'Why didn't you come to our aid earlier!　You would have lost because of you!
　What do you mean?　You were wrong to lead us, weren't you?　You barbarians (Barbaroi)!

　A Nemes general and a Gallic mercenary captain who are fighting each other with their backs bound.
　I think these guys are actually good friends.

　''Now, I would like to ask you two how many troops do you have left in Rezad and Nemeth?
　'I'm not saying that!　I'm a warrior!　You barbarians (Barbaroi)!
　Will you help me keep my men safe if I tell you?

　The former was the general of Nemeth and the latter was the Gallic mercenary captain.

　I guess mercenaries are more concerned about their own subordinates than other people's countries, after all.

　''Ki, you!　You're betraying me!
　'I'm not betraying you, I'm just answering your interrogations. I'm a mercenary captain, I have a duty to protect the lives of my men!

　The two men start arguing again.
　Well, neither of them are wrong in what they are saying. It doesn't mean they're right, though.

　''Mercenary Captain, I can guarantee your men's safety. Can you tell me the names of your men?

　The mercenary captain needs help, stating the names of about two dozen of his direct subordinates.
　I hope they're alive...

　'Let's not make these twenty men slaves, but free them later. For that reason, I want you to tell me soon.
　All right. As soon as my testimony turns out to be correct, you must let me go.
　Hey!　You!

　With Nemeth's general in a tizzy, the mercenary captain flippantly replies about Rezad and Nemeth's remaining troop strength.

　To summarize the mercenary captain's story, Rezad's troop strength is three thousand for the Germanis mercenary unit.
　Nemeth is said to have about two thousand reserve troops left.

　Neither of them are a great enemy.
　The problem is still Alexios.

　If Rezad throws Alexios into the fray at the last minute, it won't be an easy battle to win.




　"Your Majesty, we have a message from His Excellency Abraham of Gehenna.
　Show me.

　I get a letter of intent from the Kingsguard.
　I break the seal and check inside.

　....

　'It looks like Gehenna has declared war on Nemeth. It looks like five thousand of Gehenna's heavily armed infantry are avalanching on Nemeth.

　That guy is a vulture. That man.

　Bartolo cowered his shoulders.
　Totally.

　After our hard-fought victory, it's good nerve to try to kidnap Nemeth from the side.
　The reason why he didn't attack Rezad is because he thought that if he grabbed Rezad from the side, he would displease me.

　'Nevertheless, Nemeth should be on the defensive. I'm sure he'll be able to hold out for a while. We'll eat Nemeth by then.
　We'll need to attack Rezad sooner rather than later to do that.

　There are 3,000 men left.
　It's just that they can't beat us in a field battle.

　But if it becomes a siege battle, we won't be able to make use of the mobility of Germanic mercenary troops.

　Either way, victory is now assured.

　It's now just a matter of time.

　''If we are in too much of a hurry, it will hinder the battle. Today was a series of battles, so let's stop marching and camp out. We should reach the capital of Rezad in five days. We must not be in a hurry.
　I know. We're heavily outnumbered. There's no reason why we can't win.

　There are a few small city-states scattered around from here to Rezad, but you can ignore them.
　We can't do much anyway.

　Let's put out a surrender notice while we're at it, shall we?

　Well, the treatment is an allied city.







　That night.

　'Well, how do we march tomorrow?
　We'll split the army in two.

　Two?
　Are you sure?

　The enemy has 3,000. On the other hand, we have forty-three thousand. It's more than enough to divide the army in two. We'll form a separate army of ten thousand men and have them attack each city. As for the commander, let's assign a suitable wealthy family member.

　Well I'm the one who needs to lead the main army, the Rezad invasion force.
　But I can't do it without Bartolo, either. I'm not a reliable commander.

　Anyone can take on a small city-state.

　"Then I'll assign Ron and Gram to you. Five thousand for the both of you. I'm sure the two of you will be able to lead a force of about five thousand.
　That would be good. It's a good opportunity to let them make their own achievements.

　Even though it's small, bringing down a country is a sufficient achievement.
　Or rather, the reason I became a wealthy man is because I brought down a small country.

　It will be a good experience.

　"What about that Alexios guy?
　"...don't you think you're being too cautious?　We can't do anything with three thousand cavalry. Unless we don't have a single cavalryman, we have the same number...''
　I'm sorry. I hope I didn't offend you. It's not that I doubt your abilities, I just... It's just that ... an eye for an eye.

　The only thing I've ever seen that can be considered a great general is

　Bartolo, Alexios, and Kryu.

　I don't feel like I can win against these three, even if they have twice as many troops as I do.

　Of course, I think Bartolo is the best general in this group, but there is always the possibility that it could happen.
　It's not like Bartolo is always undefeated either.

　'Well, Alexios Barca is certainly a threat. We have a plan for that. If we face Alexios Barca, we will have a phalanx of nations in front. We will have our Manipulus on both flanks and in the rear to fortify the defense, and an equal number of cavalrymen, 3,000, will be on the two largest flanks. This will be untouchable.

　The Phalanx is very strong against frontal attacks.
　The front is a steel wall.
　The weak flank is flexible manipleus.

　With the defense completely solidified, you're going to hit the cavalry with the cavalry.......

　There's nothing bizarre about it, but it's a very solid and difficult formation to break down.
　If this is the case, no matter how much Alexios Barca can't do anything about it.

　It's a good thing that the enemy is overwhelmingly outnumbered by us, so it will be a siege, though. Unfortunately, we have a mountain of siege weapons.
　We can use water transportation to get them directly from their home countries.

　The weakness of siege weapons is that they are heavy.
　Even if you take them apart and carry them around, they are bulky.

　Therefore, it is fundamental that they are made on-site by hand.

　I'm sure you'll find that the most difficult to make a siege weapon is a large NNJ ballista, but if you want to make a siege hammer, all you have to do is cut down a few trees and shave off the tip.

　However, the hammer alone is not powerful enough.
　It's not always easy to get a good idea of what you're looking for.

　''Well, let's call Ron and Gram. I'll explain it to both of you.

　I'll use my Kingsguard to call Ron and Gram.

　Then I brief them both on the separate movements.

　'We can't let them participate in the attack on Rezad, but that's enough of an achievement. The attack on Rezad will mostly be a credit to Bartolo, but the capture of the surrounding city-states will be an all-around achievement for you guys. I have high hopes for you.

　Ron and Gram look nervous as I explain this to them.

　'I understand, Lee your majesty!　I'll show you what to expect!
　I've never seen an army as large as 5,000 before, but I'm going to do it!

　Ron and Gram nodded vigorously.
　'If it looks like this, it should be fine.

　''In the meantime, I'll send some good NCOs and lieutenants from my army. Listen to their opinions. Also, as for the attack on the castle...''

　An extraordinary lecture by Bartolo begins.
　They listen to it with a serious look on their faces.

　That's when Bartolo's talk came to a climax.


　''Ta-oh my God!　Your Majesty!　I need to hear something urgently may I come in?
　Come on.

　A kinsman runs into the curtain camp.
　What the hell happened?

　"On the southern coast of Rezad, the army of the Republic of Pofenia has landed!　He's heading straight for Lesad, or....

　Republic of Pofenia...
　As I recall, it was a maritime nation on the southern continent of the Adelian peninsula. It was said to be in dispute with the Cilicians...

　Alexios' homeland.

　'What the hell does that mean?　Are you here to rescue Rezad?　Or are you a hyena?

　'Well, I don't know about that. It seems that the sorcerer's owl only identified the flag we don't know how many there are.

　You don't even know how many.
　It's not just a thousand or two thousand.

　They are a great power. It's a big country and we can be sure that the number is more than 10,000.

　I'll send a messenger first. I don't know what they're after, but whether they're Rezad's helpers or hyenas, I'm sure they're our enemies.

　That's true.
　I'm not retreating.

　As long as it doesn't fall back, Pofenia is the enemy.

　How do you feel about splitting your army in two?
　We'll have to call it off. 'We'd better hurry up and destroy the Pofenian army first. We don't even know the number of the enemy. It's not too late to capture each city after the fall of Rezad.






　It was noon the day after the Pofenian army landed.

　'It's good to see that the house arrest has been lifted. It's great that none of the senators are there. Totally......

　Alexios cowered his shoulders.

　Around noon yesterday, the news of the disastrous defeat of the Rezad-Nemes allied forces arrived in Rezad, and the Rezad Assembly was thrown into chaos.
　There was a great brawl in the assembly, with the thoroughgoing fighters and the surrenderers in the assembly.

　Then the declaration of war by the Pofenia Republic was delivered to Rezad.

　The Cilician cities in the southern part of the Adelian peninsula, including Rezad, were in conflict with Pofenia over the possession of Trisichelia.

　Pofenia began its march on Rezad in order to take possession of the whole of Trisichellia.
　Dropping Rezad would give them control of the waters between Trisichellia and the Adelunian peninsula.

　It was clear that Pofenia's goal was the capital of Rezad and its outer port.

　The news of the landing of the Pofenian troops threw the Rezad Parliament into chaos.
　And many members of the council packed up their family fortunes and defected by land to Gehenna.

　Rather than be invaded by the country of Pophenia and King Rosais, they chose to take refuge in Gehenna, a fellow Cilician.

　'Well, maybe I'll run away too. It seems that my employer has gone too. Melia, why don't we pack up our belongings and go into exile? We won't be treated badly in King Rosais' country.

　'Yes. King Rosais seemed to have a good impression of us. Why don't we buy some land in the country and live small?

　The two men begin to pack up the family's possessions as they talk about it.
　Then a few men came in.

　'Wait!'　
　I thought you guys weren't running away?

　Alexios was visited by a senator who remained in Rezad.

　There are two types of councilors in Rezad.
　There are representatives of merchants engaged in the transit trade by ship, and representatives of artisans who live in Rezad and merchants who operate retail shops in Rezad.

　The latter are smaller in number, but the latter are the more patriotic.

　Seventy percent of the members of Congress fled the country.
　About thirty percent remained in Rezad.

　'I beg you. I beg you to protect Rezad. You're the only one who can command it!
　But hey...
　I'll pay! Even if I have to borrow money!

　The senators bent their knees and bowed their heads desperately.

　'But where are the soldiers?　If it weren't for the soldiers....
　I'm here!

　It was the men of Rezad who showed up.
　All of them brought weapons they had taken from home.

　Some of them were dressed like a joke, with pots and pans on their heads, pot lids as a shield, and knives attached to the ends of broomsticks.

　The men appeared in droves and stared straight at Alexios.
　In their eyes, I could sense a firm will to protect their homeland.

　''........But there's nothing we can do with amateurs alone. It's impossible to take on both King Rosais' country and Pophenia,''
　I surrender to King Losey's Land. Even if we are occupied and deprived of our autonomy, it is better than being sacked by the mercenaries of Pofenia!

　Pofenia was primarily a mercenary country.
　Its army was famous for its bad behavior.

　Cities occupied by Pofenia were destroyed, money and goods were taken away, children were killed and women were raped.

　You could say that King Rosais' country was much better than that.

　"But you see, my employment relationship with you has been in shambles since you imprisoned me. ...Isn't it too much of a bug to not trust me when it counts and only cry when you're in trouble?
　"...I know. But we want to protect our home!

　I want to protect my home.
　Alexios had no idea.

　Alexios disliked the country of the Pofenia Republic because he hated the house of Barca, the House of Barca.

　Alexios sighed.

　'Huh ... that's not a good story. Mercenaries work on the balance between profit and danger. This case is leaning too heavily on danger, you know. I'm not going to take it on, no matter how much money they pile on me.''

　Alexios refused once and for all.
　And then he says, "But even though we have mutual interests, you have accepted us for who we are when we elope.

　But even though we had our own interests at stake, you accepted us for who we were when we eloped, and that doesn't change the fact that we were betrayed in the process. You were betrayed halfway through, but that doesn't change the fact. Running away from it is not good for a child's education. There's no way around it. I'll take the case without payment. We'll protect this city from that Pofenia shit, right?

　Then Alexios laughed.