WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 122: The Fall of the Fortress

──────

From the walls of Arnsberg fortress, the Ferdinand Regiment could be clearly seen suffering an ambush and retreating.

They had taken considerable losses in the fighting retreat, and among the group that had stayed behind as the rear guard and died to the last, there had been a figure who looked like Baron Eugen Stamitz, the cavalry battalion commander. And judging by the confusion at their headquarters, it seemed that even the hero, Count Matthias Hosenfeld, had been wounded or killed.

With that, they would not be able to return as reinforcements again.

“Lord Regimental Commander! If this continues…”

Called to by his adjutant, Joseph understood what the man wanted to say, yet he looked over the defensive battle with a grim expression.

The enemy units that had finished their pursuit had returned to assaulting the fortress, and as before, a force of nearly three thousand pressed toward the gates and walls. The western defenders, now fewer than five hundred after so many casualties, were not only exhausted. Their morale had fallen sharply as well.

The reinforcements that had finally come to aid them had instead been ambushed by the enemy, suffered heavy losses, and retreated. They had no idea when the next reinforcements would arrive. In such a situation, it was unreasonable to maintain morale that had already been falling.

The fortress had lost its dry moat. As before, the enemy forces easily reached the walls and clung to them. The drawbridge had already been destroyed without serving any purpose at all, and now the gate itself was being shaken directly by the enemy’s battering ram.

There were only two choices to make.

Lose Arnsberg fortress, or lose both the fortress and the Hildegard Regiment.

“…All hands, prepare to retreat! We will abandon the fortress and fall back east for the time being!”

Joseph gave the order, clenching his hand with such force that blood nearly seeped from it.

The knights of his personal guard opened their eyes wide in shock for a moment, but immediately repeated their regimental commander’s order and relayed it to those around them. Messengers ran to deliver the command to the troops defending the eastern side of the fortress as well.

・・・・・・

Several hours after the offensive began, Arnsberg fortress fell.

The Hildegard Regiment of the Kingdom of Edelstein, which had defended the fortress, abandoned the western side. They ceased defending the walls and gates and fled to the eastern side, setting fire as they went to every flammable thing they could find, including wooden buildings and stacked supplies.

While Arelian troops broke through the western gate and entered the fortress, only to be thrown into confusion dealing with the fires, the enemy suddenly sallied from the eastern gate, where the attacking force was thin. With cavalry at the head, they forced a breakthrough to the east, and more than half of the troops that had been defending the fortress escaped. Enemy though they were, it was a magnificent flight.

By the time every fire set within the fortress had been extinguished, a certain amount of cleanup had been completed, and the seizure was finished, it was just before sunset.

“Lord Villeneuve, I am glad to see you safe. I imagine things were difficult on your side as well.”

“They certainly were. Half my force was taken by you in the middle of the offensive, and on top of that we took the enemy’s desperate charge. The Armor of the King had finally finished reorganizing, and now we are short on numbers again.”

Inside the fortress, still filled with the smell of blood and tense air that had not yet fully eased, Cecilia spoke in the command room set within the main hall, wearing a smile gentle enough to seem out of place. Patrick answered with his usual complaint, but as this came just after a historic victory, his expression carried a certain good humor.

“With this, Arnsberg fortress has finally returned to the hands of the Kingdom of Arelia.”

“Yes. This is a victory won through the efforts of each Arelian commander. Lord Montesque, I placed a great burden on you as well. Thank you.”

“…No thanks are needed. This too was work done for His Majesty the King. Besides, the achievement was possible because of the hard fighting of our subordinates.”

Robert answered, his single eye carrying a somewhat cool look. Cecilia showed no sign of minding his attitude and nodded with the same calm smile.

“You are entirely correct. Commanders, officers, and soldiers alike fulfilled their roles at the risk of their lives, and because of that, we obtained a great victory that will be carved into the history of the western continent. As expected of Lord Montesque. Your refusal to forget the efforts of those who fought with weapons in hand at the front is something I should learn from.”

At Cecilia’s words, Robert nodded with slight annoyance and looked out through the window over the fortress, or more precisely, over the knights and soldiers working inside it.

“Those who fought bravely need rewards. Not only honor, but rewards they can enjoy in the flesh.”

“Of course, I understand. With Arnsberg fortress seized, the series of operations I devised is complete. They will be given additional compensation separate from their pay, as well as sufficient leave.”

Even though they were the finest elites of the Arelian Kingdom’s army, after conquering the Kingdom of Novakia, marching hard, surrounding and taking Arnsberg fortress, they could not go on from here to continue an invasion into the territory of the Kingdom of Edelstein.

To begin with, they had gathered believing it was for a review ceremony, only to be dragged into an invasion, and just when they thought they could finally return home after that mission ended, they had next been thrown into the siege of Arnsberg fortress. They had been on military duty without seeing their families for nearly half a year. In the surprise attack on the fortress as well, Cecilia had forced quite a lot from them. It was only because of Childebert’s authority that they remained loyal, but because they were human, their physical and mental exhaustion was nearing its limit. They had to be given sufficient compensation for their contributions.

Furthermore, considering the defense of the royal capital and the royal demesne, it was not good to show those core elite forces remaining absent for too long, either domestically or abroad. It was possible that unrest might stir in frontier regions that had once belonged to foreign lands.

Therefore, those troops would be returned to the royal demesne for a time. The gap they left would be filled around Robert’s forces, which had not been on the battlefield for very long yet, alongside eastern army units returning from the conquered Novakia region to the Loire region, and noble levies and conscripts gathered from wherever they could be found.

With those forces, they could maintain the fortress and rear supply line, but they would be unreliable for advancing deeper into the Kingdom of Edelstein. On the enemy side, the Royal Guard and Albrecht Regiment remained intact, and the two regiments they had driven off had preserved more than half their strength. Noble levies and conscripts were certain to gather as well. With Robert’s troops and a patchwork force, victory would be difficult. The situation was far too different from the offensive against the Kingdom of Novakia, where they had carefully gathered their forces in advance and destroyed half of the enemy main force at the border battle stage.

They had brought down one neighboring country and secured the border region of another. In a single operation, this was as far as they could reasonably go.

And so, the Arelian side would first maintain this enormous bridgehead while proceeding with preparations for the decisive battle that would deliver the finishing blow to the Kingdom of Edelstein.

As long as there was time before that decisive battle, the Kingdom of Edelstein would also make every preparation it could. In that case, Arelia would have to deliver the finishing blow with a great offensive that surpassed those preparations. If they were to launch an offensive of that scale, they would need a suitable period of preparation, which in turn meant giving the enemy more than enough time as well.

In other words, the final decisive battle would almost inevitably become a great war in which both countries collided with all their strength after making every preparation possible. Whether Cecilia’s achievements here were rewarded or not would also be decided by whether they could win that battle.

“It is now late July. Considering the preparation period, a decisive battle within the year will be difficult. It will likely be after winter breaks. We too will have a short rest. For now, we can compose ourselves with some room to spare and…”

At that moment, Baron Ivar Velec, who commanded the jaeger unit and had been conducting reconnaissance of the surrounding area and pursuing the retreating enemy, arrived late at the command room.

“Forgive my lateness.”

“No, do not worry. Thank you for your efforts.”

As the lowest in rank and a newcomer among the kingdom’s nobles, Ivar bowed politely and apologized. Cecilia answered magnanimously on behalf of the assembled commanders.

“How does the enemy look?”

“The two regiments that retreated are continuing eastward as they are. They likely intend to withdraw to a distance where they cannot be struck by another surprise attack from us. Aside from them, there are no enemy forces in the area. My men are patrolling, so if there is any movement, we will know immediately.”

When Cecilia asked, Ivar reported in an even tone.

“…And one more important report.”

At those words from Ivar, Cecilia raised one eyebrow slightly.

“We succeeded in at least gravely wounding Count Matthias Hosenfeld. I myself confirmed the sight of a crossbow bolt fired by one of my men striking Count Hosenfeld directly. The count could not retreat under his own power and was carried away by stretcher. At minimum, he will be unable to fight for the time being. Depending on the severity of his wound, he may have died in battle.”

“…I see.”

After a moment of blank shock, Cecilia spoke.

Patrick and Robert turned their gazes toward her. Both of them knew that Cecilia carried an extraordinary obsession with killing Count Hosenfeld.

“Judging from the state of Count Hosenfeld’s wound, even if he survives, he may not appear in the decisive battle. The living hero of Edelstein being unable to take the field is fortunate for us… You have done well. I will report your achievement to His Majesty the King. I ask that your unit continue patrol and reconnaissance.”

Probably contrary to what the two men expected, Cecilia continued in a composed voice.

Not yet.

She must not rejoice yet. It had not yet been decided that Count Hosenfeld was dead.

She should wait to release her joy until word of Count Hosenfeld’s death arrived, until it was certain that her family’s enemy had been avenged.

“Speaking of which, what of the head of Baron Stamitz, who commanded that splendid death squad in the Ferdinand Regiment’s rear guard?”

“My unit has secured it. We also have the head of one knight who appears to have been of battalion commander rank.”

It was Robert who answered Cecilia’s question, which seemed intended to turn her own mind elsewhere.

“That is good. Then please prepare to return them to the enemy… We must answer the courtesy shown to Lord Alanbure.”

Baron Vincent Alanbure, Cecilia’s subordinate who had once died in the battle on the mountain road, had been able to sleep in his ancestral grave as a noble because the enemy had returned his head.

Courtesy must be returned with courtesy, even to an enemy.

Cecilia possessed at least that much pride as a knight.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried