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Chapter 85: Milton vs. Siegfried (1)

“Is King August yet to be captured?”

“I’m afraid not yet…”

Siegfried looked discontent at his messenger’s report.

“Bother. Did he catch wind of our plans and go into hiding? Things have become rather bothersome.”

Siegfried’s real objective of this plan was the live capture of King August.

The present head of the Lester Kingdom was in reality Princess Leila, both symbolically and in practicality. However, King August was still the officially recognized representative that reigned over this nation. He was a human trash that feigned illness and neglected state affairs because he did not want to let go of his power, and he was trying to flee to foreign lands when a crisis was befalling his nation…

But regardless, the official sovereign monarch of this country was August von Lester.

If King August was captured and a declaration of surrender was extracted from him, they would hold the higher ground in this war. And if – though Siegfried was convinced there was no possibility, but if – either Princess Leila or Milton Forrest accepted and conformed to the king’s declaration of surrender, this war would be over at that very moment.

But all would still be well if they did not.

In the monarchies, the words of the king were absolute. The moment they received his surrender in writing, Princess Leila’s legitimacy would be greatly shaken. It would be light work for Siegfried to use that window to sow uncertainty amongst the evacuees and nobles.

No matter how strong the adoration and support she was receiving from the people was, the fickleness of public sentiment meant that it was always accompanied by a minority opinion.

If they only captured King August alive and got their hands on that document of surrender, he could create a rift in this nation and destroy it within an year. Siegfried had already designed the subsequent plans for making this into a reality.

‘The problem’s capturing King August in the first place… this is proving harder than I thought.’

As far as he was concerned, King August was an exceedingly incompetent and selfish monarch. And indeed, that was the truth. But as they say, each man to his own: if there was one thing that the king showed a considerable knack for, it was saving his own skin.

Though he was one of the first to evacuate from the Capital, he decided to conceal himself and feel out the situation instead of crossing the border at once. His future course of action depended on how many nobles defected.

Because of this self-preserving personality of his that prevented him from trusting anything or anyone, he was not caught by the checkpoint that Siegfried had established on his projected route. The recent news of the Republicans sealing off the border areas and arresting nobles only served to make the king go deeper into hiding.

Siegfried was a man who excelled in both his scholarly studies and martial arts; whose genius enabled him to control the fate of entire nations as he pleased…

But he did not anticipate that a king of some backwater nation would be this petty, and crafty. This formed a tiny crack in Siegfried’s ironclad, immaculate plans. And during that time, the operation that Viscount Sabian devised was relayed to Milton.

***

“Is this what they mean when they say every cloud has a silver lining?”

Receiving an outline of the plan through a carrier pigeon, Milton slightly marveled at the turn of events.

Milton had invited Viscount Sabian to take a seat among his command at the beginning of this war, but he declined. Though he was disappointed at the time, it was because Sabian remained at the Capital that the Lester Kingdom’s existence was still hanging on by a thread.

Viscount Sabian did not skip a beat while Siegfried was stationary for the time being and issued his next orders.

This operation was bold, but also seemed reckless in some manners.

Whichever it may be…

‘This is the only way to drive out the Republicans from the country right now.’

After reading it, Milton burned the blueprint of their operation and mobilized his men at once. He did not doubt Viscount Sabian, for he too believed that this was the way for them to take a proper swing at Siegfried.

***

There were always bound to be hindrances, but Siegfried had been certain they would win this war in the end. No matter what cards the opponent played, the Republicans had already proven their overwhelmingly superior strength. From the point that they had exterminated the Strabus Kingdom’s expedition army, the Lester Kingdom was avoiding a frontal battle with Siegfried.

In essence, they were acknowledging that they could not win.

The princess was evacuating the citizens, and the large majority of the nation’s leadership – including the king – had abandoned their country. 

Their one and only hope were the forces known as the Southern army, retained by Milton Forrest. 

But Siegfried believed that they would not be blindsided as long as they went about this prudently.

Milton Forrest posed a potential threat by hiding his whereabouts, but he could not take action beyond that. If he took the initiative and revealed himself to attack, it was only a matter of butting heads with him with their full strength.

All they needed to do was take the time to solidify their grip on the territories around the Capital, while undertaking their manhunt for King August.

The one problem was…

“It’s only that it will take time.”

But beyond that, there appeared to be no issues.

More relaxed, Siegfried smiled as he observed the present situation on his map.

He had attained some serious repute in the course of this project of subjugating the Lester Kingdom. It would soon be time to consider how he could exchange his reputation for power when he returned back home.

‘It would be dangerous if the Fuhrer thinks I’ve become too big. It’s not time yet to come out of the shade.’

As he was picturing his future…

“Secretary Siegfried, an urgent report has come in from the homeland.”

Siegfried felt a twinge of unease at the messenger’s franticness.

“We have been ordered to mobilize all men and return home immediately.”

That unease crystallized into something much more real.

“What on earth do you mean!?”

Siegfried shot up from his seat and shouted. Though he was usually well-reserved, this was something even Siegfried could not hold back on.

The banquet had been prepared, and all they had to do was take their time in feasting on the enemy. Yet where was this mass withdrawal order coming from?

“How did this come to be? I want the details.”

“That’s… word is that an enemy has invaded our homelands.”

“Excuse me? An enemy?”

Siegfried’s immediate thought was that this could simply not feasibly occur.

The Strabus Kingdom had recently lost the force of 50,000 troops that they had dispatched to the Lester Kingdom on an expedition, along with the Master that was Duke Derek Brans.

It was possible that they could attack in retaliation with the thirst of vengeance, but Siegfried put the appropriate measures in place to prevent that future before he set off. They had once again formed a pact with the Hanovirtue and Kobrook Republics who agreed to attack the Strabus Kingdom if their army mobilized.

It was essentially impossible for the Strabus Kingdom to move their army and attack the Hildes Republic.

‘So how?’

The messenger continued while Siegfried remained perplexed.

“The invading force numbers 20,000 men, and their commanding officer is…”

As he read the letter, the messenger’s face turned deathly pale.

“Who is the general in command?”

Siegfried pressed for an answer.

“That’s… they say the commander is Milton Forest.”

“What?!”

Siegfried felt as if he had been struck with a hammer.

***

While Siegfried received his withdrawal order, Princess Leila received the same news.

Bianca used magic to personally contact the princess and inform her that Milton’s army had crossed the border into Hildes territory.

Viscount Sabian raised a fist into the air at the news.

“It appears to be a success.”

“Indeed it does. All is according to your plans, Viscount Sabian.”

Viscount Sabian shook his head.

“Not quite. Many matters were up for contention.”

“Regardless, you did it.”

“…….”

“Simply brilliant.”

Princess Leila’s words were few, but they came from the heart. Viscount Sabian’s stratagem this time around was just that superb.

Going back to the beginning…

Viscount Sabian’s first advised Princess Leila to withdraw from the Capital to the evacuees, and simultaneously instructed Milton to divide his army and go into hiding. He assessed that as long as Siegfried and the Republican soldiers were stepping on their soil, they could not attack the kingdom’s people so easily. 

Of course, vacating the Capital was a significant loss, but it was a necessary sacrifice. The state of affairs had already evolved past the point where they could stop this without losses on their end. This decision came at the end of a weight assessment of losing the public’s support as opposed to losing the capital.

At the same time, concealing Milton’s Southern army served to pressure the enemy, limiting their movements. Siegfried correctly discerned that this was his enemy’s intention.

But there was just one thing about the Southern army that slipped Siegfried’s attention.

Viscount Sabian did not instruct them to scatter purely with the intention of inducing pressure. From the moment they concealed their whereabouts, Milton and the Southern army slowly headed northbound, eventually laying low on the path between the Capital – now captured by Siegfried – and the border to the Hildes Republic. They were prepared to cross the border and attack the Republic at any moment.

After routing the Strabus expedition army, the Hildes Republic was rearing to swallow up the Lester Kingdom. Everything seemed lost on the surface, but things were not quite as they seemed on the inside.

The Hildes Republic was also undergoing internal hardship as they waged these consecutive wars. 

War was an undertaking that was inevitably draining – whether that be human capital, goods, food commodities and so on. A single war took an immense toll on a nation.

The Hildes Republic had waged more than one such large-scale war in recent times. It was likely that they would not have ample soldiers remaining internally in these circumstances. This was what Viscount Sabian had targeted.

The only issue was that they could not immediately attack the enemy’s vitals despite being aware of it, as their arteries were mutually exposed. Not only that, but the blade pointed at their neck was much sharper – and closer.

If Siegfried left the consequences for later and moved into attacking Princess Leila, Milton had to strike Siegfried from behind. To that end, Milton and the Southern army were instructed to station themselves halfway as they monitored the situation. What Viscount Sabian needed was the certainty that Siegfried had no intention of attacking Princess Leila.

He earned that sureness when Siegfried dispatched units to arrest fleeing nobles; for as he watched this unfold, Viscount Sabian became aware of Siegfried’s objective. What Siegfried was aiming for was the live capture of King August, whose whereabouts were unknown by either side. 

Ascertaining that Princess Leila would not be attacked for the time being, Viscount Sabian sent a carrier pigeon to Milton at once.

Now it became a fight against time.

Milton needed to penetrate sufficiently deep into the Hildes Republic to pose a threat before Siegfried captured King August. 

It would not be enough to merely cause a commotion around the border area. The enemy would not withdraw unless they became a knife thrust close to the Hildes Republic’s throat.

Viscount Sabian did not give further instructions on how Milton may accomplish this. With so many anomalous factors present, he merely explained the circumstances and entrusted the specifics to Milton, trusting his capability.

Milton did not betray this trust.

Blitzing straight through the Hildes Republic’s border, Milton ignored all the other checkpoints and strongholds and advanced to the Republic’s capital as quickly as possible.

There, he attacked Fort Bertheim – a stronghold that acted as a gateway into the capital.

And in less than a day, Fort Bertheim fell.

This was an event that normally just could not be.

Fort Bertheim was a magnificent fortress that capitalized on the gift of its surrounding terrain to form a natural shield, assessed to be able to defend against 10,000 enemies for every 1,000 men.

However, as Viscount Sabian predicted, the Hildes Republic was currently empty at the core.

Perhaps if Milton only had the resolve, they may have been able to march into the Hildes Republic’s capital and capture the Fuhrer Bahasten.

But this was as far as Milton’s army went before he withdrew. His part here was done if he gave the enemy a fright, and striving for more at a point like this was how they could lose troops and things could become awry.

Milton accomplished no more and no less than the mission he was given – to threaten the very doorstep of the Hildes Republic’s capital.

***

At Milton’s flexing of his strength, the top brass of the Republican government buzzed like a disturbed beehive.

With much of their national power exhausted in the consecutive wars they waged in recent times, the Hildes Republic intended to regrow their strength by consuming the easy picking that was the Lester Kingdom. And indeed, Siegfried had been brilliantly executing a war as directed by the Fuhrer Bahasten.

However, there were those that did not look at this project favorably. Whether it was the Royalists or the Republicans, the leadership of any country was bound to bunch into twos and fours until they eventually grew into different factions.

Though Siegfried’s duty was as a Secretary under the direct command of the Fuhrer, there were those that were somewhat perturbed by the entrance of a practical newcomer that was suddenly garnering all these contributions.

What if their own positions disappeared at this rate?

Regardless of whether they were conscious of these feelings of insecurity, those with such sentiment united in one voice and advised Fuhrer Bahasten: this near-fatal threat had occurred because they had depleted their state internally to wage this war, and what was needed was for this imprudent conflict to be ceased immediately and the troops to be recalled home.

Fuhrer Bahasten personally wished to back Siegfried, one of his men, so that he may brilliantly pull through as always; but an enemy force appearing in the vicinity of the capital was too large a matter to ignore.

In the political arena, opinions with a reasonable justification held great power in their agreeableness – even if the one holding the opinion came from a place black as soot with envy and spite.

Ultimately, Fuhrer Bahasten ordered Siegfried to halt his operations and return with the army.