Game Mind of a Medieval Modern Person - Chapter 256



Only Krnovel

256. Me once, you once

What is revealed under bright light is not always beautiful.

The clear sunlight shining through the pure white clouds was a shadowy and old grudge.

Breath rising from beneath eyebrows clenched in anger.

Warriors hiding behind the fur of dead animals, venting their pent-up tension.

Winter is coming.

Beyond the vast ocean, a dry blizzard rougher than sand was sweeping across the ground that was beginning to freeze.

To prove with the cold blade of an axe and a knife the right to the homeland and world that was lost generations ago.

But a lot of time has already passed.

What was once the home of warriors had already become the home and neighbor of others.

Those who turned the blade aimed at cutting the hearts of their fellow countrymen towards the ground brought back old memories.

They took up arms to face the salty blizzard.

December 2, 1226.

Finally, the 30,000 men led by the Chieftain Silver-Maned Wolf Cloak and the 10,000 men led by the Commander-in-Chief of the Holy Army Tervere Orn Stregos Glerio Powis met in the plains near Netalium, the capital of the Duchy of Nvar.

Although the enemies they faced were different, both sides had experienced commanders.

The Wolf Cloak, who united all the tribes across the ocean, and Terveer, who steadily led a small group of knights to repel the raiders.

Before these two met on the plains, they sent out scouts to quickly survey the surrounding terrain, and based on the testimonies of locals and helpers, they were able to determine the superiority by chewing over the geographical features of Netalium.

“The coast of Netalium is full of cliffs and reefs, making landing extremely difficult unless you’re at a port. On the other hand, unlike the coast, the surrounding area is a series of gentle plains where it’s hard to find even a single hill.”

“Very vulnerable to siege by land, but on the contrary, those who rely on coastal landings. For those who lack siege engines or patience, this is a very powerful fortress.”

Netalium, the capital of the Duchy of Nevar.

There is a reason why Natalium was chosen as the capital, leaving aside better-located and more productive places.

Since the collapse of the human kingdoms that existed in the Morning Isles, pagan warriors have swept through the area around what are now Penrad and Bartline, targeting the entire basin of the fallen kingdom.

The invasion began in earnest after the Lonely King and his guardian, Duke Aurene, were killed.

Fortunately, the last stand led by the Lone King gave the lords of Nevaar time to confront him.

During this time, the lords of Nevar realized that the rapid movements of pagan warriors came from seafaring, and so they developed a design focused on riverine and coastal defenses.

Even to the point of deliberately giving up the defense of the land.

Netalium is the end point of that bizarre tradition.

After hearing the reports of the scouts and the testimonies of their assistants, the commanders on both sides reached the same conclusion around the same time.

“The pagans lack experience in siege warfare. Furthermore, it would be difficult to take advantage of their numbers, so they would rather fight straight away.”

“This place is undefendable. Even if we lock ourselves in because the stone walls look nice, there is no food or firewood to feed all 30,000 of us. We will all starve to death. We will fight back.”

There is no advantage to Mercury.

For warriors who had a large number of soldiers to support and lacked experience in group combat, including siege warfare, the walls were nothing more than a cumbersome obstacle.

Geographically speaking, the Terveir and the Holy Army, which can use cavalry and cannons, are at an advantage.

But this is something everyone already knew.

Wolf Cloak had already warned the chieftains, and Terveer had anticipated this and marched forward.

What matters is how you deal with it.

The one who seized the initiative in the battlefield here was none other than the Chieftain Wolf Cloak.

Wolf Cloak looked at the ranks of the Holy Army with his bright yellow eyes that sparkled brightly, then came up with a plan.

“Among the tribes, those who want to fight them first. Or the tribes that haven’t fought them yet will take the lead and attack them.”

Then, among the chieftains, there was a chieftain who was famous for being quick-witted.

“The Heart Eater, Bateson, asked in a puzzled voice.

“Chief, you know that right? There are more than a few ground-guard warriors riding on antlerless deer. Especially if they were to attack by surprise or from a short distance, they would be intercepted in an instant.”

Bateson valued human experience and wisdom rather than relying on greedy gods.

As such, I constantly pondered the memories of the deceased that I glimpsed through the ritual of reconciliation, and thanks to that, I was able to gain much richer indirect experiences than others.

Even the already dead Ariavar and Toryon, the ground-guard warriors riding on antlerless deer – realized how dangerous the knights were and avoided direct confrontation as much as possible.

Battesson learned a lot from their examples.

It’s not like those who are favored by God do not use human wisdom at all.

In Ariaba’s case, he intentionally attacked refugees to create confusion and thwart the knights’ charge, leading to a melee.

Toryon, leading only a small group, took advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack with all sorts of miracles.

The land-based warriors are all on a roll.

It was a fighting style that was designed with the warrior class, so-called ‘knights’, in mind.

“I’ve already prepared.”

“?”

“Ariaba.”

But Batesson did not take into account the subtlety and sinisterness of the wolf cloak.

“I have informed the enemies of the miracle of the Dragon God through Ariaba, the adopted son of the Dragon God. The Duchy of Powis has already witnessed the miracle of the gods many times. You should know how deadly the miracle of the Dragon God is to a group that uses antlerless deer as their main force.”

“…!”

“Landlord Warriors. The strength of the knights depends not only on themselves but also on the beasts that accompany them. Now that we know that we have the power to command beasts, we cannot rashly deploy the knights without knowing the conditions and price in detail.”

Wolf Cloak looked back at Bateson with a calm expression and continued speaking.

“It would only be possible in a really critical or dangerous moment, or if your subordinates disobey orders and come running.”

“…So, the more cautious Terveer is, the more likely it is that the belligerent warriors below him will rebel, causing a split in the command?”

“To rely solely on the other person’s psychology is the foolishness of hoping for coincidence.”

At first glance, it sounds like a fanatical, absurd answer.

However, Wolf Cloak was a commander who could explain things in a way that was easy for his subordinates to understand, even when he was talking nonsense.

“Batesson, I will prepare a ritual for the gods. A ritual to ask for miracles and protection.”

“No. We’re just about to collide…”

“We have to confuse their judgment.”

Wolf Cloak raised his right hand with those words and tapped the back of my hand.

Bateson, who had been tilting his head at the sudden action, let out a small exclamation after a while as he realized what the wolf cloak was after.

“The brand of Lux Stella. The stigmata!”

To warriors, [Aura] was the realm of ghost stories, but [Stigmata] was a real threat.

The stigmata are a hunting dog’s sense of smell that helps in the pursuit of Ise’s influence.

No matter how hard you try to hide it, the moment you pray or offer it to the gods, the stigmata glow and help facilitate pursuit.

What the wolf cloak was after was the characteristic of the stigmata.

There is no need to perform a ritual in hopes of a miracle from the Dragon God.

The stigmata only reveal the influence of the gods.

Determining which god’s miracle was a miracle depended on one’s knowledge, and even if one had received education from the church, it was impossible to judge in a short period of time the miracles of gods who had developed in a direction of hiding their identity for a long time.

And the courage to apply and use this knowledge on the spot is what matters.

“Forward while we tie up the knights for a moment.”

That must be why he was chosen by the gods.

“Surround.”

The first number was thrown by the wolf cloaks and warriors.

It’s not like we’re right in front of each other, we’ve only just begun to see each other.

However, the wolf cloak encouraged the tribes to close the distance, which confused the crusaders.

“No. How can you send out a detachment of men who are not even knights but just backpackers when they have far more troops?”

“No matter how fast you run, if you run this distance you’ll get tired first…”

The soldiers looked at the warriors running at least five hundred paces away with foolish eyes.

Some of them even looked at me with contempt, as if they thought I was pathetic.

However, the leadership of the Holy War Army had already begun to cast off their arrogance and become alert.

Terveer and his knights looked at the squirming enemy camp with serious eyes.

“They certainly look different from the usual raiders. They’re clearly led by someone who knows at least a little bit about tactics.”

“Are you planning on tying me down here?”

If you split your forces like that, the Holy War Army will definitely have the advantage.

Because we have powerful weapons such as the old cannons, high-quality skilled soldiers, and knights.

Some knights who still could not let go of their feelings of looking down on the enemy emphasized this part.

“Your Majesty, please give the order to set out. We will definitely defeat those bastards from the start and raise the banner of humanity high.”

“Please allow me to take revenge!”

But Terveer’s answer was firm.

“no.”

“Sir Terve…?”

“At most, 3 or 4 thousand. Even if we defeat that, the enemies we’ll face will only be 20,000 at most. It already looks like we won’t win if we give up our strength.”

Although illiterate, Terveer is not entirely stupid.

That’s because I don’t think about it at all unless it’s something I’m interested in.

But it was Terveir who showed his cleverness in the military field, and he knew what was needed to take advantage of the Holy War’s advantages.

“The knight’s power is absolute, but it is temporary. In particular, a warhorse wearing armor tires quickly. Don’t forget to pay attention to the distribution of your warhorse’s stamina.”

“Ugh.”

“Furthermore, those sent out by the enemy like that are probably not skilled enough to form a phalanx. They are capable of charging in disorderly, but not of standing up to the enemy in an orderly manner. Look at their formation, which is disorganized as they run without stopping. Can’t you see that they are not beyond the limits of a raider?”

“That’s… definitely…”

“Our soldiers and your followers can easily defeat that level.”

but.

Terveer grabbed the reins, indicating that he would not remain silent.

While trying hard to ignore the bright blue glow of the stigmata beneath his gloves.

“What they want is to make us cower and solidify our formation here, and as a result, prevent us from responding flexibly!”

At this moment, Terveer had made a decision after thinking quickly.

A special power that I once encountered while dealing with Ariaba.

I recalled that horrible howl that had driven all the beasts mad.

As expected from the wolf cloak.

But Terveer went one step further.

‘If that evil power were to show itself again, it would be better to stay away than to let it run wild among the soldiers. Even if the knights were neutralized, if they were to drag out a long battle centered around a solid formation and old cannons, the morale of the pagans, who had less patience and discipline, would be worn down first.’

“Knights, do not advance at full speed to the right wing, but move on foot to pressure the enemy! If they dare to block the dawn of humanity, let them know that you cannot block the sunlight with your palm!”

Cannot be defeated.

It was a sentiment shared by both Chieftain Wolf Cloak and Knight Terveer.

That’s why this fight was becoming even more intense.

As both sides took turns making moves, changes quickly took place on the battlefield.

“Huh, huh? Those… those guys are moving?”

“Antlers! That’s not what the Chieftain said!”

Terveer led his knights and moved forward separately.

Then, a disturbance began to spread among the warriors of the tribe who had been running blindly as instructed by the Wolf Mantle.

Of course, the wolf cloak had guessed that the knights’ movements were not preparing for a charge.

“Their charge is meant to disorganize and confuse the enemy. To actually wipe them out or secure a decisive victory, they need to cooperate with other ground keeper guys. But right now, the only ones among them who have moved quickly are the knights.”

“But… I don’t think those guys who went ahead would understand the Chieftain’s mysterious opinion?”

“They are either people who are afraid of fighting anyway or people who rush into the first enemy they encounter without thinking. They are not very helpful in a match where patience is important. A wise blacksmith does not use good iron and bad iron together. If you can use those to gauge the enemy’s tendencies and abilities, isn’t that a good deal?”

“Uh. Hehehe, that’s right.”

“Anyway, the longer we continue the standoff, the more advantageous it is for us.”

The group sent now is just a waste of time.

The wolf cloaks were advancing the other tribes simultaneously while their attention was focused on the pack ahead.

“If we just surround them, we will win.”

With confidence in victory.