381 – Offense is the best defense (4)
In war, other people’s misfortune is my happiness.
The more the enemy searches and suffers, the bigger the victory is for us.
In that sense, Bastion Castle is now overflowing with happiness.
So, tonight, in celebration of the victory, I allowed all but the soldiers on guard to drink alcohol. The excitement of victory had not subsided, and with the addition of alcohol, the castle became a noisy, festive atmosphere.
“This old man, damn it! I went up behind one of the guys who was busy putting out the fire in the burning camp and hit him hard on the head. Then it just stretched out. After killing one person like that, there is nothing to be afraid of from then on, right? So, as ordered by the company commander, I held the mace in his hand firmly and hit each person I caught on the head with one blow.”
“Ha, so, tell me how you contributed.”
“But even in all that chaos, there is a fool wearing armor who only gives instructions with hand gestures. I felt it then. ‘Oh, if I kill that damn guy, wouldn’t I be able to change my character?’ So I ran for dear life. I used my energy from running to hit the guy’s head with this mace, and the guy’s head was immediately crushed. But the important thing is that he had two f*cking horse dung stuck in his shoulder.”
“I’m dying of envy. Hey, pour me another drink.”
Looking at me smiling while listening to the exciting stories of soldiers and civilians talking like that, Carol next to me asked me.
“Marshal, is it really okay to allow drinking? “No matter what, the enemy is just around the corner, and there are a lot of them.”
Definitely being released openly in a situation where you don’t know when the enemy will attack can be a big problem.
Still, if we continue to push forward without giving ourselves this much leeway, even though we have achieved a great victory like now, we may eventually become mentally exhausted and unable to endure the remainder of the war.
So, relieving the soldiers’ tension whenever the opportunity arises is an important thing that must be done for victory.
But this alone will not be the answer.
“Ensign Karl, look outside the walls. What do you see now?”
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“Isn’t the enemy camp burning brightly due to our troops’ barrage of fireballs?”
“It’s just as you said. So, the Grand Duke came with a large army of 360,000 people, and even though we opened the castle gates wide and provoked him to go out and kill us, he couldn’t even respond in any way. Because if I left the barracks on fire so that I could cut off my head and the heads of 50,000 soldiers, I would have lost the strength to fight the war and would have starved to death. “Then what will they do?”
After hearing what I said, Carol thought for a moment and answered.
“Rather than attacking Bastion Castle, we should put out the fire in the camp right away. “If we don’t put out the fire, like the Marshal said, we won’t be able to fight tomorrow’s battle properly because we won’t have food or weapons.”
“That’s right. Moreover, looking at it now, almost the entire camp has been burned down, so they won’t even dare to attack our troops for at least tomorrow as they rebuild the camp.”
“Then how about taking advantage of that opportunity and attempting another surprise attack?”
“I would like to do that, but His Majesty the Grand Duke of Warsaw has a knack for learning right away once he gets hit. “No doubt, when we open the gate and come out, he will break our earthen pot, saying, ‘Now is the chance.'”
When I, an enemy, used the expression ‘pot-pot’, Carol could hardly hold back the laughter that was about to burst out, probably because she hadn’t expected it that far.
“Just smile. “Why are you measuring so much?”
Ensign Karl heard me and followed me, laughing like crazy.
You could say that this is a characteristic of adolescent boys.
When I was attending the academy, I wasn’t that type, but the other guys laughed like crazy because they thought it was funny to see leaves rolling around, or made a fuss just by seeing the bottom of a girl’s skirt fluttering.
Friedrich also seemed to be entering puberty at the age of 13, and he rebelled against Louise, Charlotte, Laura, and me as befits his age.
Of course, I calmed down in an instant by teaching my body what would happen if I rebelled.
I didn’t hit him, I just baited him by telling him that if he could beat his father physically, I would tell His Majesty about early admission to the academy, and used a soldier from the 7th Division as a trainer to ‘guess’ him.
We walked towards the place where the Landel Battalion, today’s protagonist, was located. There, Lieutenant Colonel Randel was hanging out with the soldiers and drinking like a man who only lived for today.
After emptying a 600ml, no, 700ml glass of beer in one go, he looked at the officers of his battalion and said with a grin.
“So, this battalion commander was running to his death with Marshal Jaeger, and he suddenly told us to change direction. When I heard that, I don’t know why he told me to turn, but he followed his orders and ordered you to turn to the right.”
“At that time, I didn’t understand why they suddenly told us to change direction when we were penetrating well from the front.”
“I didn’t know either. Still, I turned to the right as the enemy ordered. Then, there were people there who formed a phalanx and held on in the midst of the chaos. I thought Marshal Yeager had his eyes on the sky when he saw that. “He was the one who slaughtered several enemy soldiers with a sword, and he was fully aware of the situation in the enemy camp that was hundreds of meters away.”
Randel took another beer from one of the new lieutenants, who finished it in an instant.
When the officers asked him to stop talking about what everyone else knew and get straight to the point, Randel bluffed as if he had done everything.
“Then the Marshal charged with a square of long spears, and with one swing of his sword, he cut off not one but six spear poles, and then he began dropping the enemy’s branches at an invisible speed. “I thought there was some kind of sword flying like an eagle.”
“…… Does that make sense? “Isn’t that an exaggerated expression used by bards?”
“Marshal Jaeger is a true sword master recognized by the swordsmanship guild, Captain Jacques. He’s not like an honorary sword master who gives you money when you become a lieutenant general or higher. Anyway, he kept digging in like that, and since I was the battalion commander, I had no choice but to follow him.”
Randel took a moment to catch his breath and spoke.
“How did the Marshal go all the way to where the Allied division commander was, and instead of treating him like a high-ranking bastard, he cut off his head with a single sword? “The enemy division commander must have realized that he was behind only when his head fell to the ground and rolled, so he licked his mouth and died.”
Just as the entire battalion was about to cheer at those words, they all froze when they saw one of the captains pointing at me.
“Salute, salute to the enemy!”
“Stop it. On such a nice day, being so formal makes the drink taste bad. “Would you please give me a beer and the brave rider next to me a drink?”
“It’s an honor!”
The captain, in a situation where he could have ordered another subordinate officer, did not hesitate to pour me his drink carefully, with an expression full of respect.
All the other officers of the Randel Battalion looked at the captain with envy, and I remembered his exploits during the previous assault and asked:
“Are you Captain Hoffman, who cut off the enemy battalion commander’s head when you were charging with me?”
“Captain Hoffman, commander of the 1st Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 7th Division! Yes that’s right!”
“If I memorize all the official statements in a place like this, I will spend the whole night just listening to the official statements before dawn. “Isn’t that right?”
And I took turns taking care of everyone, including officers who remembered my exploits and soldiers who were drinking some distance away.
Both officers and soldiers began to shed tears just because I remembered their names, and some soldiers even cried on the spot, causing an accident that was not an accident.
“Why are you crying so much on such an auspicious occasion?”
“Not Corporal Bauer!”
“Don’t make a statement of rank or anything like that. And if you continue to be active in the future, shouldn’t you receive at least a knight’s medal if you return from here alive? “I have already compiled and recorded your achievements, and if you perform a little more, you could receive a knighthood from His Majesty.”
“I will fight even more willingly to die so that I can meet the expectations of the enemy.”
“Rather than live up to my expectations, fight for your family behind the scenes who just want you back. “It’s no use if you die.”
For soldiers who were former serfs, the social status of the title of knight was like saying that those who did not even have a spoon in their hands were immediately incorporated into the social elite.
The corporal named Bauer was crying with tears in his eyes, and the atmosphere of the entire battalion gradually became emotional.
After encouraging them, I walked straight to where the wizards were, encouraged them, and asked the wizard leader.
“Chief, is there a way to strengthen the power of magic? “I thought it would be nice to have a slightly more powerful shot.”
“…… In theory, I heard that if several wizards release magical power, it is possible to raise the power by several levels by adjusting the magical energy by an experienced wizard. “There have been no real success stories yet.”
…… I asked because I thought it would be helpful when protecting the castle walls. It’s such a shame.
“I see. It’s a bit unfortunate, but I wouldn’t have even thought of this surprise attack without you guys. When I return, I will exchange that silver knight’s sword for a golden knight’s sword and actively request that His Majesty grant me territory.”
“It is an honor, Marshal.”
“Let’s go back alive. “That’s enough.”
So, I walked around the castle, drinking alcohol and eating snacks to relax them and boost their morale.
As expected, the enemy did not dare to attack our troops as they were moving their barracks the next day.
And then time passed and we entered the 28th day of the siege, with only two days left before the promised arrival of reinforcements.