The Battle Outside Randel

The 30th stratagem in Thirty-Six Stratagems says, "Make the host and

guest exchange roles."

It is most often referred to in the context of a weaker force overcoming a

stronger one, but it can also refer to making the defender (the host) trade

places with the attacker (the guest). Being the defender is advantageous in

war, so it is desirable for the attacker to create a situation where he can fight

defensive battles even on campaign.

The battle currently taking place in the outskirts of Randel, the central

city of the Carmine Duchy, could have been said to be an example of the

later meaning of the 30th stratagem.

—32nd Day, 9th Month, 1,546th Year, Continental Calendar.

In the Carmine Duchy, the Forbidden Army, which should have been the

invading force, was fighting a defensive battle against the Army, which

should rightly have been the defender. As he hid behind the walls of the

"fortress" that was being attacked by a 40,000 strong force from the Army,

Halbert Magna was grumbling.

"Damn... Don't you think the enemy are trying a little too hard?"

"There's no helping that, you know, Hal." The response had come from

Kaede Foxia, an earth mage attached to the Forbidden Army, who was

taking cover behind the same wall as him.

Even as the arrows, fired by enemy and ally alike, flew overhead, she

remained nonchalant.

"If you look at it from the enemy's perspective, they woke up to find a

fortress outside," she said. "One with Forbidden Army troops in it, no less.

It's only natural they would be in a rush to do something about that, you

know."

"Well, yeah..." he said. "I thought it was beyond reckless taking on

40,000 troops from the Army with 10,000 of our own, but apparently the

premise was that we'd be fighting in this fortress. Just how well did he

prepare in advance for this?"

"There was originally a fortress facing Amidonia at this site," she told

him. "When the border moved far to the west in the time of the king before

the last king, it was abandoned. The king simply brought it back to life, you

know. And what's more... this is a considerably more well-defended fortress

than the one that was once here."

It was yesterday that Souma had sent his ultimatum to Georg Carmine.

With negotiations having failed, Souma had immediately dispatched a force

of 10,000 troops from the Forbidden Army to the Carmine Duchy.

The Forbidden Army had advanced at a speed that overturned all

common sense held by the Army. They had approached the central city of

the duchy, Randel, and built a "fortress" right in front of their eyes.

That rapid advance and construction had been enabled by the

rhinosaurus land train. Thanks to Souma's honorary little sister, Tomoe, the

Forbidden Army had a large number of rhinosauruses that could serve as a

rapid cargo transportation system. Thanks to the ability of the rhinosaurus

land train to transport massive amounts of cargo, they had been able to send

in people and resources in a short amount of time.

The materials for building the fortress had already been partially

assembled in the royal capital. They'd used a two-by-four wood frame

construction system, so the parts just needed to be put into the designated

places on site.

Souma had taken the idea from the One Night Castle that Hideyoshi

(then known as Tokichiro Kinoshita) had built in Sunomata. Basically, the

rhinosaurus land train had taken the place of the Kiso River.

In addition, the Forbidden Army troops who had constructed the fortress

had a secret. Having been sent out under Souma's orders to assist in the

construction of the new city and roads, each and every one of the soldiers of

the Forbidden Army was now a capable combat engineer.

The soldiers would dig holes or pile up earth as needed, cover the walls

the mages created in Roman concrete, and assemble the materials shipped

in from the capital.

The earth mages would gouge out the earth to make ditches, raise the

ground's surface to make walls, use magic to make the Roman concrete

poured by the soldiers harden, and use reinforcement magic to strengthen

the walls.

The common thinking when building a fortress on open land in this

world was to have earth mages do all the work. However, because every

non-mage member of the king's personal forces was able to take part in

construction, the work speed was markedly faster.

And so, even though the Forbidden Army had only arrived at the site

yesterday evening, by the time morning came, the fortress was complete.

From the people of Randel's perspective, it must have looked like the

fortress had been built in one night.

Later historians would come to call this "Randel's One Night Fortress."

This blitz of construction had been carried out immediately after the

ultimatum, and the Army and corrupt nobles who were shut up in Randel

had been able to do nothing to stop it.

"Still, I have to hand it to Duke Carmine, you know," Kaede said. "The

only ones who are visibly unnerved are the nobles' private troops. The

Army is quietly moving to encircle us."

"Hey! Don't expose your face!" Halbert exclaimed. "You'll get hit by a

stray arrow!"

Kaede had been peeking out through an arrow slit, but Halbert pulled

her back.

At just that moment—

Boom!

—they heard an incredible explosion nearby.

Halbert saw Kaede was about to fall over backwards, so he quickly

supported her. The sudden noise must have caught her by surprise, because

Kaede was blinking.

"Th-Thank you for that, Hal," she said.

"Come on, keep it together," he said. "...That was pretty close to us,

wasn't it?"

An enemy spell must have struck the walls.

Technically, the walls had been strengthened against magic by Kaede

and the other earth mages. That said, if they kept taking direct hits like that

one, they weren't going to hold up.

Halbert wreathed a nearby throwing spear in magical fire, throwing it

towards the group he thought had unleashed that last spell. The fire spear

flew like a missile, impaling one man and then exploding to incinerate the

rest.

"Arghhhhh!"

He could hear their dying screams from here. Seeing that the deed was

done, Halbert hid in the shadow of the wall once more.

"Wait, hold on... don't you think the attack is extra intense just here on

the west side?" he asked. "It feels like the other sides are only seeing

sporadic attacks."

"...Those are Zemish mercenaries, you know," Kaede said as she peeked

out from behind the wall. "They must have been hired by the corrupt

nobles. The corrupt nobles literally have their necks on the line. If they lose

this battle, the only thing waiting for them is a trip to the execution block.

It's do-or-die for them, you know. What with them getting the death penalty

and all."

"I know you think you're being witty, but that one made me shudder,"

Halbert said while throwing his second fire spear. He didn't miss his mark

and many mercenaries burned.

"Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Hot, hot!"

"It burns, it burrrrrrrrrns!"

Halbert watched with a pained smile as the mercenaries turned into balls

of flame and rolled around on the ground.

For Halbert, this was his first real battle. While he had much more

power than the average person, he wasn't used to killing.

Well, it's easier than fighting an Army unit with a lot of guys I know in it,

at least, he thought.

As a former member of the Army, Halbert had complicated feelings

about this whole situation. Due to their close relationship with the king,

Halbert and Kaede were among the few who knew the whole truth behind

this war. That was why he understood what the king wanted to accomplish.

He understood, but... his feelings about it were still complicated.

"Hal!" Kaede called out to him, snapping Halbert back to his senses.

"What is it, Kaede?!"

"This is awful, you know," Kaede said. "Look at what the enemy just

brought out."

She pointed at the giant cannons that were being carried onto the

battlefield at this very moment. In this world, where gunpowder weapons

had never really developed due to the existence of magic, research had

continued on cannons for use in naval battles. While they lacked mobility,

their destructive power that didn't rely on magic had caught the Army's

eye. The Army kept three of them for use as siege weapons, where mobility

was not so important.

At present, the only force in Elfrieden which had cannons that could be

used on land was the Army.

"...Come to think of it, they do have those," Hal said. "I'd totally

forgotten."

"If you're going to use those, it should be in the opening stages of the

battle, after all," Kaede said.

"Well, what're they dragging them out this late in the game for?" he

asked.

"Probably the corrupt nobles brought them out because they're

panicking, you know."

"...Is it really bad?" he asked.

"It is really bad," she answered. "The anti-magic reinforcement is only

effective against magic and flames, you know. Against physical impacts,

these are just dirt walls coated with 'Roman concrete.' They're more

durable than normal, but if they keep hitting them like that..."

Booooom!

...Thunk!

One of the cannons fired with a sound like the air was being sucked

away, the cannonball tracing a parabola before striking the wall and

punching into it. The dirt wall crumbled around where it had punched

through.

The cannonballs in this world were lumps of solid iron.

It seemed they had considered exploding shells, as well, but while those

were flashy, they had been unable to inflict damage on walls reinforced

against magic, so there was that historical reason for why they were not

used. Simple impact damage worked well against reinforced walls. The

lumps of iron that had just been fired into the walls were exactly the kind of

high-mass projectiles they were weak against.

Seeing their power, Halbert and Kaede looked to one another.

"Wh-What do we do now?!" Kaede stammered.

"Don't ask me! Can't you do something with your magic?!" Halbert

exclaimed.

"I'm out of magic after building this fortress! What about you, Hal, can't

you intercept them with a throwing spear or something?"

"They're too fast!" he cried. "That's like asking me to hit an incoming

arrow with a rock!"

While they were bickering back and forth...

"Hmm. How about a bow, then?"

...they heard a calm voice from above them say.

""Huh?""

The two of them turned to see a tough young dark elf (though it was

hard to be certain of an elf's age by his appearance) holding an impressively

large bow. The dark elf warrior nocked an arrow, pointing it upwards on a

diagonal and taking aim.

Booooom!

Once again, a cannon fired.

At practically the same time, the dark elf warrior let loose his arrow.

In that instant, Halbert and Kaede thought they heard a high-pitched

keening sound. The dark elf warrior had probably used a wind magic

enchantment on the arrow. Two seconds later, the iron cannonball was

smashed to smithereens in mid-air. Halbert and Kaede could only gape.

"Hmph," the dark elf said. "Easier than taking down a migratory

falcon."

"Wh-Who're you...?" Halbert stammered.

"Pardon me. I neglected to introduce myself. I have come from the GodProtected Forest. My name is Sur," the young dark elf man said with a

broad smile. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Halbert

Magna."

"Wh-What do you know my name for?"

"You may not remember, but when the major landslide happened in the

God-Protected Forest, my daughter was among those you rescued with the

king," Sur answered. "When she heard your name later, she wanted to thank

you, but the initial relief force had already returned to the capital, so... back

then..."

Booooom!

...Ker-smash!!

"...I am terribly sorry that I did not properly thank you for saving my

daughter," he finished.

Even while talking, Sur was able to accurately shoot down the incoming

cannonballs. They had heard dark elves were excellent archers, but this was

truly impressive.

"No, I was just following Souma's... the king's orders..." Halbert said.

"Even if you were, I still am grateful. Though I must admit to a slight

irritation at the fact that, smitten with the way you looked rescuing people,

my daughter started saying, 'Someday, I want to join the Forbidden Army,

and join in relief operations like that man.' Ha ha ha."

Even as he continued talking like an ordinary father, Sur was shooting

down incoming cannonballs one after another. Halbert and Kaede were

simply dumbfounded.

"Um, why are you here? You're not in the Forbidden Army, right?"

Kaede asked, bewildered.

To this, Sur gave a jovial laugh. "We heard that His Majesty Souma, the

savior of our village, was in serious trouble. In order to repay our debt, we

warriors of the dark elf village have been sent to his aid. We have always

avoided involvement with the outside world as much as possible, but, this

time, not a single person voiced their opposition."

To repay their debt. Here, the simple, steady accomplishments of

Souma's rule were showing their effects.

"I'm very grateful for this, you know," Kaede said.

"I scratch your back, you scratch mine," Sur shrugged. "This is

something we have learned from you people."

When she saw Sur's smile, Kaede felt the tension melt away, if only a

little.

We have more reinforcements than I thought, she thought. At this rate, I

think we may manage to defend ourselves.

The Forbidden Army had received reinforcements from more than just

the dark elf village. There was also Halbert's father, Glaive Magna, and

those who had defected from the Army like him. They were participating in

the battle as volunteer soldiers with Glaive leading them. Combined with

the reinforcements from the dark elf village, there were around 5,000 of

them.

In other words, there were 15,000 defenders in this fortress.

I hear an attacker must have three times as many soldiers as the

defender in order to win a siege, Kaede thought. The Army has seen a lot of

deserters, Hal's father foremost among them, but they were able to keep

their numbers at 40,000 with the mercenaries the corrupt nobles managed

to scrounge up. This would have been hard with only the 10,000 troops who

report directly to the king, but if you add in the reinforcements, we've just

managed to avoid them having triple our numbers. It was a relief to realize

that.

Incidentally, years later, Sur's now-grown daughter would make good on

her word. She would join the military and be fortunate enough to be placed

under Halbert's command. Somehow, she would also shrewdly manage to

arrange for her marriage to Halbert, creating a situation Kaede would not be

able to feel relieved about at all, but that is a story for another day.

For now, the only thing Kaede had to wrack her brain over was finding

some way to survive this battle with Halbert.

Then...

"Kaede!"

Hearing someone suddenly call her name, Kaede looked towards the

gate to see a group of knights, both them and their horses clad in silver

armor. These were the Royal Guard who protected the capital and the royal

palace.

Standing at the front of the group, looking most impressive of all, was

the Captain of the Royal Guard, who was also the head of Forbidden Army,

Ludwin Arcs. He was blonde and handsome, clad in silver armor, and riding

atop a white horse. It was a look that seemed "too good to be true," and

Halbert envied him for it.

Someday, I want to be like that... Halbert felt a strong desire to make a

name for himself.

Meanwhile, Kaede paid no heed to his dashing figure as she closed in

angrily on Ludwin. "What do you think you're doing?! You're our

commander-in-chief, you know!"

"Sorry, Kaede," he said. "You take command here for a little while.

We'll go deal with those noisy things." Ludwin pointed towards the

cannons with his lance.

Kaede clutched her head. "We have Hal for petty errands like that, you

know!"

"Hey!" Halbert exclaimed.

"Ha ha ha, don't be like that," Ludwin said. "Compared to the soldiers

who've worked so hard building this fortress and defending it, we in the

Royal Guard haven't had a single chance to show off so far. It'll be bad for

our appearance if we don't fix that."

"For your appearance... are all men stupid?" Kaede demanded.

"Ha ha ha, you do get it," Ludwin chuckled. "Well, I'll leave the rest to

you."

Before Kaede could say another word, Ludwin began barking orders at

the Royal Guard.

"Open the gates! The target is dead ahead, the three large cannons! We'll

return when they are destroyed! Ignore the enemy soldiers: don't pursue

them too deeply! Focus solely on destroying the target!"

"""Yes, sir!"""

"If any block your path, run them through with your lance!" Ludwin

ordered. "If any try to interfere, see them trampled under your horse's

hooves! We are the lance that defends this country! We bear the dignity of

His Majesty! Rush forth, and let nothing hold you back!"

And so, the gates were opened.

"Here we go! We'll show them the Royal Guard aren't just here to look

pretty!" Ludwin called.

"""Yes, sir!"""

With the intensity of a dam breaking, the Royal Guard surged forth.

The attacking mercenaries panicked in the face of this sudden

counterattack, breaking ranks. They could no longer impede the Royal

Guard's charge. Some were impaled on Ludwin and his men's lances,

others were trampled under the hooves of their horses.

Many of them were mercenaries that the corrupt nobles had spent their

personal wealth scraping together. The mercenaries were strong

individually, but they did not work well in groups. With no unified

command structure, they each made decisions on their own.

Because they were only working for the money, they lacked loyalty or

patriotism. When their lives were at risk, they were quick to flee. As a

result, they were especially ill-suited to face a force like Ludwin's, which

was disciplined and could move with one common will. The mercenaries

couldn't stop the group as individuals, yet they also couldn't work together

with their allies. With the mercenaries being mowed down one after

another, they broke and ran.

Then, when Ludwin and his men reached the abandoned cannons, they

set them on fire.

His Majesty will probably moan about the budget later... but, there's

little choice, Ludwin thought.

He felt it was a bit of a waste, but they couldn't just leave them there,

and they couldn't afford the time it would take to drag weapons with such

low mobility back. Destroying them was the only option.

As the Royal Guard slowly made their triumphant return, there was a

loud roar as the cannons exploded behind them, sending up a great black

cloud of smoke.

Jumping straight to the conclusion, the Army returned to Randel at

sunset having been unable to accomplish anything this day. If we look only

at the results of the battle, it could be called a victory for the defenders.

However, the ones who had originally been the attackers were the

Forbidden Army. No matter how many defensive battles they won, they

would eventually be worn down.

That much was clear to everyone.

◇ ◇ ◇

That night, in the meeting room of Georg Carmine's castle, more than a

dozen nobles were pressing Georg for answers.

"Duke Carmine! What was that supposed to be?! How can the Army be

so unmotivated?!" a corrupt noble demanded.

"Indeed," another said angrily. "This is not like you, the one once feared

as a fierce god of the battlefield."

"We were the only ones out there taking the fight seriously!" another

noble exclaimed.

All of these men had fled as soon as Souma had accused them of

corruption. They had gathered, like moths to the flame, under the banner of

Georg, who had made his opposition to the king clear.

Having embezzled more than they could ever repay, and now even

rebelling against the king, they had nowhere left to go. If they lost the war

with Souma, it would be the end of them. That was why they had spent their

personal fortunes on Zemish mercenaries and challenged the Forbidden

Army.

However, they were not satisfied with the way Georg had fought.

The Army had been too passive in today's battle. They understood that

the soldiers' morale would be low from fighting the king's forces, but

Georg had shown no intention of even trying to encourage the troops. This

attitude was unlike the Georg Carmine known for his relentless offenses,

and it angered the nobles.

"The Army is full of spineless cowards!" one of the nobles spat. "The

battle with the king has already begun, you realize!"

"Show us the power that made the name of Georg Carmine famous

throughout the kingdom!"

"Surely you don't mean to tell us you're scared now!" another one

shouted.

"Oh...?" Georg glared at the nobles. That alone was enough to knock the

fight out of them, making them fall silent and take a step back away from

him. "Who are you suggesting I am afraid of?"

There was silence.

With those words alone, Georg took control of the room.

As he looked to each of the nobles, who were speechless in the face of

the fierce general's intensity, Georg spoke in a calm, composed tone.

"Do any of you understand the situation? The enemy has only ten,

maybe twenty thousand troops. It was a surprise that they built that fortress

overnight, but if we slowly close in on them, they are the ones that will be

pushed into a corner. Where is the need to recklessly attack?"

"I-If that is the case... if they are only ten thousand, shouldn't we push

the attack and defeat them in one fell swoop?" One of the nobles worked up

his courage to speak, but Georg only snorted derisively.

"You tried that and were driven off, were you not?" he asked. "What's

more, you even pulled three cannons out of the armory, and then, in your

blundering, managed to have them destroyed."

"Urgh... I can't apologize enough for that." The noble who had spoken

shrank under Georg's glare.

In fact, deploying the cannons had been a decision the corrupt nobles

had made themselves, frustrated that they couldn't take the fortress. They

had used their titles to intimidate the person in charge of the armory, forcing

him to lend them the weapons. As a result, they had needlessly lost three

cannons. Now, the Army looked at the nobles' forces with contempt.

Georg continued, "There was one other thing I found concerning. I

couldn't sense Souma in that fortress."

"Hasn't he left the war to his vassals, while he stays trembling back in

the royal capital?" one of the corrupt nobles asked.

"Do you think that that king could do that?" Georg asked. "Even if we

can't see him, he's definitely out there doing something. That is why we

need to lure him out."

"In other words, you want to use the soldiers in that fortress as bait?" a

noble asked.

Georg nodded at the noble's suggestion. "Right now, there is no way to

know where Souma is or what he is plotting, but if he leaves the troops he's

dispatched to die, both the soldiers and the people will abandon him.

Eventually, he has no choice but to appear on this battlefield. When he

does, we simply need to crush him along with the soldiers of the fortress."

He grinned.

Georg was a lion-headed beastman. When he grinned, it exposed his

fangs.

When the nobles saw those, it sent a chill down their spines. They knew,

if nothing else, they must never make this man their enemy.

Georg rose from his seat. "However, you must all be tired from today's

attack. This is not a battle that will be ending tomorrow or the day after. We

of the Army will handle the attack alone, so all of you will take the day

tomorrow to rest."

"""Y-Yes, sir!"""

Having received those words of appreciation from Georg, the nobles

bowed their heads and departed from the meeting room.

Once they did, a single man came in, as if trading places with them.

"Pardon me, Duke Carmine."

"...Beowulf," Georg said.

The man's name was Beowulf Gardner. He was a wolf-faced beastman

who wore a black military uniform. In the Army, he and Glaive Magna,

who had now parted ways with them, were the two closest to Georg

Carmine. He was the second-in-command of the army now.

Using few words, Georg asked Beowulf, "The preparations are

complete, I presume?"

"Yes, sir! Everything is flawless."

"Good."

As Beowulf saluted him, Georg nodded in satisfaction, grinning broadly.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, around that time, Halbert and Kaede were sitting side by

side, eating together.

They were eating Souma's invention, "instant gelin udon."

The gelin udon was first boiled, then it was spiced heavily and dried out.

When they wanted to eat it, they would pour boiling water on it and wait for

one minute. (It absorbed water faster than instant ramen.) So long as they

had a cup and boiling water, it could be eaten anywhere. Because of that

convenience, it was well regarded by the Forbidden Army soldiers who

received it as part of their rations.

"Being able to eat this stuff even in the field...slurp... it's nice, isn't it?"

Halbert commented.

"His Majesty was complaining... slurp... 'I wanted to fry them, but they

melted when I put them in oil! Even though I prefer the savory taste of fried

noodles to non-fried ones!' you know," Kaede said.

"I don't really get... slurp... why he'd be so particular about that,"

Halbert said.

Once they finished their meal over that sort of conversation, Kaede

leaned against Halbert's shoulder. The scent of Kaede's hair so close to him

made Halbert blink rapidly in confusion.

"H-Hey, Kaede. What're you doing?"

"Hee hee. Hal, I'm happy, you know."

"Huh?! About what?!" he exclaimed.

"Having you at my side, like this," Kaede said with a little laugh. "I'm

glad you came to the Forbidden Army. If you were still in the Army, we

might have been enemies, you know. We might not be here."

"Yeah, but thanks to that, I'm surrounded by 40,000 soldiers from the

Army," he said.

Kaede smiled to see Halbert rub the bridge of his nose bashfully as he

said that.

"It will all be decided today and tomorrow, you know," she said. "If we

can just last that long..."

"Then what?" he asked.

"If we just get past this, I hope the rest will work out."

"Don't end it with what you're hoping for!" he exclaimed. "If you're

going to say that much, then tell me the rest, too!"

"So make sure you protect me, okay? Hal."

With his childhood friend asking him so cutely, Halbert scratched his

head vigorously. "Ugh, fine, I get it! I'll protect you and everything else!"

"I'm counting on you, you know, Hal," she said.

In a fortress in the middle of the battlefield, the two nestled close and

smiled together.

—1st Day, 10th Month, 1,546th Year, Continental Calendar.

The night came to an end, and the Army resumed their attack.

However, unlike the day before, there were only sporadic attacks on all

sides.

While arrows and magic came flying, there were no units trying to press

the attack hard. Halbert was a little perplexed at the complete change to

such a passive mode of fighting after the day before.

"The enemy's suddenly let up on the attack," he said.

"I don't see any Zemish mercenaries, either," Kaede said, surveying the

enemy. "The change in deployment may mean that the enemy has changed

to fighting a war of attrition."

Halbert spun his shoulders in circles. "In that case, it'll make things a bit

easier, maybe."

"One must always remain vigilant on the battlefield, Hal," she said.

"You'll get tripped up otherwise, you know."

"...I know."

And so, the sporadic attacks by the Army continued. Then, when the sun

was at its zenith, it happened.

The soldier in the lookout post shouted loudly, "Multiple units of

wyverns sighted in the sky to the east! It's the Air Force!"

When Halbert and Kaede looked up to the eastern sky, alarmed by the

lookout's voice, they saw several thousand wyverns flying towards them in

formation.

Halbert unconsciously pulled Kaede tight against him.

Kaede put her own hand on the hand Halbert had put around her

shoulder, saying, "It's okay, Hal," with a gentle smile. "We've won our bet,

you know."

The wyverns passed by the fortress where Halbert and Kaede were,

flying towards Randel.

Elfrieden Historical Idiom Lessons: Number 2

"Randel's One Night Fortress"

Type: Stratagem Meaning: To use everything at your disposal to achieve

an objective.

Origin: When King Souma was subduing Georg's rebellion, he made use

of the Forbidden Army's capabilities as combat engineers to revive an

abandoned fortress.

Synonyms: Thirty-Six Stratagems' 14th stratagem, "Borrow a corpse to

resurrect the soul."