"Good morning, sir." Several patrolling soldiers stood at attention and greeted Aidwork. Aidwork nodded at them and turned toward the stairs leading to the rooftop.
This was Pidero City. Hundreds of years ago, a count named Pidero had built the first fortress here — a bulwark against the raiding parties of the Grass Barbarian tribes, hoping to bar the barbarian cavalry from entering Winston Province through the Pisper Mountain pass. Through centuries of wind and rain, the fortress had been destroyed and rebuilt time and again. Countless sword cuts and axe marks scarred the enormous moss-covered stone steps, and old bloodstains on the bedrock had rusted to an iron-red hue, as though narrating the brutal sieges of ages past…
It was not until the founding of the Krisen Empire, when a vast stretch of territory was seized from the Grass Barbarian tribes on the northeastern steppes and designated as Prairie Province, that Pidero Fortress finally found peace, becoming a fortified checkpoint between Winston Province and Prairie Province. As Wendbury City grew into the largest livestock trading hub in the northeastern region, the Pidero checkpoint gradually became an indispensable transit route for Prairie Province herders heading to Wendbury. Herders driving their flocks would stop and rest here, and many merchants spotted the opportunity, setting up trading posts in Pidero. Thus, Pidero City slowly developed from a fortress into a fortified city in its own right.
The Three Kings' War for Succession and the seven-year imperial civil war had not disturbed Pidero's tranquility, but the collapse of Wendbury City's livestock market under the ravages of war dealt Pidero a fatal blow. With no more herders driving cattle and sheep to Wendbury to trade, the trading posts and ancillary businesses that had sprung up to serve them lost all their customers, one by one succumbing to the depression and shutting their doors. When the
Pidero quickly became a playground for deserters, bandits, and brigands — a lawless paradise. Then Grand Duke Fisablen, furious over the bandits' raids on Prairie Province herders, deployed his family's armed forces to exterminate the outlaws and placed Pidero City under his jurisdiction. Compared to the incompetent and ignorant Second Prince, Grand Duke Fisablen valued Pidero highly, treating it as a strategic stronghold to suppress the Second Prince and secure a lifeline to Wendbury Royal City. He specifically ordered his eldest disciple, Viscount Christopher, to lead two Border Patrol Cavalry regiments and garrison the city.
Later, the Kenmais family constructed the Iron Chain Bridge in eastern Northland, connecting Northland with Prairie Province. This created two trade routes: from the Kenmais family's territory in eastern Northland to Prairie Province, and from there to either Eastern Wasteland Province or Winston Province. All manner of goods produced by the
But when the Northland Norton family sent troops to Wendbury Royal City to avenge the Second Prince's assassination attempt against the family head,
Yet Grand Duke Fisablen had never anticipated that the strike from the Northland Four-Family Alliance would prove so sudden and devastating. Pidero, garrisoned by one regiment of the Fourth Border Patrol Cavalry Corps, fell after just a single night against a surprise assault by the Flying Tiger Corps led by Ross the Tiger. As the Fourth Border Patrol Cavalry Corps was mauled by the Norton family's Hunter Cavalry Corps and forced to retreat east of the Soltius River, Pidero had already begun its reconstruction into a fortress with a rigorous defensive system.
As commander of the Twenty-third Imperial Guard Battalion, Aidwork was consumed with anxiety. Three days ago, Pidero had taken in several dozen stragglers from the Hunter Cavalry Corps. They brought him shattering news: the Hunter Cavalry Corps had suffered a catastrophic defeat. The stragglers babbled incoherently about how the entire steppe was swarming with Grass Barbarian cavalry. They had fought these enemies through an entire night before being separated from the main force, and had fled to Pidero City. The last order they remembered receiving was to break out — breaking through would mean victory…
The cruelest part was that the Twenty-third Imperial Guard Battalion had not been assigned any messenger hawks, so there was simply no way to relay the news upward. Messenger hawks were extremely difficult to breed and were essentially reserved for the main field armies and the naval fleet. Out of the Imperial Guard Corps' five regiments and twenty-five battalions, each regiment was allocated only two hawks for basic communication; the battalions still relied on messengers and orderlies.
Although nearly six months had passed since the capture of Pidero, the city now held only the Twenty-third Imperial Guard Battalion's three thousand family soldiers as its garrison, along with over ten thousand able-bodied laborers working on the fortress construction. In six months, only a little more than half of the planned works had been completed. The sole thing that buoyed Aidwork's spirits was that the completed half faced Prairie Province. This meant that when the Grass Barbarian cavalry launched their massive assault, the soldiers of the Twenty-third Imperial Guard Battalion would at least have functioning defensive fortifications to fall back on.
Against an unending tide of Grass Barbarian cavalry, he did not for a moment believe that three thousand imperial guard soldiers under his command could hold Pidero alone. Reinforcements were absolutely essential!
But the messenger who returned the following day brought grim tidings: Corps Commander Baron Fareya was not in Wendbury Royal City. The only ones present were
Still, Baron Camora and Viscount Edis each offered Aidwork a glimmer of hope. Baron Camora pledged that as soon as his five security battalions escorting supply transports returned, he would immediately order them to reinforce Pidero. As for Acting City Lord Edis — who could assign the Twenty-first Imperial Guard Battalion to maintain order within the city but lacked the authority to redeploy them — he decided to immediately summon the private retainers and family forces of the traditional Winston Province nobility to rush to Pidero's aid, though this would take time. Aidwork estimated he would need to hold Pidero for five or six days before reinforcements could arrive.
Baron Camora's final suggestion to Aidwork was to organize and arm those ten thousand able-bodied laborers. Beggars could not be choosers; at this point, no one could afford to worry about the fact that Aidwork, a mere battalion commander, had no authority to conscript soldiers. As long as Pidero held, Baron Camora was willing to bear any consequences himself. After all, whether Pidero could be held was critical to the completion of the family's strategic objectives — this was the paramount concern.
Aidwork did not hesitate to adopt Baron Camora's suggestion. He forcibly conscripted the ten thousand able-bodied laborers as reserve soldiers. To those who were unwilling to become soldiers, Aidwork told them: Grand Duke Fisablen had not only brought his family's armed forces this time, but also an innumerable horde of Grass Barbarian cavalry. Moreover, Grand Duke Fisablen had allegedly promised these Grass Barbarian cavalry that once the city fell, they could pillage freely, keeping everything they seized for themselves.
"So think about it — would you rather become slaves of the Grass Barbarians, or stand and fight to protect your families in Winston Province from falling into the hands of the barbarian cavalry? Being captured by the Grass Barbarians and enslaved is a fate worse than death — the experiences of countless freed slaves over the past century have shown that all too well. If you fight bravely as soldiers of our Norton family and fall in battle, you need not worry about your families' livelihoods. Every fallen warrior's family will receive generous monthly pensions, more than enough for your loved ones to live in comfort and security."
"And should you survive the battlefield, you will likewise receive rich rewards after victory. Whether you choose to enlist permanently or return to civilian life, the choice will be entirely yours. The Norton family never treats those who serve it poorly. Even if you are discharged, the family's factories and workshops will give you priority in hiring. You will receive priority in the allocation of both farmland and residences. So think carefully — though you will face the battlefield and the risk of life and death, this is also an opportunity. The question is whether you have the courage to seize it." That was what Aidwork declared.
Every last able-bodied laborer submitted to Aidwork's conscription. This was a time of chaos, and Aidwork was right — this was also a chance to take control of their own destinies. Becoming soldiers of the Norton family meant that at the very least, their families would be well cared for, which was far better than being captured by Grass Barbarian cavalry and forced at swordpoint to serve as cannon fodder in a siege. If they won and somehow survived, then a bright future was no mere fantasy. Nearly all the laborers thought the same way.
With a ten-thousand-strong force now at his disposal, Aidwork finally breathed a sigh of relief. What baffled him, however, was that three full days had passed and the expected Fisablen family forces and Grass Barbarian cavalry had yet to show themselves. This granted Aidwork three crucial days, which he used around the clock to have those newly conscripted reserve soldiers dig countless horse-pits and over a dozen trenches of varying depth in front of Pidero City, as obstacles to slow a rapid cavalry assault by the Grass Barbarians.
"If only the Flying Tiger Corps' support regiment — the logistics train, the scout battalion, and the women's battalion — were still garrisoned here. That would give me more confidence, and at least there'd be someone outranking me to share the blame…" Aidwork leaned against the rooftop parapet and let his thoughts drift. Sadly, three months ago that Flying Tiger regiment had been transferred to the southern provincial front. The Flying Tiger Corps had distinguished itself in the field battles during the second southern provincial campaign, but had suffered grievous casualties, and that support regiment was needed to replenish and tend to the survivors.
Back then, the Hunter Cavalry Corps was still rampaging across Prairie Province in all its glory. Though Pidero was a strategic stronghold — a fortified city on the border between two provinces — it had remained peaceful and undisturbed. No one had imagined that in just three months, the Hunter Cavalry Corps would stumble so catastrophically in Prairie Province, dragging Pidero toward a brutal siege of its own…
"Time really does fly… it's been over a decade now," Aidwork murmured to himself, gazing down at the chaotic landscape of trenches and pits carved into the ground below Pidero City, his heart heavy with unease about how he would defend it.
This was Aidwork's first time facing a true major battle, and his first time commanding the Twenty-third Imperial Guard Battalion in a genuine defensive engagement. This was not routine training, nor was it a drill — this was real combat.
Why did they always mix wood shavings into the bread? His mother had simply answered: "This is a family tradition."
That had been the family's most difficult period. The eldest young master had died in battle early on, the third young master was dead as well, and the old lord had marched out to war while gravely ill and perished. Although the old lord was Aidwork's biological father, his death had not especially grieved Aidwork — it was his mother who wept inconsolably. Then came word that the neighboring Kenmais family had seized the opportunity to make their move. Kenmais, still a viscount at the time, had led his family's private retainers and besieged the family's castle estate for nearly three months before finally retreating when provisions ran dry.
In those days, panic had gripped the castle estate. With no one to take charge, the old steward Kreis had propped himself up despite his illness and barely kept the family afloat. Aidwork recalled how Miss Baesha had tried to push the eldest young master's unborn posthumous child onto the seat of family head, only to be unanimously opposed. Then the mothers of Morosing and Wiligesan — both illegitimate sons of the old lord, just like Aidwork — had stepped forward, arguing that by blood they were closer, both being the old lord's sons, and had every right to inherit the family headship.
Aidwork's own mother had refused to be left out either, claiming she too had a claim to inheritance. But Aidwork knew perfectly well that he was merely the product of the old lord's drunken impulse — a brief indulgence with his mother. At the time, his mother had still been young, a personal maid to the old lord. But which of the old lord's seven or eight personal maids hadn't shared his bed? His mother had only been appointed kitchen supervisor as compensation after bearing Aidwork. Still, his mother seemed to have genuinely loved the old lord, for she never remarried — unlike the mothers of Morosing and Wiligesan and the other maids, who later married servants in the castle estate.
It was then that Lorist arrived. Though once exiled by the family, his return to inherit the family's territory and title met with no objection. Aidwork remembered that on his very first day in charge, Lorist had sternly reprimanded the ill-tempered Miss Baesha, then turned and asked Aidwork why he spent every day sawing wood. When Aidwork explained the reason and said it was a family tradition, Lorist had declared imperiously: "A family tradition like that is not worth keeping." Only then did Aidwork realize he had lost his job. He asked Lorist what he should do. Lorist looked him over and told him to join the family's armed forces — to serve the family and prove worthy of the Norton blood flowing through his veins.
In the span of just over a decade, the Norton family had soared to extraordinary heights. Thinking back from those initial dire straits to the family's current standing, Aidwork was deeply grateful that Lorist had returned to take charge. He himself had grown from a clueless boy into a two-star Silver Family Knight, bearing the great surname of Norton before his name. Now Morosing and Wiligesan served as regiment commanders of the garrison forces on the distant Hanaiabada Islands, and Aidwork himself had become commander of the Twenty-third Imperial Guard Battalion.
Perhaps he would not survive this trial. But as Aidwork looked up at the banner of the roaring bear snapping in the wind above Pidero City, his gaze grew firm once more. I am a son of the Norton family. I swear not to sully the honor of the great Norton name. As long as I still stand here, Pidero City will not fall!
In the distance, atop one of the peaks of the Pisper Mountains, a thin column of black smoke shot straight toward the heavens. It was the signal smoke lit by a scout dispatched from the Imperial Guard Battalion — the message was unmistakable: the enemy approaches!
"Sound the horns! Ring the alarm bells! Everyone, be alert — the enemy is here!" Aidwork bellowed.
…(To be continued.)