# Chapter 55
Once started, the battles did not end with mere threats.
The Delos Empire continued one battle after another as if the three-year ceasefire-like state of war had been a lie. After devouring the southernmost wasteland region bordering the Caron Empire, which was close to a desert, the Delos Empire brought down Talea, the commercial city just above it.
It took quite some time to occupy Talea after taking the wasteland region, as the Verdit army had stopped advancing and returned to the capital city. They turned their horses toward the imperial palace as soon as 50,000 Delos troops arrived at the wasteland. Afterward, the Delos army attacked Talea, which was busy establishing defenses, and claimed victory.
The returned Verdit army then marched anew to bring down another region.
Their destination was Antarbo, the closest foreign capital to the border and the city known as the second capital of the Caron Empire.
Located symmetrically across from the Delos Empire’s port city, Rizbel, based on the border, it was a harbor ideal for large ships due to its open sea without islands or large reefs and its climatic characteristics. It was perfect for maritime trade with six small countries, including the Kingdom of Altia, which couldn’t be reached by land due to the Delos Empire at war, and also allowed for trade with the Bireta continent across the sea. Therefore, it was an important city that the Caron Empire absolutely could not lose.
When Grand Duke Verdit made the useless wasteland region his first priority for occupation, not only the other nobles but also Emperor Tis had suggested attacking Antarbo first. If Antarbo were occupied, the Caron Empire would lose its biggest maritime trading hub, while the Delos Empire would be able to expand and solidify its maritime trade.
Those watching the Verdit army of only 5,000 marching toward Antarbo each anticipated victory. It was natural, having seen them fight against 50,000 enemy troops without any casualties except for equipment damage.
The soldiers blessed by Saint Ion Verdit to gain immortal power seemed undefeatable. It was natural to think so since they wouldn’t die no matter how many enemy troops there were.
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At the garrison barracks in the Delos Empire’s border region closest to Antarbo.
“As Your Highness the Grand Duke knows, Antarbo cannot be a simple battle of forces like the ‘Wasteland of the Black Forest.'”
Count Cairus, who was conducting a strategy meeting to welcome the great Grand Duke Verdit, pointed at a part of the continental map spread out on the table with a long commander’s baton.
“I think subduing the border garrison won’t be a big issue with Your Highness the Grand Duke’s participation, but the problem is the Iron Fortress blocking the way to Antarbo.”
As Count Cairus said, to perfectly conquer Antarbo, they first had to defeat the garrison guarding the border and then break through the Iron Fortress that completely blocked the way there.
The barren wasteland region in the southern part of the Caron Empire, including the Black Forest, had been territorially established for a short time and was in such poor condition that it was difficult to build a solid fortress. That’s why it wasn’t a challenging place to conquer at any time if troop numbers were superior.
But Antarbo was clearly different.
The number of border garrison troops identified by the Delos Empire was nearly 20,000, and in the hexagonal fortress with iron-clad walls, there was a large army of at least 100,000, including recently joined Caron Empire troops. Although this side also had 100,000 soldiers along with the 5,000 Verdit troops, which was more than enough in terms of manpower, the problem was the Iron Fortress.
The pitch-black Iron Fortress, built with stone walls covered with hard iron armor, would not easily collapse under ordinary siege weapons.
For the attacking side to win in a siege battle, they needed to destroy the walls and open the gates as quickly as possible. The longer the time dragged on, the greater the casualties for the attacking side, which had limited defense options.
“In my judgment, we need more large siege weapons.”
At Count Cairus’s words, Ion measured the distance between their current position and the Iron Fortress on the map.
“That would significantly delay our advance.”
“That’s correct, but even with a faster advance, if we don’t have enough weapons to break down the iron fortress, it will take longer to conquer. Isn’t it better to be fully prepared and conquer it at once rather than prolonging the battle?”
Ion, who had been glaring at the map from the head seat for a moment, looked at Baron Endef sitting across from Count Cairus. He was a young man known for his exceptional mind in strategy and tactics, serving as Count Cairus’s staff officer.
As Ion gave Baron Endef a look asking for his opinion, he carefully opened his mouth.
“Large siege weapons each take about a month to manufacture. Plus, it takes at least two weeks to transport them here after production.”
A month and a half.
For Ion, it was too long a time.
‘I need to bring Levi back as soon as possible…’
To Count Cairus and Baron Endef, Grand Duke Ion Verdit appeared to be a very calm and cool-headed person. Moreover, perhaps because of the imperial charisma inherent in his golden eyes, he had a commanding presence that overwhelmed the audience.
But most of his core was filled with just one person. It was natural to be displeased at already hitting such an obstacle after making numerous decisions to retrieve that person.
Ion stared at the fortress’s shape and structure for a long time before speaking.
“Decades ago, when our army, like now, led 100,000 troops to attack the Iron Fortress, they suffered a major defeat due to unexpected ambushers surrounding them.”
The “decades ago” Ion was referring to was when the Caron Empire and Delos Empire were at war, just like now. It was also when his mother, Princess Claudia, was actively serving as a saint.
In the past, there had been a time when they tried to conquer the Iron Fortress just like now, but back then, the military forces of both countries weren’t as large as they are now. The fact that they still mobilized 100,000 troops meant they had a strong will to break down the Iron Fortress.
But the Delos Empire had to retreat with enormous casualties. The Iron Fortress’s defense and the soldiers’ experienced defense skills were exceptional, but the problem was that approximately 30,000 Caron troops simultaneously attacked the besieging Delos army from all directions, causing significant damage.
It was true that the terrain around the Iron Fortress was full of hills good for hiding ambushers, but the Delos army couldn’t have failed to check that. They were cautious about ambushes during the advance and frequently sent scouts to confirm. But soon after the siege began, numerous enemy troops appeared from each hill.
The enemy troops attacked by surrounding the surprised Delos army as if encircling them with the Iron Fortress and their army, and as a result, the Delos Empire had to retreat after suffering a major defeat, losing nine-tenths of its troops and the commander, who was a great warrior at the time. This event also greatly contributed to the solid reputation of the Iron Fortress.
Ion, ruminating on the incident he had heard about, pointed with his commander’s baton at the hills surrounding the Iron Fortress drawn on the map.
“Those ambushers poured out from these hills.”
“But there were no ambushers on the hills even when they were facing off for the siege.”
Baron Endef also focused on the hills where the tip of the baton was touching.
“The ambushers appeared an hour after the siege began. If they had placed ambushers in advance with the intention of attacking, our scouts would have discovered them early on.”
“Then, if those 30,000 troops came from outside rather than being ambushers, do you think they could have spread out so roundly to surround them? They wouldn’t have converged from all directions, would they?”
The reason the Delos army at that time was inevitably surrounded was that the ambushers attacked simultaneously from the left, right, and rear. With the Iron Fortress they were attacking in front, they were effectively trapped inside a circular enclosure, forced to fight a disadvantageous battle helplessly.
Ion, imagining their situation at the time, asked the two men:
“Was the army in the Iron Fortress really 70,000 at that time?”
“It must be correct. It was reliable information obtained by monitoring the Iron Fortress for a long time.”
“But it’s impossible for all 70,000 to climb up the fortress walls for defense. For an area the size of the Iron Fortress, at most 30,000 could be on the walls, and assuming 10,000 were on standby to support them and guard the gates, they could withstand an army of 100,000 for about one to two hours.”
Ion continued, scanning the surroundings of the Iron Fortress.
“I think the commander of the Iron Fortress might have taken a measure to completely reverse the situation within those one to two hours.”
“Then, Your Highness’s suggestion is…”
Baron Endef’s face subtly changed.
“There might be secret passages where about 10,000 troops can pass through on each hill—east, west, south, and perhaps even north.”
Based on the one-hour gap, the Iron Fortress which could sufficiently respond for an hour or two with just 40,000 troops, the 30,000 ambushers, and them attacking from three directions divided into three, Ion formed the most plausible hypothesis.
“If there are secret passages as I think, we will be able to bring down the Iron Fortress faster and more easily than expected.”
Ion decided to organize a reconnaissance team himself to find these secret passages.
Meanwhile.
At the same time, at the Iron Fortress, a small unit holding an order document with the Caron Empire’s imperial command was standing in front of the gate. The unit commander was a young man with rare black hair, the same as the emperor’s.
