CH 48

Kingdom calendar year 502, January 15.

It was a snowy night.

In the evening, there was a blizzard, but by midnight the weather had calmed down.

Now the snow is just dancing quietly.

“Marius. Is this all the information you have from the scouts?”

Klein stands near the eastern wall.

He waits for the scouts to report back.

And from the reports that have come in, he is getting the pattern he envisioned.

“Yes. I’ve collected from multiple pathways just to be sure, but almost the same reports have come up.”

“I see…”

Without additional information, there is no additional modification to the operation.

Perhaps the whole operation is feasible.

He breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that he has successfully fished the enemy’s main body out in front of the fort for the time being.

“Okay, then, as planned. We will meet the enemy there.”

The Asgard forces bring supplies into the fort and take up a siege position.

The Eastern Count army did not build a field position.

The army marched from afar, and their men were exhausted.

Normally, they rest in a position that is out of the reach of night attacks from the fort.

It is a standard practice to set up a position just out of sight of the fort and rest for the night.

An Eastern Count army with only cavalry is vulnerable to a castle attack, and it is impossible to defeat a fort with a quick attack.

The fort is more valuable than a normally configured army ―and it should be.

However, the scouts report that…

Although they took a long rest, Count Vanargand’s troops were still mounted and began marching in three separate lines.

“They’re going to attack us. Get all men to their posts.”

“Yes, sir. All units, prepare to intercept!”

Marius calls out to the others, and they finish their positions.

Since the speed of the scouts is about the same as the Eastern Count army’s advance, there is no time to spare.

―However, Klein informed all of his troops of the expected arrival time of Eastern Count’s army.

Most of them were skeptical, though.

The advanced information made the surprise less upsetting.

“The main force is a decoy, and the main objective is an ambush force that will force its way through the Great Forest to reach the capital, and… it’s a feign. If the attack from the slope is successful, they will come for real.”

How would the enemy forces, divided into three groups, move?

一One of them, led by Count Vanargand himself, will launch a night attack on the fort from the front.

一One group will break through the Great Forest and attack directly into Asgard territory.

一The last group climbs the steep mountain to the north of the fort.

While mounted, the rider runs down a steep cliff and makes a suicide attack.

Here, too, a battle of wits would normally ensue.

Klein already knew the enemy’s move.

“Well, do you really think… they’re going to run down that cliff?”

But from Marius’ point of view, the plan is a mess.

He looks to the north of the fort, but all he sees is a steep, almost precipitous slope.

“It’s an elite force coming down. I’ll give them that much.”

“But… no, never mind. You’ve been right so far.”

If they tried to come down there, they could only see the enemy slipping down and getting seriously injured on their own.

Isn’t it useless to take countermeasures?

Klein smiles at Marius, who is not sure if he should advise him to do so.

“Don’t look so awkward. I know you’re just being considerate by not dismissing me as a joke like some merchant.”

“…copy that.”

Marius knows that Trek has an amicable relationship with Klein.

He did not know how to respond to that as a serious person.

“The Great Forest countermeasure has been already prepared, but how do you plan to deal with the cliff troops?”

He already turns his thoughts to the practicalities of how to deal with the cliff troops.

Klein, who has already made his move, replies with a look of comfort on his face.

“Hans and Trek will deal with it.”

“Hans and…uh, Trek?”　

Klein repeatedly repeats that he does not know who is the secret agent.

So this time, only the information about each position was given to the minimum number of people.

Marius and Trek often work together, but this mission is kept secret even from Marius.

Marius looks surprised when he hears that even Trek, a non-combatant, has been mobilized.

Klein nodded slowly.

“Yeah, they’ll take care of that…it is the moment of truth.”

Now, there are 2,000 men in the fort.

These are the soldiers that Klein has gathered under the guise of “exercises using the fort.”

Out of the 13,000 troops, 3,000 are sent to the northern territories to maintain security.

The remaining 1,000 were sent for vacation.

The remaining 7,000 were to stay in town.

[ This time, it’s an exercise. It’s not far, so we’ll move our men out of the city if anything goes wrong. ]

Klein had just declared such a thing at the pre-meeting ceremony.

He had declared widely that the Eastern Count would not attack seriously.

Indeed, the fort is a day and a half away by horseback from the capital of Asgard.

There are no large cities in between, so the army could rush to the fort at once.

The people around him were convinced that this was just a military exercise.

But even as they were talking about it.

Randolph, Peter, and some other generals who were leading separate units were informed of the real plan.

Fortunately, it seems that the order to narrow down the perpetrator was not noticed by the secret agents.

The Hermes Society has also been excluded from the main mission, so he is on target.

“Now, let’s see how many fish they’ll use to catch the general’s head.”

At present, there are only a few soldiers stationed at the fort.

Considering the distance from the city, reinforcements will not arrive in time if they attack quickly.

When he put them all together.

If they strike immediately, there is a very high possibility that they can take out General Klein.

It is because they learned this information through a secret spy.

The Eastern Count’s army chose to attack by surprise without building a position.

“If they are military officers, I think they will strike first. I think…we will catch them all.”

“I hope so.”

It’s an opportunity to destroy them individually.

And an easy way to take the fort.

It is also an opportunity to take Viscount Asgard’s head.

From the Eastern Count’s point of view, this is the best time to make a decision.

Therefore, they will not wait and see but come with full force.

“So, it’s an all-out battle.”

The enemy was moving straight ahead in the snow without making a single sound.

He could already see it from his side.

“But Klein-sama. You are outnumbered, so if you can, please don’t push yourself too hard…”

“You can’t win if you don’t push yourself, right? We’re up against the most powerful army in the kingdom, the Vanargand Count’s army.”

The Eastern Count’s army ―the most powerful in the kingdom, Count Vanargand’s army ―is quickly closing in.

Even Marius, who had heard most of the plan in advance, was not confident that Klein could defend himself against such a large force.

Still, Klein did not panic.

He moved to the center of the fort on foot from the east side.

He sits down on a simple chair in the temporary main camp and says, in his usual tone of voice.

“I have no intention of running away or retreating… not now.”

“… I will protect you.”

Peter, the headhunter who usually escorts him, was sent to the north about a month ago.

He just checked.

Randolph is already at his post.

“Well, it’s the big game. This is.”

Trek and Hans are waiting in front of the slope on the north side of the fort.

He has sent 1,000 men from the Jotun reinforcements on foot, and they should be in position by now.

The defense of the fort is in Graham’s hands.

His men should have finished preparing for the defense.

And although not a force, Norbert, the chief butler, should be in command at the house.

The supporting forces are the cooperative Chamber of Commerce and Vargas. He also asked Marie to help.

After many attempts and changing the pattern, the result is the same.

In Klein’s opinion, this was the best arrangement.

He has taken everything he has seen in his life and put it to use.

He is ready for his eleventh battle.

“The main players are gone. Are you sure we can protect you?”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“But…”

Graham, who commands the fort’s defense, and Marius, the head of intelligence.

These are the only two who stand out in the force at hand.

Brynhildr is absent from the war because she has business in the capital.

“What could be more important than the destruction of our lands?”

“His Highness says that the campaign is in its final stages. I thought they were putting the finishing touches on it.”

“I’ve never heard of that before… Are you exchanging pieces of information with other secret agents?”

Marius also looked surprised, thinking that Brynhildr had reported to him.

Klein had nothing to say if everything was going well, so he turned his head calmly to the front.

Almost as soon as Klein turned to the front, the Eastern Count army shouted a war cry in unison.

Not a single soldier or even a single horse neighs or cries until the moment the battle begins, which shows the tremendous skill of the army.

Admiring this, Klein also concentrates.

“… well, okay. Here we go.”

The cavalry of the Counts of Vanargand is approaching the fort on horseback and is mounting their own folding ladders in a siege style.

On the ramparts, Graham is shouting a message and shooting arrows at the enemy soldiers who are rushing with ladders.

The equipment of the enemy soldiers is also different.

First of all, they use a narrow ladder that is large enough to be carried by cavalry.

The normal ramparts are not high enough.

If the Asgard had an axe, they could easily knock it off.

“Hahaha! This is terrible! “

But it’s a good choice.

Their ladders are long enough to climb up the walls.

It’s as if they knew the dimensions of the fortress and brought the best equipment.

On the other hand, the Asgard are not equipped with enough axemen.

Graham, who was out to fight, laughed at the fact that the enemy knew all about him.

At any rate, he sends a message to his men.

“Oh, whatever. Let’s get to the center of the outrush and start shooting! “

“”” Yes! “”””

The battle has begun, but their defenses are stiff.

Graham took command of his men to ensure optimal manpower deployment.

Using mostly bows, they continued to repel the onrushing enemy.

Klein had seen this scene many times before and spoke to Marius to pass the time.

“Graham’s guy, he’s better at leadership than direct combat, so that’s a penalty…”

“His military prowess is outstanding. Well, not as good as Randolph.”

“That’s also a penalty.”

Having said that, Klein is not in a hurry or fuss.

Watching the defense battle going on in front of him, he just wait for the right moment.