WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 9: Bandits Invasion (1)

Once, Georgk was a mercenary. He led a group of over a hundred mercenaries, along with nearly three hundred people including their families, hired by the royal family of the Kingdom of Myurei, located north of the Kingdom of Arelia.

Georgk and his mercenaries were assigned the dirty work. To slow the ambitious current king of Arelia’s invasion, they were ordered to conduct guerrilla warfare across the border, harming not only Arelian soldiers but also innocent civilians. They devastated fields and burned homes.

Last year, all of Georgk’s efforts proved meaningless as the Kingdom of Myurei was defeated in a decisive battle against Arelia. The kingdom was then annexed by Arelia.

After the defeat, Georgk and his men were betrayed by their employer, King Myurei. They were blamed entirely for the killings of civilians and destruction of villages, and were handed over to the King of Arelia along with their families.

Despite their invasion of his territory and destruction of his property, the King of Arelia showed mercy to Georgk and his men.

‘Use your experience trampling the lands and people of Arelia to sow chaos in the Kingdom of Edelstein to the east. Cross the Yudit Mountains, the border with that kingdom, and commit acts of banditry. Raid the estates of the Edelstein nobles who foolishly believe the mountains will protect them.’

‘If you do so, your families will be allowed to live as citizens of the Kingdom of Arelia once you depart for the Yudit Mountains. Should you ravage the territory of Edelstein and demonstrate clear results such as destroying multiple villages or a small city that governs them, you will be forgiven for your crimes and hired as mercenaries.’

Georgk and his men had no choice but to accept the proposal from the King of Arelia.

Though their numbers were small, crossing the rugged Yudit Mountains was a hardship. Leading what remained of their mercenary band, reduced to less than a hundred after the previous war, they forced their way across the border. By the time they reached the small city of Volga in the Edelstein noble territory, their numbers had dwindled to around seventy.

Still, determined to live with their families once more, Georgk and his men carried out their mission.

They targeted the noble territory known as the Viscounty of Dofen. Setting their sights on the small city of Volga, located on the western border of that territory, they first lured out and slaughtered the city’s main fighting force. The battle was one-sided. Their losses amounted to only three dead.

Having wiped out the soldiers and the brave few who volunteered to hunt bandits, the remaining defenders were likely cowards and fools. Moreover, according to the subjugation squad they had interrogated before killing, the steward of Volga was a weak and unreliable man. None of these posed a serious threat to Georgk and his battle-hardened men.

They would occupy Volga, slaughter its people, steal whatever they could, and flee. On their way back, they would pillage villages along the route before returning to the Kingdom of Arelia.

By the time they crossed the Yudit Mountains and returned, news of their raid, a large-scale bandit attack, would have spread from the Kingdom of Edelstein to the Kingdom of Arelia, proving their success.

For the sake of the comrades who died crossing the harsh mountains, Georgk vowed to survive and reunite with his family as he made his way to Volga under the dim sky.

“Boss!”

His scouts came running up.

“How is it?”

“The people in that city don’t seem to want to resist at all. The gates are wide open, and there’s no sign of men armed and waiting. Everyone seems to be holed up in their homes.”

Upon receiving the report, Georgk smiled defiantly.

“...How trivial. After all, this is just a rural town full of peasants who can only be robbed.”

Born and raised as the son of a mercenary, Georgk had been taught by his father that the world is survival of the fittest.

The weak are meant to be taken from. Weakness is evil. Being weak enough to be robbed is itself a fault.

“You must always be the taker, the strong.”

That lesson still lived within Georgk, who had inherited the mercenary band from his father.

Today, he would take what he wanted here. Then return to his family and reclaim his place among the strong.

“Advance. Charge in all at once and slaughter the townsfolk.”

By Georgk’s order, the remaining sixty-seven men moved forward into the city of Volga.

・・・・・・

As the scouts reported, the south gate of Volga was wide open. No one stood before the gate, and there were no men peering over the city walls.

A couple of the subjugation squad members had fled, so the residents should have been aware of their presence. Given that, their complete lack of resistance suggested they truly intended to surrender without a fight.

Georgk had expected at least some struggle, so he smirked in disappointment.

The twenty or so members of the subjugation squad, especially the knight who seemed to be their commander, had resisted with some spirit. But to think they fought for such spineless townsfolk, Georgk felt a twinge of pity for those knights who met an unrewarded end.

“Think the steward will just surrender as soon as we enter the city?”

“Hahaha, that’d be easy. Either way, we’ll slaughter them all.”

The troops joked as they followed Georgk. Finally, they passed through the gate.

Straight ahead along the main street, they saw an open space that looked like the central square. There were a few figures there, but no other people anywhere. Every house and shop lining the street had its doors and windows shut tight.

“So, the city’s representatives are waiting in the square to greet us and announce their surrender?”

“...No, that’s strange.”

As Georgk watched the figures in the square while advancing, a feeling of unease crept over him.

If they truly intended to surrender, their representatives would be waiting at the gate. Why go all the way to the square?

It could be that the steward of this peaceful, complacent rural town wasn’t sharp enough to think it through, but perhaps there was a reason they wanted to lure them into the square—

“Boss! What the hell is this—”

“Huh? Hey, what’s this thing?”

Turning to the side at his subordinate’s words, Georgk frowned in confusion.

Between the buildings lining the street, an alleyway was blocked off. Furniture like shelves and tables had been stacked to completely block passage.

Just past the gate, the alleyways were open like normal. It was only a little way down the main street that this kind of barricade had been set up.

The main street was blocked on both sides by buildings and obstacles. This was clearly a trap designed to lure them in and encircle them. Who was behind it? The steward? Or someone else clever enough? What was their plan after the trap closed?

Should they retreat and regroup? Should Georgk order a full stop? Or should they ignore it and break through all at once?

As Georgk hesitated, the situation suddenly changed.

“GYAAAAAH!”

“AHHH! I’M BURNINGGG!”

The sound of shattering pottery and glass echoed, followed by the screams of the troops.

When Georgk and the leading group glanced back, they saw flames erupting near the rear, where several of the rear guard were engulfed in fire.

The blaze was right inside the gate. Their retreat was cut off.

Footnotes:

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