of the Kingdom. Will you still refuse my proposal?”
The tribe leaders deliberated for a moment before nodding in unison.
“Alright, we’ll follow your plan! Gather all the warriors to capture the fortress!”
“Good, that’s the best plan. Since we have to fight anyway, let’s aim for the greatest benefit.”
Kushtu spoke with pride. No matter how he thought about it, it was clear he was the most clever one here.
“Snicker, go die fighting up front. Once we capture the fortress, my warriors will wipe out your tribes too.”
If they secured the fortress and gained food supplies, the Soundwind Tribe would grow even stronger.
That’s why he was trying to seize the fortress, even inciting other tribes.
Once they captured the fortress, they would surely be able to suppress the other great tribes in opposition to the Soundwind Tribe.
Kushtu saw this as the perfect opportunity. A chance to overcome difficulties and leap higher.
He clenched his fists tightly, igniting his ambition.
“I will definitely unify the North.”
*
“They’ve set out. It looks like they took all the knights with them. The numbers match what we confirmed.”
Kushtu and the tribe leaders sent warriors in all directions to monitor the area around the Northern Fortress for days.
And they confirmed that the hundreds of knights they’d only heard about were finally on the move.
Kushtu, looking at the map, nodded.
“Good. They’re heading in the direction they were originally taking. They’ll soon meet the Steel Wedge Tribe. It’s time for us to move.”
The allied tribes, having waited for half a day, began marching towards the fortress. They had considered the time until the main force of the departing knights returned from their battle with other tribes.
In the meantime, they planned to swiftly capture the fortress, which had become undermanned.
“Move quickly! Let’s show the enemy our fearsome strength!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Drums made of animal skin and bones thundered loudly.
With the beat of the drums, over 5,000 barbarian warriors marched towards the fortress. It was exceedingly rare to see such a large coalition of tribes unite.
They came armed only with ladders, lacking any true siege equipment, but that was far too many forces for a small fortress to stop.
Their anger and sense of crisis were that high.
“It’s finally time to capture that fortress!”
“O glorious warriors! Let us avenge our brothers!”
“Oooooh! Victory is ours!”
With the cries of the great warriors, warriors across the ranks roared in unison.
From the start, they were those who relished battle. With this many gathered, they feared nothing.
If they could just bring down the fortress, they could sweep away several of the poorer fiefs in the northern Kingdom. Those territories wouldn’t have many troops either.
The term barbarian wasn’t used for nothing. They didn’t think about the aftermath at all.
“Ooooooo!”
As the warriors’ roars erupted, the very air seemed to tremble.
The barbarian warriors wearing skull helmets were intimidating just by their appearance. As thousands of them approached, the soldiers remaining at the Northern Fortress began to tense up.
Even those used to fighting against barbarians had never faced this many at once.
Zvalter could not hide his anxiety upon seeing the incoming horde of barbarians.
“Was this really a good choice? Is this really alright?”
He couldn’t pinpoint when things went wrong. Although others had always opposed him, his son had pushed through and succeeded, fostering a degree of trust in his son’s abilities.
However, now, before such an army, every gleam of certainty was fading away.
It wasn’t just Zvalter. Randolf and the sentiments of the knights and soldiers were similarly aligned.
“That’s an overwhelming number. We won’t last a day.”
“The fortress absolutely can’t hold. Even if it does, we’ll likely suffer near-total casualties.”
“Their unity makes them frightening.”
Sowing seeds of fear began to sprout, separate from the accumulated hatred. With that many warriors swarming the fortress like ants, it would be impossible to hold them back.
The numerical difference was overwhelmingly large.
This was precisely the reason why the Kingdom and Perdium had given up on subduing the barbarians. If they poked at them, they came together and attacked. It would have been better to let them fight amongst themselves and sporadically take out small groups that came over.
If the barbarians banded together and breached the fortress, the entire northern region of the Kingdom would face a disaster.
Swallowing hard, Zvalter shook his head to dismiss any stray thoughts. Now was the time to somehow stave off the barbarians.
With minimal damage, at that.
“Light the signal fires and commence catapult attacks!”
Black smoke began to rise from various points in the fortress. It was a signal sent to Ghislaine, who had dispatched earlier.
Screeeech.
Thud! Thud!
The two catapults stationed at the fortress attacked the incoming barbarians.
Boom! Boom!
The throng of naked barbarians halted momentarily. Yet the damage was not that significant.
As excellent warriors, they instinctively scattered upon seeing the rocks flying toward them. Their formation was disrupted a little, but that was about it.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As they grew closer, the catapults began to lose effectiveness. Zvalter clenched his teeth as time flew by.
‘Their momentum is too strong. They’re approaching faster than I expected.’
The barbarians, caught up in a frenzy, charged on without fear of being attacked. They were convinced that once they clung to the fortress, victory would be theirs.
“Uoooooo!”
“Raise your shields!”
“We need to climb up quickly!”
Once outside the catapult’s range, the barbarians lifted their shields over their heads. It was time to prepare for the next barrage of arrows.
They set up crudely crafted wooden ladders ahead. These ladders had been fashioned based on estimates of the fortress’s height from their prior encounters.
They remained oblivious to the fact that almost no archers were stationed on the castle walls. Instead, they merely charged ahead toward the fortress.
As the barbarian hordes ran like wild dogs, Zvalter shouted loudly.
“Open the castle gate!”
Creeeeak!
The castle gates, which had never opened while facing the barbarians, began to slowly creak open.
The barbarians halted one by one, bewildered.
Opening the gates to what seemed like an empty fortress? Was this an invitation? Or were they surrendering? It didn’t matter what it was…
Their throaty cheers faded as they witnessed an unprecedented sight on the battlefield. A moment of silence fell over the battlefield.
Breaking the brief stillness, chiefs and great warriors shouted from various places.
“This works in our favor! Leave the ladders and just run in quickly!”
“They must be scared and are trying to surrender!”
“They won’t be given mercy! Let’s kill them all! Leave not one alive!”
Just as the warriors were preparing to rush once again, a warrior murmured.
“Why are they… coming out?”
Waaaaaah!
From inside, Zvalter and the knights of Perdium left behind in the fortress burst out charging.
