Erhard Asbach Yelenetta

“WHAT?!” I BELLOWED, SMACKING THE TABLE IN front of me.

The loud noise reverberated off the stone floor and walls. I glared at the messenger, who shrunk into himself. “I dare you to repeat your absurd report!”

“Y-yes sir! Werner Fortress to the southwest has fallen! After the border order retreated, we received word that only a fraction of Scuderia’s troops stayed behind, so our forces tried to retake the stronghold but failed! We’ve taken heavy casualties and our forces have retreated to the fortress city, Grosser, where they are reorganizing!”

“Impossible!” I threw the ceramic cup in my hand at the soldier who knelt in front of me. It hit his shoulder and he flinched. “An unfunny joke at best! To lose on all three battlefields after all that preparation was bad enough, and now you tell me we lost a fortress? Impossible, with weapons like ours!”

I smacked the table again, enraged. The messenger’s eyes remained fixed on the ground, his shoulders trembling and sweat dripping from his forehead to the floor. “M-my apologies. They had all sorts of formidable weapons on which we had received no intelligence. Weapons capable of neutralizing not only the black balls, but also our large wyverns. It is possible that someone has leaked information to—”

“Silence! I’ve already received that report thrice!” I roared.

“Y-yessir!” His voice came out in falsetto.

I tried, despite my fury toward this man, to get a grasp on the situation. With the support of the Solstice Empire, the supreme rulers of the Central Continent, I had plotted to take down Scuderia and make Yelenetta the reigning power on the continent of Grant. How could I do otherwise when presented with the black balls and cannons, weapons that did not require the help of mages to subjugate any enemy? Much like the Allied Nations of Hethel, which were sandwiched between the empire and the ocean, Yelenetta was forced into a disadvantageous alliance with Solstice. We could not oppose them. Even more pressing, however, was the steady rate at which Scuderia had increased its own power in recent years.

In defense of our nation, I’d purchased vast quantities of black balls and fire cannons. I’d even played nice with the Solstice Empire, all so I could rip territory from Scuderia’s hands. If I gained the empire’s support, I could acquire the means to develop the black balls myself—under certain conditions, anyway. My ultimate objective was to gain the power necessary to go toe to toe with the Solstice Empire.

How foolish that all seemed now that we had lost successive battles with Scuderia, a country not in possession of such advanced weaponry. We would be the laughingstock of anyone who heard of this. The act of fools, they would say.

I ground my teeth. How? How could this have happened?

When we first clashed with the Solstice Empire, the power of their black balls and cannons brought us to our knees. Their ranks included Chivalric Orders from the Allied Nations of Hethel, but frankly, the outcome would have been no different without them. The Solstice Empire itself was simply too strong. Their Chivalric Orders had lined up a horizontal row of twenty cannons, and each of their infantrymen was equipped with black balls. Even with high-tier elemental mages on our side, the best we could manage was to take out two of their cannons. Any attempt to destroy a third would be met with fire from a different cannon, causing heavy casualties.

We attacked with bows and charged them with our calvary, but nothing worked. Their heavy infantry were invulnerable behind their massive shields, rendering our attacks useless, and when we tried to force a clash, cannon fire battered us the moment we stopped moving. The cacophony of the black balls and cannons scared not only the horses but also the less experienced troops, robbing them of their will to fight. At that point, we were barely engaged in warfare anymore.

So we faced merciless defeat at the hands of the empire, forced to ally with them under their shameful terms. They turned Yelenetta into what amounted to a subservient vassal state. We had to pay one-sided tariffs on imports and exports, and while they forced their demands on us, we could not do the same to them.

The silver lining was that as an ally, we could receive support from the all-powerful empire in battle. The Solstice Empire promised aid to all of its allied nations because it led to more and more nations serving under it. The place had something of a ranking system; those nations allied directly with the empire were the first tier, those nations’ own allies were the second tier, and so on. Increasing the number of allied nations below your own rank could earn a nation preferable treatment when it came to taxes and commodities.

The empire didn’t call us subservient vassal states in so many words, but nor did it have to. The Solstice Empire would eventually control the world, so its allies rushed to include more countries under their own umbrellas. Hethel was no different in that respect, though the circumstances of its geographical location were unique: capable of acquiring smaller nations only one at a time, their ability to increase the ranks of allies under them was stymied.

For our part, after we lost to the empire and fell under their umbrella, we wasted no time marching to the small nations to the west and northwest and forcing them into alliances. Both nations then became second-tier allies. To Yelenetta’s east was Solstice, to the north was Hethel, and to the west were lower-level allied nations. The only enemy country bordering us was Scuderia.

They had always given us trouble, but with the empire’s military might, we would change that. Yelenetta would become the continent’s most powerful nation and amass more resources than even the empire. With the technology to make black balls and cannons, we could eventually tear the empire down from the world stage.

Or so I had thought.

“Why? How could this have happened?!” I felt dizzy with rage. I had worked so hard to carve out a good position for us among the allied nations, but at this rate we would lose ground and the empire would dispatch its own Chivalric Orders to handle things. That would endanger not only our position as an allied country, but our very existence. “I must crush Scuderia no matter what. It is the only way for us to survive!”

Cosworth Yelenetta

ALL MY YOUNGER BROTHERS, HAVING LOST THEIR respective battles, were captured by the enemy. When I received this report, the world went dark as fury consumed me.

“How could they lose with all those weapons and equipment? Not just the black balls—they had two-legged wyverns and earth dragons too!”

Without conscious awareness that I was doing so, I crushed the glass in my hand. The soldier who had come to deliver the report shuddered in fear at the shrill sound of shattering glass.

“W-well,” he said haltingly, “it appears that Scuderia has developed new weapons of their own. They also seem to have some kind of unnatural ability to construct strongholds…”

“What?” My tone was quiet. “Are you trying to tell me that the fortress cities located in Scudet, Marquis Fertio’s territory, and Count Ferdinatto’s territory were all stronger than we anticipated?”

The soldier shook his head. “N-no. I mean that they managed to build a fortress out of nowhere in less than a day. That is why Fortress Werner in the southwest has fallen. His Highness Prince Istana attempted to retake it but failed. He and his men have been forced back to the fortress city in the south.”

“Istana lost? Idiots like Unimog and the others I understand, but Istana? If that’s true, we must re-examine Scuderia’s combat strength. But this is absurd; small they may have been, but I have personally taken over two nations.” I snorted. “What idiots. I suppose this is simply proof that I am worthiest of the throne.”

The soldier nodded rapidly, attempting to flatter me. What a spineless man. I sighed and stood, combing back my hair. “We will return to the royal capital! I, Cosworth Yelenetta, the first prince of

Yelenetta, will take direct command of our forces. We will engage Scuderia in all-out war, and we will crush them!”

Istana Yelenetta

“HOW SHAMEFUL,” I PROCLAIMED. “WITH OUR OLDEST brother,

Cosworth, coming back, the rest of us are in the line of succession in name only. In the worst-case scenario, we might have to request aid from the Solstice Empire, and that would put the Kingdom of Yelenetta on the brink of disappearing altogether. Our struggle for succession will mean little. We cannot afford to lose again.”

Commander Hellenic, leader of the Chivalric Squad, pulled his chin in grimly. “Indeed. But if I may be frank, taking down that fortress city will be no easy task. It would be preferable, if possible, to retreat to the capital, gather our strength, and face the enemy elsewhere.”

He lowered his head, probably aware that his recommendation was futile. The man was suggesting that we flee to the capital after losing one of our most important strongholds, after all. Should Cosworth hear him speaking like this, Hellenic might well be thrown the executioner.

And yet, even knowing the risk he took, he offered his opinion. From my perspective, he was correct to do so. I said, “I doubt my older brother would be agreeable to that idea, but if we word it carefully, we may at least be able make the recommendation. Tell me, then, Commander Hellenic: in your opinion, what do we need to do to get out of this situation?”

Hellenic groaned, looking grim. At length, he said, “Commander Steyr went into battle with the newly deployed cannons and perished in the attempt to take back Werner Fortress. We took pains to catch the enemy by surprise with our new weapons, and we were soundly defeated. We put stock in the report that our enemy left only a skeleton crew at the fortress, but to hear the soldiers who fled tell it, Werner Fortress looks nothing like it used to. I believe this to be a consequence of their new and alarming construction abilities.”

“That much I understand. I want to hear more about this

‘elsewhere’ to which you referred earlier.”

Hellenic nodded firmly. “What I meant is that we need to create a situation in which the Scuderian army will be unable to build a stronghold. We need to return to how we waged war hundreds of years ago.”

I couldn’t help but frown and sigh. Long ago, countries waged wars without training soldiers to fight; instead they forced farmers and other ill-equipped workers into battle. That was why mages, who were powerful even without combining their forces, were so prized as combat resources. They were the terrors of the battlefield. That approach to warfare changed when Chivalric Orders, essentially professional soldiers, came into being, making it difficult for mages to wield their powers to their fullest extent. Consequently, the primary role of mages in battle shifted to long-range defensive combat fought from behind the tall walls of a stronghold. Combat in open fields, meanwhile, became the domain of the cavalry. For a time, that remained the standard method of waging war.

As nations fought over land, however, a new, more effective tactic emerged: adding mages to the cavalry. Not only did mages have mobility, they also had the attack power to alter the entire flow of a battle. In some cases armies could even hide their mages, preventing the enemy from identifying their location on the battlefield. With their ability to use magic on the move, they could also make it difficult for the enemy to defend smaller fortress cities. Capitals of large nations notwithstanding, it was nearly impossible to gather a group of elemental mages together, so most strongholds fell within a month of the first attack.

Multiple strategies were developed to deal with this new mobile threat, the most effective being the idea to plant traps along bridges, cliffs, and mountain roads in the path of the marching enemy. A surprise attack could thwart them before they even began their assault on a stronghold. Applied effectively, this tactic made defending against an invasion infinitely faster and easier.

Recalling these various popular strategies from the long history of war, I raised my head. “You want to plant traps for Scuderia and launch a surprise attack before they can penetrate any deeper into our territory?”

Hellenic gave me another decisive nod. “Precisely. Specifically, we should look at rivers. They can hardly transport their entire stronghold; we need only crush them before they can deploy their baffling construction skills. If we use the black balls to destroy a bridge they’re crossing, we can take advantage of the resulting confusion and launch magic attacks. Whatever madness they used to destroy our cannons will be ineffective against moving targets like horseback mages.”

“So we use traps to launch a surprise attack, then draw them into open-field combat…” I murmured, digesting his words. It was true that it would be fruitless to attack their fortress with cannons or black balls. Preventing them from building another in the first place was the correct move. “The only problem is whether or not Cosworth will bite.”

I sighed quietly, thinking about the hardship that was to come.

We need more hands, I thought, watching Dee direct defense training. A lot more hands.

“Left side! You’re taking too long to make a decision! You still lack comprehension of your enemy’s effective firing range! If we’re within range of the enemy, we’ll be forced into a battle of accuracy and speed! Accuracy and speed are key!”

“Yessir!”

Yes, I’d put Murcia in charge of this new stronghold, but I couldn’t just hand him the Seatoh Chivalric Order and go home. He had no experience leading them. Instead, I decided to leave Dee and Arb behind for a bit so that they could help Murcia manage the order. And it wasn’t just my men training under Dee and Arb; some of House Fertio’s knights—Murcia’s men—were there as well, about a hundred of them. Though I was a bit puzzled to see some of the adventurers who came along to protect us training with them too.

I kept one eye on them even as I turned to Rango, who had climbed up to the castle tower to see me. He was looking around with great interest, almost like a tourist. I said, “Um, are you finished bringing in the goods?”

Rango snapped to attention and turned to me. “Ah, yes. As requested, we’ve brought ten carriages of preserved foods, spices, and alcohol. We also have clothes, so you should be all set. We did not bring any weapons or armor, however. Is that okay?”

“No worries, I made those while I waited for you. We have tons of ballista bolts too, so we’re fine on that end.”

Rango nodded and offered me a strained smile. “Just as I’d expect of Lord Van.” He pointed at the floor then, as if he had just remembered something. “Oh, and Lord Van… Congratulations on acquiring new territory.”

Finally! Those should have been the first words out of his mouth as he entered the room. He was lucky Bell wasn’t present to be upset with him. I mirrored his strained smile. “Land is all well and good, but we need more hands. I think there are something like three thousand people living in Seatoh Village right now, and we need a thousand or so here. Well, truth be told, this stronghold is a cornerstone of our national defense, so we should have up to two thousand knights stationed here, but right now we can barely drum up three hundred people. But I can’t afford to chip away at Seatoh Village’s defenses either.” What was I to do?

Rango offered up an answer like it was nothing. “In your absence, the population has increased by another five hundred or so individuals, but that is still not nearly enough. If you’re in a rush, might I recommend purchasing more slaves? I am certain they would be much happier to live in Seatoh Village than to be shipped off elsewhere. They’ll likely be grateful.”

“Uh, do you really think so? I don’t want rumors going around that I looove buying slaves,” I said honestly. “I get the sense that people don’t exactly look fondly on those types.”

Rango flashed me a vague smile and shook his head. “Oh, no, not at all. This was a very common practice until a few years ago. Every time Scuderia acquired more territory, there would be an excess of war slaves, debt slaves, and orphans, and simultaneously a great number of places in need of more working hands due to the land expansion. It was normal in such cases to buy slaves and use them for labor.”

“So basically what I’ve been doing, then. Wait… If we’re doing battle with Yelenetta, does that mean the war is producing more slaves? You know, like people who’ve been made into POWs?”

Rango frowned and tilted his head. “Well, there appears to have been a significant increase in slaves following both the fight to take back Scudet and the battle in House Ferdinatto’s territory, but I would not recommend war slaves. Both Seatoh Village and this new stronghold will become front lines in the war against Yelenetta. Such slaves might betray you, so I would recommend against their purchase. Personally, I think you should look into debt slaves and people who were kidnapped by bandits.”

“I see. In that case, maybe I’ll have you pick out a few slaves who seem like good people. Could you also ask around and see if any merchants are willing to go back and forth between Seatoh

Village and Fortress City Murcia?”

“Understood. By the way, have you settled on Fortress City Murcia as the name of this place? Unless I’m misremembering, I recall one of your family members being named Murcia.”

“That’s right! I put my big brother, Murcia, in charge. He’s currently in the process of assembling his very own Murcia Chivalric Order,” I replied. Rango nodded with an awkward look on his face.

Just then, I heard someone clear their throat from behind me. “Huh?” I turned around to find Murcia standing there, looking conflicted. “The Murcia Chivalric Order aside, I don’t recall hearing anything about this stronghold being called Fortress City Murcia,” he whispered in a voice tinged with displeasure.

This is bad. He might get mad at me. Seeing the writing on the wall, I arranged my features in an apologetic look and played the adorable little brother. “Oh, gosh! I thought you’d be happy… I’m so sorry. I picked the name because I was thinking this would be the start of your very own legend. I just wanted you to be happy,” I said sadly.

Murcia started to panic, waving both hands in the air. “Oh, no,

I’m not upset at all! It’s just a little embarrassing for me…”

“Really? Then you’re good with Fortress City Murcia and the Murcia Chivalric Order?”

“H-huh? Um, well—”

“Thank you, Murcia!” I chirped, cutting off his escape route as he struggled to find the words with which to decline. My poor, kind older brother had no choice but to offer me a stiff smile.

Behind me, I heard Till’s voice. “Even I feel a little bad for him…”