"That's the Menmen's army... There's more than 40,000 of them.
"I guess so. Or rather, the Menmen are mobilizing 100,000 people."
"100,000? That would be too good. It doesn't look like the size of the army."
"Of course, the Menmen are exaggerating to make a big noise about their forces. It's an army anywhere. Fontana must have published more than a real number."
Really? Well, I told you I'd win. If they told me 100,000 troops were coming, they'd want to escape. "
"... by the way, do you know anything about your army's reputation?
You mean the Vulcans? Speaking of which, I've never done anything to make noise about the number of troops anywhere. "
"No, actually, there's been a lot of talk about the reputation of the Balkans. Ares is the only one who has defeated 30,000 Ares in the battle against the Arrests."
"Ah? Wait a minute. Why is that happening? Aren't there about 8,000 Arbarest troops back then?
"... well, even if it's 8,000 people, I think it's incredible. However, in order to make the power of Ars widely known, the previous battle was a complete victory over 30,000 troops."
"That means someone is intentionally circulating that kind of information, right? Who do you think you're doing this to?"
"You must be Mr. Leon. That's what Leon von Graham, Ars' brother-in-law, spreads. Incidentally, it's not just about midway battles with Arbarest. Everything that the Balkan army, led by Ars, has accomplished so far has been published in large numbers."
"What are you doing, Leon? But I see. It certainly makes sense for Leon to do that, doesn't it?
"Of course. Make Fontana think there's this guy. That's what deterrence does. Arus was once destroyed by one of the Keema cavalry members of the Urk family. The nobles and knights who heard that information would naturally hesitate to attack."
"... is there such a rush? Well, look. If that reduces the risk of being attacked, it might be convenient to lie a little bit."
I was scouting by airship, and I kept flying south.
And now, I succeeded in capturing the Menmen's army in sight.
I looked up and thought it was such a rough move.
Well, that would be the case if 40,000 people walked freely.
Apparently, the Menmen claimed that their army was about 100,000.
This is about daring to exaggerate, as Pane said, to increase their combat power.
It is also difficult to see the total number of troops at a glance.
To be honest, it was questionable whether the figure of 40,000 of Fontana's information was also solid.
It was accompanied by the army.
Basically, the larger the army, the more problematic it becomes.
It's food.
Tens of thousands of people will need a considerable amount of food to be hungry.
But it's pretty tough to think realistically about carrying it by ourselves.
Loading food in a wagon connected to a service beast is not a big deal.
Instead, we need to feed the beasts for loading, and we need more food.
There is the easiest way to carry large quantities of food.
That's the way to use the ship.
If the ship floats in the water, it will have less effort to carry a large amount of luggage.
But there was no river flowing so conveniently towards Fontana.
So, how do we procure food? We get it on the way.
Then we need to get food from the aristocrats and knights on the way, or buy food that merchants bring.
As a result, people who do not belong to the army may accompany the movement of the army.
The merchant with this food is not part of the army, but at first glance it is difficult to distinguish clearly who is a merchant or not.
In other words, it's hard to deny even taking out an exaggerated number of people.
"After all, if you look at the troops that are actually moving like this, the food problem is huge. If we don't get stable food, the army won't be able to move any longer."
"That's right. If we seriously try to carry food so that soldiers do not starve, we will have to focus nearly half of our troops on heavy troops by road."
"I hope it's still easy to fight nearby. Do you need to devise a position to secure food in advance to go far away? It's hard."
"Fufu, Kyle also struggled with Ars' task of leading the heavy troops. It may not be enough to work in battle, but I think it will be a good study."
I see. I want Kyle to have a commander over a samurai.... but that's it. Will the Menmen who have marched with all this effort and expense reconcile with the other two at the meeting of the Alliance of Three Nobles?
"... honestly, I don't know. Subtle, isn't it? As a member of the Menmen family, you might think it would be quicker to win Fontana here and secure the king's identity than to settle within the trinity alliance."
I see. Let's delay the march a little longer and buy some time. "
I have my own territory and have an army, so I know how much it costs to move an army.
Will we mobilise the troops so far to discuss the solution and turn back?
Besides, the knights in the army may want a place to fight for help.
There is a possibility that you will not retreat quietly.
I thought so. I decided to take a moment to delay the advance of the Menmen.