Chapter 405
Chapter 405: Let’s Start the Hunt. (1)
The command staff of Roderick’s Army fell into serious contemplation at the fact that there wasn’t even a village to plunder.
Food was depleting rapidly, with no place to replenish it.
“Find a way! Find a way!”
Marquis Roderick urged repeatedly, prompting his retainers to start voicing ideas one by one.
“How about occupying another castle?”
“Uh… are you suggesting we leave the enemy behind?”
“If we run out of food, this army will be utterly destroyed. We could occupy a small castle, regroup, and then come back. Fortunately, there are roads in the Territory of Penris, so we could get there quickly.”
Leaving the enemy behind in a war is a highly dangerous strategy. Not only is the supply line cut off, but they could also end up being surrounded.
However, the supply line was already severed. Attacking another castle while drawing Silverlight’s forces away didn’t sound like a terrible plan.
Another retainer glanced around nervously before opposing the idea.
“Count Penris is a warlord. If he’s funneled everyone into the castle without any villages, that place must also be well-prepared for war. We have no siege equipment. It won’t be easy to capture even a small castle with just ladders.”
“Then what do you propose we do?”
“Rather, how about we retreat and… recapture Linderstein?”
“……..”
“The surrounding vassals are in a tough situation as well, but surely they have some resources left to conscript. If we can gather siege equipment and food again, we might be able to reclaim Linderstein.”
“Ugh… are you telling me to admit defeat?”
“If we don’t retreat now… we won’t even have enough food to return to the west.”
“……..”
Marquis Roderick bit his lip, lost in thought.
If he fails in attacking another castle, he might truly have nowhere to go. The only way back would be to barely reach the west.
But if he returns like this, it would mean losing soldiers, and he would have to admit his defeat.
All the nobles would laugh at him, and perhaps his vassals would slip out from under the shadow of the House of Marquis Roderick. His forces had diminished beyond comparison.
“Can we take back Linderstein upon returning?”
The scale of Penris Army stationed at Linderstein is much smaller compared to theirs, but behind them stands the master, Count Penris.
If they couldn’t even capture Silverlight, taking the more massive stronghold of Linderstein doesn’t seem guaranteed.
“We can gather the remaining troops and food from the surrounding vassals. We can also resupply the equipment. Didn’t you mention there were places in Linderstein already damaged by catapult attacks?”
Despite having already shaken down the vassals, they still believed something could be wrung out of them.
They were utterly unconcerned about others’ circumstances, as if it was only natural to take what they wanted.
‘First, we must survive.’
‘Honestly, we’ve already lost 30,000. Why fight again?’
‘I just want to go home.’
In truth, they had already lost morale after the first defeat. This had never happened before.
So, they were eager to leave this place. They wanted to return to their stronghold as soon as possible.
Just then, a knight, covered in dust, arrived. He was a distant relative of Marquis Roderick, stationed at Linderstein.
Marquis Roderick was taken aback at his sudden appearance.
“No way, you’re alive!”
It had already been hard to believe the previous news. Now that someone from Linderstein had arrived, he wanted to quickly inquire about the situation.
The knight shouted with a sorrowful voice.
“Count Selburk has betrayed us!”
“What?”
“And other vassals are changing their flags right now!”
“What do you mean? Speak clearly!”
“Linderstein has been captured by Count Penris, and I fled to another vassal territory first…”
Since Count Selburk took charge of Linderstein, he had used that military power to pressure the other vassals.
This was due to Ghislaine’s orders to pacify the west.
Count Selburk was acting very proactively. He didn’t want to be labeled as the only traitor, and he had his own reasons for offering legitimate justification to Penris for his safety.
After all, if Penris lost, he would have to fight Marquis Roderick.
The weak vassals of the west had no choice but to surrender to them, while the remnants of the defeated soldiers had to flee again.
“How dare they!”
The vassals turned traitor. Marquis Roderick truly had nowhere left to turn.
Even if he returned, the betraying vassals would fight against him. It was clear they wouldn’t trust him even if he tried to placate them.
“Uaaaargh! Penris! Damn those Penris bastards!”
Having been attacked without even getting a chance to make a proper move, he felt it was all because he split his army. They should have attacked Penris with all their forces.
There was no guarantee of victory upon returning, but now that the vassals had also betrayed him, it was truly the end. There was no longer any way to secure even a bit of food.
Marquis Roderick, filled with rage, shouted in a furious voice.
“Attack another castle at once! If Penris has plenty of supplies, they must have stored food in even a small castle!”
Now the retainers could no longer oppose. In this situation, they had to resolve things within the north.
If they returned, they’d exhaust all their food and tire out their soldiers.
While pondering this briefly, Tenant spoke up.
“It’s definitely necessary to occupy another castle. But before that, how about receiving some food from Raybold?”
“Raybold? The territory that woman took over?”
“Yes. It’s known as one of the few well-off places in the north, right? Count Raybold may be a woman, but she’s generous to the territory residents, so it seems she has managed to secure plenty of supplies. There should be sufficient food to support us.”
“Ugh, you want me to beg that woman? Won’t that diminish my honor?”
“It’s just a legitimate transaction. If you promise a significant reward later, she won’t say a word.”
The great power of the west changing hands, would Amelia really refuse? They wouldn’t want to reject her and later face severe consequences.
Even in tough situations, they held onto their pride of being the strongest in the west.
With 30,000 troops left, it was understandable. Though halved, they still outnumbered Penris’s forces.
If they managed to capture Penris, they could easily defeat the betrayers in the west.
“I accept. Send an envoy immediately to tell Raybold to provide food assistance. After the war, I’ll grant her one territory of her choice, whether it’s in the north or west.”
Marquis Roderick declared haughtily. Still, the reward he offered was no small matter.
Offering a territory to govern for generations in exchange for temporary food support during the war was no trifling deal.
An envoys as proud as Roderick himself boldly approached Amelia.
“If you provide us with food assistance, in return for our victory in the war, I will grant you… ”
Amelia listened to the envoy with a look of disbelief.
“Are you out of your mind? You’re losing a war and asking for food!”
“Ah! Countess! What do you mean by that! Are you not afraid of future repercussions? We still have 30,000 troops…”
“Get out of my sight at once. If you bother me any further, I’ll take out the Marquis behind you.”
“……..”
Forced to retreat before Amelia’s intimidating presence, the envoy had no choice but to leave empty-handed.
She was currently dealing with significant headaches due to the Salvation Society. A force she was unaware of had emerged and messed everything up.
Due to Ghislaine and the Crown Prince Faction stirring up trouble under the pretense of the Salvation Society, she had to redo all the strategies she had established up to this point.
In an already frustrating situation, how could she respond gently to these idiots boldly asking for food while losing a war?
Seeing the empty-handed envoy return, Marquis Roderick’s fury flared again.
“Ugh! That woman dares! This north is filled with lunatics!”
Not only did he fail to acquire food, but he was also humiliated. It was genuinely the first time he had been treated this way in his life.
“I shall undoubtedly capture Penris and burn the entire north down! Mobilize the army at once!”
Next after Penris was Raybold. And he would behead every lord that wouldn’t bow to him.
As he vowed, Marquis Roderick ordered his army into action.
There was no other way now. They had to occupy another castle to secure food and regroup.
The target they aimed for was a castle quite far from Silverlight.
With no backing left, Roderick’s Army moved swiftly using the roads.
Tenant, stationed in front of the castle, informed everyone.
“Silverlight might come to help! But honestly, that’d be preferable! Split off 10,000 troops to prepare for a rear attack! If the enemies appear, the rest will join to annihilate them!”
While it wouldn’t be easy to capture the castle without siege equipment, it was still a small castle with only about 2,000 troops.
If Roderick’s forces attacked all at once, they would eventually have to surrender.
“Penris has plenty of food! If we seize the castle, we can eat our fill! Everyone, march forward!”
“Waaaah!”
Roderick’s soldiers cheered loudly as they charged forward.
After all, they had no other choice. Moreover, it was clearly smaller than Silverlight, so the chances of winning looked good. Their defeated spirit from before surged back up.
Currently, the commander of this castle was Max, a former resolver. He recoiled in horror at the sight of Roderick’s troops flooding in like ants.
“Why are they coming here? Can’t they go somewhere else?”
He knew they had suffered a crushing defeat and had lost supply lines from Silverlight. But among all the castles, why did they specifically choose to come to his?
“Fire! Just start shooting!”
Under Max’s order, the Penris Army began firing arrows and hurling catapults.
Boom! Bang! Boom!
With so many enemies, soldiers fell without missing their shots. However, their attacks couldn’t keep up.
Boom!
Fire and lightning struck the castle walls. Seeing this, Max’s face turned pale, and he shouted.
“Mages! Take cover! Fall back!”
The high-circle mages of Roderick’s Army were ruthlessly attacking the castle walls.
At that moment, there was no way to stop those mages at the castle. All siege equipment like catapults and ballistae were destroyed by their magic.
As Roderick’s mages incapacitated the siege equipment, there was no way left to prevent the oncoming soldiers.
Tenant shouted with desperation.
“Get closer! Hurry up and get on! If we climb up, we win! Mages and archers, keep suppressing the walls until our soldiers ascend!”
Roderick’s troops gritted their teeth and charged. This time, they felt it was worth trying, and their spirits surged.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The vanguard of Roderick’s army finally got a ladder against the walls. The Penris Army couldn’t respond adequately up until that point.
“Waaaah!”
Roderick’s troops climbed the walls like a swarm of ants.
Still, they couldn’t defeat Penris soldiers fully armored in Galbarium. Since the mages stopped attacking for fear of hitting their own, the Penris soldiers could finally start moving.
Roderick’s soldiers fell one after another as they climbed. Yet, suddenly, the Penris forces began to slowly be pushed back.
Seeing this, Tenant clenched his fist.
“There are hardly any knights here!”
Even with an overwhelming appearance due to the difference in armor, hardly anyone besides the commander was utilizing magic to fight.
As a result, the Penris Army, which was already far outnumbered, could only be pushed back.
“I’m sending in the remaining soldiers and knights now! Everyone up the walls! The knights lead the charge and cut down those soldiers! Victory is ours!”
At Tenant’s shout, the soldiers gathered their strength. Roderick’s knights did the same.
They had to capture that castle to have any hope left. They charged harder than ever before.
“Get out of the way!”
“We’ll go up first!”
“Let’s hurry!”
Over 100 knights reached the front of the ladder. If they climbed up and unleashed their mana, the soldiers, no matter how good their armor, wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
The mages avoided the position of their allies and continually attacked around the castle walls. This would prevent the Penris Army from moving adequately.
Just when everyone was excitedly holding onto the ladder and preparing to climb.
Booooom!
A deep, horn-like sound echoed.
Max, who was fighting alongside the soldiers atop the wall, looked to the sky and smiled.
“They’re here!”
At the sudden noise, all of Roderick’s troops looked up.
“What’s that…?”
“Could it be… the rumor…?”
“Are there people riding that?”
In the sky floated dozens of hot air balloons. They passed behind the castle and had reached the castle walls before anyone noticed.
Tenant shouted, gazing at the hot air balloons.
“Don’t mind them! Just push a little harder! We’ve already won! Mages and archers, attack those things!”
He recognized those as the rumored hot air balloons. They looked unusual and fascinating, but there was no need for concern.
They could just shoot them down. Even if a few people came out from there, it couldn’t change the tide.
But the expressions of Roderick’s mages had hardened.
“My mana… has been blocked?”
The magic of the high-circle mages present here was instantly cut off.
They couldn’t even attempt to attack the hot air balloons.
Before Tenant could shout anything again, someone jumped from the foremost balloon.
Boom!
Max charged toward the person, cutting down Roderick’s soldiers.
“Welcome!”
“Indeed, the chief officer said it would be around this time.”
With a ferocious grin, the person drew out two axes—it was Gillian.
Following him, 200 knights of Penris jumped down from the hot air balloons.
Lastly, a loud voice rang out from the balloon.
“Hey! Roderick, you idiot!”
It was Ascon, who had not forgotten his duty to infuriate the enemy to the very end.
