Chapter 114 – The Invasion of the Merkus River – The Empire and the Kingdom

The Merkus River is a river that flows north to south through the western part of the land ruled by Seazack. It has numerous tributaries, and many forts still remain along it.

From the western side of the Merkus River, the Kingdom of Brenark began its invasion, while from the southeastern side the Imperial Army, led by Arloston, also launched its advance.

Neither army expected that they would be able to coordinate with each other immediately. First, each would capture the forts lying along their respective routes of advance one by one, quickly bringing the region around the Merkus River under their control. Only after that would the two armies meet face to face.

“Arloston-sama! We have captured the first fort!”

There were several reasons why Seazack had been able to establish such a solid defensive line in this region until now.

The coordination between the forts had certainly played a major role, but more fundamentally, until now the Kingdom of Brenark had only advanced its troops cautiously while observing the situation. Since his beloved daughter had been taken hostage, he could not resort to forceful measures.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Army itself had been unstable internally and had no room to mobilize forces for the liberation of the western region. Even now they could hardly be said to have the luxury to do so, but this time Arloston began the invasion with a limited force of thirty thousand troops.

Under normal circumstances, even that number would still have required considerable time to secure the Merkus River. However, this time the fifty thousand knights of the Kingdom of Brenark were also on the board.

The invasion of two different nations alone caused great turmoil for their opponent. In addition, Brenark had once ruled this area, so they possessed thorough familiarity with the land. The same could be said for the Imperial Army as well.

The two armies had merely synchronized the timing of their invasion, and aside from that, they were not coordinating with each other.

However, since battles to capture the area had begun simultaneously on both the eastern and western sides of the Merkus River, the rogues were unable to respond in their usual manner at this point.

“Alright! From here we will divide the army into five groups! Each will advance north along different tributaries and ultimately aim to rendezvous in the northern region of the Merkus River!”

“Yes, sir!”

The coordination among the more than fifty scattered forts was indeed formidable. But Arloston was not a naive man who would begin an invasion without a plan while knowing that.

Out of the thirty thousand troops, five thousand belonged to the forces maintained by the lord of Karmanda. For this campaign, they were being commanded by the lord’s son, Karzman.

Eliminating Seazack would also bring peace to the Karmanda territory, so they had been ordered to deploy without objection. Though, in truth, the lord of Karmanda had been cooperative.

The remaining twenty-five thousand were elite Imperial knights. Since they had advanced through the plains, they were able to organize a well-equipped force with a full range of units, from heavily armored cavalry to infantry.

With these forces, Arloston moved to capture the Merkus River. Facing more than fifty scattered forts, the strategy he adopted was a simple one.

“We will launch simultaneous assaults on the forts! Do not allow them to coordinate with each other! Above all else, prioritize speed!”

The plan was to capture each fort simultaneously with lightning-like momentum. If they marched as a single mass, the forts would coordinate with one another, and units would be dispatched from each fort to surround the army.

But what would happen if multiple units moved to attack all at once?

Each fort would begin sending messages to one another, saying『The enemy is here!』and『Send reinforcements!』Without being able to set priorities, and then…

“Arloston-sama! The second unit has broken through the fourth fort!”

“People from the fort ahead have come out raising white flags!”

“We will not accept surrender! Leave five hundred soldiers here while we advance! Kill those who came out, secure the fort, and once that is done, pursue us as we move ahead!”

“Yes, sir!”

Above all else, Arloston prioritized advancing the army northward as quickly as possible.

The longer they remained in one place, the greater the danger that information would circulate between the forts, allowing the enemy to consolidate their forces. There was also the possibility that the enemy might escape.

Before they could gather sufficient information or organize their defenses, Arloston drove his army forward and swiftly captured multiple forts in one sweep. He understood that speed was the key to capturing the Merkus River.

This battle was Arloston’s first campaign. The soldiers simply followed his orders, and victory piled up with surprising ease.

From the beginning, they possessed the great cause of liberating the western region, and their morale was high. As the battles continued, the knight order became increasingly united under Arloston’s command.

After fighting for about ten days, the rogues stationed in forts where the fighting had not yet begun began to panic and flee eastward.

Even they, upon hearing that several forts had fallen in such a short period of time, could understand that this invasion was clearly different from those before.

As a result, Arloston’s army captured every fort scattered across the eastern side of the Merkus River with almost no casualties. It happened twelve days after the invasion had begun.

And then, two days later. From the western side of the Merkus River, a knight order bearing the banner of the Kingdom of Brenark appeared.

Tension ran through the knights, but once the Brenark knight order crossed the river, their commander-in-chief came to meet Arloston.

“Pleasure to meet you. I am Jeigan Tartley, entrusted with the Brenark Knight Order by King Rudix.”

“I am Arloston Londonic, Knight Commander of the Zeltreich Empire. Sir Jeigan, allow me to once again express my gratitude for your assistance on this occasion.”

Jeigan was a man considerably older than Arloston, likely around forty. Both his beard and hair were streaked with white.

However, his body was large and clearly well-trained. He gave no impression of weakness; if anything, based on appearance alone, he radiated even more vigor than Arloston.

That Jeigan then turned his gaze toward the woman standing beside Arloston.

“Oh, Lady Calsis. It has been quite some time.”

“Yes, General Jeigan. The last time we met… was it about a year ago?”

Calsis, the envoy from Brenark, had also accompanied Arloston. She would part ways with them here and return to her homeland accompanied by Brenark’s knights.

The reason she had deliberately traveled alongside the Imperial Knight Order was to show Brenark’s intention that they had no plans to betray them here.

Arloston himself did not trust Brenark completely either. One could never have too many safeguards.

The campaign to capture the Merkus River had been carried out separately by the two armies, but from here onward they would cooperate in the campaign to defeat Seazack. There were still many uncertainties, but Brenark would not make any reckless moves at this timing either.

Even if they were to defeat Arloston and his forces here and seize the western region, they would not be able to maintain control afterward.

Although this land had long fallen under Seazack’s control, the people living here still felt a stronger sense of belonging to the Empire. If it had been former Brenark territory that would be one thing, but maintaining control by stationing troops here would not be such a simple matter.

For Arloston, it had been enough if Brenark assisted them at least until the fortress region of the Merkus River was captured. Now that this had been accomplished, he judged that it was the right time to release Calsis.

Besides, if he continued to treat King Rudix’s younger sister as a hostage any longer, it would provoke resentment from the Brenark Knight Order. Precisely because neither side fully trusted the other, Arloston could not afford to make any careless moves.

“Still, this is quite impressive. To think you captured the eastern side of the Merkus River before we did.”

“Even though it had fallen into the hands of rogues, it is still imperial territory. Some among the knight order are originally from this region. That is likely why we have a better sense of the land.”

“Haha, I see. Among our knight order as well, there are those whose ancestors once lived in this land… but naturally, there is no one from the current generation who actually comes from here. Though, from now on, the situation may become different.”

As the officers of both armies watched, the two men exchanged a firm handshake. It was the moment a time-limited alliance was formed.

“Now then… I have a proposal for you, Sir Arloston.”

“I would be glad to hear it.”

“If the two knight orders continue to act together like this, we probably will not be able to demonstrate our full performance. I believe it would be best if our knight order advanced along the northern route, while the Imperial Knight Order advanced along the southern route. What do you think?”

There was reason in what Jeigan was saying. The relationship between the two nations could hardly be called good and even if they conducted military operations together, there was a high chance of disputes arising.

Furthermore, on the battlefield, it would be nearly impossible for them to coordinate in a way that properly covered each other. If even the slightest mistake occurred, it would be obvious that they would immediately start blaming one another.

They would advance strictly as separate armies. Arloston also agreed with this policy.

“I have received strict orders from King Rudix to take Seazack’s head without fail. We have secured the western side of the Merkus River like this, while you, Sir Arloston, have secured the southern side. After this, if we, with our superior numbers, block the north while advancing east…”

“Eventually, we can drive Seazack into the eastern edge.”

“Exactly.”

They would move separately, yet still corner Seazack without fail. Hearing only that much, there seemed to be no problem at all… however.

“Sir Jeigan. Along the northern route there are many towns and villages. I ask that you keep firmly in mind that pillaging will absolutely not be permitted.”

“Yes, of course.”

Even as he said that, however, Jeigan fully intended to carry out repeated pillaging in the towns and villages they passed through.

Pillaging served not only as a way to procure supplies locally, but also as a form of reward for the soldiers. At the same time, it raised morale.

After all, this was imperial territory, their long-time enemy. They could plunder without the slightest restraint. And no matter how brutal the pillaging became, they could always excuse it by claiming that it had all been done by the rogues.

This was precisely the reason why the Kingdom of Brenark had offered to cooperate with the Imperial Knights.

Pillaging was considered one of the glories of military action, and above all, they had no intention of allowing the devastated imperial lands to recover so easily.

While seizing the Empire’s wealth, they could also indirectly inflict damage that would last for years. If they burned the fields, the land would likely become uninhabitable for several years.

『Under the pretext of reinforcements, we’ll thoroughly ravage both the people and the land…! But we are cooperating in the subjugation of Seazack, so there should be no complaints…!』

They would humiliate the detested imperial citizens, drain the land of its vitality, and seize its wealth.

At the thought of pillaging again after such a long time, Jeigan… no, the members of the Brenark Knight Order all concealed sharp fangs beneath their outwardly friendly expressions.