Chapter 61 - 061_Civil War
■■■■■■■■■■
061_Civil War
■■■■■■■■■■
"I wish to not rely on Rodney-dono this time,"
Count Banyusas said before departing, and laughed.
In the summer heat, the Northern Noble Army marched south. By ship it would be quick, but on foot it would take about twenty days.
Though he was the lowest rank, he was still a noble, so Rodney moved on horseback. But he wiped sweat as he thought he hadn't expected a summer march to be this painful.
There was nothing to block the sunlight. There was almost no wind. It wasn't humid, but still the lack of shade was harsh.
"Feld, aren't you hot?"
Beastmen stood out, so he was hiding his whole body under a cloak. It was Rodney's idea, but the one who suggested it grew worried if he was okay.
"This much is no problem,"
Beastmen were strong against heat and cold, and also resistant to starvation. What a hardy race, he thought, impressed.
Then he suddenly thought. Could he lower the temperature around himself with Ice Water Manipulate.
"I'll try it out,"
He was able to lower the temperature around himself by about five degrees. He understood that Ice Water Manipulate was resistant to cold, but he smiled at the fact that it could be used like this too.
After that, when he lowered the temperature to envelop the Dedel Territory army, everyone thanked Rodney.
The march proceeded smoothly, and they arrived at the outskirts of the royal capital seventeen days after leaving Bassam.
There was no resistance along the way, probably because the royal family had concentrated their forces in the royal capital.
About ten days after Rodney arrived near the royal capital, all the noble armies deployed to surround the capital.
The north had Count Banyusas House's army of 2500 and Marquis Palosof House's army of 2600, totaling 5100. The noble armies of east, west, and south were of similar size, so the total force reached 20,000.
Ancient weapons were installed in the royal capital. Moreover, not just one or two. To protect the royal capital, the royal family had gathered ancient weapons and installed them in about ten locations. If one approached carelessly, they would likely be annihilated, just like the kingdom's army that tried to attack the fortified Banasia.
But there was a plan.
The military the royal family held was two army corps including the knight orders. However, they had only recently finished replenishing their troops and reached the official number.
With those two corps, they had to defend the royal capital and also repel the noble armies.
The knight orders were composed of the children of nobles. Not only court nobles, but also second and third sons of landed nobles belonged to them. The children of landed nobles weren't that numerous, but still about 30% were related to them.
Those related to landed nobles had risen in revolt within the royal capital. The knight order members who revolted occupied or destroyed the ancient weapons. Thanks to that, the ancient weapons the royal family could use were reduced to four. Still, there were still four of them.
"Let's attack under cover of night,"
A war council was held, and it was decided to launch a night raid.
Rodney's Dedel Territory army was placed behind Count Banyusas's army. Therefore, they did not participate in the night raid.
Rodney listened to the sounds of explosions and the voices of soldiers coming from the royal capital. The sounds coming from the darkness of night stirred the imagination.
What was happening now in that darkness? Someone might be dying. Someone might be calling for help. But from here, nothing could be seen.
"Waiting doesn't suit me,"
"I am the same,"
Hortus agreed, letting his gaze wander in the night darkness.
"I may have been wrong,"
"That is sudden. What have you been mistaken about?"
Rodney stared into the darkness. It was the direction of the royal capital.
"This war, the noble coalition army will probably win,"
"I agree,"
"Then what will happen after we win?"
"...After we win, the four ministers and bureaucrats will be purged,"
"That's a matter of process. The noble coalition will divide the royal family's direct domains among themselves,"
"Having mobilized an army of this size, that possibility is high,"
"What would happen if the noble coalition only pursued their own interests?"
"...Internal division,"
"A bloody power struggle will occur,"
"………"
While each faction fought over the royal family's direct domains, the Dedel Territory army alone could not return. If that happened, this force would be insufficient. Rodney regretted that he should have brought half of the Blue Wolf Tribe.
And at that moment when he was also thinking he hoped this idea was wrong, a flash of light burst forth as if cutting through the darkness. A few seconds later, a roar reached Rodney's ears.
"A beam cannon was used. How foolish..."
Beam cannons had high power. They were most useful weapons for slaughtering enemies. But the beam cannon had been used inside the royal capital. There were some residents who had left the capital to escape the war, but they were extremely few. Many residents were in their homes, making themselves small and waiting for the fighting to end.
If a beam cannon was used inside such a royal capital, it would slaughter enemies but also cause casualties among the residents. How many innocent residents had died from that light?
"Even if the civil war ends, recovery would be faster if residents remain,"
Then another flash ran through. The royal family seemed to be using beam cannons indiscriminately, he sighed.
The repeated flashes of beam light likely caused many casualties in the noble coalition army. He could only hope that none of his acquaintances were caught in that light.
Though he couldn't help but smile wryly, thinking that Sage Daguldor would probably bounce back the beam.
"Dawn is almost here,"
Hortus was looking at the distant sky that was beginning to lighten.
As the sky gradually brightened, rain began to fall sporadically.
The rain grew steadily heavier. As if the heavens were weeping, Rodney thought.
A war council was held around noon. About half of the gathered nobles were covered in the enemy soldiers' blood and mud. They were all low-ranking knights and barons.
A viscount who was friendly with Rodney was covered in blood. Several viscount houses had joined the war, but only that viscount was spattered with blood. Rodney remembered the viscount had once said his house was a military family.
"All the ancient weapons are unusable. If we attack, it should be now,"
"The enemy numbers are few. They must have defended with all their strength in last night's battle. They should be fatigued,"
The northern noble army had no beam casualties. There seemed to have been beam attack casualties in the south and west, but apparently minor. Even if beam cannons were fired blindly, they were meaningless if they didn't hit.
But there seemed to be considerable damage to buildings in the royal capital. And quite a number of residents seemed to have been harmed as well.
"Let us crush them all at once!"
The northern noble army had suffered few losses, so morale was high.
The other noble armies also quickly decided on a general attack. In the north, Count Banyusas and Marquis Palosof were coordinating, but the other noble armies were not under their command. Therefore, even if they fought together, it would become a competition for glory. Which region's noble army would be the first to break into the royal palace? Who would secure the king? Who would secure the ministers? It was a competition among the noble armies.
When the war council ended and he stepped outside the tent, the rain had stopped. Rodney shaded his eyes from the sunlight with his hand, thinking the summer sun had returned and it was going to become humid and hot.
"Move out. Hurry,"
"Sir!"
Returning to the Dedel Territory army's camp, Rodney left only three of his soldiers behind and headed for the royal capital.
He did not ride a horse. He thought it would get in the way in street fighting. Also, if he got serious, he could run faster than a horse. The only one who could keep up with that was probably Feld.
He advanced at a fast pace through the muddy ground, not caring about the mud splashing. From now on, it was a competition with other nobles.
He wasn't thinking about making a name for himself by earning glory. It was simply that watching the battle from behind didn't suit him.
He could think like this probably because he could ingest the Life Light Stone orally. It might be the arrogance of possessing overwhelming origin power. But he wanted to see what he could do.