“So you just lost the castle in front of your eyes?”
“Yes….”
“What are you all doing! The enemy’s numbers are barely 50! Retake it immediately!”
“Yes, yes!”
As Lorraine’s shout rang out, the commanders hurriedly scrambled away as if a fire had been lit beneath their feet.
They had a lot to say.
After all, it was the Commander in Chief Lorraine who had ordered the troops to be withdrawn from the 4th Castle in the first place.
But if they attempted to question it, they’d just hear the tired line about having to make better judgments on site.
If something goes wrong while obeying orders, it’s blamed on the field.
If it goes well despite disobeying orders, it’s deemed insubordination.
What kind of tune were they supposed to dance to?
“Well, the castle’s garrison is on our side. The knights can’t shoot arrows or ballistae. If we can push our troops inside somehow, regaining it is definitely possible.”
“I agree. I’ll bring a large ladder.”
“Gather as many cavalry as you can in case the enemy jumps out!”
They had lost the 4th Castle, but they still hadn’t completely lost absolute advantage.
In fact, since the castle was so large, they couldn’t utilize all of its defenses.
They just needed to exploit the inevitable gaps that would appear and push their forces inward…
“What…?”
As they approached the 4th Castle with their troops, soldiers and commanders of the Southern Republic froze in place.
Suddenly, the intensity of sunlight diminished.
Multiple dark shapes filled the sky, blocking out the light.
It didn’t take long to realize that they were arrows.
“D-Dodge! Get to safety!”
“AAAH!”
Arrows poured down like rain, and screams erupted.
There definitely shouldn’t have been anyone among the knights who could shoot arrows.
Even if there were, it didn’t make sense for hundreds of arrows to come flying at once.
Unless the castle’s garrison had sided with the suppression army…
‘We’ve been betrayed!’
The commanders, having quickly grasped the situation, fell into shock and momentarily lost their words.
It was certain that the garrison of the 4th Castle had been organized from among those who hated the Empire more than anyone else.
They never dreamed they’d be betrayed less than an hour after losing the castle.
The betrayal of the garrison was quite painful.
They had to deploy infantry to surround the 4th Castle and continuously suffer a rain of arrows.
Moreover, since the 4th Castle had stockpiled arrows on the frontline, they wouldn’t run out for a good while.
Yet, thanks to mobilizing as many as 20,000 troops, they managed to get 3,000 soldiers right under the walls of the 4th Castle to surround it.
Now they had to begin the siege.
It was difficult to break down the gates or walls within today.
The strategy was to simultaneously push ladders from all directions to create openings and infiltrate.
It took four hours to prepare the ladders.
The sun was starting to set.
At this point, the inside was eerily quiet.
There were no arrows raining down at all.
It almost felt like the castle had suddenly become empty.
And that silence was anything but good news for the Republic’s army.
It felt as chilling as a storm before the night.
*Goo-goo-goo…!*
“The main gate! The main gate is opening!”
“They’re letting us in! Great! Hurry before it closes again…!”
The soldiers waiting in front of the main gate rushed inside.
To let the back people in, they needed to charge without stopping.
They had to charge with their lives on the line, yet all of them stood there, faces ashen.
Standing at the main gate, knights clad in gleaming armor and armed with lances filled the area.
There were easily about 300 knights standing there on horseback.
“Guh! Gahhh!”
“Retreat! RETREAT!!!”
The infantry who had rushed to climb the ladders, lightly armored, faced off against the heavily armed cavalry.
The outcome was painfully obvious.
A one-sided slaughter.
Hundreds of suppression cavalry, whose origins were a mystery, formed a massive charging formation and started sweeping away the infantry surrounding the castle.
“We’ll help retreat our infantry! Charge!”
“Charge!!!”
It wasn’t an unexpected situation.
However, the numbers were greater than expected.
The cavalry commander calmly began to issue commands for interception.
On this side, 2,000 cavalry had already formed a line.
That was ten times the enemy’s strength.
If the enemy was sane, they’d avoid a direct confrontation and flee.
“E-enemy! They’re turning and coming this way!”
“…”
Cavalry, equally heavily armed, outnumbered five to one.
How could they be reckless enough to charge?
What were they counting on?
The cavalry commander’s pupils shook wildly.
‘No way. No way!’
Did they figure out not all of them were heavily armored?
Regardless of whether they had figured it out or not, it didn’t matter.
Whether the enemy was charging out of madness or out of belief they could win, the only important fact was that victory wasn’t guaranteed if they engaged.
Losing the vice commander and 500 elite cavalry was already crippling; if they lost an additional 2,000 here?
That would lead to a direct loss in the war.
There was no need to take such a dangerous gamble when they were currently in an advantageous position.
“Lead! Turn the formation! Right flank and retreat!”
“Wh-what?!”
“Don’t question it, just follow orders!”
“Ah, yes!”
In the end, they had to run away.
Grinding their teeth, they were forced to watch the enemy sweep through their own infantry.
It was the strategically wise choice.
Infantry could be quickly trained and sent to the battlefield.
But cavalry was a different story.
Each cavalry was precious, and they couldn’t afford to fight in uncertain situations.
The 2,000 cavalry could only watch and restrict the 300 enemies from getting too deep in.
If the enemy charged head-on, they’d run away.
If the enemy pursued, they’d aim for the rear and flanks, running away again when the enemy came near…
As they repeated this, by the time the sky turned dark, the Southern Republic army managed to finish their retreat.
Losing 3,000 troops.
*
It was a great victory.
Not only did they seize the 4th Castle without bloodshed, but they also utterly annihilated the enemy infantry trying to hastily launch a siege, sending a certain message to Lorraine.
They were no longer the old suppression army.
Even if they were to mass infantry and surround, there was no longer the pathetic suppression army that quivered and wouldn’t step out.
‘Still, the enemy has a slight edge.’
It was still too early to say they had turned the tide.
The enemy still had over 20,000 infantry and around 4,000 cavalry.
At the very least, they needed to halve those numbers to call it a reversal…
The problem now was that the enemy would likely be passive just like today.
They would be extremely hesitant to consume their cavalry and would delay direct confrontations.
‘I need to go soon.’
It felt like the time was right.
There was a way to drastically cut the rebellion’s power overnight.
I had been collecting shop coins for this moment.
Surely I had enough saved up.
[Shop]
[You can purchase items using shop coins.]
[Coins Available: 49]
‘What?!’
I don’t have 50 shop coins…?
How could I be missing exactly one coin?
Just one coin… just one…
“Damn. If only I hadn’t bought the recovery potion to save Sergey’s assistant in Whist Forest back then…”
If I had those 2 coins left, I’d have more than enough right now.
Just as regret began to wash over me, I took a deep breath and steadied my mind.
I had saved a life; I couldn’t regret that.
One coin was nothing; I might just think of a quest that could pop up on the way.
It was just the type of thing that popped up when you least expected it.
I decided to think as positively as possible.
If I had to negotiate while being coin short without a quest popping up in the end?
I resolved to erase those futile thoughts from my head.
“They’re slowly coming back.”
“Oh, right.”
Iris bumped against me, pulling me back to reality.
The main gate was slowly opening.
On the other side, victorious cavalry appeared alongside the triumphant Pelaine.
Next to Pelaine was Trie.
In the middle were Aintz and Erica.
It seemed that thanks to breaking the enemy’s siege, they were able to link supplies with the fortress.
“…”
“…”
Knights lined up to enter.
As night deepened, people, both subhuman and human, came out to watch the procession.
But the atmosphere was anything but cheerful.
Everyone was awaiting the suppression army with cold expressions.
“It’s Schlus’s turn to step up.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I saw the future. You on that podium in the plaza, capturing the public’s heart.”
“…”
That was a nonsensical statement.
Me changing this frozen atmosphere with a speech?
Not Cain or Iris, but me?
It sounded too much like a lie.
“Such nonsense.”
“If you think so, then there’s nothing I can do.”
“But I believe it. Iris, I trust what you say.”
However, it couldn’t be a lie.
If Iris, the Saintess, told me this, it couldn’t be wrong.
No matter how much it sounded absurd or nonsensical, it was a real event that would happen in the future.
“There’s no way you’d joke like that with me.”
“Y-yeah! Really! Yes, yes. I really did see the future. Yes….”
“…”
Huh? Why is she acting like this?
Suddenly unable to meet my gaze, she seemed to be fidgeting.
A wave of unease washed over me.
I-I trust Iris…
She seemed a little, no, quite suspicious, but I would believe Iris without a doubt.
Maybe she was just about to burst for a bathroom break or something.
I walked through the crowd, leaving the fidgeting Iris behind, toward the plaza.
In the center.
I climbed to the highest podium and prepared a spell.
With the ability I had, even with Schlus’s mana of 1000, I could easily craft an amplification spell.
“Attention!”
“…?”
A loud sound echoed all around.
Not just in this plaza but throughout the entire street.
It was designed such that sound would travel well.
In an instant, I felt all eyes drawn towards me.
*Gulp…*
This was really nerve-wracking…
If I mess this up, it’ll all be Iris’s fault.
“I am Schlus Hainkel, a knight of the Freya Empire. I declare that the Southern 4th Castle has been occupied by the suppression army.”
“…”
The response was cold.
The residents of the 4th Castle had surely seen the rebel army running away while fireballs fell.
They might even have seen the rebels fleeing while the 4th Castle played a false report saying it was safe.
They undoubtedly felt disillusioned with the rebel army.
However, that didn’t mean it would immediately translate into goodwill towards the suppression army.
The suppression army was still a group that viewed subhumans as scum, treating them like slaves, raping and killing them on a whim.
I had to change that perception.
It was essential to prevent another insurrection from erupting within the castle.
“I stand here to make a certain declaration. You must have all heard about the slave liberation decree. For those who haven’t, I will once again proclaim it right here. As of this moment, there will not be a single slave in the south. All beings, be they subhuman or human, living in the south deserve to enjoy their freedom.”
The proclamation must have been sent to all castles, but the rebel army would have purposely interfered with the spread of the slave liberation edict.
That’s why I chose to reaffirm it here.
“I promise, as a knight directly under the Emperor of the Empire, that this will not just be during the suppression of the rebellion. I vow that all subhumans will receive eternal freedom. Unlike the rebel army, we promise to protect the residents of the 4th Castle until the end.”
“…!”
The crowd began to respond.
As the silence broke, people started to stir.
“And one more thing I promise. This is limited to when the rebel army is vanquished, but…”
I hesitated to say it.
This would surely incite a backlash.
If I promised this along with the slave liberation decree, would the Duke who comes to succeed me try to kill me?
But what am I supposed to do?
I’ve already opened my mouth.
To back out now would be impossible.
“The suppression army will not collect any taxes from the inhabitants under its occupation.”
“…”
Zero percent tax.
I clenched my eyes shut and declared it.
I could see the crowd freezing with their mouths agape.
The atmosphere was colder than I expected.
Had my predictions missed the mark?
“Uwoooohhhh!!!”
“Long live the suppression army!”
“Long live the Empire!”
My predictions had indeed missed the mark.
The resounding cheers that began to roll in exceeded anything I could have anticipated.
