Chapter 8 |
Side Story 2 Chapter 8: Submission
"I am grateful for your assistance, Silver-dono."
Wilfred bowed his head to me as I returned to the capital.
However...
"Don’t get the wrong idea. I only helped Allen so technically I did not assist your country. I believe you understand that well enough, but don't misconstrue it."
"Of course, I understand."
Wilfred nodded once in response to my warning. The only reason I acted was because of my relationship with Allen and that I didn’t side with the Kingdom of Allegard.
This was a cautionary note: don't get overconfident into thinking that you have Silver on your side, because if you do something reckless, I won’t be held responsible—nor do I intend to be.
While it might seem unnecessary to warn Wilfred, there's no telling where things might go wrong. If he started boasting that he had Silver backing him and started taking on unreasonable risks, I wouldn’t be around to clean up the mess.
"The advantage of their surprise attack is already lost. Thanks to you, Silver-dono, the enemy's morale must be low so we can handle the rest of the army ourselves."
He wasn’t just putting on a brave face as his words carried a sense of sure confidence. However, the enemy force was still seventy thousand strong.
Even though the vanguard of twenty thousand had been routed, most of them would likely regroup with the main force.
The Allegard capital’s defense force is about twenty thousand strong and even with reinforcements from across the kingdom, they’d only be able to muster at most another ten to twenty thousand troops. That means the kingdom’s total strength would be around forty thousand.
The difference in strength is still significant.
In battle, the defending side has the advantage. That’s likely where Wilfred’s confidence stems from, but it will still be a tough fight.
"The enemy’s morale is low. Diplomacy might still work."
"I’d like that, but they’ve already broken the treaty and invaded. Whether they’d even come to the negotiation table is doubtful..."
Diplomacy doesn’t happen unless there’s room for discussion. The Raun Kingdom wants Allegard’s territory and that’s not something mere diplomacy can resolve, hence the surprise invasion.
They won’t be easily swayed into engaging in something like diplomacy.
"I can get them to the negotiation table if you’d like."
"Aren’t you in a hurry on your journey?"
"I am, but it’s hard to move forward with so much noise behind me. Besides, I want to bring Allen with me."
"I see. In that case, I would be grateful for your assistance. So, how do you plan to bring them to the negotiation table?"
"Leave it to me. This is something that I’m quite good at."
I slowly raised my right hand in the direction where the enemy’s main force was likely positioned.
The most effective way to force a confident opponent to the negotiation table is to completely break their spirit. Since they refuse to negotiate because they look down on the Allegard Kingdom while thinking that they can handle everything with force alone.
In that case, you just need to show them overwhelming power.
If they see that they can't silence us with force, then they’ll finally come to the table. And if they realize they’re not even on equal footing, they won’t even resist.
Most people reach that conclusion.
<<Fly, Jet Black Feathers—Black Feather.>>
With the spell that was casted without an incantation, countless black feathers materialized around me. The feathers then began to multiply, increasing in number rapidly.
Soon, their number exceeded a thousand, then ten thousand. And soon when the entire area was filled with black feathers, I slowly waved my right hand. The feathers received my command and all flew off in unison.
Unlike magic bullets, these black feathers have longevity which means that they can fly much farther. The enemy’s vanguard should still be retreating and amid their retreat, seeing the sky filled with countless feathers would only instill terror in them.
The black feathers flew swiftly, eventually reaching the enemy’s main encampment. There, the feathers suddenly plummeted, landing beside each soldier. They never hit the soldiers, though.
With precise control, I made sure that the feathers fell just beside them, creating a gaping hole where each feather landed—enough to suggest that if the feather had hit them, they would have died.
This happened all over the camp, throwing the enemy into chaos. And it wasn’t just the soldiers who were targeted. The feathers also descended on the commanding officers, landing near them as if mocking their fear.
This was a message:I can kill you all anytime I want.
Normally, such threats wouldn’t force a surrender as the response would typically be, If you can kill us, then try it.
But the scale of this threat was different.
If they had any imagination at all, they would realize that I had missed on purpose. From a distance, I could have struck them with sheer precision. Hence, the sheer helplessness I instilled in the enemy force was enough to plant deep-seated fear in them.
"Now, their will to fight should be broken. The general leading an army of tens of thousands should have the authority to agree to a ceasefire so if we send a messenger now, they’ll likely agree."
"That’s certainly appreciated, but..."
"But what?"
"It’s difficult to say but Silver-dono, what you did was not bringing them to the negotiation table—it was forcing them into submission. The implications are completely different and the enemy might even agree to unconditional surrender at this point."
"This was the quickest way and I’m all about efficiency."
Wilfred looked like he wanted to say more but soon realized that arguing any further would be pointless. He let out a small sigh and ordered his subordinates to send a messenger.
A few hours later, the enemy’s representative arrived on horseback.
While waving a white flag.
TL's Notes:Not gonna lie, this was my favorite chapter in this arc. An army of 100,000 submitted in an instant by Arnold's sheer power. At this point imma scale him to a tactical nuke or greater.... Power scalers, tell me what would you rank this man at?
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