Chapter 10 - II -

 

Oh well, so much for the introductions.  Gathering the mercenaries we hired, we talked to their captains.  The other leaders were a grim, scary bunch, and Griffyth was the only one who looked different.  His face looked so pretty he could pass off as a female; something that could cause an internet shitstorm debating whether he’s a ‘he’ or a ‘she’.  

 

Alas, if they could only hear his voice…many virgin dreams would certainly be destroyed…

 

Ah anyway, the Rubinforth siblings then took the time to introduce me to them as their commander (temporarily)…

 

“…”

 

And just what I expected, they didn’t like to be commanded by a weak-looking commoner like me.

 

“Surely, you jest Your Excellencies.” one mercenary chuckled, “You mean this guy will lead us in battle?”

 

“I’m sure you know what he just did to the Paladin Prince on the first round.” William tried to defend me.

 

“This and that, are two different things.  He may have been an experienced fighter, but will his skills suffice?”

 

“Yeah, we’re hopelessly outnumbered here!  We don’t want to ‘die’ needlessly!”

 

“Come on guys, I like him!” Griffyth tried to side with the Rubinforths.

 

“Shut up Griff!  Don’t lump us with you, you effeminate man!”

 

That shut the NTR man for a while.  Anyway, I couldn’t let this continue.  I needed to convince them that fighting under me was a worthwhile venture.

 

“Hey, guys!  Listen to me!” I tried to get all of their attention.

 

“What is it, newbie?”

 

“Are you guys scared or something?” I asked.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“We?  Scared?  Surely you’re joking!”

 

“Well, you’re backing out even though you haven’t proved yourselves yet.” I pointed out.

 

“Of course, we are!  How can we be so sure that you’re a competent commander?”

 

“That’s the point.” I explained, “You see, didn’t you three companies end up rejected because the nobles think you are a bunch of incompetent good-for-nothings?”

 

“Hey!  Watch your mouth!”

 

“Hold up, let him speak.” Griffyth calmed his companions down; their hands were already on the hilts of their swords.

 

“Well, I know it’s pretty uncommon to see a commoner commanding you.  But here’s the deal; you know we are looked down upon by these nobles because they think I can’t properly command, more so make some good battlefield decisions.  Now, imagine if, for some miraculous reason, we won the contest?  What do you think those nobles would think of you?”

 

Silence ruled the entire group as they realized what I’m trying to say to them.

 

“That’s right.  They think I’m an incompetent, arrogant commoner.  But because your mercenary companies are so good at fighting, your martial prowess made up for my lack of understanding of the battlefield.” a sly smile appeared on my lips, “And so, with that kind of advertisement, I don’t think your groups would go hungry for a long while…”

 

“He’s speaking the language of the gods!” someone among the mercenaries spoke up.

 

“Yes, the language of the mercenary god!”

 

“I don’t think there’s such one!”

 

“Whatever!  What he says is true and reasonable!”  A mercenary picked up his weapon and stood by my side, “I’ll be fighting for Master Kuro!”

 

“Me as well!” another mercenary joined us.  And just like a contagious disease, they became convinced I could lead them to victory.

 

Ugh…I hate playing on people’s hopes…

 

 

So, after gathering them in one place, Sophia was having her headaches upon learning that we only had 205 men with spears and a variety of equipment divided into three companies.  A hopeless situation compared to the 20 mercenary companies of different weapon specialties hired by the Templar-Prince of Baltes.

 

I could tell that William wanted to cry in despair, but he’s been holding back the tears pretty well…

 

Nice kid.

 

Sophia and the mercenary captains also expressed hopelessness in the situation.  From a highly motivated force earlier after my speech, they became desperate and were even considering dropping their participation from the contest upon learning the true situation.  Only Griffyth had the guts to convince them to stay.  Well, I had the same opinion as most of them.  But I decided not to focus much on the numbers.  I was looking towards the battlefield site.  The weather had been a drizzle, which made the soil wet.  There was no high ground that could be turned to our advantage, and also our enemies’ advantage as well.

 

“…”

 

I remembered a military maxim that says it’s better if you choose where you fight your battles.

 

And actually, we could make this field into our chosen battle site.  I faced Griffyth, who was surveying the place with me.

 

“Captain Griffyth?”,

 

“Just call me Griff.”

 

“Okay.  I’m just curious, what is the reason your companies were not hired by the Templar-Prince?”

 

“Well, he’s an asshole.”

 

“No, not that…”

 

“It must be because we’re too few compared to other mercenary groups.”

 

“Well, your band is fewer than most of these people.” I kept on asking, “Can I know why?  I mean, you could’ve hired more people if you wanted to join and be hired in this prestigious game.”

 

Griffyth gave me a wide grin, “You know, Master, I and the other captains of these companies don’t look into numbers when we fight.  The Band of the Oak prioritizes morale and the quality of fighting men, unlike those other mercenary groups who think they can make a difference with numbers.”

 

“I see…”,

 

“Yes, that’s our philosophy as a group.  You see, most of these nobles only look at the number of men, and not at their quality.  I beg to differ.  We may be commoners but given the proper training, and encouragement, we can be a force to reckon with on the battlefields.  I saw this happen on other lands, where conflict rages on.”

 

“Oh…”

 

“So yeah, the nobles had doubts as to my reasons I keep my men well below the usually accepted numbers.  It’s for ease of command and training.  You see, Master Kuro, we’ve been training with other weapons to bring out difference and flexibility on the battlefield.”

 

“Which means?”

 

“We could become spearmen to fight the cavalry, or swordsmen, to crush the infantry.  We can also fight using bows and arrows for long-range duels.”

 

I was silent when I heard that.  Surely, that knowledge could bring about a difference in fighting a battle.  If I remember, someone else from Earth pioneered this idea before—in the early days of gunpowder.  King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden had his men ‘cross-trained’, meaning they could operate on any type of battle condition.  His infantry could become cavalry, and his cavalry could act as artillerymen.

 

Such innovations brought his kingdom into power in the years following the Thirty Years’ War.

 

 

Now I’m having an idea of how I’d fight our battle…

 

Armed with the knowledge that the mercenary companies we hired could be converted into several types of soldiers depending on battlefield conditions, I set about to check the rest of our little army.  Just to give you a background, in this type of RPG-based, or medieval-fantasy world, what I’d noticed was that the warriors were often limited to the weapons they use at their disposal.  For example, if you become a knight, then you remain a knight.  Thus, you couldn’t use the bow.

 

In this battle, I’d like to exploit that flaw.

 

“Uh, Tarasca…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Can you use fire magic?”

 

“Hm?  A little.  Only a few barrages of fireballs, and that’s it.”

 

“How about some magic spell that can turn the soil into a muddy mess?”

 

“I can, but what for?”

 

“How about covering the mud with grass?”

 

“I guess I could do that, too?”

 

“Can you simultaneously cast them?”

 

“Well, I can’t, but I can use it in quick succession.”

 

“Nice.” I just slapped him at the back.  I did that lightly, though, but his well-built body was so hard that it hurt my hand.  Tarasca looked at me like he was weirded out; it was awkward.  Maybe I shouldn’t do any mercenary-like things since I’m not a mercenary, anyway.

 

And then, I turned into the other mercenary company that we hired, ‘The Band of Brothers’.  The leader was called ‘Winters’, and though I kept on getting that weird ‘World War II’ vibes whenever I’m talking to him, I’m having a pretty good time discussing military stuff with the veteran.

 

“Hey, Winters!”

 

“Yo, man!”

 

“I got a few questions about your mercenary company.”

 

“Hmm?  What is it?

 

“You said earlier that your company can use bows, and crossbows aside from spears?”

 

“Yes, we can.  You know the battlefields; it’s like a capricious lady, she keeps on changing the more the action ensues…”

 

“I see…well, can you acquire lots of reserve arrows, just in case?” I purposefully kept my plans a secret from them just yet.  I’m sure we’d be all hard-pressed the moment the battle started.

 

The last one who I went to talk to were the captains of the last mercenary band we hired, the ‘Golden Territory Warriors’, named Kevin and Stephan.

 

“…”

 

I swear, something’s off with these names.  Anyway, I also asked them a few questions about the abilities of their mercenary company.  Kevin happily narrated the history of their group instead; fortunately, Stephan was more level-headed and gave me the information I need.  Well, from the looks of it, they’re the most upstart among the three companies we hired.  Many of their members could only use the spear, though they’re aiming to use the sword as well…in case the combat became up close and personal…

 

And now, I guess I already knew what I should do…

 

After I’m done with learning the abilities of our little army, I invited Sophia, William, and the mercenary leaders to a ‘war council’—for short, I’m about to lay out my battle plans before them…