As the
On the morning of March 25th, Lorist stood before the corpse of an Iron-Spine Estuary Crocodile over ten meters long, carefully studying the weaknesses of the massive beast. More than thirty iron crossbow bolts protruded from its body. As the largest magical beast the road-building forces had encountered in days, the crocodile had taken over thirty bolts and still lunged forward with furious vitality, jaws agape, charging straight for the Chariot Battalion.
Had it not been for sheer luck — a single iron crossbow bolt had pierced its tail and pinned it to the ground less than thirty meters from the Chariot Battalion — the creature might have broken through the battalion's defensive line and wreaked untold carnage. Only when the Iron-Spine Estuary Crocodile finally perished did everyone release the breath they had been holding.
"My Lord, look — the cause of death was this bolt that pierced through the lower jaw and reached the brain. With its tail pinned and the beast still surging forward, its entire head tilted upward, exposing the jaw. That's what allowed the one-hit kill. As for the thirty-odd bolts in its body, while they grievously wounded the beast, they weren't lethal — they only inflamed its fury. We were fortunate this time; it was a close call..." Malek, the newly appointed commander of the Chariot Regiment, concluded.
"Over the past few days we killed dozens of Iron-Spine Estuary Crocodiles, the largest being no more than five meters long — three or five bolts brought them down. We'd grown far too careless, thinking the magical beasts of the infamous Blackmud Swamp were nothing special to worry about. I never expected there to be such enormous ones. Looking at it now, our steel ballistae just aren't up to the task against crocodiles this size — those bolts sticking out of it look like toothpicks..." Er vividly described the sight of the thirty-odd bolts lodged in the magical beast's body.
"The Blackmud Swamp is enormous — there may be ones even bigger than this. My Lord, this one is already over two meters tall. I recall our family records mention that someone once saw Iron-Spine Estuary Crocodiles four or five meters in height, and at that size, who knows how long they were — they were said to resemble small hills..." Pat reminded them, his voice heavy with worry.
Lorist nodded. "Developing the Blackmud Swamp is imperative. No matter how great the difficulties, we must overcome them — but your concerns must be addressed as well. Honestly, I didn't expect that steel ballistae capable of taking down mammoth-sized magical beasts would struggle this much against Iron-Spine Estuary Crocodiles. Reidy, make a trip to see Master Falin and ask whether he can forge a batch of even larger steel ballistae specifically for dealing with these crocodiles. They don't need to meet the same rigorous standards as the Chariot Battalion's ballistae — slow operation and long reload times are fine. I want the damage output and penetrating power at least doubled..."
"Yes, My Lord. I'll go right away." And with that, Reidy set off without delay.
"All right, Malek. Send someone to deal with this Iron-Spine Estuary Crocodile. It may look fearsome, but once you skin it, the meat is incredibly tender and delicious. Let everyone know we're having this crocodile's meat for lunch — consider it a way to calm everyone's nerves. Remember to handle the hide carefully — those crocodile skins are the best material for making leather armor for our marines..." Lorist ordered. "Oh, and tell everyone to be more careful from now on. It's fine to slow down the work — just pay attention to safety. If the sky gets dark and visibility drops, call it a day early. We don't want these Iron-Spine Estuary Crocodiles sneaking up on us."
"Yes, My Lord. I'll make sure everyone is warned about safety," Malek replied.
Hmm? Lorist was taken aback. What was the Second Prince up to this time? He'd already been refused so many times — why hadn't he given up? And he sent another envoy, unafraid of being rejected and humiliated again? Lorist was too busy to play aristocratic games. The man certainly was persistent.
After a moment's thought, Lorist said, "Let Viscount Sindson stay a few more days. I'll be back in a couple of days."
…
"I must apologize, Lord Viscount Sindson for keeping you waiting so long. I've been swamped with affairs and simply couldn't get away. I'm terribly sorry."
Lorist didn't return to Rock Fortress until March 28th. Covered in dust and weary from the road, he immediately received Viscount Sindson.
"Quite understandable. Your family had to contend with the magical beast tide during winter, after all. I must say, Baron
"Thank you for your kind words, Lord Viscount. May I ask what business brings you here this time?" Lorist had no patience for further pleasantries and went straight to the point.
"Oh, I've come here at the behest of His Majesty the King. He has entrusted me to deliver a letter to the Baron and to bring back your reply. Here is the letter. I imagine it's His Majesty extending his regards to your family for your heroic stand against the magical beast tide." Viscount Sindson handed over the Second Prince's letter.
"Actually, His Majesty could have just sent a page with the letter. Having you deliver it personally is far too grand an affair."
Viscount Sindson smiled self-deprecatingly. "My lord Baron, you give me far too much credit. I'm merely a titled noble — nothing compared to territory-holding lords like yourselves. I have little else to do these days, so running errands for His Majesty is about the extent of it."
"Lord Viscount is far too modest," Lorist said with a smile, then broke the seal on the letter.
Damn it! This Second Prince has gone completely mad — there's got to be something wrong with his head.
Lorist wanted to curse out loud, but with Viscount Sindson sitting right in front of him, he forced himself to keep his composure.
Unlike the last letter, the Second Prince had dispensed with all the usual pleasantries this time and made three demands in blunt, direct terms: First, Lorist must arrive in Gildusk City before May to have an audience with the Second Prince, and present sufficient gifts as tokens of submission and respect.
Second, the Norton Family must offer the Second Prince five hundred thousand gold ferde as atonement for their past disrespectful conduct.
Third, beginning this year, the Norton Family must provide the Second Prince with ten million catties of snow salt annually as a yearly tribute, free of charge.
At the end of the letter, the Second Prince declared he could no longer tolerate the Norton Family's repeated rejection of his goodwill and defiance of his wishes. If the Norton Family refused these three demands again, he would gather the nobles of the Northland to form a coalition army and march on Rock Castle. The Norton Family's doom was imminent, and it was up to the new head of the Norton Family, Baron Norton, to decide their fate.
Dream on. This Second Prince must have suffered some kind of shock. To dare issue such an ultimatum to the Norton Family was practically a declaration of war. Lorist would never agree to these three unreasonable demands. On what basis? Based on that Iberian Kingdom First Corps, which had only been established for a year? Haha...
Lorist looked up with a cold smile. "Viscount, are you certain you wish to reply?"
Viscount Sinderson nodded. "Yes. His Majesty the King has instructed me repeatedly to bring back Baron Lorist's reply..."
"Very well, please wait a moment." Lorist turned to his desk and quickly wrote a response.
"Tager..." Lorist pulled the servant bell, and Tager entered the study from the outer room.
"The Viscount has traveled far and endured hardship on the journey. Go fetch some magical beast pelts as our token of gratitude," Lorist instructed.
"Yes, my lord." Tager withdrew.
Lorist handed the reply to Viscount Sinderson. "Forgive us, Viscount. The Norton Family is situated on the far frontier of the Northland. We have nothing of great value to offer; a few mere magical beast pelts will have to represent our apology. We are truly embarrassed to trouble Your Excellency with all this back-and-forth travel."
Viscount Sinderson accepted the reply with pleasure. "Thank you for the Baron's gift. I actually have a great fondness for magical beast pelts."
With a thunderous crash, the Second Prince slammed the chair down onto the desk right in front of Viscount Sinderson. It was absolutely maddening. Spread open on the desk was a piece of beast-hide parchment — Lorist's reply, which bore just one word, one big, bold word: Piss off!
The Second Prince's face flushed crimson with rage. This reply was nothing short of a slap in the face, plain and simple. To make matters worse, the Second Prince recalled the words "get lost" from the previous reply, and a deep feeling of being scorned and mocked surged up from within until he could no longer contain his fury. Right there in front of Viscount Sinderson, he raised the chair and brought it crashing down upon the reply letter on the desk...
The thunderous impact and the chair splintering to pieces in his hands finally snapped the Second Prince back to his senses. He glanced at the reply on the desk — the word "Piss off!" remained perfectly intact. The Second Prince felt the rage inside him blazing anew.
But this time, he managed to restrain himself. Fixing his bloodshot eyes on Viscount Sinderson, he waved his hand dismissively. "Get out. And don't you dare breathe a word of this..."
Viscount Sinderson, as though granted a reprieve from death, hurriedly bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Then he fled with his head in his hands.
The study now held only the furious Second Prince and the middle-aged man who had impersonated Viscount Sinderson on the journey to Iron Rock Fortress.
"How dare they? How dare the Norton Family be so insolent? Do they not take me, their king, the slightest bit seriously? Do they think the walls of Iron Rock Fortress can protect their family lands? Dream on — I'll never let them off. They will pay in blood. Only blood can wash away the humiliation they've heaped upon me..." The Second Prince roared as he paced circles around the study.
The Second Prince finally stopped before the middle-aged man, who had remained silent throughout. "Tell me — what did you see when you went to Iron Rock Fortress?"
The middle-aged man bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"As you suspected, the defenses of Iron Rock Fortress are quite lax. I estimate there are only three mid-level companies, roughly fifteen hundred men in total. Each company is responsible for defending the front and rear walls and the central keep. Unfortunately, while I stayed at the fortress's inn for several days, I didn't see any of the Norton Family's regular soldiers in the tavern or anywhere else. Aside from the walls and the barracks, they don't seem to go to other places."
The middle-aged man was unaware of the Norton Family's military reforms. He could only assess their forces through the lens of the Second Prince's experience forming the Kingdom's First Legion. He also didn't know that after March 16th, Lorence had mobilized nearly all of the family's armed forces to develop the Black Mud Swamp, even pulling half of Ovegg's three-thousand-strong First Guard Battalion—the unit defending Iron Rock Fortress—away, to facilitate a rotation after three months.
This severely impacted the settlers' reclamation of wasteland and the spring planting season. Therefore, the Norton Family's forces should, at this time, still be driving out and eliminating magical beasts in the wastelands, which was also a source of meat for them. The old man in the tavern said they usually don't get a break until May in past years, and this year is probably the same."
Lorence's plan to develop the Black Mud Swamp to gain access to the sea had only been shared with the family knights and civil officials. It was not publicized; instead, the family's forces were directly taken to the swamp to work. As a result, the commoners in the territory believed it was like previous years, a routine sweep to eliminate magical beasts from the wastelands.
"Your Majesty, I also discovered that the Norton Family's second-line troops—the garrison forces responsible for security—are very few in number. The security personnel at those storage depots are only a few dozen, not even amounting to a full squad. Behind Iron Rock Fortress, they've built a small city, and I found that the individuals referred to as garrison members number fewer than three hundred. Moreover, under the pretext of visiting the Tomb of Heroes, I climbed the hill near the rear wall of Iron Rock Fortress and found that there wasn't a single ballista mounted on that back wall. It seems their losses of such siege weapons in the battles against the magical beast tide were quite severe..."
The middle-aged man was an excellent spy, but he didn't understand that Lorence had reorganized the troops into ten-man squads. For the security battalions guarding the depots, this small squad format was indeed much more convenient. One or two squads were sufficient to guard the depot gates, unlike the previous practice of deploying nearly a hundred men to stand idly by at a warehouse entrance. As for the five-hundred-strong battalion guarding the rear city of Iron Rock, half its men had also been taken to the Black Mud Swamp—a fact the middle-aged man was unaware of.
Thus, in the middle-aged man's eyes, all of this pointed to a shortage of manpower within the Norton Family. The absence of even a single ballista on the rear wall of Iron Rock Fortress especially highlighted the dire situation the Norton Family was in after suffering heavy losses against the magical beast tide. Therefore, regarding the Norton Family's rejection of the Second Prince's demands, he was inclined to attribute it to the arrogance of a noble house with centuries of military tradition, not to any confidence born of overwhelming strength.
"Hahahaha..." Upon hearing the middle-aged man's analysis, the Second Prince burst into wild laughter.
"In May, once the winter wheat harvest is complete, I will send my forces to subjugate the Norton Family," the Second Prince declared coldly.
"Coincidentally, in May, those Northland lords will be coming to attend the Northland Noble Alliance. At that time, I will announce the Norton Family's disrespect and treason, using the pretext that Baron Norton improperly accepted a Count's title from the Andinark Royal Family. We will unite our forces to punish the Norton Family."
"Your Majesty, you must keep an eye on
The Second Prince nodded. "I'm well aware. When the two of them arrive for the alliance gathering, we'll keep them close and compel their families to contribute troops to the punitive campaign. Baron Shahin will have to provide ten thousand soldiers. The Kenmais Family has a legion of thirty thousand, doesn't it? Then for Count Kenmais's sake, twenty thousand would be the bare minimum.
Then there's Baron Phelim of the Pegasus Family. His military strength is no joke either—he'll have to cough up five thousand soldiers. Apart from the Norton Family, these three are the most powerful forces in the Northland right now. This time, nobody gets to sit on the sidelines and watch the show. Everyone contributes troops to the war effort. Still, Baron Phelim has always been deferential. If he performs well this time, I might just elevate his title..."
"Your Majesty is most insightful," the middle-aged man flattered. "So how many troops does Your Majesty intend to deploy against the Norton Family?"
The Second Prince pondered for a moment. "This is actually an excellent opportunity to showcase the kingdom's military might, and to let those Northland bumpkins witness the awe-inspiring prestige of the kingdom's First Legion. The First Legion will deploy fifty thousand men. Leave one thousand to guard the main camp, and the remaining two battalions will handle logistics and supply transport."
"Your Majesty, for dealing with a mere Norton Family, isn't this somewhat overkill?" the middle-aged man asked.
"You don't understand. The Norton Family means nothing to me. We don't need to attack Rock Fortress Castle—we just need to besiege it for half a year and we'll win without a fight. Without outside food shipments coming in, I'd love to see how the Norton Family feeds over two hundred thousand subjects. I'm not foolish enough to send the kingdom's First Legion to assault a fortified stronghold like Rock Fortress and suffer needless casualties.
Deploying the First Legion is primarily meant to suppress the family forces of Baron Shahin and Count Kenmais, forcing them to do the siege fighting in our stead. With the First Legion's might backing us, I'd like to see which Northland lord still harbors rebellious thoughts. After this punitive campaign against the Norton Family succeeds, I expect the Northland will settle down and become a reliable base that provides me with a steady stream of troops and grain," the Second Prince said.
"Your Majesty is truly brilliant!"
... (To be continued.)