The shit-bomb proposal, astonishingly enough, was put on the official agenda, and before long it was approved.
Victoria approved it with a laugh, as if she found the whole thing absurd, and unlike during the catapult operation, when the other generals had split into factions and argued, this time they all roared with laughter and gave their assent.
It was perfect, except for one thing.
“By the way, does the Kingdom of Sterling normally fight by throwing shit? How filthy.”
“…No, we don’t.”
“Good heavens, I’m glad we surrendered quickly. We might have had to fight while being rained on by shit.”
“I said we don’t.”
I felt as though my reputation had gotten a little dirtier.
The staff officer chuckled and pulled a fresh bundle of parchment from the pile of documents, spreading it out on the table.
“Now then, let’s leave the foul-smelling talk at that. This time, I’ll brief you on the people beyond the walls we have to break through—the ones inside. Listen carefully, Harper. There may also be new information for the other generals present, so please take note.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Understood.”
“The Kingdom of Laurent is as closed a nation as its terrain, blocked on three sides by mountain ranges. Even with the Empire’s entire intelligence network mobilized, we do not have much recent information about their internal affairs. However, ahead of this expedition, there are two facts that have been reliably cross-verified.”
The staff officer pointed to two portraits drawn on the parchment.
“First. In place of the current aged king of the Kingdom of Laurent, Laurent III, his young son, Crown Prince Laurent IV, will personally take the front line in this defensive battle. It is said Laurent III is on his deathbed.”
“The crown prince himself? Not waiting safely in the rear?”
“That is correct. We believe it is a political move to win the support of the military as the next king and firmly establish his position as heir. There is a high probability he is a hot-blooded greenhorn burning with ambition for glory.”
The crown prince joining the war… A young commander coming to the front to secure his political position.
A vigorous commander desperate to win merit always made for an excellent opening.
I nodded inwardly.
“And second.”
The staff officer’s voice sank, growing heavier.
The expressions of the other generals, who had been snickering and joking about shit just moments ago, all turned cold and hard the instant they looked at the second portrait.
“The supreme commander of the Kingdom of Laurent’s defensive line, and the enemy commander we must defeat on the plains, is… as you all know, the famed general Henry Alfonso.”
“Henry Alfonso…?”
It was a name I had never heard before. Since I was not from the Empire, I did not know who he was, and I tilted my head.
Seeing my reaction, General Bane, the cavalry commander, clicked his tongue bitterly and cut in.
“You’re from the south, so you might not know. Harper, that man is the greatest general on the continent.”
“The greatest general on the continent? Is he truly that remarkable? The generals of the Imperial Army are all excellent as well.”
“We have plenty of fine commanders too, but that man is… different. Simply different. The martial strength to cut down dozens of knights when he takes up a sword, extraordinary tactics that read the battlefield like a chessboard, and on top of that, overwhelming prestige that lets him command his subordinates like his own hands and feet. The reason the Empire has been frustrated and forced to shed tears of blood before those walls time and again for two hundred years is, without question, because of House Alfonso—and because of that man. And among all the members of House Alfonso, he is the most outstanding. I suppose we should be grateful that he’s old now and has weakened somewhat in terms of sheer force…”
A deep sense of defeat and trauma passed over the generals’ faces.
General Karl let out a heavy sigh and continued.
“Harper, do you know about the great expedition against the Kingdom of Laurent that took place twenty years ago, during the reign of the previous emperor?”
“I don’t know the details… but I have heard we suffered a crushing defeat.”
“Calling it a crushing defeat is not enough. It was the battle with the greatest losses in Imperial history.”
General Karl pointed at the map and recalled that horrific past.
“The commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force at the time was His Majesty the Emperor, as he is now. Back then, an Imperial army two hundred thousand strong advanced onto the plains before their walls. But when their square formations blunted our cavalry’s momentum, and even the infantry became entangled in a vicious melee at that desperate, critical moment…”
General Karl’s fist trembled.
“Thirty thousand elite Laurent cavalry led by that bastard Henry Alfonso took a mountain bypath, made a wide detour, and slammed into the Imperial Army’s back. At the same time, the gates opened, and axe-wielding light infantry who had been waiting inside the city came pouring out, beginning to slaughter the exhausted Imperial troops. It was a textbook hammer-and-anvil tactic.”
“…”
“In that single horrific battle, a staggering one hundred and thirty thousand of the Empire’s two hundred thousand soldiers were massacred on those plains. Men were trampled under one another’s feet and crushed to death, arrows struck them in the back as they tried to flee… Our cavalry were the first to die, and afterward, the infantry fleeing on their own two feet were run down by enemy cavalry and annihilated.”
It was the story I had heard earlier from Victoria.
One hundred and thirty thousand at once—the number alone was an overwhelming death toll that made it hard to breathe.
‘Good heavens, I don’t think the entire population of the Harper Barony, men and women, old and young combined, even reached a hundred thousand…?’
On the faces of several old generals, a deep terror appeared as they recalled the hell of that day.
“His Majesty the Emperor, who was commander-in-chief at the time, was also trapped in the enemy encirclement and nearly perished. The ones who stayed by His Majesty’s side until the very end, risking their lives to carve open a bloody path, were the current Count Gross and Count Gray. The scar that cuts across Count Gray’s face was made that day by Alfonso’s sword.”
“Ah, that scar…”
“Yes. Count Gross and Count Gray faced General Alfonso two against one, but even then, all they could do was buy enough time for His Majesty the Emperor to retreat. Both counts are renowned for their martial prowess on horseback, but even the two of them together could not defeat General Alfonso and had to withdraw.”
Count Gray, who had always been like ice, without blood or tears.
That long horizontal scar across his face was the work of this general named Henry Alfonso?
“General Alfonso is the hero who saved the Kingdom of Laurent. The royal army is united under that old general’s name with something close to blind faith. On top of that, his personal character is said to be excellent as well. They say he indulges in no luxuries, eats the same food as his soldiers, and uses the same tents. House Alfonso is the foremost family in the kingdom, but they have amassed almost no wealth, so their territory is said to amount to little more than a small rural manor…”
“I’ve heard his prestige is extraordinary too. The discipline in his unit is strict, but everyone from the lowest soldiers to the officers follows him like a father.”
The staff officer crossed his arms and acknowledged it bitterly.
“To be honest, although he is our sworn enemy… as a man and a warrior, he is a flawless, splendid figure. If the Empire had even one general like him, the unification of the continent would have been finished long ago.”
All the generals of the high command spoke of the enemy commander, Henry Alfonso, gnashing their teeth while also showing profound awe.
The greatest tactician on the continent, possessed of perfect character, and overwhelming in personal martial strength.
And yet he had accumulated no wealth, had devoted his entire life to the battlefield, and offered unwavering loyalty to the Laurent royal family.
He was like the perfect protagonist himself, leaping out of a heroic tale.
As I quietly listened to that hymn to a hero, I nodded without thinking and let out a small laugh.
“I see. How funny.”
“Hm? Harper. What is so funny?”
“No, it’s just… His tactics are perfect, his soldiers trust him deeply, and even in old age, he leads by example as a hero who saved his country. Isn’t he truly an admirable man?”
I shrugged and showed them a bright, clear smile without a trace of darkness.
“It’s just such a shame that we have to kill someone so remarkable.”
“…Huh?”
At my innocent words, the generals in the meeting room wore blank expressions for a moment.
Then, soon after, the staff officer cleared his throat and burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha! That’s right, not a single word of that is wrong! No matter how impressive he is, he’s still just an enemy commander blocking the Imperial Army’s path. Of course we have to beat him to death!”
“Haha! This brat, he looks perfectly normal on the outside, but inside he’s gloomy and vicious!”
The generals laughed heartily at my words and agreed.
I did not really understand why they were laughing.
“…That wasn’t a joke. I really do intend to kill him.”
The more admirable a person was, the easier they became to kill.
Especially when that person was not a monarch, but a mere general.
After all, the greatest enemy of an outstanding general was never the enemy army, but his own sovereign.