WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 175: The Battle for Cuanca (1)

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Several days later, the army led by Cecilia, about five thousand five hundred strong, approached the vicinity of the port city of Cuanca.

Cuanca's population was about four thousand. According to reports from scouts who had been watching the situation, quite a few people seemed to have evacuated before the rebel army rose. It was believed that in addition to the two thousand rebels, including troops gathered from surrounding farming villages and small towns, an equal number or more of city residents remained inside the walls.

The walls were built in a semicircle around the east, west, and north of the city, and were about six meters high. They were low compared to those of a large city, but still a troublesome enough obstacle. The south faced the sea, and the wall extended partly along the shore as well, so attempting to attack from that side would require a fleet. The Kingdom of Arelia had originally been an inland country and had no proper navy, and the current Arelia royal family did not have the money to hire large numbers of ships. It was not realistic.

By common sense, this was a stronghold that could not easily be taken. However, Cecilia had a plan to capture it. The preparations had already been completed.

"Well, if they were going to surrender in response to a warning, they would not have risen in the first place... Good work. I apologize for giving you an unpleasant role."

"No, my lady. It is military duty."

Even if the enemy were rebels, they were at least people of the Kingdom of Arelia. Therefore, first of all, it was necessary to issue a demand for surrender while promising generous treatment. The knight who had approached Cuanca's gate and delivered the message, only to be shot at by arrows and forced to flee back in a hurry, answered Cecilia's words of appreciation with a serious expression.

After dismissing the knight, Cecilia turned to the adjutant beside her.

"Rose. Are the archers ready to move?"

"They are ready."

"Good. Then let us go."

Nodding at her capable adjutant's answer, Cecilia left the command tent with her.

They had only arrived at noon that day, and the camp had not yet finished being set up. The area around the command tent, which had been erected first, was wrapped in noise. Many officers and soldiers were running about doing chores such as pitching sleeping tents and carrying supplies. However, on the southern side facing Cuanca, the archers of the Arelian Royal Army were lined up.

Leading those archers along with the knights of her own guard, Cecilia advanced. She drew close enough for Cuanca to fall within bow range.

When Cecilia gave the signal, the commanders of the archer units ordered their men to prepare to fire. Then,

"Loose!"

At the commanders' order, several hundred arrows were fired in arcs all at once.

The tips of the arrows were not fitted with arrowheads, but with cloth rounded into balls, making them unlikely to injure anyone even if they landed. In addition, letters were tied to the arrows.

In other words, these were not arrows meant to attack those inside Cuanca's walls, but message arrows meant to deliver their words to the people within.

Several hundred message arrows flew over the wall and rained down into the streets of Cuanca. Written on the attached letters was a warning to the rebel army that had risen and the city residents trapped inside.

The rebel army, having refused a generous demand for surrender, would be killed as soon as they were captured. However, the residents would be protected, and their safety would be guaranteed. The residents trapped inside the city should not cooperate with the rebellion, but remain indoors and wait for the battle to end. That message was written in plain words and delivered.

Those who picked up the letters and could read would understand the contents. They would spread the message to those around them who could not read. It would not be limited to city residents. The rebel soldiers would do the same.

Once the message spread, it would create further friction between the rebel army and the city residents, who likely already differed in enthusiasm. The residents would become uncooperative toward the rebels, and order inside the city would fray.

Furthermore, when the rebels became disadvantaged in battle, their soldiers would abandon the walls and flee, hastening the collapse of the rebel army. Most of the rebel soldiers were, in the end, ordinary commoners. If they could not win, the soldiers would fear execution, throw away their weapons, and try to survive by blending in with the city residents. If they did blend among the residents, quite a few rebel soldiers would escape, but killing all of them had never been realistic. Cecilia thought it was fine to overlook those who fled. She had also obtained permission from King Samuel to do so.

As a result, with just these several hundred message arrows, Cecilia could make the full-scale fighting from tomorrow onward proceed one or two steps more easily.

"Now then, today's operation is over. Let us return to camp and rest."

Listening to the commotion of the rebels and city residents, loud enough to reach beyond the walls, Cecilia withdrew with her officers and soldiers.

......

The next day, the army led by Cecilia finally began its attack in earnest.

"Loose!"

The archers had approached close enough for their arrows to reach Cuanca's walls. At their commander's order, the archers fired in arcs just as they had the previous day. This time, the arrows they released were fitted with iron arrowheads and truly possessed killing power. The rain of arrows falling into the enemy position steadily killed unlucky rebel soldiers little by little.

"Keep throwing! You are improving bit by bit! Keep it up!"

Around the archers, several hundred conscripts threw stones under the command of regular soldiers.

Using simple slings made from cloth, they launched fist-sized stones with centrifugal force. Many fell short of the wall, but about half crossed over and reached the enemy position. Gaining distance with a sling was not an easy skill, and the ability of conscripts who had never trained could not be called high even as flattery. But as they repeated the action, they gradually became used to it, and their average distance increased.

Stones cost nothing if gathered from the surrounding area. Yet if a fist-sized stone struck someone directly in the head, it could easily kill. The conscripts steadily inflicted damage on the enemy while maintaining distance from the wall. Even if the stones did not hit, the mere fact that countless lethal attacks were flying at them forced the enemy into tension and wore them down.

Naturally, the rebel army fired back. Since Arelia's arrows and stones reached them, the enemy's long-range attacks reached as well.

However, their number was limited. Most of the enemy forces were amateurs in war, so they had few archers. Even if they tried to throw stones, there were not conveniently large numbers of throwable stones inside the city, and it took time to break up stone materials and prepare them. Also, slingers needed to line up in open spaces, and there was no convenient place near the wall where many could line up.

In the exchange of long-range attacks, the army led by Cecilia was clearly superior. Their own losses were light, while the enemy steadily gained more dead and wounded.

"...This should be enough."

Cecilia, who had been watching the offense and defense from the safety of the main camp as overall commander, murmured as the enemy's attacks gradually slowed.

If her only purpose were to reduce enemy strength, she could end today's offensive with shooting and stone throwing alone. But this army had advanced to suppress a rebellion. It would be unnatural if they did not show a posture of actively attacking Cuanca with a suitably forceful attitude.

Therefore, Cecilia gave the next order.

"Stone-throwing units, cease attack. Infantry units, charge."

"Yes, my lady."

Rose and the messenger knights saluted and transmitted Cecilia's orders to each unit.

The stone-throwing units, whose skill might lead them to hit allies advancing forward, stopped attacking. Meanwhile, the skilled regular archers continued suppressing the enemy with arced shots. In that opening, the infantry units approached the wall.

As Cecilia had instructed in advance, the heavily equipped regular army units stood at the front. The conscripts followed behind them. Unlike the field battle against the Kingdom of Edelstein two years ago, the regular soldiers stood in the line of fire and protected the conscripts.

King Samuel Arelia fought differently from the previous king, Childebert. He would not wastefully consume conscripts. This was a tactic meant to show that to the people.

The infantry set ladders against the walls and attempted to enter the city area of Cuanca. Others carried a battering ram made from logs and struck the gate.

The enemy's resistance was weaker than expected. Cecilia considered whether yesterday's message arrows were already having an effect.

If such a warning spread, city residents who had never intended to actively involve themselves in the rebellion would shut themselves indoors and try even harder to avoid the fighting. The rebel army likely had no manpower to spare, and could not do much to forcibly mobilize uncooperative resident men to fight. If the rebels behaved tyrannically, in the worst case the city residents might resist as a group, and the rebel army would be attacked from both inside and outside.

As a result, only the estimated two thousand rebels were resisting. Moreover, not all of them would be gathered around the gates. Some should be maintaining order inside the city.

The expected difference in strength was probably a little under four times. In a siege, that was not a difference that made either side decisively favored or disadvantaged. In fact, Cecilia's infantry continued their assault without suffering especially heavy losses. Meanwhile, the enemy, though poorly trained, used the protection of the walls to resist steadily by knocking down ladders, striking down infantry trying to climb, and dropping obstacles or boiling water in front of the gate to weaken the momentum of the battering ram.

"...It is time. Infantry units, withdraw."

If they continued pushing by force, they might eventually break through, but their losses would become far too large. This was only the opening battle. Considering that after victory, they would still have to respond to Yorgos Caruna's army, she could not do anything too reckless.

The purpose of this offensive was to make the rebel army, and their general Viscount Lucatti, believe that Cecilia intended to capture Cuanca through a siege. Since that objective had been achieved sufficiently, Cecilia gave the order to withdraw.

Their dead that day numbered about thirty. The wounded were about twice that. The army led by Cecilia succeeded in showing serious intent while keeping losses within acceptable limits.

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