Barbarian Quest

The news of the raiders from the west reached the imperial palace.

"Any contact from Sir Odinst?"

"None, Your Majesty."

"And no one knows where Duke Langster is?"

The knight reporting to Emperor Yanchinus lowered his head. Around them, numerous nobles were split into two sides.

"The barbarians from the west are crossing the mountains and raiding left and right. It's obvious. Form a new legion."

Yanchinus managed to suppress his anger.

'This is truly unexpected. I know Odinst was a young one, but...'

Odinst was a young and promising knight. He came from a good family and had decent skills. Yanchinus had entrusted him with a legion to help him build his experience.

'Barbarians are supposed to fight on par with our imperial army only after they've looted enough equipment from us and adapted to our tactics. That too, is under the assumption that they have united. It makes no sense for a legion to lose in the initial battles.'

Yanchinus wasn't the only one who thought so. Judging by the circumstances, it was clear the western legion had been defeated by the barbarians. The knights and nobles were unsettled by this unprecedented situation.

‘This is getting tricky. I don’t feel comfortable sending out the veterans, either...'

Capable generals raced through Yanchinus' mind. They were the old guards who had long contended with barbarians.

‘Ever since Ferzen noya died, those old fools have been trying to break free from my control.'

There were those even Yanchinus couldn’t treat harshly. They were the military nobles with influence within the imperial army.

Yanchinus' absolute power depended on the imperial army's absolute military force. While the soldiers of the imperial army were loyal to the emperor, some of their commanders had tendencies to be rather independent. The venerable veterans, who had earned the respect and trust of the soldiers, could not be purged recklessly by the emperor, either.

‘They didn’t show such signs when noya was still alive, keke.'

Yanchinus laughed inwardly.

The Sword Demon Ferzen was a legend with more influence than all the veterans combined. Because he was the emperor's guardian, no matter how hard the veterans tried, they could not surpass the young emperor's power.

'I tried to develop Odinst to break the spirit of the veterans, but life doesn't always go as planned. That's life, I suppose.'

Yanchinus closed his eyes, deep in thought. His anger had already subsided. Anger only narrowed one's perspective.

'But we can't just let the barbarians run rampant.'

It was a matter that impacted the prestige of the emperor and the empire.

The emperor was the ruler of the civilized world, the protector of all lords and kingdoms, and the guardian of Solarism. Yanchinus had a duty to stop the barbarians.

"The scale of the barbarian army varies in the reports. Some say they have as many as a hundred thousand troops."

The scribe read from reports flown in from various places. Information about the western barbarians was mostly a mystery. No one knew the population or culture of the western barbarians' homeland. Those who might have known were either missing or dead.

"A hundred thousand troops? That is certainly an exaggeration born of fear. Recent reports estimate no more than twenty thousand at most."

Yanchinus sat on the throne, looking down at his subjects. His gaze was cold. The blood of conquest still ran hot.

Yanchinus organized his thoughts and spoke.

"Summon Sir Maluan. Assign him to oversee Yailrud and the western reconnaissance. We need to know their base. Being attacked one-sided like this is not to my taste."

The scribe recorded Yanchinus' order.

No matter the number of barbarians, they were the ones attacking unilaterally because there wasn’t a need for them to defend their homeland. Being able to go on a unilateral offensive was a significant advantage in war.

'The western barbarian army doesn't need to worry about occupying territories or managing supply lines; they just need to keep plundering and advancing. Their goal isn't conquest but rather revenge and a display of power.'

That was also precisely what made them troublesome. The barbarian army was essentially a massive raiding party unleashed upon the civilized world to mock them. Without knowing their base, it was difficult to eradicate them.

'The western legion was defeated after crossing the mountains. The barbarians must have had something that gave them an edge. It’s tough to send another legion across the mountains hastily without any new solid information. First, we need to drive out the barbarians that have crossed over to this side.'

Yanchinus' mind raced with various thoughts. Amidst the flow of numerous pieces of information, he had to make the most accurate judgment. The most crucial trait for a monarch was judgment. The execution was done by his subjects.

'A monarch doesn't need to be the greatest general in the world. Just having the judgment to place generals in the appropriate positions is enough.'

Yanchinus remembered the teachings of the former emperor. As a boy, Yanchinus loved to relieve his boiling blood by hunting, riding his horse through the forests. It was the former emperor who had taught that boy how to sit on the throne and govern his subjects.

"The barbarian march is headed toward the Langkegart Kingdom. It would be wise to take action before it becomes completely devastated."

A steel knight of the palace suggested.

"I’m sure Langkegart is already responding appropriately."

"At the very least, these barbarians number anywhere from a few thousand to ten thousand. Judging by how we lost contact with the western legion, they are not something a kingdom can handle on its own."

Langkegart's maximum mobilizable force was at most about ten thousand, similar to other small kingdoms. That number included all sorts of hastily conscripted soldiers.

"If the western barbarians are a tribe that produces warriors like the northern barbarians... then that ten thousand probably represents a considerable combat capability. Hah, it seems like those barbarians are going to shred and devour at least one or two kingdoms of our proud civilized world, doesn’t it?"

A few of Yanchinus’ subjects laughed at his jest. Yanchinus remembered the faces and names of those subjects. Those who laughed at such jokes were bound to be treacherous.

"...If we just watch Langkegart get devastated, the other vassal states will become discontent."

"Ah, Sir Carnius."

Yanchinus looked at the knight with greying hair and beard. He was the head of the Carnius family and a knight who had remained in the shadow of Ferzen's fame.

The Carnius was an elite family that had been with the empire since its inception. They were nobles with enough influence to cast a dissenting vote against the emperor's decisions.

"Please entrust me with the command of the new legion, Your Majesty."

As Carnius stepped forward, the surrounding nobles clapped and responded enthusiastically. The experienced general seemed like a hero appearing at just the right moment.

‘This is exactly why I sent a young sapling like Odinst to be the legion commander.'

Yanchinus was displeased with the current reaction. He did not want to give generals who already had sufficient power an opportunity to gain even more glory.

"The situation is not good. It seems like the western barbarians have already formed a unified system. This is different from the time when the northern barbarians were forced to unify after continuously being pushed back by the imperial army. We are at a point where divide and conquer is impossible. We have no choice but to crush their main force with our strength."

Carnius had the experience that the young knights did not. Based on experience and precedent, he had a clear view of what needed to be done.

"Continue, Sir Carnius."

Yanchinus encouraged him, putting on the mask of a generous monarch.

"We need to organize two more legions, Your Majesty."

An entire legion had already vanished. This alone was a critical blow to the empire. It passed without much fuss only because the empire was in its golden age with its power at its peak.

The virtual annihilation of the Western Legion resulted in over a hundred dead nobles. Because this included many land-owning lords and knights, several territorial disputes broke out. Even as they were speaking, local lords and sons of the deceased were fighting over the lands that were left vacant by the dead.

"Two legions, you say..."

Yanchinus stroked his chin.

The imperial bureaucrats estimated the empire's total mobilizable force to be around forty to fifty thousand. The imperial army had already lost about five thousand soldiers, which made up roughly one-tenth of that number. This even included two thousand five hundred from the imperial standing army. The remaining standing army was about eight thousand, enough to organize three more legions.

"According to the messenger's report, the barbarians' advance speed is twice that of the imperial army. If we assume the barbarians' main force has a similar strength to one imperial legion, one legion alone will not be able to block their advance."

"Are you saying that you can stop them with two legions?"

Yanchinus asked, and Carnius hesitated before answering.

"It is possible if you organize each legion with ten thousand instead of five thousand. Please issue a levy to the mercenaries and nobles to add another five thousand soldiers to each legion, Your Majesty."

Carnius’ words caused a stir among the subjects. He was asking the emperor to mobilize twenty thousand men.

"It sounds like you’re asking to use a butcher's knife to kill a mouse."

"There's a saying that a lion gives its all even when hunting a single rabbit," Carnius retorted to the emperor's words.

"I’m sure you know what it means to mobilize an army of twenty thousand."

"The barbarians have already defeated the Western Legion and made it to this point. It would be fortunate for us if they engaged us in a direct confrontation, but... if they choose to evade us like slippery eels knowing their advantage in mobility, we would have to disperse a significant force to encircle and immobilize them."

Carnius' words were strategically sound. Having a larger force enabled the application of more strategies and tactics. The basic principle of warfare was to overwhelm by numbers. The more troops available, the better.

However, from the perspective of politicians and bureaucrats, fewer conscripted forces were preferred. Conscripts were commoners with various professions such as farmers and merchants who drove society during peacetime.

A higher ratio of conscription to population, even in the sturdiest of nations, led to the collapse of society and the economy. To prevent social chaos, states with surplus capital and stability, like the empire, operated with a large number of professional soldiers, while kingdoms with unstable income relied on mercenaries for warfare.

"Sir Carnius, do you think you can end the war before autumn?"

Another noble interjected. Nobles were reluctant to draft men from their own domains. A shortage of laborers during autumn could be fatal for managing their estates. There was even an unspoken rule among civilized people not to wage war during the farming season.

But barbarians didn’t follow such unspoken rules of civilization. Especially the westerners, who never relied on agriculture in the first place, lacked even the concept of it.

The most precious resource in state management was the population. War and domestic affairs competed for this limited resource. Once the population significantly decreased, it took a state at least a generation, or thirty years, to rebuild.

"Did you ask if we can end the war before autumn? I cannot give you a definite answer to that question."

Carnius said as he looked around at the nobles, who murmured among themselves.

"And you're saying we should draw troops from our own domains for this? That is utterly preposterous."

The pro-imperial nobles criticized Carnius.

"Though I didn't want to say this... perhaps it's time to reflect on who was the one to waste national strength on a rather unnecessary western expansion?"

Carnius narrowed his eyes as he spoke. Yanchinus watched quietly, but the pro-imperial nobles frowned and glared at Carnius.

"How audacious! The expansion is not for immediate gain but for future endeavors!"

"Haha, I’m sure it is. I did hear that money flowing from the imperial treasury is making its way to the Porcana Kingdom. Your Imperial Majesty, this must surely also be an investment for the future, isn't it?"

Yanchinus laughed coldly at Carnius’ sarcasm.

"Of course, it is. Though you old men are probably thinking I’m wasting money on projects that will only shine after they're dead."

The pro-imperial nobles laughed. They were mostly younger nobles at the core.

"Looking at the current situation, it was not wasted money but rather money spent to invite enemies."

Carnius spoke completely outright. If the Western Legion had not been lost and the expansion had been successful, there would have been no ground to contradict the emperor. However, the emperor's actions had put the empire at risk. He had basically connected a world that should not have been connected in the first place and ended up bringing forth new enemies.

"...I will grant your request, Sir Carnius. Mobilize twenty thousand troops and subjugate the barbarians."

Emperor Yanchinus spoke after a pause. Carnius knelt and bowed his head.

'Truly a scion of a great lineage... As obsessed with achievements as he is, he's not a man to shirk necessary tasks due to personal feelings.'

Carnius knew that despite his sarcasm, the emperor would eventually grant his request.

'Even if Langkegart becomes desolate, as long as the barbarians are thoroughly subjugated, the empire will stabilize again.'

Emperor Yanchinus and Carnius shared the same thought. Despite some losses, it was necessary to firmly put an end to the barbarians right now.

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶