Volume 2 Chapter 11 Beccury Plunder
"Charge!"
With a loud shout, the soldiers—once loyal to the Eastern nobles but now turned traitors—swarmed the gates of Beakryu. The gate was strong and tightly shut, but they slammed their battering ram into it again and again.
The city had ignored three demands to open its gates. That silence forced Eleonora to order the attack, though she hated doing it. She had wanted to avoid battle all the way to Ruki, but if they refused to talk, she couldn't leave Beakryu untouched. For supplies and strategy, cutting losses became the only option.
The enemy's strength was about 1,200. How many would survive? That depended on their skill—and maybe the will of the gods.
"Do not worry too much," said Count Greishvaik, leader of the defectors. "Beakryu is a port town. Once the gate falls, the rest is child's play."
Eleonora didn't reply. She preferred open-field battles. A siege wasted men and time. But for now, she said nothing.
"If the city falls," Greishvaik added with a sly grin, "the deal stands... right?"
"I keep my word, Count. Beakryu will be part of your land."
Pleased, the count waved his war fan and returned to the front. He had wanted this port city so badly, and now it was almost his. Anyone would be eager.
A cheer rose. The gate had been broken.
"Good. First, take the government building and the lord's mansion," Eleonora ordered.
Both the records and the ruling family were important. She sent François and Georges to the government office while she and her soldiers headed for the mansion.
"This is terrible..."
Shops had already been broken into, and people had started looting. Citizens, cornered from all sides, ran toward the sea with whatever they could carry. Some were caught and robbed by nervous soldiers looking for "spoils."
Wilhelm saw it but kept walking. It didn't seem to interest him.
"This is why I hate city battles," Eleonora muttered. "Looting slows everything down."
She cared less about the lost lives or wealth and more about the military loss. Ropsein had no real industry. All it could offer its soldiers were promises—and permission to loot.
"When this place is settled and taxes come in," she thought aloud, "I need to start paying soldiers real wages. A professional army that doesn't need looting."
Yes, looting helped morale. But too much of it ruined future rule. The people would hate them. In the end, land like that was just bad debt. But that was Greishvaik's problem now.
"If they'd just taken the mansion quickly," she sighed, "I'd have paid them triple."
The gate to the lord's mansion was sealed tight. Wooden beams had been wedged between the doors and the ground. Only twenty people were inside, but with no siege tools or ladders, they couldn't just break in. For now, they surrounded the building.
"Are we attacking?" Viktor asked.
"We could set it on fire... but..." Eleonora hesitated, then asked Viktor, "Are you asking because you have an idea?"
"Did you forget about us?"
Viktor grinned and lifted his pickaxe.
"Digging tunnels and making caves... that's what dwarves do best."
Viktor and his dwarf soldiers started digging a tunnel from a safe distance where the mansion guards couldn't see. They dug steadily without rest. After two days, they broke into the inside of the mansion.
"This is crazy," one soldier muttered. "How'd they even do this?"
"Mother Earth helped us. But more importantly, what's the plan?"
"Viktor," Eleonora said, "take your men and destroy the logs that keep the door shut. Once it's open, we'll demand their surrender."
"Sure, sure. Only we can move through that tunnel, after all."
It wasn't much of a strategy. They just covered the tunnel to avoid detection and waited until night. Then they entered the mansion and opened the door.
Once they lit their torches, Eleonora's soldiers rushed inside from the rooftops.
"Surrender now!"
A shout echoed from inside the mansion. The voice was strong. The lord and his close aides shook with fear.
They surrendered soon after. The lord was tied up and taken away, but he was allowed to live. The only condition was that he serve under the Ropsein army and help govern the region.
Beakryu was finally under Ropsein's control. The remaining knights and workers began following orders again.
The first thing they did was calculate the damage caused by the looting.
"How's the estimate?"
"About this much."
Eleonora frowned at the parchment. The numbers were worse than expected.
"This is too much damage. We can't use this city as a base. I'll ask Lady Elodia for a tax exemption."
"Thank you so much, Your Excellency," the lord said, tears in his eyes.
Eleonora didn't know how to feel. The one thanking her had once been an enemy. Still, she didn't want people's lives to become harder. She nodded, but deep down, it stung. This mess was her doing.
"I'll speak to Baron Greishvaik. But now, we must plan the next attack—on Ruki."
"Can the sailors from the Galley fleet fight on land?" Viktor asked.
Wilhelm added, "And if so, how many are we talking about?"
"Sailors move ships. They're trained to sail and row. Fighting is their last choice," Eleonora explained.
"Then how do naval battles work?" asked an elf. The dwarves and elves weren't used to sea warfare.
Georges stepped in. "They use the ship's front to ram enemy ships and make them sink."
"That works? Sounds weak," Viktor said.
François replied, "It's not to sink them. The goal is to board the ship and capture it. That's the real fight—and that job goes to special troops."
"Even with that," Georges added, "maybe 300 men at most."
Eleonora knew there were about 500 defenders in Ruki, including those already there.
"I'd rather not involve the navy. If we let them change sides, maybe they'll stop fighting."
"Isn't that too soft?" Wilhelm asked.
"It's a civil war. We've named the rightful heir. The goal is to gain allies. It's not about revenge. Erika won't like it, but this way, there's no guilt."
"I get it," said Viktor. "Then we send a surrender offer to Ruki."
"Please do," Eleonora nodded. "If we scare them a little, maybe fewer troops will come our way."
She looked at a crude map and placed her finger on the next target.
"We'll need a little acting to pull this off."
Notes:
• Beakryu - A location connected to Hamburg via the northern route. Its exact position is not specified, but it is part of the strategic plan to control territories.
• Ruki - A military and commercial port in Ropsein. It is a crucial location for merchants and the navy, making it a high-priority target for control.
• Greishvaik - A local lord. His appearance is not described, but he is depicted as seeking conditional surrender.
• François - The fourth son of Baron Lanramoncie of the Loriengita Empire. The one who join the tournament before.
• Georges - A rugged-faced knight and the only lower noble among the Twelve Sacred Blades. He volunteers to lead the cavalry, seeking promotion and recognition. He harbors ambitions to marry Princess Elodia.
• Viktor - Viktor Kinshield Novak. A dwarf from the Kinshield Clan. His appearance is described as short, with a long beard and a stout, barrel-like body. He is charismatic and jovial, though his behavior becomes erratic when drunk.
• Elodia - The second princess of Loriengita. She has shown favor to Georges, who aims to marry her by achieving military merit.
• Erika - A dark elf (forest person) with exceptional agility and magical abilities, including silencing and invisibility magic. Her appearance is characterized by dark brown skin, ash-blond hair cut in a short bob, long ears, and red-black eyes resembling dried blood. She has a detached and playful personality, often showing amusement or indifference to conflicts. Her relationship with others is distant, though she seems to have a tribal connection with men like Klaus and Franz.
• Erik - Son of the fallen warrior Danruhav, seeking revenge and a new land, eager to prove his strength in battle.
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