I'm not good at sieges, you know...

　General Clieu smiled bitterly and began to prepare for the siege.
　He ordered his soldiers to build siege weapons.

　Wood, or wood, as a material, can be found everywhere, so there is no need to worry about it.

　''Siege weapons, should I have brought them with me?
　If you'd brought it, you wouldn't have gotten it in time.

　Mari tells Kryu.
　The Gauls are a hunter-gatherer race in the forest. Therefore, they are good at moving and fighting in the forest.
　But when it comes to crafting with wood from the forest, they're not so good at it.

　They are not very good at crafting with the trees of the forest, but they are clumsy with their hands, and they are a people who need to be rooted up for long hours of work.
　This kind of simple work is the exclusive property of Adelnians.

　It's a pretty solid castle, though. A proper attack would cause too much damage.
　So we should just starve them out?
　"If I can. But is King Almus sweet enough to allow it?

　Already three nations, the Equus, King Evil's country, and King Belvedil's country, have advanced their armies to King Rosais' country through diplomatic maneuvers.
　Defeat these three armies and rescue our friends........
　It would be difficult, but not impossible.

　But if we attack it head-on, we'll only cause more damage..... We have to consider the risk of getting caught between us and the army that comes to rescue us.

　Kryu ponders his thoughts.
　As for the military, Mari is asking the wrong question, so she doesn't say much.

　'The enemy didn't have much time to prepare. And with our repeated looting and advancing, many of the surrounding residents have taken refuge inside the city walls. If you take these two factors into account, the amount of food we have is estimated at four to six months' worth.... Alright, the best thing to do is to feed the troops. First.........

　Kryu first flies a fast horse to his home country and asks for massive reinforcements.
　Kryu brought 10,000 elite troops with him. However, when attacking a castle, numbers are more important than skill.

　It's not a wise idea to attack the castle with 10,000 troops.
　While they were waiting for reinforcements, they made preparations for the siege.

　The manufacture of siege weapons will not change. Those who are clumsy with their hands have to do civil engineering work. Dig the earth!

　A double dig is created to enclose the city walls with the support of the kryu.

　The inner digs are to keep the enemy completely trapped.
　The outer digs were made in case they were pinned down by King Almus, who came to the rescue.

　However, the Gauls don't have much skill.
　Even if we call it digging, it's just digging to the extent that the horse can't jump over, and setting up a refusal horse.

　But there is a big difference between having this and not having it.

　It puts mental pressure on the enemy by showing them that they are completely trapped.
　Besides, the fence and the digging will prevent the enemy from attacking by night and give the soldiers a break.


　'But aren't you pretty adept at that?　It's a construction project that the average Gallic would have thrown out, right?
　That's because we've been fighting sieges in the northeastern part of Gaul for years. We may not have the best technology, but we can still build a decent one.

　Clue replied with a bitter smile.

　'So you're not going to attack me?'
　'No, as soon as the siege wall is built, we'll attack in parallel with the creation of the digging. We need to tire the enemy out.

　So we can't stay in the civil engineering business forever.

　'So you're not going to go on the offensive for the time being?
　You will.
　So why don't we go hunting to kill some time?









　Okay, five!

　Mari heads to retrieve the rabbit she has killed.
　She lightly kicked the horse in the belly and ran over to the rabbit, dismounted and picked up the rabbit.

　The arrow had shot through the rabbit's head with a single blow.
　Instant death.

　'Good.

　Mari asks Kryu with a smirk.
　The first thing that comes to mind is to raise your hands up as if to say surrender.

　I have no talent with the bow and arrow. If you have a sword, you can kill a bear or even a dragon, but Lord Balloon is still as good as ever.
　Well, yeah.

　Asari said this, she set up her bow on her horse and galloped off at once.
　Then she aimed at the sky and pulled out her arrow string and released an arrow.

　After a while, a large bird fell into the meadow.

　''For the first time today, I guess. It's time to go home.''
　'Yes. I don't think we're going to be able to fight Lord Madrid for hours.

　Clue cowered his shoulders.

　'But really great. Is that from the flat-faced people?'
　Yeah. That's about as far as those guys can go. See, weren't there Alva's cavalrymen against the enemy?　They're good at horsemanship too. They're descendants of the Flat Face Tribe. Well, I used to be an archer....
　The archery club?
　Yeah. Well, I'm just playing. So I got some basics down. So it wasn't too hard. That's all.

　Mari says that and shuts up.

　(Wrong choice of topic...)

　Krue returned to the main camp with some regret.








　''Wow!!!!!
　'Oh, oh, oh, oh!!!'

　Midnight.
　The loud voices of the enemy soldiers rang out, and fire arrows rained down with a sound like slicing wind.

　Burning beautifully like shooting stars, the arrows fly over the walls of the city and pierce the roofs of houses.

　The houses in King Domorgal's country are made of stone, but due to their weight, the roofs are made of wood.
　When a fire is started, of course it burns.

　The Adelunian Peninsula is dry in the summer, which increases the probability of a fire breaking out.
　Therefore, all the inhabitants worked hard to put out the fire.


　"But we never get tired of it, night after night.
　You did it to us.
　Thanks for the help.

　Tonino and Bartolo look at the enemy as they talk lightly to each other.
　You won't see any enemies climbing the ramparts or trying to destroy the gates.

　If they did so in the middle of the night, they would be engaged in friendly fire and would only cause more damage.

　It's safe to just shoot flaming arrows, so the enemy is shooting at us every night.
　Where do they find this oil, one wonders, but it is probably olive oil looted from the farming communities.

　The Adelunian peninsula is a major producer of olives and grapes.


　In the beginning, the soldiers were afraid of the enemy's night raids and suffered from lack of sleep, but now they've gotten used to it and are acting calmly. But now they are used to it.

　The soldiers in charge of lunch are sleeping soundly in a rented house.


　But the enemy doesn't really attack us,
　Most of them are just waiting for reinforcements. There are more of them than we are.

　The Allied Forces were slightly outnumbered on the side of the siege.
　However, if they were to attack in a besieged stage, they could not avoid heavy losses.

　Besides, it can't be said that their morale has fully recovered.

　There is even a soldier who shudders at the mere sight of that big hairy creature called an elephant, according to the testimony of his captors.
　The enemy, perhaps knowing this, goes out of its way to make the elephant make a cry.

　That peculiar cry was certainly demoralizing for the allied forces.

　It's a good thing. It's a good thing.

　Just as there are preparations on the siege side, there are also preparations on the siege side.

　For example, the manufacture of arrows and weapons.
　Arrows are consumable goods, and it is natural for weapons to be damaged.

　In order to be able to replenish them quickly, blacksmiths are being mobilized to mass produce them.

　Other preparations include preparing stones and wood in advance so that when the walls collapse, they can be repaired quickly, collecting pebbles to drop from the top of the walls, and training the volunteer soldiers.


　'But there is one thing that worries me. The enemy's reinforcements are slow.''
　We still don't know why.

　Bartolo and Tonino had placed a sorcerer outside the city walls to gather information from the enemy.
　With that information, 40,000 of the enemy's army is coming towards us as reinforcements. And we know that the first group will arrive in another two weeks.......

　It has already been two weeks since the siege battle began.
　That means it will take four weeks for them to arrive from Roselle.

　''Isn't that strange?　It's true that the distance between them is long, but General Clue got here in a flash. It's not surprising that a man of General Liu's caliber would have prepared his troops before coming to Domorgal in anticipation of a siege. And yet.........
　'Maybe it's a political situation. These inexplicable things are usually political. .........I envy Lord Bartolo for that.

　Bartolo sipped his drink and took a sip before answering.

　I've been told that our king is in full charge of the war. He doesn't give me any orders to dismiss him or anything. It's easy to be a soldier. .... well, I'd say it's a clean slate.

　Almus is aware of his lack of military acumen.
　At best, he says, it's a little above average.

　Therefore, he leaves warfare and other matters to excellent generals such as Bartolo.

　No, it's not just war.
　Because of their origins, Almus has few ties to the great families.

　That's why Raimondo is responsible for coordinating the affairs of the big families.

　It's just a matter of time.

　Well, it might not be so good this time, though. I've lost because I talked too much. ...I'll be prepared for that. I hope you'll be lenient with them if possible. Well, now that the enemy's attacks have softened, it's time to go to bed.
　Okay. I'll be awake for a while.

　Bartolo moved away from the scene.
　Then he looked at the stars and muttered.

　'I've got to get out of here alive. At the very least, I've got to see my daughter's wedding... no, I don't want to see it.

　Bartolo was reminded of the greatness of his predecessor king, who had blessed his only daughter's marriage without a care in the world.







　'Lord Cailas. Is it not a little late for you?'
　'Hmm. I'll admit that you took a long time to get here, but I don't think that's the way you should treat me, coming as a reinforcement. But I'm here as a reinforcement, and I don't think that's the way you should treat me. I was told that you would be late. And I told you that I would be late.


　Kailas al-Rosel.
　The cousin of the current King Rozel.

　To give you an idea of what he is, he is of good blood but of mediocre ability.
　That's about it.

　By ordinary ability, I mean someone who can run an ordinary army and rule without any problems.
　In other words, as long as he doesn't do too much, he can get ahead normally.

　The problem with him is not his ability, but his temperament.
　It's in his temperament.

　He is arrogant and unmotivated by others. And he lets his guard down. He is vain and flamboyant.

　If he's incompetent with this, he can be cut down mercilessly; if he's competent, he can put up with it.
　But he is a mediocre man.

　He is a very troublesome man in a very troublesome position.


　'You must tell me why you are late.
　'As good as if I had a problem. As you know, our country is surrounded by several strong enemies in Gilbed, Fardham, northeastern Gaul and Germanis. You will not be able to move your army easily.
　But it may have taken longer than usual to get here since we assembled our forces?

　Kryu complains, to which Kailas replies aloofly.

　'It can't be helped. The resistance of the inhabitants was fierce.'
　That's what happens when you loot for no reason.

　Looting has many advantages.
　You can keep your troops fed, and you can save yourself the trouble of providing prostitutes. Above all, it can keep the morale of the soldiers up.

　But they also have to be prepared for fierce resistance.

　Therefore, the krew will loot the villages and towns in their path, but not by stopping to loot them.
　This is because the advantage of speeding up the march is lost by procuring food locally.

　The goal is to win the war, and looting is a means to an end.

　''Whether it makes sense or not is for me, as the field commander, to decide, Lord Kryu. Can you prove that my looting was meaningless?
　"...enough. We don't want this to happen again.

　Kryu sighs.
　You can't execute Kailas, even if you hold him accountable anyway.
　King Roselle has a soft spot for his people.

　If Kryu kills Kailas, Kryu's life is in danger.

　As Kailas walks away, Kryu says to him.

　I am the commander of this operation. Don't forget to dream.