Chapter 30

With no more lords resisting, we merged with Noen Rowd’s five thousand men in the region’s largest city. Upon requisitioning a building, I assembled my generals and listened to Noen’s battle report straightaway. “We engaged the enemy twice in a small village, winning both times. I have their head if you want to see.” “Later. Now comes the real fight. You took hostages from the lords acting compliant, right?” “Yes, all of them. We’ve treated them respectfully as guests, of course.” No problem, then. The conversation quickly moved on to the subject of turning back toward Orsent Cathedral. “Where might the enemy be lying in wait for us?” he asked. “Their numbers are great, so they can’t fight unless it’s in an open area. It’ll also make things hard for them if we make it back to the capital, since they surely can’t go setting fire to it. That makes it easy enough to guess what they’ll do.” We would probably clash with them on the plains near the wide Sorret River. “Noen, how tired are your men?” “They will be fine if they can get a little rest. We can keep going for quite a while. In fact, our victories have left them in high spirits if anything.” “Good. We’ll be in trouble if we aren’t at full strength for the real battle.” I hadn’t received any further updates from the rappas yet. “Now that we’ve joined up, we have thirteen thousand men. What about the cathedral?” I asked Kelara. “They couldn’t have been thoroughly prepared, so I believe they would have less than fifteen thousand at present,” she replied. “However, they must be desperately assembling nearby followers, so if we wait too long they will definitely surpass twenty thousand—probably around twenty-five thousand.” “So about double ours.” One of my generals looked sullen upon hearing the word double. Come on—if just double our numbers scares you, then you can’t work for me. I checked again, and sure enough, it was one of the generals who’d started serving me after I’d come to the capital. “You look like you have something to say,” I told him. “I’m not going to punish you or anything, so speak your piece.” “Taking on twice our number is most risky… Would it not be better to have His Majesty propose a truce…? Surely even the cathedral would have a hard time defying the king.” Ooh. Now, this man’s got his head on straight. Emperors and shoguns are worth using like that, you know. He’s not exactly wrong. That’s your best option here. Oda Nobunaga’s thinking was pretty sound. “Your suggestion is worth considering.” “Thank you, my lord!” “I don’t intend to take that option, though. I’m going to keep fighting.” “Wha—? There are twice as many of them, and our men are fatigued as well… It may end in disaster… It is too risky a gamble to take…” Fighting the cathedral must’ve seemed awfully frightening to him, as he was trembling. The closer people were to the capital, the better they understood the cathedral’s power. “Just one correction: This is no gamble for me. I’ve always made sure I can easily win before fighting. If I really gambled, I’d have lost a few times along the way, and I wouldn’t be where I am now.” I looked down at him, smiling. “Being a regent isn’t so simple you can get by on guts alone. I’m going to send those priests back to where they came from. They won’t be meddling with me anymore.” I’d heard plenty from Oda Nobunaga. Religious forces were stronger foes than lords were. I at least had to keep them from getting too full of themselves. I planned to become more powerful than anyone else. That was what it meant to be king. Who’d want to be a regent or king forever at the mercy of the archbishop? “I—I apologize for speaking out of turn.” Still, I didn’t exactly feel like taking an enemy twice my size head-on. That would just make me a fool. I needed to pull out some tricks—and I had the people to do it. “Don’t worry, I’m not upset. In fact…” His suggestion to make amends using the king had given me an idea. “I should be thanking you. Don’t ever be afraid to tell me your opinion. I’m on your side, after all.” After the meeting was over, I summoned Kelara. I’d cleared the room of anyone else. “What is this about? Is it something classified?” “Well spotted. Put simply, it’s something only you in your position can do.” “I think you speak too highly of me, but it pleases me to hear that nonetheless.” Pleased or not, Kelara didn’t betray a smile. She was both warrior and stateswoman through and through. She never acted immature in any way. Even when we’d spent the night in each other’s arms, I’d only seen the slightest difference. “Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t just say that to flatter you. Even if I had someone else with your exact same skills, you’d still be the only one I could ask. Your life up to this moment has had a very important purpose.” “Forgive my stupidity—could you be a bit more specific?” Kelara bowed her head slightly. “I’m sorry. I can be somewhat dramatic when I have a good idea. Now listen carefully.” As always, Kelara remained stoic as she listened. “Do you really think I can carry out such an important mission?” she asked once I finished explaining. “I’m merely being self-aware, not self-deprecating, when I say my negotiation skills are lacking. I don’t have a very interesting personality, you know. I received an education so I could correct it, but it didn’t make much difference.” Hearing Kelara give her clumsy yet honest self-evaluation actually made her more fascinating to me. “I understand why you’re apprehensive. In that case, you can tell His Majesty this.” I imagined the king I’d be usurping as I spoke. “‘First, by demonstrating your military prowess, you will gain the people’s confidence. There has not been a king for years who went to battle in armor, so everyone will think of you as even more illustrious than before.’” Of course, with Kelara’s brains, she would have been able to say this anyway. Flattering the king didn’t require anyone’s permission. Thus, there was something else that was important. “‘If all goes well, the regent will be in your debt. He will not be able to look you in the eye. Anyone who thought the regent ruled the capital will realize they were mistaken. This is the best way to enhance your worth.’ Tell him that. If it’s not enough, feel free to speak even worse of me.” Kelara’s lips moved ever so slightly. My proposal seemed to have unsettled her, if only a bit. “I would feel ashamed to denigrate you like that…although I do think His Majesty will accept if I say it myself…” “Exactly. I don’t actually want him to think I’m an uncaged tiger. I don’t want his misgivings to make him join with other forces.” “Very well. I understand what you want me to do.” “Bowing to the king will be well worth it if it lets me take out my most dangerous threats.” I was finished with telling her the plan. “Would you mind returning to the capital in disguise tomorrow morning? If it works, our victory will be complete.” “I shall do my best, but could you please think of a contingency plan? I would be overwhelmed to have your life entirely in my hands.” I went up to Kelara and hugged her gently with just my left arm. “Actually, I’ll be the one supporting everyone’s future. So trust me now. I absolutely will create an amazing kingdom.” I was the only one attempting, or even able, to do that. At dawn, I took my entire force toward the plains formed by the Sorret River. It was about a day’s march from the royal capital. Just be careful of muddy ground. The terrain was bad when I attacked Ishiyama Castle, too—it gave us a lot of trouble and caused some fatalities. But you were attacking a castle, right? This is a field battle. I won’t have to worry about how to assault them. Fool. That won’t help when you only brought about half the men they did. You should have raised more troops for your little expedition. If I brought twenty-five thousand men, the cathedral might not have made its move in the first place. I want to remove it as a threat. Besides, there’s something I couldn’t get if I did that. You want to create a legend, don’t you? Oda Nobunaga was really starting to understand me. If I smash my enemy when everyone thought I had no chance against their numbers, people will think I’m some sort of god. They’ll strongly feel they have to obey me. It’s no good to only take a slow and steady “good government” approach. For better or worse, this is a world at war. I know how important deification is, but you should at least leave that until after you’ve mass-produced firearms… Ah well, I suppose it’s too late for regrets. You have me as your profession, so you better win. Amid his complaining, Oda Nobunaga seemed to relent. I advanced my troops slowly. Along the way, I gradually recruited more men from the lords serving me. Even as they feared I might lose, they decided refusing me was too risky, and so they joined as requested. Being able to confirm their loyalty was nice, too. On the cathedral’s side, Archbishop Cammit was probably telling everyone I was going slowly because I had no hope of winning against him. It would make sense to see it that way. I ultimately spent four days before setting up position on the bank of the Sorret River. The cathedral’s forces were gathering on the bank opposite us. I’d gathered more men along the way, but even so they looked to have about ten thousand more. Their forces were already divided internally. About half of them were under the direct command of the cathedral. The rest were under petty lords around the capital who didn’t like me, as well as cities with armies. Apparently many of them were back to reclaim their land after being driven out by my arrival. Given refuge by the cathedral, they were probably anxiously awaiting their return. Perhaps they’d also pressed the cathedral to fight against me. In the minds of the capital area’s lords, the government was always getting changed in and out. The royal lines were just that transient, and regents fell even faster. Even when a new regent briefly appeared, he’d just get switched out for someone else before long. It made total sense for them to think that way given the history of this position. The current fight was also against the regent, not the king. Said forces stood on the other bank of the not-so-deep Sorret River. “So they’re basically the anti-regent alliance,” said Leon, eyeing the map of enemy positions. A large map was at our feet, the river drawn in its center. It wasn’t colored blue or green, as we hadn’t had the time. All my generals were standing and talking while looking down at the map. I was doing the same. “Hah, they’re not that strong. Most of ’em are conscripts, right? We got plenty of professional soldiers.” Orcus laughed, showing his snaggleteeth. Leon promptly glared at him. “They may be conscripts, but all the cathedral’s followers are skilled in the martial arts. If their soldiers were weak, they wouldn’t be able to overpower the other lords. Besides, we don’t have an overwhelming majority of true soldiers among our number, either. Arrogant bastards like you will be the first to die!” “Good, I like ’em strong. Ya can’t show what you’re made of if you’re not against the best, y’know. Besides, no matter how strong they are, these guys don’t have the warrior’s resolve. They’re just following the strongest guy on the block.” I thought Leon was going to protest again, but he didn’t interject. “Maybe you could call it a warrior’s willpower. Our regent is about the only one who has it. As long as he does, no matter how many or how brave they are, we’ll win. I’ve always fought believing in that, m’self.” “I appreciate the compliment, Orcus, but I’m not fighting blind, you know. I’m acting logically, not on sheer willpower.” If one could win on bravery alone, I’d never have any trouble. Still, I didn’t mind for a man as strong as Orcus to believe in me like that. There was a big spot on the map labeled “Cathedral,” but the enemy’s positions were left unmarked. We hadn’t been able to ascertain the exact placement of all their troops. The cathedral’s troops accounted for over half of their numbers, so this was a bit of a problem—though we’d know soon enough anyway. During the strategy meeting, Yadoriggy appeared suddenly. Her steps were silent, so she startled the generals who hadn’t seen her arrival. This time she was already in werewolf—not wolf—form. “The pack will move out shortly.” My face relaxed a bit at her report. “Understood. Then I can go full force, too.” “Also, on the way back here I found out who the cathedral’s regiment commanders are.” Yadoriggy nimbly wrote down several names, one after another. Just as I thought, among the cathedral’s troops were what appeared to be the names of lords. They were a mixed force. They had incorporated the lords who’d fled from me. “All right, everyone, we’re going to make a final check of their positions now, but I only want you to focus on slaying the most powerful men of the cathedral. You can ignore the other lords. These are the strongest.” “Ain’t it usually the opposite?” Orcus looked confused. “It usually makes sense to create mayhem in their ranks by attacking the weaklings. Deliberately going up against the strong ones just makes for a tough fight.” “A tough fight is fine. We just can’t lose. We’ll have reinforcements coming.” “Reinforcements? You mean Lady Altia’s husband Brando Naaham? Or maybe Soltis Nistonia from Siala? Wait, they’re way too far away.” “Definitely too far. Even troops from Maust wouldn’t make it in time for this. Brando would have to go over mountains, too, so he’s out of the picture.” “Then I don’t think there’s anyone left.” “No, there is. A trump card, if you will. Just hold out. Once reinforcements arrive, we’ll be on top, so we’ll attack all we can once that happens.” It would probably take the reinforcements time to march to us anyway, so if we had a hard time holding out, it could get ugly. Guess I’ll put all my hopes on Kelara here. You’re a fool for entrusting something so critical to a woman with the profession Akechi Mitsuhide. Oda Nobunaga was calling me a fool again. Fool must’ve been his favorite word. Just then a messenger rushed in. “Reporting! Enemy troops are preparing to attack! Their goal seems to be to assault our position from across the river!” They probably didn’t want to waste their food, so they’d made the first move. If I retreated home, it would be a victory for Archbishop Cammit. That would put him above me politically, and the cities’ confidence in him would remain intact. “Understood. Everyone, stand your ground. If you can just hold them off, that’s good enough.” Now for the moment of truth. Time to sow some seeds for a good harvest. “I promise you this: If you can hold out to the end in this fight, we shall win.” Finally, the cathedral’s best troops charged us. We fended them off with our long spears. They were slightly past the middle of the river, with the water just below their knees. With our spears massed together, they had a hard time breaking through. We just held them off until they withdrew. Of course, as soon as they withdrew, the next regiment came to attack, but this too we held at bay. The enemy had more dead than we did, but it still didn’t let up the attack. Yes, good. The more fatigued your main force, the better. The troops directly controlled by the cathedral were full of enthusiasm, making for a tough fight. We had a multilayered defense, so it didn’t lead to a rout, but the places that were attacked had quite a lot of casualties—not to the point that any generals of note were killed, but at least one of the lords that had sided with me died. They really had followed me to the end. I’d have to promote their children later. I observed the situation without moving from my position. This time I wouldn’t rush out. If I were to carelessly dive into the battlefield only to run back, my whole army would rout, and I would be powerless to stop it. “I see this is enough to put even you on the defensive, Lord Alsrod.” Laviala seemed anxious as she assessed the situation, checking to see which units needed to be replenished with soldiers from the rear. “Charging in can come later. If the archbishop thinks I’m trying to stand my ground, he’ll take his time, too.” His goal wasn’t to destroy me utterly, at least not in this battle. My retreat would be enough. Even he wouldn’t want the regent to disappear, plunging the capital area into mayhem. If the chaos of war spread to the surrounding cities, taxes would dry up. He wouldn’t be too pleased if a careless all-out charge led to the destruction of his forces due to some trickery of mine. Thus, he most definitely would try to drive me into a corner. He would invariably take the safe approach. I wasn’t afraid of people I could read. An ordinarily competent commander was no threat to me. What I truly feared was people with rock-solid convictions as well as genius commanders who acted on instinct alone. You had to change your tactics to fight those people. Fortunately, the commercially advanced region near the capital was full of people who acted logically. I could cope with that. Evening came, and the enemy finally withdrew. The next day, they again attacked over the river. We stopped them at the water’s edge. At the moment, we were fending them off, but if they pushed with all their forces, this would turn into an all-out battle. I was sure that wouldn’t happen, but the ball was in their court. The reinforcements I was expecting that day didn’t come. I hadn’t had any hope of them coming right away, but they were sure taking their time. Had they been late leaving? It was possible they’d had trouble marshaling troops. Surely they hadn’t lost their nerve? Perhaps they were too embarrassed about low numbers to come yet. Maybe that was more likely. I tried checking with Yadoriggy, but she just repeated that the reinforcements would definitely come. Well, if I doubted her, making plans would be impossible. Ahh, this is your fault for trusting Akechi Mitsuhide. It is Mitsuhide, after all… Hey, you used Akechi Mitsuhide as one of your top vassals yourself. Have you ever considered not acting so arrogant all the time? My expression calm, I kept telling my men to hold out for reinforcements. Some looked worried, but my guardsmen, with Orcus in front, had full confidence in my orders. We’d been in many battles together. These weren’t the words of some petty lord who’d always followed the strongest person. “Though it’d be nice if the reinforcements came on the third day. Some might start thinkin’ about joining the other side,” Orcus said. “In a way, this could be a good chance to test the loyalty of the lords who were less eager to bow to me—although I’d rather not resort to that like some purge-obsessed tyrant.”