Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight Volume 6

by Hyougetsu

  Everyone wanted to be granted land so that they and their families could take it easy, so they hung on to my every word. Perfect, I’ve got them listening. Lord Peiti looked hesitantly up at me and asked, “But if Prince Ivan manages to take the throne, won’t we become the traitors?”

  “If he wins, the Originia and Kastoniev families will take up arms to put down the rebel that stole the crown from the Schwerin family.”

  We’d have a pretext to fight against the Doneiks. However...it was debatable whether or not we had the numbers to win. I didn’t know exactly how large the rebel army was, but if all of North Rolmund’s lords were supporting Prince Ivan, it might be as large as 100,000 men. Since this was the off-season for farmers, Prince Ivan could conscript all the able-bodied men he wanted. Though if he really had raised an army that large, he’d run into food and funding problems if the war dragged on. Furthermore, he’d need to leave soldiers behind to protect his castle. I doubted we’d actually end up facing off against an army of 100,000.

  “Well, it’ll definitely be easier if Prince Ashley manages to win against the rebel army. Which is why we should aid him.”

  “You have a point. In that case, we’ll start preparing for battle. Most of us can scrounge up a few fighters from within our pool of servants.”

  Lord Peiti nodded at me. I’m glad these guys are quick on the uptake. Most of the palace nobles supporting Eleora had no land and barely any troops, but they’d been taught from a young age how to fight. They were worth far more than conscripted farmers.

  While I was getting everyone ready to fight, Prince Woroy’s vanguard started marching south with a large army. It numbered 40,000 strong. According to the reports I’d received, he’d assimilated the members of the regular Imperial army that had been stationed there. Meanwhile, Prince Ashley had an army of 30,000 supporting him. It was comprised of a mix of conscripts sent from various West Rolmund lords, the palace guard, the capital’s own guard, and a few knight orders belonging to the Sonnenlicht Order. Both sides were fielding an army smaller than the total amount they could muster.

  Prince Woroy’s army managed to push back Prince Ashley’s forces, and a few minor lords whose lands sat on the border of West and North Rolmund capitulated to Prince Woroy. He was making steady progress toward the capital. The entire time I remained neutral, claiming that I was just an ambassador from Meraldia. Borsche returned from Fort Novesk with new messages every few days, and whenever he did, he’d give the nobles fighting for Eleora a training session.

  “Now then, it’s time for another drill. Like last time, your mission is to capture a fort sitting on a mountain, but this time you have no information about the enemy’s numbers. What’s the first thing you should do?”

  Under Borsche’s watchful gaze, the young nobles scrutinized the map in front of them. He was old enough to be all of their fathers, so they treated him with respect.

  “Hmm... Scouting is the most important thing, right?”

  “It is indeed. How would you go about scouting out the enemy forces?”

  “Maybe send a small force up the mountain slope to probe their defenses?”

  Borsche shook his head.

  “That may be necessary in some situations, but there’s a safer and more efficient way to scout.” Borsche pointed to a river at the foot of the mountain. “You could send soldiers to keep an eye on this river. Supplying mountain forts is difficult, and oftentimes soldiers stationed there will need to draw water from nearby rivers if their well doesn’t provide enough. You can estimate the number of troops stationed in a fort by seeing how much water they need to draw from the river, and how often. If you’re lucky, you may even be able to gain control of the river and cut off their supply. Failing that, you might be able to capture a soldier and interrogate them.”

  “I see, you target their water supply...”

  “But Sir Borsche, during wintertime couldn’t the enemy soldiers melt nearby snow for their water if the river is cut off?”

  Only a noble would ask something like that, I thought to myself.

  “Melting snow provides less water than you would think. Furthermore, it requires burning precious firewood,” Borsche replied.

  “I see.”

  “I never thought about it, but firewood is an important resource too.”

  “I guess we just don’t think about this kind of stuff normally...”

  The nobles started writing down notes. They never wanted for water, or firewood, or charcoal, so they’d never realize these kinds of things unless you told them. To be honest, I’d been the same before I reincarnated. But life in the werewolf village had taught me just how grueling a process it was going out, picking up burnable wood, then chopping and drying it.

  Their lack of experience aside, the nobles had all at least been tutored in the art of war. They’d make for capable commanders. All we needed were soldiers for them to command. Unfortunately, all I could do was hope that Eleora and Lord Kastoniev pulled through. I was starting to get a little worried, since in a few more days we’d probably get wrapped up into the conflict. We wouldn’t be able to stay neutral for much longer.

  About 50 kilometers north of Schwerin, the imperial capital, was a vast plain known as Nodgrad. It was there that Prince Ashley had decided to finally make a stand. Until now, he’d been retreating in the face of Prince Woroy’s steady advance. As a result, all of the nobles between Nodgrad and North Rolmund’s border had capitulated to Prince Woroy. Because there hadn’t been any decisive engagements, the two armies’ numbers remained unchanged. It was still 40,000 versus 30,000. You’d never see a battle on this large a scale in Meraldia.

  “We’ve got a good view here.”

  I’d set up camp on a nearby mountain and was watching the plains through my telescope. I was far enough away that it felt like I was on a picnic. In fact, I’d even made a tiny snow hut because I’d had so much free time.

  “Veight, this is way too dangerous.”

  Kite wrapped his coat around himself as he admonished me. He was shivering inside the snow hut I’d made. I brushed off the snow that had gathered on my head and tossed some dried meat to him.

  “Don’t worry, no one’ll find us here. Just eat some meat and relax.”

  Kite looked down at the piece of jerky in his hands and sighed.

  “I can’t believe you have an appetite even though we’re right next to an enemy army.”

  “This isn’t your first time scouting out an enemy army. Get used to it already.”

  “Except this time both sides are against us, aren’t they? If we get spotted there’ll be seventy thousand people trying to kill us.”

  “It’s fine, I’m here with you.”

  I smiled at Kite and he fell silent. The only guards I’d brought with me were the members of Hamaam’s squad. They were used to covert operations, so they were the best bodyguards to bring on a trip like this. I chewed on my breakfast of jerky and observed the two armies’ battle formations. Prince Woroy put his spearmen in the center, while his cavalry made up the bulk of the two flanks. In the rear, he had a few longbowmen and Blast Cane wielders. I guess he’s planning on having the spearmen take the brunt of Prince Ashley’s attack and look for an opening to send his cavalry in to wreak havoc.

  On the other hand, Prince Ashley put his cavalry directly behind his spearmen. From the looks of it, he was planning on having the spearmen cut open a path, then sending the cavalry in to cut through Prince Woroy’s formation. Instead of longbowmen, he was using crossbowmen for supporting fire.

  “Prince Ashley’s army doesn’t have any longbowmen.”

  Kite stopped trying to bite through the hard jerky and looked up at me.

  “Yeah, only a few lords bother training longbowmen... Veight, what the heck is this meat made of?”

  “It’s horse meat.”

  “Seriously?”

  Kite pulled the meat out of his mouth and I gave him a puzzled look.

  “What’s wrong?”


  “I-Is horse...edible?”

  Of course. Horse-meat sashimi is pretty good, you know? I ignored Kite’s question and turned back to the two armies. Ashley’s army was both smaller in number and not as well-trained. Crossbows had a lot of penetrating power, and it was easy to teach soldiers how to use them, but they couldn’t keep up a rapid volley the way longbowmen could. In a plains battle like this, longbowmen were superior. Furthermore, Prince Ashley himself wasn’t the one leading this army.

  “Prince Ashley remained in the capital, right?”

  “Ah, yeah. Marquis Toskin is commanding his army. He’s a distant relative of Prince Ashley’s.”

  His rank was sufficient for leadership, but the question was whether he had the ability to lead.

  “Veight, is it bad that Prince Ashley didn’t come himself?”

  “Well, it’s not good for morale. Plus this means he won’t actually be here to witness the outcome of the battle, which is bad.”

  “Oh yeah. Bosses who give orders without any idea of what’s actually going on are the worst.”

  It looked like I’d accidentally dredged up some bad memories of when Kite was still working for the Senate.

  “Well, in Ashley’s case, he’s the only male member of the Schwerin line. If he dies, there’s no successor to take his place. Meanwhile the Doneiks family has Prince Ivan, Prince Woroy, and Prince Ryuunie.”

  Even if one of the Doneiks princes was killed in battle, the family itself could keep fighting. Which was why Prince Woroy could afford to command at the front lines. Still, has that guy not figured out that Prince Ivan was behind the assassination? No, despite how he looks, he’s a sharp guy. He knows his brother killed his dad, and he’s choosing to follow him anyway... Hmm, I might be able to use this information.

  Soon enough, the two armies finished deploying their formations. Messengers from both sides headed into the no man’s land and exchanged something. My guess was that this was the ritual exchange of contracts that happened before any battle between Rolmund forces. Rolmund was so in love with custom and tradition that armies were required to draft up war contracts and exchange them before battle. Without this exchange, the battle wouldn’t be seen as legitimate by the other nobles. Of course the contracts only served a ritualistic purpose, and no one cared if either army actually abided by the terms of their contract.

  Once both messengers had returned to their respective camps, drums sounded and trumpets blared, and the two sides charged each other.

  “It’s like I’m listening to an outdoor concert.”

  “I imagine you’re the only person who’s likened the trumpets and drums of war to a concert, Veight.”

  I realized I wasn’t as nervous as everyone else here, but we’d really only come to watch so there shouldn’t be any danger. Prince Woroy’s army was comprised of the forces of a bunch of different nobles, but it was surprisingly cohesive. The spearmen were all marching in sync. They looked well-trained as well, and they knew how to not get in the way of the archers supporting them from the rear. On the other hand, Prince Ashley’s army was a mess.

  “Uhh, is it just me or is that one platoon over there not moving?”

  Indeed, one of Prince Ashley’s spear platoons hadn’t moved from its starting spot. After thinking about it for a second, I replied, “I think the sounds of the trumpets aren’t reaching them. They’re upwind, and the sound is traveling downwind.”

  Considering how large the army was, it wasn’t surprising that you’d have issues like this. The units next to the spear platoon weren’t moving in tandem with the rest of the army either. Their progress was slow, since they weren’t sure if they were supposed to be advancing or not. Everyone’s pace was all over the place. In the end, Prince Ashley’s front line was still a disorganized mob by the time Prince Woroy’s vanguard crashed into them. In a battle between lines of spearmen like this, what was most important was maintaining formation. Because Prince Ashley’s side couldn’t do that, they started slowly getting pushed back.

  “It’s over,” I muttered. Still trying to chew through his jerky, Kite looked up and asked, “Already?”

  “Prince Ashley’s side picked the wrong formation. Even though his spearmen are struggling, Toskin can’t send anyone in to reinforce them.”

  Toskin had arrayed his cavalry directly behind his spearmen and now his own men were obstructing his cavalry’s charge. Furthermore, crossbows were bad at high-angle fire, so Toskin’s spearmen got in the way of their covering fire too.

  “I’ve seen this happen dozens of times in Shogi.”

  “What’s Shogi?”

  “Sorry, I meant to say Shougo.”

  Whoops. I’d been thinking of Shogi games where a player’s own pawns blocked the advance of his rook. Toskin’s trumpeters and drummers hurriedly changed the beat they were playing, trying to signal the infantry to reform.

  It seemed he was trying to make a path for his cavalry to charge and hit Prince Woroy’s lines where they were thin. As a result, his spearmen had to part to either side. Unfortunately, the battle up front had become so chaotic that his orders weren’t reaching everyone. Furthermore, some units were so hard-pressed that they couldn’t move even if they wanted to. But because of that, the units that were able to move ended up crashing into their own allies, sowing confusion and chaos.

  Some units were so startled by their allies suddenly appearing that they mistook them for enemies and retreated. As Toskin’s lines grew more disorganized, Prince Woroy pushed his advantage.

  “Oof, this is pretty one-sided.”

  Kite raised his eyebrows, and I shook my head sadly.

  “That’s what happens when you try to direct an army on a large scale. Especially when it’s a hodgepodge mix of forces from various nobles. From time immemorial, the biggest problem strategists have faced is getting their armies to respond swiftly to orders.”

  People were still accidentally bombing or shooting their allies back on Earth, so I wasn’t expecting this world to have communication figured out. I felt bad for Prince Ashley’s army, but of course Prince Woroy didn’t. He pushed his advantage further and had his spearmen wedge their way into Toskin’s formation. Before long, Toskin’s front line was in shambles and his spearmen started to flee. It was then that the platoon that had stayed behind finally started to move. Even though they couldn’t hear the drums or trumpets, it was obvious their allies were in danger so they’d gone to help. Despite the fact that their army was on the back foot, the platoon nevertheless charged bravely forward. Unfortunately, they just made things even worse.

  “Veight, that platoon’s getting hammered...”

  I sighed as I watched the scene play out through my telescope.

  “They picked the worst time to charge.”

  Prince Ashley’s army was in such a state of confusion that they’d mistaken the platoon for an enemy unit and was now attacking them. They weren’t even looking at the platoon’s flags, or the crests on the soldier’s armor. Prince Ashley’s army lost a good chunk of their forces, mostly to their own allies. It was painful to watch. Worse, the rest of Prince Ashley’s army could do nothing to stop it. They were trapped.

  It was then that Prince Woroy’s cavalry wings converged onto the hapless spearmen. I’d only discovered this after reincarnating, but for a foot soldier, there was nothing more terrifying to deal with than a cavalry charge. When Prince Ashley’s spearmen saw the cavalry coming, their morale plummeted. Realizing his army couldn’t fight any longer, Toskin ordered the retreat. The trumpeters blared the retreat signal.

  “In the first place, why the hell did he put his cavalry there? Didn’t he realize that’d make them hard to maneuver?”

  Kite replied, “Oh, now I remember. The guy who’s commanding Prince Ashley’s army, Marquis Toskin, has a son who’s a captain in the Imperial Cavalry.”

  “Ahh, I see now. He probably put the cavalry somewhere safe because he didn’t want his son getting hurt.”

  The
re was no way to know for sure if that was the reason or not, but either way, it was the biggest contributing factor to Toskin’s loss. He couldn’t afford to be playing favorites when his army was already at a numbers disadvantage. I watched as Prince Ashley’s army was routed, then turned to Kite with a smile.

  “Let’s head back. Prince Woroy’s troops will come here as soon as the battle’s over. We should get out of here.”

  “Ah, what do you want to do about this snow hut?”

  “Leave it as is. It’ll serve as proof that I was here.”

  Knowing Prince Woroy, he’d immediately realize the mysterious observer had been me. In order to make doubly sure he realized it was me, I drew my dueling saber and thrust it into the ground. I wanted to prove that I’d been watching the battle, so that Prince Woroy knew I hadn’t participated in it. That way he’d know Eleora’s faction was still neutral and, more importantly, that it was interested in seeing how the conflict between Prince Ivan and Prince Ashley progressed. Now then, let’s see what terms both sides offer us.

  “Kite, were you keeping track of everything that happened?”

  “Yep. I’ve memorized everything, including the movements both armies took. When we get back I’ll write it all down in a report for you.”

  “Perfect. Let’s go back, make some tea, and call everyone over for a war council.”

  “Some hot tea definitely sounds good right now.”

  Kite nodded, shivering in the cold.

  Prince Ashley’s army suffered severe casualties at the battle of Nodgrad. They’d lost around 5,000 men, though that included the deserters and soldiers who’d been captured by the enemy as well, so it wasn’t all casualties. On the other hand, Prince Woroy barely even lost 1,000 men. Since his army had started out 40,000 strong, a loss that small was like a drop in a bucket.