Chapter 88. Bait

Ordova, the capital of the Esperian Kingdom.

"We've lost all three - Serona, Adense, and La Leon, is that what you're saying?"

"...Yes, that's correct."

"Heh heh..."

Upon hearing the messenger's report, King Julio Tosar chuckled dryly while stroking his beard.

He looked at Francisco Casas, who had advocated for this war, now with his head bowed.

"Duke Casas. How long has it been since the enemy began their offensive?"

"...It's been 12 days as of today."

"12 days... When will the mercenary recruitment be completed?"

"It seems we'll need about another week."

"Didn't you say the fortresses would hold out long enough? Wasn't our strategy to attack Mannzheim with the combined forces of mercenaries and fortress troops?"

"That's correct. It seems I misjudged the empire's military strength. I'll accept any punishment gladly."

Francisco bowed his head again in response to the king's rebuke.

As he hadn't expected the three fortresses to fall so quickly, he accepted the criticism instead of making excuses.

This was also based on the calculation that even if punishment was mentioned, the king wouldn't really be able to punish him.

In fact, Francisco's vast territory, connections, and power derived from his authority made even the king unable to treat him carelessly.

Julio, after gauging the nobles' reactions,

"Sigh... Punishing the duke won't help us reclaim the lost fortresses, will it? Duke, what do you think was the exact cause?"

He was satisfied with Francisco's humble attitude and naturally shifted the agenda to discussing countermeasures.

"The 5th Corps commanded by Volker Rommel couldn't get past Serona fortress as we expected. Rather, we received reports that Volker Rommel was hit by an arrow while attempting a reckless siege, fell from his horse, and was carried to the rear."

"...Then, how did troops without even a commander breach our fortresses?"

"They had no impact on the fall of the fortresses."

Francisco said through gritted teeth.

"The Red Dragon Corps, dispatched by their emperor, was responsible for capturing all three fortresses. They say all 10,000 of them are armed with new weapons... It would be better for Lord Manuel Pedro, who returned alive from the scene, to explain this. Lord Pedro."

"...Yes."

Manuel, a member of the cavalry who had participated in both the Adense battle and Serona siege, stepped forward with an unsteady gait.

"...Will you be alright?"

"Yes. I want to tell you with my own mouth, by all means."

Sancho Gonzales expressed concern at his sunken eyes and still trembling hands, but Manuel nodded firmly.

Seeing Manuel's determined look, Sancho couldn't dissuade him further and stepped back.

"The Red Dragon Corps consists of infantry armed with guns, heavy cavalry, cavalry that rides around and dismounts to fire, and artillery using siege cannons."

Manuel composed himself and began explaining very slowly to avoid stumbling over his words.

"...I'll first explain their main weapon, the gun. It's a combination of wood and a long piece of metal..."

However,

"...They lined up in long rows and fired all at once! As the roar enveloped the battlefield..."

As he recalled the horrific situation on the battlefield, he gradually lost his composure, and,

"...The walls completely, entirely collapsed. Huh, huh... That... the siege cannons..."

"...Didn't you just explain the siege cannons?"

"Did I? Then..."

"I think the explanation is sufficient, Lord Pedro."

Seeing his gaze wildly shaking and his breathing becoming rapid, Sancho stepped in again and sent him back to the rest area.

"...It seems the strength of the Red Dragon Corps has been sufficiently explained. What do you think we should do?"

Julio asked Francisco, summarizing the chaotic situation.

"They are regrouping in Adense. The expected attack points seem to be the Ceres Gate which must be passed to reach Ordova, La Tredo which can prevent a flank attack from the Paris Kingdom, and Al Cante which is a detour route, so for now we need to strengthen our defenses and understand the enemy's movements."

"Hmm..."

"To this end, I... Hmm?"

"Just a moment..."

As Francisco was about to mention countermeasures, Count Carlos Lopez, one of those who had received Theodore's letter, approached him.

"Several more letters have arrived. Have you read them?"

"...Letters? Ah, I see."

Francisco, who immediately understood what he meant upon hearing Carlos's whisper,

"For now, we must solidify our defenses. When the imperial army shows additional movements, we will decide how to respond accordingly."

"...Understood."

After adequately concluding the meeting with everyone present, and then reading the arrived letters.

He gathered the nobles who had received the letters again.

"...You say there were such letters before as well."

"That's right."

Sancho, who hadn't received a letter as Viktor had intercepted it, was also present this time.

As a gesture towards Sancho, an elder whose voice grew stronger during wartime, Francisco treated him with respect.

"It's an explanation about guns. It says the bullets should be as perfectly spherical as possible, and their diameter should be larger than the barrel, but I don't understand what this means."

"It says the siege cannons need several preparation steps for the next firing. They said it took over ten minutes of preparation before the bombardment continued back then..."

"...I can't read this part at all. By any chance, what content is written in the other letters?"

They compared the letters they had brought and checked the contents.

The letters, in a similar format to those sent by Theodore, contained more technical content about handling guns and siege cannons, internal affairs of the imperial army, and offensive plans.

"A mercenary said that the more tightly the bullet fits, the stronger and more accurate the firing can be. We've hired mercenary groups that use guns, so we can confirm with them. I'll ask them separately."

"...I see."

"During the Serona siege, the existing corps retreated to the rear. It seems there might be some problem between them."

"..."

As they compared the contents of the letters with the battle reports from the three fortresses and separate investigations by the kingdom's nobles,

"For now, it seems we can trust this."

"...We must be careful. We can't even guess the source of this information."

"I want to doubt it too, but excluding content we can't immediately verify, it seems highly credible."

"That's right. Although we can't fully trust it, it's too valuable information to completely ignore."

"..."

They concluded that most of the content was true at the level they could verify.

With no particular alternatives, they decided to trust the contents of the arrived letters to some extent for now.

"If the discord between the 5th Corps and the Red Dragon Corps is true, their advance might be separate operations."

"The previous offensive was also attempted by the Red Dragon Corps alone, so won't this offensive be similar?"

"...It doesn't seem easy to face these weapons right away."

"Since the walls of Serona and La Leon have fallen..."

As Viktor intended to reduce variables, their discussion proceeded based on the contents written in the letters.

The power of the siege cannons was exaggerated, and many of the weaknesses of guns described didn't apply to the Red Dragon Corps, which had improved them in various ways.

Similarly, the reports that inevitably included exaggerations and records of old-fashioned guns used by mercenaries supported the contents of the letters.

"How about targeting the Red Dragon Corps directly? Since all their weapons reportedly need long preparation for battle, we'll ambush them first."

"What about the Dronado Forest?"

"While the Dronado Forest is advantageous for ambushes, there's no guarantee the enemy will aim for La Tredo. Rather, how about the Al Berdo Pass? It's a place they must pass through to enter the Ceres Gate."

"Al Berdo... It is a good place to hide troops."

With this, the opinion that they should ambush the enemy when their preparations were insufficient, rather than repairing or strengthening walls for defense, gained strength.

"We'll need to hire a large number of mercenary groups like the Heroni or Nieve mercenaries, who excel in mountainous terrain."

"...Nothing is confirmed yet. They could change their plans at any time."

"That's true. But you'd agree that we need to gather the currently scattered defensive forces in one place now, right?"

"Yes. Previously, we could sufficiently repel the enemy with a small number of troops, but now..."

Their heated discussion continued for a long time.

"Hmm. If other corps move faster than expected, we should also make plans for that eventuality."

"Of course. Still, the 5th Corps lost most of their siege weapons at Serona, so they won't be able to breach fortresses as quickly as the Red Dragon Corps."

"In the end, the Red Dragon Corps is the problem."

Especially with Sancho actively participating, feeling devastated after seeing the broken Manuel and other defeated soldiers,

"...When it's time to execute the plan, I'll let you know."

"Good."

Operation 'Dragon Slayer', aiming to strike the separately advancing Red Dragon Corps first through ambush, gradually took shape.

---

After careful consideration, I selected 8 soldiers with scout backgrounds.

They were issued flintlock rifles and mainly practiced precisely targeting the enemy while traversing terrain in light armor.

The scouts, elite among the elite, quickly became accustomed to using them, and.

-Bang!

"...Oh."

"Isn't this good enough?"

Perhaps due to the precision of metal processing.

After training, they could accurately hit targets even from hundreds of meters away.

They achieved several successes, such as sniping enemy scouts as per my instructions, so it seems the preparations are complete.

Just then, I confirmed on the mini-map that the kingdom's army was gathering towards the Ceres Gate.

"Let's prepare to march. Deputy Corps Commander Axel Lübeck. Has the adaptation training been completed well?"

"Yes. Although they haven't fully adapted yet, they won't lose morale or collapse."

"Good. Please begin your march three days after we start ours."

"Understood."

It's about time to move.