Chapter 42: Pavia

For a moment, Garwin thought he was about to die.

He lay on the muddy ground, covering his body with the foul-smelling substance, leaving only his nose and eyes exposed.

He had been hit by an arrow in the shoulder blade, sprained a leg, and had sustained several minor injuries.

He and three teammates had formed a reconnaissance squad to investigate the vicinity of the enemy camp, recording the number of enemy troops and assessing their defenses.

One night, Garwin followed an officer to a farmhouse where several heavily made-up women opened the door for him.

Garwin and his teammates snuck into the farmhouse, strangled the officer and the women, and searched the officer's body. They found a map of the military camp's defenses and a letter.

Unfortunately, they failed to discover a woman hiding under the bed, and their presence was discovered.

The woman's shrill screams alerted the soldiers on patrol.

One of his teammates was shot dead, and the others scattered.

Taking advantage of his speed, Garwin ran through the dense forest, ignoring the sharp branches, and temporarily evaded the enemy sentries.

Garwin knew very well that he was not completely safe. When the team had sneaked in, they had encountered three waves of patrols, and there should still be the outermost wave now.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside the bushes.

He gritted his teeth, rolled over, and peered through the gaps in the bushes.

Four horsemen were slowly approaching, and from their attire, they appeared to be mercenaries.

This must be the smallest detachment of the outermost patrol.

They walked slowly, speaking in a Latin dialect that Garwin could not quite understand.

Following initial training, the Royal Knight Academy divided students into different departments based on their grades and personal aspirations.

Some chose the Knight Department, where they practiced horsemanship and lance fighting and also did some archery training.

Others chose the Heavy Infantry Department, where they focused on strength training and physical conditioning.

Those commoners who showed little aptitude were assigned to the Sergeant Department, where they would become junior officers in the army.

Garwin enrolled in the Command Academy with the third-highest score.

This was the most demanding academy, requiring students to take all the Knight Academy courses, as well as language, reconnaissance, and battlefield command courses.

As well as Greek, which was required in all academies, the Command Academy also required Latin and Arabic.

Garwin had only just started learning Latin and was still at the stage of memorizing vocabulary, so he could not understand the enemy's heavy accent at all.

Garwin turned around and accidentally twisted his injured leg, his face contorting in pain.

He knew he had to get a horse; otherwise, he would not survive.

Garwin quietly watched the enemy cavalry ride south without stopping.

This was bad!

Garwin was anxious.

With his injured leg, he couldn't run far. With pursuers behind him and a roadblock ahead, it seemed that he really had no way out.

Suddenly, a cavalryman stopped, said something to his comrades, and walked away alone in the opposite direction.

His comrades cursed, ignored him, and left.

Garwin watched the cavalryman stop by a tree.

He dismounted, urinated, and looked back at his comrades.

After confirming that they were far away, he grinned, climbed up the tree, and took a gold necklace from a bird's nest. He kissed the necklace several times.

Stealing loot, then? Looks like he's an old hand at this.

The cavalryman hummed a tune and strode toward his horse.

As he passed a clump of trees, a hand shot out and grabbed his ankle like a pair of iron pincers.

Half a minute later, he was tightly bound, his clothes and weapons had been taken away, and even the gold necklace he had hidden with great difficulty had been stuffed into Garwin's waist pouch.

The cavalryman glared fiercely at the Montferrat scout who had stripped him of everything. He mounted his horse and rode away. Not long after, the pursuing troops arrived and found the unfortunate cavalryman.

"Over there! The scout ran that way!"

The cavalryman gritted his teeth.

"Chase him!"

The pursuers immediately set off in that direction.

Meanwhile, in another direction, Garwin gently spurred his horse.

He had deliberately spared the cavalryman's life to mislead the enemy.

The arrow wound on his shoulder blade began to bleed again, and his leg throbbed with pain.

His consciousness gradually became hazy.

He couldn't sleep!

Stabbing his horse's hindquarters with his sword, he clung tightly to its back, ignoring the pain in his shoulder blade, so as not to be thrown off.

The horse galloped away in pain.

Below, at the siege camp in the city of Pavia.

After waiting for reinforcements from the Grand Duchy of Surt, Isaac and John believed the time was right, so they surrounded Pavia.

Pavia, the center of the Lombardy region, was close to both Milan and Monferrato.

Currently, the Republic of Ambrosia was surrounded on three sides and unstable internally. The forces in Pavia had long been discontented but were still arguing over whom to surrender to.

Sforza had anticipated this situation for some time and had placed his confidants in several large cities, including Pavia, to infiltrate the local councils.

However, he did not expect Monferrato to bring in so many reinforcements.

There were more than 10,000 soldiers in total, surrounding Pavia and cutting off all access to the city.

The siege had been ongoing for a week, with both sides exercising great restraint. Monferrato's army had not launched a large-scale assault on the city, capturing only a few castles and small towns outside the city walls.

Pavia was located on the banks of the Po River and had garrison troops stationed inside the city walls to defend them, as well as mercenaries outside to repel any large-scale enemy attacks.

"This siege is more of a blockade. Our main goal is to intimidate and bribe the forces inside the city into surrendering to us."

In the army camp, Isaac and John were holding a military meeting.

"We cannot afford to waste our troops in a direct battle with the defenders inside the city. We must preserve our strength so that we have leverage at the negotiating table."

"Therefore, our most important task at present is to seal off the entire city of Pavia. Ideally, we should persuade the mercenaries outside the city to surrender, or eliminate them, thereby crushing the morale of the defenders inside."

Moreover, we must act swiftly. Sforza is currently occupied in the south, and we cannot afford to wait for him to break free.

Isaac finished his long speech and looked at his audience.

He had spoken in Latin, but Eldosh, the commander of the Slavic legion and of slave origin, could not understand a word and yawned.

The tribal sheikhs that Isaac had recruited were also unable to understand and looked confused.

This didn't matter, as they only obeyed Isaac's orders and fought wherever he told them to.

Next, John reported on the army's recent victories and the status of military supplies and provisions.

Overall, things were going well. There were fertile fields and clusters of farms outside the city of Pavia, and thanks to years of accumulation, the army had an ample supply of provisions.

If there really was a problem, the people of northern Italy would just have to suffer a little more.

"Your Highnesses!"

A guard pushed open the tent flap and came to report.

"The Royal Knight Academy's Instructor Dering is here to report that their scouts seem to have discovered important information!"

...

"I heard... you're... a student?" In the dense forest, Eldosh asked Garwin in clumsy Greek.

Garwin had finally managed to return to the military camp thanks to his strong will.

His abrasions were not serious, and the arrow wound on his shoulder blade had been treated. It would not cause any problems for the time being, as long as he did not use it too much.

After His Highness, Isaac, had personally examined his sprained leg, he insisted that the bone was dislocated.

Ignoring the doctor, who strongly recommended bloodletting, His Highness called in an experienced hunter. The hunter gave the leg a quick twist, and the pain disappeared instantly.

"You have done a great service this time. I will reward you in the future."

Garwin recalled what Prince Isaac had said to him.

At the time, he had just smiled foolishly, forgetting to thank him. Even his usually stern father, Dilin, seemed to have a slight smile on his lips.

A large hand waving in front of him interrupted Garwin's thoughts.

"Child, are you all right?"

Garwin turned his head and saw Eldosh rough face.

He nodded and continued riding forward.

This time, they would be the vanguard, raiding the food storehouse of the Pavian mercenary corps.

All of the participants in the raid were North African light cavalry, commanded by Eldosh, the commander of the Slave Legion.

I heard that they were all former tribal noble slaves, and that Eldosh was extremely grateful to His Highness Isaac for freeing them and recognizing their talents. I wonder if that's true?

"Legion Commander Eldosh, we are about to reach our designated position. Our objective is to set fire to the granary and lure the enemy's main force out of the camp. The rest of our troops will lie in ambush on the road ahead and deliver a fatal blow to the enemy."

"Do you speak Arabic?"

Garwin nodded.

It was much easier to learn than Latin.

The army continued to march forward, and Garwin led them to the planned ambush site, relying on his memory.

"We're here."

The army stopped. They were currently on high ground, surrounded by dense forest, with a small, shallow river below that could be crossed on horseback.

After crossing the river, they came to a trench with a drawbridge. Beyond the trench lay the enemy's granary.

The brothel, disguised as a farmhouse, was not far away.

It was mealtime, and the enemy soldiers were sitting in small groups, slowly feeding lumps of mush from stew pots into their mouths with small spoons.

Compared to last time, there were clearly more patrols here, and the soldiers in the two arrow towers were no longer gambling.

However, in the face of overwhelming numerical superiority, these were mere trifles.

"Charge! For the honor of His Highness!"

Eldosh shouted.

Behind him, rows of cavalry charged down the hill, heading straight for the granary.

"Kid, stay here!"

Eldosh shouted, before leading his personal guard down the hill to command the attack.

The cavalry crossed the small river and charged straight for the drawbridge over the moat.

The soldiers guarding the bridge shouted for it to be raised.

Eldosh bellowed, and the cavalry drew their bows and fired a volley, turning the few soldiers guarding the bridge into sieves.

The wooden bridge, which had been raised halfway, crashed down, and nothing could stop the light cavalry of the Slave Legion.

The enemy soldiers were quite skilled, too. Seeing so many enemies charging toward them, these veteran mercenaries immediately dropped their bowls and grabbed their weapons.

The junior officers reacted swiftly, dispatching scouts to report the situation while abandoning the outer defenses and gathering their forces to defend the granary.

The granary was located in a small castle. If they could hold the castle until the main force arrived, they might still have a chance of winning.

Eldosh saw that the enemy forces on the outskirts had been cleared out and that the remaining soldiers were hiding in the castle, gathering their forces.

"Prepare the fire oil!"

The cavalry rode past the castle, throwing bags of fire oil at it as they passed.

The officers inside the castle saw the flames spreading and felt a chill in their hearts.

The castle was made of wood and stone, so it would not be easy to burn down. However, one thing was certain: they would not live to see that day.

The thick smoke and high temperatures were deadly.

Moreover, the enemy did not seem to have any intention of taking prisoners.

Meanwhile, several hundred meters away in a dense forest, Isaac and John looked at the thick smoke rising in the distance and felt reassured.

Half of the plan had succeeded.

According to the intelligence Garwin had brought back, there seemed to be a lot of conflict between the guard corps and the mercenary corps. This was because, when the mercenary corps entered the city, they saw how wealthy the merchants were and looted them, angering the council.

The corps commander had no choice but to retreat and set up camp outside the city.

Food was periodically sent from the city to the granary, just enough to sustain the garrison.

Isaac was certain that the enemy would come to their rescue.

Sure enough, before long, the enemy troops, who had been holed up in the castle, rushed toward the granary in a panic.

"The enemy is divided and vulnerable. Charge!"

Marquis John roared, leading his knights into battle.

Isaac also ordered his troops to flank the enemy.

Outnumbered and caught off guard, the battle was already won.

The Pavia mercenary army was completely annihilated in this battle. Of the 4,000 soldiers, over 2,000 were killed instantly, while the rest surrendered.

That night, Isaac and John paraded their victory by carrying the captured military flags and prisoners back and forth to the gates of Pavia.

The next day, Pavia surrendered.

Subsequently, acting on Isaac's advice, the allied forces quickly captured several small surrounding towns and demanded that the local lords swear allegiance to John.

The first phase of the Montferrat campaign was now complete.

While John was busy appeasing the local gentry, receiving small lords, and negotiating with merchants, Isaac remained active.

As the war spread to northern Italy, many people lost their homes, and large numbers of mercenaries scattered across the countryside, joining local thugs and becoming the main force of looting.

Northern Italy is currently the region with the strongest Renaissance atmosphere in the world, where open-minded thinking has promoted the rapid development of science and culture.

Isaac decided to make good use of this wealth.

He gathered his team and began to make arrangements.

"Firstly, the First Legion of the Imperial Guard must not participate in the looting. You may set up refugee camps at certain checkpoints and find a way to send supplies to Surt."

"Secondly, Eldosh Slave Legion and the various tribal sheikhs will disguise themselves as bandits, plundering and looting to provide food and money for the refugee camps. Any surplus will be transported directly back to Surt Port."

"Thirdly, all refugee camps must actively recruit talent. Anyone who can read and write, regardless of their background, should be recruited. Special attention should be given to engineering and shipbuilding talent."

"This includes carpenters, blacksmiths, leatherworkers, weaponsmiths, cartographers, and artillerymen."

"I want all specialized talent. Those who find them will be handsomely rewarded."

"I'll make this clear: all loot must be handed over. After the war, it will be distributed equally. Anyone found hoarding anything will be executed without mercy!"

The generals departed after receiving their orders.

Isaac paced to the window and looked out at the blood-red sky in the distance, the air filled with the smell of smoke.

It would certainly be a restless night.

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