The long winter was about to end, with reinforcements fresh and fresh I was ready to go.
I had incorporated into my army four legions of the 8 sent, two legions I gave to General Servius to get on the ships and another and two I gave to Captain Cornelius to protect the provisions in Golden Hill.
Therefore, I would advance through the Gali territory with 50 thousand legionnaires and 20 thousand auxiliaries: half of them are the Gali who allied with us and the other half are the volranden of the ice and snow mountain range. Giving a total of 70 thousand.
Let's also not forget the engineers, who have trained soldiers on how to build bridges, siege weapons and fortifications efficiently, as well as teaching new ones about the method of looting and what happens when this order is disobeyed. .
With all that in order, we set off to conquer the unified Gali territory.
/
Harngeil had been very busy since he was named king of all the Gali, he had found out from spies in the occupied territory that the imperials were giving citizenship to those who decided to ally with them, he was not going to allow it, that's why during the winter ordered the evacuation of the entire south, burning all the farmland and putting salt on it so that nothing can be planted there for several years, hiding several supply depots scattered throughout the forest to support so many soldiers in such a large expansion, although of course he did not evacuate three cities: Les, the capital Parisian and where the administrative nucleus of the entire region was located. Then there was Ali, the ancient capital of the Andean tribe that his father had conquered. And finally, the city of Tania, the closest to the territory controlled by the imperials and that would be the first to fall... or to "go over to their side" when Zorzal arrives.
"I must admit you surprised me in our battle, Zorzal, but not anymore. I'm going to do what every Gate fan has wanted to do since you showed up, kill you!"
The gali king delighted in thinking of all possible forms of torture.
"I wonder if maybe I should send your head to Molt, but I wouldn't want to accidentally traumatize a little Piiña…well, never mind. What matters is that that stupid excuse for a prince will die before he does any more damage."
He now controlled a combined force of 200,000 soldiers in total, however due to the density of the forests it would be impossible to attack with a large number of soldiers in a decisive battle. Also dividing the total number of soldiers among those three cities would be difficult since it would be difficult to keep 60 thousand soldiers and the civilian population fed if they managed to surround the city and establish a siege.
Due to these complications, Harngeil created a plan for the imperial army to march towards the city of Ali, whose surroundings allowed the Gallic king to use his numerical advantage and ensured an excellent defensive position.
/
City of Tania, two weeks after the beginning of the invasion.
"I cannot express in words how much I appreciate the generosity of the empire," said the governor of Tania, an old man with a senile expression.
"You don't have to say anything, you just have to collaborate with His Majesty's army, since it is now part of the empire." I said emphasizing that they were already imperial citizens.
"Thank you, my lord... But can I ask you a favor? I wish my men would not participate in combat against their former comrades... Instead, we could supply them with food so that they do not depend so much on Golden Hill."
Honestly that didn't sound too bad, of course I would have preferred more soldiers, but logistics weren't something I could leave lightly, and a trip of two more weeks could make a difference.
"I accept your proposal."
When I left the city and continued on my way without harming the city, the governor began to smile. "That foolish prince. He is too kind and trusting."
/
Some forest in the Gali, a month after the end of winter.
"So, what should we hunt for the prince's birthday?" Commented a soldier who had entered the forest together with a small group.
"I don't have the slightest idea, maybe a wild boar." His partner commented.
"Let's hunt as much as we can, since the prince said he was going to share it with everyone." A third said excitedly, instead of carrying a bow he carried a javelin.
"Right... even with those Gali and demi-human barbarians." The former complained. "Why ruin your party next to that pest?"
"What does it matter? One of those wolves saved my life in the last ambush, I think I'll go eat with him in celebration." Said the one with the spear, he used to be from the outskirts, a place where discrimination against Beastmen weren't that strong.
"Watch out for fleas." The second laughed. "In Basel I took as a slave a fox girl, very good in bed but if you fall asleep next to her the next morning you will have no choice but to go bald to get rid of that plague."
"Well, you should have chosen a snake girl, without fur there is no problem." The first answered, pointing his bow when he believed he had seen a deer.
"Wait, are you talking about the medusas or the ones with the bottom half shaped like a snake?"
"From the second." Shooting but missing. "Tsk..."
"Dude, I think you should get some help if you're fucking a snake." Said the one with the spear, and his companions nodded.
"Huh?! What's wrong with it? Why do some demi-humans yes and others not?"
"Well, where the hell do you put it? Although they don't use anything to cover themselves below, I can't see anything.
"Well, it's kind of hard to find, the trick is..." Just as he was going to explain where they were, an arrow hits his head.
"Enemies! Where..." The spear guy was pierced through the chest by a javelin.
"Show cowards!" The last one tried to shoot into some bushes where there seemed to be movement, but missed, the next moment an ax split his skull in two.
"Tsk... You would have let the guy finish talking! I wanted to know too!" Said a Galli soldier.
/
I listened to the reports of the ambushes on the patrols that went in to hunt, and about 200 people had lost their lives just trying to hunt something for my birthday.
"Send no more hunting parties." I couldn't afford to let more of them die.
"But sir, your birthday is something that should be celebrated!" Said a centurion.
"No, I'll celebrate when the war is over... How's the supply chain going?"
"Apparently the barbarians are attacking the Tania-Ali route, plus the towns and fields we've come across are deserted, nothing we can use." Answered. "With supplies cut off and unable to hunt in the woods, in a few days we'll have to rely on military rations."
Hearing "military rations" sent a shiver down my spine. I knew from Piña's manga that those rations were basically horse feed: oatmeal with water, not the instant oatmeal we're used to, but just plain oatmeal boiled in water.
"In that case... we should find a place where we can resupply and wait for the supplies to arrive." checking the map of the area, seeing the city of Ali. "This is a city too big to abandon and it is a week away, if we do not want to have supply problems in our advance, we will have no choice but to take it."
/
Ali city.
"Lord Harngeil!" A Gali soldier was running to give news to his king. "It is estimated that the Imperials will arrive here in at least three hours."
"Perfect, have everyone line up to greet them."
As soon as they saw a hint that the imperial army was heading for Ali, all the soldiers scattered through the forest rushed to the city.
King Harngeil was now confident, the city of Ali was in one in a chain of hills, in short it would be like the battle of the Golden Hill only reversed... No, this is much more complicated for Zorzal, if for some reason If they lost the hill, they would only have to fall back within the city wall.
"Build fortifications to the front! We will protect this city at all costs!"
This time they had the advantage of terrain, numbers and fortifications necessary to fight.
"Get ready Zorzal for the humiliation you are going to receive... Although to tell the truth in the story you are always humiliated in one way or another, this is just so you get used to it."
/
Seeing the city above those hills, about 150,000 that were distributed throughout the chain of hills and that in front there was a small wall, no more than a meter high and 200 meters long that protected the troops of the center, I could only think:
"I'm fucked up..."
This was too much for me, there was no way I could take that city without committing suicide in the attempt.
"But I can't turn my back on 150 thousand either, they could easily chase me later using the woods..." He was trying to think of some way to stop them from massacring everyone. "Attention! Build a wooden counter wall! Start building the ballistae and scorpions! Volralden, I want you to protect the woodcutters and builders!"
He gave orders quickly, if he made a small fortification down here, they would think twice before launching an attack.
Thus, in a matter of a couple of days, we managed to create a palisade.
However, not everything was good news, we had already begun to depend on military rations... they were really disgusting, the food promised by the inhabitants of Tania did not arrive and, although the werewolves could defend the woodcutters, if they they went far to get something to eat, they could fall into traps.
By the way, it's not like they just stood idly by watching us build the stockade, they were trying to send the light cavalry with missiles to harass the builders, but thanks to the soldiers' big shields they were able to protect themselves efficiently, and our cavalry was in charge of helping them.
Something that reassured me at the beginning was seeing that the enemy was not trying to throw everything at me at once, but was playing attrition. Why risk it if it can starve us? I say it calmed me down at first because that meant I could fortify myself well, but seeing that it seems like it's wearing us down has made me more nervous.
"Furthermore, even if the Gali king could beat us at this moment with sheer numbers, that didn't mean there wouldn't be heavy casualties among their ranks, that king still has to face the rest of the empire and can't afford to lose too many men, so he seeks to weaken us."
For several days our armies were looking at each other, from time to time there was a skirmish that we ended up winning, but it was nothing important to tip the balance in our favor even a little.
And to make matters worse... My mouth was starting to taste like ashes from the horse food. Where is the food that Tania had promised us?!
/
Ali city.
Meanwhile, the king of the Gali was eating a roast deer in Ali's palace.
"The whole plan goes off without a hitch~-" Savoring the juicy animal. "I wonder what the asshole is thinking when he sees that his delicious food will never come~"
The Parisian generals who shared his table laughed at their king.
"Those imperial dogs thinking they are civilized but their prince right now is eating just like a horse." One scoffed.
"Gentlemen!" the king raised a cup of wine. "For the beginning of the end of the empire!"
"For the beginning of the end of the empire!" Everyone raised their glass.
"And to Prince Zorzal! Whose stupidity made this possible!"
"Cheers!"
At first Harngeil may have believed that this Thrush was the same as the one in the anime, but seeing that it took too long to launch one of those stupid frontal attacks lacking in strategy like in the original story made him hesitate.
"No, I don't have to think about this too much, he may not be completely in command and that's why he doesn't attack, the idea of the palisade must be from one of his generals, yes, that must be..."
However, the doubt was already planted.
"I should... order some mages to stay up at night on top of the wall, so in case of an emergency they could alert everyone."
/
Tania City.
"Sir... are you sure about this? Is it time?" The captain of the guard asked the governor.
"That's right...kill all the Imperials in this city." The old governor ordered while observing the city through a window.
The old man had been informing the guerrillas of Harngeil about the supply wagons to attack them, he had joined the imperials by orders of his king, the plan was not only to deprive Zorzal of Tania's supplies, but also to cut off the route between Helvetii and Ali, leaving the prince completely isolated in the middle of a siege.
"I wonder what that prince will do... Will he desperately try to attack Ali or will he turn to attack us? That doesn't matter anymore, what matters is that he's finished."
That same night, the Gali guards began killing the Imperials in their sleep. About a thousand people, including soldiers and merchants, were killed, only two managed to escape, the first a soldier who was riding in a hurry to notify the prince of what happened, and another a merchant who fled to the Helvetian territory, where he found Cornelius.
/
Imperial Camp.
It had already been almost a month since both armies had met, during that time I had ordered that the stockade be turned into a full-fledged wall, where we hid some ballistae and scorpions in case of an attack, however upon receiving the news of that the city of Tania betrayed us left us in a complicated situation.
"What should I do? Retreat without a fight?... maybe that's for the best, but will the enemy and my troops accept it?" I did not know what to do.
If they were playing attrition... why not try to force a battle here and now? Obviously I wasn't going to throw everything up front, I had to look for a weak point or create one. An opening that allows me to take over the hills to force them to shelter in the city and leave them trapped there.
That same night before dawn, three thousand of my light cavalry went to his left flank, the one that had been assessed was the most vulnerable, with only about 12 thousand light infantry and well away from the center.
It was obvious that this place was a bait, it was very likely that the gali cavalry was hidden waiting for when my army decided to advance on them, for that reason I decided to send the fast light cavalry.
My cavalry managed to climb up and attack by surprise on them, managing to kill almost a thousand enemies in a short time, before returning back down the hill.
The reason I sent them out almost at dawn was so that I could see the enemy's movements from below, seeing how they responded and in case they needed support to return.
The next night I launched another night attack on that flank, this time with heavy and missile cavalry, crushing everyone there, although according to the attack reports, they had reinforced that flank considerably before the attack.
/
Tania City.
"They hit hard on our right flank with their cavalry, realized the bait, and punished us twice." One of the Gali generals was speaking.
"On the second night the cavalry was able to pursue them. Have they engaged in combat?" the king asked.
"No, while we could have hit them the risk of a trap kept ours from chasing them down the hill."
"I get it... Leaving that flank weakened will only make those lightning attacks deal more damage. Take 20 thousand of our centrally located heavy infantry and send them to that flank. We'll give them a surprise when they attack again."
/
Battlefield.
that night no one slept, for when i sent the cavalry to the left flank, heavy infantry and mercenary volralden were advancing through the center, 25 thousand soldiers were advancing under the cover of night.
However there was a group of unarmored volralden and soldiers who had broken away from the formation and were going ahead, carrying swords, crossbow and javelins.
The Gali soldiers were mostly asleep, with a few guards.
"I can't see shit from a few feet away." Said one of the guards because of the new moon.
"Fortunately the barricades protect us from receiving cavalry attacks, otherwise I could never sleep." another spoke
"Shh, one moment." Your partner asks you to keep quiet.
The noise of thousands of soldiers marching began to increase little by little.
"An attack-" The guard couldn't finish speaking when a crossbow bolt shattered his ribcage.
"Ri-" A javelin impales the other gali before she can call out her partner's name.
The ones responsible for this, that group that had gone ahead, without armor there was no way to detect them at night.
They soon began to infiltrate the camp, killing anyone who was distracted or asleep, creating chaos.
When the Gali did find out, they were busy trying to hunt down and corner the infiltrators who didn't notice the advancing army until it was too late.
These werewolves and legionaries jumped in and smashed through the barricades by surprise, beginning with the carnage.
By the time the enemy was able to reorganize, there were already close to five thousand dead or wounded, most of them caused by the fast and powerful Volraden capable of fighting several at once.
The Gali tried to push back the heavy infantry formation to no avail, their swords could not pass through the large shields and armor, they tried to throw stones and arrows but the imperial formation made all that to no avail, the volralden took advantage to attack from the flanks. One century even made a testudo formation so the werewolves could climb on top of shields and leap into the midst of fragile enemy formations, ripping and shredding anyone in their path, creating even more chaos and terror in their midst. enemies.
It seemed that the center of the formation was going to fall at any moment, however from the city walls a huge ball of fire shot towards the sky illuminating the field, a magician had revealed our presence.
Thanks to that, those who were chasing and guarding the imperial cavalry realized the deception, so they immediately turned to support their comrades and attack us from the flank. However, our own cavalry decided to engage in combat against the enemy cavalry to prevent them from charging us from the flank,
Seeing that signal fire I knew the whole plan had gone to shit.
"Damn mages! Order the troops to retreat! Send the rest of the infantry to support the retreat!" I quickly ordered, I couldn't let my heavy infantry and mercenaries die here.
"There is still time to leave with minimal damage..."
From both flanks the troops were hit, plus the enemy center had not yet been broken, so they were fighting on three fronts at once, being overwhelmed by numbers.
Fortunately for the 25,000, of which a thousand have already died, the reinforcements began to arrive, just like dawn, so the legionnaires were able to aim to throw their pilum, and another 5,000 allied Galis had joined the fight, allowing relieve the pressure to withdraw.
It seemed like we could get out of that one without much more damage... I couldn't be more wrong and I couldn't help but think what an idiot I was for not ordering a retreat sooner when I saw several magic circles forming from the enemy positions.
Explosive fireballs launched between the formations of the soldiers, fatal ice stakes and gusts of wind that rendered our projectiles useless.
To make matters worse, I saw four wyverns rise from the city.
Those winged beasts flew low, charging at anyone who didn't duck in time.
Even with all this, the imperial soldiers continued to fall back in an orderly fashion.
Clenching my fist in anger, cursing that Molt hadn't sent any wizards. However, I knew that this situation was my fault and that I should have withdrawn as soon as I found out about the betrayal of the city of Tania.
"This is not the time to blame myself, I must act to get out of this situation."
"... Ballista's! Continuous fire at those flying lizards!"
Thus, twelve ballistae began to fire, not all together but taking turns so that there was always one firing.
The first shot caught one in the chest, killing it instantly, the ballista operators taking their time aiming and predicting the wyvern's path. This caused the remaining three to stop focusing on our soldiers and head straight for the stockade.
In that, a second shot came out, which was dodged, but the third could hit him in the leg.
"I gave!" The ballista operator said.
The fourth was dodged just like the fifth, the sixth managed to cut a wing off of one and caused it to crash to the ground, but not kill it.
"Take that son of a bitch!"
The seventh shot managed to finish off the one who was wounded in the leg.
"Hey Lan! You owe me one for doing your job!"
Now only the last one remained in the air, the latter concentrating on dodging. All the projectiles passed by him.
"Damn! I can't hit him!"
"He's coming this way! Watch out!"
By the time the last of the wyverns was pouncing on the wall, the first ballista had already reloaded and fired again, hitting the flying reptile at close range, killing it and causing it to fall behind the wall.
"Ha! You all owe me one!"
Meanwhile, the wyvern that had fallen to the ground was surrounded by soldiers, the wyvern was able to kill several until one of the soldiers pierced his eye into his brain, killing him.
With the death of the wyverns, the soldiers were able to fall back to the wall, where our archers and ballistae could support them. That wind mage couldn't do much when a ballista projectile slammed into him at full speed, killing him instantly. With the mage dead, the arrows and missiles shooting from the wall found their target.
"The enemy goes back up the hill!"
"Our men made it safely!"
The archers celebrated, but I did not. This was a disaster.
About 12,000 Imperial soldiers were killed or wounded, as were the 5,000 Gali that I sent to the front lines, and about 2,000 Volralden also lost their lives.
That same night, after making some dolls out of whatever we could make them and putting uniforms on top of the wall so they think someone is there, we abandoned any attempt to take Ali.
Result of the battle: clear defeat.
/
Ali city.
Taking two days to realize that the Imperials were gone, instead of pursuing them they began to celebrate their victory.
It is true that they received more casualties than their enemies, 27 thousand dead compared to the 19 thousand enemy, but it was still not a bad marker. It wasn't even 2:1 so the casualties were acceptable, plus that amount was easily replaceable with those out in the woods harassing.
However, deep down, Harngeil knew something was wrong. That diversion tactic to then attack the weak point at night did not correspond to that of attacking head-on, in fact if it were not for the magicians the enemy would have been able to take the center, wipe out at least a quarter of their forces in the process and he was not sure if he could have recovered the center without risking another quarter of his forces.
"I don't know what to think anymore... Is that the real Zorzal or who controls the imperial forces is someone else and the prince is only here to steal the glory?... Whoever it does not matter, we are enemies and he is already finished thanks to my strategy."
However, his strategy had a big flaw, which was thinking that the only fight would be in the south, in Parisian territory, so the north was completely unprotected, giving way to Servius and his 10,000 men who barely got off the ships to let them do whatever they want.