240 – Vikings of the Empire (1)
Over the course of two months, we received a variety of training from marine trainers.
Swimming methods that allow you to remain afloat even while wearing armor, swimming in the sea bare-body, running on the deck to adapt to the environment on a ship, mock battles, etc…
Nothing was easy.
So, it would be a lie if I said that I had no desire to escape from all this training with the dignity of 4 stars…
The sea was an object of fear for the northerners, whose daily routine was to pillage on horseback, and in order to lessen that fear, I needed to train with them.
In normal times, there would be tens of thousands of troops under my command, so I could leave command of minor details to my officers.
The number of troops mobilized this time was only about 8,000, so I decided that I had to go to the front for efficient command.
So this training is a process I have to endure anyway.
“Ha, f*ck. You get trained by marines with 4 stars. “Is this the military? I’m glad the ship is less shaken.”
To those words, Charlotte’s younger brother Vincent, who was serving as a junior staff member next to me, responded.
“The commander took the lead and received the same training as the northern archers, so we all had no choice but to do our best in the training. Thanks to this, I was able to achieve amazing training results in a short period of time. “In particular, weren’t the Marine trainers speechless at the speed at which you adapted to training?”
Besides the fact that the northerners trained hard, the northerners still had a culture of honoring ‘someone stronger than themselves’ as the chieftain.
In order to raise their morale as much as possible, to get recognition that I am their leader.
I had to do my best to show that I was brute forcefully stronger than any northerner.
So, how many times did you pretend to be fine when other soldiers looked exhausted…
But, isn’t that all in the past now?
“If I showed any signs of failing in training, the northerners would have been very disappointed. So I just trained to death. By the way, this is your first real match, aren’t you nervous?”
“What’s there to be afraid of when you serve under the command of a rising star of the Imperial Army, or rather, a captain who is said to be the best general of the Imperial Army?”
“When I was just your age, I was secretly nervous when I went to the front line for the first time. Young guys these days are really gutsy. “I’m looking forward to it.”
I said in front of Vincent that I was nervous during the first battle, but in reality, far from being nervous, I was thinking of escaping from being a f*cking commoner orphan by any means possible, so I was just thinking about not missing the opportunity.
So there was no time for me to feel anxious that I might die in a fight… But there’s no need to tell me the truth if I can’t read the mood.
As if my sincerity had been rewarded, Vincent showed signs of relief that he was not the only one who was scared on his first outing.
“Anyway, this is Charlotte’s first time on the field. Did you say anything? “It’s okay for me to come back if I can’t make a major major, so I asked them to come back safely.”
This is the first time since Charlotte started helping me that I have been away from her for such a long time.
Since this plunder battle is carried out by constantly moving around on her horse, even if she knows how to ride her horse, the fact that she is a non-combatant cannot be helped, so she had no choice but to be left out of this plunder battle.
After saying goodbye, you said this to me…
‘Your body will be hot from the excitement of the battlefield, so please make sure to come see me. No matter how hot it is, we will cool it down as much as possible.’
It is a typical wise mother and good wife remark, but I have a feeling that when she returns, she will be woven like a dried and twisted squid.
“I told Captain Jaeger to fight and come back, willing to risk my life without shame. And when I come back after winning this war, I will ask Lady Laura or Her Highness Louise to find me a good wife…”
Ensign Vincent said that, but he had an expression on his face that he longed for marriage…
No, I met her wife well. A typical arranged marriage is hell.
As proof of this, if you look at the officers above major level whom I have met during my military service, all but a few of them would diligently prepare gifts for their sons, daughters, and concubines.
My relationship with my wife was worse than that of a stranger, so all I could do was give her gifts that matched her level.
I couldn’t say this, I just had to hope that this idiot would come to his senses and fall in love with a suitable family, or even just a serf family, and get married…
“Yes, marriage is good. But it’s better if you do it a little later. “It was because I did it late.”
“Is that so, but officers are usually promoted to lieutenant before they are promoted…”
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“No, just be late. “The later you can do it, the better.”
While I was enjoying my leisure time and chatting with Vincent, a bell suddenly rang, signaling danger.
I was planning to peacefully destroy the coastal areas of Warsaw, but why is someone interrupting our pleasant trip?
It’s like the f*cking Grand Duchy of Warsaw’s navy, so you’re saying they weren’t stealing their salaries?
At the same time, from above the captain’s cabin where Vincent and I were, we could hear the footsteps of soldiers moving and the voices of officers on deck shouting.
“Unfold all sails as much as possible! “We must speed up as much as possible!”
“Those belonging to the combat branch, check their weapons! You idiot who takes out the damn spear, come to me willingly. I’ll kill you here first. “Don’t think about harming your allies.”
“Swords, axes, bows, arrows! If you don’t have a bow, prepare a crossbow! Load all the arrows into the crossbow! “f*ck you, you slow-moving bastard, I’ll put you under the deck over there and give it a spin!”
Noticing such an atmosphere, I immediately went up to the deck and asked.
“Gyeonsisu! How big is the enemy navy? “Where do you see your affiliation?”
“It is predicted to be the fleet of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw! The size is 40 ships! However, considering that the size of the ship is slightly larger than ours, we assume that the number of soldiers inside is greater than ours!”
“What is the most important distance?”
“It’s about 700 meters or so!”
…… If we lose even one of those damn bastards, there is a chance that the plan I proposed to rob the port city of Warsaw will go to waste.
Because, according to common sense, if thousands of soldiers from the Reich Empire came in with ships and they are in trouble, it is common sense to ‘first alert the camp and country to which they belong.’
This type of news spreads at an incredible speed by waves that can travel up to 70 km per day.
So, what we need to do now is to destroy every single one of those sneaking in over there so they can’t relay information.
“Those damn Warsaw sneaky thieves can’t miss a single thing! Spread your formation horizontally as wide as possible! “Let’s bring in every single rower and increase the speed to the limit!”
When I gave this order, everyone, regardless of whether they were officers or soldiers, moved to their assigned positions and moved as quickly as possible.
Some of the nomads walked around unfurling the sails and sprinkling sand on the deck, following the instructions of marines who had experience operating the ship.
Those who did not receive separate instructions from the marines began preparing countermeasures such as loading arrows into crossbows or lowering oil barrels below deck.
Meanwhile, the ships of the Reich Empire began to spread their formation left and right, like birds spreading their wings, based on the flagship I was on.
“What are the trends of enemy ships? Are they trying to avoid combat, or do they look like they intend to respond? “If they try to run away from us, we will give up the chase and rob a nearby coastal city, and if they decide to respond, we will kill or capture every single one of them!”
“Sleep, please wait a moment!”
“If you wait a moment, everyone will die, Gyun Sisu!”
“The enemy is trying to engage in combat. “It looks like they are planning to concentrate their ships around the flagship and break through the center of our army’s formation!”
When I heard that, I was very happy that we were able to avoid the worst-case scenario of them avoiding combat with us and running away.
There was really no answer to running away, but you personally thought of fighting us like this.
If I catch the commander of that fleet prisoner later, I will show my gratitude and feed him at least a warm meal.
“Long live the Reich Empire! Long live Kakan! Long live your Majesty the Emperor!”
“Let’s kill every single one of the bastards who accused us of being traitors!”
“It’s time to show the mace of the great Reich Empire! Hurray!”
The morale of the northerners is beyond excellent, so if we fight like this, we will be able to win.
“For every ship you capture, each of you will receive an additional bonus of 1 silver! This is what His Majesty the Emperor has guaranteed, so capture at least one more ship! And kill at least one more person and personally punish the bastards who accused you of being traitors! “Raise the assault planes!”
The Northerners, the protagonists of this battle, all shouted hurrahs and fully prepared for battle on deck, when the distance between the friendly ship and the enemy ship was about 70m.
“Now is the time, shoot all arrows! “Just one more shot before we collide with them!”