Chapter 102 - Episode 101: Frederick Koenitz
"Father!"
The knight who approached while calling out looked very much like Arnold. He had the kind of appearance that suggested this is what Arnold would look like if he were about two sizes younger.
"Frederick... I see, so you have come as well."
"Yes, the First Corps of the Royal Army, to which I belong, is serving as a central unit in this war."
Looking at the temperature and distance of the conversation, the relationship between the two was obvious.
"Noein, I believe I mentioned before that my eldest son is serving in the Royal Army to gain experience. This is that eldest son. His name is Frederick."
"I have heard of your achievements through letters from my father, Lord Arqvist. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"It is my first time meeting you, Frederick-sama. The pleasure is mine."
Noein exchanged a handshake with Frederick.
"I heard that a platoon from the Royal Army would be serving with Noein to defend Barrel Fort. Could that be you?"
"Yes. Upon hearing that my brother-in-law, Lord Arqvist, had been stationed at the fort, I volunteered for this assignment."
Frederick explained as his father questioned him.
"I had heard about Frederick-sama from Lord Arnold, but to think you belong to the First Corps... it is very reassuring."
"Hahaha, you make me blush. I am still young, but I will strive to show that I can be relied upon."
The Royal Army, a standing army under the direct control of the royal family, consists of ten corps, but the First Corps in particular was known as a peerless elite. Belonging to it as a knight meant that Frederick was among the highest tier of elites among the military personnel of this country.
"I will take over the detailed explanations for Lord Arqvist. Father, please proceed to your own assignment as well."
"Understood, then I leave it to you... both of you, see that you do not die."
"Yes, good luck in battle to you as well, Father."
"Lord Arnold, please stay safe."
After exchanging words wishing for each other's safety, Noein and the others moved to take their respective positions.
.....
"Lord Arqvist. These are the conscripts we have been entrusted with."
Guided by Frederick, Noein moved with his own territorial army to a place where a large number of beastmen were gathered. Standing there in shabby clothes, at first glance, they looked like nothing more than poor peasants.
The weapons they held were a mismatched assortment of spears and clubs, and many wore no armor. At best, some wore leather breastplates.
Their number likely exceeded 200. Those lining them up were about ten soldiers who appeared to be Frederick's subordinates.
"From the Royal Army, there is one platoon consisting of myself, three cavalry, and seven infantry, and 214 beastman conscripts, plus the Arqvist territorial army. This is the total force assigned to the defense of Barrel Fort... as you can see, it is mostly beastman peasants. Some slaves are mixed in. Are you disappointed?"
"I have no prejudice against beastmen, so I am fine with that... however, I do think it is a rather extreme composition."
Trained soldiers numbered only 40 in total, combining the Royal Army and the Arqvist territorial army. The fact that the rest were all beastmen from peasant backgrounds made the unit composition clearly skewed.
"It seems His Excellency Bechtolsheim wanted to give Lord Arqvist an opportunity to distinguish himself, and tried to attach as many conscripts as possible so that the Crossbows you brought could be utilized. However, the Southwestern faction apparently frowned upon attaching over 200 conscripts to a lowest-rank Knight Bachelor..."
"So, as a compromise, all the conscripts became beastmen, is that it?"
"Yes. The Southwestern faction was able to push the beastmen they loathe onto the Northwestern nobles, and His Excellency Bechtolsheim was able to entrust Lord Arqvist with many conscripts... it seems a convergence of interests was achieved."
"That makes sense. In terms of numbers, is it sufficient for the defense of the fort?"
"Barrel Fort is the smallest of the six forts on the front line, and its position is further back than the others. The higher-ups judged that this many would be sufficient. I am generally of the same opinion."
"Then that is good. Also, since I am younger and Frederick-sama is my older brother-in-law, please use casual language."
"In that case... I shall take the liberty of using casual speech. Noein-dono, I want you to treat me with a relaxed attitude, as if I were an older friend."
"Understood. Then I will call you Frederick-san."
Having decided on their social distance, Frederick and Noein proceeded to the introductions of the unit's primary members.
From the Arqvist territorial army, Noein, Yuri, and Pence gathered; from the Royal Army, Frederick and his adjutant; and from the conscripts, a lion-man and a rat-man who served as representatives.
"Then, I shall serve as the commander for practical matters. Noein-dono will be equal to me... for now, let us call you the staff officer. The Chief Retainer-dono and Deputy Chief-dono over there, as well as my subordinates, will fight among the conscripts and assist them as appropriate. As for you beastman representatives... what are your names?"
"I am Boreas."
"I am called Jinozze."
The lion-man and the rat-man introduced themselves respectively.
"Understood. I leave the general management of the beastmen outside of combat to you. Keep an eye on them so that no one relaxes too much, or conversely, becomes too tense."
When Frederick spoke, Boreas and Jinozze nodded silently.
"That is the arrangement... Noein-dono, I will hold the command authority for the time being, is that acceptable?"
"Yes. I have no experience in full-scale war, so I leave it to you."
"I see... thank goodness."
When Noein responded, Frederick's expression became relieved.
"Are there many nobles who would not be satisfied in a situation like this?"
"Yes. Many sons of high-ranking noble houses want to command themselves despite being young and inexperienced... there are cases where those of equal rank stand side-by-side and compete, which can become troublesome. I am glad Noein-dono is a reasonable noble."
"Please be assured that I will not push myself forward in haste for merit. I think I will be an easy subordinate to handle."
When Noein smiled, Frederick returned a faint, wry smile.
.....
The main force of the Lordberg Kingdom is 18,000. It is said that Marquis Galdwin of the Southwestern faction, Marquis Bechtolsheim of the Northwestern faction, and the commander of the Royal Army's First Corps each hold 6,000.
In contrast, the main force of the Lancel Kingdom's army is estimated to be around 12,000. Facing them with 1.5 times the manpower and being equipped with a considerable number of the new weapon called the Crossbow, it is viewed that there is almost no possibility of the Lordberg Kingdom side losing.
This is the force allocated to the southern border; in the fortress zone of the northern border, 5,000 Lordberg troops will defend 12 forts.
The opposing Lancel Kingdom army is estimated to be around 3,000. It was thought that they would divide into several units and attempt to capture each fort.
"—Therefore, it is estimated that the enemy we face at once on the defensive side will be at most about twice our number. In siege warfare for forts and castles, the defending side is overwhelmingly advantaged. With that much, we will hardly be taken."
While having the soldiers proceed with preparations to move to Barrel Fort, Frederick was explaining the full scope of the current operation to Noein.
"Then, does that mean we just have to endure until the main forces reach a conclusion?"
"Yes. The enemy likely won't put that much effort into capturing the fortress zone. Our job is to create a stalemate and ensure they cannot strike the flank or rear of our own main force."
"Do you know the estimate for when the main forces will reach a conclusion?"
"According to the higher-ups, it should be two weeks at the longest... so they say. Well, letting it drag on too long would only exhaust the national strength of both sides. It is a reasonable estimate."
While the two spoke, preparations for movement continued. The Royal Army and the Arqvist territorial army, being trained regular forces, worked briskly, but compared to them, the movements of the beastmen were somewhat slow.
It was not that they were insincere, but rather that they seemed exhausted, and their bodies could not keep up.
"...The beastmen seem a bit worn out even before the fighting starts."
"Discrimination against beastmen is severe in the south. They were likely the first to suffer the effects of the deteriorating situation. There is no way they would be energetic... Most of those gathered here probably chose to become conscripts, where they would be fed at a minimum, rather than starving to death as refugees."
About half of the beastmen were large races such as lion-men, tiger-men, and ox-men. The other half were small races such as cat-people, rabbit-people, and rat-people. About thirty percent of them were women, perhaps. The proportion of women was higher than expected.
Seeing that he did not abuse or strike the slowly moving beastmen, Noein could tell that Frederick was also a person from the north who was tolerant of beastmen.
Although slightly slow, preparations were progressing steadily, so Noein thought they would be able to depart for Barrel Fort without any incident... however, things did not go as he hoped.