Elf Tensei Kara no Cheat Kenkoku-ki

Book 05: Chapter 16-2: The War Begins

「We've greatly reduced the Empire's strength, but they will still bring nearly ten thousand soldiers. We need to engage in a siege. If we fight outside the walls, we'll be crushed instantly.」 Our operable troop count was at most a hundred, and a hundred archers firing bows would hardly make a difference. That's why we created an impenetrable wall. Our only option was to stay inside the walls, focus on defense, and endure. 「Cyril-kun, I have a question. It's fine to plan for a siege, but can we win just by barricading ourselves in? In the previous battle, we struck at the enemy's supply lines, but I suspect they will have countermeasures this time. If their supply lines are secure, we will run dry before the enemy does.」 Kuu, who participated as the representative of the fire foxes, raised a question. Her point was valid. A siege was essentially a test of endurance. Preventing an invasion was pointless if we ran out of resources first. There was no doubt they'd taken measures against our interference with their supplies. They could establish makeshift relay points or store food in villages they plan to pass through in advance for example. I had been planning to counter their measures. I discovered which villages they planned to use and sabotaged their efforts, but there was little I could do about the relay points. I negotiated with the village chiefs along their route, arranging for them to seize the Empire's stored food and immigrate to Bell Erucy once the invasion began. Thanks to the recent abusive tax collection by the Empire and the rumors of Bell Erucy's prosperity, negotiations were easy. 「We are trying to disrupt their supply lines, but it's impossible to do so completely. Kuu's concern is valid. However, the Empire won't be able to sustain the frontline for long either. Let me explain the current situations of both Erucy and the Empire.」 I took a deep breath and then began to speak. 「Regarding Erucy, we have prepared for this battle by storing over a year's worth of wheat purchased from Erin, along with a large amount of dried meat. Although small-scale, we have been cultivating vegetables within the walls, and the potato harvest has been successfully completed. We have also prepared a large quantity of cannabis seeds. Our food reserves should last about two years if necessary. As for water, we can draw from underground sources, so there's no issue there.」 The strength and weakness of Erucy lie in its small population. Being about three hundred people made us strong in a siege. In contrast, the Empire's expeditionary force alone numbers ten thousand. They needed more than thirty times the supplies we did. 「The Empire can't expect much support from its homeland. In fact, it's surprising they are still intent on fighting given their current economic state.」 I'd been gathering information from the villages around the Empire. The damage from the counterfeit bonds and the drug ‘Shoji' was greater than I had anticipated. The drug was being distributed efficiently, with the orcs being particularly instrumental in this effort. At first, they handed out Soji almost for free, then raised the price once people became dependent. For those without money, they even instigated the theft of military supplies. I had thought them mere brutes, but their cunning was akin to that of a mafia. 「That's why they'll last at most two months. They'll run out of energy around then. Right now, the Empire itself is devoid of both money and food. People are beginning to starve to death, even in the cities, with some cases already reported.」 「What on earth happened to the Empire?」 「I don't know the details. Rumor has it that the Empire launched some policy and failed.」 I kept silent about the counterfeit bonds and Shoji. This information didn't need to be shared. 「Cyril-sama, does this mean we won't be making any attacks from our side?」 Kurao, serving as the acting village chief, asked. 「No, that's not entirely the case. We will engage in attacks as well, employing guerrilla tactics like those Nettle used in the previous battle, to delay their arrival and diminish their strength and stamina as much as possible. The landmines I had Nettle plant are part of that strategy.」 I created numerous anti-personnel mines and instructed all members of Nettle to install them along the road from Bell Erucy to Erucy. Until this war ended, any interaction between Bell Erucy and Erucy was prohibited. Landmines could at least serve as a slight delay. Although Ashno, proficient in earth magic, might quickly devise countermeasures, the detection range of earth magic was limited, so it was probable she won't be able to deactivate all the mines. Additionally, the fear of the mere possibility of encountering buried mines would slow down the enemy. And there was another reason why the mines were necessary – to make use of another weapon. 「As expected of Leader! All of us in Nettle have become stronger than we were in the previous battle, all of us are itching to test our new skills.」 Roleau, the captain of Nettle, declared his approval of the attack when his turn to speak came. Roleau had grown to the point where I could leave Nettle's training to him. Although he was once self-absorbed, he had matured significantly. 「Not all of you, this time only three from Nettle will be deployed.」 「Why, Leader? The more, the better, right?」 「This time, there's a monster among the enemy. If we do the same as last time, we'll be caught and annihilated. The enemy can control all types of Mana within a radius of 300 meters. And they are stronger than me, even with my wind magic.」 My statement stiffened the atmosphere around us. The basic tactics of the elves were based entirely on wind magic. It was used for scouting and to increase the accuracy of our arrows. Without both of those, we were not much different from humans.