7. The Crisis of the Rakan March (1)
1
Caw, caw!
The sea stretched out, cool and vast, under the clear blue sky.
Jim, a fisherman who had set out to sea early that morning, frowned as he hauled in his net.
“Damn it! Another empty net!”
Based on his experience, he’d expected to find fish where the seagulls gathered, but it seemed he was wrong.
However, something else annoyed him more than the gulls’ mocking cries and circling.
It was his eldest son, Jacques, sprawled out on the deck.
Jim’s eyes narrowed as he saw his son, who should have been working hard, fast asleep.
“You rascal! Get up this instant!”
“Ah! What’s wrong, Father!” Jacques exclaimed, jolted awake from his dream by his father’s kick.
“What’s wrong? You’re young and should be working, not lazing around! Check the fishing rod and net, now! Hurry!”
At his father’s nagging, Jacques grumbled as he fiddled with the net on the side of the boat.
“Tch, why do you keep bothering someone who doesn’t even want to be a fisherman…”
“What did you say? You rascal, a pine caterpillar should eat pine needles. If a fisherman’s son doesn’t become a fisherman, what will he do?”
“I’ve told you before. As soon as I’m an adult next year, I’m joining the territory army. So, teach Quel how to fish.”
“Oh, you rascal! Your younger brother is only seven years old. And you, who can’t even swing a sword, want to be a soldier? You’re full of hot air…”
“Tch! I may not know how to use a sword, but I can handle a spear!”
Jacques grabbed a harpoon and swung it like a spear.
Jim frowned at his son’s clumsy spear skills.
“Just you wait and see. I’ll make a name for myself in the territory army and become an officer, then get a knighthood and become Lord’s escort knight!”
“Heh, I can’t believe this…”
Jim chuckled humorlessly, unable to bear his son’s delusions.
Then, he frowned and pulled his son’s ear.
“Ouch! Father, what’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? I’m going to give you some medicine. A madman and a brat need a beating.”
Just as Jim raised his fist, Jacques suddenly pointed to the horizon, his mouth wide open.
“Ah, Father! There! There!”
“Oh, this rascal is trying to play tricks…!”
Thinking his son was trying to avoid a beating, Jim chuckled and turned his head.
If there was nothing where Jacques was pointing, he was going to give him a double knuckle sandwich.
However, Jim’s face paled as he looked at the horizon.
Large sailing ships and paddle steamers were swarming in, black as ink.
“Th, that’s… !”
“Could it be, a pirate fleet?”
“Hey, you! Don’t say such unlucky things, because words can become reality!”
Jim scolded his son and strained his eyes to look at the approaching fleet.
The black crescent moon flag was fluttering on the mast of the lead paddle steamer.
Jim was startled when he saw it.
“Th, those are the pirates of Grenada!”
Grenada, an island nation in the southeastern part of the Rodisia continent, was notorious as a pirate haven.
For hundreds of years, vagrants and criminals from all over the continent had flocked to the archipelago of volcanic islands shaped like a crescent moon, and they had established their own kingdom.
The Kingdom of Grenada had little arable land and few resources, so the inhabitants would take to their ships and plunder whenever they had the chance.
As a result, their naval power was naturally strong, and they would often rob merchant ships, raid the continental coast, and capture people.
Their piracy, which had been rampant for centuries, had stopped 30 years ago.
The main reason was that they had suffered heavy losses, including the death of their king in a battle against the combined fleet of Baroque, the Holy Empire, and the Kingdom of Castia, who had finally retaliated.
After that, Drake, who ascended to the throne as the new king, emphasized intermediary trade and received aid from the three countries, gaining recognition as a formal nation on the condition that he would not engage in piracy.
However, they still hadn’t shed their reputation as a pirate nation.
This was because there were rumors that the Grenada royal family was secretly supporting pirates.
“The Grenada guys?”
“Yes, you rascal! We have to run away quickly!”
In his youth, Jim had been in the navy and had fought against the Grenada pirates.
Therefore, he knew better than anyone how vicious and cruel they were.
“If we get caught by those guys, it won’t just end with our ship being taken! They’re the kind of guys who torture prisoners to death for fun and then feed them to the fish!”
“Hieeek! Th, that’s… !”
Jim threw away his fishing rod and net and hurriedly began to row.
Jacques, frightened by his father’s words, also rowed like crazy.
When the father and son had gone about 10 meters, a cannon shot rang out from the fleet.
Boom!
The black cannonball fired from the lead paddle steamer hit the fishing boat accurately.
With a powerful impact, the boat broke in two, and Jim and Jacques, who had lost consciousness, sank into the sea.
2
“Hit! It’s a hit!”
From the mast of a large warship with two pairs of paddle wheels, the cry of a lookout announcing a hit was heard.
This ship, over 200 meters long, was the flagship of the invasion fleet, the Hayreddin.
Named after a notorious pirate king of the past, this ship was powered by six masts and four huge magic steam engines.
The Hayreddin, equipped with 200 large and small cannons and even a landing Gigant [a large, humanoid war machine], was considered the largest and most powerful warship in Rodisia, or even the world.
“It seems our hard training has paid off.”
A handsome young man in a crisp white uniform that suited his slender physique smiled and spoke, and an old, one-eyed man who was looking through a hawk-eye magic telescope shrugged his shoulders and said.
“If a Grenada sea dog can’t do that much, he should just drown himself in a dish of water.”
“But isn’t it difficult to hit a target hundreds of meters away on the first shot while on a rocking ship?”
“Hmph, you’re just spouting nonsense like those foolish landlubbers.”
The one-eyed old man was Duke Nathan, the admiral of the Grenada navy.
A Sword Master of the upper rank, he considered himself a true sea dog.
He was from a maritime military family that controlled over 100 warships and hundreds of smuggling ships, and both of his parents were pirates.
Born on a ship at sea, Nathan learned to swim before he could walk, and he spent much more time at sea than on land.
Therefore, he was more knowledgeable about the sea than anyone else and had a strong sense of pride as a sea dog.
“You should learn this well on this occasion. If you want to succeed His Majesty as the King of Grenada later.”
“I understand. But I prefer the fresh land to the fishy sea. Hahaha!”
Duke Nathan frowned as if displeased at the young man’s words.
‘If he weren’t the king’s son-in-law, I would have crushed him right away.’
The young man’s name was Fernand de Salizar.
He was a descendant of a count’s family who had lost in the succession war in the Kingdom of Castia and had gone into exile.
Fernand, who had reached the level of Sword Master at the age of 20, was a rising genius knight of the Kingdom of Grenada.
King Drake, who had only one daughter, was fascinated by Fernand’s swordsmanship talent, rich knowledge, and culture, and made him his son-in-law.
Fernand, who had become a strong candidate for the throne, was currently the vice-commander of the Grenada Royal Guard, and in this expedition, he was in charge of the landing forces.
“By the way, I heard that Marquis Luke is quite skilled as a Rune Knight [a knight who uses magic runes], so I would like to fight him this time.”
It seemed that he was feeling competitive since he was gaining fame at a similar age.
Duke Nathan, who had read Fernand’s thoughts, gave a thin sneer.
“That might be difficult…”
“Why is that?”
“Because it’s more likely that he’ll be deployed to the Kingdom of Milton than to us.”
The Grenada navy’s goal was to plunder the coastal trading cities and coastal areas, but the Kingdom of Milton’s goal was to occupy the March [a border region].
Since the Kingdom of Milton was mobilizing a much larger force, more troops and stronger individuals would inevitably flock to that side.
“That’s a shame. But I heard that the knights of the Rakan March are quite strong, so I’m quite looking forward to it.”
“Tsk, tsk, you’re thinking of war as if it’s some kind of tournament match.”
While the two were chatting, a middle-aged knight in a naval uniform approached and reported.
“Admiral, the battle preparations are complete.”
“Then, begin the bombardment.”
As soon as Nathan’s order was given, the Hayreddin and the warships that had approached the coast opened fire on the fishing village.
Bang! Boom! Boom boom boom!
After razing the small village with a few volleys, they began to land Gigants and troops on transport ships.
“Hurry, hurry!”
“We must unload everything before the enemy notices!”
The first goal of the Grenada expeditionary force, which had landed a land force of about 20,000 troops and 100 Gigants, was the city of Lamer, which was half a day’s journey to the west.
“Then, good luck. I won’t forgive you if you fall behind.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be waiting for you in the city of Lamer.”
Duke Nathan and Fernand, who had wished each other good luck, began to move on the sea and land, respectively.
3
“What did you say? The coastal villages are being attacked by pirates?”
Luke, who had been awakened from his sleep, received an urgent report.
The person who sent the urgent report was Pavel, who was currently in charge of the city of Lamer and the Kirillov Trading Company in place of Reina.
– They’re not ordinary pirates, Lord. They’re the pirates of Grenada.
“Hmm, why are they here?”
Luke also knew about the history of the Kingdom of Grenada and their cruelty.
Unlike ordinary pirates, they were a navy with a proper organization. They even carried Gigants on their ships and engaged in plunder.
The pirates of Grenada were the kind of guys who could easily turn any territory into a wasteland.
However, as far as he knew, they had not been engaging in piracy since they had signed a peace treaty with Baroque and others about 30 years ago.
So why had they suddenly started attacking the Rakan March?
His question was resolved by Pavel’s following words.
– It seems Grenada has recently shifted its focus to intermediary trade, and they didn’t appreciate how our territory’s port cities were profiting from trade with the Southern Continent.
‘So, they’re trying to kill two birds with one stone by eliminating a rival and plundering wealth,’ Luke thought.
– Exactly. It’s a win-win for them. We’re gathering forces from Lamer City and nearby territories, but I’m not sure if we can effectively stop them.
Lamer and the nearby port cities housed main offices or branches of various trading companies.
To protect these, each trading company hired mercenaries. Combined with the local defense forces, they could muster a considerable defense.
Moreover, the Lamer City territorial army possessed Gigants [large, humanoid war machines], and in times of war, they could mobilize Gigants and riders from the clans operating in the Gigant Arena.
The problem was that if they focused on defending Lamer City and the port cities, the defense of nearby territories and villages would be relatively neglected.
In fact, the Grenada pirates often used tactics of deliberately attacking villages to lure the army out of the fortresses and then annihilate them.
‘Why do pirates have to attack at a time like this…’
Luke frowned deeply.
It was suspicious that the Kingdom of Grenada had suddenly made a move now, just before the war with the Milton Kingdom.
However, he couldn’t simply ignore it.
If the coastal cities were devastated by the pirates, the damage would be enormous.
“First, quickly notify the residents outside the cities to evacuate to nearby cities or fortresses. And I will dispatch Commander Hwangbo and the Unicorn Knights.”
– But wouldn’t that weaken the defenses in the north?
Pavel also knew that Myers was trying to start a war under the pretext of the death of the envoys.
It seemed like they would soon have a showdown with the Milton Kingdom, so he wondered if it was wise to remove important forces like Fist Master Hwangbo and the Unicorn Knights.
“Of course, I’m not happy about reducing our forces either. But I can’t abandon the lives of the southern cities and their residents.”
– I understand. Then, I will do my best to defend the cities and buy time.
“Okay, I’m counting on you.”
With that, the magic communication ended.
Luke immediately ordered the dispatch of Hwangbo and the Unicorn Knights, and then discussed countermeasures against the Grenada Kingdom forces with Commander Rogers and other territorial army commanders.
Rogers was the first to explain Grenada’s military strength.
“Actually, their Gigant forces are weaker than our territory’s.”
Even though it was a kingdom, the Gigant forces of the Kingdom of Grenada, an island nation with a navy as its main focus, were not very strong.
“But what we can’t ignore is that they are composed of small, light, and fast units.”
“They’d be perfect for hit-and-run tactics.”
“That’s right, Lord. There are some that are about 4-6 meters tall with less than 500 fight of output, but they are unparalleled in landing or ship-to-ship combat.”
For a long time, the continental nations that had suffered from Grenada’s piracy pressured the magic towers to prevent them from selling Gigants to them.
As a result, the Kingdom of Grenada had no choice but to secure Gigant forces through smuggling or capturing them.
But there was a limit to that, so they built their own magic towers to produce Gigants.
However, due to a lack of technology and resources, they produced inferior products.
The core engine output was insufficient, so the outer armor was often omitted or made of wood, and each joint was very simply constructed.
They even replaced the left hand, which was not used often, with a hook or a clamp.
The continental knights ridiculed these Grenada Gigants as ‘Crabs,’ but after being severely defeated at sea and on the coast, they stopped looking down on them.
“We must focus on defense in fortresses. It’s difficult for our territory’s heavy Gigants to move on the soft ground of the beaches or mudflats.”
“That’s right. And there won’t be any naval battles at sea.”
Luke clenched his fist, showing his frustration.
The Baroque Empire’s navy had been in decline since the peace treaty with Grenada 30 years ago.
Emperor Rudolf was more interested in the army than the navy, and Count Monarch, who had ruled Lamer in the past, and his cronies openly embezzled the navy’s budget.
Luke had also been strengthening his territory’s forces, but he had only maintained the navy at its current level and had not paid much attention to it.
This was because no enemy had appeared to pose a threat at sea until now.
‘It’s my mistake…’
It was too late to regret it, but regret was always too late, no matter how fast it came.
All he could do was pay attention and make an effort from now on.
“With our current naval power, it would be impossible to engage in naval battles with them. Is there any other way to utilize them?”
“They can be used as fixed batteries at the port, or they can be scuttled at the port entrance to block the landing forces.”
It was when Rogers said that much.
A messenger rushed into the strategy meeting room and delivered urgent news.
“The Milton Kingdom has declared war and crossed the territory border!”
“Hmph, they’re attacking at a very opportune moment.”
With the Milton Kingdom attacking, he couldn’t stay here.
Luke quickly led the Rakan Knights and his retainers and rushed north.
After the civil war in the Empire, the flames of war finally spread to the Rakan March, which had been peaceful all along.
4
Myers, who had received news that the navy from the Kingdom of Grenada had invaded the Rakan March, ordered the corps that had been deployed on the southern border to attack.
“Advance all troops! Unleash the hammer of justice and fury upon the descendants of the rotten warrior who murdered my old friend, Count Bazo!”
The forces that Myers mobilized for this invasion consisted of 200 Gigants, about 1,200 knights, and a total of about 40,000 troops including cavalry, artillery, and engineers.
This was the total force, excluding the minimum force to check the Baroque Empire and the forces to maintain the kingdom’s security.
Meyers, who had no intention of dragging out the war, planned to sweep away the Rakan March in one fell swoop while the Grenada navy was conducting diversionary operations on the coast.
However, some of his vassals were concerned about the king’s plan.
The Baroque Empire army, which could descend from the north at any time, was a problem, but the military strength of the Rakan March was also known to be considerable.
Moreover, the Milton Kingdom army had not yet fully recovered from the losses and fatigue suffered in the battle of the Variand Mountains.
Nevertheless, Myers was relaxed.
He was leisurely following the invading royal army, enjoying the food prepared by the newly hired chef.
“Hmm, is this what they call Maekjeok [a type of grilled meat]?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s also called Neobiani. In Yemaek, it’s a precious dish served at the king’s table.”
This chef, named Baek Won-jung, was from Yemaek in the Southern Continent.
His father was said to have been a royal cook in the Yemaek palace, and his skills were so great that it didn’t seem like an empty boast.
“What is this white pudding-like thing?”
“It’s called tofu. Try wrapping it in kimchi [fermented cabbage]. It’s very delicious.”
As Myers was about to eat the tofu wrapped in kimchi, wielding his chopsticks with skill comparable to that of the Southerners, a knight rushed in and presented a dispatch.
“Your Majesty, a dispatch from the vanguard.”
At that, Myers quickly examined the dispatch and smiled with satisfaction.
“Haha. They’ve occupied the Barony of Paska?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It is said that the enemy was frightened and fled.”
The Barony of Paska was a territory located in the northeast of the Rakan March, and it was one of the fiefs that Luke had granted to his retainers after the territorial war with Count Monarch.
He thought that the defenses would be thorough because it was close to the border, but it was surprisingly lax.
“Hmph, they said the knights of the Rakan territory were as brave as lions, but it seems it was all a lie. They’re already retreating so easily from the start.”
At Myers’ words, the vassals who had opposed this war wore embarrassed expressions.
On the other hand, the pro-war faction seized this opportunity to flatter him.
“If the lord is rotten, what can the knights under him be?”
“Those who have become lazy in peace cannot possibly stand against our army, which is accustomed to war with the Baroque Empire.”
“We must take advantage of this momentum and push all the way to the lord’s castle of the Rakan March!”
Myers raised his hand to silence the pro-war faction, who were barking like hunting dogs.
Even if his vassals didn’t urge him, he was planning to push straight to the lord’s castle of the Rakan March.
“By now, they must be busy dealing with the Grenada guys. We must inflict a fatal blow while they are in disarray and quickly seize the Rakan March. There’s no guarantee that the Baroque Empire will remain still forever.”
At the mention of the Baroque Empire, everyone’s expressions became serious.
That was because, from the Milton Kingdom’s perspective, the Baroque Empire was their greatest enemy.
“The Rakan territory is a land that our Milton Kingdom must have to take a leap forward! We must win this war and lay the foundation for a thousand-year kingdom, no, an empire!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
At Myers’ cry, the vassals bowed in unison and responded.
The war was progressing as intended, and the start was promising.
Greatly encouraged by the initial victory, Myers urged the allied forces to advance.
He was looking forward to holding a victory party at the Rakan lord’s manor soon.
Due to the sudden invasion of the Milton Kingdom, the residents living in the northern part of the Rakan March hurriedly took to the evacuation route.
The faces of the people heading south along the road were filled with worry and anger.
“I thought the war was something that happened elsewhere…”
“Those bastards. Why do they have to attack during the farming season!”
“But I didn’t expect the territorial army to run away without even fighting.”
“Who would? If they were going to do this, I don’t know why they made such a fuss about training.”
The evacuees talked among themselves and then looked at the territorial army, who were retreating with them, with cold eyes.
At their cold gazes and accusations, the nobles and knights, including Baron Paska, who were leading their respective territorial armies, wore resentful expressions.
There was a reason why they had no choice but to do so.
In the three days since the start of the war, the Rakan March had lost five small territories and several fortresses in the north.
The Rakan territorial army deployed in the north gave up their territories and fortresses to the enemy without fighting, and this was because of the order of the great lord, the Marquis of Rakan.
“I will lead the reinforcements, so don’t rush in and preserve your strength while retreating.”
From Luke’s point of view, who had to split the territorial army’s forces due to the Grenada navy’s attack, he couldn’t afford to lose precious troops in vain.
To crush the enemy, it was necessary to preserve and gather as much strength as possible.
Of course, the evacuees had no way of knowing Luke’s judgment and orders.
“Huu… Even if it’s the Marquis’s order, it would be better to fight the enemy and die honorably,” Baron Paska sighed, avoiding the harsh gazes of the evacuees.
It was then.
A cavalryman came running from behind and urgently reported.
“Lord! Thirty enemy Gigants are coming this way.”
“What? What’s the distance?”
“It’s about 10 kilometers. But they’re moving on trailers, so they’ll catch up soon.”
Considering the speed of the trailers, they would likely meet in an hour or two.
However, according to the scout cavalryman, they didn’t seem to be chasing the evacuees or the retreating allies.
Judging by the fact that only the Gigant unit was moving, it was likely that they were a vanguard or a separate unit that had entered the enemy territory ahead of the main force to launch a surprise attack.
Anyway, now that the situation was like this, they had no choice but to make a decision.
Baron Paska hurriedly called the other lords and commanders.
“Are we going to fight? The Marquis told us to avoid fighting as much as possible.”
“But he didn’t say we absolutely couldn’t fight. We can’t just let the enemy pass by, saying, ‘Please, be our guest,’ can we?”