In the first place, the Kaldia domain probably detests the Densel Dukedom more than any other domain would. Many of my citizens were former refugees forced to the brink by Densel, having lost many friends and family members, and I myself was also almost killed by them, so it"s not strange at all that we would hate Densel.
I"ll get to the point, though. Since we know better than anyone their lack of respect for human life, we"ll kill them as well without hesitation. That"s just how it is. If I see them, even if they try to escape, I will kill them. And since we"re now at war - I"ll lure them out, then kill them.
They"re just unlucky. They should have given up and surrendered.
The extremely long battle lines extended far to the north and the south, the southern lines almost reached the Planates Dukedom"s territory, while the northern lines reached even the sea, localized small battles were occurring everywhere.
Nonetheless, it"s unreasonable for us to go through the Bandishia Plateau controlled by Densel and cross over the Amon Nor mountain range, and the northern sea is filled with icebergs that come down from the mountains, making it almost impossible to navigate. That"s why the Great Plains is still the main location of battle, while most of the other defensive battles are concentrated in the Genas domain, the Jugfena royal domain, and the Red Forest near the Planates border.
The king"s personal army is partic.i.p.ating in battle on the Great Plains. Even though we"re supposed to be fighting a defensive war, it seems that we"re progressing gradually and pushing the enemy back with our attacks.
Being able to push the enemy back to their own borders when we"re the ones being invaded, strategically this is a major defeat for the enemy. It"s unclear to me what criteria Rindarl has for victory…… Well, it has nothing to do with me anyways because I"m only a low-ranked n.o.ble with a small domain.
"Oi, the fire arrows have been prepared, my lord."
As always, Gunther was overly rough and casual in his speech towards me, and I observed the view beneath me from the high plateau. It was a horrible sight of about 100 people impaled on stakes.
The prisoners…… well, they"re getting executed. Although it was already decided on that they"d be executed, some of them died already from injuries suffered in battle before being impaled.
"……Honestly, you"ve really come up with something. My lord never did learn the elegance that most n.o.bles are supposed to have."
"I know full well that it"s something incredibly unpleasant."
"Ahh. Well, five or six years back, I was trying to kill you instead of the enemy soldiers."
At his lighthearted reference to how he was honestly trying to kill me back then, I couldn"t resist letting out a wry smile.
"How about now? Do you still want to kill me?"
"Now…… well then. Whatever my lord is thinking about or what methods you use, I never think about it anymore."
Heh, I chuckled a little. Then, while stroking Rashiok who was leisurely relaxing by my side, I looked over the horizon of the plateau.
Northern Arxia was a barren land the same as the composition of the Bandishia Plateau, covered with reddish gravel, and at a glance one could tell that it was an inhospitable place. According to what the Shiru tribe has told me, if you go farther north and travel through the Amon Nor mountains, you can finally begin to find a few plants. Just those limited plants managed to support their nomadic lifestyle before.
"……Marquis Rolentsor, the general commander of the Arxian Royal Army is a fair man. Even to his enemies."
"What"s this about?"
I changed the topic so suddenly, that Gunther had trouble following me. As we chatted, Agil and Oscar arrived as well, but they just silently listened to me talk.
"That is to say, he treats the enemies with the same honor and dignity as he does friends. Any prisoners that he captures, he will have their wounds treated, give them plenty of food and rest, and ensure that they have a clean bed in a warm dungeon."
"They adhere quite strictly to the code of chivalry, the king"s personal army."
"Is it really fine for prisoners of war to be treated so well? We still have to gather our own food these days, or else we face starvation."
Agil spat in discontent, and I nodded in agreement.
"Now that we"re on the front lines, we no longer have to gather our own food. Rather, food will be supplied to us. Food is being gathered from the inland domains that won"t face combat and transported to the front lines, and Margrave Genas is receiving a huge portion of it."
"I"m glad to hear it."
"The problem is just like Agil said, the prisoners are being treated too kindly. Shouldn"t there be times to use the carrot and times to use the stick? Just what are they doing, showing respect and kindness to the enemies that invaded our land?"
In the past, Arxia"s wars were always like a whip. Arxia"s military might was so overwhelming, that enemies would always be crushed instantly, and Arxia was the strongest country on the continent.
But, the war this time is different. The Rindarl Union definitely has equal military power to Arxia. It"s time for the whip to be updated.
The scout began waving his signal flag to indicate that he saw enemy troops. Well, this means the Rindarl soldiers are coming. I picked up my halberd, and stood up.
"……Well then, how about, we become the new whip? Shall we try becoming a symbol of fear and hatred in Rindarl?"
When Oscar made that suggestion, Agil and Gunther both looked at him.
"That"s a good idea. I talked with the folks from Fort Jugfena before, the royal army should act as the carrot, while the others can act as the stick. The difference between two extremes will confuse the enemy, and surely make their morale vulnerable to target. This is all in order to end the war as quickly as possible."
"Oi, wait a moment. Just what specifically should we do?"
Gunther grabbed my shoulder. I looked straight into his eyes that were so close to mine, and answered him bluntly.
"We will become to Rindarl, what Orville Kaldia was to you."
I braced myself for him to hit me, expecting it for sure - but it never came.
When I gingerly looked up at him again, Gunther was snorting from his nose.
"You took me too seriously when I said I never bothered with what you were thinking anymore, I think! You"ve become incredibly evil, haven"t you, s.h.i.tty brat!"
Just as I relaxed and let go of my breath, flick, I received a rather painful flick to the forehead. Surprised, I reflexively rubbed my forehead with my palm.
Gunther muttered some things like "as always, your evil brain is surprisingly excellent, always thinking about things I don"t understand well," as he trudged back to his own infantry unit.