Volume 10 Chapter 6 Fallen General
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Mild’s perspective
I have some skill in military tactics, but I’m no good at being a Kingmaker like the Dracul family.
I sighed lightly as I reorganized the troops at the base assigned by Lord Gwain.
During the recent operation to take back Daracallia, Lord Gwain’s main force was ambushed by the flying units of the Black Dragon Dukedom, losing valuable troops.
I was supposed to support Lord Gwain’s main force, but when they were attacked, our side panicked and we couldn’t catch the main force of the Black Dragon Dukedom.
Because of that, we lost about half of the goods stored in Daracallia.
”Hah… This will make things tough for Lord Gwain. Even though some funds were moved to the northern fortress, the home base got robbed, and they left with a nice gift.”
It took 3 days after Lord Gwain and I reorganized the army to take back Daracallia from the Black Dragon army.
In those 3 days, the supply units of the Black Dragon army vanished through a secret path in the True Demon Dukedom.
Our damage to the enemy was small, but our losses were huge and hard to measure.
Just thinking about our lost forces made me feel really down.
”It’s rare to see Your Excellency Mild sigh.”
Entering the command tent was Malte Foilgen, a red-haired succubus wearing thick glasses.
She is ranked 15th among Lord Gwain’s possessions and mainly manages the supplies for the guard, also watching over me.
”Oh, it’s you, Malte… Don’t you want to sigh too?”
I heard that Malte was struggling with the damage from this battle, managing supplies for the guard, recruiting new members, and handling condolence money.
”Losing Daracallia’s assets hurts a lot. And Lady Felia, the Treasurer, is missing too. Without her, payments often get stuck…”
Malte looked worried and frowned.
The Dream Demon Clan are known for their beauty.
But the ladies serving Lord Gwain are stunning, even to me.
But now, they are in their forties, and their beauty is starting to fade.
”My guard team took some losses in this recovery mission too… I never thought Lord Gwain would fall apart like this.”
Malte’s eyes narrowed at my words.
”Your Excellency Mild! Please watch your words! He is your lord! You should not speak like that!”
My rank is higher, but Malte serves Lord Gwain, so she holds more political power.
I had to be careful with her.
”Oh, I’m sorry. I misspoke. I would appreciate your forgiveness.”
”Please be careful with your words. Sir Gwain is already paranoid after losing Daracallia…”
”I see… I will watch what I say.”
”That would be best… I don’t want to pry, but Sir Sven is watching us too…”
Malte whispered in my ear.
It seemed Sven had started to investigate me.
Being under Lord Gwain and having Sven look into me meant I was already suspected of something.
”Did I do something? I haven’t done anything to make Sven angry!”
A new figure entered the tent.
Another female succubus, slightly younger than Malte, just into her thirties.
Her name was Denise, a long-serving officer under Duke Gwain.
She’d been in the military since she was a minor, with over twenty years of service. Rumor had it she’d been with Gwain since his first command.
Though ranked low at 23rd, Gwain always included her in his entourage when campaigning.
Like Malte, Denise’s presence in my army felt like Gwain’s watchful eye.
”Your Excellency should reflect on your actions. What have you done in this campaign? You failed to prevent the Daracallia raid as a reserve force, ignored the main army’s chaos during the recapture, and even criticized Sir Gwain. What’s your reasoning?”
Denise, a veteran officer, had survived two decades in a violent military world as a woman. Her aura was more fierce than most men.
”That’s harsh… Denise.”
”Well, I failed to rescue Sir Gwain too, so I’m guilty as well. But someone close to him told me he suspects you’re colluding with the enemy. Lord Sven’s been feeding him that info, apparently.”
Denise, a career soldier who avoided politics, was oddly stepping into that realm now.
”Denise talking politics? Must be a sign of heavy rain tomorrow. I’ll instruct the troops to dig the drainage ditches properly.”
Malte sarcastically requested permission for ditch-digging.
”Malte… I guess we should be ready. But it’s no wonder Denise is worried. We still can’t get into Daracallia or the northern fortress. We’re stuck camping outside under the name of training.”
”That’s… Sir Gwain’s concern, right? We are still the main force of the Gwain army.”
”Would they really keep the main force camping outside? I think we should go back to base first to check our equipment and make sure we have enough people.”
Malte and Denise are worried about being treated poorly, so they are gathering information through various contacts.
”Is Sir Gwain’s bad habit starting again? My father warned me when he told me to serve Gwain. I thought it was foolish to doubt allies at such an important time…”
”Your Excellency Mild! We still don’t have enough information to be sure!”
”Malte… I’ve served under Sir Gwain for a long time, and I know his suspicion is almost crazy. If what Your Excellency Mild says is true, we need to prepare. Otherwise, we might end up like the enemies Sir Gwain has buried before.”
Malte still doesn’t believe that Sir Gwain sees us as enemies, but Denise, who has served him for a long time, seems to sense danger.
”For now, we should focus on reorganizing the army and training to clear Sir Gwain’s doubts… and we need to meet with Mr. Sven too…”
I sat at the desk in the tent and sighed heavily.
* * *
*Yaalan’s perspective
I led 2 thousand Magic Corps from the capital, Crystal Palace, to True Demon Dukedom to wipe out the Gwain faction parasites nesting there.
I’ve captured big Gwain faction nobles in the public city and placed my chosen people in the nation’s second most important admin position, so even important cabinet members were removed without a hitch in running the country.
Those Gwain members with something interesting about them joined this campaign; I told them they’d be forgiven if they achieved something, but those I deemed incompetent are already headless.
Now, I’m surrounding the last Gwain resistance point, the Iluska Fortress, in the Dukedom.
They’ve already lost the field battle and are holed up in the fortress with less than 2 hundred defenders left, but they’re holding strong, believing in Gwain’s reinforcements.
”Phew, I don’t really want to breathe the outside air… I may look like this, but I’m still an old man with years piling up.”
”I apologize for making Sir Yaalan come out… There are few who have commanded a great war in True Demon Dukedom, and there aren’t enough people I can trust to leave the army with.”
Yuri, who rode with me and watched the battle’s progress, is excellent as the head of the intelligence organization, but he doesn’t have the talent to be a commander.
”By the way, what happened to the trap we set for Mild? I’d really like to bring that guy into our country. He seems more suited to commanding a large army than leading a small group.”
”We’re framing General Mild to look suspicious to Gwain. Their spy network is weakened after the recent capital city coup failure, and their anti-espionage ability seems low. Gwain has already started to view Mild as an enemy and isolated him from important bases.”
I laughed at Yuri’s report.
”Hahaha! That guy is going to lose his subjects again with his usual suspiciousness… He’s just a man of limited capacity.”
”I already sent a letter to General Mild to betray them. I also made sure Sven gets the same letter. If we slowly surround Ilsuka Fort, General Mild will come as reinforcements.”
”Which side’s reinforcements?”
”Sir Yaalan’s, of course.”
Yuri is the woman who makes my plans real with her schemes.
If she wasn’t mine, I’d have stolen the throne from my father much sooner.
But thanks to her, I could stay hidden and focus on my research.
”So Yuri set a perfect trap. By the way, Mild has Gwain’s watcher with him, right…?”
”Those 2 are coming too, as a ‘gift’. They’re weaker than Felia, but useful for Sir Yaalan. Do what you want with them.”
Since they’re succubi, Yuri’s “do what you want” means I can claim them.
”Good… Then coming to Ilsuka was worth it. When will things start?”
”Two or 3 days… Mild might already be coming here.”
If Mild brings Gwain’s main army to surrender, we can take Ilsuka Fort and invade Gwain’s lands.
Footland, Esche, and Helstahl – lands Gwain stole by killing Lord Noble – border the True DemonDukedom.
Take these 3, and Daracallia will be cut off by mountains.
They’ll have to surrender to me eventually.
”Can’t wait for Mild to arrive. Only Kent Blackdagger and I can use him right in the Demon Continent.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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