AWDC Chapter 105

Hofa, while feeling surprised by the news of the defeat, had somewhere in his heart considered the possibility of defeat.

(That Toma must be plotting something. He won’t let us win easily.)

Even after investigating the state of Toriholi, the details of the magical weapon that defeated the Bawa Roma army remained unknown.

Before the war, there were reports that Greg and Midland were conducting unusual military training. However, this information didn’t allow him to judge whether it would be significant enough to affect the war.

Even though it was said that they were using some kind of unusual weapon, the spy’s report didn’t clearly state how powerful it was.

This information didn’t make him want to give up on suppressing the frontier region.

The only way to investigate the power of the Greg army was to attack. That’s why he had considered the possibility of defeat.

He thought that even if they lost, it would be fine as long as the damage was minimized.

However, the Solveny government was greatly shaken. They had been defeated by an army of 13,000 despite possessing 40,000 soldiers. Criticism swirled around the commander who had been defeated despite having overwhelming military power.

“What incompetence!” “How dare you come back with your face intact!”

The dissatisfaction was directed at the commander who had come to report.

“Aah, what a disgraceful thing!” Marquis Solveny began to scold the commander.

“How dare you come back with your face intact after such a shameful defeat! You disgrace!” Insulting words came one after another.

“With an incompetent general like you, won’t we just repeat losing battles in the future?” Other cabinet members followed.

At this rate, the commander would be humiliated. “Bang, bang,” Hofa hit the desk, drawing attention to himself.

“No, I can appreciate that he kept the damage to a minimum,” Hofa interrupted the rebuke.

“But he came back defeated!”

“No, victory or defeat in war also depends on luck. This time, the goddess of victory didn’t smile on us. It was most important that there were no casualties on our side. You must be tired from the war, please rest well,” he said, consoling him.

“Bishop, thank you very much.”

The commander, who had prepared himself for any kind of scolding after losing the battle, was overwhelmed with emotion at the unexpected defense from the bishop.

Hofa highly valued the commander’s competence. The more incompetent a person is, the more they try to make up for their failures, running around aimlessly, making their subordinates run around unnecessarily, and increasing the damage. In that respect, the commander was excellent.

(I also didn’t know what kind of secret weapon Toma had. I sent him to the battlefield without being able to give specific instructions. It was natural that he was defeated.)

Even so, the commander returned with almost no loss of subordinates. Someone like him can reflect on his failure and think of countermeasures.

Incompetent people repeat their failures over and over again. Because they are incompetent, they blame their failures on others and can’t reflect.

This commander will probably come up with a way to break Toma’s secret weapon.

(The battle is just beginning.) Hofa thought so.

Next, Hofa addressed the task of controlling the hearts and minds of the government, which had been shaken by the defeat. He gathered the main figures of the government and the generals.

“We were able to contain the damage to a minimum. On the other hand, we were able to grasp the enemy’s situation to some extent. The Greg army was only 1/3 the size of ours. The secret weapon is still troublesome, but we were able to come up with countermeasures in this battle.”

“What does that mean?”

“I will explain,” it was the defeated commander.

“When our army retreated, the enemy didn’t pursue. Even though they have a weapon that is much more powerful and reaches farther than a bow, the enemy couldn’t pursue. What that means is that the enemy’s weapon can’t be used while riding a horse, or it’s difficult to handle.”

“But still, it doesn’t change the fact that the enemy has a powerful weapon, does it?” one person retorted.

“Yes, so I think we should fight in a situation or place where that weapon can’t be used.”

“I also agree with the commander’s idea. Please consider specific countermeasures,” Hofa said, concluding the meeting.

This meeting had the effect of tightening up the government, which had lost hope due to the defeat.

The Greg army has few soldiers, and the secret weapon has problems. If that’s the case, then there’s something we can do too. The Solveny government was no longer shaken.

After repelling the royal army, we devised a plan on how to capture the capital. We considered whether we could take advantage of the turmoil within the defeated royal army and attack all at once. However, the difference in military strength was too great, and if we attacked carelessly, it would be our turn to be defeated. We chose a method to shake up the government from within.

“It’s completely unmanageable,” Elliot said.

He was a brave and daring military commander, but he was also skilled in strategy. He had infiltrated elements that would sow the seeds of discontent in the capital and the army. But the discontent within the royal army didn’t spread.

“The generals of the royal army are quite capable. I can’t seem to spread any unrest,” Elliot threw up his hands.

“Probably, Hofa is using his eerie abilities to control people’s minds. He’s a completely troublesome guy.”

Richter was also preparing to settle this fight. So, disappointment was evident.

Even though they had returned defeated, the treatment of the royal army soldiers was preferential, and from that aspect, few soldiers complained.

There were no rumors of soldiers deserting either. It could be said that Hofa had calmed the unrest as if nothing had happened.

The rifles I developed are not modern automatic rifles. They are matchlock guns that have been made somewhat easier to use, and they can’t fire continuously. Therefore, they were unsuitable for situations such as a chaotic battle where friend and foe were mixed together, because it took too long to respond. They could only be used effectively when holding a defensive position and ambushing.

Perhaps the commander on the other side sensed the weaknesses of our rifles.

Rifles had the weakness of not being able to fire continuously. Therefore, they couldn’t respond immediately in a chaotic battle where friend and foe were mixed together. Perhaps the enemy commander found the weakness of the rifles. If they engage us, they will try to drag us into a chaotic battle no matter what. If that happens, the difference in the number of soldiers will matter. We will have no chance of winning.

“Really, Hofa doesn’t leave any openings,” I had no choice but to acknowledge the enemy’s toughness.

We fell into another stalemate with the Solveny government.