Chapter 184 : Chapter 184
Chapter : 184
The inner castle of the County of Campania.
Count Steffen, who had received orders from the Great Emperor of the Holy Empire and hurriedly established a command camp here, was being drowned in reports to the point that he could scarcely think.
“Spies from the Holy See keep crossing the border.”
“They say the Margrave of Bellua is marching south with ten thousand troops.”
“They say the House of Viscount Bardi has joined the Margrave of Bellua. The sea is filled with the enemy’s ships.”
News that made it hard to breathe just from hearing it.
The force Count Steffen had rushed in with numbered only about four thousand. Yet the enemy exceeded ten thousand.
If he combined them with the garrison already stationed in the County of Campania, he would have roughly eight thousand, and he had brought many of the Holy Empire’s formidable knights with him, which was some comfort—but even so, it was nowhere near enough to go on the offensive.
“What a pathetic situation. A truly pathetic situation.”
To be forced to hide like this and face the enemy from behind walls.
How had the Great Emperor of the Holy Empire been driven into a corner like this?
For a moment, Count Steffen found himself longing for the days when the Great Emperor’s reign had been strong enough to command even other kingdoms with ease.
But that was only the past.
The reality before him was grave beyond measure. He stood in a war where victory and defeat were difficult to judge—no, a war that was plainly unfavorable.
Even so, Count Steffen was not the sort to sit and sigh.
“I will not die like some old man shut up in a study. Once I overcome this, just you wait—Holy See, Margrave of Bellua…. Grit.”
For Count Steffen, who had lived on battlefields, there was no such thing as escape into fantasy.
Instead, he burned with resolve and thought only of crushing the invading Margrave of Bellua.
“How goes what I ordered? You are carrying it out as instructed?”
“Yes. As ordered, we evacuated all troops from the border region, and we burned every village nearby.”
His method was a delaying action.
A thorough, merciless delaying action.
It was an operation no ordinary noble would ever choose, but Count Steffen was different.
Had he not survived on battlefields for more than ten years? He intended to teach the Margrave of Bellua—who had grown arrogant from victory after victory—what true war really was.
But the subordinate who had been reporting glanced at the room and spoke cautiously.
“M-my lord Count…. Was it necessary to go this far? To empty the forward forts…”
“That is right. Would it not be better even now to refill the forts and block them?”
“Not only that, but since we burned the villages, the backlash from nearby nobles and villagers is severe. They are not openly resisting, but resentment seems to be building. If they stop cooperating with us….”
“Since the Holy See has long had strong influence here, we must be careful….”
Once one man opened his mouth, the rest scrambled over one another to speak.
They were worried by Count Steffen’s excessively extreme plan.
Evacuating forts instead of filling them to strengthen a delaying action—what madness was that?
Would it not only allow the invaders to push in faster?
Of course, he had burned every village along the roads to make supplies difficult, but even that was hard for his subordinates to accept.
It was Count Steffen’s own territory, yet he was ruining it with his own hands. It was as though he meant to fight to the bitter end, as though there would be no next year, no year after that.
“What?”
But opinions like that would never sway Count Steffen.
In an instant, his face twisted into a savage scowl.
“You insolent wretches! I have given you leeway lately, and now you are getting arrogant and crawling up, is that it?”
“N-no, my lord.”
“We are sorry, my lord Count.”
At the sight of their furious superior, the subordinates hurriedly bowed their heads.
They had served him on campaign for more than ten years.
They knew exactly what he looked like when his temper caught fire.
At times like this, the rule was simple: flatten yourselves to the ground.
“How could we dare to disregard your foresight?”
“That is right. It is only that you seem to be worrying too greatly over those insignificant kingdom mongrels, so we merely….”
When they belittled the Margrave of Bellua and flattered him instead, Count Steffen’s contorted expression eased somewhat.
“I understand what you are worried about. But you must not underestimate him. Victory after victory is not something just anyone can achieve. And it is not as though he has fought only small skirmishes, is it?”
“Umm…. That is true.”
“If we recall the War of Succession of the Kingdom of Aragon….”
At Count Steffen’s words, the subordinates let out low groans. Remembering the solidity of that disciplined infantry, they could not treat him as an easy opponent.
“If you fight while looking down on his army, you will suffer greatly. And the Holy See and the House of Viscount Bardi are aiding him as well.”
It was not a favorable situation.
If anything, it was unfavorable.
There was a reason Count Steffen had planned a defensive war the moment he arrived in the County of Campania.
“So for now, their momentum is in their favor. We need only wait. Do you not know? The fragility of an allied army. If we drag this out for only a little while, their organization will crumble like grains of sand.”
How many unruly nobles had he seen in his life?
Count Steffen knew all too well how difficult it was to maintain true unity of command in an army composed of multiple noble houses.
That was why, in a war like this, you simply stayed tight behind walls and stored strength.
Could an army of ten thousand easily assault walls defended by more than eight thousand concentrated men?
It was not something they would even dare to attempt.
They would waste food, month after month. And then, when impatient fools began acting on their own, that would be the moment.
The moment for a great counterattack.
“It is the Great Famine, so they must be short on food. Their patience will run out soon. When they begin to move separately, that is when we strike. Our cavalry strength is overwhelming, so we crush them one by one while they are scattered!”
“That is right, my lord!”
“Forgive us for talking back. So that was your method!”
Only then did the subordinates shout in admiration. At last, they understood why he seemed to be crouching in place to a suffocating degree.
“So stop worrying and wait. We will teach that greenhorn Margrave of Bellua what true war is. Hahaha.”
At last, Count Steffen relaxed his brow and laughed loudly.
In his mind, the plan looked perfect.
The problem was—
“M-my lord Count!”
This plan was meant for ordinary nobles.
“……? What is it?”
“The Margrave of Bellua’s army is scattering.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Count Steffen was shaken by the messenger who rushed in.
Scattering?
Why?
With a massive enemy army sitting ahead of them, why would they scatter themselves?
But before he could even finish the thought, the next report drove him into deeper confusion.
“On top of that, they are not plundering. They are dispatching priests and officials to stabilize the villagers. What shall we do, my lord Count?”
No, damn it….
What kind of madman is this? Count Steffen’s mind went white.
---
At first, I had considered leading with plunder. But was this not territory I intended to occupy anyway?
I would have to govern it. If I provoked resentment through large-scale pillage, I would surely suffer for it again and again later.
So I changed my thinking.
“We should think of it as encircling them instead.”
“Encircling them instead?”
“Yes. There is not a single relief force coming to support Count Steffen, is there? As far as I know, the Emperor has no capacity to send reinforcements at all right now, Magician Agpiel.”
“That is true, but….”
As he spoke, Magician Agpiel wore an uneasy expression.
He could not grasp what I meant by “encircling them instead.”
And to be fair, it was not easy for me to explain to him either.
Because my plan sounded like the scheme of a lunatic.
This was the sort of thing you showed through action, not words.
“Just watch, Magician Agpiel. You will be surprised. Hahaha.”
With that laugh, I immediately reorganized the army.
I and the allied nobles’ host remained stationed before the capital city of the County of Campania, where Count Steffen was holed up, while I gave troops to Captain Konrad and Sir Biden and sent them elsewhere.
To the north and the south of the County of Campania.
Right now, those areas were empty houses—emptied out by the mobilization orders.
“Once you occupy those regions, do not plunder. Dispatch priests and administrators and build an administrative network.”
“Pardon? Count Steffen’s forces are still intact—will that be all right?”
“Is not their entire army gathered in the capital city of the County of Campania? Would they dare to charge out while leaving our great host behind?”
“Hmm?”
Everyone was taken aback by my words.
But the more they thought about it, the more it seemed plausible.
“So do not worry. Occupy all of it and turn it into garrisoned territory.”
“U-understood, my lord.”
“Hmph. Understood, human lord. But if something happens, you must send support quickly.”
“Do not worry. I was going to anyway.”
With those orders, I hurriedly sent Captain Konrad and Sir Biden to the north and south.
I also attached clergy and administrative officials sent by the Holy See, as well as intelligence agents familiar with the region, so occupying the territory should not be difficult.
Even so, Magician Agpiel was deeply worried by my actions.
“No matter what, if you scatter the troops like this, what then? What will you do if Count Steffen attacks?”
“I have already spoken with Viscount Pierre Bardi and hired three thousand more mercenaries.”
“Three thousand more?”
“Yes. We have more than enough money, do we not? The Holy See is supporting us very generously, too. Hahaha.”
The Holy See was not merely saying they would support us—they were supporting us boldly, materially, and in military and political ways. Thanks to that, I was able to organize this expedition quite comfortably.
“Still, even so, it will be difficult to stop Count Steffen’s detached cavalry units if they come out. Count Steffen’s cavalry handling is superb, is it not?”
Having experienced Count Steffen’s cavalry charge during the War of Succession of the Kingdom of Aragon, I remained wary of its power.
“Then what? How do you intend to stop his cavalry detachments with infantry? Unless you block every passage—good grief.”
“Oh! How did you know, Magician Agpiel?”
“……?”
Magician Agpiel made a strange, ambiguous expression, as though he were wondering what nonsense I was spouting now.
Seeing that expression, I answered cheerfully.
“Just as you said. I will block every passage. I am going to build a ring wall. Well, a wall sounds grand—we will build a palisade. Did you think I said ‘reverse encirclement’ for nothing? We will encircle a castle with a castle! Hahaha.”
The very tactic Caesar had shown in his Gallic campaigns: a fortress outside the fortress.
That was what I intended to show Count Steffen.