When Alexios was fighting Kepka...　
　Ron was fighting the siege impatiently.

　The enemy's resistance was so fierce that the tunnels he had built were completely destroyed and the siege towers were burned whenever he approached.
　The ramparts, which had been destroyed by stone throwers, were soon repaired.

　But the desperate resistance would eventually come to an end.

　''General!　We have successfully destroyed the gates with the hammering of the city gates!
　All right, all the troops!　Turn on the attack!

　The soldiers, who had been resting in shifts until now, put everything into the attack.
　The Romalian army flows into the city and a fierce urban battle begins.

　In advance, barricades were built inside the city and the advantage of the ground was on the defensive side, but...
　But by an overwhelming number, the Romalian army pushed in.

　The city battle was over by that evening.

　'Looting, assault and rape are forbidden. However, those who resist will be cut down without mercy!

　Since Ron's orders were in full swing beforehand, no looting by the Romalian army was seen out in the open.
　By overtly, I mean........
　It's just that it will inevitably happen somewhere, that's all.

　But there is nothing we can do about it.
　No matter how much technology advances and ethical education is provided, as long as humans are human, there is nothing we can do about it.

　''Well ... let's tell His Excellency Alexios.





　A few days later, Alexios learned of the fall of the city of Ashtarto, he quickly burned down the simple fortress he had built and joined Ron.
　Kepka Barca prioritized joining up with the reinforcements and did not pursue Alexios, so Alexios was able to retreat without incident.

　........Alexios had prepared a number of traps to set up the Kepka that had chased him, but he was disappointed that they came up empty.

　Kepka, who knows Alexios' character and fighting style well, refrained from going after him too deeply.


　'But the problem is the strength of the enemy. The strength of the Pophenian army has grown to 90,000. It's really not possible to fight against 90,000 with 40,000.
　Couldn't we just have General Alexios?
　'The enemy general is Kepka Barca, right?　Didn't the general defeat Kepka Barca before him?
　If you're dealing with an ordinary general, you'll be fine, but the enemy is "Barca". There is no ordinary general in Barca. I'm better than Kepka Barca when it comes to ambush tactics, information warfare, and night raids. But in a frontal battle, we're even ... or is Kepka Barca a little better?

　Hearing this, Ron and Rosward's minds were filled with thoughts of the time Bartolo and Kepka fought.
　Even Bartolo hadn't been able to attack Kepka.
　No, there was even the possibility that he might have lost.

　Kepka Barca is that much of an opponent.

　''........Who else is the enemy general but Kepka Barca?''

　Ron asks Alexios.　
　Alexios thinks for a while and then answers.

　''Well........well, when I say 'Barca', it's actually a range of things, but the one I should pay attention to is 'Shemar' who married into the Barca family as my daughter-in-law. This guy has a talent for military service that is recognized by the head of the Barca family. Next is my brother, David. He's also a decent general. Well, but aren't these two almost as good as you two?

　Alexios said that and then....

　'Belshazzar,' the eldest son and incoming head of the family, my brother. He's probably as good as His Excellency Bartolo Pompeius. And he fights like me. And Theal, the leader of House Barca, my father. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a hard man to beat. Even His Excellency Bartolo Pompeius might find it difficult to do so.

　However.....
　Alexios smiled.

　''To put it bluntly, war inevitably involves luck. A true master general would say that victory is decided before the battle.......but there aren't many such great generals. It's a theoretical theory. In the first place, it is impossible for a soldier to make a situation in which victory is already decided before he or she fights. That's a field for diplomats and politicians.

　All that the military is capable of doing is to somehow manage the troops given to them to achieve their political goals.
　That's all.

　Anything beyond that would be an act of transgression.

　That doesn't mean that Ceal Barca and I, or any of you, can't fight and lose. You're more than good enough, even in my eyes. If you follow the teachings of His Excellency, Bartolo Pompeius, and fight the right way, you won't lose badly.
　...Is that so?
　'Excellent........I'm not very aware of being called excellent.......'

　Ron and Rosward nodded their heads.
　But that can't be helped.

　Because the object of comparison is Bartolo and Alexios.
　But.........
　We can compare them to Bartolo and Alexios, if we consider them excellent to the extent that they can be compared to Bartolo and Alexios, which is good enough.

　In fact, the only generals in the Adelian peninsula today after Bartolo and Alexios are only about Tonino, apart from Ron, Rosward and Gram.

　'I hope you'll forget about Mr. Al-something.

　We'll have to wait for reinforcements for now.

　Alexios had asked for reinforcements from Armes soon after the battle with Kepka.
　The reason for this is that he did not want to fight with an equal number of men in the battle against Kepka.

　Besides, the fact that Kepka was only the spearhead of the battle can be fully inferred from the fact that Ceal Barca had not yet appeared on the battlefield.

　'How many men does Pofenia have?'
　I don't like the idea of you having an army. Pofenia has few soldiers.

　Alexios chuckled in response to Ron's question.
　Ron nodded his head curiously.

　''Pofenia relies on mercenaries for its army, you know.
　Yes. Any amount?
　'But since we can't keep up with the logistics, the limit of what we can hire at one time is a hundred thousand. So the number of Pofenian troops is now at an end.

　The Pofenian army currently deployed in Trisichellia is 90,000.
　Assuming that they have 10,000 left in defense of the mainland, the current one is undoubtedly the maximum number of troops.

　''As far as I'm concerned, I hope His Majesty the King will make his choice soon.
　'Choice, sir?　What the hell is that...?

　Alexios answered Rosward's question.

　'Either all-out war with Pophenia or a quick peace. 'Which is it?'






　What do you want to do?　His Majesty the King.
　I can't do this.

　I sighed.
　What's bothering me is Alexios' request for reinforcements.

　The forces Alexios wants as reinforcements are....
　60,000.

　Together with the troops currently deployed in Trisichellia, the total number of troops will reach 100,000.

　Our total military strength is ........
　The Kingdom of Romalia alone is 160,000.
　If the Federation is included, the figure is about 300,000.

　A total of one hundred thousand, the figure is a third of that.

　Let's not forget....
　Our soldiers are also our people.

　These 300,000 are equal to the working population of our country.

　If we lose them in a war, we will never get back on our feet.

　"What do we do now, Raimondo?
　I don't think half measures are the best.

　Well......
　I knew it.

　We'll be able to talk about that soon enough.

　"Baltoro, assemble Gram. And I want a force of 60,000 men, and I want it now. You've got two months to get it together.
　Are you sure?
　'If possible, I would have saved the two of you for the protection of Roselle's kingdom, but I had no choice.

　I'm going to win at all costs.
　The aim.....
　It's a short term battle.







　Oh, no, you don't think........the Kingdom of Roselle is safe?
　"His Majesty considers it all right. He's more interested in ending this war as soon as possible.

　Bartolo replies to Alexios' question.
　Since we have a non-aggression pact with the Roselle Kingdom, it is safe to assume that there will be no invasion for a while.

　Bartolo and Gram have been led by a large army of 60,000.

　Thirty thousand of the Royal Army of Romalia.
　Twenty thousand federal troops.
　And five thousand Alva cavalry, five thousand Germanis cavalry, and ten thousand cavalry.

　That's all.

　"Alexios Cornelius. How do you think you should fight?
　Oh, why me?
　You know more about House Barca than anyone else.

　I see, Alexios was convinced.
　And after thinking for a while...

　"The enemy is highly likely to divide our forces.
　Why is that?
　That's because we can't keep up with the logistics. Our Romalian army has a little bit of a logistics system, so we can handle it, but Pofenia's logistics are underdeveloped. We can't deploy a large army in the same place at once.
　Yes, but isn't that what we have in common?

　The Romalians and the Pofenians...
　In the end, we have no choice but to rely on local procurement.

　Therefore.........the limit of troops that can be gathered in the same place for a long period of time is about 30,000 to 40,000.
　Any more than that and the land will be devastated.

　That's why we'll keep in touch with you as best we can. ........Our country has a higher number of sorcerers than you. On the island of Trisichellia, with its rugged terrain, a sorcerer's hawk would be faster than a fast horse. And ... we will destroy each and every general in Pofenia.

　Yeah, not bad.

　The first thing to do is to think about the terrain of Pofenia, a large scale battle is unlikely. I'm sure there are a lot of people who have been in this situation for a long time. The key to this battle.

　Then Alexios and Bartolo clasped their hands together.

　'Then I'll attack the island eastward.
　All right, I'll continue to go westbound. Let's keep it together.