Wortenia Senki (WN)

A man, looking down the street with a sharp eye from the second floor of the inn facing the main street close to the castle gate of Ipilos, reported to Iga Sachinae, his superior, who laid down slowly on the chair behind him.

"Another army has crept through the castle gate of Ipilos. The emblem of the flag is a golden eagle with wings spread over the red land."

"Hmm, the eagle crest... then I'm pretty sure it's Baron Garveira's house. How many?"

Yanai asks the man softly as he passes on the exquisitely crafted silver-worked xelle supposedly passed from the man to this earth world that he was summoned from the same day book hundreds of years ago.

"Approximately a hundred rides"

The man answered the inquiry without precipitation.

He has sufficient experience and skills in assassinations and sabotage as a sneak, but one of the best men to do so is in intelligence operations that assume a battlefield.

The main task is to infiltrate the enemy formation as a spy or to inform them of the number of enemy troops.

I have enough training to say I don't like it so that I can get a glimpse of the number of troops in the army.

"Knight only"

"Yes, just a knight in all armor"

"I see... have you sent out soldiers to the critical point where they can be dispatched without conscripting the inhabitants..."

Whilst removing the ashes stuck in the Xcel, Hachi smiled at its big Buddha kind of round face.

I thought you were probably wary of the rebellion.

"I guess... it means he wasn't stupid enough to conscript civilians in this situation on a boulder."

I snort slowly into my men's words.

(So far all ten northern houses that have entered Ipilos have seven. number of soldiers and exceeded 2,000 horsemen)

It is a calculation that there are two remaining houses, with the exception of the Salzberg family, lords of Ipilos and its surroundings.

Basically, nobility has more or less private military power.

Even though prefecture ruled under absolute royalty, military power was more or less imperative for the nobility than the right of nobility to autonomy was recognized.

Outside the moats and walls that surround towns and villages are not areas controlled by men. It is a world of feeble predators where the monsters' threats strike people by touching folds and criminals evicted from towns and villages target weak humans with tiger vision.

No, to be honest, even towns and villages can't be completely safe.

Although it is not often said that dragon species and comparable monsters attack villages and towns, it is not that uncommon.

But even if imperfect, rich and safe cities and villages have a huge impact on the economy.

People get together because it's safe, and things get together because people get together. And safety brings vitality to people and promotes economic activity.

Unless it's an extra special circumstance, I'd rather live in a city that's said to be so safe that I don't have to lock up my house than an insecure city where everyone has to live freaking out what time they'll be deprived of their earned money, and I'd rather live under a lord who invests in policing.

It is the powerful merchants who hold that thought particularly strongly. Naturally it is difficult to do business in insecure cities. Naturally, they will move their base of commerce to a safe city.

Unlike peasants tied to land, merchants can travel relatively easily. It's a natural decision to show up in a safer city.

In order to respond to such real threats and commercial activity in the territory, it may be said that the strengthening of military capabilities, including the employment of knights, is a natural duty to be carried out by the Lords.

However, it is also difficult to force a knight to serve when he is oblivious because he needs military strength.

From the king's point of view, nobility having a mighty military power is tantamount to tolerating the potential existence of one day or another aimed at one's throne.

Naturally, the royal family will stare at the aristocracy that enhances its military power. In some cases, the situation could have been one in which a clan romantic party would be uprooted under the stigma of a rebel.

Even if you need military power to live, if you increase it excessively, the royal family will crush you.

Conflicting conditions necessary to survive.

For this reason, it was common sense in this earth world for nobility to minimize the need for a Knight's Clerk, a standing army, and to compensate for the shortfall by mercenary and territorial conscription.

Taking as an example the Baron family, which houses the average territory in the Kingdom of Roselia, the number of knights is common between fifty and one hundred, and the number of conscriptible soldiers is around five hundred.

One hundred and fifty to two hundred knights in the Viscount's house, with an approximate number of conscripts available. Did you just say 2,000 to 3,000 territorial militiamen around three hundred knights in the Count's house?

Of course, these are only talk of averages. Naturally, these troop numbers will rise and fall in the state of the territory that governs them, and the number of troops mobilized will change, even if they are invaded or defended.

(To say that a soldier led only by a knight is a testament to the insecurity of the territory governed by each house. So far, everything has unfolded as the museum thinks... the boulders have just been fallen in love)

Given the walls of identity lying between the civilian population and the nobility, the reasons for the nobility to take account of the civilian population become extremely limited.

If that's not the case to be wary of rebellion, most nobles would have conscripted their people without hesitation.

If that happens, the number of mobilized troops in the ten northern houses headed by the Salzberg family, which is rich in economic power, exceeds 10,000 for the territorial militias alone.

This is a rather distant figure from the normal number of troops mobilized, but an expected figure that I am quite confident in as far as what they have been doing intelligence against their territory.

That's the extent to which you can bet your neck.

Originally, the northern part of Roselia has a strong tide of saying that it is remote from the king's capital, and has a historical history of northern nobility leading the defence against the kingdoms of Zaluda and Mist, on top of the position that the king's authority is difficult to reach.

Ipilos, also ruled by the Earl of Salzberg, has a face as the largest commercial city in northern Roselia with the help of a merchant guild.

Naturally, the benefit is also brought to each house that governs the surrounding territory.

From both the military and the economic standpoint, it is good to say that the aristocrats of the north also have a plucked presence within Roselia.

It is also a major reason that it can be used to mobilize even critical forces without considering the lateral spears of the surrounding aristocracy.

Unless there is more to it, no Roselian nobleman tries to cross spears with a strong northern army.

With the exception of the Baron Galveira family in the east, which borders directly with other countries, and the Baron Beltran family in the west, it is good to assume that their territory is quite unlikely to be attacked by others.

"Head! I thought maybe he was Signis Garveira."

One knight proceeded about inside the squad in the eye of a man who kept watching the street through a window. For a moment in the words, the eyes of a serpent with a prey in his eyes show sharpness.

"Is it Galveira in the east...... did the Earl of Salzberg still bring the best pawns? Then the western beltran must not come either."

Ten aristocratic families dominating the north. Among them, the Galveira and Beltran houses in particular could be said to be exactly the corner of the flying car for the Earl of Salzberg if compared to chess.

Both houses are titles and barons, very ordinary houses with no territory or special eyes, but just one thing that draws a line with other houses.

"Twin Swords of the North... Let me show you first if the pattern is as good as the rumors."

Makuchi smiled invincibly.

A grand dinner party was held that night at the Earl of Salzberg's house.

With precious spices and ingredients sparingly used, the wine stoppers, which are regarded as luxury products made of chateaux that even the aristocratic class can hardly speak of, are opened at all costs.

As the Northern Allies, and as the caller of this battle, I did all I could to be ashamed of myself.

The only pity is that there are extremely few women.

All the maids who work in the service are grainy beauties, but there are rumours that all of them are arranged by the Earl of Salzberg, and nobility is not the first to get their hands on them.

(Well, assuming the nobleman's wife was there, there's no reason to speak up.)

Roberto Beltran curses his condition and carries the chicken on a plate in his hand to his mouth.

If you are the man who inherits the house, it is normal for you to try to interact with the nobles around you at all at these dinner parties.

But Roberto, who is not a man, cannot interact with other houses on these occasions.

Roberto himself has no ambition, but he doesn't see his surroundings that way.

Even though, Roberto has a high martial name as a samurai. That would be bitter if you tried to make him a man with no martial arts talent or a man with a literary skin who gave birth to him.

Do you let the child born in the side room inherit his family name? It can also be said that such thoughts cannot be accomplished in a certain way, but they would not have accumulated if they had been made a roberto to be sacrificed.

Not to mention, he conveniently only asks for responsibility as a gateway during a battle like this one.

"As always, don't hang the gold on me. Shit, it's like you can't eat at home first... hey, give me some wine"

Open the glass in your hand with one breath and I order you to bring the addition to the maid who was nearby.

There's really no way that drinking and eating will be the main thing.

Someone slapped Roberto's shoulder like that from behind.

"You're the same."

"Earl of Salzberg... Long time no see"

"Um, apparently you're enjoying it... more than anything."

The Earl of Salzberg nods deeply as he turns his gaze to a dish of dishes that have been chilled and emptied.

That's the kind of gaze I blame for my lack of character as a nobleman.

"Yeah, it's just something you rarely get to talk about at home."

"Looks good too...... well, no matter how much you eat if you work in battle I won't say anything. Give me some tap."

Words full of slight scorn and insult.

Still, Count Salzberg's coming from himself is proof that Roberto's strength cannot be ignored.

In fact, Signis and Roberto are the two most important pawns the Count considers in this battle.

"But do we really need to mobilize all ten northern houses? Of course, I've heard rumors about Baron Chai, and it seems to be true that there's some movement on the peninsula."

Considering it an opportunity at the corner that the Count himself had spoken to, Roberto spoke of the doubts he had hidden in his heart.

The other party is the Baron's house. It is also a battle against an opponent whose territory is the Waltenia Peninsula, an undeveloped land.

In comparison, each of the ten northern families boasts more than a common title. Common sense suggests that this battle has been won or lost before the spears were exchanged.

"I don't know... I honestly think I'm overreacting... it's just a fact that it's hard to predict what that guy's doing. I can understand why my wife wants to take safety precautions... well, in any case, she'll have an answer in the next few days"

That said, the Earl of Salzberg turns his gaze out the window.

As if to see through the land of the north hidden by the Book of the Night, Tojo.

And a few days later. An army surrounded by pitch-black darkness finally appeared north of Ipilos.