Record of Wortenia War: Volume 21 [Parts 1 to 4] by Ryota Hori

Author:Ryota Hori
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 2: The Delivered Letter

It was around 2 a.m. at the camp outside the town of Dursen, which had the banner of a double-headed snake with gold and silver scales coiled around a sword—the Makoshiba barony’s emblem. One could say that the camp was so well-defended that physical walls surrounded it. The tent at the center housed the young warlord leading this army, who sat with his arms crossed as he stared out into the air.

Having finished all manner of paperwork, he was considering his future options. Everything’s going according to schedule so far.

He mapped the area surrounding Dursen in his mind. Located to the north, with Dursen as its base, was Viscount Rancard’s domain, with towns of Thelmes and Anpol to the south. These three towns formed a vital position for Viscount Rancard.

And took the most significant town of those three, Dursen. They treated this with a great deal of dislike, but we won them over. It’s unlikely they will do anything until this war is over.

Ryoma sneered, recalling how the delegation returned to town smiling after meeting him. On the evening of the day before, they finally accepted Ryoma’s call to surrender and agreed to place Dursen under the Mikoshiba barony occupation. Even after hearing that, Ryoma didn’t have his army enter the city, nor did he demand any gold or supplies.

This surprised the Dursen delegation, and they reacted with great relief when they realized Ryoma wasn’t lying. A conqueror occupying a city in this world shared their supplies, which was a privilege and necessity since one had to do so to support their army.

In the face of this necessity, most conquering armies acted much the same as they took from wherever it was easiest—simply put, commoners—and resorted to force if necessary. The tyranny of those in power was even more marked than in modern society; if they deemed it necessary, they would not think twice before resorting to violence.

The northern subjugation army was a good example of this. When Ryoma’s starvation tactics led to a lack of supplies, Mikhail forcibly gathered supplies from the region around the capital. With the country’s survival hanging in the balance, he’d acted with exceptional reasoning.

When your country’s on the brink of collapse, any attempt you’d make to sugarcoat things goes out the window. Upholding ideals can be important, but when you take it too far, it can do you harm.

This outlook was something many of the people living in this world understood naturally and had accepted. So, Ryoma’s decision came across as baffling to those from Dursen.

In a serious tone, Ryoma said, “I know the starvation tactics drove the kingdom to requisition supplies and everyone’s livelihood has become strained. I’m not going to make things harder for you.”

Hearing those words made any enmity and caution they felt for the man waver. Still, Ryoma had his own reasons for saying that.

I’m not going to use supplies taken from the enemy. God knows what’s in them.

Sun Tzu’s Art of War tactics chapter mentioned that rations stolen from the enemy were more valuable than those from one’s home country.

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