The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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Chapter 395 Just Smash It. (2)

Linderstein is a remarkably large and sturdy castle, considered one of the best in the kingdom. The people of the West pride themselves on its superiority, claiming it rivals the capital, Cardenia.

Moreover, Marquis Roderick left behind a garrison of 20,000 troops at Linderstein while he gathered the Western forces, in order to keep the vassals’ rebellion and robbers in check.

Thus, Tenant spoke with a confident expression.

“Linderstein is a colossal castle. No matter how much Count Penris is a master, he cannot conquer it alone. With 20,000 defenders, we can hold out until reinforcements arrive. The Count cannot even muster a proper supply line right now.”

Marquis Roderick and the other retainers all nodded in agreement. The outcome would depend on how long their respective strongholds could endure.

In any case, both sides faced long supply lines. With 10,000 troops, even Count Penris would struggle to gather provisions through plundering.

Having been raided recently, the vassal territories held almost no remaining assets. Even the lords who had not been raided sent most of their food along with their troops to the Marquis.

Marquis Roderick squinted and asked, “We sent 20,000 before and couldn’t capture Count Penris. Now he brings 10,000 troops. Is there a guarantee we won’t face defeat this time?”

Tenant nodded with an expression that suggested there was no problem at all.

“Do not worry. Our forces total 60,000, with 40,000 from the 2nd Corps and 20,000 from the Marquis’s garrison. With this number, defeat is not an option. We can strike at the back of Count Penris while he’s besieging us.”

The more numerous an army is, the stronger it becomes. With a sixfold advantage in numbers, even a master would not stand a chance.

Tenant smiled.

“However, Count Penris will likely avoid fighting, to reduce the damage. Right now, his goal is to shake our morale.”

“Hmmm….”

“If Count Penris retreats, we can have the 2nd Corps guard the supply lines. His troops are only 10,000. He won’t be able to cut our supplies and will have no choice but to return. In the meantime, if we seize Penris, he will lose all escape routes.”

Marquis Roderick nodded, seemingly pleased.

“Good, send the 2nd Corps back to the Marquis’s territory. This time, we must capture and kill Count Penris.”

It would be foolish to rush in and be dragged around by Count Penris. They would protect their base while seizing Penris.

Once they capture Master Count Penris, the war would essentially be over. Military support for the Crown Prince faction can be arranged later.

With that, Roderick’s 2nd Corps began to withdraw, and the 1st Corps increased their pace.

*

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The 10,000-mobile troops of Penris surged forward at incredible speed. In the West, where they had already suffered raids and were swarming with robbers, no one could stop them.

“Move faster! Reports should be coming in by now!”

At Ghislaine’s shout, everyone gritted their teeth and urged their horses on. The Penris army had become so skilled at cavalry maneuvers that they could be called a cavalry nation.

They had initially learned techniques with help from the elves and had continued rigorous training, including tasks like Arrow Delivery.

In a short period, they had already penetrated several strongholds and fortresses, but they kept on galloping.

“Today, we hit that one!”

In the distance, a nearby fortress came into view—a small fortress on the way to the Marquis’s territory.

Kaor, who had been desperately pursuing Ghislaine, panted and asked. Even a warrior of Kaor’s caliber was feeling the strain of the forced march.

“Can we eat there and take a rest?”

But Ghislaine firmly shook her head.

“No, we have to seize the Marquis’s castle quickly to cut off supplies.”

“Then can’t we just take a detour and go there?”

“If we leave the fortresses untouched, they’ll become a nuisance when we move later. War needs to be decisive.”

“Aww… I’m exhausted.”

Complaining wouldn’t do any good. If the lord made a decision, they had to follow.

“Charge ahead!”

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The Penris army approached the fortress. Naturally, chaos erupted within the stronghold.

“Enemies! Intruders have breached!”

The soldiers yelled and prepared for battle. However, the commander of the fortress turned pale at the sight of the approaching Penris troops.

Reports were flooding in from previously taken territories. They all said the same thing: they couldn’t hold out long and collapsed.

Yet, he had only 500 soldiers around him. Truly, it was merely a force capable of fending off robbers.

The commander clenched his trembling hands and raised his voice.

“Everyone, prepare for battle…”

Before he finished speaking, someone suddenly appeared on the castle wall.

“W-who goes there?”

“Count Penris.”

“Y-you gotta be kidding!”

Before they could even fight back, the infamous Count Penris appeared. There was no way to defend against a master with only 500 men.

“Ha, surrender…”

Slish!

Before the commander could cry out for surrender, his head rolled away. Behind him, 200 knights of Penris swiftly scaled the walls.

Seeing the sudden appearance, the soldiers turned pale and began to tremble.

“Ahhh! Run for your lives!”

“Spare us!”

“We surrender!”

Some soldiers shrieked and fled, while others tossed their weapons down and lay flat on the ground.

Ghislaine’s renown had spread far and wide. Especially in the West, she was treated like a demon.

“Hmm.”

Ghislaine called out to the fleeing and prostrate soldiers.

“If you all escape this fortress, I will spare you. Become magnificent brigands!”

That shout was like a beam of light descending into despair. The prostrate soldiers all jumped to their feet.

“Thank you!”

“You will be blessed!”

“Please, conquer the West!”

Marquis Roderick was a notorious lord. The soldiers felt no loyalty whatsoever.

They could not hide their joy at having come back from the brink of death as they hurried to gather their weapons and flee.

Ghislaine neither killed them nor left them in the fortress.

Eventually, they would become her soldiers, so killing them would be a loss. But leaving them in the fortress would only guarantee they’d be taken by Roderick’s pursuit force. Driving them out was the best course of action.

Ghislaine smirked and told her knights,

“Easy, right? We’ll take a short break and then move to the next location.”

It hardly took any time to capture a fortress. The overwhelming numerical advantage made it so the enemies didn’t dare even think of fighting.

Of course, any desperate enemies were completely annihilated. Thus, her notoriety only soared, and everyone became even more reluctant to engage with Ghislaine.

The Penris army was more worn out from moving than from fighting.

Those who had captured the fortress enjoyed a brief respite as they devoured all the stored food within.

Naturally, the supplies in the fortress weren’t enough to feed 10,000 men. Therefore, they consumed all the provisions they had brought along and even finished their powdered combat food.

While taking a short break, Dark, who had gone out scouting, approached Ghislaine.

Transformed into a crow, Dark perched on Ghislaine’s shoulder and began chatting away.

“Master, master! The pursuit force is mobilizing.”

“Location?”

“They haven’t even reached the western perimeter yet. But there are a ton of them.”

“How many do they seem to have?”

“Um… It looks like several tens of thousands. Anyway, it’s a lot. Really a lot. I think they outnumber us by several times.”

Dark still had difficulty gauging troop numbers. If there were few, he could estimate by sight, but with large numbers, he would count one by one.

Even after numerous teachings, he hadn’t quite grasped it.

Ghislaine clicked her tongue and scolded Dark.

“Why don’t you know that yet?”

“I’m weak with numbers.”

“Ugh… Well then, what’s their march speed? When do you think they’ll reach the West?”

“Slower than us.”

“…Alright.”

It was remarkably convenient for both reconnaissance and communication, yet the precision was quite lacking.

Still, it was better than nothing, so she had to make do.

After infusing a bit more mana into Dark’s clone, Ghislaine said,

“Keep tracking their position and let me know when they reach where we smashed things. That will allow me to estimate their speed.”

“Got it!”

Dark took to the skies once again to continue monitoring the pursuit force.

Ghislaine surveyed everyone and shouted,

“Alright, move out again!”

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

With their speed, Penris had earned the title of the kingdom’s best. They swept through various castles and fortresses in no time.

Recently, Ghislaine had caused quite a ruckus during her previous visit, and with Roderick mobilizing all his forces, there was no one left to stop them.

Every once in a while, when robbers went out to scout, they would panic upon seeing the Penris flag.

“The demon of the North has come again!”

“This time, they’re even bringing an army!”

“Everyone, run!”

Most of the robbers were those who had learned their lesson during the last battle against Ghislaine. As soon as they saw the flag, they scrambled to hide or escape.

With no one to block their way, the Penris army was able to arrive at their intended destination in just a few days.

The stronghold of Marquis Roderick and the greatest castle of the West, Linderstein.

Ghislaine looked at the castle and smiled.

“Once we capture that castle, their supplies will be cut off, and they’ll starve to death.”

“Wow….”

The knights and soldiers gaped at Linderstein Castle.

It was indeed as massive as Cardenia itself. Such a castle couldn’t simply be brushed aside and captured like before.

Such gigantic castles usually had detailed defensive magic inscribed everywhere. With each renewal of the castle, massive amounts of money were poured into continuously inscribing magic circles.

And Linderstein, being the castle of the richest noble in the West, Marquis Roderick, was no exception.

“With that kind of fortification, it won’t be easy to break through with magic.”

It could likely fend off magic up to the 6th Circle, and even if Vanessa, a 7th Circle Mage, unleashed her magic, the effects would be halved.

So, Ghislaine left Vanessa in the territory, bringing only a few mages for supporting roles.

While it would have made things easier if Vanessa were there, she had no intention of revealing that there was already an extraordinary being in her territory.

After all, even without Vanessa, she had enough means to smash that castle.

The commander of Linderstein, Raenan, watched from afar as the Penris army set up camp.

“Magicians, stand by everywhere! The Penris army has a 6th Circle Mage! We might be able to block with defensive magic, but just in case, prepare dispel spells!”

He was quite capable to serve as the defense commander of the castle.

Hearing news of the Penris army approaching, he had fortified his defenses thoroughly.

“Our enemy’s leader is a master, but there’s no need to fear! They didn’t bring any siege equipment! We just need to prevent them from scaling the walls with our knights!”

They deployed additional slanted structures to prevent the enemy from easily using hooks and ladders to ascend the walls.

Additionally, knights were stationed behind openings to shoot arrows or thrust spears while the enemy climbed.

There were also large ballistae readied to target the rapidly approaching Penris knights.

“Just a little longer, and reinforcements will arrive to strike at their backs! We can hold out until then and fight when the moment comes! Bring the remaining catapults as well!”

Most of the catapults had been taken with the main force, but two remained for defense.

With this setup, even Count Penris wouldn’t be able to capture this place. They merely needed to hold the line and wait.

No, they wouldn’t even need to hold the line. Without siege equipment, the enemy wouldn’t be able to advance easily.

“Do not let your guard down! They might try to sneak over the walls at night!”

Raenan truly did his best to prepare. He kept encouraging his soldiers and boosting their morale.

At this level, he was a rare commander in the West.

Would the Penris army really have no options, as they remained stationed at a distance, merely waiting?

Ghislaine looked at the castle and commented,

“Wow, they prepared a lot. You can really feel their determination to prevent us from scaling the walls.”

With the current situation, they would be devastated by the attacks of catapults and ballistae if they charged. Even attempts to counter with magic would mostly be blocked by the defensive magicians and the walls’ protective spells.

Ghislaine, with a smirk, issued a new command.

“Get some rocks. Let’s just smash it!”

As soon as the order dropped, all 200 knights and 2,000 soldiers moved in all directions.

Raenan, watching this scene, let out a laugh.

“Are they off to gather supplies? Seems they couldn’t prepare enough food.”

It was clear they were all combat soldiers. There was no way a supply unit could keep up with their speed.

“They’ll just be filled with worry and retreat.”

Even if a master was present, a castle that could fall to merely 10,000 troops was improbable, especially without siege equipment.

They just needed to be careful of anyone attempting to sneak over the walls. Ultimately, they would have no choice but to retreat.

As a full day passed and the next dawn arrived, the castle’s soldiers began to relax slightly.

With no siege equipment and merely soldiers moving back and forth, their confidence was growing.

“No matter how much of a master Count Penris is, it seems he can’t do much here.”

“Then, if they just come close, they’ll all be done for, right?”

“Charging at this castle bare-handed is a reckless move.”

Though they felt reassured, they kept their eyes peeled for the Penris army. After all, if they let their guard down, those enemies would stick to the castle in a flash.

Suddenly, a soldier murmured,

“What on earth… are they doing?”

Other soldiers tilted their heads in confusion. The Penris army was piling up ridiculously large stones.

“What are they doing without any siege equipment?”

“Could they be trying to build a stone castle here or something?”

“What use would that serve?”

As they watched, fascinated, all of a sudden, each soldier began to organize into groups and move busily.

The soldiers watching with blank expressions widened their eyes.

“What… what are they making?”

Strange structures were starting to form. It looked like they were connecting crossbeams and continually increasing height and size.

The expression on Raenan, watching from the highest point, was filled with perplexity.

And shortly after, the expressions of Roderick’s soldiers turned to horror at what the Penris army had constructed.

“T-that…”

“Could it be… a catapult? Is that really a catapult?”

“W-how did they suddenly build a catapult…?”

In the Penris army’s formation stood a massive and bizarre structure, having been erected in an instant—there were ten in total.

And it looked… unmistakably like a catapult.