Chapter 98
"Ryuzel, good work! I'm glad you made it back safely."
We welcomed Ryuzel when he returned to the fortress after sunset.
"Yeah. We suffered almost no losses. It was all thanks to Nieshock-sama's command. It was a valuable experience."
Despite the fatigue showing on his face, Ryuzel looked satisfied.
Ryuzel straightened at Hock-san's words: "Oh, it's only the first day. I'll work you to the bone from here on out, so be prepared."
"Hock-san, good work to you, too. Thank you."
"Well, I suppose this is about what we'd expect for today. How are the fortress's losses?"
"We can't say we suffered no losses, but they appear to have been kept within expectations."
Including the wounded, only around 200 people were put out of action in the first day's fighting. I think that's quite low.
"Hmm. But don't let your guard down. There's something bothering me."
"Rodelight, right?"
Hock-san nodded in satisfaction at my answer.
The main reason our losses were so low on the first day lay with Rodelight. Rodelight's movements had been strangely sluggish as he led 5,000 soldiers around to the eastern gate. In other words, he had seemed unmotivated.
The only explanation I could come up with was that Rodelight's forces at the gate on the Rudek side had been assigned solely to deal with reinforcements from Rudek.
But this was "that" Rodelight. Would the man who wanted to stand out more than anyone else on the battlefield quietly accept such an inconspicuous assignment? If anything, given an assignment like that, he seemed more likely to ignore his orders and gleefully attack from the rear.
That was what made a quiet Rodelight so eerie. The Fourth Knight Order, which had fought Rodelight many times, and the commander of the Second Knight Order must have felt that even more keenly.
Boldras-sama had also said he wanted to hold a war council about Rodelight once Hock-san returned.
"A war council? Then shall we start right away?"
"Huh? Wouldn't you be better off resting a little first...?"
"If you say you're tired after something like this, you won't cut it in the Second Knight Order, you know? We'd better deal with our concerns sooner rather than later. Let's begin." With that, she promptly headed for the central building.
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"A night raid."
"A night raid."
When the senior officers had gathered for the war council, Boldras-sama and Hock-san opened with exactly that.
"A night raid? With the disparity in troop strength and their high morale, why did they stay put during the first day's daylight? Why go out of their way to do it?" Wickhart tilted his head.
"Put bluntly, General Rodelight only cares about making himself stand out. The fact that he stayed quiet probably means he conserved his forces to make his move at night."
"I agree. I don't know what he's planning, but there's a good chance Rodelight will try something tonight."
"The question is what he'll try. Will he launch a full assault once the defenders have fallen asleep, wait for dawn, or strike immediately after this?"
"First of all, it won't be at dawn. That man doesn't have that kind of patience."
"Indeed. The danger is probably coming soon."
Rodelight was getting quite a roasting. He was supposed to be Golbel's most famous general, though.
"If we know a night raid is coming and can predict when, isn't it less serious than it might otherwise be?" Wickhart asked again, and all the Fourth Knight Order officers present shook their heads.
"Rodelight is still troublesome. He's frightening because you can never tell whether he's third-rate or first-rate. He's always in a good position on the battlefield and manages to stand out, but then he screws things up at the very end."
"Anyway, sorry, everyone, but we've got one more job. Once Rodelight attacks, even he should settle down for the rest of the night. Take turns resting while staying on alert."
Just as the discussion had been settled, a soldier came rushing into the room where we were gathered.
"An unidentified force is advancing on us!"
Ah, we know that one. That's Rodelight's army.
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Rodelight's attacking force consisted of the 5,000 soldiers he'd brought during the day.
Taking advantage of the darkness, which made it difficult to determine their numbers, Rodelight also attacked from the north and south, where there were no gates. Whenever long ladders were raised or fire arrows were launched, the soldiers on the walls were thrown into confusion, but whenever they rushed to the point under attack, no one was there.
By then, attacks would have started at the gate or somewhere else.
We would dismiss the attacks around the fortress as bluffs and concentrate on defending the gates, only to have enemy soldiers suddenly rush up the northern wall. When we hurried to drive them back, powerful arrows would come flying out of the darkness, greatly increasing the mental strain.
His control over the ebb and flow of battle was terrifyingly skillful. So this was Rodelight's way of fighting. No wonder it was troublesome.
No, this was no time to be impressed. The even bigger problem was how long the battle lasted. Since we were entirely on the defensive and couldn't inflict much damage on Rodelight's forces, we had to endure the prolonged assault.
Even if we considered countering with cavalry, we couldn't act as freely as we had during the day. If we opened the eastern gate, the enemy might flood in. Their movements were concealed in the darkness, making it impossible to take a bold action.
Even so, once it was well past midnight, Rodelight's army finally withdrew.
They left us with twice the casualties of the daytime defensive battle.