Chapter 243 - Chapter 236: Further Reports
Timing it for when the retainers had gathered, Noein headed to the conference room accompanied by Matilda, Yuri, and his wife, Clara. He had already explained the situation to Clara.
Yuri and Matilda entered the conference room first, and at that moment, the retainers stood up in unison to welcome the lord's entry. Seeing Noein enter, the soldiers saluted, while the others performed a bow by placing their right hand over their left chest.
"Good work. Everyone, please sit. Make yourselves comfortable."
As Noein spoke while walking toward his seat, everyone broke their saluting posture and sat down.
Gathered in the conference room were all the retainers, except for Rick, who was stationed at the Aspida fortress to take turns commanding it with Radley, and Bart, who was outside the territory on official business.
The group, who had already felt that something was amiss the moment all retainers were summoned, looked at Noein and Clara's stiff expressions and each became even more tense.
Standing in the center of the three seats placed at the front of the conference room, Noein spoke after Clara and Matilda had come to his sides.
"...Today, an urgent report from the royal capital and a royal order from His Majesty King Oscar Roadberg III arrived. The Republic of Betumia has declared war on the Kingdom of Roadberg. Almost simultaneously, it seems the Republic's army landed in Laden, the Kivileft Earldom in the southeastern part of the kingdom."
"What!"
"You're joking..."
"How can this be..."
A stir arose among the retainers. It was only natural.
"Quiet!"
When Yuri raised his voice, the commotion subsided immediately.
"Summons have already been issued for the nobles of the southeast, but for nobles in other regions, the word was to prepare for departure and await further instructions. Upon receiving this royal order, I too will make preparations to go to war as a noble of the kingdom."
Having said that much, Noein looked around at the tense retainers and gave a wry smile.
"...Though, to be honest, not a single concrete move has been decided yet. We don't know the scale of the enemy, nor do we know what has happened to the Kivileft Earldom where they landed. However, there is no doubt that the entire Arqvist territory will enter a wartime footing. For now, I want you all to understand that a large-scale war has begun. That is all for now."
Hearing this, the retainers seemed to calm down a bit. Knowing that they didn't have to do something immediately, the restless atmosphere settled.
"All we can do is wait for further reports from outside the territory and prepare so that we can respond to the royal order to depart. Once the royal order is given, we will simply fight to protect this country and this land. The retainers of military houses will discuss concrete details with me moving forward. The other retainers, I want you to continue striving to maintain the society of the Arqvist territory as you have done until now... Any questions?"
When Noein asked, Radley raised his hand.
"If we are to depart, around when would that be?"
"Hmm, I wonder. The report only arrived today, and the royal family probably doesn't even know the scale of the enemy yet, so at the least... how long would it be?"
When Noein looked toward Yuri, Yuri spoke to supplement the explanation.
"At the earliest two weeks, but normally probably a month from now. If they grasp the situation, formulate a full-scale counterattack plan, and wait for the nobles' preparations to be completed, that much time will likely pass. Although they have landed, the enemy shouldn't be able to move such a large army so easily in a foreign land."
"...So he says."
"Understood."
Hearing Yuri's concrete prediction, Radley nodded.
The next to raise her hand was Anna. Her complexion was very poor.
"Um, the Arqvist territory planned to sell metal resources to the Republic of Betumia and allocate those funds to this year's territory management budget, but that..."
"...Ah, there was that too."
To Anna, who asked about a major concern as the person in charge of finance, Noein answered with an expression as if he had only just remembered.
"That's right. After receiving the report of the outbreak of war, my head was so full of the upcoming war that I forgot... the profits we expected from trade are gone."
"Originally, the story was that Betumia had them gather at the port to buy metals and horses, right?"
"Yeah. They probably intended to seize them as military supplies simultaneously with the occupation of the port and use them as they were for the invasion. If Laden falls, things will go exactly as Betumia intended."
While Noein began to hold his head with a face as pale as Anna's, Yuri answered Pence's question.
"...That Betumia. To deceive even me and take away ores produced in the Arqvist territory without permission is far too presumptuous... I'll have to make them pay it back with plenty of interest."
It was clearly a joke made to put on a brave face, but the retainers laughed softly at Noein's words. The heavy atmosphere immediately following the announcement of war had softened considerably by this time.
"Any other questions? ...None? Then, for now, we are dismissed for today. Ah, the retainers of military houses, and Damian too, please stay. I want to have a slightly more concrete discussion regarding the forces to be mobilized and the equipment."
.....
Even though the war had started suddenly, it was rare for the situation to shift drastically in a matter of a few days. To move an army of over ten thousand, it normally took time on a weekly or monthly scale.
That was the common sense of warfare in the southern part of the Adleon continent for the Kingdom of Roadberg. However, the further reports regarding the movements of the Republic of Betumia's army overturned that common sense entirely.
September 30th: Laden, the Kivileft Earldom, completely fell. The lord, Earl Kivileft, and his family are missing.
October 3rd: The Republic of Betumia's army seized the entire Kivileft Earldom and began invading surrounding noble territories.
October 5th: As a result of cross-referencing reports from scouts and dialogue mages still lurking near Laden, it was revealed that the landed Republic of Betumia's army totaled over 70,000.
October 6th: A new unit of the Republic of Betumia's army landed in the capital of the Ahatz Earldom, which possesses the largest port in the southwestern part of the kingdom.
October 10th: The capital of the Ahatz Earldom fell. Although neighboring lords had gathered and established the best possible defense posture, anticipating that Betumia would invade this land as well, it is said they lasted only four days.
October 14th: Further reinforcements of the Republic of Betumia's army arrived in Laden, the Kivileft Earldom. The scale combined with the first wave is thought to exceed one hundred thousand. On this day, reports from the dialogue mages lurking near Laden ceased.
October 20th: The invasion force of the Republic of Betumia's army that had landed from the southeast reached the Bittenfeld Marquisate, the center of the southeast. The capital entered a defensive battle.
October 23rd: The invasion force of the Republic of Betumia's army that had landed from the southwest reached the Galdwin Marquisate in the southwest. The capital entered a defensive battle.
This information circulated through the kingdom via the 'Far-Talk' communication network, and the number of new calamities arriving almost daily shook the nobles of the kingdom.
Naturally, Noein, the lord of the Arqvist territory, was one of the shaken nobles.
October 28th. Noein called the Chief Retainer Yuri and the Deputy Pence to the lord's office and was analyzing the information that had arrived via 'Far-Talk' so far.
"...This is bad."
"Yeah, the speed of the Republic of Betumia's army's invasion is beyond imagination."
"I didn't think the enemy would reach the central cities of both the southeast and southwest in less than a month."
Both Yuri and Pence nodded at Noein's words.
"Right... well, since they are the capitals of faction leaders, it seems they are holding out for now. But that's already information from a week ago."
At first, the situation in the south was reported in some detail through the 'Far-Talk' communication network that the royal family had spread throughout the country, but that had been cut off about a week ago. It is believed that small units of the Republic of Betumia's army were ravaging southern towns and villages, and in that process, dialogue mages at 'Far-Talk' relay points were killed or captured.
"Even so, if you combine the Republic of Betumia's armies in the southeast and southwest, it's a total of two hundred thousand... it's a scale that defies common sense."
"This war is full of things where common sense doesn't apply... I wonder how far we can suppress the enemy's invasion before winter sets in."
No matter how much the Republic of Betumia's army surpassed the Kingdom of Roadberg in national power and technology, it was ultimately an army of men and horses. Once mid-winter arrived, the pace of invasion should surely slow down. Rather, it would be a problem if it didn't slow down.
The shared thought among the kingdom's nobles was that the only way to win was for the Kingdom of Roadberg's side to use that opening to reorganize their posture, gather their army, and launch a counterattack.
"Probably, the reason Betumia is rushing the invasion of the kingdom's south right now is because they want to expand their controlled area as much as possible before winter. No matter how much supply they have from the home country, there's no way they can keep moving a large army continuously at this speed."
"I want to believe that. Once winter arrives, the supplies from the enemy's home country will be—"
"U-Urgent report! It's an urgent report!"
At that moment, Konrad came to deliver a report to the lord's office again.
Konrad, who was now permitted to enter without asking for permission in the case of urgent reports, suddenly opened the door and jumped into the room, beginning to speak while out of breath.
"T-The Republic of Betumia's army is approaching the south of the kingdom's central region... Because there is a possibility that the royal capital will fall at this rate, His Majesty Oscar has escaped the royal capital!"
"...That's impossible."
Noein was speechless at the overly shocking content.
"...The enemy is approaching the central region one month after landing? No matter how you look at it, that's too fast."
"Indeed. Considering the unit organization and marching time, normally they wouldn't make it in time."
Yuri and Pence also spoke with grim expressions. The larger the army, the slower the organization and marching become. For an army large enough to invade the kingdom's central region, a considerable number of days would be required just for organizational preparation, and the marching distance per day is limited. The calculation of days didn't add up.
However, it was difficult to think that the report was a false alarm at this stage.
Konrad caught his breath slightly and continued the report.
"...A-Also, a royal order was issued for the high-ranking nobles of the kingdom's north to gather at the Halsberg Dukedom at the northern edge of the kingdom. If possible, the head of the house, and if that is difficult, a representative capable of performing military duties should come... They say a military council for the counterattack will be held there."