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T/N: I just recently found out that Reincarnated Aristocrat’s Light Novel has been in publication since last year so, all of the published chapters will be available public as soon as translated.
One day, about two weeks after receiving a letter from His Majesty Clan, I received a second letter from His Majesty Clan.
It is now the end of July. Winter was coming to an end, and it would soon be my 15th birthday.
It would be good if they ordered us to continue strengthening our defenses as before…
With that in mind, I took the letter out of the envelope, but my wish was not granted.
Attack Sights, the letter contained instructions from His Majesty Clan.
Not only the order, but also the reason was well written.
The point is that Sights is now thinly populated and therefore easier to drop.
Also, if the castle is conquered, the Sights army, which is now invading Messiaen, will be forced to return some of its troops for defense.
Canale’s army is very strong, and we can successfully attack the castle in a short period of time.
For these three reasons, the letter says that we should attack the castle.
The reasons are also written, so I have no choice but to accept it.
To be honest, I don’t want to attack, but since it’s an order I have no choice but to obey.
Also, it seems that 15,000 soldiers will come as reinforcements. The Metro Mercenaries are also said to be coming as reinforcements.
This is the third time we are fighting together. Since they are reliable allies, we should be honestly happy that they are coming as reinforcements.
Due to the increase in the population of Canale, the number of soldiers has increased to about 13,000 in total.
Of course, we cannot send out all the soldiers, but we only need to leave about 3,000 soldiers behind, so just 10,000 soldiers can go into battle.
This means that we will attack with a total of 25,000 soldiers.
It is doubtful that they will be able to take out the county of Purled.
But, in any case, now that these orders had been given, we had no choice but to do what we had to do.
I decided to gather my vassals and hold a war council.
The day after the letter arrived.
The vassals who had been summoned urgently gathered in one place and began the war council.
I told them about the contents of the letter and asked for their opinions on what strategy should be used to attack Sights.
“But to think that in this situation, Clan would order an invasion of Sights. He sure does have his moments.” (Mireille)
Mireille praised His Majesty Clan.
He wanted to attack Sights, so she probably agreed with this order.
“No, no, attacking here is quite risky. We don’t know for sure how many troops Sights has left in the state.” (Russell)
Russell seemed uncertain.
We have some idea of the number of soldiers guarding the forts on the state border, but we don’t know how many soldiers are left in the entire state.
“They must be pretty well prepared, since they’re going to invade Messiaen, right? I don’t think there are that many left, though, given the population of the province of Sights.” (Mireille)
“That’s true, but… it’s possible that they have made a contract with a mercenary.” (Russell)
“Mercenaries, huh? I’m not sure how many mercenaries there are left in the state. Even if they have a contract, they are usually used for attacking.” (Mireille)
“That’s true, but… I have doubts about whether the enemy will really withdraw their troops from Messiaen after the attack. If they can just take Alcantes, it will be a huge advantage for the province of Sights. If the border counties are taken, they’ll get their money’s worth.” (Russell)
“Russell, after the enemy forces take Lund County, they won’t target Alcantes. It’s far from Sights, and if they take a place like that, the logistics won’t hold. They will probably target Masa after they capture Lund. After that, they will launch a two-pronged offensive from Masa and the Sights side, and attack Canale.” (Mireille)
“Even if we lose Masa, they’ll still be at a disadvantage! And actually, if you think about it from Canale’s point of view, this is even worse!” (Russell)
Mireille and Russell were discussing how the battle could turn out.
Certainly, even if we capture the castle, there was no guarantee that they would turn back. If Mireille’s words were to be followed, it would be very bad for both Messiaen and Canale. If the army invaded from two directions, I was not confident that we could withstand it.
“Both of you. The orders have been given, so there’s no point in discussing what will happen now. Right now, we’re having a military council to decide how to capture Sights.” (Ritsu)
Ritsu reprimanding them.
“Besides, our ability to draw the province of Sights toward us depends on our results. If we can capture the castle early, the enemy will feel threatened and pull out their troops.” (Ritsu)
“That’s true. Sorry, Teacher Ritsu.” (Russell)
Russell apologized politely.
“First, we must capture Purled County, which is near Canale. We have an understanding of Purled County’s military strength, but as expected, it is a border county and will not be thinly defended.” (Ritsu)
Ritsu explained the enemy’s strength.
It seems that no soldiers from Purled County were mobilized to attack Messiaen. Well, that’s only natural.
“On the other hand, haven’t they increased the number of defensive soldiers?” (Mireille)
“No, it’s just the usual.” (Ritsu)
Ritsu answered Mireille’s question.
“Hmm. In this situation, it’s possible to imagine that Canale will take advantage of an opportunity to attack, so it wouldn’t be strange to at least strengthen the defenses of Purled. Are they too short on soldiers, underestimating Canale, or are they just stupid enough to not expect an attack?” (Mireille)
“The Purled County is well-defended, so they may be thinking they don’t need that many soldiers. In fact, it will be difficult for us to take them with just Canale’s forces. It will be difficult unless the Metro Mercenary Corps comes to as reinforcement.” (Ritsu)
In Purled County, there is Purled Fort, which protects a key point, and this is a very solid fort. It cannot be easily taken down.
In addition, there is another castle called Auros Castle in Purled County. This castle is located in a position to provide immediate reinforcements in the event of an attack on Fort Purled. The castle itself is not large, but it is built on top of a hill, making it a bit difficult to attack.
It is difficult to encircle the castle and take it down, but it is also difficult to force a breakthrough because Fort Purled is a strong fort.
“Maybe we should start with Auros Castle first.” (Mireille)
Mireille suggests.
“Well, if we’re in this position, our supply lines might be cut off. Auros Castle is also in a difficult position to attack, so I don’t think we’ll be able to conquer it easily.” (Russell)
Russell refutes.
“But this castle is definitely going to make it hard for us to attack Fort Purled…” (Russell)
Russell wonders what to do.
“Hey, why don’t we use that airship that was made the other day? It’s a really amazing invention, right?” (Charlotte)
Charlotte, who was attending the war council, spoke up.
“The airship, huh…?” (Russell)
“Well, if we keep that thing floating in the air above Fort Purled, the enemy will have no way to defend themselves against the attack, so they’ll have no choice but to surrender.” (Mireille)
“That’s certainly true…” (Russell)
Even if we were to siege the castle, there is currently no way to counter it as the enemy does not have airships, so it seems we would be unbeatable.
I’m starting to feel like I can win without having to come up with a bad strategy.
“The problem is how to get the airship closer to the fort.” (Maika)
Maika said.
“Why don’t we just fly something like that from here? We can fly really high, so there’s no need to worry about being shot down by enemy soldiers.” (Rikuya)
After Rikuya said that Maika sighed in exasperation.
“Brother, haven’t you heard that there is a limit to how far it can fly in one go? It’s probably impossible to get to Fort Purled from here.” (Maika)
“Oh, is that so?” (Rikuya)
There is a limit to how far it can fly. Although the population of the county is small because there are only a few inhabitable areas, the area is quite large. It is a long way to Fort Purled, so we can’t fly all the way there at once.
“It’s probably best to get as close as possible before flying. It can’t fly in bad weather, so flying it for a long time is risky.” (Mireille)
That’s what Mireille said.
There is no such thing as a weather forecast in this world, and you never know when the weather will turn bad.
Although it doesn’t rain much in the Purled, there are of course days when the wind is extremely strong. If the wind is too strong, it is difficult to fly because of the risk of crashing from the sky.
If we have to get off in the middle of the flight, people could be dropped in the midst of enemy territory and become isolated.
If that happens, the airship would be destroyed in an instant. Since there is currently only one airship, we should not take too many risky actions.
“We don’t have enough wind ether yet. We have to invade as soon as reinforcements arrive, so we don’t have time to replenish our supply of wind ether. We need to avoid flying long distances.” (Ritsu)
Ritsu added in an explanation.
We had planned to purchase a large amount of wind ether, but due to lack of time, we have not been able to buy it in large quantities yet. With the amount we have now, a long-distance flight would be difficult.
“Actually, my original question is, the airship is supposed to be being modified for attack purposes now, but when will it be completed?” (Mireille)
Mireille asked. Certainly, we have not received any report of the completion of the airship’s modification.
“The renovations are going on at a fairly fast pace, so they should be completed by the end of this month. The Metro Mercenaries will arrive at Canale at the earliest around the end of this month, so we should be able to make it in time for the attack.” (Ritsu)
“That sounds like they could be used.” (Mireille)
Ritsu answered the question.
“We can’t fly long distances. If that is the case, we will build a makeshift fort right in the middle of Canale and Fort Purled, and transport the airship there. From there, I think it would be a good idea to fly the airships to Fort Purled.” (Russell)
Russell spoke of a possible strategy.
“A fort at the halfway point. The enemy won’t let us build one quietly, so it’ll be an open battle.” (Maika)
“We just need to win. The enemy has a good number of men left at Fort Purled, but if you include the Metro Mercenaries as reinforcements, we have more men than they do. In the first place, they won’t come with their entire army to stop the construction.” (Russell)
Russell explained.
A makeshift fort can be constructed using magic.
It requires someone to use magic and someone to tell them what kind of structure to build, but there are many people in Canale County, including Ritsu, who have a high aptitude for building fortresses.
It should be possible to build a fort.
The strategy was now decided.
Build a fort halfway to Fort Purled and transport the airship there.
When transporting the airship, we will be very careful. Enemy sleeper agents might sabotage the airship, so we would place Shadow as an escort to ensure its safe transport.
We also discussed what we would do if the airship was destroyed during transport, making it unusable.
In that case, it would be difficult to take Fort Purled first, so it would be better to take Castle Auros first.
In order to prevent the supply lines from being cut off, they would increase the number of soldiers to protect them as much as possible. This would mean that there would be fewer soldiers to take Auros Castle, but we would have to use tactics to make up for that.
However, if there were more soldiers left in the entire province of Sights than expected and a large number of reinforcements were sent to Fort Purled, there was a high possibility that the fort would not fall if the airship was unavailable.
In that case, we should retreat and fortify our defenses.
The worst thing would be for Canale to be taken in as well, so if that were to happen, the decision to retreat should be made quickly.
That shouldn’t incur the wrath of His Majesty Clan.
After deciding on the strategy, we then decide on the division of roles for the battle.
Rietz will direct the construction of the fort. The magic soldiers led by Charlotte will use magic for offense.
If enemies come to interfere with the building, they will counterattack.
The enemy will probably not be able to send out a large army, so there seems to be no worry about losing.
However, if a fight happens, the completion of the fort will be delayed. In the meantime, there is a possibility that reinforcements will come to Purled from other counties.
The construction of the fort must proceed at a rapid pace.
Shadow and Braham’s group will be in charge of transporting the airship.
In case the enemy attempts sabotage, it will be necessary to deal with them, so it is best to have skilled soldiers escort the airship.
Since we want to start transporting as soon as the construction of the fort is finished, we will not send Braham and Shadow to the front lines.
The war council was over, and we steadily made preparations for the invasion of Sights.
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