Chapter 174 - 160: Perilous Thermopylae
Chapter 174: Chapter 160: Perilous Thermopylae
Thermopylae stood between the Qielafu Mountain Range and Casorri Mountain. Its walls stretched for a kilometer. While the terrain wasn’t exactly treacherous, the pass was still easy to defend and difficult to attack.
For hundreds of years, it had been a fiercely contested ground between Beastmen and humans. In the past, this place had boasted a City Defense Maze Lock from the Mages of Tilia, an altar forged by the Holy See’s Bright Apostle Association to bolster the troops’ morale, and countless weapons of war and Magic Resources...
Unfortunately, Louis II had squandered it all away thirty years ago. Even the walls were newly constructed.
What made the situation even more critical was that progress on the central front had been so smooth that the Kingdom Government hadn’t dispatched many troops here.
The current commander of Thermopylae was merely a Viscount—Viscount Sriwizi.
"What’s the status? Have we heard back from the Royal Capital?" Viscount Sriwizi asked his aide-de-camp, his brow furrowed with anxiety.
Viscount Sriwizi recalled seeing a few Griffins on his way to the conference room. The royal family often used them to carry messages.
The aide-de-camp shook his head.
Viscount Sriwizi couldn’t help but curse.
"What the hell?! All of Thermopylae has just 3,000 defenders! How are we supposed to hold the pass with that? This is utter madness!" Viscount Sriwizi cursed.
"We may not have royal troops, but I’ve heard Prince Noah is on his way with several thousand elite soldiers," the aide-de-camp said.
"If they arrive in time, we can hold out for a while. We might even be able to last until the royal reinforcements or the troops retreating from the Western Front arrive," the aide-de-camp added.
Viscount Sriwizi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"The Prince? If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place," Viscount Sriwizi grumbled.
It was nothing new. The entire Western Front was complaining about Prince Noah’s conduct. In a country run by nobles, no royal family would punish someone merely for speaking their mind.
The only exception, of course, was the Dark Age under the rule of the Holy See. But it was called the Dark Age for a reason; such occurrences were exceedingly rare.
"I hear that unit has won quite a few battles. Perhaps they can really pull us out of this slump," the aide-de-camp said.
"Let’s hope so," Viscount Sriwizi sighed.
In truth, Viscount Sriwizi had no better options at the moment.
Their homeland lay behind them. Nearly all the adult men of the Northern Nobles were already on the battlefield. Beyond Thermopylae, only the old, the weak, women, and children remained.
The great clans did have troops they could dispatch—the Royal Guard Knight Order, the Wei Man Clan’s Pioneer Knight Order, for example—but these forces were largely held in reserve to defend the major cities.
If they drew away all their forces and problems erupted within the kingdom, it would be a true catastrophe.
CREAK...
The door swung open, and a fully armed Soldier entered.
The Soldier’s heavy panting was audible even through his armor.
"Jioman? What’s happened? Why the rush?" the aide-de-camp asked.
Viscount Sriwizi said nothing.
’Whatever it is, it can’t be good news,’ he thought.
"My lord! Beastmen! The Wolf Cavalry! They’re less than ten miles out!" Jioman gasped.
Just as he’d expected, it wasn’t good news. Viscount Sriwizi couldn’t begin to describe his feelings. He had once thought the assignment at Thermopylae would be a cushy one.
After all, the pass was a key logistics and transit hub. If fighting really broke out, there would usually be a Count, or even a Marquis, retreating from the front to take command. There would be nothing for a mere Viscount like him to do.
But who could have predicted that in just one short month, the situation on the front would change so drastically? The war had practically arrived on his doorstep overnight, leaving Viscount Sriwizi completely unprepared.
"General... should we sally out and attack to boost the soldiers’ morale?
The enemy has just completed a long march. This is the perfect time to make a show of force," the aide-de-camp said from the side.
"A perfect time?" Viscount Sriwizi shot his aide-de-camp a look of astonishment.
"Are you blinded by the prospect of glory?"
He knew his own situation best. What could his few thousand Peasants accomplish? Barely anything! There had been rumors that the Marshal would send tens of thousands in reinforcements, but those rumors had ultimately amounted to nothing.
Viscount Sriwizi could already picture it: the enemy would charge once, and his own army would scatter to the winds.
These Peasants had never seen war. They would only have the will to fight as long as they were on the walls, not facing the enemy head-on.
"Go prepare rolling logs and stones. And right, remember to get a message to the Prince.
For now, that’s all we can do," Viscount Sriwizi said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
It wasn’t that Viscount Sriwizi didn’t want to kill the enemy and earn glory. He knew a victory would be a massive morale boost, making the future defense of the city much easier.
But as things stood, the whole of Thermopylae was hanging by a thread. There was no room for error.
The disparity in strength between them and the enemy was simply too great.
If Viscount Sriwizi sallied forth and lost, the enemy would likely smash through the pass in a single push.
Then, there’d be no talk of defending the city. He could just wait for the Kingdom’s judgment.
Just then, the door opened again.
Viscount Sriwizi felt a surge of irritation. ’Is the bad news never-ending?’ he thought.
"What is it? Just spit it out!" Viscount Sriwizi said to the messenger, his tone thick with impatience.
The messenger, thinking he had done something wrong, froze in place, unsure what to do.
"Just say it. It’s nothing," the aide-de-camp said.
"Yes, sir. According to a report from the frontline Griffin Caval, the reinforcements from His Highness Prince and Count Valentino are less than twenty miles away.
The Griffin Scout reported they will likely make camp at Wild Mountain tonight.
Should we be doing anything?"
"So soon!"
Viscount Sriwizi exclaimed. His expression softened considerably as he looked at the messenger.
He had to admit his tone had been a bit harsh. He hadn’t expected the messenger to actually bring good news!
Mostly, Viscount Sriwizi himself hadn’t expected His Highness Prince’s reinforcements to reach the battlefield so quickly.
"My lord Viscount, what now? Should we make a move?" the aide-de-camp asked, his own heart pounding.
Even with reinforcements on the way, Viscount Sriwizi still shook his head.
"No. Like I said, caution is paramount. The quality of our troops is too poor to take the offensive," Viscount Sriwizi said.
Ultimately, Viscount Sriwizi had no confidence in the arriving reinforcements.
In Viscount Sriwizi’s eyes, His Highness Prince had a... less than stellar track record. Who knew if he’d pull some self-defeating stunt this time?
"However, we can gather the Extraordinary Knights within the city. If His Highness Prince has need of them, we will make the arrangements," Viscount Sriwizi said.
In reality, Robson’s army had been marching under the Prince’s banner all along.
The main reason was that if Robson wanted the royal family’s full support on the matter of fiefs later on, he had to make Prince Noah look good.
Only by making Prince Noah the hero of this battle would the royal family have a justifiable way to salvage the reputation he had previously ruined.
It might seem like Robson wasn’t getting any of the glory, but for someone of his current status, reputation was of little practical value—it couldn’t be converted into tangible benefits.
Conversely, by obediently handing over the fame, he could gain concrete benefits from the royal family.
For Robson at this stage, tangible benefits far outweighed so-called honor.