Chapter 19
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Parker POV
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After that meeting, we proceed to look at the barracks. When they saw us, they greeted us very politely and Stella followed suit. She was very obedient this time and I was glad that was the case. I was very nervous about the upcoming war but seeing this amnesiac-my-pace girl with a blank face devoid of any nervousness calmed me, so I always took consideration when facing her.
“Think we can take both cities, Richard?”
“At the very least, one of them will be ours. It is nearly impossible to guard both at the same time. And if we conquer at least one of them, we will finally have half of what is supposed to be our country. The central nobles and King Gray must be dreaming about this.”
“Isn’t it bad to count chickens before they hatch?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“I mean, thinking that they already succeed even though the battle hasn’t even begun.”
“Hmm, you see. When you were first summoned, the kingdom was already losing more than 80% of its territory. The battle of Alpas was a fierce one. It was estimated to be around 100 thousand against 2 million. “Richard replied while looking into the distance.
“I suggest we were the 100 thousand ones? So, how did the battle progress?”
“Well, it was a fight for about a month without rest. Waves upon waves of enemies came and we defended the city till our last breath. I alone challenged about 17 gladiators back then. But I only managed to kill 5. And I too was defeated by some of them.”
“You weren’t dead?”
“Well, when the soldiers knew their gladiator is about to lose, they tried to become meat shields to allow the gladiators to retreat. I was the same.”
“That battle must be awesome.”
“But we lose nevertheless. Even though we managed to kill almost a million of their troops, we still lost and retreated back to the capital. I even left some of them at fort Berlin to buy some time.”
“You didn’t actually lose. Without that battle, the enemy here in Alpas would be tougher. “
“Thank you. Alan also thought the same. The defense in Alpas was too weak. He thinks that the enemies are regrouping in either Randell or Elysion.”
“Because of the neighboring countries?”
“Yes. You are smart. Elysion has some border with elves. While Randell has borders with the dwarves and some demi-humans. If they regrouped in Alpas and those cities got captured, their supply route will be cut off.”
“Elysion is closer to the demon kingdom. Don’t you think that’s the place they will regroup?”
“It was fifty-fifty. No one could be sure.”
“What if they split the army between 2 towns?”
“That is also possible. But their organization would be a mess. After all, they must be preparing to attack Alpas again now.”
“I see. We bet a lot huh? If we lose then it’s over.”
“Not really. We were expecting a lot. But if we lose then we hole up in Alpas again and history will repeat again. As long as we didn’t lose too many troops, we can hold out here just fine.”
“I see.”
“Sorry about this. And I also apologize to Stella. But the kingdom’s pocket is also at its limit you know. So, Sorry that we kind of using the funds from Alpas without your permission. If we use too much of the budget from the central. It’s going to be hard to defend Randell or Elysion once we captured them.”
“Stella seemed concerned about our lack of soldiers. 20 thousand against probably a million? Or at least 100 thousand defenders? Even though sellswords have little loyalty, Sellswords have some uses you know.”
“I know. That’s why I apologize in advance. Tell Stella that we are sorry okay?”
“Okay,” I replied while leaving.
During these two days, Stella carefully watched the accounting books and even personally counted the rations we have. I also did some checks on the paperwork. Richard and Alan were too busy to come over, so this matter was left to us. During these 2 days, some corrupt officials were trying to make some small cash, but I prevented them. Most of this paperwork was for some small matter such as alcohol or change of clothes or tents which we could do without but we decided to check them nevertheless since we have nothing to do.
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We still trained about 3 hours a day and the training was progressing fine too. but, since we already managed to beat Richard, they thought they do not have to tutor us anymore so the rest were simply self-study and asking for advice. With my intellect, I managed to absorb every information Richard told us and Stella managed to remember several more spells and advice from Fay. but, after careful deliberation, we decided that our raw power was simply too much for their standard tactic and they told us to think for ourselves at the end of their every advice.
“Parker!” We met Nana at the outskirts of Randell with their 50 scouts.
“Hello.”
“You didn’t tell us about this!”
“Sorry, I just knew about the change of plans 2 days ago.”
“Those guys at the capital are pretty reckless, aren’t they?”
“We already complained about that, so it is useless. And we didn’t really think it was such a bad idea too.” I replied while seeing Randell. It was a bit smaller than Alpas and the walls were also much shorter. But we could also see that at the top of those walls is full of enemies.
“We are going to charge against THAT?” Nana gave a disgruntled remark.
“First is a volley of spells. The enemy will then retaliate with shields and counterattacks. Then, we will also do the same. We will use this as a standard opening war for several days. After that, we picked the weakest spot and charge through that.”
“Hee…” Nana gave a weak reply.
“I don’t know about your tactics. But the enemy is easily over 3 times our number, is this okay?” Hart asked. I was clueless about this tactic too, so I can only shrug my shoulder.
“The important thing is their gladiators, not their numbers. Since we have some advantage with gladiators, this battle might be easier than the other ones.” Since the enemy here isn’t as big as we thought, does that mean that the enemy is regrouping in Elysion? Well, it’s not my business and they have Richard and Alan there. They will know when to quit.
“Magic division…” Stella called Steven, our commander for this mission. He always smiled during our trip from Alpas to Randell. He seemed to be that bootlicker type. Since Richard and even Alan recommended him, He should have at least some expertise in these matter
“Yes Ma’am? May I help you?” He replied
“I will join the shield caster.”
“Very well! You will become their leader. I will also assign some staff so they can replace you in case you are busy with spells.”
“Nana, please join the attacking magician. You will be their gladiator.” I replied
We follow closely behind the magic division which numbered about 5 thousand. The barrage soon started. It seems the enemy was relentless and didn’t give any quarters as they began as soon as we were in range.
Stella's division and a thousand more soldiers soon deployed their shields as we stepped closer to the enemy. At about 200 meters, she stopped and retaliated with her own spells at the gates and walls. My division of 10 thousand is the largest and was positioned just behind Stella's as their shield will protect us. I issue a command to magicians in my division to help bombard the enemy's gate.
Hart's division of about 1000 soldiers stayed out of the fight. They were needed in case of the enemy stormed out of the gate or our shield failed. After several hours of volleys of magic, we retreated back into the camp.
“Well, despite their big number, they didn’t come out from their city. Did they have any information about us?” I asked several officers in our HQ led by Steven. Currently, Stella and Nana were sleeping to recover their strength and the gladiators here were just me and Hart.
“We didn’t think so, but we can’t be sure. They might be wary of the dwarves on the east, So they tried to maintain a solid defensive position instead of crushing us.”
“So, how about the siege engines? I didn’t see the enemy putting one? And how about our siege engines?”
“W-well, it seems the work was somehow delayed. We were tired and we need rest. And so…” one of the officers got nervous and started stuttering when giving their report.
“When will it be ready?”
“Um… 3 or 4 days perhaps?”
“Isn’t that too long? We only have rations for a week right?”
“Um… well… it was the dirt and the transport team was quite lazy and…” the officer couldn’t give any more coherent answers and just opened his mouth to find some random excuses.
“So, how many people do you need? How about I detach several hundred more soldiers? Other officers, please help this engineer officer here complete his duty. How about 500 people?” I replied. The siege engines were crucial in this battle as it would be nigh impossible to break the gate without them. Well... Steven said that gladiators could do it alone but, that left us open to counterattack
“Well, that should be enough.” the officer nodded.
“Then, I expect the work to be done tomorrow night at the latest. Please start working.”
“Yes sir.”
“Scout and battlefield observer, what do you think about the enemy’s movements?”
“Um… well... it certainly seemed odd that they didn’t put any siege engines. So, I could only assume that they didn’t have any. Or didn’t set it up yet.” As the scout officers said that, the others' faces lightened up.
“I certainly hope so. Our siege engines then will be our top priority. Please make sure it is done in time. For the battle situation, should we maintain the current tactics?”
“Yes. Until our siege engines are ready, I think it is good to maintain this battle tactic, we only have less than 20 casualties while the enemy has more than 100.” The magical officer said proudly. But I doubt this strategy from the beginning. If the enemy actually has siege engines, we would be screwed. But this strategy was never meant as a primary tactic anyway. It was only an opening in this battle. We could retreat immediately once the battle turned sour. I found it odd that we could maintain this formation for an entire day. Usually, this formation could hold out for 2 hours at most.
“Okay. Good work everyone. Please maintain caution for night raids. The meeting is dismissed.”
Morning came and we rallied in front of Randell together just like yesterday. However, unlike yesterday, the enemy rallied in front of their wall today.
“They came out from their fort,” I commented.
“That came out from nowhere. What were they thinking?” Nana asked.
“Maybe they think they can win since they have bigger numbers than ours and choose to come out now?” Steven was explaining the situation, but his words had a tinge of uncertainty.
“Okay. We march toward Randell, but Hart and I will be the core army this time. You and Nana should give support from the rear. A melee battle is unavoidable, so be prepared.” I gave the command and we each returned to our units
Our army soon clashed with the enemy. I charged with half of our army to the enemy ranks with Hart. Stella and Nana gave support from the rear. As soon as we were close enough, I ordered a charge and both sides ran. Screams and curses rang in my ears as I continued to hack enemy after enemy.
“Watch it! He is a gladiator.” Someone shouted and the lines in front of me collapsed as they ran for their lives. I can really hear them speaking in languages I understand.
“Call them. The gladiator is here!” Another shouted. Barely a few minutes after, some spells flew to my back and I defended it with my shield. Even I would be in trouble if I got hit by that directly. Fortunately, I can sense them with my abilities. I can feel those spells even without my eyes. I was surrounded by 5 enemies, 3 fighters, and 2 mages in a blink of an eye. all of them are beastkin.
“Fighter types defend while we attack him. This one is quite tough!” the battle continued. It was a difficult battle. Their abilities were much lower than mine but when I tried to attack one of them another one came from the side or back. The spells that were coming from my blind spot also disrupted my concentration.
“HAAAA!” as I exerted more of my strength, I finally broke through and slashed at one of the beastkin's chests. I continued my strike to chop another beastkin’s arm that tried the sneak attack me from the back.
“Retreat!!” They ran away with haste and the rest of the band also fled together with most of their troops. As I was about to give chase, one of my soldiers called me
“Sir Parker, Sir Hart seems to be in trouble! Another group of those gladiator killers banded together and attacked him!"
“What?” I quickly scanned my surroundings and found Hart with his battle axe fighting over 10 enemies. Nana somehow also joined in the fight as support behind Hart. He was bleeding from his arm.
“Damn!” I cursed and ran towards them. I quickly decapitated the head of one enemy soldier from the back.
“Retreat!!” as soon as they knew they were losing, they quickly retreated back to the city.