Chapter 7: The Battle of Grunwalder Castle (Part 1)

【Simulator starting】

【Do you choose the officer identity of Captain of the Veluca Second Legion?】

【Yes】

【You have arrived in Calradia】

【Time: The morning of a certain day】

【Location: Veluca, Command Tent of the Second Legion】

【You arrive at the command tent of your direct superior, Mathalai. At this moment, your four colleagues are all gathered in this tent, waiting for the arrival of Commander Mathalai.】

【You exchange brief greetings with the other commanders. The First and Third Captains are very enthusiastic toward you, while the Second and Fourth seem displeased that you, the Fifth Captain, have climbed to the same position as them in such a short time; they do not return your greeting. You do not pay much mind to this and simply find a seat.】

【A moment later, Commander Mathalai enters with his Captain of the Guard and announces that by this time tomorrow, all battalions must be fully prepared to march, utilizing two days to reach Grunwalder Castle to assist the local castellan in defending against a potential attack by Swadia.】

【In fact, you had already received this news when you returned yesterday. At noon, you invited Mathalai's brother-in-law, Quartermaster Bob, to drink, and at the same time, you gathered the 9 squad leaders you newly added to your command to announce Commander Mathalai's decision.】

【In truth, even with the order, there were 2 sturdy squad leaders who wanted to see what their new superior's skills were really like, claiming it was so they could better coordinate with the Captain in battle. You indicate that they can both come at you together.】

【The fight comes quickly and ends just as fast. You resolve the two little troublemakers with a few punches and kicks. Although you beat them black and blue, it does not stop them from bracing themselves and offering you a toast with swollen, smiling faces. This effectively settles the matter of your promotion for the time being.】

【While eating and drinking your fill, you also convey the news to your subordinates that you must set out tomorrow, telling them to prepare as early as possible and not to blame you for being impolite if they drop the ball.】

【The next morning, your battalion of 110 men is arranged in an 11x10 formation on the camp parade ground, waiting for Commander Mathalai's arrival. Although your troops are far from orderly or uniform, they are significantly better than the military appearance and posture of the other four battalions, which makes the entire afternoon you spent threatening and bribing them worth it.】

【A quarter of an hour later, Commander Mathalai arrives at the parade ground with his cavalry honor guard. After a brief lecture, he issues the order for all battalions to reach Grunwalder Castle before sunset the following day.】

【Subsequently, the entire army of about six hundred men begins to march toward Grunwalder Castle. Everything becomes chaotic during the march. It is not that the road is very difficult—there is a road from Veluca to Grunwalder Castle—but rather that the time Mathalai gave is very tight. Usually, this road takes three days to travel, but now the troops are required to arrive within two days.】

【It is fine at first, and most people can keep up, but by the afternoon, let alone military appearance and posture, many units begin to have entire squads falling behind. Your battalion inevitably experiences this situation as well.】

【You are helpless against this, only running back and forth to keep your troops moving within your control. Strangely, as you continuously gather the straggling soldiers, many squad leaders you do not know also bring their men to join your unit.】

【This causes your unit to grow increasingly large, and the marching speed becomes slower and slower. You can only run back and forth, encouraging them to hurry, otherwise, the military law falling upon them is no joke. In order to make time, your rest periods at night are also very short.】

【Just like this, your troops stumble and arrive at the camp near Grunwalder Castle just as the sun is setting on the second day. Afterward, upon your report that you were supposed to have one hundred and ten men but actually arrived with over one hundred and ninety, Commander Mathalai violently spits his tea onto the table, then waves his hand, smilingly indicating that since you brought the people, you can handle them yourself.】

【Having received the order, you walk out of Commander Mathalai's tent and subsequently have a loud argument with the four captains who rushed over. Of course, they are the ones doing the arguing; you repeat only one thing: not a single person will be returned. The order was issued by Commander Mathalai, so they should go find him if they have an issue. Seeing they cannot get their men back, the four captains can only express that they will go to the commander to complain, then glare at you hatefully and leave one after another.】

【After returning to camp, you gather all your squad leaders for a meeting, produce Commander Mathalai's order, and tell them that they will be following you from now on. You also learn the composition of the troops under your command during the communication.】

【Your battalion currently consists of one hundred and ninety-six men, composed of one Rhodok Sharpshooter, sixteen Rhodok Skilled Crossbowmen, fifty-eight Rhodok Crossbowmen, eleven Rhodok Skilled Spearmen, and one hundred and ten Rhodok Spearmen, totaling eighteen squads. Among them are seven crossbow squads and eleven spearman squads. Aside from your ten full-strength squads, the extra eighty-six men consist of seven full-strength squads and one squad that is understrength, with only nine men left including the leader. You do not make further changes but order them to rest well tonight and wait for you outside the camp tomorrow.】

【Actually, you find it strange why the quality of the Veluca troops is so poor. Not to mention your own soldiers, eighty percent of the entire Veluca Second Legion are new recruits; only the captains and squad leaders can be considered to have some combat effectiveness, while the others are nothing but cannon fodder on the battlefield.】

【You are not puzzled for long. Bob, who comes to drink with you at night, answers your question: the true elite legion of Veluca, the First Legion, was taken away three months ago by Lord Mathias to Jamiche Castle, which borders Sarranid. The lord of Grunwalder Castle went with them as well.】

【They gathered there with other legions from the country to defend against the Sarranid army stationed at Yelbegi Castle. The entire Second Legion is composed of new recruits enlisted in the last two months, and their main purpose is to intimidate Swadia, making Swadia abandon its ambition to attack the northeastern part of the Rhodok Kingdom.】

【Clearly, this plan failed before it even began. The kidnappers captured a few days ago confessed that Swadia, under the summons of King Harlaus, has assembled an army of several thousand and will arrive here in a few days.】

【According to intelligence, you might see the Swadian army outside the city in two or three days. Speaking of this, Bob is clearly a bit drunk and looks somewhat dejected, but he does not forget the purpose of his visit. He places a small box of Dinars on the table and pushes it toward you.】

【He tells you this is the spoils from the last time you wiped out the kidnappers, as well as the reward from Mathalai. He also hints that if you feel it is too dangerous, he has a way to let you leave this castle and return to Veluca with him. Of course, the price is this small box of Dinars, and it can only be you alone.】

【You do not adopt Bob's suggestion, nor do you take back the Dinars Bob pushed to you. Instead, you push the small box of gold coins back into Bob's arms, requesting him to exchange it all for armor—as much as he can get.】

【Bob is surprised by your decision but does not say much. He indicates that if it were Iron Armor, you wouldn't be able to buy many pieces, but if it were Cotton Armor or Folded Armor, he could get you a lot—at least enough to arm all your current men. Moreover, he has stock right here in Grunwalder Castle and can deliver it to you tomorrow morning, asking if you are willing.】

【You readily agree to Bob's suggestion and subtly ask if this will arouse the suspicion of Commander Mathalai. Bob waves his hand, indicating not to worry about it. Before leaving, he also subtly tells you that this war might be very cruel and urges you to plan ahead.】

【The next morning, you take your honor guard—the ten Rhodok Skilled Crossbowmen—to maintain order and distribute all the Cotton Armor you obtained from Bob to your subordinates. After your men change out of their tattered uniforms, they finally look a little bit like an army. Bob also bids you farewell after the handover of the armor.】

【Commander Mathalai does not have any direct response to your actions but sends an order to you via a messenger, requiring your troops to guard the wall to the left of the Grunwalder Castle gate. In the afternoon, you lead your troops into Grunwalder Castle.】

【Compared to an average castle, Grunwalder Castle covers a vast area. It is built on a steep hill with continuous mountain ranges behind it. Most of the left and right sides are steep cliffs, with only a winding path in the front leading directly to the gate. Looking further into the distance, there is a large forest, and between the forest and the castle is a small flat area. This is an important trade route, and usually, the soldiers of Grunwalder Castle would set up a checkpoint here to collect tolls.】

【Currently, there are about two hundred garrison troops stationed in Grunwalder Castle. Adding the army brought by Mathalai, the seven or eight hundred troops do not make the castle appear crowded.】

【After arriving at your post, you carefully observe the wall you are guarding. It is nearly 200 meters long, and there is a protruding watchtower twenty or thirty meters from the gate, which provides a good view of the entire wall. Most of the wall is built on cliffs. Only two places are dangerous: one is a section of the wall about six or seven meters wide near the gate that is closer to the ground, and the other is a gentle slope in the center of the wall, four or five meters wide and over ten meters long, which enemies can climb. If you were responsible for attacking this wall, these two weak points would definitely be the best siege locations you could choose.】

【Subsequently, you gather all the squad leaders at the watchtower and issue the defense orders. You divide all the spearman squads into two parts, having them guard the two weak points of the wall respectively. You tell them to remember their positions and, under combat conditions, not to leave under any circumstances.】

【At the same time, you distribute the crossbowmen evenly across the three sides of the wall and the watchtower to ensure they have a good firing angle.】

【Just as you are making the defense arrangements, two Rhodok Sergeants approach you with serious expressions. They are the original garrison of Grunwalder Castle. Their rank is only that of squad leader, but their combat effectiveness far exceeds that of your troops. They lead two squads of Rhodok Veteran Spearmen. These spearmen hold long pikes, wear Pot Helms, and are dressed in full Chainmail Hauberks. They are battle-hardened veterans whose combat effectiveness is streets ahead of your troops.】

【However, they are not under your command, only saying they will coordinate with your troops for defense. You vaguely guess Mathalai's thoughts: he knows your subordinates are all new recruits, and there is a high probability they will flee if a real fight breaks out. These people are likely the execution squads he arranged.】

【To this, you express your welcome with a face full of joy. You know in your heart that with your less than two hundred ragtag soldiers, it is unlikely you will hold out against a fierce enemy offensive. When the time comes, no matter what these so-called execution squads think, they will definitely join the defensive battle. An old saying from your hometown perfectly describes this situation: when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.】

【You pass two peaceful days, but you do not waste this time. You tirelessly repeat the warning to your subordinates over and over again: do not flee. If they die at the hands of the enemy, their families might still receive a pension; if they die at the hands of the execution squads, it will definitely implicate their families.】

【At the same time, you explain in detail how to shoot from behind the battlements, how to raise their shields to defend when the enemy shoots, and how to kill the enemies the moment they climb up the Siege Ladders. Clearly, the Rhodok equipment configuration is very suitable for defending a city. In addition to heavy crossbows and spears, even the lowest-level soldiers are equipped with simple Broad Shields. They can even form a wall of shields inside the wall after the enemy climbs up.】

【On the morning of the third day, just as you come out of the inner keep and climb onto the wall, you find a large number of villagers gathered at the gate. They are entering the castle, and the number is about a thousand.】

【In fact, this is a common occurrence for nearby villagers. Living on the border between the two countries, they not only have to bear the obligation of supporting the garrison in the castle, but once a war breaks out, they have to drag their families to take refuge in the castle to avoid being driven by the enemy to become part of the siege force. Of course, no matter how experienced they are, they will cause some chaos when entering the castle.】

【The chaos lasts until near dusk before finally ending. As it is getting dark, you see a large number of noble flags belonging to Swadia fluttering to the north of Grunwalder Castle. The enemy has finally arrived.】

【The Kingdom of Swadia is a country with relatively balanced military forces. Although its infantry and archer units are slightly weaker than those of the Rhodok Kingdom, its cavalry units are the best on the Calradia continent. The fame of the Swadian Knight has hung over the heads of the nobles of various countries for a long time. No king would want to face the iron cavalry under King Harlaus alone, especially after he has summoned all the nobles of the country.】

【And the Rhodok Kingdom, which has a blood feud with the Kingdom of Swadia, relies entirely on mountains, rivers, and forests to block King Harlaus's ambition to reclaim his vassal state.】

【Grunwalder Castle and Agorlon Castle are the two most important castles on the Rhodok northeastern border. Every first battle of the struggle between the two countries inevitably occurs at one of these two castles, or even both simultaneously.】

【As long as Harlaus breaks through either of these two castles, there will be nothing left in the vast plains near Veluca to block the iron hooves of Swadia. At that time, Veluca will also inevitably fall into danger. If Veluca is also lost, then the entire Rhodok Kingdom will be as good as having a gap torn open.】

【And at this moment, King Harlaus finally takes advantage of the standoff between Rhodok and Sarranid to place an army of ten thousand before the poorly defended Grunwalder Castle.】