Chapter 120 : Chapter 120
Chapter 120. March of the Other Shore (1)
To finalize the capture of Harschu, the main battalion even captured and bound the lord who was hiding in his mansion.
Then, they immediately cleared the inside and surroundings of Harschu.
When the cleanup was somewhat finished, Heinrich, Günter, and Otto bowed their heads in front of Roden.
“We are sorry.”
The faces of the three company commanders bowing to Roden were pale.
Although they had captured Harschu, their actions of personally climbing the ladders, unable to overcome their impatience, were close to disqualification as commanders.
If even one of the three company commanders had made a mistake in this process, the blow to the main battalion would have been great.
It was only natural, as they would have lost key commanders.
On top of this, the three company commanders felt remorse for having spent too much time capturing Harschu.
They still hadn't figured out why Harschu's resistance was so strong.
Because of that, the three company commanders were certain that they would receive a harsh reprimand from Roden.
They even thought that it was a just and natural action.
However,
"Don't bow your heads so much. Capturing Harschu was not an easy task anyway."
Far from reprimanding them, Roden comforted the three company commanders.
And it didn't end there.
Roden calmly explained to the three company commanders why Harschu's resistance was bound to be strong.
As they listened to Roden's explanation, the faces of the three company commanders were filled with astonishment.
They had never expected to be encouraged and comforted in this way.
"So, it was unavoidable that you took a long time in this battle. Of course, that doesn't justify the act of personally climbing the ladders... but the result was good, wasn't it? Isn't that right?"
Roden covered for the three company commanders' mistakes to the end.
The fact that he had covered for a fatal mistake with a joke was proof of that.
At this point, the three company commanders couldn't help but be moved by Roden's attitude.
In particular, Heinrich, who could be said to have made the biggest mistake among the three, was exceptionally moved.
In Heinrich's case, his life had even been saved by Roden, so there was nothing more to say.
"Anyway, we have to leave to capture the next city soon, so let's get some rest. You've worked hard."
In the end, after even hearing that they had worked hard, the three company commanders looked at Roden with moved expressions, gave a sharp salute, and then left.
Among the three company commanders who were silently returning to their places, Günter, who had the most cautious personality, opened his mouth.
“I have a feeling that we may have greatly misunderstood the Battalion Commander.”
At Günter's words, Otto silently nodded his head.
“The viciousness of the previous battalion commander seems to have darkened our eyes and ears. I am ashamed.”
Finally, Heinrich, who had been silently listening to the two's conversation, quietly declared.
“I will now completely trust the Battalion Commander. That will be the only way to repay his kindness.”
That was the moment the three company commanders declared their support for Roden.
***
The main battalion left one platoon (2nd Infantry Platoon) in Harschu and moved to the next target, Beihan.
Beihan was a larger city than Harschu.
For that reason, the walls were also quite high, at about 10 meters, and the number of city defense troops was expected to be much larger.
Because of that, instead of attacking Beihan directly, the main battalion first proceeded to apply pressure using catapults.
Thus, the catapults continuously pounded the walls of Beihan.
And it wasn't just boulders they were launching.
The main battalion also loaded filth onto the catapults and launched it into the city.
It was a classic tactic to inflict emotional damage by inducing fear and disgust.
It was also intended to cause an epidemic to spread or to induce the limited use of space by creating an aversion to a certain area.
If they responded to this by diligently cleaning and disinfecting, this would also consume the resources of the city defense force.
“How is it? Does the plan seem to be working?”
Roden asked in the meeting tent where everyone was gathered, and Heinrich received his words.
“The enemy's morale is noticeably declining. Since we're looking at a long battle, we can also carry out a plan like this.”
That was right.
Unlike Harschu, Roden was leading the capture operation of Beihan.
Due to the poor results in Harschu, Roden's influence had naturally grown.
"We have to fight a long battle anyway, so there's no need to exert ourselves from the beginning. Well, that doesn't mean we won't fight forever. So, what happened to the thing I asked you to make?"
At Roden's question, this time it was Chevalier who answered.
“I requested it from the transport battalion before we left Harschu, so I think it will arrive by next week at the latest.”
“In that case, we won't have to proceed with the battle until then. Continue to attack Beihan with catapults as we are now. And have the Infantry Company and the Cavalry Company take turns to relieve the Archery Company so they don't get too tired.”
Thus, the main battalion continued to strike Beihan with catapults as Roden had instructed.
And a week later.
The item Roden wanted finally arrived.
Roden watched the soldiers of the main battalion struggling to move something and nodded his head in satisfaction.
It was a steel ladder.
“It's finally here. We should be able to start the attack in two days.”
However, Heinrich, Günter, and Otto tilted their heads as if they couldn't understand even after hearing Roden's words.
It was only natural, as it was a crazy thing to do a siege with a steel ladder.
In the first place, it would take ages to carry a steel ladder to the city wall.
Moreover, the soldiers would be so exhausted from carrying it that they wouldn't be able to fight properly.
Also, if they moved the ladder too slowly, it would be too easy for them to become a target for the archers on the wall.
The fact that it was impossible to carry out a siege with a steel ladder was something everyone knew, even with a little knowledge of military strategy.
And yet, he was satisfied to see the steel ladder arrive.
In the end, Otto couldn't hold back and was about to say something.
But Chevalier quietly grabbed Otto's arm.
“Just watch for now. The Battalion Commander is not someone who does things without thinking.”
Because Chevalier's attitude was so firm, Otto couldn't step forward any further.
It was the same for Heinrich and Günter.
Heinrich, after being lost in thought for a moment, agreed with Chevalier's words.
“That's right. Since we've decided to trust him once, it would be best to trust him to the end.”
Thus, the promised day dawned, and the main battalion formed a line to attack Beihan.
And preparing to charge in front of the Infantry Company were the soldiers of the Special Task Force Company.
To be precise, the 30 soldiers of the Light Cavalry Platoon belonging to the Special Task Force Company.
In this battle, the Special Task Force Company was to take the lead and cross the walls.
However, the eyes of the other soldiers belonging to the main battalion who were watching this were filled with anxiety.
This was because there were steel ladders placed next to them.
‘Are they really going to cross the wall with that?’
It was an object that could barely be moved if 30 men rushed in and lifted it with both hands.
In other words, it was impossible to hold the steel ladder with one hand and block the arrow attacks with a shield in the other.
And yet they were going to cross the wall with that.
Moreover, the Special Task Force Company had prepared a total of six steel ladders, one for every five men.
In reality, it was a number that could never be lifted even with both hands.
But a short while later.
“All troops, charge!”
When this order fell from Roden, everyone couldn't help but be astonished.
This was because the Special Task Force Company, one for every five men, ran while holding the ladder so lightly with one hand.
It felt as if they were running while holding a wooden ladder.
No, it looked even lighter than a wooden ladder.
“No way.”
“How can they do that……”
“Just how strong are they?”
It was a misunderstanding.
It wasn't that the Special Task Force Company was strong.
It was that the steel ladder was lighter than other people thought.
And the reason the steel ladder was lighter than they thought was none other than this.
It was because Roden had enchanted the steel ladder with magic.
It was the Lighten magic.
‘I got the idea while conducting the siege at Harschu.’
There were two reasons why a knight, no matter how high their rank, was not very useful in a typical siege.
Because it was made of wood, anyone could easily cut the ladder, and on the ladder, there was no way to avoid a concentrated attack.
However, Roden solved the first problem by casting Lighten magic on the steel ladder.
Clang!
The proof was that even when the city defense force generated aura to cut the ladder, sparks flew, but it was of no use.
Moreover, this was not the only thing Roden had prepared for this siege.
“Let's go!”
When the steel ladders reached about halfway to the wall, Roden, who was waiting in the back, started running with Chevalier, Olinto, Liviano, and others.
Then, Roden was the first to climb the steel ladder.
After having clearly witnessed what happened to Heinrich, Günter, and Otto last time, he was personally climbing the ladder.
And he was the Main Battalion Commander at that.
Everyone couldn't help but be astonished.
But Roden himself felt no fear at all in this situation.
The reason was simple.
“Rain down the arrows!”
“Pour the oil!”
This was because the attacks of the city defense force could not inflict any damage on Roden.
It was thanks to the shield Roden was holding.
He had engraved a defensive magic on the shield in preparation for this situation.
Moreover, it was not a shield that could be used for a single use of defensive magic like the ones he had made before.
This shield was capable of using defensive magic multiple times.
This was because as his rank rose to 6-star, he was able to enchant more powerful magic.
Thus, thanks to the new enchanted shield, Roden succeeded in reaching the top of the steel ladder without even using his aura shield once.
And it wasn't just Roden.
Chevalier, Olinto, and Liviano also succeeded in climbing the wall.
As a result, the city defense force couldn't help but fall into a panic.
“Kill them quickly! Kill them right now!”
And while the city defense force's attention was focused on the four men.
Other soldiers of the Special Task Force Company also arrived on the wall one by one, climbing the steel ladders.
Thus, the other soldiers of the main battalion, including Heinrich, Günter, and Otto, were left speechless as they watched the Special Task Force Company easily capture Beihan with an extraordinary method.