Reincarnated into a Game as the Hero’s Friend - Chapter 228.2

The area to the west of the Coltrezis territory not long ago belonged to Marquis Knapp, and was a little farther from their border, but at present, it was under the direct control of the royal family and was not under the control of some large noble family.

Considering this, it was thought that a large force would not come from there as the royal family had just taken over that area and would need time to consolidate the army and such.

Other than that, there was also Count Vogler’s territory which was a relatively large fiefdom. However, Count Vogler was a man of the civil faction, so he was not supposed to have that many troops. Therefore, Coltrezis House was also somewhat negligent in their vigilance regarding the west.

However, not long ago, a report had arrived that troops bearing the banner of the Count Vogler family had invaded from the west of the Coltrezis territory. They had around 5,000 soldiers, a large force that they had not been anticipating.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the Count Vogler’s army had secured a water source and set up a field camp in a position overlooking the fort to the west of Foan, the second-largest city in the territory, and had not launched an aggressive offensive. However, of course, they could not be left alone, but the Coltrezis House were unable to move their army as they wished.

“Perhaps the Second Order has joined them.” (Ermesinde)

“I had heard that they were missing, but…” (Lauterbach)

The movements of the Kingdom’s army were beyond the understanding of the Coltrezis side. It was reported that the Second Order had captured the westernmost fort in the first battle, but for some reason they had not joined the main force of the Kingdom’s army, and seemed to have returned to the royal capital.

And because a large army was reported to have invaded from the west shortly afterward, Coltrezis’s side thought that the Second Order had joined up with them.

If Count Vogler, a civilian official, was commanding the invaders, they might have been able to deal with 5,000 men. But from the report, if it was true that it was the Second Order’s Hinderman who was actually in command, it would be a different story. Even if the enemy soldiers were not the best, they would be expected to demonstrate their full strength.

The drawback of the [main castle sub castle] system was that if a sub castle was captured, it would become a base for the enemy to launch an attack on the main castle.

If the fort near Foan fell, not only the city of Foan would be doomed to fall, the capital city of Colts would be in danger as well.

Because of Count Vogler’s 5,000 soldiers deployed to the west of Foan, the Coltrezis side would not be able to make a rash sortie.

On the other hand, two of the three forts that had fallen were quickly destroyed. Kingdom armies took whatever they needed from them.

The only fort that Welner conquered was left intact, and it seems to have been used as a storage area for goods, but there were also opinions that it was a decoy, and at present, the Coltrezis side had left it alone.

The other miscalculation for the Coltrezis side was that the adventurers and mercenaries they had gathered had left Coltrezis territory. This was partly due to rumors that the eldest son of the Coltrezis family had joined the demon army via the temple, but it was not just that.

When Welner bought a large amount of fodder in Coltrezis territory, he had the merchants hire mercenaries and adventurers to escort the cargo, carrying them along with the cargo back to the royal capital.

By separating these men, who were more used to guerrilla warfare and skirmishing than to being regular knights and soldiers, from the Coltrezis side, the Coltrezis House was suffering on two fronts. Firstly, the flexibility of their intelligence gathering had been lost, and secondly, the supply lines of their own army were often cut off by demons.

Demons, and in particular the wandering demons that appear out of nowhere, did not distinguish between the Kingdom’s army and the Coltrezis House’ army.

In fact, the Coltrezis side, who had even conscripted peasants into their army to build up a defense line along the border, was unable to keep the demons at bay. Some villages even asked for help from the invading Kingdom army.

There were many places where the enemy was cutting away at Coltrezis House’s feet, but they were unable to do anything about it.

“What’s happening with the Farlitz cavalry?” (Ermesinde)

“We have no information at all…” (Lauterbach)

Lauterbach bowed his head in response to the Marchioness’s question. If the western part of the Coltrezis territory was cut off by Count Vogler’s army, then the northern part had been cut off by the Kingdom’s army.

What Coltrezis had not expected in particular was that the main body of the Kingdom’s army, having ignored the fort on the easternmost side, had headed for the border with Farlitz, a neighboring country and secret ally.

When Crown Prince Hubert confirmed that three of the fortresses on the side of the kingdom had fallen, he thoroughly ignored the remaining one and crossed the Coltrezis territory at high speed, heading for the border with Farlitz, where he had arranged for the bridge there to be destroyed.

This was not a metaphor.

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Also check out my other novels: A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, and A Girl Who Was Told “You Have No Talent” Turned Out To Be A Talented Monster