I Reincarnated As the Third Son of a Count’s Family, Only To Find a Series of Funerals

11 – Battle of Silverwood Fortress (1)

“Commander. We are ready to attack the fortress.”

“Good…”

The mercenary army, made up of Kamusians, was aligned with siege engines.

7 days after the fall of the outer wall of the Silverwood Marquessate. Finally, the preparations for the final assault on the fortress were complete.

‘If we stall for more than a week from now, we would be able to analyze the situation in West Berin and send the military this way. Before he fortifies himself and we don’t flee, we also become at risk.’

Carloy fired his soldiers as he thought. According to the orders he obtained from the messenger of West Berlin, it would take at least 4-5 days for the West Berlin army to gather all the way to Silverwood, far from the capital, when the Marquis of West Berlin would notice that something strange.

Once again, when we properly command the soldiers and troops to arrive in Silverwood, it will take at least a week longer.

When the outer walls were attacked and wasted time, if we set a conservative deadline, there is about 4 days of leeway. At most a week. We have to make some sort of deal within this period.

“At the very least, we have to pierce the gates of the fort.”

Conquering the entire fortress in 4 days is not even something I hope for. If the Silverwood people resist with their lives, it would take at least a month.

So Carloy hoped that they could break through the gates and pillage at least the first floor of the castle. He doesn’t worry that loot will be scarce. The marquis’s castle is somewhat overcrowded as people were not all expected to accommodate all the people of the Marquisat. Just by looking at the civilians living on the walls, it means that there is a shortage of living space.

And they took away everything they could carry. In that case, if they plunder even one floor, there will be enough loot.

Of course, the profitability will be quite lower compared to the looting they usually do, but for now, it is important to at least take a home run until the deadline. If you hesitate, it will be tough on both West Berlin and Lorraine.

“The Silverwood people were not the kind of folks to cause us this much trouble…”

Carloy suddenly felt that the current situation was somewhat unfair. Originally, when they plundered the Sleva tribe, I thought Silverwood without the proper military force or knights would be easy to take. But the people of Silverwood fought much better than we thought.

‘If the Earth God gives me a chance to catch this guy, I will gouge out his eyes and tie his arms and legs to horses and tear him apart!’

Carloy swallowed his anger for Gerard and ordered his subordinates.

“Attack! Show the terror of our Camusian ancestors to those farmers living off the land!”

“Wow!!!!”

Persist or be pierced.

Only the divine being knows the outcome.

**

“They’re bastards. The outer wall was easy to take, but it seems the fortress will be easily pierced.”

I said while looking at the West Berin army (consisting of Camusians) bringing siege weapons.

I thought that, considering the extremely disadvantaged military situation, we would not be able to continue defending the outer walls, but I felt deeply saddened watching the baron’s homes being plundered after the outer walls fell.

However, this time we will never easily surrender the castle. There is a vast difference in level between the outer walls of the marquisat and the fortress.

The fortress was built as soon as my father received the title of Marquis. This fortress, built with considerable investment because the late grandfather, Duke Lorraine, wanted to secure and safe the place where his daughter lives, has defense facilities built with the latest technology of Urumania.

The wooden walls of those guys didn’t even scratch the stone walls of the fortress that were solidly built and couldn’t be damaged by the trebuchet. So, other than the gate, there’s no place to attack and the West Berlin men are bunch of gifts (rocks, boiling water).

‘Come and get it. Let me make a stew of these heretics.’

It occurred to me suddenly, and in hindsight, it was a good idea to fight at least once at the outer wall. Thanks to actively fighting the enemies under the obvious disadvantage, my comrades formed an understanding of “Is it worth a try?” Especially, the baron’s residents who took refuge in the fort felt anger and revenge about the raid of the enemies’ houses. This was really important.

If we had not fought the enemy at the outer wall and fled to the fort without a fight, the baron’s residents would not have felt anger at the enemy’s looting, but fear and intimidation. And then, while we are currently fighting, it’s only the Red Rose mercenary group and our Marquisat’s army. But if the baron’s residents, who are the majority of the current population in the wyvie, cause several riots, as a result, it could possibly turn the whole battle and we might lose.

“The enemy is approaching within range. My lord!”

Patricia shouted at me loudly. I heard her words, raised my right hand and swung it forward, shouting.

“Archers! Fire!!”

“””Fire!!!”””

Whizz!

The arrows shot by Silverwood’s archers rained down on the Kamusian mercenaries. The vanguard of the enemy, clad in reinforced chainmail, rarely suffered death from arrows, but it was enough to cause them to stumble as they approached the fortress walls. The fear of arrows would slow down their movements, and sluggish actions in war meant death.

“Ballistae! Shoot!”

Thwooom!

Crash!

“[aaah!]”

“[What’s happening!]”

“[The trebuchet is destroyed!!!]”

Giant bolts fired from the massive ballistae installed on the fortress walls shattered the enemy’s siege weaponry and soldiers.

We had conserved the quantity of bolts to the fullest until now, but in a situation like this, we needed to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy. So, I commanded them to shoot without mercy.

“The enemies are building siege towers in front of the gate!”

“Tell our forces in front of the gate to stand by! And have the *machicoulis prepared with rocks and boiling oil!”

(*Machicoulis: Holes beneath the battlements through which rocks, boiling liquids, or oil could be poured on the enemy.)

“Yes! It’s ready!”

“Throw the rocks!!”

Thud!

“[f*ck, rocks falling from above!]”

“[My foot!!!]”

“Hey, you filthy savages, stop spreading your foul smell and take a bath with boiled water!”

“[aaargh!!!]”

The first siege tower that reached right in front of the gate was eventually crushed by our attack.

“We destroyed the enemy’s siege tower!”

“Don’t relax just yet! They have prepared multiple siege towers!”

“They’re coming again!”

As the Red Rose Mercenary Band predicted, another siege tower was approaching the gate. However, it looked quite different from the first one that came.

Master Gerard turned to me and said:

“They attached multiple layers of shields to the siege tower’s roof. It will be much more difficult to deal with.”

If only there had been plenty of oil, we could have burned them to the ground…

The new siege stones did not break even when thrown from above, blocked by a shield. Boiling water was useless.

“[One! Two!]”

Bang!

“Ahh!!”

“Hold on!!!”

The soldiers of Silverwood placed several supports against the gate and held on as much as possible.

But the gate’s durability was decreasing, and finally,

Riiiip!

“The gate has been breached!!!”

“Fall back!!”

The gate of the inner castle of the Silverwood viscount had been broken through by the enemy’s siege stones.

“[You’re finished now!]”

“[Prepare to die, you filthy peasants who live off the land!]”

At this, the Kamusians surged forward through the gate. Since the gate had been breached, it seemed they could no longer be stopped.

But what awaited them…

Clang!

A new wall made of iron bars.

“[What, what is this?]”

“[We’re blocked by iron bars! Don’t push!]”

“The exit is blocked by iron bars too!!!”

“You’re like rats in a poison. You bastards!!!”

Pop!

The Red Rose mercenaries, unable to move forward or backward due to the iron bars, fired muskets at the trapped Kamusians.

“[Ahh!]”

“[H-Help!]”

The Kamusian mercenaries turned into skewers, one by one, as they were hit by the bullets.

But the attacks against the trapped Kamusians between the gate had only just begun.

“Now! Throw them!”

“”Throw!””

“[Eek!]”

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“What’s this? Where are they falling from?”

The Silverwood Viscount troops, trapped between the castle gates, shot arrows and stones through Murder Hole, causing the Kamuthians below to fall helpless.

Consequently, the gates of the stronghold were filled with Kamuthian bodies and blood.

Watching the scene unfold, Caroy finally commanded her subordinates with a grave tone.

“…Retrieve the soldiers.”

“But, Captain…”

“It’s an order. We cannot keep pushing soldiers into the gates, it’s just a massacre waiting to happen.”

“…Yes.”

Whoo- Whoo-

“! The enemies are retreating!”

With the loud sound of the horn, the Kamuthians, drained of spirit, retreated to their camp.

“We’ve won!!”

“Wow!”

Witnessing this, the Crimson Rose mercenaries and the Viscount’s folk embraced each other, cheering in elation.

“Viscount! We won!”

“Patricia! You’ve done an incredible job!”

“Viscount, you too have worked hard!”

I held Patricia’s hand and exchanged a warm handshake.

“Viscount! How about celebrating our victory in this battle by giving the soldiers some beer?”

Due to the unpredictability of enemy attacks during normal times, I had imposed a prohibition on drinking to ensure full alertness. Hence, Patricia suggested rewarding the soldiers with beer as part of their victory celebration in this battle.

In recognition of the significant contribution made by the Crimson Rose mercenaries to repel the West Burnham forces, I agreed to accept Patricia’s proposal.

“Why not. Tonight, we shall reward them with beer!”

“Yay!”

“Hail to the Viscount!”

The people were caught up in the excitement of victory.

While I was also enjoying the atmosphere, my mentor, Gerad Kye expressed his concerns to me.

“Viscount, while we’ve repelled the enemy this time, it doesn’t mean we have won the war. They still outnumber us. We shouldn’t let our guard down.”

“Well… but now, haven’t they lost the ability to attack the castle? With their remaining forces, they can no longer threaten the stronghold. Logically, they have no choice but to retreat to West Burnham. Even if they hold out until then, it’s our victory when Lord Lorraine sends reinforcements. We can easily hold out for a month, surely Lord Lorraine will come to our aid by then!”

“Nevertheless…”

“We’ve been on edge for over a week to reassure the soldiers and the peasants of Bacjungryeong, so we have to loosen up a bit for now.”

“…I understand.”

Edric’s words eventually persuaded Gerard, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the most dangerous time in Baron Gerard’s mind.

‘These barbarians won’t give up so easily in my experience…’

But, after a long time, good things finally happened to Baron Gerard, and it didn’t seem right to spoil the atmosphere for no reason.

‘Being too rigid in this situation might actually lower morale. And the Kamusin people don’t want to suffer unnecessary casualties for the people of Westberun anymore.’

As Baron Gerard said, the actions shown by the Kamusin people were unusual. A mercenary group does not undertake a siege alone while enduring such large losses for the employer. This is because their lives are just as important to them.

If other employers who frequently hire mercenaries see this fantastic, goofy show by the Kamusin people, they would be moved to tears, exclaiming, “I can’t believe a mercenary group like this existed in the world!!!!” And they would offer lifetime mercenary contracts to the Kamusin people. This siege is an unbelievable service to the employers. Regardless of the outcome of this war, the value of the Kamusin people would increase significantly.

‘…Yes, they’ll stop if they have any sense. They didn’t attack our territory independently and ignore the employer…’

In the end, Baron Gerard decided to bury his anxious thoughts in a corner of his mind and forget about them.

**

A dark as night.

Kamusin mercenary leader Kari looked at the men in front of him and asked the lieutenant.

“It’s true that these men speak fluent Urmannian, isn’t it?”

“Yes, they are volunteers who joined our group after being captured while raiding Urmannian villages.”

“Could these men betray us and ally with Silverwood?”

When Kari expressed his doubts about the loyalty of the men in front of him to the lieutenant, one of the men among them spoke up.

“We have no attachment to Urmannia. As Urmannian people, all we have received is suffering.”

“Right. We want to be part of the warriors who ride the plains.”

“Please trust us. We will carry out any task you give us.”

These men had become vagrants fleeing from their lord because their lives had been worn down by the heavy taxes imposed due to the war waged by the nobles of Urmannia.

In an environment where they could be captured and killed by their lord at any time, they would rather join the Kamusin people to guarantee their safety and earn their fair share.

There was no need for the Kamusin people to reject these fugitive people who were friendly to them, so they accepted some of them as potential warriors, some of whom stood in front of Kari.

“Then prove your loyalty through your actions. If you succeed in this task, you will receive a tenth of the spoils from this raid.”

“Leave it to us!”

And with that, three Urmannian-born Kamusin mercenary soldiers infiltrated the fortress through a secret passage.

They should have been captured and killed by the soldiers guarding the walls, but all the guards were drunk and not in their right minds.

The infiltrators, disguised as Silverwood soldiers, shook one of the sleeping soldiers awake.

“Huh… what, *hiccup* is going on?”

“Hey, buddy. I was ordered to bring this item to the food warehouse, but I have no idea where it is. Do you happen to know where the food warehouse is?”

“Uh… the food warehouse… *hic!* It’s… down there, in that direction *hic!*…”

“Thanks, sorry for disturbing your rest. Sleep well.”

And so, the three of them finished their questioning and left the intoxicated soldier behind as they moved toward their destination.

“…But would anyone in this castle not know about the food warehouse *hic!*?”

The drunken soldier was briefly puzzled, but soon fell back asleep without giving it much thought.

**

“Fire!!!”

“The food warehouse is on fire!!!”

“Hurry, bring water!!!”

“What were the guards even doing!?”

The day after the Kamusin victory.

Silverwood had to pay a heavy price for its arrogance.

“…Damn it.”

A month’s worth of food in Silverwood Viscount’s castle.

All gone!