Vol 2 Chapter 19 (1/2)

Chapter 19

Chapter 2, Episode 19: Night assault

Strong, cold winds roar like howling beasts as they shake up a tent Hiro could feel the teht feel nice, he grabbed 「Camellia’s」 collar and lifted it up over his head

Then, a ht over to him His armor rese completely different It was an elaborate imitation If it was daytime, you would be able to notice some odd parts, but you couldn’tset

「You’re a spy of the Lichtein Dukedom, aren’t you?」

The man didn’t answer Hiro’s question, but the soldier beside him nodded

He puts his elbows on his chair and rests his chin on his hands

Hiro carefully observed the man Based on his attitude, he could tell the man had the resolve to face death— There was a profound look in his expression

「Froiance to the Lichtein Dukedom, haven’t you?」

There was a pile of bags sitting on a table He took one of them and showed it to the man

「There are Grantz gold coins in this bag You wouldn’t have to work for three years」

「…」

「I don’t want you to misunderstand so I’ll say this This isn’t a bribe I just wanted to reward you for your loyalty」

Hiro threw the bag and it hit the man’s chest The coins round

「Take that and go back to eneral there」

Hiro stood from his chair as his smile broadened He approached the spy and put his hand on his shoulder

「But having said that… I doubt you’ll just say yes and go off on your way, so I’ll give you soo out of your way to investigate the Fourth Imperial Army’s encampment I’ll tell you what you want to know」

「… What are you plotting?」

「It’s up to you whether you believe me or not Do whatever you want」

Hiro sits down on the spot Then he opened his mouth

「We’re going to ht assault now That’s what the 1,500 camel cavalrymen outside are for Also, the Fourth Iht If ere attacked during the night, I don’t think we’d be able to fight That’s why our security is tight… That’s actually just for show TheAnd we’ve allowed them a bit of alcohol to raise morale」

Hiro picked up each Grantz gold coin and put the in front of the befuddled spy Then, he stood up and looked down on him

「When you make your report, make sure you don’t mention that you heard this from me」

Hiro stuffed the bag into the spy’s breast pocket and sat back in his chair

「Please release him」

After he gave the order, the soldier spoke up with a surprised look on his face

「A-Are you sure? If we kill him here…」

「It’s fine I won’t allow you to lay a hand on hi Please escort him outside our encampment」

「… Understood」

The soldier bowed, told the spy to follow him, then took him outside

Hiro sinks into his chair and waits for the next spy to come

「What ?」

The man who appeared without so much as a sound

was the staff officer as shunned by General Kielo— Second grade enlisted officer, Doryx

Hiro glanced at him from the side with his eye steeped in suspicion It’s a bit difficult to comprehend why a staff officer would have this ability to erase their presence and lurk in the corners of a tent

More so than anything, he’s too loyal He acts on Hiro’s words without a shred of doubt Even if you say this was because Hiro was a descendant of the Second Eh to be considered abnormal

But Hiro answered hi the suspicion he held inside

「It would be difficult to bribe that spy But it would also be a waste to kill him」

「I don’t think it would necessarily be a problem if we killed him… We still have three others captured」

「That would mean less spies For that General Ranquil to believe their reports, it’s better to have more of them」

「Hmm… But ill happen once he believes them? He may see this as a fine opportunity to attack」

「We’ve made preparations for that, so we need hi spies the sa Ahh, but— one of them will become a sacrifice… But well, ultimately they’ll all meet the same end, so it makes no difference」

After a bit of thinking, it seemed Doryx became sure of himself

「In other words… are you planning to plant the seeds of mistrust in General Ranquil?」

「When cautious people coet a sense of discos」

Hiro stroked his eyepatch and turned to Doryx

「What do you think would happen if three of the different?」

「… He would likely be suspected of betrayal」

「That’s where this comes into play」

He points to the three bags on the table

「What would you do if a bag of coins fell out of our spy’s breast pocket?」

「I would probably take his head But that’s if he actually had it I’m sure there are cases where they hide it Most importantly, ill you do if they completely wash their hands clean? Isn’t there a possibility of the to their camp?」

「That’s why I got them attached to “life” When those who are prepared to face death are allowed to live, they get a sense of relief That causes an attach unable to resist it If you hand them coins, it’s even more effective The amount of money is too valuable for them to hide it or throw it away, so I’m sure they’ll keep it close at hand」

「Will the results be the same even if they don’t…?」

「Yes Either way, the results will be the same Besides, the Lichtein Dukedom is in a precarious state Even if they were able to defeat us, there’s nothing but uncertainty in their future Putting that into consideration, I’m sure they won’t throay the coins」

「I see…」

Although he asks questions, he doesn’t refute anything Hiro tells him various information and he drills it into his head It seemed like he was passionate about his work, but there had to be more to it than that

Doryx was looking dohile deep in thought

In contrast, Hiro was completely expressionless as he muttered

「Second grade enlisted officer Doryx」

「Yes?」

「— Can I have you bring the next one?」

Even if he questions hih time, and he wouldn’t be able to obtain any proof His only option is likely to have hiht time comes

「Certainly」

「Also, can I have you ask so the 「shi+ryu」?」

「As you wish」

Doryx saluted and went outside

(I have an idea of who’s behind the scenes It probably won’t be a problem to leave him be for now)

Hiro let out a deep sigh and leaned against the back of his chair

The battle during the day dropped the opponent’s morale to rock bottom There are likely deserters at this point Now all they have to do is give the nervous soldiers a push on the back to lower the enemy’s numbers and eliminate General Kielo and his followers in tomorrow’s battle Once that’s done, this ill come to an end

「Right, I have to send a er to the rear, too」

They should have arrived by now

Hiro set a plan inhere The time to look into the eyes of the sun has finally come

「The end is near」

Hiro stroked his eyepatch and stared at the entrance of the tent

The Lichtein Dukedo in headquarters The faces of General Ranquil and his staff officers looked dark and sunken, and perhaps it was because of the cold, but a number of them were pale in the face and even had blue lips

It’s not that there is no source of warmth There are a number of heaters inside the tent But their foreous, and they see no positive signs for the future Thisstaff officer looked at Ranquil

「Your Excellency Ranquil Regarding the slaves, it seems most of theular soldiers」

「… I’m sure we put out notices of severe punishment」

It’s clear that this is the effect of thethey can do about it is alleviate the fear, but they have limited options on a battlefield like this Their only option is pretty much to offer the men alcohol, but they can’t even do that in this situation where they don’t knohen the eneht

「The enehts as you」

More so than anything else, night assaults are an established war tactic It’s the ideal strategy for a se one The opposite is also true There’s no way an intelligent person who displayed such strategies as the ones froh the soldiers are being allowed to rest, they are not allowed to take off their arht attack in the deep of night

「How irritating…」

Even he himself is aware that he has become too cautious But if he makes one false move, it would mean ruin for the country He can’t sioes for deserters Even if they sentence the them to set an example would cause discord in the army Even if they capture them, they would only be a hindrance, so they have no choice but to let the the soldiers even more

「… Either e have no choice but to wait for the spies to return」

He will decide whether or not theyon the spies’ reports They were able to determine the location of the enely, the eneh alert, and they probably wouldn’t be able to achieve ht assault at that location Not only that, there’s the danger of the casualties

「It’s frustrating, but we have no choice but to wait」

He sent out a nuate on the state of the eneet a limited amount of information in this short aht at the end of the tunnel

「Will we be able to e a preemptive strike?」

There are 2,000 camel cavalry orders Now, they simply have to wait for the return of the spies and deter

After suddenly recalling sohts and spoke out to the staff officers

「What is Lord Karl doing?」

「He ishim rest」

He is the second son of the duke house who rose in position as a result of the other successors dying off He has a weak constitution and he hardly has the chance to venture outside It seems he has reached his limit from the sudden deployment

「Increase his security in case of an e were to happen to Lord Karl, that would be the end of our country」

「Yes!」