Wortenia Senki (WN)

A vast flat stretch of pocky land surrounded by rugged rocky mountains.

The Ushas basin can be described as a relatively hydrologically privileged barn zone in the kingdom of Zaluda, which is rich in land unsuitable for cultivation, such as rocky mountains and forest areas.

While relying on imports of much of the crop from neighbouring countries, in these barn zones, which are dotted at several locations in the country, they are mainly responsible for the cultivation of wheat, which serves as a staple food.

Though the national territory is somewhat unsuitable for agriculture, there is no way that the lifeline of food can be covered only by imports from other countries.

Even if we give up our preferences, if we rely on other countries even for the crops that serve as staple foods, we will have major weaknesses.

Because if neighbouring countries threaten to stop exporting food, Zaluda has no way of getting his hands on it.

Exactly the Ushas basin was no exaggeration to say that it was a heart area for the kingdom of Zaluda.

Nor can this land be ignored from the standpoint of national defence.

The Ushas basin is about a hundred kilometres southwest of Peripheria, the capital of the Kingdom of Zaluda, and is a major impulse of traffic that must be passed to the south and west of the Kingdom of Zaluda.

In addition, as far as we can see, arable land is scarce in the ups and downs of the terrain, and it is required to bump into each other with a positive attack method in terrain that is difficult to use, such as ambush tactics.

In other words, it's land where unforeseen things are unlikely to happen.

And a stubborn fortress built on the eastern side of the basin.

Sitting in the valleys of the mountains forming the basin it is truly the proud patron saint of the Kingdom of Zaluda.

It is no exaggeration to say that the fortifications, which the Zaluda royal family has been expanding for many years, are difficult fortifications combined with the original interests of the land by working with each fort dotted in the mountains.

Therefore, 65,000 Lutmea Imperial Army, which targets the invasion of the king's capital Peripheria, had been stuck in the offensive for nearly two months.

And again today, Ortomere soldiers push to Fort Ushas, glowing their sharp tips.

Just to win...

"Gentlemen! This is the right place to be. Together, the three eastern nations will not be able to attack the Orthomean Empire! Enemy supply should be low morale for lagging soldiers. Come on, join forces and give the invaders a righteous hammer!

"" "" Glory to the three eastern countries! Death to all invaders!

When the voice of Ecclesia Marinaire, the proud general of beauty of the kingdom of Mist, echoes over the walls of the castle, the cheers that shake the heavens and the earth boil.

Countless fists thrust up against heaven.

They had absolute confidence in the commander, who softened his dark hair and smiled softly in front of him.

That has nothing to do with whether Elexia is a general of another country or not.

Even though there are fortifications set up in the surrounding mountains and support from the king's capital, thanks to the outstanding command of Ecclesia, Fort Ushas still held up against as many as 65,000 large armies...

"Put up your bow! First row squeeze, second row, third row wait! Siege weapons are coming. Shoot simultaneously as soon as you are in range. Don't fail to prepare the fire arrows at the rear! Are you ready for oil? Don't let one soldier go home alive! Kill one or more if you want to survive!

The shouts of the troop leaders are wooden spirits on the walls.

An arrow wrapped around a cloth smudged with oil.

In the cauldron, oil heated to hundreds of degrees raises the hot air.

If you pour down on an Ortomere soldier pushing under your eyes, your skin will burn to pieces and look miserable. And what follows is the baptism of the fire arrows.

No one can unharmed through this series of attacks.

For the soldiers of Ortomea, Fort Ushas is just the gateway to hell.

"Don't retreat! The knights of the Kingdom of Roselia! Now is the time to show me the truth!

Elena yelled at the knights around her as she squeezed a string of strong bows she had bespoke toward Ortomere's soldiers pushing over the moat.

No matter, it's never an easy fight, even though it has some local interest.

The Altomere empire spares no effort in bringing in the power of the country that controlled the central western continent.

People, people, people.

It's just a wave of people.

The pressure is not in line.

No matter how high the walls protect themselves, the last thing you say is a man's heart.

Elena was desperate to inspire the soldiers before shooting arrows after arrows and attacking the Ortomean army, which unleashed magic.

The most important thing in the Battle of Cage Castle is how to maintain the morale of the soldiers.

If you lose to the pressure unleashed by the enemy that pushes you, your heart breaks, the battle will end.

There is only one way to prevent it. Just keep piling up the bodies of the enemy.

"The broken castle hammer is coming!

A scream of vigilance rises from above the sight placed on the walls.

It is a simple object with a handle on the large tree cut out of the forest and reinforced with iron at the tip, but if it can be knocked down many times, no matter how thick the iron castle gate is, it will not be safe.

"Fire arrows! Aim for that one and release the fire arrow!

Under the quick judgment of the Force Leader, one fire arrow after another and an oiled pot poured down like rain over the castle hammer.

Apparently, you're on fire alert and covering the entire hammer with a wet cloth, but there's nothing you can do with such a small first aid.

After all, you can't do it with a rapid sword weapon.

(How can it be like this if the tactical options are narrowed down, even though it's a big army... After that, if we keep this morale until things are carried the way he thinks...)

Elena dyed her face red at sunset as she looked down from the top of the walls at the repeated attacks of the Altomere Empire several times, lifting her lips alone with a dark grin.

"It's time for today's attack to end."

From behind Elena, who commands on the front line, a bell-ringing woman's voice can be hung.

"Right... the sun has fallen, and the enemy will re-order... by the way, what happened to the Commander-in-Chief coming out on the front line?

Elena inquires in an unusual tone.

To such Elena's attitude, Ecclesia shook her neck sideways with a bitter laugh.

"Nothing in particular. The enemies who marched in the mountains seem to be doing better than Mr. Grahardt."

"He's capable as a commander too, I guess."

Elena nods naturally.

Grahardt Henschel, head of the Kingsguard Knights of the Kingdom of Zaluda, is one of the best samurai in the Kingdom of Zaluda.

It is the horizon that commands the entire battlefield that does not hold, but as commander of the battlefield, I am competent and experienced enough. He couldn't have beaten the Ortomean Empire in a mountain battle in the country where he was born and raised.

In the first place, it can be said that it is an unusual and unlikely choice, such as how the three eastern countries are companions under threat from the Ortomean Empire, entrusting the soldiers of other countries with the last fort that leads to the King's Capital, with Grahardt turning to the command of fortifications dotted in the surrounding mountains.

Still, Elena and Ecclesia strongly suggested turning Grahardt into a mountainside defense.

And it was finally possible to achieve it under the death of Julianus I, the king, after a rough and rough operational meeting.

The two Elenas pushed through such impossibilities only because Grahardt is familiar with the terrain of the Kingdom of Zaluda.

Though there are some robust fortifications and land interests, there is no point if they are bypassed.

If they take the back of the fort, the morale of the soldiers will fall at once.

"In the meantime, that seems to be the end of the day… now you've bought 20 days"

Ecclesia smiled with pleasure as she looked down at the state of the Ortomean army retreating slightly.

There's a possibility of a night raid, but we're already ready for the area.

If they accidentally hit me, I'll just give them a painful blow the other way around.

"Yeah, that kid's gonna make it."

To Ecclesia's inquiry, Elena turns her gaze north.

As if waiting for one hand to overshadow the war...

"Saito, can't you still take it down even if you command?

Chardina's frustrating shouts make her wave the tent.

Unthinkable attitude from the usual girlfriend.

You look terrible.

The prolonged battle took away the light from Chardina, who was sparkling like a jewel.

The luster is also lost from the golden hair that was beautifully combed.

A neighborhood floated around her eyes telling the story of her place.

"I'm sorry. Fortresses built in the valley are as strong as you think and take time to break through."

With a strange face, Saito bowed his head deeply.

It is not a personal responsibility of Saito.

Chardina holds all command this time.

Conversely, all responsibility for this situation lies with Chardina.

Besides, Saito is only the general of some troops.

In the sense of responsibility, there is nothing more to be borne than Celia, who is assigned as a staff officer in Chardina and its vicinity.

But Saito was not a child enough to speak of it face to face now Chardina.

The most important thing is to win this battle.

For Saito, who understands it, statements that destabilize Chardina's spirit are most abominable.

But the interrupter opens his mouth as if to laugh at such consideration of Saito.

"No, no, that's not all. The guys, disperse the guerrilla troops all over the mountain to get in the way of this one focusing on the fort's offense. If this one tries to respond, he can just escape into the mountains and get away with it. It would be useless to push from the front with tens of thousands of troops..."

"Mr. Sudo!

Eligible status report, but Saito yells at Sudo abominably.

Originally Saito didn't like Sudo.

Because of humans summoned from Earth to this earth world in the same way, there is certainly a part of empathy, but the original character is as different as water and oil.

Sudo, who preferred plotting and plotting to Saito, a samurai skin in one way or another, was incompatible, while acknowledging its need and excellence.

(I'm not a bad person... this guy is broken somewhere... well, I guess there are some parts I can't help but)

Sudo has somewhere to prefer to bleed.

Saito gets the impression that it's broken somewhere humanly.

But also, Saito worried that the rumors that hindered Sudo's inquiry could disturb Shardina's mind.

"It's okay, Sudo. If you want to tell me something, just tell me."

In a tone like he gave up somewhere, Chardina blocked Saito's words.

herself, never wanting to hear Sudo's words.

But Sudo's ability to have tactics, strategies, could be said to be more than first-rate from Chardina's point of view.

Somewhat, it is difficult to ignore Sudo's words, even though he has personality difficulties.

Listening to Chardina's words, Sudo glanced at Saito with a proud gaze, lifting his lips.

"Fort Ushas is more important than rumors. Besides, we're not ready for a siege weapon this time... the emphasis on manoeuvre for a short-term showdown."

The attack by magic makes no sense by the effect of the conferring magic applied to the fortress's walls. Now we have to take the basic means of siege.

However, since most siege weapons are heavy and inconvenient for transport, Chardina is hardly prepared for this battle.

Regardless, some readiness existed, and although they cut out forest trees to create impromptu siege weapons, their performance is still a few steps inferior to that handled by the artisans of the Imperial capital.

Especially when it comes to defense, you can say there are holes everywhere.

No matter how much water you soak, you can't keep fire arrows and oil from falling overhead.

"On top of that, the movement between the Zaluda nobles, which should have been untouched, is also dull. Perhaps you're going to see what's going on here and run to opportunism."

In siege warfare, the surest way to attack is to guide from the inside.

I mean, it's easiest to drop by the help of insiders.

However, the nobles' movement, which is the outline of their request, is dull.

"You think you're going to hang it on the balance?

"Well, if I'm in their shoes, I will. They have no faith. Well, that's why you drove General Berhares to his death on this proposal."

Sudo laughs disgustingly at Chardina's inquiry.

A cooperative attitude a year ago is like a lie.

Seeing Sudo's attitude, Chardina accidentally bit off her thumbnail in the stomach.

(Perhaps they questioned the power of the Empire after a long war... damn, that's why they came in a short showdown...)

"Fine... then what do you want me to do? Sudo."

"The best thing to do is to maintain the occupied territories while pulling soldiers back to their home countries. The trend in the north is unknown, and replenishment will be the limit. General Berhares'" Shigeru "continues to raid convoys all over the mountains, and we have not been able to carry the supplies as we think. Above all, local procurement is also demanding because Zaluda burned and retreated all the commodities from the villages and fields."

This is a tactic of war called scorched-earth tactics.

There are several examples in world history.

When this is done, supplies cannot be procured locally, making it very difficult for the army to maintain them as an army.

It can be described as a proven tactic that has worked tremendously if large armies have invaded areas that are difficult to transport, such as mountainous areas and cold areas.

However, on the other hand, there are many shortcomings, naturally, that are effective measures.

The biggest drawback of this measure will be that it will be even more difficult to rebuild after the war.

In other words, the Zaluda side has used nothing more than an operation to cut meat and break bones.

The only way to break this tactic is to win or lose in such a short period of time that you don't have to worry about replenishment, or to bring in more supplies than your home country.

It can be said that pulling soldiers is a regular path of war, more than neither of which works.

But Chardina shook her head slowly.

"No... Sudo. You think you can pull this off now?

In the part of reason, I understand that Sudo's words are correct.

But you can't easily pull a soldier here.

And Sudo himself fully understood the matter.

"Well, it'll be hard to be honest. At least your Highness's position will be quite unsavory. Neither do we."

Over the past year, Chardina has spent more than 500 million baht on the war.

The amount is enormous, even arguably the size of a small country's national budget.

Even though the Ortomean Empire, which owns the central region of the Western continent, was not an amount that could easily be twisted.

However, the amount itself is not as problematic as in this case.

Because given the national power of the Altomere Empire, it's enough to fill a hole in about two to three years.

So what's the problem?

That's nothing more than whether or not you can recover the expenses you've spent.

War, with extremely rare exceptions, mostly for economic reasons.

The occupation of territory is also aimed at taxes and resources derived from the land.

Pouring in gold is not an issue in itself.

The question is whether we can get something worth the amount we just stuck in.

"If we're going to pull a soldier, we're going to have to negotiate with Zaluda..."

Saito clouded his words.

Negotiation is not a bad choice if the war situation is a little more inclined to the Ortomere side.

Ideally, it would destroy the country, but Lionel, Emperor of the Ortomean Empire, has also told us beforehand that it is okay to leave it as a subordinate country.

However, we cannot choose that in the present circumstances.

"At least, as for this one, if we don't get the Ushas Basin, we can't take the original cost of the war that we put in...... but we won't be able to do it in the present situation first"

"I know... so you're giving top priority to the fort's offense, right?

Silence ruled in the tent.

Both Sudo and Saito remain silent and stare at Chardina.

I just started negotiating with the Zaluda side before the end of Fort Ushas's offense, and what I get is known to be high.

There is no way Zaluda could have abandoned so easily an important piece of land that could be considered the country's food bank.

Otherwise, however, the Altomere Empire does not have much flavor.

I mean, it's not commensurate with the cost of the war.

"Apparently, we're going to have to keep attacking like this."

"But Sudo!

"If you can't leave, you have to move on... right?

To Sudo's inquiry, Saito closed his mouth again.

Chardina is placed in a deep trust by the emperor, but many people are jealous of it.

Especially her two brothers, whose tendency was remarkable.

The pile that leaves is the guy that gets hit, but if this expedition ends in the end, he becomes the target of the monsters' outfits that leap into the court.

It's the same even if it was royal.

Even if you won't be executed, you just won't be sorry.

"I'll hang up tomorrow... Sudo, I'll use the measures I've been proposing..."

Sharpness returned to Chardina's eyes.

He reasserted his position and turned his belly.

"I see, a corrugated attack by all armies... if you fail, that's it"

Hearing Chardina's words, Sudo smiles with pleasure.

(The guy that Sudo used to say referenced the car-hunting formation... if that's for sure... there's no other option... but...)

Since being summoned to the earth world, a wild instinct that has been polished rings an alarm behind Saito's brain.

But it is also true that there is no other choice.

"Saito, you'll be on the front line tomorrow."

"Yes... Your Highness"

Shardina turns a sharp gaze to Saito, who was silent.

Pushed by the momentum, Saito just nodded with a touch of anxiety.