The 169th day of the other world summoning [Assassins] Part 1:

Countless corpses were floating in the water-filled moat.
The sun had already gone down and the area was illuminated by the pale light of the torches.

''Hmph, looks like they've drowned a lot.......''

Ryoma muttered as he looked at the drowned body floating in front of him.
A slight shadow could be felt in his words.
It was the result of his own machinations that resulted in thousands of deaths.
Even if he was a little sentimental, no one could blame him.
Considering that he was just a mere high school student a few months ago, it's safe to say that Ryouma's mental strength is extraordinary for not going crazy.

''Yes, it seems that there were far fewer people who could swim as Ryouma-sama read,''

Laura, following behind Ryoushin, replied.

It's a good idea to take advantage of the abundant water in the Thebes River when you decide to build a bridgehead on the banks of the Thebes River.
Since we are at an overwhelming disadvantage in terms of the number of troops we have, we can only survive if we take advantage of what is available, even if it is natural.
Water is not so frightening to the people of the earth today, especially the Japanese.
With a few exceptions, there are surprisingly few people who can't swim because they learn to swim in school.
But that's just the earth.
This "Earth" world is different.
There are very few fishermen, sailors and boatmen who do not have a job related to water and have learned how to swim.
It's no wonder.
Even children have to be involved in the daily grind of family farming to survive.
They have no chance to swim in the forest stream.
Such a child will become an adult.
When you become an adult, you will be busy with the daily grind of life, much like you were as a child.
In fact, there are less than fifty people who can swim among the mercenary corps and knights under Ryoma's command.
Knowing this fact, there was no reason for Ryoushin not to take advantage of this.

Moreover, the enemy peasant soldiers are wearing leather armor.
Leather contains water well.
If you let go of the spear, that's all you need to do, but the armor you're wearing can't be taken off easily.
Even if they were wearing ordinary clothes, if they got wet, they would stick to their skin and prevent them from moving.
It is only natural that peasants who do not know how to swim would be drowned.

'I see. How much did they die?

We're not taking prisoners as you requested. We've killed them all. I don't think there are more than 5,000 of them.

The total number of enemy soldiers was 7,000.
Five thousand of them.
Those who were drowned, and those who were struck down because they could not retreat because they were by the fence.
All of them are dead except for those who were the first to notice the surging water and returned to the other side of the river.
Even though there are still some survivors left, it is no longer a battle.

''The enemy army that was attacking the north side was destroyed, and since the center and south had a little more room than the north side, we were able to draw troops as a result... and we were able to cut down on the heavily armed enemy knights considerably. This can be considered quite a fortunate result.

Ryojin nodded lightly at Laura's report.
Knights dressed in iron armor were extremely powerful in close combat.
Cale's impatience to bring his preserved knights to the front line had caused them to invade the empty moat.
That's where the water struck.
There was a sense of being helped by the enemy commander's impatience, but Ryoma thought that luck was part of his ability.



Laura nodded at Ryoma's instructions and left the place.



Alone, Ryoma mutters.
Although Ryoma values careful planning and preparation in advance, he doesn't stick to it.
If anything, it can be said that resourcefulness is his essence.
I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it.
It was planned to be used for the first time when the enemy's main force attacked.

(Well, it's hard to see the results of a defensive battle, it's also true that if you don't kill them when you can, the rest will be hard.

In fact, the morale of the knights was boosted by the fact that they were overwhelmingly outnumbered and had piled up a pile of corpses of enemy soldiers.
It's no surprise that this was a visible demonstration of Liang Zhen's commanding precision.
And it was also significant that they reduced 65,000 enemy soldiers to 60,000.

Well! I don't see how that's possible. (Whether it's Lord Gerhardt or General Hodram, there's no way they're going to back down quietly like this.

The next time the enemy comes to attack, they should be prepared accordingly.
And they should make their move before the main body led by Princess Lupis arrives.

(A day to find out the situation from the survivors of this one. (1 day to get the information from the survivors, 2 days to prepare the attack based on the information we got. That's at least three days' worth of time we've bought ourselves at least three days - four if you count today. (If we can buy time for another three days, we'll win.

A smile appears on Liang Shin's face.

(The more time the enemy spends on preparations, the more advantageous it is for me. On the other hand, even if the enemy rushes in, I'm ready to deal with them.

Whether Ryouma's reading is correct or not.
You won't know until it's all over.
No one will know the outcome until the game is over.


''You...you have shown yourself in front of me well...I only compliment you on your courage.''

Lord Gerhardt's cold voice slams into Cale.
The time is already midnight.
The light from the lamp still leaks out from the office of Lord Gerhardt's residence in the fortified city of Iraklion.
Normally he would have already gone to bed at that time.
But just today was different.
The 7,000 troops led by Cale, who had set out with great enthusiasm during the day, had returned after being wiped out.
They couldn't sleep.

Ha! I am sincerely sorry.

Cale lowered his head.
It could be said that there was no other option left for him.



Lord Gerhardt frowns at the document presented to him by his second in command.
I've been told that people become more calm and intelligent when they are truly angry.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

Ha! I'm sorry.

Cale bowed his head again.

"Never mind the peasants, don't tell me you don't know the value of the knights you've lent me.

Lord Gerhardt's voice adds strength to his voice.
In fact, they are the knights of the tiger who have spent several years gathering the knights.
It doesn't matter if you brought them into close combat, if you lost half of them because you fell for the enemy's plan, even Lord Gerhardt can't help but feel angry.
And moreover, the one who commanded it was Cale, who bought his talent for warfare and turned from the knightly faction.
As much as I bought his talent, the repercussions of buying his talent were also very disappointing.

''Ha! ........I'm sorry......

Cale just spits out an apology and bows his head like a parrot.
He himself would like to say something more thoughtful, but the situation does not allow him to do so.
If he makes a poor excuse, that alone could cause Gerhardt to give up on him.
There was no room left for any excuse for him.

''But you ... how well you survived?

Lord Gerhardt muttered as he looked down at his papers.

'My horse swam with me, so...'

Oh, I thought you'd abandoned your men again and run away without a trace.

Painful sarcasm flew from Gerhardt.
Cale endured Gerhardt's insult desperately.
There was no other choice.
In fact, it was nothing but luck that Cale survived.
Cale, who was trying to get to the front, had advanced to about halfway down the empty moat.
That was where the wall of water rushed in.
The knights in front, back, and left and right were holding Cale's body in place with no gaps between them, and he was unable to move.
Since he was wearing iron armor, Cale was supposed to die of water drowning like the other knights.
That fate was changed by the horse he was riding.
The fact that Cale himself had discarded the part of his armor that could be removed was also a major factor.
Coincidence or luck?
The horse carrying him swam desperately through the murky waters and managed to make it to the other side of the river.
With Cale on its back.

"Well, good. I'll get rid of you later.

Hearing Gerhardt's words, Cale was relieved to hear Gerhardt's words.
Considering Gerhardt's character, it was not surprising that he was sentenced to the death penalty.
It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to see the difference.
The damage Cale had caused was that great.

''What's your relief? I'm not going to kill you. But I won't forgive you either.

Cale froze at Gerhardt's words.

'Well, all right. Well, you can go ahead and stand down for now.

Gerhardt waved his hand and asked to leave the room.

'So...I'll leave you to it then.'

Cale bowed his head and quickly walked out of the office.
I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one.

"Humph. Incompetence!

After Cale left the room, Gerhardt let out a few words of contempt.
The words themselves were very short, but the malice contained in them was strong.

''Are you sure? Leave me alone.

So you want me to get rid of Cale now?

The deputy nodded at Gerhardt's words.

'The fool. Do you think that you can make up for the damage this time with that fool's life!''

Gerhardt had already given up on Cale.
The reason why he didn't dispose of him was not to give him mercy or a second chance 《chance》.
In order to fill in the hole of the loss suffered this time, I will give him an effective place to die, if at all.
That's the only reason why we withheld our punishment.

'I don't care about the peasant soldiers. But to cause damage to the Knights that fool!

There are no absolutes in war.
When you lose, you lose, no matter how much advantage you have.
But even if you understand that, the anger never goes away from Gerhardt's heart.

(The timing is too bad........now that Hodram has joined us, I don't want to get hurt like I'm being taken advantage of by that guy......)

Now that he and General Hodram are negotiating over who will take the lead, any outcome that could cast doubt on his command of the war would be a major fetter for Gerhardt.
Hodram himself, as a general, has been in charge of the military affairs of the Roserian Kingdom for the past 10 years.
In contrast, Gerhardt has been involved in internal affairs.
Normally, it would be natural for the flow of events to hand over command to General Hodram.
Even though most of their soldiers were aristocrats under Lord Gerhardt.
That in itself is something that Gerhardt himself understands.
But that would mean that Hodram could take everything from us.

(I'm well aware of his ambition. (I'm well aware of his ambitions.) If we give him command, he'll definitely try to steal my head. That's the kind of person he is.... If only he had less ambition, I would be able to entrust him with the command.

Even for Gerhardt, Hodram's ability is a difficult asset to obtain.
That's why he accepted Hodram, who had fallen behind.
But when I accepted him and met him, I could see that Hodram's ambition had not changed at all from before.
No, he still felt more of an effort to hide his ambition when he was carrying Princess Lupis as the head of the knightly party.
He had decided that there was no need to do so now, and the lust of a hungry wolf emanated from his body.

(I can't rely on Sudow's advice either.......after all, was it a mistake to accept Hodram on the word of someone like that?

An image of a man comes to Gerhardt's mind.
The man who follows Princess Ladine is the one who proposed to Gerhardt to accept General Hodram.
He is also the one who brought Princess Ladine and Gerhardt together.
He has an ordinary face that could be found anywhere.
His physique is of medium height.
His hair and eyes are the only distinguishing features.
It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about it.

(The problem is that ambition...)

In the extreme, as Gerhardt, he has no complaints about Hodram holding the real power of the military.
This is because he understands that taking control of everything in the Roselia Kingdom is not as easy as words can say.
What Gerhardt is looking for is that his vested interests will not be violated.
That's all.

But time is running out... If the main body led by Princess Lupis arrives at this point, the war will quickly turn to the other side.

The peasants are weak but strong at the same time.
They follow Gerhardt because he is not only the lord of the land, but also overwhelms the Princess Lupis in numbers.
But what would happen if Princess Lupis's main army arrived without being able to destroy the 2,000 men that Gerhardt had built up at Hashitobo?
The peasants begin to doubt Gerhardt's power.
In terms of legitimacy, Princess Lupis has the advantage to begin with, so if they doubt her power, she may be driven away at once.
If you think about it from that perspective as well, the defeat of Cale is not something to be taken lightly.

(Could it be a fatal wound...?) .........no......not yet......the game has not been decided yet).

Gerhardt shook his head as if to shake off his weak heart.



Even if you despise him as a fool, Cale is a gem that Gerhardt turned on him because of his talent.
If they could assassinate the commander enough to win, Gerhardt's side would have an advantage.

(I received word once before that an assassination attempt had failed and remained unsuccessful.

Gerhardt gave a cruel smile.
Assassins are disposable anyway.
Besides, the enemy may be so buoyed by the victory that their security may be short.

(If we're going to do it, it's now or never.......)

I order the assassination of the commander to the spy inside the enemy lines at once! Hurry!

'Ha! Immediately!

His second-in-command runs out of the office right away.

"Kukku! He's going to show me things in his eyes!

Gerhardt's voice echoed in the office.
His ambition was still undiminished.