Fun Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord (Novel) - Chapter 78 - Those Who Were Overrun 1

Chapter 78 – Those Who Were Overrun 1

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“…What? A fortress city? Don’t be absurd. There is no way it could have been built yet.”

When I said that, the scout nodded with his brow furrowed.

“It doesn’t seem to be on the scale of Scudetto, but it truly is a fortress city… We heard there were two villages in this area. Shall we try going to the location of the other one?”

“Fool! We came here in order to take Scudetto! Can we change our target now of all times!?”

“Y-Yes, sir! My apologies!”

At my shout, the knight officer who had received the scout’s report knelt on the spot to apologize. Looking down at his bowed head, I clicked my tongue.

“Tch… We heard construction of a fortress city had begun, but to think it is already complete…?”

And I, Unimog Yerinetta, Eighth Prince of the Kingdom of Yerinetta, went to the trouble of personally taking command, only for our kingdom’s intelligence corps to fail like this.

“Damn it, every last one of them takes me for a fool…”

I bit the nail of my right thumb and let my grievance spill out.

Though I am already thirty-two, the missions given to me are not the capture of important enemy strongholds, but the mere suppression of frontier villages.

Even if it is one piece of a larger strategy, there is no way I can accept it, when all my brothers are granted better roles and positions than I am.

His Majesty is already old, and the changing of kings should not be far off. And yet I am not even to be given an opportunity? Gnashing my teeth inwardly, I looked over my men and spoke.

“…There is obviously nowhere near enough time for this to be a newly constructed fortress city. In that case, they must have focused on the walls and built it up merely enough to look like a fortress city from the outside. We advance as planned and occupy the enemy position.”

“P-Please wait! Even if it is only for appearances, if they have erected walls, then capturing it will surely be difficult! We number only three hundred men! There aren’t enough men to assault a fortified point…”

One of the knights kneeling before me raised his face and voiced opposition. Without a word, I tucked in my chin and kicked him in the head. The pathetic knight let out a groan, his nose bleeding.

“Insolent fool. Were you listening to my words? Those walls are merely for show. If anything, we must strike before they become a fortress city that truly functions. Can you not even understand that?”

“I-I understand…”

Watching the knight lower his head while holding his nose, I let out a deep breath and lifted my face.

“What word from above?”

“The village in front appears to be empty, with the people having evacuated to the fortress city behind it.”

“So the village with those walls is our target village. But Scudetto is still quite far from here. To evacuate there…”

“Might that be how it is? When I heard the report from above, it did sound as though there were a fortress city behind the village…”

Interrupting my words, one of the knights began rambling on with his own theory. Irritated by the insolence, I answered him with a click of my tongue.

“Fool. Look at those walls. Building that alone would unquestionably take one or two years. Even if one madly mobilized manpower to shorten the construction schedule, it should still take half a year. More to the point, what sense would there be in building another town at so short a distance? Answer me that.”

“…None, sir.”

After putting the fool, who could not even think for himself, back in line, the knight bowed deeply.

To begin with, reports from the air are one-sided, and only broad details can be understood.

The reason lies in the situation up above. The puppet mage riding the wyvern risks losing control and being thrown off if they let their concentration slip. For that reason, they must keep feeding a certain level of mana continuously, and so cannot give the detailed reports that matter most.

Furthermore, when controlling a living creature, giving it orders that run counter to its instincts apparently consumes a great deal of mana. In other words, it is difficult even to force the wyvern to make a fierce charge straight into the walls and break in.

And yet that puppet mage is supposed to be among the best in the kingdom.

To let a commander be confused by fragmentary information from such a useless mage would be intolerable. A true commander selects between multiple pieces of information by his own judgment and constantly carries out the optimal course of action.

Thinking that far, I suddenly let out a sigh and shook my head.

Why is it that one as brilliantly intelligent as I am is treated so coldly? Does it simply mean there are that many fools who envy the talented?

“…I must break through this fortress city at all costs and prove my ability.”

Saying that, I turned back to my forces.

“Listen well. The report from the wyvern says some of the villagers fled the village. They may already have noticed us. Advance carefully!”

“Yes, sir!”

We advanced up the highway, shields raised, staying wary, but no attack came. We approached right up to the walls with surprising ease, and then all looked up at the gate and at one another.

“…At this point, a trap seems unlikely. Most likely the villagers were few in number and fled this place. If they saw a wyvern, such a decision would not be strange.”

So in the end, unless an experienced knight order is permanently stationed there, even villagers would naturally flee at the sight of a wyvern.

“This may be the best opportunity possible. If we acquire a stronghold like this without damage, it will unquestionably aid in the later capture of Scudetto. Now then, open the gate!”

“Yes, sir!”

At my command, the soldiers began destroying the gate.

But no matter how much they struck it, there was no sign of it breaking.

“W-What is going on!?”

“Prince Unimog! Even iron hammers cannot break it!”

“I-Impossible…!”

Hearing that report, I ground my teeth. It certainly did not look like mithril. Could it be some material using a new kind of magical beast?

“…Come to think of it, we heard the villagers fled by the rear. Then the rear gate should be open. Very well, everyone! We go around!”

Giving the order, I myself began to move as well.

“Attack mages, follow from the rear! Heavily armored troops in front! Be on guard for an ambush!”

“Yes, sir!”

Reforming the line as we advanced along the wall, we continued around.

Yet before we could reach the rear side of the village, our feet stopped.

“W-What, what is that…!?”

Someone’s voice cracked as they spoke.

Their panic was understandable. We had already been stunned by the village surrounded by walls beside us, and now beyond that village there appeared a fortress city far larger still.

“I-Impossible! Is that Fortress City Scudetto!?”

“That can’t be…”

“Scudetto should be a circular fortress city! That must be another military base built in secret!”

The soldiers fell into confusion, loudly shouting things like that all at once.

“Silence!”

I roared at the panicked soldiers and observed the fortress city from afar.

“It is an unnatural shape. Should we assume that fortress city truly functions?”

“Something is lined up at regular intervals on top of the walls. There is no doubt those are for defense. It also appears there are human figures nearby.”

“…So they mean to hide there and strike with magic. Attacks by arrows or even stones are also possible.”

I touched my chin and grunted.

“A structure of that scale cannot have been completed in merely two or three years. Even if there had been an oversight, there is no way our kingdom’s intelligence corps could have failed to discover a fortress city of that scale.”

“That may be so, but… surely not that fortress city…?”

“We take it. What else should we do?”

When I said that, several knights furrowed their brows. I glared at their dissatisfied faces and spoke.

“There are no troops around that fortress city. That is certain from the wyvern’s report. In that case, we first test the fortress city’s defensive strength. If possible, we move on to seizing it. You have no objection to that, I assume.”
When I rephrased it that way, the cowardly knights seemed to accept it and fell silent.
Really, what useless soldiers they are. I shook my head and let out a sigh.