WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS
Translator: Abood
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Friedrich's Battlefield
Chapter 109: Neutralization (1)
Friedrich’s thirty-man infiltration unit had crossed into the southern reaches of Novakia roughly two days before the fall of the fortress.
Moving as a single body would have drawn too much attention, so they split into squads of ten to approach the river. Keeping as far west as possible from the bridge and fortress that stood on the Novakian side, they concealed themselves in a riverside forest.
There they assembled rafts using some materials prepared in advance, supplemented with timber from the forest. Choosing moments when no enemy patrols were present on the opposite bank, they crossed under cover of night.
The river was forded several times until all the men and the equipment needed for the operation had been brought across.
Once over the border, the squads continued to move northward, keeping hidden in the forest and avoiding detection by enemy patrols or locals, before regrouping near a village that had been marked beforehand.
The village, with a population of more than two hundred, was relatively large for a rural settlement along the border.
On the day before the scheduled assault on the fortress, coordinated with the main force, several of the infiltration unit’s knights including Oliver, whose heavy equipment bore little resemblance to Edelstein’s uniforms, boldly entered the village posing as Novakian knights.
The villagers, never imagining that Edelstein soldiers could already be within their territory, believed Oliver’s declaration.
When ordered, they obediently gathered in the central square of the village, where the thirty infiltrators easily surrounded them.
To prevent escape or resistance, the infiltrators bared their swords, while small children were brought to the front of the square. Then Friedrich addressed them, his voice and expression calm and gentle.
“If you cooperate, then neither you nor these children will be harmed. The children are not hostages. They are simply here to assure us of your cooperation.”
Friedrich knew his words were sophistry, and he knew it well. Yet with their children seized, the villagers had no choice but to obey.
He had all the young children, along with a few adults to care for them, locked inside the village church under guard. Yarg, Gunther, and eight others were assigned to watch over them.
Separated from their children, the villagers had no option but to comply.
From among the two hundred or so, Friedrich excluded only those clearly unsuited to impersonating soldiers, the bent-backed elderly, the shorter youths not yet grown, and ordered all the rest to don the equipment brought by the Edelstein army.
About thirty of the men who looked most convincing as soldiers were given genuine army helmets and breastplates, with imitation scabbards of thick paper or cloth hung at their waists.
The others were dressed in cloth and hats designed to mimic armor and helmets. Women with long hair were made to bind it up and hide it beneath the hats.
Lined up and viewed from a distance, they indeed looked like a unit of Edelstein infantry.
With the fate of the children hanging over them, none dared resist. The next day, the villagers, marched under guard by the infiltration unit, moved toward the fortress with Friedrich. As for mounts, they borrowed the pack and farm horses found in the village.
As a result, the Ferdinand Regiment secured a foothold within Novakian territory without a single battle and without a single casualty.
The stratagem was nearly the same as the one Friedrich had employed in his first battle as a soldier, at the Northern Plains.
Countess Cecillia Fargiere of Arelia who had devised such a scheme even earlier might have seen through it. But against Novakia’s battalion commander, it succeeded.
After the enemy’s surrender, Friedrich entrusted the villagers to Oliver and his squad of ten, sending them back to their homes, while he entered the fortress with the remaining ten.
When he revealed the ruse, the fortress commander first stared wide-eyed in shock, then let out a bitter smile of resignation.
“The nearby village was seized with ease. We suffered no casualties. The villagers were most cooperative. Oliver and his men are expected to return tomorrow.”
Though they had never been harmed, Friedrich could not help but recall the villagers’ fearful faces, and with a faint pang of guilt, he delivered his report to Matthias in a chamber of the main keep, now serving as headquarters.
“I see. That is what matters most… We have begun interrogating the prisoners here, and it seems certain that the Kingdom of Novakia does intend to launch an offensive.”
“…Then the operation will continue?”
“Yes. Once the prisoners are transferred to the rear and Oliver’s unit rejoins us, the day after tomorrow we move to the next phase. Until then, you should take your rest.”
“Understood.”
Friedrich saluted, while in his mind he ran through the plan for their coming actions.
The stratagem was still only in its opening stage. The true test lay ahead.
・・・・・・
After releasing the villagers who had cooperated, Oliver’s squad rejoined them safely, and the following day the plan moved on to its next stage.
The archers remained behind to secure the fortress and the bridge, while the cavalry and infantry were broken into multiple detachments of several dozen men each.
These detachments moved out into southern Novakia, especially the villages along the highway.
In each village, they demanded new “cooperation.”
“Our purpose is not slaughter! If you comply without resistance, your safety will be guaranteed!”
Leading fifty men into the first village, Friedrich called out from horseback, raising his voice above the din echoing through the settlement.
“You fools! I told you only what you can carry by hand or on your back! Who told you to drag out furniture? You want a beating?”
Gunther’s shout made a family of three, who had been hauling a shelf out of their house, drop it in fright. The aged father threw himself in front of his family, bowing desperately in apology, while behind him the mother and young daughter trembled with fear.
To the villagers, Gunther’s voice must have been terrifying, yet even as he bellowed he did not lay a hand on them—he, too, was following Friedrich’s order.
Watching the scene out of the corner of his eye, Friedrich spoke again.
“As I already said, the property you may bring is limited to what you can carry in your hands, or bear on your back alone! If you obey these instructions, we will handle matters peacefully, and this unpleasant time will soon be over for you!”
At Friedrich’s command, the knights and soldiers enforced the order upon the villagers. Gathering what they could within the limits given, the people filed out of their homes and assembled in the village square.
At one house where the occupants had yet to appear, Yurika placed her hand on her sword’s hilt and pushed inside.
“D-don’t come in here!”
“You were told to take what belongings you wished to bring and gather in the square. Why have you made no preparations?”
Startled for an instant as the door was thrown open, the man who seemed to be the head of the household regained his nerve when he saw that the intruding knight was a young woman.
Perhaps for the sake of his wife and children watching, he puffed out his chest and planted himself before her.
“Silence! This is our home! I won’t take orders from some girl like—”
Before he could finish, Yurika swept his legs out from under him. As he staggered and fell to his knees, she drew her blade with blinding speed and placed its edge against his throat.
“…Ngh.”
“We have been given strict orders not to use force except in self-defense. Especially, killing is to be avoided as much as possible. That is the only reason your head is still attached. But if you resist too much, those orders may change. If you value your life and your family’s, then follow the instructions.”
Speaking in an expressionless, ice-cold voice, Yurika stepped back from the man and slid her sword back into its scabbard.
“I-I understand. I was wrong. I won’t do anything foolish again.”
His face had gone pale, chilled to the bone. Behind him, his wife and two children were frozen in shock.
“You have one hundred seconds. Be ready and outside with your belongings by then.”
Leaving those words behind, Yurika exited the house.
Not long after, all the villagers were gathered in the square. Each had tried to carry as much property as possible; not only the adults, but even the children were burdened with loads on their backs and items clutched in their hands.
Knights and soldiers moved among the villagers, inspecting what they carried. The amount each bore was acceptable; what mattered was the contents.
“I told you only food enough for the journey of evacuation. This much grain will not do. One sack only.”
A soldier said this as he confiscated four of the five sacks of wheat a villager carried. Many others likewise had their wheat, vegetables, or dried meat taken away.
“You intend to carry a chicken? That’s… Lord Friedrich, what shall we do?”
“It’s fine. It is still property that can be carried by hand. Let it pass.”
At Friedrich’s reply, the villager clutching the chicken showed a look of relief.
Once the inspections were complete, Friedrich called out to the entire assembly.
“Now then, everyone. I thank you for your cooperation. Thanks to you, matters were concluded swiftly… And so, you are free. If you flee to the capital, Cēsis, the royal house of Novakia, your protectors, will surely shelter you and see to your needs. You may all go.”
With a gesture toward the village exit, Friedrich gave them leave. The villagers hesitated a moment, but at last the village elder and his family began to walk.
That broke the dam; others followed. Many looked back repeatedly at the homes where they had been born and raised, unable to part with them. Some wept as they went.
“It will be all right. In a year or two at most, the struggle between our kingdoms will be over, and you will return to this land to rebuild your village. Think of this only as a temporary evacuation from a battlefield.”
The words were little more than solace, but Friedrich spoke them to the villagers’ departing backs nonetheless.
Footnotes:
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