CHAPTER 69: I have no choice but to change the game myself (5)

"What?! Annihilated?! How could the supply unit be wiped out?!"

In his lavish tent, Count Tamos Digald raged, pacing furiously.

Perdium had already abandoned open battle and retreated within the castle.

Now they'd have to start a siege, but without a supply unit, they couldn't drag it out for long.

"That fool Fabro! I should never have entrusted him with the unit! To be ambushed by mere Perdium?!"

Fabro was the head of the largest faction among Digald's vassals.

So, despite his incompetence, Tamos had reluctantly put him in charge of the supply unit, but he hadn't anticipated such a blunder.

In fact, he'd never imagined that Perdium would have the nerve to attempt an ambush at all.

"How could they even have the resources to pull off an ambush?"

It was common knowledge that the smaller an army's strength, the harder it was to risk such bold strategies.

The risk of failure was too great.

A sensible commander would never attempt it.

'Ugh, damn it! If this keeps up, even if we win, we won't have enough troops to control the territory.'

The supply unit had been composed entirely of Digald's own troops, making the loss severe.

What was meant to save resources by sending them to the rear had backfired terribly.

"Calm yourself, Count."

Beside Tamos, a large, stern-looking man sat with his arms crossed.

His name was Viktor.

He was a trusted and skilled man whom Count Desmond had trained rigorously.

"How am I supposed to stay calm? Most of the rocks for the catapults were being transported by the supply unit. We don't have many left here."

"That's unfortunate, but we only need to bring down one or two sections of the wall. We still have the siege towers and the main army intact, so it's not an issue."

"Still, if this takes too long, won't we struggle? We only have a few days' worth of provisions."

Tamos was deeply uneasy about the siege.

With no war experience, he couldn't wrap his head around tactics or strategy.

"I intended to end this in one swift strike. Perdium isn't prepared to defend themselves properly."

"Hmm, and how do you know that?" Tamos asked, puzzled. Viktor smirked, his face full of mockery.

"From experience. Just know this will be over quickly, so there's no need to worry."

"Well, if that's the case, then good! Hahaha."

Their forces were overwhelming; they'd finish this easily, whether through a battle or a siege.

While he chuckled, Tamos cursed Viktor inwardly.

'Arrogant wretch. Speaking to a count like that when he's just a mere knight.'

As their conversation continued, Tamos's irritation grew, though he hid it.

The actual command of the main army lay with Viktor, not Tamos.

"Do you think we'll finish before Count Loges sends reinforcements?"

"They won't make it here."

Amelia had already blocked the route from Perdium to the Loges territory.

"Haha, Count Desmond thought of everything. Those fools at Perdium—if they had any sense, they'd have allied with other lords the moment they got their hands on those rune stones."

Tamos sneered as he continued.

"Well, at least we can crush them before Perdium grows too big. Gilmore's death wasn't in vain after all. A troublesome son, but in the end, he did one final duty as my child. What a good lad."

Gilmore's death wasn't of much concern to him. He could always have another son.

What mattered was that, once this war ended, he could rise to be a great lord.

'It's a pity we'll have to split the Forest of Demonic Beasts, but... it can't be helped.'

In return for lending troops, Desmond had demanded half the rights to develop the Forest of Demonic Beasts.

Since Digald couldn't have attacked Perdium on its own, Tamos had agreed, albeit grudgingly.

Of course, once he was stronger with the rune stones, he planned to find a way to oust Desmond.

As he indulged in visions of his future, Tamos said casually.

"Well, I'm just a bit concerned… We might lack the manpower to stabilize Perdium afterward, even if we recruit more right away…"

"We'll lend you some troops after the occupation."

"Haha, much appreciated. I'll be sure to repay Count Desmond's generosity."

Tamos finally looked relaxed as he laughed again, his spirits lifted.

Viktor matched his smile, concealing the murderous glint in his eyes.

'Foolish man. As soon as Perdium is conquered, you'll be dead too.'

Tamos was meant to "unfortunately perish" during the war.

That would leave only Tamos's second son as heir to Digald, a decision that would rest in Count Desmond's hands.

'The loss of the supply unit turned out to be a stroke of luck.'

They would have destroyed those troops anyway; Perdium had just done the job for them.

'Still, it's surprising. Was it Randolph? Or Zwalter? Not that it matters. They'll all die anyway.'

Viktor ceased his musings and stood.

"I'll be off. We're nearly at Perdium, so prepare yourself."

"Yes, of course."

Once outside, Viktor scanned the encampment slowly.

This formidable army of six thousand was composed of elite soldiers, each one of them capable and well-equipped.

Among them stood siege towers, expensive constructs that smaller territories would rarely even see.

"With this force, even Rayfold could be wiped out in one blow."

It was a force strong enough to threaten even Rayfold, one of the great northern lords.

Perdium, in contrast, was insignificant.

This campaign was nothing more than an afterthought, something to handle lightly and move on from.

No matter how much Perdium struggled, its fate was already sealed.

"Yet another house on the path to ruin," he murmured indifferently.

The fact that Count Desmond had sent him only meant one thing: to cut off the enemy's last breath completely and thoroughly.

And he had the skills to do it.

After all, he was the finest knight in the North.

***

"Caught another one."

Bernaph bowed his head as he reported to Amelia.

Amelia sat under her tent, looking utterly bored.

"How many now?"

"Five so far."

"Keep the other routes secure. Don't let even one slip past."

"Yes, my lady."

"This is so dull."

Amelia had blocked every route to Loges and was currently intercepting Perdium's messengers.

Although she had reluctantly agreed to help at Count Desmond's request, spending her time here just to catch a few messengers grated on her pride.

She could feel irritation slowly building within her.

"Meow."

Bastet, her cat, also seemed bored, yawning in her lap.

Bernaph looked down with a gloomy expression.

'Ahh, I wish I could enjoy myself beside her.'

Amelia's maids fanned her, and platters of assorted fruits were within her reach.

Even as she ordered her soldiers to intercept the messengers, she lounged as if on a picnic.

After a while, her soldiers brought in another dead messenger.

Watching them, Amelia grumbled with annoyance.

"Ugh, how many are they sending? Count Perdium sure is persistent."

It made sense, given that his territory was on the verge of collapse, but to her, it was nothing more than a meaningless struggle.

"Sometimes, it's best to just give up like a man when things look hopeless. The son and the father—neither of them is any different. Tsk, tsk."

She was already aware that the war had broken out.

To her, it was a minor regret. She'd have liked to personally take Ghislain's head.

"And losing those rune stones is unfortunate. If Count Desmond gets his hands on them, it won't be easy to reclaim them."

The rune stones were what she wanted most of all.

But her forces weren't yet strong enough to take on Count Desmond.

"Well, I'll just wait for the right chance and take them later."

She had no intention of letting those rune stones go.

Just as Amelia was planning her next move, a messenger arrived, shouting urgently.

"Young lady! Urgent news!"

"What now?"

With an irritated look, she took the message the messenger handed her.

"The supply unit was wiped out?" Amelia frowned as she read.

"They're planning to hold a siege?"

With the supply unit destroyed, it seemed Perdium had shut themselves inside the castle, hoping to wait the attackers out until reinforcements arrived.

To her, intercepting those reinforcements, the plan seemed laughable.

By the time Count Loges received any message, it would be over.

"Are they really betting their lives on that tiny hope against a massive army? Do they plan to survive through sheer willpower?"

She couldn't help but laugh.

If it were up to her, she'd do things differently.

Abandoning the people and the castle, she'd have pulled her forces out for guerrilla warfare.

With supplies cut off, Desmond, with all he had at stake, would eventually have to retreat.

To Amelia, Count Perdium's determination to protect his people seemed inefficient.

Win the war, and the people could be reclaimed; they only had to endure a brief hardship.

"Such a soft heart. Doesn't he realize that such sentimentality only leads to more death?"

From her perspective, this plan was tantamount to mutual suicide.

Amelia was about to toss the letter aside when she paused.

"Something feels off. This smells fishy."

Whenever anything related to Perdium—or Ghislain in particular—was involved, things never seemed to go smoothly.

"What's suspicious about it?"

Ignoring Bernaph's puzzled look, Amelia thought for a moment and then issued orders.

"Send more men toward Perdium. Tell them to return immediately with news as soon as the battle ends. And keep a close eye on how it unfolds."

"Is that necessary? With such a difference in strength, it would be harder to lose than to win."

Amelia shot Bernaph a look of irritation.

"Do as I say. Something's strange."

"…Understood."

A strange feeling kept nagging at her.

'There's no way Ghislain would sit idly by. He'd never follow conventional tactics or simply do as he's told. Never.'

Amelia had lost twenty thousand gold to Ghislain and even attempted an assassination, which had failed.

She had tried to undermine his standing by cutting off Perdium's support, only for that plan to collapse.

Disliking him was one thing, but she wasn't foolish enough to ignore the lessons experience had taught her.

'That bastard must be up to something, something I can't even imagine.'

An ominous sense kept pricking at the back of her mind.

Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling, Amelia shook her head.

"Just get things moving quickly. Send several people to keep an eye out, just in case."

Bernaph nodded.

"Well, I must say, that was a bold move, cutting off their supplies with an ambush. Not everyone would take such a risk."

"Indeed."

Amelia responded half-heartedly, but Bernaph, encouraged by her response, continued.

"It must have been Count Perdium, right? Or maybe Knight Commander Randolph? Perhaps the two of them went together."

Amelia suddenly burst into laughter.

"What's funny, my lady?"

"Do you really think it was those two?"

"Wasn't it? Who else could have done it?"

Amelia snorted.

"Randolph is certainly brave and reckless, but on the battlefield, he's only good for swinging a sword. He lacks the mind to even think of cutting off supplies with an ambush. If he tried, he'd likely bungle it and fail."

"Then, Count Perdium?"

"Count Perdium is a fairly capable commander, but he isn't the type to gamble his soldiers' lives. That's why he's been able to hold the northern fortress for so long."

"Then who… could it be?"

The ambush had succeeded, but it was, objectively, a reckless gamble.

And Perdium had one madman who would do something like that without hesitation.

Amelia curled one corner of her mouth up in a cold smile.

"Yes. It was Ghislain, that bastard, without a doubt."

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