126 – Make each other suspicious (1)
Contemplating what measures to take, I took several deep breaths to try to deliver as much oxygen to the brain.
It didn’t help that my head became clearer and my eyes opened a little.
“The other side, including Baron Custer, are probably risking their lives to stop it, so there’s no way a proper solution will come out of nowhere just by sitting down and thinking about it.”
As I just said, if you want to catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger’s den, and if you want to kill a person, you have to risk your life.
More than that, the plan I have to come up with will control the lives of more than a thousand soldiers, including mercenaries, and hundreds, if not more than a thousand civilians, who will be trapped in that castle.
Can you get the answer just by turning your head?
‘If the answer is that easy, it is 99.8% Likely to be wrong.’
“Let’s come to our senses first.”
Just as I was trying to pull myself together and plan again, I heard the sound of my tent door sliding open.
Karin looked at me, who wasn’t sleeping yet, and sighed.
“Martin, when did the first watch end and you’re still not sleeping?”
Lucia puffed out her cheeks and looked at me with worry in her eyes.
“It’s not that Captain Baekin was seriously injured, but because he continued to fight at the forefront, he lost a lot of physical strength and suffered not only minor wounds but also many bruises.”
Unlike before, I like how Lucia speaks clearly and clearly, but she often says things that concern me about my health or physical condition.
The problem is not that I become scared like my mother, who often scolded me while raising me.
I didn’t want to provoke Lucia further by saying, ‘You will get better if you get treated by Father Smith in the mercenary unit.’ So she showed her wisdom by not saying this.
“I was thinking of a plan to capture this Villa Hora castle a little faster. “If we take over this castle as soon as possible, our soldiers’ sacrifices will be reduced.”
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After hearing my words, Lucia Langkarin was so worried about me that she let go of her emotions that had set me up.
“It is said that siege warfare requires the greatest sacrifice, but 40 people from our mercenary unit have already died.”
“As Lucia said, we are at this point thanks to Martin’s performance and the support of Captain Dalton and the rest of the excellent mercenaries… They say about 80 people died in the Red Rose.”
Our mercenary unit has about 500 people, and the Red Rose mercenary unit has about 700 people, so it may be natural that more people were sacrificed in that side with the larger number, but…
The casualty rate of the White Beard mercenaries is 8%, which is still a decent level to endure, but for the Red Rose mercenaries, over 10% have already died, so it will be very difficult.
‘We already lost over 20% of our allies in the last battle, and since over 10% have died since coming here, the blow will be huge.’
Hearing those words, I also sighed.
“There is a war going on and everyone is having a hard time. As a result, I have a lot of worries.”
Karin laughed when she heard that and shrugged her shoulders.
“Anyway, tomorrow is a day off. So, why don’t you talk to us? “You might come up with a good opinion.”
“Can you not sleep, senior?”
Karin smiled and said those words.
“Martin, your problem is my problem and Lucia’s problem as well. So, of course we should think about it together. Also, tomorrow is a day off, right? Even if I stay up all night today, there is no problem. Right, Lucia?”
Lucia also nodded his head and flicked his tail.
“Yes, Karin.”
Karin gently stroked Lucia’s head as she answered.
“Ugh, I like it, sis…”
Those two people showed us a very nice sight for a moment, then brought out a chair and sat down.
“So, what Martin is worried about now is how to take the castle?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Then Karin thought with her eyebrows slightly frowned, and then she opened her mouth and spoke.
“I haven’t studied as much as Martin or Lucia, so there are a lot of things I don’t know. “When we fight, we always attack the weakest part of the opponent’s formation, right?”
Out of the three including Lucia, Karin, and myself, Lucia is the one who studied the most.
Because I graduated from the Wizard Academy, which can be considered a university in this world.
Although I graduated from college before becoming possessed by Martin Mayer, in this world I would have received roughly the equivalent of a middle school to first year of high school education…
Karin, who was born into a poor family in an elf village, barely received an elementary school level education.
‘Of course, just because I learned a lot doesn’t mean I’m wise. ‘It’s not like she can’t plan a strategy.’
“That’s right. We need to dig in from the weakest point. “It’s foolish to start with the hardest part.”
“Then let’s first look at what supports this castle and think about what we can do about it.”
Ever since I was a platoon leader, I always analyzed who was supporting the opposing unit and where its weaknesses were.
If you find a weak spot and attack it, the opposing unit will scatter in confusion.
‘If we address the weaknesses of this castle with over a thousand defensive troops, a solution will definitely come out.’
“First of all, there are three things that support this castle. “Baron Custer, the soldiers, and Hilde Baumann.”
I have never seen Baron Custer lead from the front. If you listen to the stories of other mercenaries, they said they have never seen this guy step forward and do anything.
The situation was so serious that even deploying guards to the castle and taking active steps to encourage battles would not be enough, but they did not do anything particularly noteworthy.
To be honest, I can say that I didn’t do anything right.
As long as a commander is not extremely incompetent, their mere existence is meaningful.
‘If there is no commander, the subordinates play independently, and no matter how strong the unit is, it becomes a ragtag group.’
“Martin, the female knight you tried to capture but couldn’t? He’s only a low-level knight. “In terms of influence based on his position, he is at a similar level to that of a centurion commander in a mercenary army, so it would be difficult to call him a ‘pillar.'”
In fact, among low-ranking knights, a person who is really poor at firing commands 100 serfs who are no better than recruits, so it is not wrong, but…
“Hilde is a woman. “She was also an incredibly beautiful woman. She personally killed 40, or perhaps even more, of our allies with a spear, thereby boosting the morale of the soldiers under Baron Custer.”
When they heard that she was a beauty, both Lucia and Karin sighed and tapped their fingers on the desk.
“If you look at our mercenaries, you’ll see… There are a lot of guys who can’t survive losing to a woman, senior. So, as soon as Hilde Bauman comes out to the walls and fights, mercenaries, regular soldiers, and even serfs, and even women come out and fight so well, and my morale goes up because I can’t lose.”
Even in 21st century Korea, there are people who say that even if you lose to someone else, you shouldn’t lose to a woman, much less here, where gender equality is a thing of the past…
‘Women fight so well, but they fight to the death because of men’s pride.’
Lucia perked up her fox ears on her head and looked into my eyes.
“Then how about leaking fake information to Baron Custer? For example, if we make people believe that the Medici Republic army has occupied the surrounding area and prevented their reinforcements from coming…”
Unless you are a suicidal person who wants to die, the reason the soldiers in the castle defend the castle is because of the belief that ‘the situation will be resolved when reinforcements arrive.’
But what if reinforcements don’t come?
You will not be able to avoid being killed by using the walls of the castle as a burial ground.
So, the strategy Lucia mentioned was very effective, but…
The siege started only a week ago, but if we spread the word that reinforcements are not coming, I don’t know if they will listen.
Still, if these rumors are told ‘repeatedly’ for a long time, the number of soldiers who believe that it is true will increase as time passes, and it becomes a major factor in lowering morale…
‘Even if you don’t see a big effect right away, it could have a big effect if you look at it from afar.’
At those words, I shrugged my shoulders and chuckled.
“Okay, then let’s spread fake information. Custer, if that man is a fling, he might open the castle gate after hearing this story.”
When Karin heard me, she raised one corner of her mouth and smiled.
“Ah, Martin. This is a story I heard from an archer from the Red Rose Mercenaries and a regular soldier from the Viscount’s direct unit while I was waiting last night to resupply additional arrows. “They say Baron Custer is very suspicious.”
If you were a regular soldier under the Viscount Canossa, you would have been a native of the Medici Republic, so how on earth can you know Baron Custer’s personality?
‘Couldn’t it be fake information meant to catch us off guard?’
Still, Karin is not the kind of person who gets caught up in nonsense, so you should listen to it until the end.
Karin shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh, “Huh,” And then let out a laugh.
“Of course I had my doubts. When I asked how a regular soldier could know Baron Custer’s personality, he answered like this. He said that before he joined the regular army, he had fought as a mercenary under Baron Custer, and when his mercenary leader told him to refrain from ‘unreasonable attacks’ during battle…. Well… Custer that man. “
I listened closely to the next words.
“‘Now is the best time to attack, so you’re saying something to stop it! “Are you talking to your enemy?’ He said he had a history of sending his mercenary unit back to the rear.”
Lucia was surprised to hear those words and covered her open mouth with her palm.
“It doesn’t make sense… Isn’t it too far-fetched?”
I have the same thoughts as Lucia, but there is a magic saying that only applies to military organizations.
Does that make sense in society? Most of what I think is a false rumor, but does that make sense in the military? If you think this, most of it is true.
And I was tormented like a dog by Baron Pappenheim, who proved that with his whole body.
“So?”
Karin sighed as if she was dumbfounded.
“I thought it was a lie, so I kept questioning it, but as I continued to listen to the story, it seemed like it was true.”
As soon as I heard her say those words, something flashed in my head.
“And Martin, I don’t think the baron stuck in that castle is a very leading man. I continued to observe while shooting arrows, and the ‘Baron Custer family flag’, which announced that the baron was at the front, was always planted only in the center of the castle. “It didn’t move.”
In the Republic of Korea military, the ‘General Flag’ is hoisted on the official residence or office building where the general with the ‘star’ stays, as if to show ‘there is a star here’ from time to time.
No matter which country you go to, including the Rhine-Palatinate, wherever there is a noble with a title, a flag with the emblem of that noble family ‘inscribed in an extremely large size’ follows them.
In this fantasy world where there are no radios, messengers must be sent frequently to ‘the place where the High One is located’, so the flag on the battlefield follows the High One in any situation.
Therefore, the fact that this flag does not move means that this gentleman will never go to the forefront…
‘Even if they are nobles, 99% of them who don’t go near the front lines are incompetent.’
Because in this world, there are no walkie-talkies, drones, or satellite images, so it is absolutely more efficient to command by observing the situation with your own eyes.
‘He’s incompetent and has a lot of doubts…?’
If I do this well, I can use it.
After hearing that, I snapped my fingers.
“Okay, this is it.”
Then he immediately stood up.
“Thank you, senior. Thanks to you, I remembered a good way to mess around. “I will go and take a look right away.”
Having said that, I went to Captain Dalton and received permission to report the operation directly to Viscount Canossa.
And the next morning, I was called to Viscount Canossa’s barracks.
“Yes, I have heard of your achievements many times. That’s why I’m dedicating my time to you, the leader of a hundred mercenaries. You can skip the annoying greeting, so go ahead and say it. “What is the operation?”