Rows upon rows of log-built houses in the distance were blazing in great fires. Stains and bloodstains mottled the white snow everywhere, and gusts of wind carried stifled wails and screams...
The heavy snowfall that had persisted for three days finally stopped. The leaden sky, for once, revealed several cracks in the cloud cover. Sunlight gilded the edges of the clouds, turning them a brilliant gold, like fragments of iron armor trimmed with gold.
"Can someone tell me what happened? How could such a wretched estate cost our family soldiers so dearly?" The words hissed through Lorist's clenched teeth. Everyone could feel the fury burning within him.
"It was my fault, Your Highness." Dores stepped forward several paces. "None of us expected that this decrepit estate without so much as a proper castle could be Baron Ebert's domain—the Baron Ebert flagged by Lord Tager on the list as requiring extreme caution. He was formerly the deputy commander of the Goshawk Mercenary Corps, which ranked twenty-first among the mercenary companies of the Commercial Alliance. A Gold-tier mercenary known as 'Golden Eagle.'"
"A squadron on advance scout duty discovered this rundown estate, but nobody connected it with Baron Ebert's domain. They charged in casually, intending to compel the inhabitants to surrender, only to meet fierce resistance from Baron Ebert and his mounted knights. The entire scout squadron was killed on the spot."
"Baron Ebert then attempted to rally his garrison to continue the fight, but he didn't expect our follow-up forces to arrive so quickly. The two sides clashed in a chaotic melee. Our family soldiers suffered a total of four hundred and twenty-one casualties, including one hundred and seventy-three killed. On Baron Ebert's side, over seven hundred were killed or wounded. Baron Ebert, his knights, and his garrison have all been put to the sword..."
The
The Woliber Intelligence Bureau had already conducted thorough reconnaissance of the territorial nobles in Andervulf Province. Agents disguised under various identities had used every available means to investigate nearly all the territorial nobles of the province down to the last detail. The private armed forces and family knights of each noble were clearly documented in the intelligence reports. As long as the Flying Tiger Corps followed the list Tager had submitted and traced each target accordingly, the plan to seize Andervulf Province would proceed smoothly, sweeping up all the Commercial Alliance's enfeoffed territorial nobles in one fell swoop.
The only error was that although Tager's intelligence list had flagged Baron Ebert as a high-priority target requiring special caution—indicating that the garrison under his command possessed decent combat capability—and his approximate domain location was marked on the map, the heavy winter blizzard that raged for three days and nights had transformed the landscape into an endless snowfield, obscuring the geographical landmarks used for navigation. As a result, the positions on the map could not be clearly confirmed on the ground and were often only verified after a successful assault, from the mouths of prisoners.
The scout company serving as the advance guard made this very mistake. The vast expanse of snow concealed a small river that normally served as a geographical marker. When the scout company spotted numerous wooden houses built from logs ahead, the company commander failed to realize this was Baron Ebert's domain, assuming it was merely some impoverished noble's territory.
Everyone knew that territorial nobles typically resided in stone castles—safe and windproof, with roaring fires in the hearths and perfectly warm rooms. The company commander therefore concluded this was merely a supply warehouse or winter quarters for some noble's servants. He dispatched his squads to attack the various wooden houses throughout the area. In his estimation, capturing these wooden houses should take no time at all, after which he could extract intelligence from prisoners. The result... was slamming headfirst into an iron wall.
No one on the intelligence list had noted that Baron Ebert—the very target marked in red as requiring vigilance—lived in such crude log houses. The agents had failed to record this detail in their reports. When a squad of soldiers from the Flying Tiger Corps' scout company burst into one of the larger wooden houses and ordered the enemies to raise their hands and surrender under penalty of death, Baron Ebert and his knights did not submit meekly like other territorial nobles. They resisted at once.
Baron Ebert at Gold Two-Star, Adrien the knight at Silver Three-Star, and Grigel the steward at
The Flying Tiger Corps was dragged into yet another chaotic battle.
Squads of ten could not withstand the charge of a Gold-tier mercenary like Baron Ebert. In the initial clash, they took heavy casualties. But as more follow-up forces arrived, hundred-strong battle formations checked the ferocious onslaught of Baron Ebert and Adrien. Once several of these formations encircled them, the tide of battle turned in favor of the Flying Tiger Corps.
The arrival of Corps Commander Dores proved to be the final straw. Also a Gold-tier combatant, Dores was so enraged by the casualties among his soldiers that he disregarded Baron Ebert's last-moment gesture of surrender. Without waiting for the baron to throw down his sword and beg for mercy, he cut him down with a single stroke. Adrien the knight was riddled with steel crossbow bolts fired from a sled-mounted repeating crossbow as he attempted to break through the encirclement and flee. As for Steward Grigel, he was wounded during the melee and taken prisoner.
"Golden Eagle Ebert..." Lorist gazed at Baron Ebert's corpse, which had been brought before him. Despite the blood-caked face, he could still make out the features of the same man who had once cut such an imposing figure as deputy commander of the Goshawk Mercenary Corps at the Mercenary Guild in
This should count as one of Lorist's old acquaintances. He recalled that the very first gold coins he had ever earned at the mercenary guild were connected to this Baron Ebert. Back then, Lorist,
At that time, Lorist had just lost contact with his family. To pay for tuition and living expenses for the next semester, he had become the lowest-tier Bronze mercenary. Crafting the backpacks was an attempt to earn a few gold Forde coins—never expecting to be bullied by several Silver-tier mercenaries. Had it not been for Deputy Commander Ebert of the Goshawk Mercenary Corps stepping in to intervene, Lorist and Fatty Shi might well have been beaten senseless.
More than twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye. Things had changed, and people with them. Golden Eagle Ebert, who had once done Lorist a kindness, had become an opposing lord and died at the hands of the Norton Family's armed forces. Lorist let out a long, heavy sigh, unable to find words, and simply waved his hand, ordering Dores to give the baron a proper burial. He then turned and walked away.
On December 27, 1786, by the common calendar of the Galentea Continent, the Norton Family's Flying Tiger Corps used the blizzard as cover to launch a surprise assault and capture Andervulf Province. Meanwhile, the neighboring territory of Poduorg—the domain of the Vicia Chamber of Commerce, one of the Seven Giants of the Commercial Alliance—remained completely unaware. Its capital, Fedeliga Royal City, was decked out in lanterns and bunting, preparing to celebrate the New Year's festivities.
Due to the unexpected resistance at Baron Ebert's domain resulting in several hundred casualties, Lorist deliberately slowed the pace of his advance, ensuring the provincial sweep of Andervulf could be carried out without a hitch. It was not until January 21 of the New Year that his troops finally stood before the gates of Fedeliga Royal City.
"Your Highness, you've arrived." Bodenfeng and Malek hurried forward to greet him.
It was a massive snow fortress, constructed from enormous blocks of compacted snow. Water poured over them had frozen them into a solid whole, and when blanketed by fresh snowfall, the entire structure looked from a distance like an ordinary snow mound. And this was not a single such structure—it was row upon row of connected snow forts. Unless one approached very closely, it was impossible to discover that hidden within these snow mounds was a substantial military camp.
Stepping inside, Lorist found a large tent erected within the snow fortress, surrounded by eight fire basins. Smokeless charcoal burned to a red glow inside them, and curved ventilation ducts channeled in fresh, crisp cold air, keeping the interior warm as spring without ever feeling stuffy.
"How are the preparations?" Lorist removed his outer fur coat and handed it to Jenorio, then gestured for everyone to sit.
Bodenfeng spread a floor plan of Fedeliga Royal City across the table before Lorist, his expression solemn. "Your Highness, this will be a hard fight. Fedeliga Royal City will not be easy to take."
"How so?" Lorist asked.
"After the Vicia Chamber of Commerce, together with the four central duchies, defeated the
Over the past period, we've used telescopes to conduct reconnaissance of Fedeliga Royal City from multiple directions and found that the city is roughly divided into five zones. The center is the Inner City, the former palace grounds, now enclosed by an additional high wall. The eastern zone is the high-end residential district, the southern zone is the commercial district, the western zone houses the barracks and armory, and the northern zone is the slums.
Old Fedeliga's population was nearly two hundred thousand, but after the Second Prince's surprise assault and the subsequent joint siege by the Vicia Chamber of Commerce and the four central duchies, the remaining population likely doesn't exceed one hundred thousand. Following the Vicia Chamber of Commerce's expansion, the original city residents have been concentrated mostly in the northern zone, making a living through petty trade and employment as servants and laborers.
The Vicia Chamber of Commerce appears to have made Fedeliga Royal City its core stronghold. Beyond directly governing the mineral extraction regions of Poduorg Province, they've enfeoffed all the agricultural lands, granting territory to thirty-seven feudal lords. The garrison forces of these individual fiefs are nothing to worry about, but the complication is that each feudal lord's castle has been equipped with a beacon fire warning tower. Should the alarm be lit, the Vicia Chamber of Commerce garrisoned in the royal city would be immediately alerted.
At present, Fedeliga Royal City garrisons forty-five thousand troops of the Vicia Chamber of Commerce's army, plus an eighteen-thousand-strong city defense force. Intelligence passed along by Lord Tager indicates that the Vicia Chamber of Commerce has four Sword Saints. A Second-Rank Sword Saint is stationed in Morant City, a First-Rank Sword Saint serves in their army, a First-Rank Sword Saint guards the royal city, and a Second-Rank Sword Saint serves as personal bodyguard to the Chamber president. However, apart from the Sword Saint guarding the president and the one serving in the army, the other two are recent recruits of the Vicia Chamber of Commerce.
Over the past twenty-odd days of reconnaissance, we've found that most residents of Fedeliga Royal City are capable of venturing out in winter. Their cold-weather clothing, while quite different in style from our family's gear, doesn't hinder their outdoor activity. Moreover, the defenses on the city walls are far more stringent than those of other castles. Patrol teams sweep the walls every two hours. This means that during our assault, we are very likely to be spotted by the defending enemy, resulting in even greater casualties among our soldiers.
For this reason, all of our current encampments are positioned nearly twenty li from Fedeliga Royal City to ensure we remain undetected. Additionally, the Bedrock Corps has dispatched three regimental formations to bypass Fedeliga Royal City and seal off the east, south, and west gates, establishing an encirclement. We await the arrival of the Flying Tiger Corps before launching the full-scale assault."
Bodenfeng pointed to the map of Fedeliga Royal City on the table as he briefed Lorist on the reconnaissance findings. In conclusion, he said, "Your Highness, aside from a direct assault, there is no other way to take this royal city. I am, in fact, quite worried that once the Vicia Chamber of Commerce senses the situation turning dire during the siege, they will mobilize nearly fifty thousand miners to take up arms and resist our attack. That would effectively mean an additional army corps."
Lorist considered this for a moment, then asked, "Is the secret tunnel that the Second Prince used to escape the royal city still usable? Could we infiltrate through that passage and launch a surprise attack from within?"
Bodenfeng shook his head. "Your Highness, I sent men to investigate. The map Miss Krissia gave us showing the secret tunnel beneath Fedeliga Royal City was indeed authentic, but the Vicia Chamber of Commerce discovered the passage and filled it in. We can no longer enter through it."
Lorist shook his head in resignation. "Very well. Let's wait a couple of days until Ross the Fierce Tiger arrives with the Flying Tiger Corps, then we'll discuss how to take the city."
...