Episode 126

As I pondered over what strategies to devise, I took several deep breaths to supply my brain with plenty of oxygen.

It wasn’t ineffective; my mind cleared up a bit, and my eyes snapped open.

“Even if Baron Kuster and the others are risking their lives to defend, sitting and brainstorming won’t magically produce a viable strategy.”

As I just mentioned, to catch a tiger, one must enter the tiger’s den, and to kill a person, one must risk their own life.

Moreover, the strategy I must devise involves controlling the lives of over a thousand soldiers and mercenaries embedded in that fortress, not to mention potentially hundreds or even over a thousand civilians.

Can just brainstorming provide an answer?

‘If finding an answer were that easy, 99.8% of the time, it would be wrong.’

“Let’s first gather our wits.”

As I was about to refocus and devise a plan, the sound of my tent flap sliding open was heard.

Karin, seeing that I was still awake, sighed first.

“Martin, when did your watch end, and you’re still not asleep?”

Lucia puffed up her cheeks and looked at me, her eyes filled with worry.

“The White Unit Commander may not be critically injured, but you’ve been at the forefront, fighting and have not only lost a lot of stamina but also have numerous minor injuries and bruises.”

Lucia, unlike before, articulates her points clearly, which is nice, but sometimes when she talks about my health or physical condition, it’s kinda…

It becomes a problem when she becomes as frightening as a mother who used to scold me while raising me.

I decided it would be wiser not to mention that ‘getting treated by Father Smith within the mercenary group would heal me,’ to avoid further agitating Lucia.

“I was thinking of a plan to capture Villa Hora Castle a bit faster. The sooner we take over this castle, the fewer allies we’ll have to sacrifice.”

Hearing my words, Lucia and Karin relaxed the tension they were holding due to their concern.

“It’s said that siege warfare usually results in the highest casualties, but already 40 of our mercenaries have died.”

“As Lucia said, it’s only because of Martin’s efforts and Captain Dalton, among the other skilled mercenaries supporting us, that the casualties are this low… I heard that the Red Rose has lost about 80 people.”

If our mercenary group is about 500 strong, then the Red Rose Mercenary Group, being about 700 strong, would naturally have more casualties…

The casualty rate of the Whitebeard Mercenary Group is 8%, which is still manageable, but the Red Rose Mercenary Group has already lost more than 10% of its members, which must be incredibly difficult.

‘Having already lost more than 20% of our allies in the last battle, and now over 10% here, the impact must be huge.’

At that, I too let out a deep sigh.

“We’re all suffering a lot in this war. That’s why there are so many concerns.”

Hearing that, Karin chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

“Anyway, tomorrow is a rest day. So, how about we talk a bit? Maybe a good suggestion will come up.”

“Are you sure you can stay awake, senior?”

At that, Karin smiled and said.

“Martin, your problem is my problem, and it’s also Lucia’s problem. So, it’s natural that we worry together. Besides, tomorrow is a rest day, right? It’s no big deal to stay up all night for one day, right Lucia?”

Lucia nodded her head and wagged her tail.

“Yes, Sister Karin.”

Karin then gently stroked Lucia’s head, who had answered her.

“Ehe, thank you, sister…”

The two of them provided a momentarily very pleasant scene, then pulled up chairs and sat down.

“So, what Martin is currently worrying about is how to capture the castle, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Then, Karin frowned slightly as she thought, before soon speaking up.

“I might not be as well-educated as Martin or Lucia since I haven’t studied much. When we fight, we always strike at the weakest part of the enemy formation, right?”

Among the three of us, Lucia is the most educated.

That’s because she graduated from what could be considered a university in this world, a Wizard Academy.

Before I became Martin Meyer, I had graduated from a university, but in this world, my education would be equivalent to somewhere between middle school and the first year of high school…

Karin, born into a poor family in an Elf village, barely received an education equivalent to elementary school level.

“Of course, being well-educated doesn’t necessarily mean being wise. It’s not that I can’t devise strategies.”

“That’s right. We should always aim for the weakest point first. Attacking the strongest point first is foolish.”

“Then, let’s first identify what supports this castle and from there, consider what we can do.”

Ever since I was a squad leader, or rather a platoon leader, I’ve always analyzed which part of the enemy force was supporting them and where their weaknesses lay.

Finding and targeting the weak spots always caused the enemy force to scatter in disarray.

‘With over a thousand defenders, targeting this castle’s weak points will surely bring a solution.’

“The three main supports of this castle are Baron Kuster, the soldiers, and Hilde Bauman.”

I’ve never seen Baron Kuster leading from the front. According to other mercenaries, they’ve never seen him actively doing anything either.

Considering the serious situation of needing to motivate the troops and arrange the defense, his lack of noticeable actions could be said to amount to nothing.

Being a commander has its meaning, as long as one is not utterly incompetent.

‘Without a commander, the subordinates would act independently, making even a strong force disorganized.’

“The female knight you tried to capture but couldn’t? She’s just a low-ranking knight. Considering her influence based on her position, it’s hard to call her a ‘pillar’ similar to a mercenary white unit leader.”

In reality, some low-ranking knights, who are notably lacking, could indeed be less effective than a hundred serfs under their command, but…

“Hilde is a woman. And an incredibly beautiful one at that. This beautiful woman, wielding a spear, has directly killed 40, maybe even more, of our allies, significantly boosting the morale of Baron Kuster’s soldiers.”

Upon hearing the word ‘beauty,’ Lucia and Karin both sighed and tapped their fingers on the desk.

“You know how our mercenaries are… Many can’t stand the idea of losing to a woman. So, when Hilde Bauman fights on the walls, even the regular soldiers and serfs think, ‘If even a woman can fight like this, we can’t afford to lose,’ and their morale skyrockets.”

In 21st-century Korea, there are people who say one should never lose to a woman, let alone here where the concept of gender equality is a distant memory…

‘It’s the male pride that drives them to fight to the death, seeing a woman fighting so proficiently.’

Lucia perked up her fox ears and looked into my eyes.

“How about we leak false information to Baron Kuster? For instance, making them believe that the Medici Republic’s army has taken over the surrounding areas and their reinforcements can’t come…”

The reason soldiers within a castle hold out is the belief that ‘reinforcements will come and resolve the situation.’

But what if the reinforcements can’t come?

They’d find themselves facing certain death on the ramparts.

So, Lucia’s strategy is quite effective, but…

It’s only been a week since the siege began. If we start spreading rumors that reinforcements are not coming, it’s uncertain whether they’ll believe us.

However, rumors, if repeated ‘long’ enough and ‘often’ enough, will gradually convince more soldiers, leading to a significant drop in morale…

‘Even if it doesn’t have an immediate effect, looking at the long term, it could prove to be highly effective.’

Hearing this, I shrugged my shoulders and smirked.

“Okay, let’s spread the false information. If Baron Kuster is gullible, he might even open the castle gates upon hearing this.”

Karin heard me and smirked, lifting one corner of her mouth.

“Ah, Martin. I heard something last night while waiting to resupply arrows from an archer of the Red Rose Mercenary Group and a regular soldier directly under a certain noble. They said Baron Kuster is very suspicious.”

If they’re regular soldiers under Count Canosa, they’d be natives of the Medici Republic, but how could they know Baron Kuster’s personality?

‘Could it be false information intended to make us let our guard down?’

Still, Karin isn’t someone who would be easily deceived, so I should listen to the end.

Karin shrugged and sighed with a chuckle.

“Of course, I was skeptical. When I asked how a regular soldier could know Baron Kuster’s personality, he answered like this. Before becoming a regular soldier, he had fought under Baron Kuster as a mercenary. His mercenary leader, during a battle, cautioned against ‘reckless attacks’… And guess what… Baron Kuster.”

I leaned in to hear the rest.

“‘At the best time to attack, you’re telling me to hold back! Are you colluding with the enemy?’ he said, and then he reassigned his own mercenary unit to the rear to wait.”

Lucia, hearing this, covered her mouth in shock with her palm.

“That’s ridiculous… Isn’t that too far-fetched?”

I agree with Lucia, but there’s a magical saying that applies specifically to the military.

In society, things that make you think, “Does that even make sense?” are usually false rumors, but in the military, if you find yourself asking, “Could this be true?” it most likely is.

And I’ve personally proven this true, having been tormented like a dog by Baron Pappenheim.

“So?”

Karin sighed as if she was incredulous.

“I kept pressing because it seemed like a lie, but the more I listened, the more it seemed true.”

As soon as she said that, something clicked in my mind.

“Also, Martin, it doesn’t seem like the baron entrenched in that castle is the type to lead by example. I’ve been observing while shooting arrows, and the ‘Baron Kuster Family Flag’ that indicates the baron’s presence at the front lines is always just stuck in the center of the castle. It doesn’t move.”

In the South Korean military, a ‘general’s flag’ is flown at the building where a general with ‘stars’ resides or works, signaling ‘here resides a star,’ as if to show it off constantly.

In Rheinfalz, as in any country, where a noble with a title resides, their family’s crest is displayed on a ‘huge’ flag that follows them around.

In this fantasy world without radios, the location of ‘high-ranking individuals’ must be constantly reported by sending messengers, so on the battlefield, the flag always accompanies these high-ranking individuals no matter the situation.

Therefore, this flag not moving means this guy never takes to the front lines…

‘Even if they are nobles, those who don’t go near the front lines are 99% incompetent.’

Because in this world, without radios, drones, or satellite imaging, directly observing the battlefield and commanding from there is absolutely more effective.

‘Incompetent and also suspicious…?’

This could be useful.

Hearing this, I snapped my fingers.

“Right, that’s it.”

I immediately stood up from my seat.

“Thank you, senior. Thanks to you, I’ve come up with a great way to cause some trouble. I’ll go make a report right away.”

Saying that, I went to find Captain Dalton and obtained permission to report the strategy directly to Count Canosa.

The next morning, I was summoned to Count Canosa’s tent.

“Indeed, I’ve heard of your exploits several times. That’s why I’m giving my time to a mere leader of a mercenary white unit. Skip the pleasantries, and tell me, what’s your strategy?”