I Am the Monarch – Chapter 66: War and more war (4)

 

“Uak!”

These were cries that resounded in your ears .
A fatty, who had his neck sliced open, walked two steps and collapsed .
Clark trembled and stepped back .

‘Ho, how……’

He couldn’t believe the scene in front of him .

‘How are the **** of Rinse kingdom…… . . ’

The **** approached them while holding spears and swords .
It was revealed that they were the soldiers from rose troop, of the 7th corps of Rinse kingdom .

‘Why are you **** over here!’

Clark wanted to yell like that .

‘I know that there aren’t any troops stationed over here…… . . ’

He was certain .
Because it was something he had studied over and over for more than a month .

‘It just seems like they already knew of our surprise attack . ’

Clark grinded his teeth .
HIs teeth clashed without stopping .
His breath was clogged at the fear of not knowing if he was going to die .

‘Damn . I wanted to make Beno castle fall faster than anyone . ’

He thought that Rinse kingdom wouldn’t have made any preparations .
But that wasn’t only Clark’s thoughts .
Everyone thought like that and thought that the battle would flow normally .

‘Wrong . We were wrong . ’

Then, he felt a chilly presence when he was stepping back .
Clark stopped and turned around .

“Huk!”

He saw a spear that was right in front of his nose .
Clark couldn’t endure it and fell down .

“Are you the troop commander?”

The owner of the voice was someone with a spear .
Clark looked up while he was on the ground .
It was a childish face but had a somewhat rugged charm .
He was none other than Roan .

“Reveal your name and unit . ”

Roan brought his spear to Clark’s forehead .

“Kugh . ”

Clark frowned .
He had already resigned everything .

“I’m troop commander Clark of Pier troop of the 1st corps of Istel kingdom . ”

Clark honestly revealed his unit .

‘It certainly was the Pier troop . ’

The soldiers of rose troop who were surrounding him along with Roan smiled faintly and nodded .

“Did you know that we were going to attack?”

Clark regretted having asked that to Roan .

‘Someone who’s soon going to die has asked a meaningless question . ’

He smiled bitterly .

“Let me know the name of the **** who will take my head . ”

Roan looked at Clark’s eyes fixedly and put strength into his wrist .

Swush .

The spear soared high to the sky .

“My name is Roan . I’m the vice troop commander of rose troop of the 7th corps . ”

At the same time, the spear fell towards Clark’s head .
Clark listened to the sharp noise and closed his eyes .

Slash .

The spear instantly cut off his neck .
The body that lost its head slowly fell over .

Boom .

Roan shook his spear and waved the blood off .
The cries and yells in his surrounding had now calmed down .

‘The first battle is a complete victory . ’

A smile appeared on his face .
The beginning of the war started off on a good foot .

‘At this point, the news of an infiltration attempt from Istel kingdom would have reached the eastern headquarters . ’

Now that the situation turned out like this, even the stupid Benjamin wouldn’t be able to just sit still .

‘Even so, as Count Lancephil moved first, we could cover up some big holes we had in our defensive lines . ’

Aaron reported this to Io instead of Benjamin, and Io lead the knights himself after confirming the situation and marched .

‘But it’s still lacking . ’

To face Istel kingdom, he needed the forces of the eastern region and also an army provided by the palace .

‘We will hold until then . ’

He didn’t need a complete victory like this one; to the point of completely massacring their enemies .
They just needed to tie their feet to not let them advance deeper in towards the kingdom .
But even so, it wasn’t that they had leisure in terms of time .

‘Byron kingdom would also have started advancing…… . ’

Although they also crossed the boundaries, they were advancing while riding the eastern boundary .

‘It would be to join with Istel kingdom . ’

Roan took in a deep breath .

‘The 3rd and 4th corps have to do well……’

He hatched a plan after having a conference with Aaron before the war started .
And that was that the 3rd and 4th corps had to face Byron kingdom in the north while the eastern region battled against Istel kingdom .
But of course, they didn’t have to battle with putting their lives on the line .

<Battle 20 times and lose them all . >

Their objective was pulling them into a deep part of the northern region .
There were two things he could gain by losing every battle .

‘I will make them be off guard . ’

But what was more important .

‘We have to make the supply line as long as possible . ’

If they pulled Byron kingdom deep inside their territory, they could only get further away from their provisions .
This was because of the speed difference of the troops and the movement speed of the supplies .
Because of that, the supply line gets longer and their military forces becomes thinner .
That was the point Roan was aiming for .

‘If the warriors of the north attack them there…… . . ’

Byron kingdom would fall in chaos .
No, it wasn’t only chaos .

‘A troop without supplies can’t continue doing war . ’

Supplies were that important in a war .
But of course, it wasn’t an important plan .
The moment one of his small plans deviated, Rinse kingdom would have brought a tiger to their den .

‘They have to accomplish their respective roles well . ’

Then, a familiar voice was heard from his back .

“Roan . It’s a complete victory . Complete victory . ”

As he turned back, he saw Gale and Keniss approaching him .
They were slightly inspired at the complete victory .

“Where do we have to move next?”

Gale asked while looking at the battlefield .
Roan replied in a low voice .

“We have to wait until the information squad arrives . ”
“Ah, information squad . Right . Right . ”

Gale let out a low exclamation and nodded .
He looked at Roan’s face .

‘Information squad… . . Was there a person that made that and even used it in a war?’

When he first heard that Roan wanted to make an information squad, he couldn’t easily understand it .
Because he thought that just using the patrolling guards were enough .
On top of that, he thought that it was nonsense to make a non battling squad when they were already at a disadvantage in numbers .
But when they made the information squad as per Roan’s opinion, they could only get amazed at their role .

‘Although they can’t figure out all of the information, they are able to grasp their movements . ’

Having waited in ambush beforehand at the moving route of Pier troop was also because of the strength of information .
He looked at Roan with amazed eyes .

‘He’s looking at me like that again…… . ’

Roan smiled awkwardly and looked away .
Nowadays, whatever happened, he always looked at him with those eyes .
Amazement, respect, awareness .
But of course there was envy, annoyance, and jealousy mixed in at times, but those were scarce .
Roan was receiving an overwhelming support from everyone .

‘Anyways, it seems like it was a good thing to make an information agency . ’

In the first place he was planning to utilize Chris and his staff to gather and analyze information .
But for a normal person, that wasn’t a soldier, to roam the battlefield was one of the most dangerous things to do .
Because of that, he chose soldiers that had good eyesight and were nimble to make an information squad .

‘Mister Pens is leading them well . ’

The squad commander wasn’t a soldier, but a staff of Chris’s agency, Pens .

‘After this, I will have to make Chris’s travel agency a formal information agency . ’

The significance of information will be seen the more time has passed .
Before that, he needed a more systematic organization .

‘The time to start the agency has come . ’

The best information group that grabbed all the information in the continent in his past life .
The agency .
The time came to make the first step .

*****

Chris was fruitful in gathering information about Istel kingdom because of the use of the agency and information squad .
Fortunately, their movements weren’t that different to Roan’s memories .
Roan’s memories and the information gathered together .
The two things were combined and made a more precise and valuable information .
Because of that, the 7th corps and the other three corps could set up a defensive line before hand in Istel Kingdom’s attack line .
After four days of having set up wooden fences and strong barricades, did the people of Istel kingdom appear .
Their numbers were as much as 80,000 .
Compared to that, the amount of the four troops were as much as 30,000 .

“Amazing . ”

Aaron was astounded .
Even the other corps commanders gulped down dry saliva .
What was fortunate was that the location of their barricade was good .
No, precisely speaking, the location of Istel kingdom’s camp was bad .
They could only take place somewhere in the empty plain because Rinse kingdom had already set up their barricade .

“It’s just like Roan’s information and the report of the information agency . ”

Aaron glared at the end of the plains with a satisfied expression .
He was amazed once again at Roan’s ability and quick eye .
Then, Mendel appeared with an urgent expression .

“Corps commander . ”

Aaron and several corps commanders had turned their head and looked at Mendel .
Mendel continued saying with a stiffened expression .

“30 . 000 soldiers of the eastern army arrived at the Nerf region . ”

Nerf region was one day away from here, Bink region .

“Ah……”

The corps commanders exclaimed and put on relieved expressions .
But Mendel’s expression was still hard .
And Aaron didn’t miss that .

“It seems like something happened . ”
“That… . . ”

Mendel chewed his lower lip and hesitated .
And then, spoke with a slightly agitated expression .

“The eastern army set up a camp in the region of Nerf . ”

In that instant, the corps commanders frowned .

“What?!”
“What did you say?”

They had expressions as if they couldn’t believe it .
For their allies to set up a camp in a region that was a day away from this place, that already had a camp set up .
It was something they couldn’t understand at all .

“Commander Aaron . If the eastern army set up a camp in the region of Nerf, shouldn’t we also fall back?”
“Oho . Do you think that makes sense? Will the enemies just sit still while we retreat over to the region of Nerf?”

The commanders discussed among themselves and pondered .
And Aaron was also the same .

‘Benjamin Doyle . You really are a pain in the **** . ’

Benjamin had big ambitions, but was too frightened .
He certainly would have gotten scared at the 80,000 soldiers of Istel kingdom and set up a camp in their rear .

‘Retreat? Or protect this place? Whatever we do, it isn’t a good situation . ’

Then, Mendel’s voice was heard .

“How about calling Roan?”
“Roan?”

Aaron turned his head and looked at Mendel .
Mendel swallowed down dry saliva and nodded .

“Yes . If it’s Roan, won’t he have something good?”
“Mmm . Right . If it’s Roan…… . . ”

Aaron touched his chin and nodded .

“Good . Call him . ”
“Yes . Understood . ”

Mendel deeply bowed and left .
The commanders that were discussing looked at Aaron .

“Who’s Roan?”
“I hear that name a lot… . . ”
“Ah! Is he the soldier that received a corps commander level badge…… . ?”

At those words Aaron nodded .

“That’s right . Ale gorge battle, Pedian monster subjugation tactic, Int’s forest battle, Prely river inundation tactic, Slen battle, and the invasion of Istel kingdom and Byron kingdom . These distinguished merits were all accomplished by vice troop commander Roan . ”
“Ah… . . ”

The commanders exclaimed out loud .

‘So he’s outstanding in strategies and tactics?’
‘They say his spear skills are also amazing . ’
‘There’s a rumour that he went toe to toe with Viscount Baker . ’

The commanders glanced at each other and had a smile mixed with expectation .
After a while, the door opened and Roan appeared .

‘This childish youth is that Roan?’
‘He’s much smaller than what I thought . ’
‘I heard that he was young, but he’s a complete greenhorn . ’

The smiles on their faces disappeared .
An uneasy look appeared again .

‘I was also like that at first . ’

Aaron looked at them and bitterly smiled .

‘But they will soon be amazed at Roan’s abilities . ’

Just like him from the past .

“Did you call me?”

Roan saluted towards Aaron .
After Aaron nodded, he told him the truth that Benjamin set up a camp in the region of Nerf .
Roan bowed with a composed expression .

‘Benjamin Doyle . You are making things really difficult . ’

However, he had kind of expected that the scaredy cat would have set up a camp at their rear .

‘The problem is whether Istel kingdom set up a camp in the region of Bink, just like the analysis of the information squad . ’

The result .

‘Fortunately, it’s like we guessed . ’

Then, there was no need to worry .

“The situation isn’t good . Do you have a good method to deal with them?”

This was Aaron’s question .
Roan replied as if he was waiting for it .

“We have to prepare for a night raid . ”

At that instant, Aaron and the other commanders all frowned .

“Night raid?”
“Did he say night raid?”
“Are you telling me that Istel kingdom will launch a night raid?”

They all laughed .

‘They say that rumours tend to be excessive………’
‘The merits he had accumulated until now would all have been a bluff . ’

The commanders looked at Roan and shook their heads .
Then Philip Hass, who was the commander of the 5th corps and the one with the most experience, clicked his tongue .

“Tchtchtch . Look . Don’t you know that it has already been nine days since they crossed the boundary?”
“Yes . I know . ”

Roan bowed .
The person who had reported that Istel kingdom had crossed the boundary was right himself .
Philip continued saying as if he was rebuking .

“An army consisting of 80,000 appeared in Bink region nine days ago . It’s quite a fast, no, a movement speed so fast you can’t even imagine it . ”
“Right . ”

The other commanders all nodded .
Phillip looked at Roan’s eyes fixedly .

“This means that they slept and ate the least amount possible and moved night and day . It means that it’s an amazing forced march . But they attempt a night raid the moment they set up a camp? Do you think that’s possible?”

He was making fun of him .
The other commanders also laughed .

“Hahaha . It seems like he doesn’t know about these things as he hasn’t faced a war this big yet . ”
“Now that I see it, the merits he accumulated were all done while facing the ignorant monsters . ”

They were pouring out cynical remarks .
But there wasn’t any change in Roan’s expression .
He pointed at the end of the plains with his finger .
The camp of Istel kingdom .

“Look at their camp . ”

At those words, they stopped laughing and turned to look at the camp .
80,000 soldiers had set up camps while scattered about .

“Even if their number is amazing, the structure of their camp is too sloppy . This is just like they set it up however it turned out . ”

Roan’s words were true .
Although it was difficult to set up a camp because the numbers were big, even taking that into account, their camp was excessively unsteady .
Aaron mumbled as if he thought of something .

“That feels like they just camped down temporarily . ”

At those words Roan nodded .

“That’s right . They aren’t thinking of staying in that place for long . ”

Then, Philips said .

“Ho! Did you judge that they will make a night raid just by looking that? Just with that one reason?”

He clicked his tongue and shook his head .
Even the other commanders didn’t falter .
However Roan’s expression was still composed .
He gave Aaron a pile of papers .

“Will you look at this?”
“What’s this?”
“Information about the generals of Istel kingdom . ”

At those words Aaron looked at the paper with a surprised look .

‘When did he……… . ’

There was information written about important commanders on it .
But of course, it wasn’t minute and detailed information .
Their outlines, outer appearances, descriptions, and temperaments .
There also was information written about what merits they had achieved .

‘Although I couldn’t gather internal information, it was made up with the stories of the citizens as the background, but just with that, it became amazing information . ’

It was information Chris and his agency gathered themselves while they were preparing for war .
For this they roamed pubs, plazas, slums, brothels, and also markets .
The newly made information that squad soldiers roamed these places and received the role of checking how well this information matched with the reports .

“Commander Aaron . Why are you that surprised?”
“Let me see . ”

The commanders stuck themselves next to Aaron .

“Oho!”
“This is really amazing . ”

The commanders gulped air .
Roan said as if he was waiting for it .

“The commander in charge of leading the army is Looter Beil . You will know if you see the reports but he…… . ”

The commanders all turned to look at Roan .

“He has a really strong fighting spirit . Looter Bale has already tried surprise attacks and night raids along the Aimas alliance . ”

At those words everyone nodded .
The report was certainly written like that .

‘Even in my past life, Looter Baile decided to go with a night raid when he first met with Rinse kingdom . ’

Although the time and place were different, Looter was a commander that had that tendency .
The tendency of the commander and the structure of the camp .
On top of that, Roan’s memories .
The possibility for a night raid was plentiful .

“Hmm . ”

Philip smacked his lips and cleared his throat .
He had a somewhat uncomfortable look .

“Then, you are saying that we have to prepare for a night raid, right?”

Anyways, preparing for a night raid wasn’t that big of a thing .
On top of that, if they prepared for it but nothing happened, there wasn’t that big of a loss .

‘If I keep insisting here but they do make a night raid…… . . ’

They would rather face large losses .
The commanders all turned to look at Roan .
Roan matched their sights and shook his head .

“No . We have to prepare for one more thing . ”

At those words, Philip frowned .

“We have to prepare for one more thing?”
“Yes . ”

Roan replied shortly and took in a deep breath .
He wanted to bring the flow of this battlefield to Rinse kingdom .
Roan continued saying while looking at the faces of the commanders .

“We have to prepare for a counter raid . ”

< War and more war (4) > End

 

Translator’s note: Sponsored chapter! This one, the next one and almost all of the following chapter has been sponsored by J . G . So give him a big applause!

Thank you for reading!

Translator : Subak

Proofreader: st8_lupe .