Chapter 24: Invasion of the Land Kingdom 3

After resting one day at Cornwall Castle, we set out the next morning with the newly formed Victoria Army, including the Cornwall Castle soldiers and Lord Philip, heading towards Plymouth Castle.

The surrounding area was a peaceful rural landscape with a refreshing breeze.

"It's so peaceful that it's hard to believe there's a war going on," Ryuu said. "Don't let your guard down. You never know where the enemy might be," I replied. "There's absolutely no sense of hostility. The king must be really hated here." "Indeed. It's strange that we're in enemy territory but feel no animosity."

I conversed leisurely with Ryuu while still keeping a cautious eye on our surroundings.

For Victoria's dignity, the Land Kingdom Army led by Victoria advanced with the kingdom's flag flying. Because of this, we could hear farmers bowing and calling out, "It's Lady Victoria!" and "Our savior!" Well, King John must be ruling terribly. Not that it's bad for our side.

We reached Plymouth Castle after two days of travel. Our preliminary investigation revealed that Plymouth Castle was situated on a peninsula-like area with winding rivers. Rivers surrounded it on the west, south, and east, with only the north side connected to land, and even that area was mostly wetlands, making the castle extremely difficult to attack.

Plymouth Castle was more impressive than we had anticipated. The castle was almost perfectly square, with the Spey River flowing around three sides. The northern gate was the only land approach, with wetlands spreading everywhere else, leaving no obvious point of attack.

We positioned 5,000 troops at four locations: east, west, south, and north.

First, an envoy with a white flag approached the castle gate to make the standard surrender proposal. "We despise King John's tyranny and stand with Lady Victoria. We've come to save this country. Won't you open the gates and join our side?"

The castle responded with curses. "Shut up, dogs of Burk! This castle will not surrender. If you want the castle, try attacking and taking it!"

Arrows were shot, forcing the envoy to flee in haste.

"Looks like we'll have to attack," Schwartz said in the military council that was immediately convened. Present were Schwartz, Edel, Angel, Kreutz, Eugene from the royal capital's army, and his staff. This time, I attended with Ryuu and Hans.

"Does anyone have a strategy?" "This will be difficult to attack. A frontal assault would cause many casualties," Edel frowned.

"We don't have enough supplies for a siege either. A direct approach seems our only option." "The only attackable side is the north, and even that is just one road surrounded by wetlands. How do we attack?" "What about building bridge boats?" "I'm worried about casualties during construction." "So what should we do?" "It seems a direct assault is our only choice."

The discussion reached an impasse, with everyone crossing their arms in silence.

Hans then requested to speak. "As a vassal, may I speak?" "If you have a good idea, go ahead." "I'm Hans, a technical assistant to Count Han."

The room buzzed with murmurs. "Is this Hans of the Drill Car?" "The Hans from the Dover tragedy?" "The enemy suffered greatly, but our side had zero losses." "He captured the enemy castle without casualties. Let's give him a chance." "That's an interesting thought." "He might break the enemy in an incredible way." "How exciting!"

Hans proposed, "I've studied the terrain. If you give us three days, we can destroy the western wall."

Everyone was abuzz. "Is that even possible?" Edel leaned forward.

Hans introduced Peter, a civil engineer who had worked on embankments and roads in the capital before moving to Count Han's service. Peter apparently had a strategy.

After some discussion and Peter's explanation about creating a strategic weakness in the castle's defenses, Schwartz suddenly laughed.

"As expected of Hans the Drill Car! An interesting idea. Good, since we have no better options, let's try this strategy. Even if we fail, we won't lose much. Just some food, which Hans will somehow manage."

The military council approved the plan, with Hans and Peter jumping with joy.

I'm wondering when they prepared all this, and my head hurts a bit. But if it works, I suppose that's what matters.