In the end, Van-kun is still a boy. No, he’s not just a boy—he’s a fully grown one, but let’s just say that’s fine.
There are certain things that boys tend to like: vehicles, big creatures, scientific matters, new gadgets... Van-kun loves all of these, but there’s something else he enjoys even more. It’s history.
Now, I’m aware of the term "history girls," and I know that many of them are quite fond of the Meiji Restoration. But Van-kun? He’s all about the Sengoku period. Especially the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans—comparing them is fascinating, and the episodes are filled with drama and charm. Of course, he also loves Takeda, Uesugi, Date, and Sanada.
If I go on and on about it, it’s going to be a long story, so I’ll skip the details, but personally, the tales of defeating overwhelming armies with a small force are the ones that get him the most excited. And right after that, the ones about defending a territory or a castle with intelligence, even against an overwhelming military force, are the stories that captivate him the most.
And, in a way, the current defense of Centena is exactly that kind of story.
Given that, Van-kun is completely fired up.
"Alright, as per the plan, the Centena Knights and the Fertio Knights will defend the walls together! Furthermore, Targa and the earth magicians will help me strengthen the fort! Panamera and Arte, are you all ready?"
"Yes, sir...!"
"Leave it to me!"
After giving the orders, the gruff old men immediately sprang into action, while the beautiful women like Panamera and Arte responded positively as well. Ah, it felt like I was becoming a general.
With excitement, I continued giving orders, and meanwhile, I was building a ballista. I had already created ten ballistas, so the next step was to make iron arrows. Wooden ones were effective enough, but iron would give them much greater range. Iron was truly the best.
"...! As expected of Van-dono, the Shelvia Alliance seems to have started moving early! The scouts report that although they haven't shown themselves yet, a large army is already forming!"
"Oh, they really did. I guess they’ve already sent out flying dragons and all?"
"No, we haven't seen any flying dragons!"
The members of the Seat Village Knights, stationed on the walls, confirmed the scouts' signal flags and reported back. But the fact they haven’t deployed wyverns yet means they must be planning something. Indeed, if they released wyverns after we shot arrows from the ballistas, it would be difficult to readjust the aim for the sky. But are they thinking that far ahead?
"...No, a skilled general never underestimates the enemy. Hmm, let’s stay on high alert."
I admonished myself. At this point, I felt like one of those historical military strategists. While I was lost in my thoughts, I turned and gave orders to the men on the walls.
"They might be delaying the wyverns' deployment to avoid being targeted by the ballistas! For now, follow the plan and stay on track!"
"Understood!"
With that response, the Ceat Village Knights dispersed and continued their vigilance. The members of the Seato Village Knights have extraordinary vision on average, so they were stationed on the highest levels of the walls and fortifications.
While I was smoothly making arrows, I eventually heard a tense voice from above the wall.
"They’re coming...!"
At those words, everyone began to stir. I had been preparing with Kamsin, Till, and Arte down below, but their expressions seemed to stiffen as well.
"What kind of formation?"
I asked one of the Ceat Village Knights. Immediately, a response came from above the wall.
"It seems they’re spreading out lightly to the left and right! Two units in the front, one in the middle, and two in the back!"
"I’m not quite sure what that means, but it sounds like they’re spreading out in a long, belt-like formation with five units, right?"
"Yes, that’s the formation!"
We had an easy exchange, but I began to imagine the situation in my mind. If I looked at the map, I knew that the area ahead had some narrow paths due to hills and forests. They probably formed the long formation, and once they came into the open area, they would likely change their formation. If that was the case, this would be a very well-trained knight unit.
If they were marching in a long line, there might have been a chance for a surprise attack, like the famous Battle of Okehazama, by charging from the side where the commander was located. What a pity that we missed that chance.
Well, it’s more important now to understand the enemy's movements and plan the next steps.
"They’re really thinking this through! In that case, since the ballista’s effectiveness will be halved, let’s shift the plan to target the cannons instead!"
"Yes! Understood!"
After hearing the enemy's formation, I changed the strategy and gave the order. Ideally, I would have liked to see them approach with heavy infantry, keeping a defensive formation while carefully guarding against Arte puppets. But, that wasn’t going to happen.
"The enemy army has entered range of the cannons!"
"Huh? Already?"
I was startled by the report, and quickly raised my face. I had made plenty of arrows, so I had to move quickly.
"We only prepared five arrows per ballista, so let’s quickly resupply them. Kamsin, can you gather the arrows and distribute them with the Ceat Village Knights?"
"Yes! I’ll bring them right away!"
After asking Kamsin, he dashed off energetically. He looked like a bullet from a gun. As Kamsin rallied the troops, Lou who had been giving orders on the walls, came down the stairs.
"Van-sama! We’ve identified what seems to be a cannon, but there are already more than twenty of them! We might not be able to catch up with them using the ballistas!"
"Alright, let’s target the ones closest to the center first with the ballistas! If we think we can hit, then go for it! We still have plenty of arrows!"
"Understood!"
I gave the orders with a smile, though I could sense Lou’s slight panic. I imagined he might have been nervous since Dee and Arv weren’t around. I wanted to show a bit of confidence and try to reassure him.
Lou immediately turned around and headed back up the wall, giving further instructions to the knights operating the ballistas. The Ceat Village Knights were in charge of aiming the ballistas, but the actual operation was being handled by the Centena Knights. There were too few Ceat Village Knights to spare many for the ballistas.
I wondered if these strong knights would actually listen to a child like me. Despite my worries, everyone was putting their full effort into the defense, and they were following my orders without hesitation.
"Ballista, fire!"
"Yes, go ahead!"
The first ballista that was ready quickly confirmed the shot. I gave a light response, and the moment it fired, a deep rumbling sound shook the air.
"Direct hit...!"
"Oh...!"
"What power...!"
It seemed the first shot was successful. When the first shot landed well, the tension in everyone’s shoulders relaxed.
"Alright, let’s keep going!"
I shouted with encouragement, and Row nodded, continuously giving the order to fire. The ballistas shot one after another, shaking the ground and scattering the enemy army. Or, at least, that’s what we hoped.
However, if the enemy had spread out in a wide formation, it would be difficult to hit the cannons. The ballistas are slow to reload, so using them against a large army would be tough. If we had as many ballistas as Ceat Village, we’d be fine, but we had to make do with the ones we hastily set up.
"...! The cannons...!"
While I was preparing the arrows in my mind, the attack I had feared finally began. I heard someone shout from the wall, and immediately afterward, a loud explosion and a tremor shook the ground, making my feet shake. My eardrums ached as I grimaced, but I quickly assessed the situation.
"Where did it hit?!"
"It’s just in front of the wall!"
I yelled in response, and Lou answered loudly despite the explosions.
"Alright, fire the ballistas at the cannon we just shot at!"
"Yes! Fire the ballistas!"
Just as we did that, another cannon attack hit the opposite side of the wall. Although the cannon was still under development and had low accuracy, its power was tremendous. This time, the cannon hit directly.
A part of the wall collapsed, and worse still, a ballista positioned on the upper part of the wall fell with the collapsing wall.
"Casualties! Medical assistance!"
I heard Targa’s voice. Since Targa was assigned as the defensive commander, he was the first to act swiftly.
"Van-dono! Can you help with the wall repairs?"
"Yeah! I’ll be there in a second! I can use magic too!"
"Understood!"
Targa quickly responded and began chanting. Then, the earth magicians assigned to him also started their incantations. By the time I arrived at the scene, the earth magic had already begun reinforcing the surrounding areas of the wall.
Truly reliable. I couldn’t help but silently praise Targa for his swift action as I helped reinforce the newly constructed wall. Ideally, I would have liked to use reinforced concrete, but since the materials were a bit short, it was more like a concrete imitation.
As I shaped the wall, it quickly turned into a thicker, more majestic wall than before, just as I had hoped.
"Oh...!"
"I never thought it would be this fast..."
Surprised voices echoed from all directions, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, though now was not the time for it. I tightened my expression and looked at Althea.
"Arte! Can you help with this?"
I said, and Arte nodded firmly, her hands clasped in front of her chest.
"Of course, leave it to me!"
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