Chapter 365

As a great sovereign, he intended to show boldness by leading from the front. To the weary soldiers, the mounted nobleman seemed like he was just showing off, but to Gunter, such things were invisible.

At that moment, a single horse came galloping from the rear.

“Commander! Smoke is rising from the rear!”

“Another village being attacked by bandits? Damn, the security in our territory is a complete mess.”

“No! It’s coming from the rear!!”

“Right, we’ve passed many villages behind us.”

Gunter casually said that, then paused. Behind us?

“Wait, the villages we passed…”

“Yes!! They’ve already been plundered!”

“Then… if it’s our rear…”

“Our base!! No, since all the troops have moved out, there’s only…”

“The supply ships!!”

Even if the food transported by ship was being moved by carts, the supply ships and a small group of engineers were left in the rear, building a temporary supply port.

The food secured during the initial landing was never absolute. This amount of provisions would run out in four to five days.

Of course. Since it was a near-surprise landing operation, further supplies were to be supported from the rear, with some requisitioned locally, securing our attack route and rapidly advancing toward the capital of this nation—that was the grand strategy of this war.

The supply ships are burning. Given the nature of a landing operation deep in enemy territory, without ships, there’s no retreat. And the bigger problem is…

“The coastline has been destroyed!!”

If the large transport fleet, capable of carrying over two thousand, has been completely destroyed and turned into debris near the shore, there’s no space for ships to dock. It’s as if a temporary reef zone has formed.

In other words, they could no longer expect any support from the rear. Whether it’s supplies, troops, or anything else.

There’s no way to contact other units either. Even if the advance route is known, the speed of the advance is uncertain. In this situation where small to medium-sized independent units are racing to claim land, the commanders couldn’t contact each other until reaching the final objective, Altberth.

Then, the only option left is local requisition…

“Damn it. Speed up. We must breach the capital’s walls before tonight!”

“Yes!!”

Gunter gritted his teeth and spurred forward. The soldiers’ cries were heard, but there was something more important now.

“All the local houses have already been plundered!”

* * *

“The supply lines are cut, and the houses along the advance route have all been plundered… This is… some kind of… scorched-earth tactic, isn’t it?”

“Correct.”

“But without defensive forces, does scorched-earth tactics even make sense?”

Kirhas was right. Scorched-earth tactics are ultimately part of a strategy to deal with a large army. It’s meant to crush exhausted and demoralized enemies in battle, which implies that a final battle is inevitable.

However, no matter how well we gather our forces, they’re insufficient to face their main force. And the enemy’s advance direction is also a problem.

“A cornered rat will bite the cat, Your Excellency. They’ve already lost their retreat, so their only option is to advance… If they charge full force toward Altberth, is there any way to stop them?”

“Now you’re teaching me military strategy. Haha!”

Whether dead or alive, Phaeirn’s command has only one path left. Since they didn’t advance by land but scattered along the coastline for the landing. And with the supply ships destroyed and retreat cut off, the enemy has no choice but to advance.

To plunder food, some legions will scatter, while more aggressive ones will charge toward the capital. They can be starved, but there’s little way to break their morale. Moreover—

“Scorched-earth tactics never involve burning the entire nation.”

Of course. Scorched-earth tactics are merely a strategy to burn all plunderable resources along the enemy’s advance route. Even Kirhas, who directly ordered scorched-earth tactics during Karadskar’s advance, had prepared ways to feed her troops and people.

But now, in the Dane Kingdom, there’s no frontline to speak of. The enemy’s advance routes are literally happening everywhere. Given the enemy’s scattered advance along the coastline, implementing scorched-earth tactics would mean burning the entire nation.

Better to die together than fall into enemy hands. It might be a beautiful tale or a tragic end, but ultimately, it’s a meaningless death.

“Kirhas. If you were to direct the various tribes of the Federation of Beastmen to advance in completely different directions, what would you tell the tribal chiefs? In a situation where even communication between them is impossible until the final strategic objective.”

“Hmm…”

In that situation, there’s no guarantee that the tribal chiefs, now field commanders, would fully follow her command. Yet, to ensure the strategic objective is achieved…

“Rewards… would be necessary, right?”

“Of course. What reward would make them arrive faster?”

“Uh… uh… territory…? Territory! Right?”

“Right. Excellent.”

Fernandez gently stroked her hair. As Kirhas purred and closed her eyes slightly, Fernandez smiled softly and continued.

“If we promise to recognize the rights to all the land they step on, the field commanders would be desperate to plant their family banners on as much land as possible. Naturally, the frontlines would spread, and the advance speed would increase. If they’re thinking rationally, they’d choose this method.”

Fernandez quietly looked down at the map of the flower-covered land.

“But what can we do? All settlements have already been evacuated. There’s no real battle, and provisions are dwindling daily. Mysterious bandits are swarming everywhere, plundering the already scarce houses and food.”

“Uh…”

“This isn’t scorched-earth tactics, Kirhas.”

Fernandez gently stroked her ear.

“From now on, the roles of attacker and defender have reversed.”

The Dane Kingdom had effectively fallen the moment Phaeirn landed. Phaeirn’s field commanders now had to defend as much land as possible while simultaneously advancing toward Altberth.

It was a perfect reversal of the strategy initially laid out by Zigismund. The switch between attacker and defender. After King Vicente’s Phaeirn advance, his strategy was to cede Phaeirn’s territory and make Vicente defend it.

This operation was used in reverse. Now, the battlefield has Phaeirn defending Dane’s territory, and Dane defending Phaeirn’s.

However, on the lands of Dane and its neighboring small kingdoms, there’s a third force. Uninvited guests. Warriors from distant lands, indiscriminately plundering the houses.