Episode 146

Lindenhorf Hills, the camp of Count Ticino.

Count Ticino, commanding a Swiss army of 9,000, looked down at the soldiers working tirelessly to construct defensive positions at the base of Lindenhorf Hills.

His face lit up like a boy unexpectedly confessed to by the girl of his first love.

The main reason was that, considering all circumstances, the Imperial Army had no choice but to pass through the road near Lindenhorf Hills, where the Swiss army had established a thorough defense.

Naturally, he had almost completed meticulous battle preparations and even had a detachment ready to ambush the rear, so he was bound to win.

And the soldiers shared the same thought…

“Halt, old man, do better with that hammering! One stake you drive in could save a comrade’s life.”

“Understood, Lieutenant.”

“Damn Imperial bastards! After killing them all, I’ll sell their pretty armor to the Peronia City Alliance. Then, I can afford to buy a cow or two when my son gets married.”

While working, though their bodies were tired, they imagined the miserable sight of the Imperial Army dying against their defenses.

They could endure the tough and harsh construction of the positions, exhausting as it was.

“You dare to step into our Switzerland, huh? Regret it in death. Damn you, Lieutenant General Yaeger.”

With such confidence, Count Ticino’s vassals approached him as he was resolutely preparing.

“Haha, the thought of treating them with our tradition fills my heart with excitement. They must pass here without fail for supply maintenance and marching convenience, right?”

“It’s our chance to prove that Swiss mercenaries, especially our infantry, are the strongest. I’m excited at the thought of beating that notorious Lieutenant General Yaeger.”

“This time, they won’t be able to escape our trap.”

The Count tapped each of their shoulders and said,

“Right, it looks like your units have also completed the defense preparations. Good, then let’s start the formal operation meeting. We should have a drink after it’s over.”

“Yes, Count. It will take a few more days for them to get here, and isn’t our defense posture almost complete? For the morale of the soldiers, we should have alcohol and meat…”

“That’s right. Yes, that’s exactly what we should do.”

Before the strategy meeting, they showed slight complacency and confidence in their victory, but it wasn’t without basis.

Because the fools of the Reich Empire didn’t even know the size of Count Ticino’s forces, and they had already established a perfect defensive stance.

While Count Ticino and the other nobles were moving for the strategy meeting, a messenger hurriedly approached.

He saluted Count Ticino.

Seeing this, Count Ticino, thinking the messenger had come to report that everything was going well, began looking for money to reward him, as was customary.

“Report, sir. The 7th Division of the Reich Empire’s military, led by Lieutenant General Peter Yaeger, has begun marching through a detour instead of passing Lindenhorf Hills!”

Hearing that his strategy had completely failed, Count Ticino looked at the messenger with a stunned expression, and a vassal beside him quickly asked,

“What nonsense is that? From what we saw during the last ambush, they didn’t seem to have much food. They took a detour without any villages to plunder for supplies? Who brought this information?”

The messenger, internally fuming and wondering why they were interrogating a mere messenger, barely held back his anger and spoke,

“It’s a fact confirmed by several reconnaissance units. Additionally, people from the villages near Lindenhorf Hills also testified that the 7th Division made a detour.”

At these words, the warm atmosphere from a few seconds ago turned icy, and the nobles were disappointed at Count Ticino’s prediction failing again.

However, if the messenger’s words were true, there was no fault on his part, and they needed to move to Jungfrau Plains, where the detour and the road near Lindenhorf Hills converge, as quickly as possible.

“Understood. You may go now.”

“Ah, there’s one more matter to report.”

“What? What else is there to say?!”

The messenger closed his eyes briefly and answered in a cautious voice,

“According to rumors from nearby villagers, at the point of crossing the detour, Lieutenant General Yaeger’s division will run out of their stored food. They will have no choice but to plunder villages near Jungfrau Plains for supplies.”

Hearing this, the nobles sent the messenger a look that said, ‘If you don’t want to be berated to death, leave now,’ and drove him away.

As soon as the messenger left, they almost shouted at Count Ticino,

“Count, what on earth are we going to do?”

“If we continue like this, our Ticino Canton will be completely devastated.”

“The hometowns of those who went out as mercenaries for our Canton and Switzerland are about to be destroyed!”

The Count, listening to their complaints, gripped his already thinning hair tightly and said,

“Damn it, what can we do now? Stop the fortification work immediately and move to Jungfrau Plains! Aaargh! Peter Yaeger, that imperial bastard!!”

And a week later.

Our Reich Empire’s 7th Division finally arrived at Jungfrau Plains.

In the later situation reports, it’d probably just say that we marched for a week through slightly rough paths without any major engagements or plundering.

But the difficult journey that I and the soldiers had experienced during this process was indescribable.

Especially since the hills, described on the map as just bumpy, were actually between 50 to over 100 meters in height.

Due to the steep slopes, there were frequent situations where oxen and horses alone couldn’t pull the carts, and even I, as the Division Commander, had to help push them.

Even when we took the flatter paths, the slight incline made us tire quickly.

Of course, this shitty experience would become a good memory worth trying at least once after winning the battle.

“You’ve all worked hard to get here! Scouts, quickly reconnoiter the surrounding area, and the rest of the soldiers, start setting up the camp. Except for those on guard duty, everyone will rest for the day.”

At this, everyone—soldiers and officers alike—cheered.

“Damn, finally, a rest! We’re alive!”

“Karl’s Platoon! Bring shovels quickly and dig! If you want to rest, hurry up!”

“Damn it. Now it feels like we’ve finally survived.”

If the enemy hadn’t arrived yet, we could rest without doing anything until tomorrow.

Thus, over two hours, I lent a hand to help the already exhausted soldiers set up the camp.

Thanks to that, our 7th Division was able to set up a resting place a bit faster than usual.

Of course, a few times during this, I heard…

“Are you crazy? Our god-like Division Commander is holding a shovel himself. Are you showing off because it’s your last year?”

“Don’t you see even the staff officers, sergeants, and lieutenants are shoveling?”

“Ha, even our Battalion Commander has blisters from shoveling, something he’s never done before. Let’s finish quickly and rest. If we’re the only ones late, who knows what will happen…?”

Although such threatening comments were heard, the soldiers needed every extra hour of rest they could get, so hurrying was inevitable.

As the soldiers started to gather in small groups to enter their barracks, a scout who had gone out for reconnaissance returned, panting heavily.

“Report to the Division Commander! The Swiss army is currently stationed 3 km away from our camp.”

Ah… This meant my plan to let the soldiers rest until tomorrow was probably ruined.

Still, since the Swiss soldiers were fewer than ours, it might be a relatively easy fight.

But the messenger’s expression grew darker, and he spoke in a very serious tone.

“The enemy is estimated to be about 9,000 in number, more than us.”

Although 8,000 against 9,000 seemed doable, according to Count Bern, the soldiers meant to stop us shouldn’t have been more than 4,000…

Because the total number of soldiers each canton could mobilize, having sent mercenaries to two major wars, was about 4,000.

The fact that we were facing almost 10,000 enemies despite this situation led to only one conclusion.

“Damn it, damn it! Immediately select the best horse rider in our division and send them to where the Crown Prince is! No, send ample messengers to all divisions! Count Bern was a double agent!”