WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 98: The Stirring Invaders (1)

Tensions were running high along the border between the Kingdom of Arelia and the Kingdom of Novakia.

The force that had originally been facing Novakia was now reinforced by troops transferred from the front against the Kingdom of Edelstein, numbering over six thousand in total.

Not all of them could be committed to a single offensive, but even so, Novakia’s vigilance had risen all the more.

At a fortress built in a gap along the mountainous border, not only the standing garrison but also mercenaries and conscripts had gathered, keeping their guard up without pause.

Even so, once the season settled fully into winter, the tense standoff saw little change.

Waging war in the dead of winter was far too reckless: supply and encampment were difficult, offensives could not be sustained, and even if a victory were won, continuing the campaign or holding occupied territory would be a challenge.

For that reason, the Kingdom of Novakia remained stationed in its fortress and in the towns and villages to the rear, while the Kingdom of Arelia likewise held its positions in several border-facing forts and frontier towns near the front line, both sides settling in to wait for winter to pass.

Taking advantage of this, Countess Cecilia Fargiere left the border zone for the royal capital of Saint-Victoire. She intended to meet with her liege, King Childebert of Arelia, to confirm the details of the major offensive planned for the coming spring.

If one traveled in a small group, passing from town to village, a winter journey was not difficult. Accompanied by her adjutant, Knight Celestan, and a handful of escorting knights, Cecilia traveled only in the daytime, when the sun was out and the temperature rose.

She eventually returned to the capital, where in a chamber of the royal castle, she was welcomed by King Childebert.

"Welcome back, Countess Fargiere. How are preparations on your end?"

"Everything is proceeding without issue. Coordination drills between the frontline units and the reinforcements are complete, and our movements after breaking through the border have all been prepared exactly according to the prior plan."

Hearing Cecilia’s report, Childebert, seated across from her at the round table, smiled with satisfaction.

"I see. I had no doubts, but it’s good to hear things are on track."

"And… what of preparations on your side?"

Childebert’s smile took on a more cunning edge at that question.

"They’re ready. All exactly as you requested… A total of two thousand five hundred elite knights and soldiers, along with a transport corps to handle their logistics. Supplies for the march to the border zone. Everything is in perfect order."

When Cecilia had arrived at the capital in early summer and been entrusted with command of the invasion of the Kingdom of Novakia, she had presented Childebert with a certain plan.

It was a strategy to dispatch a fighting force of sufficient size and quality to the border zone within a week, without the Kingdom of Novakia detecting it in advance.

The core of the combat force would be the elite royal guard unit known as the “King’s Armor,” one thousand strong.

This unit had fought alongside Childebert at the very front in the recent war against the Kingdom of Myurei, suffering not insignificant losses. They had only just completed their reorganization to recover from those losses this past autumn.

To that, a further one thousand five hundred soldiers, over half of the two thousand elite troops stationed for the defense of the royal domain, would be committed.

Of course, pulling out such a large portion of the defending force would leave the royal domain dangerously undermanned.

While it was unlikely that uprisings would break out immediately in the already conquered territories or that the royal lands would be directly attacked, it would certainly cause problems for public order and other administrative matters.

To prevent this, the replacement garrison for the royal domain would be drawn from detachments stationed in the conquered territories. Several hundred troops would be taken from each posting outside of the Loire and Myurei regions, and placed in the royal domain.

The gaps in those territories would be temporarily filled with mercenaries. Preparations to gather them were already underway, under false pretexts such as guarding newly developed mines or hunting dangerous beasts.

Using mercenaries of varying quality would almost certainly lead to issues. Embezzlement of war funds and taxes, violence against civilians, excessive demands for bribes, and even looting in rural areas.

But these were accepted as necessary losses in the effort to conquer a neighboring kingdom. In anticipation of such costs, the Arelian royal family had long been drawing wealth from the conquered lands and storing it in the royal treasury.

With this, the manpower for the combat force was secured. The next consideration was how to rapidly move that force to the border zone. On this point, Cecilia devised a plan to have a large-scale supply corps accompany the army.

It was simple to say in words, but difficult to put into practice. At the very least, attempting it solely on the basis of a paper plan would be reckless. For this reason, over the past several months, practical trial runs had been carried out to test and refine the operation.

In the western region of the Kingdom of Arelia, a blind spot for intelligence gathering by the Kingdom of Edelstein and the Kingdom of Novakia, the transport corps linking that area to the royal capital had, under the guise of routine duties, conducted mock transport runs for the planned invasion.

After repeated calculations and several trial runs on a reduced scale, every minor issue had been eliminated, and the result was a refined, complete logistics plan.

As for the food to be loaded onto the supply corps’ wagons, it had already been gathered.

When stockpiling provisions for winter, more than the usual amount had been collected this year and stored in the royal castle’s warehouses.

If thousands of people’s worth of rations were gathered in other seasons, it would be impossible to conceal that preparations were underway to move an army.

But during winter provisioning, when the army typically stored several months’ worth of food, gathering an extra one or two weeks’ worth would not be noticed by any spies watching from outside the castle.

Thus were assembled an elite combat force, the supply corps to sustain it, and the provisions for the march. When winter broke, these would combine into a single strike force and advance.

Ideally, they would reach the border before news could reach the Kingdom of Novakia, or at least before the enemy could respond by reinforcing its forces.

A plan of this scale inevitably carried significant risks. If the elite troops of the capital were committed and then lost in a crushing defeat, the damage would be irreparable.

Even if the numbers for defense could be made up, the soldiers hastily drawn from various conquered territories might not be enough to ensure the royal domain’s safety.

In terms of supply, there might also be problems that would only become apparent when moving the army at full operational scale.

Even so, by this point there was no choice but to gamble. Without doing so, the unification of the western continent could never be achieved, and King Childebert’s ambitions would remain unrealized.

The king demanded a swift victory, and Cecilia devised a plan to meet that demand while fully aware that it involved an element of risk, a plan the king nonetheless accepted. It was for that reason that preparations had been carried this far.

"It was easy enough for you to simply speak of a plan you had thought up, but I wish you had considered the burden on those of us who had to run about to make it reality.

We were put through quite a bit of trouble. Though, truth be told, the one who’s been working the hardest at this stage is Emmanuel, not me."

"My, my… I must offer my deepest apologies for placing such a great burden upon His Highness the King’s younger brother."

Cecilia said, bowing her head toward Chancellor Emmanuel Arelia, who was seated with them. The king’s brother gave a faint, wry smile and shook his head.

"No, His Majesty is exaggerating a little. I’ve done nothing extraordinary. The capable officials under me carried out their work without a hitch."

"There’s no need to be modest. Keeping the full scope of the plan to yourself, yet advancing all preparations without arousing suspicion among the bureaucrats, must have been no easy feat.

That you accomplished it is, without doubt, a credit to your intelligence. Be proud of it, my brother," Childebert said, his voice carrying a trace of fraternal warmth.

It was possible to arrange matters so that, from the outside, there would be no sign of a large-scale military operation in motion. But if word slipped from someone’s lips, the entire effort would be ruined.

For that reason, until the operation began at winter’s end, the number of people who knew of the advance was kept extremely limited. Even within the ‘King’s Armor,’ only the general and senior officers were informed.

As for the supply corps, their commanders and everyone beneath them still believed the recent transport trials to be nothing more than the first phase of a long-term project to establish future logistical systems.

"This plan, crafted with such painstaking effort, is one I am certain will bear results. But once it is used, the method will be known, failure is not an option. I trust that you will see it through to success, Cecilia."

"Leave it to me. I will see the plan through to the very end, without fail."

To meet her liege’s expectations, and to ultimately achieve her long-cherished goal of striking down Count Matthias Hosenfeld, she would commit her entire being to this operation. With her usual calm expression, yet a firm resolve burning in her crimson eyes, Cecilia replied.

"Hm, a fine look… You wore the same expression the first time we met in person. How many years has it been?"

"It has been eight years, Your Majesty."

"That long already? How nostalgic."

As Childebert let out a faint chuckle, Cecilia simply nodded, her calm smile unchanged.

When the Kingdom of Loire fell to the Kingdom of Arelia, Cecilia had not been present on that battlefield.

She had been commanding the defense along the border with the Kingdom of Edelstein when a messenger brought word: the King of Loire had been slain on the western front, and her homeland had surrendered to Arelia and accepted annexation.

After the defeat, Cecilia was summoned before Childebert. It was then that she revealed the reason she had taken up the soldier’s path, her burning desire for revenge against Count Matthias Hosenfeld.

If he would grant her the chance to strike down Count Hosenfeld, if he would allow her to avenge her family, then she would swear absolute loyalty to him for the rest of her life.

Without averting her gaze from Childebert, Cecilia spoke her vow to the end. He responded with a fearless smile, telling her he believed her words, and promised that he would give her that chance.

First came the war for the annexation of the Kingdom of Myurei, where Cecilia proved her loyalty not only through her words but with numerous military achievements.

Through that, she became one of Childebert’s close aides. He had indeed given her an opportunity then, and though she missed it, he assured her that he would grant her another.

It was for that reason that Cecilia continued to follow him.

"Then go and meet the one who holds the key to victory. As you requested, I have summoned them to the castle and had them wait in another room. I’ll have you shown there."

"My thanks. In that case, Your Majesty, Your Highness, I shall take my leave."

Rising to her feet, Cecilia gave a graceful bow before taking her leave of the room.

Footnotes:

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