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Thessalonica, who reluctantly surrendered to William’s threat.
Thanks to this, William easily acquired Thessalonica and completed his defensive preparations.
And upon seeing Johannes, who arrived near Thessalonica with an army of over 100,000, William ponders.
‘Even in a defensive battle, we must maintain our momentum.’
It’s been several weeks since the capture of the Toulouse Fortress.
If the morale was high, it could easily break when faced with the enemy’s large army.
William, who thinks that to face a strong and fierce enemy with a small number of soldiers, he must maintain his momentum, looks at the map and falls into contemplation.
A forest quite far from Thessalonica.
‘Should I hide the Golden Knights there and ambush the encircled enemy? Or should I come out at night to face the enemy preparing for a siege in a field and break their momentum once?’
Facing the enemy with a small number of troops is not easy.
William is not sure if his hammer, powerful and sturdy as it is, can withstand the enemy’s attacks.
He quickly dismisses the idea of a night battle.
‘If we lose in a night battle, it will be really difficult to hold on. I’d rather trust in the power of the Golden Knights and launch a surprise attack at night.’
While doing so, he looks at the enemy’s movement path.
‘The enemy is moving rapidly, so they must be accumulating fatigue. If we attack, it would be best to do so on the day of their arrival.’
William stayed up late, pondering the strategy to break the enemy’s momentum.
***
A critical moment.
Nobles, knights, and generals from Johannes and Nikea gathered for a war council.
Among them, Johannes, the host, was feeling uneasy.
The situation was not ideal as the enemy had deceptively positioned troops along the path to Adria, causing a delayed entry, disguised as a small cavalry unit to waste two days.
“It’s unbelievable… to be ravaged by a mere few thousand cavalry.”
Johannes tried to justify the delay, as they had mistakenly assumed that William, who had surrendered, was leading the reorganized forces, facing 80,000 troops with 70,000, making the situation less than favorable, hence the two days spent searching.
Nevertheless, upon finally entering Adria, Johannes swiftly confirmed the enemy’s movements, intercepted the siege preparations at Thessalonica, and quickly mobilized troops from Byzantium to march towards Thessalonica.
“Generals, listen up. The soldiers have endured the march, so allow them rest with meat and drink in shifts.”
Only after the troops who had traveled a considerable distance rested, could they engage in the siege.
“Furthermore, inform the soldiers that siege equipment will be assembled starting tomorrow morning, and we will launch a full-scale assault the day after.”
-Yes, sir!
As the nobles and generals acknowledged, Johannes continued.
“What is the situation on the Duopol Front?”
Having entrusted the entire Duopol Front to Sabineri, who excelled in warfare based at Khancho Fortress, Johannes inquired about Sabineri’s progress, whom he trusted.
Alexander replied, “There has been significant progress against the enemy, and they have taken the Mikoakan Fortress.”
Impressed, Johannes exclaimed, “They must be busy defending against the enemy, how did they manage to take the fortress?”
To which Alexander responded, “By hosting banquets for captured prisoners, leaking false information to relocate enemy forces from Mikoakan Fortress to other areas, then attacking the lightly guarded fortress and capturing it, appearing to be on the offensive.”
Johannes couldn’t help but marvel at Alexander’s words.
Finding opportunity in unexpected victories and turning unfavorable situations to his advantage, Johannes found solace in Alexander’s abilities and achievements.
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“hahahaha… Indeed. There is still much to be done.”
Although late, having seized control of the Duopol Fortress and contemplating the possibility of conquering the entire Bohemia Kingdom based on the numerous reports of victories from the south, Johannes felt optimistic.
Even though the Eren Kingdom remained strong, the thought of avoiding the worst scenarios brought a sense of relief.
At that moment,
-Ding dong!
The sound of the alarm bell signaling an attack left everyone bewildered.
And then,
-It’s the enemy! The enemy has appeared!
The sudden cry left everyone in shock.
“What… what’s happening?!”
-Golden Knights!
-Ahh!
-H… help me!
-aaah!
As the screams from outside the tent echoed, everyone went out to look at the camp. In the eastern camp, flames were rising, and in the distance, screams could be heard.
At that moment,
“Your Highness! It’s an enemy ambush.”
Upon hearing those words, Johannes responded urgently, “How many? How many are the enemies?!”
“It… seems to be the entire Golden Knights Order.”
Upon hearing this, Johannes urgently gave orders, “Surround the enemy with infantry immediately! We must not let them escape!”
Despite such orders…
-Boom!
-Aargh! Thud!
Magic began to pour from the enemy’s castle walls.
And soon after…
-aaah!
-Charge! Overpower the traitors!
The gates opened, and Imperial soldiers started pouring out.
“For Zegiral!”
Saying so, Johannes climbed up a nearby watchtower frantically to assess the situation.
“Protect the center immediately! What are the knights doing? Quickly, stop the enemies! Request support from the wizards too!”
And so, the sudden battle began.
***
William’s fantastic ambush had worked well, but due to the unexpected swift response, his forces were pushed back to the stronghold.
“hahahaha! Congratulations, Knight Commander. A great victory! A great victory!”
Although trampling the enemy with a small force could be considered a great victory, William, looking at Mateo with a grim expression, said, “Does this look like a great victory to you?”
Returning victorious, William, seeing Mateo looking puzzled, continued, “The enemies were thrown into chaos and thousands must have died due to your commander’s attack. Isn’t that a great victory?”
“Sigh… forget it.”
Saying so, William took off his helmet, climbed up the wall, lost in thought.
“I didn’t deliver as much impact as I thought. Johannes… has grown significantly.”
William had come here under the Emperor’s order to save Nicaea.
Back then, he had seen Johannes as a prince.
In those days, Johannes had shown loyalty to the Empire in his eyes.
Now, seeing him aging and fighting for control of the Empire, William felt regretful.
“Nicaea’s army has become remarkably stronger, unrecognizable from before. They are well-organized and have excellent leadership. They’ve become heroes of the era. But why did they start a rebellion…”
If he had remained loyal to the Empire, it would have progressed further, William thought, but then he dismissed the idea.
“He is now an enemy of the state.”
Shaking his head, he thought about his future plans.
It would be nearly impossible to launch another ambush next time.
Now, although they managed to strike while the enemy was tired, it would be difficult for the ambush to succeed once the full-scale battle began.
“There’s really nothing left but a siege.”
William licked his lips in such a manner.
He didn’t particularly fancy either a siege or a blockade.
The reason being, it was a battle that made it challenging to fully utilize the might of the Golden Knights.
Looking up at the moon that had risen in the sky, he scrutinized the enemy’s movements.
***
A fierce siege unfolded in Thessalonica.
Just a few hours before sunrise.
Hundreds of ships began to appear on the horizon of Byzantion.
Had it not been nighttime, the Nicaean army would have immediately recognized them as the enemy’s ships.
It was the first time they had seen such large ships like galleons or warships rather than the small boats usually seen in the Nicaean Sea.
And soon after…
Joseph issued the command.
“Prepare to fire!”
In response, the naval crews aimed their ballistae at the location of the maritime fortress received from the intelligence department.
“Fire!”
-Whizz!
Upon the command, something about the size of two adult male fists swiftly flew towards the land from the ship… and soon.
It emitted a bright light and ignited flames around it.
“Keep firing! Don’t hold back!”
Watching as hundreds and thousands of projectiles rained down on the enemy’s maritime fortress, Agrippa observed the explosions that ensued.
Gazing at the devastating bombardment, he thought to himself, ‘If the maritime fortress falls, we can swiftly reach Byzantion. If all goes well, we might even establish a siege by the end of today.’
Furthermore, according to the latest report, there were around ten thousand troops stationed in Byzantion.
With his own forces, totaling around forty thousand, including the Imperial Army and the Giants Corps, Agrippa anticipated easily defeating the enemy.
‘Nevertheless, I’d like to take just one of those ballistae with me later.’
Anticipating that the incredibly long-range ballista would be of great help in the siege, even if the magical resistance of the walls was high, as it wouldn’t prevent the shrapnel from exploding.
Moreover, the effect of the projectiles hitting the walls and breaking stones was exceptional, making it an irresistible choice.
‘It might be difficult to take it with me due to its secrecy.’
With such thoughts in mind, he gazed at Nicaea’s maritime fortress.
Though it was too dark to see clearly, it was easy to deduce that the projectiles were causing significant damage as they exploded and emitted a bright light in the vicinity.
Admiral Joseph watched the spreading flames around with satisfaction.
“Commander Agrippa, truly a brilliant strategy. The enemies, in the dark of night, are unaware of our position, making it difficult for them to respond with counterfire. And even if they do, the range is too short to reach us here.”
Currently, the Nicaean army was attacking with ballistae randomly, not knowing the enemy’s location, causing their attacks to fall into the sea in vain.
“Your praise is too kind. Anyway, if we continue this assault until morning, the enemies will find it hard to hold out. We can then land and finish off the coastal fortress before heading towards Byzantion.”
At Agrippa’s words, Joseph nodded approvingly.
“hehehe, the expression on the face of Nicaea’s king upon losing the capital will be quite a sight.”
At his words, Agrippa nodded in agreement.
Soon, the war would end with the defeat of Nicaea.
“As long as the capital is under siege and supply lines are cut off, there is no way out for the enemy forces.”