kscans

1

The new year had dawned and fifteen days had passed. Today, the scouts they had sent to the farthest reaches returned. They reported that they had found neither demonic beasts nor Manuno.

The Manuno are a strange subhuman species, resembling a woman’s lower half transformed into a snake. Bard had never seen one in person. They cannot survive far from abundant water sources. They originally inhabit the wetlands and dense forests upstream of the Ova River. However, during the rainy season, they sometimes settle downstream of the Ova. There was information that around October of the year before last, they had established a settlement on the banks of the Ova River, straight east from Lordvan Castle. Therefore, they had sent scouts to several places along the Ova coast.

Regardless of whether the information that the Manuno are controlling demonic beasts is correct, there is no doubt that there are still a significant number of demonic beasts. However, the area to be targeted is too vast to search thoroughly. Just then, a messenger arrived from the north.

2

In the room were Bard, Seifert, Arflaburne, Jog, and their respective deputies. Bard’s deputy was Knight Natz, lent by Chantillion. He was well-versed in military strategy and international affairs, and his secretarial skills were high, making him very useful. Karz was on guard, and Jurchaga was on standby as a servant. Near the door stood Knight Nid and Knight Husban of the Toad family. The two were treated as Bard’s close aides, handling various tasks and making a name for themselves among the knights of various countries. Nid had a crooked nose from being punched by Bard, earning him the nickname “The Crooked Nose”. Husban was always neat and tidy, earning him the nickname “The Flashy”. “Crooked Nose” was a bit of a harsh nickname, but the person in question seemed to like it, boasting that he had been punched by General Bard.

“Just now, a messenger arrived from Myrao Castle. It is Squire Taslow of the Goriora Frontier Knights. Squire Taslow had scouted Try and reported back, and was ordered to immediately relay the contents to General Bard. From here, I will let Squire Taslow report.”

At the urging of Knight Natz, a young squire who looked quite fatigued began to speak. He had a face that made one want to call him a boy rather than a young man.

“Since last October, travel near the eastern frontier has been restricted, and the movement of merchant caravans from Try to Myrao Castle has been limited to once a month, escorted by knights. Ten days ago, our knight squad departed to Try with several merchants. Try was completely wiped out. All the people had fallen prey to the demonic beasts and died.”

Squire Taslow choked on his words here, drank some water brought by Jurchaga, and continued his report.

“Our squad leader judged it dangerous to stay there for long, and we returned to Myrao Castle. That was four days ago. The Knight Commander decided that this matter should be immediately reported to General Bard, and immediately dispatched me.”

Myrao Castle is the southernmost stronghold of the Goriora Empire and the headquarters of the Goriora Frontier Knights. Bard himself had used Try’s port when he crossed the Ova. It was a small village, but it was a vibrant place that gave a sense of future development. Bard expressed his condolences for the people of Try and asked how many people had died in Try and whether it was definitely due to demonic beasts.

“Y-yes. About 150 people lived in Try, and about 20 soldiers were stationed there. Including temporarily staying merchants and laborers, I think there were about 180 to 190 people. The bodies had no sword or spear wounds, but there were marks of beast claws and fangs, and the walls and fences of the houses were broken, so it was judged to be an attack by demonic beasts, not a human attack, according to the squad leader’s opinion.”

Bard asked about the horses and cows.

“Yes. All the horses and cows were killed.”

Bard asked again if they had been eaten. Squire Taslow seemed confused by this question, but the sharp-witted Count Arflaburne seemed to grasp Bard’s intention and took over the question.

“Squire Taslow. You came here in four days from Myrao Castle without a night’s rest. That’s impressive horsemanship. Are you by any chance from the Quint family?”

“Y-yes, Count. Indeed, I am the eldest son of the Barkloud family, a branch of the Quint family.”

“Indeed. I have seen your father’s impressive horsemanship. I’m sorry for making your precious horse work so hard. But the speed of this information may save many lives. I want you to remember well and answer General Bard’s question. First, how many horses and cows were there in Try?”

“Y-yes, it’s an honor. I think there were about twenty horses. There were about four or five cows, I believe.”

“Was there any meat left on the bodies of those cows and horses?”

“No. They were all gnawed down to the bone.”

“I see. And what about the humans?”

“Y-yes. All the flesh of the humans had been eaten as well.”

At this point, Squire Taslow began to sob. Finally, Arflaburne asked if there were any bodies of the attacking beasts, but the answer was that none were found. Bard asked what had happened to the food such as wheat and vegetables. The answer was that everything had been eaten. For now, there were no more questions. After letting Taslow retire to another room, they began to discuss. In response to Bard’s question of what they thought, the first to express an opinion was Seifert.

“It seems they were completely overrun despite having soldiers. We should probably assume it was demonic beasts. And whether they are demonic beasts or not, they seem to be a terrifying number. They were all slaughtered without a chance to escape or communicate.”

Arflaburne agreed with this. Jog was asleep with his chair pulled up against the wall, so Colin agreed on his behalf. 　Anyway, it turned out that the enemy was there and that they had been in Try ten days earlier. After discussion, it was decided to dispatch a short-range reconnaissance with a narrower scope starting the next day. The next day, that is, January 16, an express messenger from Myrao Castle arrived again. It was a report that the castle was being attacked by demonic beasts.

3

After hearing the report from the messenger, the same group as the previous day discussed their response. The attackers were thirty long-eared wolf demonic beasts. They attacked on the night of the 12th. Fortunately, the main gate was closed, but they allowed two to enter through the side gate. As a result, they had three dead and about ten injured, but they killed the invading demonic beasts. After that, the demonic beasts were howling in front of the main gate and the side gate, but eventually they started to gather a little distance away. They seemed ready to attack if the gate was opened even a little. They sent a messenger from another gate, but he was noticed and almost caught up with, but managed to escape with the speed of his horse.

Myrao Castle is a small fortress, only in name a castle. But it is solidly built, with high defensive walls. It cannot accommodate a large number of people, but as long as it is used for defense, it is a fortress that will not easily fall. The size of the Frontier Knights is smaller than Parzam, but now they have stopped patrolling and everyone is holed up inside. The force consists of thirty knights and fifteen squires, with about ten servants. The commander of the Frontier Knights is Tide Nowinge. The deputy commander is Keba Kohou. They are not flashy, but they are knights who fight solidly and without recklessness.

“It doesn’t seem to be their full strength, but if we send out a few reinforcements, we should be able to take them down easily from inside and outside. It might be good to whittle them down when we can.”

In response to Seifert, Arflaburne said,

“They have plenty of food reserves, so unless something major happens, the castle won’t fall. They don’t have a stockpile of poison and not many bows, so they can’t exterminate the beasts right away. If we’re going to subdue them, we should do it all at once with a large force. It’s not good to disperse our forces.”

Jog was still against the wall. However, today he was not sleeping, but pretending to sleep. He was not in a good mood. Colin spoke on his behalf.

“Our knights are a bit irritated. Didn’t we come here to fight?”

That’s right. Maintaining morale is also a problem that cannot be ignored. But the knights who want to fight right away do not understand the precariousness of this coalition. They do not understand how terrifying a force of five hundred demonic beasts, including medium and large ones, is.

Our forces consist of 186 knights and 131 squires. In other words, our cavalry strength is just over 300. In a direct confrontation, we would be trampled without a chance to fight back. Ideally, we should face the enemy with five times, or at least three times, our strength. The only things that could bridge this gap in power are the castle walls and poison. If the enemy were ordinary demonic beasts, we could lure them in and annihilate them.

Bard is well-versed in demonic beasts. However, the enemy this time, although they should be demonic beasts, are behaving in a way that is uncharacteristic of them. This confuses Bard’s thinking.

Bard organizes his thoughts and decides to think this way: the enemy has the abilities of a demonic beast, but their behavior is different. They suppress their instincts and act like an army obeying a commander. Therefore, the attack on Myrao Castle should not be considered as the action of a demonic beast. It should be considered a strategic move. If so, what can be seen? Bard muttered to himself, almost unconsciously, that if it were a strategic move, he would suspect a diversion. Everyone looked at Bard with a start.

“A diversion. If so, they might lure us out and strike elsewhere. I see. It was suspicious because I thought it was the way of the demonic beasts, but if someone is controlling them, we should consider that.”

“But where? Where is the diversion for the attack?”

Arflaburne and Seifert asked. Bard turned to Arflaburne and said that Squire Taslow had given them an important clue. After thinking for a while, Arflaburne said,

“I see. Where there is bait.”

At his sharp remark, Seifert opened his eyes wide and looked at Arflaburne.

“Eh? What? Can you tell me too?”

“Knight Colin. This is what it means. Because there are so many demonic beasts, they naturally need a lot of food. Therefore, they will attack places where there is a lot of food.”

Arflaburne then explained a little more simply. When beasts attack humans, they don’t kill more than they can eat. On the other hand, when demonic beasts attack humans, they kill even when they are not hungry. However, the demonic beasts that attacked Try ate humans, horses, cows, and everything else voraciously. Why? They were storing food. The food to satisfy the stomachs of five hundred demonic beasts is not something that can be found just anywhere. There are various foods along the Ova River, with many plants and animals, but once you leave that area, it’s not the same.

“General Bard. Do beasts that eat grass and trees still eat grass and trees when they become demonic beasts?”

Knight Natz asked the question. Bard answered. Just because they become demonic beasts doesn’t mean they suddenly start eating humans. They do bite to death, though. If there were demonic beasts of Shirozuno or Fukurozaru, it would make sense that wheat and vegetables were eaten down to the roots.

Arflaburne, who nodded, pointed to the map. The attack on Try was discovered eleven days ago. Since there was still fresh blood, the attack itself must have been twelve to fourteen days ago. There are fast and slow demonic beasts. If you think about a place where they can reach in a dozen days, passing through relatively grassy areas, and where there is food for five hundred beasts, where would it be?

Here.

Arflaburne’s finger pointed straight at Lordvan Castle.

Bard stared at the map. In Lordvan Castle, there are over five hundred non-combatants alone. Including the knights and their attendants, it’s close to nine hundred. In addition, there is plenty of water, many horses, cows, pigs, sheep, grains, vegetables, and so on. For a horde of demonic beasts, it’s the perfect feeding ground. And if they take that place, there are towns and villages of Gaineria to the west. No, the distance from here to the capital of Gaineria is almost the same as the distance from Try to here. In other words, if they can come this far after filling their stomachs in Try, it’s also possible to hit the capital of Gaineria directly after filling their stomachs here. The distance from the capital of Gaineria to the capitals of Thula and Seion is much shorter. If this place is taken, the rich countries of the Central Plains will become their feeding grounds. (t/n: if you forget, they’re currently in Lordvan Castle)

There is an area on the straight line connecting Try and Lordvan Castle where humans do not set foot. Naturally, no reconnaissance has entered there. It’s an area scattered with the dwellings of the Gerkaast. There are grass, trees, water, and beasts there. The hero of Jameen, Yemite, said that demonic beasts become violent only against humans and do not attack demi-humans. If a horde of demonic beasts passes through here, it probably won’t lead to a conflict with the Gerkaast.

Lordvan Castle is the most heavily defended military facility on the east side of the Central Plains, so it never occurred to them that it might be attacked. However, if they were to attack the human countries, it would be most rational to take this place first. It could even be said that there is no other choice. Bard clenched his teeth and then spoke.

“Manuno is said to be able to sense the presence of living creatures from unimaginably far away. This castle must look like the perfect feeding ground to them. Now that we know that a large number of demonic beasts are acting together, we should assume that they are heading here. I take back what I said earlier about the attack on Myrao Castle possibly being a diversion. It would be more convenient for them if the bait was gathered in one place. Myrao Castle is probably one of the prime feeding grounds. If this place falls into their hands, the towns and villages of the Central Plains will be trampled without resistance. Start preparing for the counterattack immediately!”

4

The scouts were called back immediately. Stones were piled up in front of the north gate. The same was done in front of the south gate and the east and west gates. Poison pots, oil pots, and bow baskets were raised to the castle walls, bowmen were assigned, and it was thoroughly ensured that no other arrows than those with the designated mark were coated. They rested in shifts so they could be ready for battle at any time. That night passed without incident. The next day, in the afternoon of January 17th.

About five hundred demonic beasts attacked Lordvan Castle, which was shrouded in shadow and swept by a cold wind.