Chapter 7: Rogue Lords (7)

The combat system was the same as in that game. In other words, I would never die at the hands of a soldier whose strength was less than my own. In this war-torn world, the only thing that can guarantee your life is your martial force.

Of course, the amount of experience I can gain in a battle where my life is not at stake is negligible. It is only natural that the increase in experience is greater when I kill enemies in actual battle. So it’s impossible to raise my level in such a confrontation. Of course, this was an experiment and as a result, I got Bente.

Haddin reinstated all of his old men, and Bente appointed each of the ten men he was leading as captains of the hundred men he commanded. That’s how the army was reorganized.

No matter how high your command value is, it takes time to take control of an army with a sudden promotion or return. So I have to keep my existing subordinates in charge. There may be some who are disgruntled, but that can be suppressed with the lord’s bad name. I don’t have time for a peaceful solution each time.

Time is running out, the war is about to begin.

I stood in front of the assembled soldiers and explained in detail the strategy for tomorrow’s war, then gave the order to the commander. The color of the soldiers’ faces changed. Still, none of them complained, this is exactly the power of a lord.

Following my order, the entire army immediately started moving in a flurry.

The lord has started playing war games, that’s what everyone thought and I had no intention of correcting the soldiers’ thinking. Given the current situation, it might be better. If I made them believe that the enemy was really going to attack, they would rather run away since their morale was only 20. If that’s the case, it’s better to let them think it’s just a game and dig a pit and ambush them than to let them run away. In any case, it’s fine if they move as ordered.

The main force of the Narja Kingdom is moving to the north. In order to conceal this move, a decoy force would appear here in Aintorian, the western border of the Lunan Kingdom. The path of this decoy unit was obvious. A huge mountain range stood between the Narja Kingdom and the Aintorian territory.

The reason why the country was divided after the civil war was because of this mountain range between Aintorian and the Narja Kingdom. This mountain range is steep and extremely difficult to cross. However, the only road between the mountains was equipped with a barrier. So, the quickest way to cross the border would be this very gate.

There is also the option of crossing the steep mountains like General Hannibal did when he crossed the Alps during the Punic Wars. Or, they could take a circuitous route and attack us.

However, there is no such record in the history of the game, the army of the Narja Kingdom attacked by crossing the barrier.

The purpose of the decoy unit was to attract attention. So there was no need to go out of their way to avoid being seen. Besides, Erhin’s incompetence must have already been known to the Narja Kingdom army. So naturally, they would come to this road where they can attack the fastest. Since I knew the whole story, I didn’t need to think about anything else. I just need to keep an eye on this road.

Of course, normally a battle would break out at the barrier. However, this gate had collapsed in an earthquake during the time of the previous lord. According to what I heard from the head chamberlain, Erhin had spent the kingdom’s funds for repairs elsewhere.

No, even if the barrier was safe, it would be wiser to take advantage of this mountainous area. Looking at the morale and training level of the soldiers, it would be much better to ambush them and attack from a distance than to fight them from the front.

There was a long narrow road past the barrier that led to the plains of Aintorian. The narrow road under the cliffs would be a great place for an ambush. If you know when and where the enemy is coming from, you can’t afford not to take advantage of it.

Ambush them in the narrow spaces and at the entrance from the narrow road to the plain, we would set up a pit. This was the beginning of my strategy.

* * * * * *

“What the hell does this mean?”

The soldiers blurted out as they dug a hole.

“Well, it’s just a game for the Lord. He wants to play war games.”

The soldier shakes his head in incomprehension at the centurion’s words.

“If the lord hears us, we’re all dead. The lord hates those who disobey his orders the most. Now start digging!”

“Huh. I’ve had good luck with gambling today, but I can’t believe I have to do this. What am I going to do? Damn it!”

The soldiers complained, but followed orders and dug the pit. Of course, none of them had imagined that a real war would break out. They just thought it was just another one of the tyrant lord’s whimsical games. Even so, their bodies naturally moved because if they were to slack off and the lord saw them, they would be dead on the spot.

If you defy the lord, he will kill you, that was the lord. It was a fact known to all the people of Aintorian. The soldiers complained, but they had no choice but to dig a pit.

Of course, the situation was different in some places. The site where Bente’s troop was digging the hole was completely different from the rest of the troops. Bente was a very simple man, and he had never heard of his lord’s bad name in the first place. On the contrary, he was rather grateful to his lord for recognizing him and giving him the great role of a centurion. That was why he was doing his best to encourage his soldiers. No, he was busy taking the initiative and leading.

“You dig a hole, you stretch a large mesh of rope, and you cover it with straw. Alright? Hey, watch out! You’re going to hurt your hand!”

On one hand, fear of the lord, on the other hand, loyalty to the lord. Everyone has their own feelings, but anyway, the troops started to move busily.

******

Haddin, who was leading the ambush operation, saw an unbelievable sight. The Royal Army of Narja had really appeared! Even the soldiers couldn’t hide their agitation. They had all thought that it was just a game for the lord, so no one would have expected that the Narja Kingdom army would actually invade.

Of course, the lord had said that he would prepare for an attack by the Narja Kingdom army. But no one believed that it would actually happen.

“Are you saying that you really knew about the surprise attack of the Narja Kingdom army?”

Everyone thought it was just for fun. That said, it’s good to see that the Lord has taken an interest in the military. That’s why he led this mission as soon as he got back. It’s better to think of it as an ambush drill rather than a game. Anyway, Haddin thought that if he could change the rogue lord’s mind by continuing to insist on the importance of the training, he wouldn’t mind being taken to jail again.

But a real war?

The poorly trained soldiers were fine with the ambush when there was no enemy, but when they actually saw the enemy, they started to panic. Some of them even tried to shoot arrows prematurely.

“Commander! This is…….There are too many enemies!”

The soldiers whispered, rattled and upset.

“Will everyone please shut up!”

Haddin was surprised to see this, but he quickly changed his expression and gathered his soldiers together. There was nothing to be gained by making a fuss. As a war veteran, Haddin knew that he had to maintain the order in this situation.

He kept an eye on his old subordinate who had returned to his position as a centurion, and monitored the Narja Kingdom army hanging below the precipice. The more he looked at them, the more he broke out in a cold sweat.

“Commander……are you okay?”

Nortin, an old subordinate of his and the centurion who became his second-in-command as soon as he returned, asked in a low voice.

“No worries. That said, you don’t think……?”

The memory of the battle against the army of the Narja Kingdom twenty years ago flashed through Haddin’s mind.

“Don’t tell me that’s Randall the Strong Spear?”

There was an enemy he knew from war. He was quite young at the time, but he was a man of great military prowess who deserved to be called a warlord.

“Is that Randall, one of the ten warlords of Narja?”

When Nortin asked back, Haddin nodded his head.

“That’s right. That’s what they call him now. If that’s the case, we’re in trouble. We have no chance of winning this battle…….”

“Commander……!”

Haddin came back to his senses by Nortin shout.

“Follow your lord’s orders and wait for the smoke to rise. Until then, do not move!”

Haddin calmly gave the order while breaking into a cold sweat. He had no idea what was going on, he thought that the ambush was simply a game for the lord, but it seemed to be the only way to take advantage of the enemy. Haddin clutched his sword as he did so.

The enemy army and commander are overwhelming but his army’s training level is the worst. Furthermore, the people who follow Burke are unable to say anything in front of their lord, but behind the scenes they are showing their opposition.

In this situation, even if the ambush was successful, it was unlikely that they would be able to stop Randall, but he was consumed with the thought that they needed to damage the enemy army for the sake of his country, even if only a little. The fact that the enemy was completely unaware of the ambush was a relief at least.

As he waited with bated breath, he finally saw the smoke. At the same time, the enemy army that had been moving stopped.

“All right, now. Kill as many of them as you can!”

Haddin immediately shouted. At the same time, arrows were fired, and rocks rolled down the cliff as if a landslide had occurred. The army of the Narja Kingdom began to move left and right, receiving the baptism of arrows and rocks.

But then something that Haddin had been worried about happened. Some of the centurions under the previous commander, Burke, hid in the back as soon as the Royal Army of Narja appeared, and could do nothing but tremble.

Because of this, they were unable to launch multiple attacks at the same time. In addition, there was a centurion who lost his reason and gave orders recklessly when the enemy was disturbed by the arrow attacks.

“Come on, attack! They’re confused.”

“No, sir! The lord absolutely forbids any direct attack!”

The ten-man captain next to him tried to stop him, but Shane, the centurion who had lost his reason, did not listen to him.

“Such things change with the situation! Attack!”

The second-in-command leapt to the bottom of the incline and the soldiers had no choice but to follow suit. Convinced that the enemy was completely oblivious to their surprise attack across the border, the Royal Army of Narja was caught in the ambush and began to take damage. However, thanks to the dissonance in the Aintorian army, the damage did not spread.