EP.335
The next morning.
After receiving the report that the entire army was ready for siege, Peter Yeager approached the castle walls and looked up at them.
As the commander-in-chief of a 150,000-strong army, this may seem like a rash action, but in this era, even in a war situation where the survival of the country is at stake, it is almost impossible to kill the opposing commander who came to give an ‘official recommendation to surrender’.
Because killing an enemy lion is, without exaggeration, an atrocity at the level of raping and massacring innocent civilian villages, and it not only spreads across the entire continent.
In this era, the war had not officially started, but directly shooting and killing a high-ranking person such as an enemy general was considered an atrocity that no human should commit.
Therefore, Captain Jaeger, who had a certain degree of trust, walked slowly and majestically while having Laura follow him holding the division flag of the Reich 7th Guards Division, the unit that he and others feared the most.
“Laura, that’s a good thing. That castle wall looks really strong, but the soldiers guarding it are idiots who can’t even hold a spear properly.”
Laura responded to that statement with a slightly exaggerated chuckle.
“If the soldiers on that wall were elite, I would have advised them to retreat, Captain.”
“I almost came all the way here and couldn’t capture Veneta Castle. In that sense, I am very lucky.”
The ones guarding the high, sturdy walls, about 6 meters high, are men with the skills of a private who had just graduated from a training camp in the Reich Empire.
No, it is a castle guarded by heads of families who must somehow survive and preserve their lives in order to protect their beloved wives and children.
In some ways, it looked like an impregnable and strong castle, but it was fortunate for the imperial army that the people supporting the walls on top were nothing more than trash.
As a man with a wife and children, Captain Jaeger felt a small amount of resistance, but the most important thing to him was the victory of the Empire and the survival of the Imperial soldiers.
He completely let go of his guilt and decided to urge them to surrender, which was the last thing he could do for them as commander of the Imperial Army.
“Hear, brave militia of the walls of Veneta!”
At those words, the nobles standing on the castle wall murmured with tension and fear, asking if that was Peter Jaeger, and the militiamen swore wildly to drive away fear.
Normally, Jaeger would have listened to each of these words and tried to dig up information about the enemy, but right now he had no time or need to do so, so he ignored them and moved on.
Instead, he sent a signal to Laura and raised the unit flag that they feared the most.
“Brave soldiers of the Venetian walls, your resistance and struggle will be meaningless! Because I came here only to judge the nobles of Veneta Castle who attacked the family of Duke Philorence, the in-laws of His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire! Because it is not for your innocent blood to be smeared on my sword! Therefore, as the representative of His Majesty the Emperor and the Commander of the Imperial Army, I solemnly declare that whoever puts down his spear and surrenders will have the lives and property of his wife and children guaranteed!”
Peter Yeager’s words drastically lowered the morale of the militia, who were already on the verge of hitting rock bottom.
Because the only reason they had to fight was to fight, risking their lives to protect the lives of their wives and children and their property. Because they said they would guarantee it.
So, the survivors of the 7th Division and other militia units that had been nearly massacred by the Reich Imperial Army cautiously opened their mouths to the soldiers around them.
“That guy, Peter Yeager, is famous for keeping his word… If that’s true, it would be much better for us to just surrender. Every single one of those bastards is much stronger than the mercenaries we paid for. Besides, what will we have left if we fight?”
“Even if we roll around in the mud, this world is better. Why are we risking our lives to fight for the sake of the damn nobles? Even if I fight to the death and win, how will my wife and daughter live if I die? “Do you think I’ll thank you for being a prostitute in the castle that I fought and fought to protect, saying that it’s the castle that my father protected?”
“… Imperial knights, you bastard imperial knights, you homosexual bastards…”
Peter Yeager smiled confidently as he realized that his morale had dropped more than he had intended.
“But if you don’t surrender!”
When he shouted loudly and paused for a moment, everyone’s attention and focus was on him.
“You will all fall before me and the imperial army’s sword and die! If you, the 150,000 elites under my command, try to resist us by holding spears and relying on this low wall, we will go over this castle in unison and massacre and butcher you! And at that time, the nobles of Veneta Castle, whom you trust and serve, will let anyone die even if they are injured, take their property and run away. Just like it was at Brito Plain not long ago! If you lose your lives like that, isn’t it obvious what will happen to the wife and children you leave behind? The daughter and wife will sell themselves to get two or three coopers to make a living, and the son will live a miserable life with both wrists cut off after being caught pickpocketing in a back alley. So think carefully. Will you surrender and survive while preserving your wife, children, and property? Or will you die in vain resistance to protect the power and property of the nobles?”
When Peter Yeager retreated, severely wounded prisoners of the Venetian Allied militia that had been recovered by the Imperial Army appeared.
Some people were missing one or two or more arms and legs, and their appearance was so terrible that even the victorious imperial army could not bear to see it.
Some of the militia were afraid that they would end up in the same situation, so their legs gave out and they sat down, while others, realizing the fear and cruelty of the battlefield, nauseated or vomited.
Wounded prisoners were loaded onto carts and shouted loudly.
“f*ck Venetian nobles, you bastards! How the f*ck did you guys start a f*cking war! “Can you abandon us, who are wounded and dying while fighting for you, and run away to a safe castle?”
“Because of you, my son Grio, who fought with me, died! Even though he was dying, the son hoped that the captain would not abandon him and that he would soon be cured and live again! “The guy who will fight against the imperial army as long as he lives and can hold a spear…”
“If you don’t want to end up like us, open the gate right now!”
Even the soldiers of the imperial army, who had won an overwhelming victory, thought it was a terrible sight, and the sight of the prisoners and their earnest cries of boiling resentment plunged the morale of the militia to the bottom of hell.
Even though the nobles around them were watching, the militia members shed tears of fear or collapsed due to lack of strength.
It is obvious that if you fight against the monster-like imperial army of hell, as testified by those who returned from the last war, you will either die or be reduced to a miserable situation worse than dying like the wounded soldiers in front of you.
Meanwhile, the nobles inside Veneta Castle sensed the militia’s agitation and, in order to correct it, drew their swords and threatened the soldiers.
“You idiots! Peter Yeager Are you going to believe that warmongering bastard’s bullshit! Or will you believe us who lived in the same city!”
“Hold your spear and prepare to fight! “As soon as the imperial army crosses the wall, they will change their tune and immediately rape your wives and children!”
“A cub who sits down because he is scared. A cub who hesitates because of fear. “I will kill you all with the sword of my body!”
Originally, they would have killed some scared citizens as an example and passed around their severed heads to control the militia through fear, but punishing one person out of extreme fear (punishing one person very severely and warning them) would have only backfired, so they could have actually cut them to death. There wasn’t.
However, the soldiers did not want to die right away, so they somehow grabbed their spears and barely managed to lean against the castle wall, preparing to fight against the imperial army.
Peter Yeager returned to his camp and gave strict orders to his generals.
“If there are reasonable grounds that the sacrifice of our troops is necessary, never hesitate and push for it as strongly as possible! Show hell to those ragtag gangs with courage and boldness that goes beyond the training you have received so far! Let their blood flow like a river! Long live your Majesty the Emperor! Long live the Reich Reich!”
As soon as the command was delivered, the knights and archers of the Reich Empire dismounted from their horses and immediately the pre-assembled catapults and ballistas were launched.
The ballista arrows and catapult stones that hit the castle wall made a loud banging sound, but those that flew into the castle had already caused enough fear and tragedy.
More than two or three arrows pierced the bodies of soldiers and citizens, and those who were hit by flying stones died with their bodies crushed and blood and internal organs scattered.
The militiamen who saw this trembled with fear.
‘If that hellish army led by Captain Peter Yeager crosses the castle wall, we won’t be able to fight properly. I’m just going to die.’
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