Chapter 87: Counter-Raid

It was probably true that the Hundred Years’ War had raised French knights’ skill levels. But the Duchy of Beren was no pushover either. We’d defended the nation through countless threats from France and Burgundy. Most of our retreats stemmed from external factors, but Beren’s tenacity in holding out until then was its true strength.

Still, coldly speaking, it was clearly a mismatch. Burgundy was Europe’s wealthiest nation with massive accumulated wealth, powerful enough to wage civil war against the French royal family. For me, Burgundy was the greatest threat to my future.

But since I couldn’t exert influence on the grand scale, inflicting damage on the enemy through border skirmishes like these was the only option available to me right now. The moment I confirmed that Bayon’s psychology showed deception, I realized the pitched battle was a scheme to draw out our main force.

"So what you’re saying, brother-in-law, is that just as you raided their supply base, the enemy will probably lure our main force with a pitched battle and send a raiding party to attack our garrison and supplies?"

"After destroying the garrison, they’d strike the duchy army’s rear. That’s what I’d do. As long as the enemy’s light cavalry remains intact, we need to prepare for a raid."

Over a hundred raiders had been picked off by my forces in the northern plains, but Burgundy still had over a hundred light cavalry left. I’d based this judgment on the enemy reconnaissance force’s size as shown on my Commander Scouter. The intelligence we’d secured from the supply base also indicated they had 800 horses.

I didn’t know the ratio of reserve horses, but there had to be at least two per rider, meaning the cavalry numbered at least 300 to 400. Of those, a hundred raiders had been picked off by my guerrilla unit, and another hundred were reconnaissance forces combing the area trying to catch my unit.

Even excluding the reconnaissance forces, that left around 200.

I couldn’t tell what percentage were heavy cavalry or how many pack horses the supply transport used. So I estimated the enemy raiding party at somewhere between 100 and 200 riders. Michael and Fried seemed surprised by my estimate.

"It’s a reasonable assessment, but there’s no proof the enemy will raid."

"I trust my brother-in-law’s judgment. Think about what he’s accomplished so far."

"His achievements..."

Michael seemed to have developed strong faith in me by now. Fried also reflected on my accomplishments and came around, agreeing that my estimate was trustworthy enough. Simply having Michael from the War Minister’s camp and Fried from Count Euz’s camp backing me was sufficient.

All agreements about the next day’s battle were reached, and both sides’ nobles left satisfied. After they cleared out, only a handful of people remained in the empty audience hall. Count Euz and my father-in-law looked puzzled that the three of us hadn’t left and kept waiting.

We’d actually been waiting for the nobles to leave.

To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings about hogging achievements again.

And the fewer ears listening, the better we could maintain secrecy.

"Fried, have you got something else to say?"

"Sir Streit is concerned about an enemy raid."

"An enemy raid? What’s this about?"

Fried and Michael reported on the possibility of enemy light cavalry raiding the duchy army’s garrison. Count Épinay’s letter displaying anger was meant to draw our main force into a pitched battle. If an enemy raiding party attacked our garrison and supplies in the gap, we could suffer serious damage.

Count Euz said to me:

"It’s possible. But Sir Streit, are you certain there’ll be a raid?"

"I’m certain. We need to prepare for the enemy’s deceptive tactics. If I were the enemy commander, I’d burn down the garrison and supplies, then attack the duchy army’s rear to break their formation."

"Hmm, if you’d been the enemy, we’d be in purgatory right now."

If Bayon’s psychology hadn’t shown deception, I wouldn’t have thought to prepare either. But I had my scouter, and through it I could gather some intelligence, which let me catch on to their scheme. It wasn’t an absolute judgment, but I trusted my instincts and the scouter’s information.

After careful consideration, my father-in-law decided to station 50 duchy spearmen and 50 archers at the garrison. I also requested 25 Rosenheim soldiers. They’d serve as shield bearers to protect the archers. Count Euz decided to detach part of his county’s light cavalry and assign them to me.

If the enemy raid was real and we stopped it, we could deal massive psychological damage to the enemy. Moreover, since most of the enemy troops were mercenaries, their morale was likely to crumble after the destruction of their supply bases, making our chances of victory higher than ever. Still, I had no intention of letting my guard down.

Once all the operational planning was finished and we were heading back to the garrison, Michael said to me:

"I’m thinking of commanding the garrison defense myself."

"You yourself, brother-in-law? Wouldn’t it be better to join the main battle?"

"It’s more fun and interesting working with you. Defending a garrison needs a commander like me. Besides, I’m actually better at defense than offense."

"Really? You seemed to handle the offensive pretty skillfully at Feuzen."

That was news to me. Defense was definitely harder than offense. The moment your line broke was when armies in this era collapsed entirely. Michael said maintaining formation and blocking enemy attacks came much more naturally to him. By his logic, there couldn’t be a better candidate for garrison defense than him.

The only issue was that his status was too high—defending a mere garrison seemed beneath him. Originally, I’d planned to leave the task to August, who’d defended Feuzen while leading the residents. August was an excellent cavalryman but also had the ability to command infantry.

But if Michael stepped up, operating the light cavalry would be much easier. Having Fiel and August with me gave me peace of mind. And fortunately, the cavalry commander’s lieutenants, who’d been assigned to me as both supervisors and advisors, still hadn’t returned to their unit.

They’d probably had trouble getting back because of the spoils dispute. Since I was using them anyway, I might as well keep them until the end. Setting aside their obsession with loot, the lieutenants’ command abilities were solid, making them far better than leaving the job to just anyone.

"Sir Wolfgang!"

When I arrived at my tent, Oscar and Ted, who’d been standing guard, rushed over with bright faces. Seeing my subordinates’ faces felt wonderful. It almost gave me the illusion of coming home. How nice it would be if Hilda were here to welcome me too. But the war wasn’t over yet.

"So glad you’re safe."

"Did anything happen while I was gone? By the way, where’s Maria?"

"Maria’s uncle is looking after her."

"Huh? That kid had an uncle?"

"The messenger who brought Maria volunteered to be her guardian."

So the messenger who said he knew Maria’s dead parents had stepped up as her guardian? Oscar said it was far more stable having the messenger look after her than doing it himself, so he’d simply handed everything over. The garrison wasn’t exactly a good environment for Maria.

And the next day, this place could become a battlefield.

So I called for the messenger. It was late, so Maria was asleep.

The messenger’s name was Anton—a common name.

"So, you decided to become Maria’s uncle?"

"Yes. I wanted to be there for Maria after she lost her parents and became an orphan."

Naturally, his alignment was justice (good). Justice and honesty are different concepts. If honesty stems from a straightforward heart without lies or pretense, justice comes from an individual’s proper sense of duty. That’s why I liked people with a sense of justice.

Moreover, Anton was a good rider.

Working as a messenger meant he had excellent horsemanship.

Could there be a better candidate for a vassal cavalryman?

"Can you keep looking after Maria?"

"I’d like to, but I’m from Euz."

"Maria’s from Euz too. No one’s going to complain if you come along."

Since it was clearly a recruitment offer, Anton hesitated before asking me:

"What would I be doing working for your family, sir?"

"I’m planning to personally train vassal cavalry."

"Cavalry? I’ve worked more as a messenger than a cavalryman."

"Don’t worry about that. I’ll make you into a fine cavalryman."

I’d already agreed to delegate the cavalry training to August.

He’d trained Baron Constance’s cavalry before.

With a knight of August’s caliber handling the training, the results couldn’t be just ordinary cavalry.

Anton looked uneasy, but thinking of Maria, he eventually accepted my offer. Coming from a messenger background, he’d naturally feel pressure about serving as cavalry, but overcoming that depended entirely on his own resolve.

And I believed Anton was someone with that kind of resolve.