DWBS 35: The Beginning

Imperial Army
Infantry 200,000
Heavy Infantry 30,000
Heavy Cavalry 10,000
Light Cavalry 20,000
Equestrian Tribes　10,000
War Statue/Royal Guards　500
Desert People　300

VS

Kingdom Army
Infantry 10,000（Margrave Zaltran’s Army）
Heavy Infantry ? ? ? ?
Heavy Cavalry ? ? ? ?
Light Cavalry ? ? ? ?

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「We’ll begin our meeting」
Adonis looks around after declaring so.

「I think that everyone knows……the Empire made a massive advance towards the Kingdom. The Empire’s military force is over 200,000」
Adonis said.
「With this scale, we can consider this as the 5th Empire-Kingdom War」
Eugene said happily.

「Well, this time’s agenda……is our future policy. Do we support the Empire, or do we support the Kingdom, or neutral? I think that we should be neutral」
Branch nodded to Adonis’ words.
「Eehh, I’m for neutral also. Although the border will change significantly, the Kingdom will not be destroyed. The Kingdom’s current king led the Kingdom to victory in the 4th Great War. I don’t think he will lose to Westoria」
Followed by Branch, Eugene also spoke.
「I wonder. On the other hand, the Kingdom does not have enough national strength to overwhelm the Empire. Gallia would be the best bet. You don’t necessarily have to pick up the chestnut remains in the fire」
The three people declared themselves neutral, and Claris’ policy is settled as neutral.

＿＿＿＿＿

「Neutral……ma, it’s reasonable」
Roa nodded to Haruto after hearing the result of the meeting.
「But everyone is too optimistic. If the Empire won over the Kingdom, then it’s the turn of the City-State Union. Is this ok? 」
Haruto opened his mouth to question.
「The Empire and the Kingdom has waged wars four times, and the Empire never won a single one. Moreover, the current king of the Kingdom is famous for his military exploits. Even if they are to lose, it’s impossible for the Imperial City to fall. The Imperial Capital has thick walls and high walls. In the second war, the Kingdom could not defeat the Empire because of its walls and were forced to withdraw. Even though the Germanis are strong, it seems that Endars I also fought hard」
Roa explains the strength of the Kingdom to Haruto.
「Is that so? But I feel uneasy……」
Anxiety is swirling in Haruto’s chest.
＿＿＿＿＿＿

Three weeks have passed since the Imperial Army has left the Imperial Capital Rosyth.

「Oh, there’s the castle of Margrave Zaltran, it’s the Zaltran Castle! It’s quite a solid castle」
A slender man, Lieutenant Avere said while on a horse.
「That’s true. But can we defeat that with us alone? What do we do? 」
Claire said to Avere.

The Imperial Army is advancing while divided into two. One is led by Westoria, with the infantry at the center led by Marx. Another is led by Claire, a fast-moving troop with the cavalry as the center led by Avere. The task of the advance team is to capture the Zaltran Castle, suppress the land around the port and secure the supply lines.

「Please be assured. Because there’s a new type of siege weapon over here」
Avere replied with a smile.

＿＿＿＿＿

「Fumu, I heard that the number of enemies is over 200,000……is that the advance team」
Margrave Zaltran observed the Imperial Army with a magic tool called distant glasses from the top of the castle walls.
「Looks like it. The number is……10,000 cavalry and about 30,000 infantry? 」
The one who said that to Margrave Zaltran is an old knight who has served him for a long time.

「Considering that the cavalry is not good for siege battles, it’s actually only 30,000. With that degree, this castle won’t fall」
Zaltran snorted. Zaltran’s troops in the castle is only 10,000. But everyone is elites who have fought many times with the Empire. Meanwhile, the Imperial Army has 30,000 drafted from farmers. The difference in proficiency is evident.
「You have to be careful of their Secret Fire」
The Secret Fire is a weapon made by the Empire’s first Emperor. The manufacturing method is only known to a few in the Empire. It’s exactly the trump card of the Empire. It was thought as a magic tool of the Empire, and they have been studying it for many years but they haven’t figured out the manufacturing method at all.
「Well. Even if they shoot an arrow of fire, it’ll still misfire. It’s a considerable threat but there won’t be a problem if you deal with it calmly」
Zaltran calmly said.

After a short time, the Imperial troops began to move hastily.
「Ah! They started to move. That is……is that a catapult? 」
「It seems like that……but it’s quite far away. I think that it won’t reach with that much distance……」
Catapult? There’s a considerable distance from Zaltran Castle and them. It’s three times the effective range of the usual catapult.
「Can the Imperial Army not be able to measure the distance? 」
「That’s stupid. If it’s like this, our measures may not even be necessary」
That was the last words of the two of them.

＿＿＿＿＿

「Oh! I hit it! 」
「It’s an amazing distance, this. The range is more than three times of a normal catapult」
Claire and Avere looked at the new siege weapons……the Trebuchet and said that.
「His Majesty was talking about the potential energy of the weights……I don’t understand it at all」
「Does not matter how it works. The important thing is that we can unilaterally attack」

Barrels filled with rocks hit the walls many times through the Trebuchet. The castle walls and gate began to collapse little by little.

「Even so, the enemy’s movements are slow. This is unusual for a war veteran. The walls have just become that, I thought that he would come out」
「Perhaps the two people that the rock hit a while ago are the two commanders」
「If so, I feel sorry. Now then, shall we move the infantry. Indeed, it will not fall with just the Trebuchet alone」
Avere orders the 30,000 infantry to attack. The castle fell in a few hours.

＿＿＿＿＿＿

Approximately the same time, at the Kingdom’s coastal waters.

「I see it!! The Imperial Navy. The number is……about one hundred ships」
The sailors said that while looking through the distance glasses.
「I see……if you think about it, our Kingdom Navy which only numbered to 80 is outnumbered. But in the last battle, it’s not a big deal if you think it was 200 to 30」
The Navy Marshall said while touching his beard.

The Kingdom Army is said to be the strongest in the West, but conversely, the Kingdom Navy is said to be the weakest in the West. The Kingdom Navy has never won a war during the past 4 great wars.

「I’m not going to lose face to those army guys. I will win this battle. My Kingdom is the sea. We’ll show them who’s the strongest in the world」
The Navy Marshall glared at the Imperial Navy which has begun to appear in the naked eye.

「Nn? There are 20 considerably big ships among the Imperial Navy」
「What does it mean? Give it to me! 」
Navy Marshall grabs the distance glasses from the sailor, watching the Imperial Navy.

There’s certainly a ship that’s considerably bigger than the other naval vessels.

「What does it mean? 」

Navy battles are fought through ram tactics and boarding. Therefore, it’s preferable to have a small and easy maneuverable ship. In fact, most of the ships in the Navy are small. Conversely, the larger the ship, the slower the speed, and it’s become the object of ramming attacks.

Navy Marshall’s anxiety spreads in his heart. Such a large warship is a folly. But the Empire has a hundred of them.

「……forward」
Navy Marshall shakes off his anxiety, sending instructions to all fleet.

The distance between the Imperial Navy and the Kingdom Navy is visibly shrinking.

「Nn? 」

Navy Marshall is frowning. When the Kingdom Navy tried to make a ram assault, suddenly, the large ship of the Empire rotated to the left, turning sideways. A number of holes are opened in its sideways hull, and a brown colored object faced him.
「What is that……」
Anxiety hits the Navy Marshall again. But the Kingdom Navy has already taken offense. It was too late to slow down.

A roar sounded in the ocean after a while.

＿＿＿＿＿＿

「Second round. Ready……fire!! 」
At Hypia’s command, the copper-colored object……cannon blew fire. The mast of the ship that was trying to assault the larger ship was blown away, the deck destroyed, and the oars fall to the sea. Approximately two rounds of attacks sunk five ships, wrecking twenty ships.

「Prepare for the third round! Board the ship after shooting, attack」
Cannon fire bust again. Three ships sunk this time, and nine ships were destroyed. Then the Imperial Navy attacked the Kingdom Navy. The military vessels of the Kingdom Navy that escaped the bombardment was submerged one by one.

「It’s a great victory. Admiral Hypia!! 」
The Navy Lieutenant said to Hypia. Hypia nodded.
「This cannon is wonderful. With this, the Imperial Navy is definitely the West……iya, the world’s strongest Navy」
Hypia, while watching the flagship of the Kingdom Navy sink, has a big smile.

With this naval battle, the Kingdom lost control of the seas.

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Asuka’s weapon commentary section

Hello everyone. I’m a supporting character in this novel, Asuka. Actually, Westoria is the hero and I should have been the main heroine, but I have been demoted since Westoria doesn’t have much weight.
But since I am still the former main heroine, I will explain to you the weapons that I’ve invented.

First of all, the Empire’s Secret Fire. This is not the one developed by the Empire’s first Emperor Almus I. It seems that the Kingdom treat it as a magic tool or something, but it’s just black powder. Because they thought it was magic, I guess they couldn’t figure out how to make it.

Next is the Trebuchet. This is a stone thrower that uses the potential energy of its counterweight. It has a very long range compared to conventional catapults. It’s characterized by its accuracy. The downside is that its not portable. The Imperial Army has to disassemble it and assemble it once in the battlefield. The Imperial Army used rocks and black powder, and also throw other things like corpses and manure. According to one theory, Archimedes made it, but there is no definite confirmation. The oldest record of it being used is in 1165 by the East Roman Empire.

Next is the cannon. Bronze is used here. Eh? Why not iron? Because this world’s casting technology is low. Iron can’t be maintained as uniform, and there’s a risk of explosion. I wonder if Westoria will become like the Scottish King.

Now, if you have the cannon then you don’t need the Trebuchet, right? There are many people who thought that. However, the performance of the cannon and the Trebuchet does not differ much. I guess the cannon is more powerful? But the cannon is very heavy. However, the Trebuchet can be carried smoothly if it’s disassembled. We adopted the Trebuchet in order to make the advance team move flexibly.
……In other words, there’s a reason why the author likes the Trebuchet rather than the cannon. Because『Trebuchet』in Katanaka is cooler that cannon, I think?

Now then, this is the beginning, and the naval battle is the Empire’s victory. But the Kingdom is ready after a suitable time. Who wins……I would like for Westoria to win and return home.

Illustration (By Mitemin)
The red line is the progress route of the Imperial Army, the blue line is the route of the Navy.

(T/N: The green land is the Empire, violet is the Kingdom and red is the City State Union. The blue one is the sea and the brown one is the desert area. The white area in the middle is still the sea)

That’s all, it’s the end of the weapon commentary section.