313. The War of the Puppets (10)
A heat haze was rising at the edge of the horizon. Robert narrowed his eyes, glaring at the glowing green expanse of the grassland.
How many times had he pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, pointlessly? It was time for them to arrive, it was time…
“They’re coming!”
“Enemies?”
“A single cavalry rider. The flag… it’s black! They’re carrying a black flag!”
“Damn it! Give it here!”
Robert snatched the telescope from the lookout. A shabby, haggard cavalryman was galloping toward his direction. Arrows? Thin spikes were protruding from his forearm and back.
Yet, the rider was still charging forward with fierce determination. A familiar face. It was the scout he had sent out himself.
“Call the medic! Now!”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
At Robert’s command, his deputy hurried off. Not long after, the scout arrived before him. As soon as the scout recognized Robert’s face, he tumbled off his horse and buried his head in the ground.
“Your Grace, Shin Bardung. I have completed my mission and returned.”
“Well done. Well done indeed!”
Robert leaped off his horse in one swift motion and uncorked a water flask. The scout’s body, having galloped across the late summer grassland, was scorching hot, enough to make the heat haze rise. Robert poured cold water over his head and back, then spoke.
“Did you see them? Did you confirm their presence?”
“Yes, Your Grace. They… they are currently advancing north, about 50 miles west of here.”
“Advancing north…? North, you say?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Damn it!”
Robert kicked the ground and stood up. He urgently looked for his deputy, who was rushing over with the medic.
“Damn it, it’s Bülrang!”
“What?”
“They’re ignoring Ribue and charging straight ahead! Damn it. I don’t know how I’ll face the Emperor after this. The leader of Iron Side making such a miscalculation!”
Robert quickly mounted his horse. He shouted at his bewildered deputy.
“Ribue is a hollow shell! Bülrang? It’s a wealthy territory with vast farmland! They know the situation in Ribue!”
After predicting the White Horse Clan’s offensive and reporting it to the Imperial Palace, preparing the defense forces ahead of time had been a perfect decision. Indeed, when the White Horse Clan’s forces entered the Great Wilderness, Ribue was already fully prepared with defensive troops.
Where was the most likely area for their legion to advance? At this point, the speed of intelligence gathering couldn’t keep up with their advance. All that could be done was to predict.
By the time the scouts located them and relayed the information, the enemy had already moved past that area.
‘Monsters!’
When marching at full strength, they slept on horseback! Such a thing had never been recorded in the history of warfare. Every action they took was rewriting the history of war.
Therefore, the nearest city. Their forced march couldn’t last forever, so the city closest to the White Horse Clan’s plains had to be defended. Ribue. The frontline territory during the 50-year war. Defending this place was the most rational decision.
“Shall we advance to Bülrang?”
“No! It’s too late!”
How long could Bülrang hold out? If Bülrang fell, the next target would be Paltennoia. Considering their speed, they would charge straight toward the capital before the other Dukes’ armies could fully assemble.
He pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it.
“Abandon Bülrang and Ribue. Split the army in half, and have one half defend Paltennoia! Buy time for the Dukes’ legions to assemble!”
“Your Grace, then what about you…?”
“I will lead the remaining half to the Great Wilderness!”
Therefore, this was the best course of action. The Dukes’ legions operated under a somewhat feudal wartime conscription system, so time had to be bought until they could fully assemble and block the enemy.
‘How did they know?’
The White Horse Clan’s forces had little knowledge of the Empire’s territories. The Empire had almost no interaction with them. How did they conclude that occupying Ribue wouldn’t yield a worthwhile return on effort? And how did they know Bülrang was a wealthy city?
Our intelligence has been compromised. Even if it were the Shaksisi, they couldn’t have escaped Iron Side’s watch within the Empire…?
“What’s done is done.”
Robert steeled himself. He had to discard speculation and make decisions based solely on the remaining information. The enemy knew our situation, and we couldn’t keep up with their speed.
If we march toward Bülrang now, considering their speed, we’d likely only see ruins. Therefore, the most rational action was—
“From now on, we will be the breakwater.”
The port of Guir is battered by the winter waves of the North Sea. The winter storms that arise in the North Sea inflict massive damage on the entire harbor.
Yet, the reason Guir is still called the Empire’s golden port, an ice-free harbor, is due to its breakwater facilities. As the Count of Guir, Robert immediately devised a new strategy.
A breakwater isn’t a massive fortress that completely blocks the waves. It’s a reef that dissipates the wave’s force. Each time the waves crash against the reef, their power diminishes, and by the time they reach the harbor, they’re mere ripples.
The legion heading to Paltennoia is only their vanguard. The tens of thousands of troops surging from the White Horse Clan’s plains haven’t yet fully invaded the Empire’s territory.
We must cut off that path. Gradually accumulate damage, turning the path to the Empire into treacherous terrain, filled with reefs like a breakwater. Therefore, the Great Wilderness. We must reduce their forces on the path to the Great Wilderness.
We must block their supply lines and cut off reinforcements. But that’s almost a suicide mission. A vague suicide, carried out without any knowledge of the enemy’s forces or situation.
“Your Grace, that’s…!”
“Do we have any other choice?”
“Bülrang might hold out! Even now, Bülrang may need our assistance!”
“And if not? If we’re too late again and only witness the ruins of Bülrang. Then who will defend the heart of the Empire?”
“Got it?”
If we arrive in Bülrang at the right time, the enemies could be crushed between the forces of Ribue and Bülrang. But given the circumstances that they seem to have intel on our forces, the chances of that happening are slim.
If they burn Bülrang and march into the Empire, chasing after them would be the worst of the worst. Paltennoia’s defensive forces won’t last long.
“Tell His Majesty the Emperor to issue a summons to the Elector Counts. And fortify the areas near Paltennoia, prepare for a long war! I’ll prepare for sporadic skirmishes in the Great Wilderness. Hey, you!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“You, head to Kirzat. Bring Sir Sernerd and Chieftain Hearttaker. And you! You, Lavirata and Apotazar, contact the two Wraith Dynasties! We need their support! Hurry! The fate of me, this legion, and the Empire rests in your hands!”
“At your command, Your Highness!”
The deputies rushed out. Robert, with a heavy heart, turned his horse. Behind him, the massive military encampment stationed in front of the Ribue territory came into view.
Almost all the forces that could be dispatched from Gur and the Imperial Palace. Half of the standing army that could be mobilized immediately was under his command. Their presence here meant that Paltennoia’s garrison was at a minimum.
“Spread my words to the entire army. Do not give up yet!”
Robert shouted, perhaps more to himself than anyone else.
“We don’t know the enemy’s numbers, we can’t match their speed, and their forces overwhelm ours. But should we give up? Should we lament and lay down our spears, thinking it’s hopeless?”
“No! Your families, your lords, your farms, and your children will be slaughtered by their blades! Soldiers! You are the spears of the Empire, unbreakable spears, the foremost spearheads! Each of you is a child of the Empire before you are its soldiers. Protect your parents!”
“The Empire’s thousand years have never been peaceful! Never! It was your parents, like you, who maintained the Empire, and your descendants will be safe in your hands! Do not give up! The Empire has faced greater hardships in its thousand years! The next thousand years after today will never be peaceful—.”
“Remember. That fact is nothing but praise that our territory can endure for another thousand years! Children of the thousand-year Empire. Children who can endure that time once more. It all depends on your hands! Do not give up! Build the Empire’s fate with your hands! Sons and daughters of the Empire!”
“Emperor Charlemagne protected this territory with his spear, and millions of heroes followed. Heroes of this era, protect the thousand years of the Divine Leviathan!”
Robert’s shout, amplified by the mages, echoed throughout the encampment. Soldiers preparing for war, women supporting the soldiers, and children trembling in fear.
All of them straightened their backs, facing the vast horizon, standing tall. Now, they shouted in unison.
-“Divine Leviathan, may you live forever!”
“Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Go!”
That day, the legion stationed in Ribue split into two. One headed northeast towards Paltennoia. The other half towards the Great Wilderness, the vast plains where the enemies were scattered.
* * *
“Support from Ribue won’t come, Blackfang.”
“We can’t hold the enemy back alone! Damn it. Has the Empire abandoned us?”
Partak slammed the table and shouted. But Piel remained seated, quietly closing her eyes.
“Hey, High Priestess! Answer me! Do you see a future where we can win by defending this land?”
“No. We won’t.”
“Damn it. We should have returned to the Great Wilderness. That land is vast; we could have hidden until the enemy’s forces dwindled. Damn it. Why hasn’t our lord contacted us?”
Partak had been trying to contact Fernandez, but to no avail. His magic kept failing, as if the entire land was rejecting it.
It had only been a few days, and in those few days, the enemy’s forces had already approached too close to avoid.
Their prophet had already predicted this time.
“We’re ignorant about defending castles. Our soldiers only know how to ride horses! Even if we defend, how many days can we hold?”
“Not even a day.”
“…What?”
“We won’t hold for a day. We must not.”
“What are you talking about?”
Golden Tooth, who had been silent until now, spoke up. Piel finally opened her eyes and spoke.
“We will abandon Bülrang, elders.”
“Do you mean to hide in the Great Wilderness?”
“That would only make us prey. We must not scatter.”
“Frustrating! Speak plainly!”
“We are the great Kadán, descendants of the God of Hunting. How can hunters face the prey’s charge head-on? The God has predicted that the hunting ground is not here.”
Inside the Empire. Piel pointed towards the paths leading to Paltennoia.
“The prey is strong on the plains, so we will ambush them in the mountains. Lock the city walls, bind their feet, burn all the food in this land, and retreat.”
What the enemy needs is food and supplies. Burn everything they can’t take, make them waste time searching this area.
When hunger begins, the enemy, unable to endure, will march towards the Empire’s heart.
Like the Duke Sephor of Bülrang. Almost all areas from Bülrang to Paltennoia are blocked by rugged mountains. That place will become their grave.
“The Empire’s hero has devised a strategy called the breakwater. He declared he would personally stand on the plains and become the breakwater. We, too, will become the breakwater in the Empire’s mountains.”
“Isn’t that just buying time?”
“When the prey tires, it’s the hunter’s time. Believe me, Elder Blackfang.”
Ten days after Karadskar’s forces began marching towards the Empire’s heart.
Ribue and Bülrang. In those distant cities, exchanging no information. Two legions, of different origins and races, began executing the same strategy simultaneously.
Three days later, the enemy arrives in Bülrang. A Bülrang in ruins.
At that time, Ribue’s forces began gathering in the outskirts of Paltennoia.
To buy time for the gathering, the Federation of Nobles’ legion scattered their forces across all gates leading to Paltennoia.
In the Great Wilderness, resistance forces led by Lavirata and Apotazar began to gather.
“The counterattack is near.”
Bülrang’s prophet said so and closed his eyes again.
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