“Father!”
The knight who called out and approached looked very similar to Arnold. He had the appearance of a younger Arnold, as though he had been made younger by about two decades.
“Frederick… I see, you were here as well.”
“Yes, my division, the First Division of the Kingdom Army, is currently a central force in this war.”
From the tone and the way they interacted, it was clear what their relationship was.
“Noein, I told you before that my eldest son was working in the Kingdom Army to undergo training. This is that eldest son. His name is Frederick.”
“I’ve heard of your achievements through letters from my father, Lord Earlkvist. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Noein shook hands with Frederick.
“I heard that a small squad from the Kingdom Army, including you, was assigned to defend Barrel Fortress. Could that be you?”
“Yes. When I heard that my brother-in-law, Lord Earlkvist, was stationed at the fortress, I volunteered for this mission.”
When asked by his father, Frederick explained this.
“I had heard about Lord Frederick from Lord Arnold, but I didn’t realize he was from the First Division… This is quite reassuring.”
“Haha, I’m flattered to hear that. I may be young, but I’ll do my best to show that I can be relied on.”
The Kingdom Army, being a standing army directly under the royal family, is composed of ten divisions, with the First Division being known as an elite force. Being part of it as a knight means that Frederick is one of the highest-ranking elites in the military.
“I’ll take care of the detailed explanation about Lord Earlkvist. Father, please go to your assigned post.”
“Understood. Take care, then… both of you, don’t die out there.”
“Yes, father, may you have good fortune as well.”
“Lord Arnold, please be safe.”
Exchanging words of safety, Noein and the others moved to their respective posts.
…..
“Lord Earlkvist, these are the conscripted soldiers we are to oversee.”
Guided by Frederick, Noein, accompanied by his own troops, arrived to find a large group of beastmen assembled. They wore shabby clothes, looking at first glance like mere poor farmers.
Their weapons were a mix of spears, clubs, and others, with many lacking armor. At best, some wore leather chest guards.
There were more than 200 of them. About ten soldiers, seemingly Frederick’s subordinates, were organizing them into ranks.
“The Kingdom Army, including myself, has three cavalry and seven infantry, a total of one squad. Along with 214 conscripted beastmen, and your Earlkvist territory soldiers, this is the full force for the defense of Barrel Fortress… most of them are beastmen farmers. Some are even slaves. Were you disappointed?”
“I don’t have any prejudice against beastmen, so I’m fine with that… though the composition is rather extreme.”
The trained soldiers, combining the Kingdom Army and Earlkvist territory forces, numbered only 40. The rest were beastmen farmers, making the unit’s composition notably unbalanced.
“Lord Behtolshausen seemed to want to give Lord Earlkvist a chance to shine, so he assigned as many conscripted soldiers as possible, especially to make use of the crossbows you brought. However, the South-Western faction was not pleased with assigning over 200 conscripted soldiers to a mere baron, so…”
“As a compromise, the conscripts ended up all being beastmen, I take it?”
“Exactly. The South-Western faction disliked the beastmen and pushed them onto the North-Western nobility, while Lord Behtolshausen could give Lord Earlkvist many conscripts… a win-win situation for both sides.”
“I see. So, do you think the numbers will be enough for the fortress defense?”
“Barrel Fortress is the smallest of the six front-line fortresses, and it is located further in. The higher-ups must have judged that this force would suffice. I mostly agree with that assessment.”
“That’s good to hear. Also, I’m younger than you, and since you are my brother-in-law, please feel free to use casual speech with me.”
“In that case… I’ll speak casually with you. Lord Noein, feel free to treat me as an older friend and relax around me.”
“Understood. I’ll call you Frederick, then.”
Having settled their distance, Frederick and Noein then moved on to meet the main members of the team.
From the Earlkvist territory forces, it was Noein, Yuri, and Pence. From the Kingdom Army, it was Frederick and his deputy. From the conscripts, it was the representatives: a lion-man and a rat-man.
“Now, I will serve as the commanding officer. Lord Noein, you will be my equal… for now, let’s consider you a strategist. The sergeant-major, the deputy, and my subordinates will fight alongside the conscripts and help them when necessary. As for you, the beastmen representatives… what are your names?”
“I am Boreas.”
“I am Zinozze.”
The lion-man and the rat-man introduced themselves.
“I see. You two will be responsible for managing all the beastmen outside of combat. Make sure they don’t let their guard down too much or, conversely, become overly tense.”
At Frederick’s words, Boreas and Zinozze silently nodded.
“That’s the plan… Lord Noein, I’ll take command for now, is that acceptable?”
“Yes. I have no real experience in actual warfare, so I’ll leave it to you.”
“I see… good to hear.”
When Noein responded, Frederick’s expression softened with relief.
“Do many nobles object to deferring command like this in such situations?”
“Ah, many sons of noble families tend to want to take charge despite their lack of experience… When peers compete, it can sometimes lead to troublesome situations. I’m glad that Lord Noein is a noble who understands things.”
“I won’t rush into actions or try to show off, so please rest assured. I believe I will be an easy subordinate to manage.”
As Noein smiled, Frederick responded with a slight wry smile.
…
The main force of the Lordberg Kingdom is 18,000 soldiers. The Marquis of Galdwin from the southwest faction, the Marquis of Beichtolsheim from the northwest faction, and the commander of the first army of the kingdom each command 6,000 troops.
On the opposing side, the main force of the Lanceel Kingdom is estimated to be about 12,000. With 1.5 times the number of troops, and the addition of a considerable number of crossbows— a new weapon—it is widely believed that the Lordberg Kingdom will not lose.
This is the force assigned to the southern border, while the northern border’s fortress region will have 5,000 of the Lordberg army guarding 12 forts.
The Lanceel Kingdom’s force in the north is estimated to be around 3,000. It is assumed that these forces will split into several units to approach each fortress for an assault.
“—So, it is expected that the most we’ll face at once will be twice as many enemies. In a siege or fort defense, the defending side is overwhelmingly advantageous. With such odds, it’s highly unlikely we’ll be defeated.”
While instructing the soldiers to prepare to move to Barrel Fortress, Frederick explained the full scope of the operation to Noein.
“Then, does that mean we simply need to endure until the main force decides the outcome?”
“Yes. The enemy is unlikely to fully commit to the siege of the fortress. Our job is to create a stalemate and prevent the enemy from attacking our main force’s sides or rear.”
“Do you have an estimate on when the main force’s decision will be made?”
“According to the higher-ups, it should take about two weeks at most… They believe this is reasonable, as drawing it out would only exhaust both sides’ resources.”
While the two of them were talking, preparations for the move continued. The Kingdom’s regular army and the Earlkvist territory forces, well-trained, moved with precision, while the Beastmen were moving more slowly.
It was clear they were not being careless, but appeared fatigued, as if their bodies were struggling to keep up.
“…The Beastmen seem a little exhausted even before the fight starts.”
“The south is where Beastmen discrimination is harshest. They were probably the first to suffer the effects of the deteriorating situation. They can’t be in good spirits… Most of those gathered here likely chose to enlist as soldiers rather than starve as refugees.”
The Beastmen were mostly composed of large species like lionmen, tigerfolk, and oxmen, about half of them. The rest were smaller species like catfolk, rabbitfolk, and ratmen. About thirty percent were women, a larger proportion than Noein had expected.
Seeing that Frederick didn’t insult or strike the slow-moving Beastmen, it was clear that he was a northern-born human who was tolerant of Beastmen.
Though a little slow, the preparations were steadily progressing, so Noein expected that they would be able to depart for Barrel Fortress without issue… but things did not go as planned.
