Belonging to a high-ranking beastfolk race, he was the third-born son of a small baron family in a certain western country.
Darios was known in military history as one of the āRestoratorsā.
Restoratorsāreferred to people who revived the sophisticated battle tactics that had been lost during the chaos resulting from the Lemurian Empireās collapse.
Infantry, cavalry, and archers. Wars ought to be fought by combining these three military branches. That should go without saying, and yet things worked differently in the present world. It should be evident from how Hadrianus IIIāHerculeās fatherāhad been too fixated on cavalry and neglected infantry.
Even the Lemurian Empire that had preserved many ancient documents was in this sorry state. There was no need to say anything about the barbarians.
The refined killing techniques accumulated from the long history of human warfare had been lost. Warfare in this world had regressed into a very primitive form, whichh was smashing opposing armies into each other head-to-head.
Not only the concept of logistics, even the notion of employing strategy and tactics had long been forgotten. Victory and defeat was decided by the prayers one offered to God. The military technology of this world had deteriorated to the point that army generals did such a thing seriously.
Thereupon, Darios, who employed both infantry and cavalry in conjunction with crossbowmen, became known as one of this worldās great generals, the āRestoratorsā.
āHow many soldiers have been assembled?ā
āIn addition to our band consisting of 5,000 infantry and 5,000 crossbowmen for a total of 10,000; we have gathered 30,000 infantry and 5,000 barbarian cavalry. Our total fighting strength is 45,000.ā
āHmā¦ That much should be plenty enough.ā
Mercenary Captain Darios, who was the ruler of the Pelosonian Mercenary State and its de facto king, nodded in satisfaction to the report from his adjutant.
Currently, the finances of the Pelosonian Mercenary State were in dangerous shape. The economic base of the Pelosonian Peninsula was far too weak to support 10,000 mercenaries.
The Pelosonian Peninsula produced olive oil, wine and marble; it was by no means a poor region. However its economy was not sufficient to provide 10,000 money pits, and Dariosās mercenary bandās ability to collect taxes was sloppy.
Dissolving the mercenary band would cause uprisings, giving other countries the chance to take advantage of the situation. But he had to levy high taxes to maintain the mercenary band, thus incurring the local populationās resentment and increasing the risk of rebellion even more.
In this fashion, the Mercenary State became poorer and poorer.
Hence Darios decided to make a gamble.
He spent the last of his gold to gather mercenaries, intending to invade the Lemurian Empire and demand territories and reparations.
Of course, Dariosās wallet wasnāt sufficient to gather a fighting force strong enough to press the Lemurian Empire for concessions. He had received financial aid from two of the Lemurian Empireās enemy countries, as well as borrowed money from foreign merchant to fund the campaignā¦ But even that was not enough, so he gave the mercenaries permission to pillage the Empireās domains.
Darios had already crushed the Lemurian Empire twice in the past. The reason he was able to easily gather funds and mercenaries was because he had twice defeated the Emperor of the superstate that once ruled over the entire world, even if that Empire was now on its last legs.
āCaptain. Are we really going to do this?ā
āWhat, you scared?ā
Darios laughed while patting the adjutantās shoulder.
āOur opponent is just a fifteen-year-old greenhorn. And heās that Hadrianus IIIās son. Heās no match for me.ā
Darios recalled his battles against Hadrianus III. Even though he had braced himself for a fight against the mighty Lemurian Emperor, Hadrianus was so weak that Darios felt let down.
The apple never falls far from the tree. Hadrianus IIIās son couldnāt be any better than his father.
With that thought in mind, Darios burst into a rumbling laughterā¦
āCaptain!! This is bad!! The Lemurian Army is advancing inside our territory!!!ā
Dariosās smile stiffenedā¦
Somewhere else, Hercule was laughing boisterously.
āHAHAHA!! That Black Cat guy is probably thinking to himself, āThe apple never falls far from the tree. I can beat that fifteen-year-old brat no sweat!!ā How does it feel to be one-upped by this brat, heh!!!ā
Hercule was laughing boisterously. He was in high spirits from successfully outwitting the famous general āBlack Pantherā Darios.
To tell the truth though, until a while ago he was still unsure if the enemy had discovered him and was laying in ambush, and Carolina had to reassure himā¦ But that was a secret.
āLooks like itās going smoothly, Your Majesty.ā
āYeah. We managed to disembark safe and sound.ā
The Imperial Lemurian Army (8,000 clibanarii, 15,000 infantry, 5,000 longbowmen,Ā 28,000 troops in total) led by Hercule was currently stationed in a small harbor within the Pelosonian Mercenary State.
They were able to land safe and sound thanks toāthree factors.
First was the fact that the Pelosonian Mercenary State didnāt have any ship to begin with. Because they had no transport ships, let alone defending against the Lemurian Navy, capturing Lemurian troops was practically impossible.
Secondly, they were the offensive side so they didnāt expect to be attacked first. Darios was caught completely off-guard.
Thirdly, Hercule and his standing army had boarded ships in the middle of the night and set out from the capital in the midst of darkness. It was to prevent merchants from leaking information outside.
Right now, even the cooks and servants at the Imperial Palace were wondering, āEh? Where did His Majesty go?ā so the only way Darios could know Herculeās whereabouts was if he had some sort of super power.
āI donāt know how many troops that Darios has gathered, but theyāre probably more numerous than us. To make up for the difference, we need to seize the initiative. Victory goes to the one who makes the first move.ā
Hercule said while spreading out a map that he found gathering dust in the Imperial Library. It was an extremely accurate map of the Pelosonian Peninsula.
No doubt, it was way more accurate than the one Darios had.
āThis is our current position. To the south is the peninsulaās biggest city. Dariosās base must be close to the border with our Empireā¦ The fortified city to the north of us.ā
Which is to say, Hercule had two options to march on. Either the fortified city where Darios headquartered, or the biggest city in the Pelosonian Peninsula.
Go south, or go north? They had to proceed to either locations.
āWell, assaulting the fortified city is nigh impossible. Right, Garphis?ā
āI agree, Your Majesty. Itās out of the question.ā
After exchanging opinions, both of them firmly eliminated the possibility of assaulting the fortified city. But one young lady was still wearing a dissatisfied expression. She was Carolina.
āWhy is it impossible? We should just beat Darios head-on. Isnāt it simpler that way?ā
āThe reason is simple. First of all, the fortified city is the farthest from here. So when we got there, our troops would already be exhausted. Moreover, Darios wouldnāt have to move far and could freely chose a place to ambush usā¦ This means Darios would have the initiative. Our surprise attack would end up being meaningless.ā
Because Herculeās army was at a numerical disadvantage, they had to hold onto the initiative. They couldnāt afford to take too much time and give the enemy an opportunity to respond.
āBut if we take our time to lay a siege, wonāt we get caught in a pincer attack from the back?ā
āNo need to worry about that, I have a way to take the city.ā
Hercule stroked the sullen Carolinaās head with one hand, and pointed at the big city located a bit further away with the other.
āWe are going to take this city in a surprise attack. Any objection, Garphis?ā
āNo objection from me, Your Majesty.ā
Garphis also grinned broadly.
āThat damned greenhorn!!!!!ā
Darios was grasping his head in frustration. Hercule had completely outsmarted him.
The Imperial Lemurian Army had landed ashore. When he got hold of this information, two scenarios came to Dariosās mind.
The enemy marching to the north.
Or going south to take over the biggest city.
Darios predicted that Lemuria would choose the latter and immediately advance to south. At the moment, Darios still had ample time to respond.
The rampart of the biggest city was quite high in its own right. Darios could count on the 1,000 infantry and 2,000 crossbowmen from his own band, and the 2,000 infantry employed from other places. Surely, they would be able to put up a defense with 5,000 troops.
The city wouldnāt fall so easily. And then while Hercule was fumbling around, he would creep up from behind and lauch a pincer attack.
Heās just a greenhorn in the endā¦ How dare he surprise me like that. With that thought in mind, Darios chased after Hercule.
Shortly after, the news of the biggest cityās capitulation came to Darios. The city had fallen in one day, it said.
A city defended by 5,000 troops couldnāt have fallen so easily. He could only think of two reasons for it.
Either because the citizens had revolted. Or the mercenaries had betrayed him.
āYour Majesty, when did you start making preparations for this?ā
āSince about three months ago. The moment I got words that Darios might be preparing for war, I already planned to attack.ā
Hercule proudly said to Carolina. The reason he managed to take the city in one day was exactly as Darios speculated. The citizens had revolted, and the mercenaries had betrayed Darios.
Three months ago, Hercule maneuvered to bribe the mercenaries that Darios recently employed. Itās difficult to buy the mercenaries from Dariosās band over, because they were loyal to him. But the newly hired mercenaries easily accepted Herculeās bribe.
To be doubly sure, Hercule induced the citizenry to revolt. He sent spies to the city beforehand and had them agitate the locals.
The locals that were fed up with Dariosās rule were all too happy to accept Herculeās helping hand and rose in rebellion. It might have been a different story if Dariosās henchmen had put down the rebellion right away, butā¦
They were caught completely off-guard by Herculeās surprise attack. Taking advantage of the confusion, the mercenaries that he had bribed beforehand opened the gate and the Lemurian Army poured into the city.
The city capitulated in no time at all.
āYou could say that the war started three months ago, I suppose. Now then, letās go outside. Darios will arrive the day after tomorrow. We shall meet him on the best battlefield possible.ā
Darios had to retake the city at all cost. Which means he must defeat Hercule in a short and decisive battle.
In other wordsā¦
āThe one who chooses the battlefield is me. Darios is simply dancing in the palm of my hand.ā