Chapter 131: CH 125

Thirty knights directly under my command, sixty infantry, sixty mercenaries, thirty members of supply troops, and a few people who were familiar with the terrain of Anheim as our guide gathered on the outskirts of Anheim to prepare for departure. This much military force would be more than sufficient to defeat the bandits.

Theoretically speaking, it was true that the larger army the stronger it was, but at the same time, a large army needed more supplies. As for the support troops, they were not good enough to fight on an actual battlefield, so I didn’t bring them.

Just in case, we were going to get out of the town from several different gates.

“May fortune bless you in your battle.”

“Thank you. Sirs must also remain alert. While I am gone, I am counting on all of you for construction preparation and border monitoring.”

“Of course.”

The people who remained in Anheim were Sir Behnke, who would be in charge of administration, Sir Kesten, the commander of support troops, Frenssen, Rafed, and the captain of Anheim’s guards.

The people who would come with me were only the governor’s direct military force, and I was the one who prepared all the supplies. The Pledgers Council didn’t help me with anything, but they also had no say in whatever this army was going to do.

The captain of guards did ask me, “Do you not trust us? And that is why you’re not bringing us along?”

Well, actually, bringing guards with me was troublesome since it would require the Pledgers Council’s approval. That was why I decided to let the guards stay in the town.

In any case, the Pledgers Council would make their move soon, so before that happened, I should clean up these bandits. After all, I still needed to take care of the demons.

The bandits were divided into three huge groups or, to be more precise, I purposely led them to be divided into three groups. I had Sir Holzdeppe and Sir Gekke destroy the other smaller groups who had tried to join these three groups and also made sure that these three groups didn’t form one large group.

It would be time-consuming to chase and defeat many small groups, but if all the bandits were gathered into just one large group, it would increase the chances of casualties among our soldiers and also bandits escaping amid battle. That was why I purposely divided the bandits into three groups.

My original plan was to divide the bandits into two groups, but one of the groups stayed at that annoying hill and didn’t want to move. The bandits there had even built fences to create a fort. The village around the hill had sent me a message, asking me to rescue them from the bandits’ exploitation.

However, it was strange. I mean, why was it exploitation? Didn’t the bandits normally loot villages, not exploit them?

In any case, we left the town after I had sent out scouts, then messengers to the two neighboring territories, and lastly, I had also sent several commissions to the Adventurer Guild.

The faces of the Pledgers who were sending us off were rather mixed. Their expressions were not necessarily happy since we would be exterminating bandits (so no free labors), but not necessarily hostile either. I honestly didn’t care what these guys were thinking as long as they stayed put and didn’t interfere in any of my plans. I even left insurance in case these guys tried something funny.

“Welner-sama, we have located the enemies.”

“Where are they?”

On the second day after leaving Anheim town, the scouts returned with the news of our enemy’s position. Sir Holzdeppe was very good at using scouts and unexpectedly, Neurath also seemed to have a talent for it, so I had Neurath stay at Sir Holzdeppe’s side as an assistant to learn from him.

“One group is around here in these valleys, while the other group is moving toward this direction. The last group which refused to leave that hill is still there.”

“Got it.”

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Even the people under my command had never seen a three-dimensional map, so they were surprised, but soon they all understood the advantage of using a three-dimensional map along with a usual map. I wondered if the use of three-dimensional maps would spread soon. If anything, I hope the use of contour maps also spread… Let’s focus on the bandit extermination first.

I put a piece on the map and checked the terrain. The first group was in valleys, surrounded by hills. It seemed like they were thinking of quietly letting us pass rather than ambushing us. As for the other group, they seemed to be moving in the direction of the area that Baron Zabel was governing. The last group which refused to leave that hill was still there on that hill.

All three bandits’ groups were about 1-3 days away from each other. Well, of course, their distance would be that far since I was the one who purposely made a move, so that they didn’t gather into one large group.

If this was the current position of the bandits’ groups, then…

“Let’s start with the first group which wanted to let us pass. Since that group was in valleys surrounded by hills, let the cavalry flank them from the sides while the infantry would attack them from this hill.”

“Welner-sama… I heard the tactic used in the Hildea plain battle was something that you had thought.”

“Ah, so even that kind of rumor has spread.”

The knight who appeared to be Sir Holzdeppe’s lieutenant came to me and mentioned the Hildea plain battle. Come to think of it, that time I asked for the tactic to be submitted under Grand Duke Seyfart’s name, but I never asked him to keep the fact that I was the one who had suggested the tactic a secret.

Still, Grand Duke wasn’t a blabbermouth, so I think the people who knew the truth would be few, most likely only influential nobles would know the truth… Did that mean Sir Holzdeppe was connected to an influential noble? Well, as long as Sir Holzdeppe did his job, I didn’t really care about that, though.

“How about using that tactic again this time? Our opponents are just bandits, so exterminating them all will not be an issue.”

“Do you really think that kind of tactic will always be successful!?”

When I inadvertently scolded him like that, the lieutenant was stunned. Even in the history, when Hannibal’s younger brother tried to use the Battle of Cannae’s encircling tactic in another battle, he failed spectacularly.

For that tactic to work, you needed to fulfill many conditions which included suitable terrain and a skilled commander who could perfectly move both flanks and make a quick yet precise judgment. To put it bluntly, His Highness, who was a skilled war commander, could pull it off, but there was no way I could do the same. I was just an ordinary person, so I would fight using the way of an ordinary person.

“What should we do with the third bandits’ group on the hill?”

“We will leave them alone for the time being since it looks like they will not move anytime soon as they have gained an advantageous position.”

That group might be thinking that it would be a hassle to share the hill with other bandits’ groups, or maybe they were facing a lack of food. That’s why they hadn’t joined any other group yet. However, from Sir Holzdeppe’s report, it seemed like this group of bandits was waiting for the other group of bandits to invite them to join. Even among bandits, it seemed like a fight of pride still happened.

Although I wasn’t sure what they were planning to do, if they just stayed still on that hill, I would leave them for last and take care of the rest of the bandits first.

“Sir Holzdeppe, take a detour with your cavalry to this side of the valley. I will lead the infantry and climb this hill. Neurath, accompany Sir Holzdeppe and wait for my signal. Remember, two long two short”

“Understood.”

“Yes, sir.”

I then ordered Schunzel to make all sorts of other preparations, gave instruction to the mercenaries, and lastly I set off with the infantry. I ordered the infantry to pick up stones of a certain size while walking up.

Let’s hurry and take care of these bandits.

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