Although we suffered considerable losses, we dealt a crushing blow to the enemy and achieved a great victory.
After capturing all the remaining suppression forces as prisoners, we immediately began looting.
“Hey, this bastard came to the battlefield wearing a gold necklace?”
“Look at this scabbard. It’s missing jewels, but it’s crafted like a work of art.”
“We’ve got plenty of spoils, so everyone take what you can! Don’t be too greedy and start fighting amongst yourselves!”
We took whatever we could from the bodies and prisoners, whether it was useful or not. Armor, equipment, personal items—everything.
When they showed up wearing matching uniforms and boots, I could tell right away.
They were all filthy rich.
Even a lowly private had a wallet packed with cash.
Meanwhile, we were struggling with torn, patched-up uniforms, unable to even get proper military gear.
They were a bunch of spoiled brats.
Well, at least thanks to them, all our soldiers got a nice, solid share of the loot. Ugh.
“Major General, the royal guard commander has protested, calling this theft.”
“Ignore them. Did they think they had the right to oppose us just because we were acting like bandits? They should be thankful we spared their lives.”
If we had fought against the regular imperial forces, it wouldn’t have been like this.
At best, we’d have seized weapons and that would be it.
No matter how brutal the war was, there were always some basic rules to follow between enemies.
But these bastards were suppression troops.
They were sent to capture us and treat us like criminals.
They didn’t come to fight to win.
They came to wipe us all out.
So why should we stick to battlefield rules? They were the ones who declared they would disregard the rules from the start.
“Have all the armor been recovered?”
“Everything except the completely destroyed pieces has been gathered. Around 16,000 sets, roughly.”
“Give the first batch to the riflemen, and prioritize the pike infantry for the rest. Make sure the distribution is fair so there won’t be complaints. Mix and match the mismatched sets as needed.”
“Yes, sir!”
Anyway, the two most valuable spoils we gained from this victory were the following: the first was the head of Duke Alexander, and the second was the armor worn by the royal guard.
It wasn’t as flashy as the elite guard’s gear, but it had defensive magic enchantments, so its defensive capabilities were top-notch.
At a certain distance, it could even stop bullets.
I had worn it once when I was awarded a medal and visited the capital. It felt incredibly sturdy.
So, I decided to take all of it and distribute it evenly among the soldiers.
If the frontline soldiers wore it, the chances of injury would decrease.
However, the priority was the 39th Rifle Regiment, which had recently joined us.
They were fellow revolutionaries, people who agreed with the cause of toppling the fallen aristocracy.
They were assigned to the dangerous task of handling grenades, so their equipment had to be carefully provided.
The grenades of this era were closer to fire-filled gunpowder balls than the portable explosives of the future.
Riflemen were an elite class, and without proper defensive gear, their casualty rate would skyrocket.
If I could, I’d love to take that fancy armor too… but since it would make it hard to distinguish friend from foe, I had to give up on that.
Unfortunately, I had to leave behind the royal guard uniforms with their distinct ornaments.
Right now, the only way we could distinguish friend from foe in the civil war was by a few identifying marks on the clothes.
Changing outfits would only make it worse.
When we take the capital later, we’ll design new uniforms just for the revolutionaries.
“Vaden, the interrogation of the high-ranking officers is done, right?”
I left the soldiers and returned to the barracks to get a report from Colonel Vaden.
“Yes, Colonel Kaiss did an excellent job using his specialty. After a few hours of ‘training,’ they spilled everything they knew.”
“So, what did we get?”
The ones who had formed the suppression army with Duke Alexander were all sent to the interrogation rooms.
I had authorized severe torture, so it seemed the results came quickly.
“Right now, there isn’t even a full division’s worth of troops left in the capital, Rahator. They said they brought all their forces here, and they got completely crushed.”
“I thought it was quite a lot for an army hastily assembled, but they really gathered everything they had…”
I couldn’t help but be shocked at the thought that the royal family had just thrown away their elite forces all at once.
I had planned for a scenario like this and prepared strategies, but things were going even better than expected.
Could it be that the Duke was really this incompetent?
“Did they request reinforcements or declare an emergency mobilization?”
“It seems they did issue mobilization orders to nearby units before setting out. As for the emergency mobilization, there was no mention of it. Should I double-check?”
“No, that’s fine. I’m sure they thought the situation could be handled with the forces they currently have.”
I began organizing the information I had acquired and spread out a military map.
It showed the names, sizes, and locations of units stationed across the country as of two months ago.
According to the map, there were four units within a few days’ journey of the capital.
If we extended the range to two weeks, there were six.
“If they all converge, it’ll become troublesome…”
Apparently, before the war, there were twice as many units stationed across the country.
Since there was no need to send forces to the frontlines, the army had been spread out in the rear.
However, even with the main forces stationed on the frontlines, there were still enough troops scattered around the kingdom to form one or two more corps.
The only fortunate thing was that two of these divisions were the ones I had sabotaged with leaflets.
So, in practice, the enemy forces that posed an immediate threat numbered around 45,000 in total.
About 10,000 were in the capital, and roughly 35,000 were either on their way or expected to arrive soon.
“If we crush them all, isn’t that a done deal? Our forces should be more than enough, General.”
“It’s not about whether we can or not. What about managing public opinion if we destroy all of our forces?”
Crushing them wasn’t the hard part. We still had enough supplies for now.
However, if we did that, the number of royal forces we’d have defeated since raising the banner of revolution would nearly reach 100,000.
How would the common people view us then?
An army that defeats more of its own forces than the enemy? It would be a miracle if they didn’t see us as spies and traitors who sided with the Empire.
“…No, that’s not right. We don’t necessarily have to crush them. We just need to prevent them from reaching the capital.”
At that moment, an idea flashed in my mind.
What we needed now was to keep the nearby forces from reaching the capital.
In that case, there was no reason why direct confrontation had to be the only solution.
“To march from the south to the capital, they would have to cross a river.”
“Yes, I believe it’s called the… something with an ‘A’.”
“It’s the Atrantia River. My home is downstream from it, so I know it well.”
Just like how Earth’s Mesopotamian civilization developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the kingdom had risen between the Tiora River in the north and the Atrantia River in the south, gradually expanding its power in all directions.
However, to the south, they were blocked by the coastline, halting their expansion. As a result, most of the southern army was stationed across the river.
What this meant was that if we severed a few bridges crossing the river, they wouldn’t be able to make it to the capital.
“Order the 39th Infantry Regiment to march south. Tell them to destroy all the bridges between here and there, then return.”
“Won’t this make land transportation difficult later on?”
“It’s better than having our own people spill blood. We can rebuild the bridges later.”
I immediately wrote the orders and had them delivered to the outside messenger.
With this, about 20,000 soldiers would be tied up…
With that, the remaining forces consisted of one division and two regiments approaching from the east and west.
“This scale should… be manageable.”
I decided to let them approach without interference.
With fewer than two divisions’ worth of troops, I could deploy some of my forces to confront them.
Even if I had to face them alongside the troops in the capital, the siege of the capital could proceed without issue.
The revolutionaries were more than capable of handling that.
“Vaden, order the soldiers to rest up. We depart for the capital in two days.”
The journey to overthrow the inept king and the greedy nobles of the central court was nearing its end.
A week later.
The revolutionary army, laden with countless prisoners and heaps of spoils, finally reached the capital, Rahator.
“General, we can finally see it. The walls of the capital.”
The first thing that greeted us was the uniquely styled fortress walls.
There were legends that the goddess sent angels to build it, and it had stood as both a relic and a fortress for centuries.
Whether or not that story was true, one thing was clear: its defenses were woefully inadequate.
I could see watchtowers and fortifications with no soldiers manning them.
“Shall we prepare for a siege?”
“No. We wait for now. As a matter of courtesy, we’ll offer them the chance to surrender.”
Accompanied by a few cavalry, I proudly waved the flag of the former Northern Army, now the revolutionary forces, and approached the walls.
As I got closer, the sentries panicked and fumbled around.
“Kingdom soldiers, hear me! I am General Carolus von Royten, Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Army!!”
I paused briefly, then raised the salted head of Duke Alexander high and shouted.
“The suppression force you sent has been utterly defeated! Their commander has perished, leaving only his head behind!!”
“I urge you, if you don’t want to suffer the same fate, surrender at once! Cease your foolish resistance and open the gates! I swear on my honor, if you do, no blood will be spilled, and the lives of civilians will remain unharmed!”
Naturally, there was no response. The gates remained firmly shut.
So, I returned to the main camp and summoned my officers to give tactical orders.
“It seems they intend to fight to the end. Prepare for a siege. Set up camp and station a regiment near each gate.”
“Shall we construct siege weapons after the encirclement?”
“No. We will take the capital without shedding blood.”
There was no need to waste gunpowder and blood attacking a fortress clearly designed for defense.
It would be inefficient.
There was a more effective and certain tactic available.
“Block all access routes to the capital. Not a single rat should be able to pass through.”
Cities, by their nature, consume rather than produce resources.
Especially the capital, where hundreds of thousands of people lived, the demand for supplies was astronomical.
I doubted they could hold out long without their logistics being cut off.
“The name of this operation will be… ‘The Fall.'”
Just like how the U.S. strangled the Japanese Empire, let’s see how you fare in the same way.