“It would be difficult to win a war on the kingdom’s northern border with our current military capabilities. I don’t want to take the chance.”
Kien replied with an empty argument. “This is childish nonsense. We have to fight as a unified whole.”
“Sir Kien, please consider the number of soldiers we can actually rely upon. The Ho and Rube family armies will fight. The royal guard’s first order needs to rebuild its command structure, but they’ll be there to assist us too. That gives us a total of thirty-five thousand soldiers. The Kulati, however, will come with at least sixty thousand soldiers. They had eighty thousand in the previous war.
“Every one of our thirty-five thousand soldiers would have to be a powerful warrior fighting with far more ferocity than our Kulati opponents, but that’s not going to happen. During the previous war, our soldiers generally proved inferior to their Kulati counterparts. From what I’ve heard, the Rube family army was pushed back by enemy foot soldiers just like everyone else. The enemy had a large supply of guns, while our side fought with swords and spears. It was a given that we’d lose.
“The second order can give us another eleven thousand soldiers. The Bof family has about nine thousand and the Noza family around eight thousand. These low numbers are a natural consequence of the poor quality of their land. That gives us an additional twenty-eight thousand soldiers in total, but they won’t be a match for Kulati soldiers. Even if we’re optimistic and assume these additional soldiers are as strong as the rest, we’d still likely be outnumbered.
“So let me ask you, Sir Kien—now that our kingdom and the survival of our people is at stake, will you go into battle without a solid plan? Is a good meal for every soldier accompanied by a speech to raise morale the best means of preparing you can think of? Perhaps you think we have an advantage because the enemy lacks eagles and plainrunners?
“No, we’ve lost in this same way too many times now. We’ve made ourselves easy targets by refusing to learn anything from defeat after defeat. Well, if you wish to repeat the cycle, then do as you will. Just leave me to do things my own way.”
My research told me that fighting on the northern border was too foolish to even consider. If that was our best hope, we’d be better to attempt a strategic withdrawal while relocating as many people to the new continent as possible.
“And you think we can win by retreating to the royal capital?” Kien asked.
“Yes, we can. I’ve already put together our strategy.”
I didn’t like promising victory when so much was uncertain, but it was necessary. In times of war, accepting someone’s promises was about more than loss or profit—it was life or death. But no one could calmly assess the deal before them with their life at stake. I had to promise victory even when it was far from foolproof, because otherwise he’d be paralyzed by doubt.
“Give me some specifics.”
“I’ve been preparing for some time. The first step was to spare the second order while capturing the royal capital. And don’t you think it’s odd that I found all of these documents so quickly? I planned ahead to make sure I’d find what I needed before killing the witches.”
Things would’ve been very different if I’d crushed the second order without any thought. We would’ve triumphantly encircled and killed thousands of soldiers, leaving us with nothing to show for it other than a mountain of corpses.
And if I hadn’t spoken to the witches before killing them, I wouldn’t have found proof of the Bof and Noza family’s betrayal. It might’ve taken me a month to discover the Charlevilles’ hidden room, and by then, it would’ve been too late.
“And if we abandon Mital as you say?”
“Father! You’re actually considering it?!” Liao grabbed Kien’s leg and shook him. His strong attachment to Mital was obvious.
But what was destroyed could be rebuilt. Unlike human lives, the city wouldn’t be lost forever.
“Liao, be quiet. Sir Yuri, I can’t turn my back on Mital without a good reason. Why must we fight at the royal capital? I can’t agree until you’ve explained it to me.”
That was a reasonable question.
“Then hear me out. I’m sure you’ll agree by the time I’m finished.” I began to explain the plan I held in my head in fine detail.
“I see,” Kien said once I’d finished. “Very well, we’ll abandon Mital.”
“But father! Early generations of our family raised it like it was their own child! How can we hand it over to the Kulati without a fight?”
“It doesn’t matter. Cities can be rebuilt. Defeat would mean the end of the Shanti. One city’s a small price to pay.”
It was just as Kien said. I was thankful that this old man was so understanding.
“Family heirlooms and the like can be moved to the royal capital,” I said. “The Temper storehouses near the port just became available, but you should wait until we’ve finished with the Bof family—you’ll need routes across land. The risk of your ships being sunk is too great.”
Bof Province lay between the royal capital and Rube Province. With no passageway to link the two places, any route across land would go through the Bof family’s territory. Obviously, those roads weren’t safe in our current situation.
I knew Kien wouldn’t put his trust in ships as a mode of transport because there was always a risk they might sink. And since seafaring required a very particular set of skills, moving items by ship would require help from people other than trusted members of chieftain families.
“Alternatively, I could loan you my company’s ships, but I assume you’d rather not trust your family’s treasures in the hands of sailors you’ve never met—especially not when they have to navigate along the coast of Bof Province.”
“When are you going to summon Orone Bof?”
“I can send a messenger today. I already have ten thousand Ho soldiers with me in the royal capital. I’d like you to remain vigilant, but not move your army until I contact you. If we raise Orone’s suspicions, there’s a chance he won’t come.”
“Understood. I’ll be ready to move the moment news reaches us.”
To my relief, we’d settled everything quickly.
“I think that’s all for today,” I concluded.