Chapter 75

Alexandro the First/ Third person POV

Capital Goldonia

This is clearly an act of invasion!

The mans voice was rough, but he wasnt getting through to anybody around him . The man prattles on further .

My country has come to believe that your country is friendly with us . With a result like this though, well have to re-examine our relationship!

The man has been dispatched from the kingdom of Treia and is stationed in Goldonia as the ambassador . At the moment, both countries still have friendly relationships with each other and both have stationed ambassadors in the other partys respective country .

I have heard many testimonies from the citizens and am aware of the clash at the border zone . However, a full-scale attack is now commencing from the Goldonian side and they have even invaded by stepping over into our territory there is no longer any kind of excuse you can make!

The ones currently in this place are the ambassador for Treia, the king of Goldonia, as well as the high officials of diplomatic and military affairs . In reality, it was a scenario where the ambassador came storming into the palace yelling .

I understand what you are trying to say, and I also understand your anger . But we cant talk about it when you yell like that . You should first sit in your seat, drink some tea and try to calm down .

Thats unnecessary . I am fine as I am right now .

The ambassador remains standing upright and doesnt break his posture . He has his own anger as well, but has probably been ordered to display the resolute will of his home country . It may have been rash to think that he was really angry from the bottom of his heart just from his words .

The king tried to avoid being noticed as he sighed and looked towards Erich . The army commander, who is also looking at the ambassador, scrunches his face in disgust but tries not to get into his line of sight . The protests coming from the ambassador are starting to get old .

[The Treian army was sent to the border zone to suppress the rebellious farmers and a clash began . ] [The Goldonian nobles army commenced their full-scale attack, defeated the Treian army and also went further to invade into their territory . ]

The ambassadors complaints are only those two, but the situation is already changing . The army led by Lord Hardlett has already advanced to the central part of former Arkland and has control of the core city of the area . The difference between the kings information, who was notified directly by the concerned party, and the ambassadors information, gotten via Treias royal palace, is showing .

Due to the Hardlett armys speedy invasion, the kings plans are somewhat forced to be adjusted . Normally, it was going to be said here that there is proof that the first ones to attack was the Treian army . Its hard to believe that Hardlett would lie . If he planned to lie and escape responsibility, then he wouldnt invade in the first place .

The following line had been planned to be pushed forward: Treia makes the pre-emptive strike, Hardlett retaliates and it turns into a fight, then he advances to the neighboring city in order to restore order to the border . Of course the Treian ambassador wont accept it so easily, but if it turns into a pointless argument, then our objective would be achieved . If things get resolved with both sides taking blame and ending in a draw due to both sides getting injured, then Goldonia wont suffer much losses, so I wont mind .

But Valeora, the city in which they occupied and contacted us from, is not the eastern area, but the central area . As expected, we cant say that they are trying to restore order to the border .

If you get that heated, you wont be able to think straight . I would also like to think about this issue a little more carefully . Why dont we take a break for awhile?

The king declares arbitrarily and gets up from his seat . The ambassador seems discouraged, but when he saw the other people around him leave the room, he finally took his seat and drained the tea from his cup .

The king, having left the room, heaved a large sigh in the adjacent room, where only his trusted retainers were .

Hardlett has certainly made a mess .

Kenneth, the foreign affairs minister also continues on .

Throughout this day, the ambassador should also receive the news . But right now, its about that . Its something that could make you die of anger .

Kenneth also states that a letter, which sounds like a scream, came from the ambassador who is stationed in Treias capital, Trisnea .

Erich, your predictions were wrong .

I am terribly sorry . Certainly, a marching speed of that extent could not be anticipated .

Erich is still currently feeling somewhat troubled deep in his heart . Even if his entire army is composed of cavalry, it is still scary that he could arrive at Valeora in just three days . But the fact is, it has already happened and there is no use trying to argue about it .

It seems like Lord Hardlett has stopped in Valeora and has assumed a defensive position . He will hold out until the large army comes so we can hold the negotiations for the ceasefire .

The king turns his head to acknowledge Kenneth .

I originally assumed that Treia was just an imaginary nation . To have them as an enemy is no problem at allbut its a little too soon .

The king had planned for it to happen after the internal affairs of their country became more chaotic and after they appealed to the surrounding nations when they lost their ability to rule . Then, Goldonias army would be reinforced further and the difference in military power between Treia would widen .

There have been frequent occurrences of farmers rebelling in their territory, but most of them have been roughly suppressed by force . Denying their governing power even at this point should make it tough for them to get the other countries to understand .

I would hope so . As I thought, we should get them to ceasefire first . Fortunately for us, the losses suffered by Lord Hardlett are small and Treia has suffered large casualties . If we were to stop the war now, the chaos in Treia will spread even further, and we wont lose anything .

On the underside of the imperial council, firstly, the aggregate opinions of the ceasefire are presented . But the problem is how they could convince Treia .

When Treia suffers the loss of Valeora, they will get even more stubborn and become less flexible in thinking . We have the advantage in the state of battle so they should accept the ceasefire, but there is a possibility that they might seek monetary compensations and the punishment of the responsible parties .

The king goes into deep thought . He had no intention of conceding to a future enemy and punishing an excellent military force in Lord Hardlett . And if possible, he wants to settle things without paying a single cent . Money wasnt the problem, but it is a matter of dignity as a nation .

Erich, take the central army to the southern area on the pretense of conducting an exercise . Then Kenneth will continue the ceasefire negotiations with only the condition of the withdrawal of all troops .

The king would not trust incompetent beings who could not understand what he said . The retainers, who connected the pieces of the puzzle, lowered their heads .

A sharp sword is not only used to cut, just flashing it in front of their eyes will produce a sufficient effect .

Aegir POV

At the same time, Valeora

I see, so they saw that we werent a large army and they came forward at us with rushed preparations?

It hasnt been that many days since weve beat them so much already . The national army shouldnt be able to gather numbers like this . Maybe they mobilized the surrounding noble feudal lords?

Leopolt and I who are lined up by the castle gate are analysing the enemy army who have been deployed in a fashion which seems to encircle the city . Their numbers are roughly 6000, so I guess we can say they have at least the numerical advantage .

If its a siege, I guess this amount makes sense .

There arent any walls or towers like in a castle here though .

Valeora is the central city of the area and all cities of former Arkland above a certain level have walls . But there is a large difference in the height and size, and being located in the central area of the nation where there arent any enemies anywhere, its hard to label the city walls as splendid even as flattery . It isnt something that could withstand an endless assault from a full-scale attack .

Then would you like to withdraw? The enemy army is a hybrid, so they are unfit for quick movements .

The forces we have here are all cavalry, which arent suitable for a defensive battle, but if we run away, they wont be able to catch us .

No, Erich said that they would negotiate a ceasefire based on the previous information . Its not good to escape when they are in the middle of negotiations .

Yes, its a war that we started after all . Its better if we dont show weakness, is it?

This is also considered to be an appeal to the royalty . Thinking about the future, I dont want to start a war, run away and then have the royalty help me .

Then will you fight them?

I guess . It would be great if we can rout them .

We cant use our usual methods . Our abnormal formation composed entirely of cavalry has overwhelming mobility and speed but they are disadvantaged in siege warfare . If we want to fight with an advantage, we would have to attack at night, but it would be idiotic to charge head-on at an enemy who has three times the amount of forces that we do .

Leopolt, when do you think theyll come attack us?

In that condition, it would take until sunset for them to set up their formation outside the city . If they dont have the courage to attack at night quickly right after they arrive, then they should be coming by tomorrow morning, along with the sunrise .

I think so too . Theyve come with our small numbers in mind . They have no reason to uselessly delay .

Alright, we decided on our plan .

In the morning, when the enemy comes at us, we will open the gates wide and go at them . If we rush at them before they can form their night formation, then we can rout them .

The formations for a siege and for night warfare completely contradict each other . If they assume the fight will include arrows raining upon them from above, then the deployed soldiers will hold their shields up while they advance and will probably come at us with the siege weapon set up at the front . The long spearmen, the natural enemies of cavalry, will become the target for loosed arrows in a siege . They probably wont use them as vanguard . Considering the morale of the soldiers, even if the enemy is looking to destroy the gate, you can expect to shake them up a little if a large group of cavalry jumps out in front of them .

Leopolt goes into thinking for awhile though .

That would be nice optimistically speaking . But thats not good enough .

The way this guy spoke is really testing the limits of my patience .

Pardon me . But there is a problem . The gates of this city are narrow, and the way they will be invading from . . will probably be from the west side, so it would take time to reinforce troops there and after giving the enemy time to respond, there is a danger of everyone getting defeated .

Its true that the city walls are small and the gates arent big . At best, only two horses can fit side-by-side and pass through, so getting over 1000 cavalry to pass through that gap is a difficult task . We wont make it in time if its just before the enemy moves, but if we get through the gate just in time, then it would give the enemy time to respond .

We cant get out using the gates in the other directions at the same time either?

It will be the same . It will take time for us to disperse and the enemy will have time to set up their defenses . So why not keep the basic idea the same while applying a little trick to it .

What are you going to do?

Leopolt whispers to me .

What is he thinking? Thats a big trick .

Third person/ Treian army POV

The Next Morning

All troops start advancing! Place the large shields in front, and protect the battering ram .

As the sun rises, the Treian army launches their attack . Even though there are several thousands of us, its not like the city could be completely surrounded . At first, there was an argument within our troops about whether to disperse our forces but we took the safer method and the right path of concentrating our attacks on the western gate .

The ones who were painfully defeated once are excessively afraid of a second defeat . Both countries are not completely in hostile relations with each other in the first place, so having a war with ceasefire as the premise, makes things quite restrictive . In order for the negotiations to proceed advantageously, we have to gain at least one