Chapter 69
Chapter 69: The Only Option Is to Change the Game Myself. (5)
“Profit! Total annihilation! How did the supply troops end up like this?!”
Inside the lavish barracks, Count Tamos Digald was fuming and stomping around.
Perdium had already given up the rotation and barricaded itself in the castle.
In the end, they had to engage in a siege, but without supply troops, they couldn’t afford to take their time.
“That stupid Baron Fabro! I shouldn’t have entrusted the troops to him! He got ambushed by Perdium of all places!”
Fabro was the leader of the largest faction among Digald’s followers.
Although he was a rather ineffectual fellow, Tamos had no choice but to assign the supply troops to him, unaware that such a big blunder would occur.
He never even imagined the possibility of an ambush from Perdium.
“What the hell do they have that allows them to launch an ambush?!”
It’s common sense that the fewer resources one has, the harder it becomes to execute such a bold strategy.
The risks of failure were simply too high.
A sensible commander would not even consider attempting it.
“Damn it! If we go on like this, even if we win, we won’t have enough force to manage the occupied territories!”
The supply troops were all part of Digald’s forces, so it was a significant blow.
Trying to conserve as much as possible resulted in a worse outcome.
“Calm down, Count.”
Beside Tamos sat a tall, stern-looking man with his arms crossed.
His name was Viktor.
He was a capable individual, carefully nurtured by Count Desmond.
“How can I calm down? Most of the rocks for the catapults were being transported by the supply troops. There’s hardly any left here.”
“That’s unfortunate, but we only need to breach one or two spots in the castle wall. The siege tower and main force are still intact, so it’s not a problem.”
“Y-yes, but if it takes too long, won’t it be troublesome? We only have a few days’ worth of food.”
Tamos harbored an irrational fear of the siege.
With no war experience, tactics and strategies were just foreign concepts to him.
“I initially thought it would end quickly. Perdium isn’t prepared for a proper defense.”
“H-how do you know that?”
Tamos was puzzled. Viktor replied with a smirk on his face.
“It’s the fruit of experience. Just know that it will be over quickly, so there’s no need to worry at all.”
“Cough, well, that works for me. Hehe.”
In any case, their numbers were overwhelmingly on their side. Whether they clashed or laid siege, it would end quickly.
While smiling, Tamos couldn’t help but curse him inwardly.
‘What a cocky jerk. Talking to me, a Count, in that tone. Just a mere knight.’
As the conversation with Viktor continued, his dissatisfaction grew, but he couldn’t reveal it.
After all, it was Viktor who commanded the main force, not him.
“Ahem, then can we finish before Count Roges can support?”
“They won’t be able to come.”
Amelia was already stationed along the road from Perdium to Roges’ territory.
“Heh, Count Desmond prepared thoroughly. That foolish Perdium should have clung to another Lord as soon as they obtained the Runestone.”
Tamos grinned as he continued speaking.
“Still, being able to crush Perdium before it becomes larger isn’t in vain; Gilmore’s death wasn’t for nothing. He was a nuisance, but at least he left a legacy in the end. Ah, what a man.”
Tamos couldn’t care less about Gilmore’s death. He could just have another child.
What mattered was that once this war ended, he could also ascend to become a great lord.
‘It’s a pity we have to divide the Forest of Monsters… but it can’t be helped right now.’
Desmond demanded half the rights to develop the Forest of Monsters in exchange for lending troops.
Since Digald’s territory alone couldn’t attack Perdium, Tamos reluctantly accepted.
Of course, once he acquired the Runestone and grew powerful, he planned to figure out a way to oust Desmond.
While daydreaming about the future, Tamos said casually.
“Ahem, but in this case… I’m worried about whether we’ll have enough troops to stabilize Perdium properly. Even if we conscript immediately…”
“I’ll lend some of our troops after we occupy it.”
“Haha, thank you. I’ll be sure to repay Count Desmond’s kindness.”
At that, Tamos finally seemed relieved and smiled again.
Viktor grinned back at him while hiding a murderous glint in his eyes.
“What a pitiful fool. Once Perdium is captured, you’ll be dead too.”
Tamos was to be processed as someone who tragically passed away in war.
That would leave only Tamos’s second son as the heir to the Digald territory.
How to deal with him would be up to Count Desmond.
“Having the supply troops annihilated was a stroke of luck.”
Since he was going to wipe out them anyway, having Perdium do it was like killing two birds with one stone.
“Still, surprisingly so. Could it have been Randolf? Or perhaps Zvalter? Either way, it doesn’t matter. They’re all going to die anyway.”
Viktor shook off his thoughts and stood up.
“I’ll take my leave now. I’ll be arriving at Perdium soon, so please prepare.”
“Ahem, understood.”
Exiting the barracks, Viktor slowly scanned the camp.
The massive army, totaling six thousand, was filled with elite soldiers who wouldn’t fall short anywhere.
There were even siege towers, remarkably expensive and nearly impossible to see in small territories.
“With this, I could easily wipe out Raybold too.”
The soldiers were strong enough to consider even tackling the northern lord, Raybold.
Perdium was frankly beneath his notice.
It was just an easy task to handle after a nice meal before heading back.
No matter how much Perdium struggled, it wouldn’t escape its destined fate.
“Another family is about to perish.”
Viktor muttered without any particular emotion.
The fact that Count Desmond sent him meant he intended to thoroughly and efficiently cut off the enemy’s lifeline.
He had more than enough capability to do so.
After all, he was the number one knight in the north.
*
“Caught another one.”
Bernap stood in front of Amelia, bowing his head to report.
Amelia sat under the tent, sporting a bored expression.
“How many so far?”
“Five.”
“Keep a close watch on other areas as well. Don’t miss a single one.”
“Understood.”
“I’m dying of boredom here.”
Amelia had been blocking all roads leading to Roges’ territory while capturing Perdium’s soldiers.
She reluctantly operated under Count Desmond’s orders, but it was a matter of pride to waste her time in a place like this just to capture messengers.
She felt a growing irritation even while sitting still.
“Meow.”
Bastet, also feeling bored, kept yawning in her arms.
Bernap lowered his head with a gloomy expression.
‘Ah, I want to join in and play too.’
Near Amelia, maids fanned her with fans. Fruits of various kinds were laid out within reach.
Even catching messengers meant merely giving orders while she was just enjoying a picnic.
A little later, the soldiers brought yet another messenger’s corpse.
Seeing that, Amelia muttered in annoyance.
“Ha, how many of these did they send? Count Perdium seems quite persistent.”
While understanding that the territory was in crisis, it was just a futile struggle.
“Sometimes you need to man up and know when to surrender. Honestly, there’s no difference between the father and son. Tsk tsk.”
Amelia already knew that the war had started.
It was a small disappointment for her, as she wanted to personally behead Ghislaine.
“Such a waste of the Runestone. It won’t be easy to snatch it back once Count Desmond sits on it.”
The Runestone was the biggest regret.
But she couldn’t defeat Count Desmond with her current strength.
“Well, I can steal it later when the opportunity arises.”
Ambitious and tenacious, she would never just give up the Runestone.
While Amelia enjoyed her leisurely planning for the future, a subordinate rushed over and yelled.
“Lady! Urgent news!”
“What is it?”
With an irritated gaze, the subordinate bowed deeply and handed her a letter.
“The supply troops of Digald have been annihilated?”
Furrowing her brow while reading the letter, Amelia pondered.
“Hmm, so they plan to lay siege?”
Having lost their supply troops, it seemed they were waiting for the besieging side to retreat, holed up inside the castle. If support came, there was a possibility of victory.
However, from the perspective of someone assassinating the messengers to prevent that support from arriving, it felt like nothing but a foolish plan.
By the time Count Roges received the news, everything would already be decided.
“What are they doing, betting their lives on such a small hope against a large army? Do they seriously think they can hold out on sheer willpower?”
It made her want to laugh from disbelief.
If it were her, she would move completely differently.
She would abandon both the territory residents and the castle, pulling her forces outside to conduct guerrilla warfare.
In a situation where supplies were cut off, persistently tormenting the surroundings would leave Desmond with no choice but to retreat, having too much to lose.
The pride of Count Perdium, desperately trying to protect his territory residents, seemed exceedingly inefficient to Amelia.
As long as they won the war, they could reclaim the residents immediately. They only needed to endure a little longer.
“How soft-hearted. Do you not realize that’s leading more people to death?”
In her view, it was no different from agreeing to die together.
Amelia almost tossed the letter aside casually but stopped suddenly.
“Something feels off. There’s a suspicious smell.”
Affairs related to Perdium, or rather Ghislaine, never went as she expected.
“What smell?”
Ignoring Bernap’s puzzled expression, Amelia contemplated for a moment before continuing.
“Send more children toward Perdium. Have them rush back as soon as the war’s results come in, and confirm exactly how it’s unfolding.”
“Wouldn’t it be unnecessary? With that big of a troop difference, it would be hard to lose anyway?”
At that, she shot Bernap an irritated glance.
“Send them. Something feels odd.”
“…Understood.”
A strange premonition kept tickling the back of her neck.
‘There’s no way Ghislaine would sit still. Is he just going to follow ordinary strategy and move according to orders? No way.’
Amelia had experienced losing twenty thousand gold and attempted an assassination, but it failed.
She had tried to narrow Ghislaine’s footing by citing the cessation of support for Perdium, but that fell through as well.
Despite her dislike for Ghislaine, she wasn’t foolish enough to ignore what she had learned from experience.
‘That guy is definitely up to something unexpected.’
An ominous feeling kept nudging at her intuition.
Amelia shook her head to clear her mind of unease.
“Anyway, move quickly. Just in case, send several people to keep watch.”
Bernap nodded.
“Still, it’s quite impressive how boldly they ambushed and cut off supplies. It’s not an ordinary kind of audacity, is it?”
“Indeed.”
While Amelia replied somewhat disinterestedly, Bernap, feeling encouraged by her acceptance, continued eagerly.
“It must have been Count Perdium’s doing, right? Or perhaps Knight Commander Randolf? It’s possible they went together.”
Amelia burst into laughter.
“Why do you think that?”
“Do you really think it was those two?”
“Isn’t it? No one else could have done it.”
Amelia scoffed.
“Randolf is certainly brave and reckless, but he can only swing a sword on the battlefield. He wouldn’t even think about ambushing to cut off supplies. Even if he tried, it would likely be so clumsy that he would get caught and fail.”
“Then could it be Count Perdium?”
“Count Perdium is a reasonably good commander, but… he doesn’t gamble with his soldiers’ lives recklessly. That’s why he could maintain the northern fortress for so long.”
“Then who are you suggesting did it? Could it be…?”
Judging by the success of the ambush, it was absurdly reckless.
And there was one lunatic who wouldn’t hesitate to do such things at Perdium.
Amelia twisted one corner of her mouth upward, speaking coldly.
“Yeah. It’s definitely that bastard Ghislaine.”
