Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 386: Nation of a Dead Noble (1)

The Duke of Milano probably didn’t want to become the supreme commander at this point.

It was basically like it was forced upon him against his will. With the death of the Grand Duke of Florence and the resignation of Consul Elizabeth, there was only one noble family left that all the cities in Sardinia would willingly obey: the House of Sforza in Milano.

A family that is capable but of low status or a family of high status but isn’t capable. Problems could arise from either side. It was only natural.

Being given the position of supreme commander was like being ordered to throw your body onto the battlefield. Battlefields are always filled with death. Let’s say that you’re a soldier or a general and you’re forced to face a dog’s death because of some incompetent supreme commander. Could you really accept your death? Could you come to terms with it? No, it would be impossible.

The same goes for a supreme commander of low status. Would you want to put your life on the line for a supreme commander from a lesser-known and less prestigious family, an individual whose family has a shorter history than yours?

This issue is more critical than matters of skill or lineage. It’s about your own life being at stake. No one wants to die, and if they must, they would want it to be in a way that they can ‘accept’…….

Hence, it was the Sforza family and the Duke of Milano.

Maintaining one’s reputation for 50 years, let alone 20, is by no means a simple task. People are prone to making mistakes, yielding to temptations, and falling victim to the schemes of others. The Sforza managed to endure this for 300 years.

Honor.

Only a very small number of families could inscribe this word on their family banners, and the Sforza family of Milano belonged to that small minority with the Medici family of Florence. Nobles willingly obeyed their authority. If commanded to die on the battlefield, they would take it into serious ‘consideration’.

Even though the Duke of Milano didn’t want a short and decisive battle.

He was also an individual who wouldn’t turn his responsibility away for such a ‘personal’ reason.

– I am hereby issuing a general mobilization order throughout the kingdom!

– All city councils are to immediately transfer command of their citizen militias to me.

– People of Sardinia, rally!

This emergency order resonated throughout the kingdom.

The Duke of Milano concluded that gathering mercenaries in a short time would be nearly impossible now, so he began to gather the citizen militias in each city. Although the militias lacked morale and skills compared to mercenaries, their quantity could compensate for quality.

Sardinia quickly reorganized itself around the Duke of Milano as if the time they were complaining about Consul Elizabeth’s tactic was already a distant memory.

The citizen militias were more proactive than expected. This was because our imperial army had started to loot ruthlessly, creating a widespread realization that if they remained passive, they would stay as victims. The Duke of Milano most likely orchestrated this from behind the scenes. Ridiculous rumors about how the Empire enjoyed the organs of newborns and things like that had started to spread.

But it was effective.

Due to the escalation of our looting, the anger among the population had grown. Nobles and commoners alike were eager to end the war as soon as possible. The Duke of Milano took advantage of this with a simple yet effective strategy.

The general mobilization order managed to gather about 40,000 troops.

By adding the 10,000 elite troops composed of multinational mercenaries, the Duke of Milano had managed to assemble an army of 50,000 at an unprecedented speed.

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It wasn’t a hastily assembled mishmash of troops with an inflated number. It was a well-organized army with proper leadership in each region. Nobles from across Sardinia led the military effort. It was like they were determined to end it now.

And while that was happening, our imperial army was—

“Duchess, how should we deal with San Marino?”

“What is there to think about? Burn it down.”

pillaging earnestly.

Yes, we plundered steadily and persistently.

Just like hunting, pillaging also fostered cooperation between units. Our imperial army was joined by the forces of the Kingdom of Brittany now. Before engaging in a major battle, we had to coordinate and synchronize with the forces of Brittany.

It wasn’t only the forces of Brittany. After Laura received news that the enemy was drafting civilian militias at a terrifying pace, she muttered to herself, “We will need some insurance.”

A militia was immediately drafted from the Piacenza-Parma-La Spezia regions. Many of them were those who defected to our side because they were afraid of being plundered and murdered. We assembled roughly 3,900 militia troops in this way.

It was my responsibility to motivate the militia using words such as, “If the Empire loses, there is no way the Kingdom would leave traitors like you alone”, “Look at what happened to Marquis Rody. That is the fate that awaits traitors”, “You can wait patiently and die or fight to survive, the choice is yours”, and so on.

Despite my appearance, I’m an expert when it comes to commanding militias. The only unit that didn’t suffer defeat in the Lily War of Frankia was none other than the peasant militia that fought under my command. Thanks to my persuasion and leadership, the militia was quickly trained.

Our army went around setting the Kingdom of Sardinia ablaze.

The Duke of Milano responded wisely. He ordered his troops to not engage in combat no matter how aggressively we pillaged.

However, he would quickly dispatch mages to the cities we targeted. He must have realized that it would be extremely difficult for us to carry out sieges since we lacked siege equipment and couldn’t overwhelm them in terms of magic. Thanks to the Duke of Milano’s clever response, although our army was able to devastate the surrounding areas of the cities, we couldn’t actually capture the cities themselves.

3 weeks went by.

The Duke of Milano finally took action.

The Duke utilized the navy to successfully gather his 50,000-strong army. Anyone who has had the opportunity to witness the sight of over 50,000 soldiers gathering on an open field would understand this feeling. It made even the most cowardly person feel like a valiant warrior.

The Kingdom’s army advanced with the utmost courage. Laura chuckled in response to this.

“A pitched battle is exactly what we want. We will show them hell.”

Our army of 30,000 advanced in unison under Laura’s command.

Laura, who had achieved overwhelming victories multiple times before, was worshipped like a goddess by the mercenaries of Helvetica. Queen Henrietta and the Kingdom of Brittany’s army also obediently followed her orders. These warriors had a natural inclination towards battle, and they held the utmost respect for those who defeated them.

10th day and 10th month of the continental calendar.

The two armies faced each other on the Plains of Sage-Maledictus.

The Po River flowed through the plains. I had no intention of stressing my brain by trying to remember the names of every location, so I personally named it the ‘Big River’. ‘Big River’ was a good name in many ways. For starters, it was easy to remember.

Moreover, the places where our army fought battles – the Ticinus River where Earl Pavia perished in a surprise attack, and the Trebia River where the Duke of Florence disbanded his forces – both belonged to the tributaries of this ‘Big River’.

For the thousands of years to come, the ‘Big River’ will never be referred to as something like Po River.

I am certain of this.

The accursed river, the bloodstained river, the river of despair and lamentation, it shall be remembered by such names. The fall of the Kingdom of Sardinia shall go hand in hand with this river. I was confident of this even in the face of an enemy army nearly twice our size.

Laura held a final meeting as the two armies faced each other.

“…….”

“…….”

The mercenary captains of Helvetica and the commanders from Brittany’s side gathered together. There was a strange silence hanging over the room. Once Henrietta, the queen of an entire nation arrived, everyone seemed to become more mindful of their words.

Surprisingly, Laura had yet to arrive. She was making Henrietta wait. Even if it was customary for the supreme commander to arrive last, those on Brittany’s side seemed annoyed. ‘How dare you make Her Highness wait……,’ it was apparent that this was what they were thinking. Well, though Henrietta herself didn’t seem to care.

“Duchess Farnese has arrived!”

A guard shouted loudly. Everyone stood at attention.

Laura walked in with her usual calm and composed strides. Some of the commanders looked baffled. A 22-year-old duchess. An age where her youthfulness had yet to entirely fade. Despite this, she had already achieved military fame across the continent. I wonder how she appeared to the commanders who were in their forties and fifties…….

“Everyone may be seated. Our forces will be creating the following formation.”

Laura immediately delved into the main topic after giving a salute. The mercenary captains settled into their chairs as if they were accustomed to this routine. Brittany’s commanders appeared slightly taken aback, but they took their seats without a word. It was most likely thanks to the consistent composure of their leader, Queen Henrietta.

“Although it is standard procedure to form a line with foot soldiers.”

Laura moved the markers that were atop the map on the table.

A brief moment later, the markers representing our allied infantry were evenly spread out. They weren’t in a straight line. It was more like they were curved outward in a sort of crescent shape. Or should I say a more triangular ▷ shape?

“For this battle, we will be creating a somewhat unconventional formation.”

“…….”

The commanders had complicated looks on their faces. It was like they were trying to grasp the Supreme Commander’s intent.

Queen Henrietta opened her mouth.

“Is your goal to stall for time?”

“Indeed. The enemy outnumbers us in infantry by two to one. In a short-term engagement, they hold the advantage.”

“This is quite the gamble…….”

Henrietta slowly stroked her chin. It seemed like she was drawing out the battle in her head.

“If we make our formation like this, our very first line of soldiers will have to endure the brunt of the enemy’s attack for a brief period. If our first line falters, our center could collapse in an instant. We will need a considerable number of elite troops in that position.”

“No.”

Laura shook her head.

“The civilian soldiers will be in charge of the first line.”

“Haa? The conscripted soldiers?”

Queen Henrietta furrowed her brows.

“They will lose in an instant. Do you have some sort of plan?”

“It is simple. The enemy’s main force is also comprised of civilian soldiers. If they find themselves fighting fellow Sardinians, they will undoubtedly hesitate. Even if they attack, it will not be done aggressively.”

“……I see. We will be causing a fratricidal strife.”

The Queen nodded.

“But the enemy possesses foreign mercenaries along with their Sardinian militia. This strategy will not work if those mercenaries are sent out first.”

“The Duke of Milano will not put those mercenaries at the front.”

“……How can you be sure?”

At that moment, the ends of Laura’s mouth lifted up.

That was it. Whenever Laura had a rather heinous idea on the battlefield, that kind of smile would always surface. This was probably a habit she picked up from watching me, so I felt slightly responsible. I can’t help but think I educated Laura incorrectly.

“It is because the Duke of Milano is a ‘smart’ individual, Your Highness.”

“……?”

Henrietta looked confused along with the other commanders.

“Wise people learn from their past mistakes. The Duke of Milano must have thoroughly analyzed why the Kingdom’s army has continued to lose. The fact that he had chosen Sage-Maledictus Plains as the battlefield is proof of this.”

Laura drew a circle on the map with her finger.

“Look. There are no nearby hills, cliffs, or even moderately large forests here. It is an open plain with a wide field of vision. In the previous battles at Ticinus and Trebia, they lost because we managed to ambush them.”

“…….”

“The Duke of Milano must have arrived at this conclusion. ‘Ambushes must be the specialty of the Empire, or rather, Duchess Farnese.’ So, this time, he will not give us the chance to set up an ambush…….”

“Hm.”

Henrietta nodded her head. She agreed with the assumption that the Duke of Milano had deliberately selected the Plains of Sage-Maledictus as the battlefield for the given reason.

“Sealing your opponent’s specialty is definitely a fundamental tactic in warfare, but…….”

Laura smiled once more.

“The issue is that it is still a basic tactic. The Duke of Milano has walked into the jaws of death of his own accord.”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Sorry ’bout the later-than-usual chapter. It’s probably obvious why I’m late, so yeah. I’ve mostly settled my emotions, but it does come back to hit me once or twice a day. Hopefully, I’ll be able to resume my regular pace, but that’ll be after my workload lessens a bit at work.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.