''Hmmm.......Bartolo. 　Or were we stupid?

　 The only thing I can think of is the possibility of reinforcements.

　I know, right?
　Reinforcements. Where are the reinforcements coming from...

　"Your Majesty!　We've received a falcon flight from the sorcerer who was infiltrating the Cilician city-state!

　Sojourn came into the tent in a great hurry.
　What it says is ........predictable.

　''Reinforcements from a foreign city-state? Considering the surrounding city-states are all under the influence of Rezad Gehenna.......''
　No doubt the merchants of Lezad have bitten off a piece.

　In all likelihood, Rezad will deny it if you ask him.

　Although under the influence, each city-state and our country are separate and unrelated.
　The support was just the merchants of Rezad doing business on their own.
　We have always remained neutral. .........

　Don't forget, we too have support from the pro-Rosais merchants, especially Ains.

　Either way, we're on to the winner.
　It's a clever move by Rezad.

　I open the letter I received from So Yeon.
　The content of the letter is consistent with my imagination.

　"What do we do now?　Bartolo. I see that 5,000 troops from the Cilician city-state have decided to send a reinforcement to us?
　....

　Bartolo pondered for a moment, then opened his mouth.

　'Can I have a drink?'
　"If that would help you think better of it,

　I replied, and Bartolo took a jar of liquor from somewhere.
　He then took a sip of it and then meditated.
　After a few seconds, he opened his eyes.

　'In a way, this is an opportunity. Defeating the enemy's reinforcements will greatly demoralize the caged soldiers.'

　I see. What exactly are you going to do?

　The first thing we'll do is build a few simple bases around it. Then, starting from that point, we will surround it with a circle of dugouts and fences. We will do it the same way General Clue did with us. This way, the enemy will not be able to launch a strike.

　Cutting off communication and supply routes.
　So what do we do?

　All we have to do now is wait for enemy reinforcements. We have to intercept and destroy them from some distance. The problem is that you have to divide your army into two groups: those who surround the castle and those who destroy the enemy.

　The dispersion of forces is a factor in the destruction of each of them.
　We would avoid this if we could, but we can't afford to turn our backs on them.

　"I'll surround the enemy with 3,000 men. You will attack with 3,000.
　I understand. Your Majesty.





　The construction of the digs and fences surrounding the castle went smoothly.
　That's because we've been having our soldiers do civil engineering work for the last six months.

　The entire army has already acquired the minimum skills necessary to be an engineer.

　By the way, the enemy has seven thousand troops.
　Ours is 6,000, which is finally divided in two, and the number is 3,000.

　The question is, can we surround them with half of our forces?
　That's what I mean.

　The answer is simple.
　It's quite possible.

　Because the only way for a soldier to get in and out of the castle is through the gates.
　And the gates, as far as this castle is concerned, there are only two gates, one in the west and one in the east.

　So if we surround the gates with soldiers........
　The moment they came out, the siege was complete.

　When the digs and fences were completed in the first place, it is the same as being holed up in a simple castle.
　It is impossible for us to drop them, but the enemy cannot destroy the siege as well.

　Now, three days have passed and the dugout and fence are almost complete....
　At last we have received word that the enemy's reinforcements are ready to sally forth and are about to cross our country's borders.

　It seems that the formation of the army is taking longer than expected.　
　Perhaps it has taken longer to coordinate the interests of the various city-states.

　It's also possible that the information is not coming through because we're on the communication channel between the cities and the enemy, and that's why it's so confusing.

　Well, either way, the enemy's delay is welcome.

　Then, Your Majesty. I'm going to go and destroy the enemy. Please take care of yourself.
　Yeah. You can do the same. After all, the enemy is 5,000.




　It was on the morning of that day that I sent Bartolo off.


　'Your Majesty!　Enemy forces have struck out from the west and east gates!

　I knew you were going to act.
　Our army has been reduced by half to three thousand with the loss of Bartolo, who led three thousand men, and is now down to three thousand in strength.
　The enemy, on the other hand, has seven thousand.

And the siege facilities have not been completed.

　They must have thought that now was an opportune time.
　But we know that the enemy's counterattack is expected and that their attack points are limited to the west and east gates.

　'Intercept them calmly. We have a fence and a dugout over here.

　I go out to intercept the panicked soldiers, calming them down.
　There are some imperfections in places, but the siege is almost complete.

　There's no need to move.

　The enemy was not able to move as much as they would have liked because of the many layers of moats and fences that had been dug and set up to block the enemy soldiers.

　The moat, fence and archers are arranged to surround the west and east gates.
　Arrows rained down from the surroundings on the enemy who had stopped moving.

　Furthermore.........

　Load the ballista... and fire!

　A thick arrow with black powder strapped to the tip slices through and blows away the enemy forces.
　Stone throwers roar and send jars full of stones and black powder flying, turning people into ground meat.

　Even the soldiers who finally get there are skewered by the spears held by our heavily armed infantry.

　The enemy's attack ended after two hours.
　We were mostly unharmed, while the enemy had built up a huge pile of corpses.

　For some reason, the besieged side defends and the besieged side attacks.
　This curious offensive and defensive battle would occur sporadically for some time to come.








　"There are two possible strategies of the enemy. There are two possible strategies of the enemy, one is to attack our mainland and force our troops to retreat, the other is to go directly to the rescue. The other is to go directly to the rescue. I would attack the mainland, where we're short-handed and most of our soldiers are on strike...

　Bartolo takes a drink.
　He takes a breath and then grins.

　'The enemy will undoubtedly take the latter.
　Why?

　Rosward asked Bartolo.
　Bartolo explained with great skill.

　'The Cilician people have a strong sense of brotherhood. And many cities have adopted a democratic system. Many of the people will want to help directly. And the cities that have asked for help must have appealed to us to help them directly. So we'll take the latter.

　The former is half the act of abandoning your allies.
　Effective, but ruthless decisions can only be made by monarchies and oligarchies.

　'And we must be in a hurry. Because we have to rush in as soon as possible to rescue our people. And that's a large army of five thousand. The paths we can take are naturally limited.

　Bartolo unfolded the map.
　Then he held it out to Rosward.

　'Where do you think it's better suited to the battlefield?'
　...somewhere around here?

　Rosward pointed to the plain above the road.

　'Why?'
　"...at first glance there are no mountains or forests here, but small hills are scattered about. The terrain is very undulating. The terrain is unfavorable to the enemy's phalanxes and favorable to our army.
　Passed.

　Bartolo smiled happily and offered Rosward a drink.
　Rosward took it and poured it into his stomach at once.

　''Therefore, let's head out as soon as possible. Let's get there before the enemy and take up a vantage point. You go ahead and pick your spot.
　I understand. General.

　Rosward quickly headed for the battlefield.






　Half a day after Bartolo's army finished setting up its camp, the Allied forces appeared.
　There was no way they could ignore the three thousand troops and march on.
　The enemy took up a position on a hill across from Bartolo's army.

　The two sides stared at each other for a day.
　They probed each other to see which side would make the first move.

　In the end, the Allied forces, with limited time, became paralyzed and attacked Bartolo's army.
　Bartolo also went out of the camp to intercept it.


　Both of them had sophisticated armies.
　It was at the same time that they finished forming the formation.

　''This is also........the aim is a siege?
　'I suppose. Good nerve to challenge our tactics with a siege.

　Rosward and Bartolo discussed the Allied formation as they looked at it.
　The Allied forces had formed a formation with both wings stretched thin.

　''Before, they tried to break through the center but this time it's different. Why is that?''
　It's a matter of character.

　The formation devised by Bartolo had two hundred units of troops spread out in a dispersed manner.
　A commander who saw this for the first time would have two thoughts.

　It looks weak in defense.
　It could be excellent in mobility.

　If so, there are only two options to take.
　Exploit the enemy's weaknesses, or squash the enemy's advantages.

　The rebel commander chose to exploit the enemy's weaknesses.
　The Allied commander, on the other hand, has chosen to destroy the enemy's advantage.


　"If we spread it thin, we'll be outnumbered and unable to encircle it. I'm sure you've found out that I'm very good at siege warfare.

　Well then what are you going to do?
　I'm going to go through the middle.

　Rosward rolled his eyes at Bartolo's answer.
　Until now, Bartolo had only used wing siege tactics.

　At least as far as Rosward knew.

　'Can you do it?　The enemy outnumber us, though.
　You're going to have to be creative about that. I've grown up in my own way from the battle with General Clue.

　Bartolo takes a drink.
　Confidence was evident in his expression.

　'By the way, what about the cavalry?　As for the cavalry, we have an advantage of three hundred and the enemy has a hundred.
　'Well then....'







　A flute in Bartolo's army and a drum in the allied army signaled the troops to rush out at once.
　A total of eight thousand people shook the earth.

　The two sides clashed violently.......it seemed.

　''All armies, halt suddenly!''

　Bartolo stopped the army after a few dozen meters or so.
　It was the Allied forces that were amused by this.

　Because Bartolo's army was running out of the hill and the Allied forces were running up the hill.
　The Allied commanders thought that Bartolo's troops were going to use gravity to gain momentum and charge at them.

　Therefore, he estimated the position where the two sides would collide to be midway between the hillside and the foot of the hill.
　Hence, the Phalanx had rushed out relatively early to provide an aid.

　But Bartolo had stopped his assault halfway through.
　This caused the Phalanx to run up the hill to the middle of the field.

　By this time, the strength of the Allied soldiers was depleted, and the Phalanx's assault power was greatly diminished.

　''Begin the attack!''

　As the allied forces climbed up the hillside, Bartolo ordered them to attack with spears, bows and stones.
　The Allied forces were determined to counterattack, but they were unable to counterattack properly, as they had been advancing in an assault stance.

　With the help of gravity, Bartolo's attack is one-sided.
　Then Bartolo ordered an attack with an explosive spear to chase them down.

　Normally, it should be avoided as much as possible to use it in the field for siege battles, but once this field battle is over, there will be no more opportunities to use it, so Bartolo decided to use it here.

　The sudden explosion caused confusion in the Allied Forces.
　In addition, the spell that uses drug powder is not used due to the direction of the wind.

　Even so, the destructive power of gunpowder and smoke were very effective in stopping the enemy's progress.

　Here, Bartolo quickly ordered an assault.
　At once, Bartolo's troops rushed down from the top of the hill to the hillside.

　By the time they reached the middle of the hill, the momentum of Bartolo's army had reached its peak.
　Bartolo's troops cut through the smoke generated by the black powder and relied on their shields to make a physical attack on the Allied phalanx.

　Suddenly, out of the smoke, the center of the Allied forces was greatly dented by the assault of Bartolo's army, which had gravity on its side.
　In the center, some of the phalanxes collapsed, and a melee ensued.
　In a melee, Bartolo's army, armed with a large shield and dagger, would have an overwhelming advantage.


　However, the Allied Forces have a difference in strength of about twice that of Bartolo's army.
　Even Bartolo's army is beginning to show signs of exhaustion.

　But.........

　'Second Heavy Infantry, switch with the Sixth Heavy Infantry. Cover the Third Light Infantry and Fourth Heavy Infantry.

　Bartolo compensates for this with skillful command.
　Where they appear exhausted, he immediately orders them to change places with the rear line and rest.
　Where the battle was seen to be hard, he would send light infantry to cover them with stones, spears, and bows and arrows.

　He never makes any loose troops.
　With Bartolo's command, which always kept his entire army alive, Bartolo's army gradually pushed the Allied forces that should have been superior in numbers.

　But the Allied commander is not defeated either.
　He spreads his wings and tries to encircle Bartolo's army.


　'Third column, deploy left and right.

　A whistle echoed across the battlefield and the third column of Bartolo's army the old soldiers moved to the flanks.
　They lined up their shields and prevented the flanking attacks of the Allied forces.
　It was a possible response because of the new tactics that were superior in mobility.


　''Well, is it about time?''

　As soon as Bartolo sipped his drink, Bartolo's army devoured the Allied forces.
　The center of the Allied forces collapsed and split in half.

　''All forces, turn left and right!

　The attack by Bartolo's army is not over.
　After breaking through the center, Bartolo's forces smoothly change directions to the left and right.

　It takes the form of an attack on the flank of the Allied Phalanx.
　This attack causes both wings of the Allied Forces to be in a state of confusion.

　There.........

　Well, now we're in. Don't get too deep. We're going to repeat the attack in waves.

　The enemy's cavalry was quickly defeated, and Rosward and his cavalry, which had been waiting until now, attacked the opposite flank of the Allied forces.

　Since the cavalry numbered only three hundred, they could not charge.
　But they can throw stones and repeat the blow away.

　And that was enough to hunt down the Confederates in a state of confusion.

　Attacked from both flanks, the Allied soldiers naturally gathered in the center.
　Soon it would be like a crowded train.......and people would be crushed to death through it.

　Most of the Allied soldiers were trampled and pushed to their death by their allies.
　And those who managed to escape were met with a fierce chase by Bartolo's forces, and many of them lost their lives.

　Thus, Bartolo's army won a great victory.