AWDC Chapter 60

## Chapter 60: The Battle for Milona

While Prince Charles was establishing his power base in the southern region from Milona Town, the Crown Prince was also steadily consolidating his regime.

Half a year after the rebellion, the King passed away in despair due to illness, and the Crown Prince immediately ascended to the throne. With the exception of the southern frontier districts, there was no opposition to this.

Prince Charles sent documents to nobles throughout the country denouncing the Crown Prince as a rebel, but no voices of support arose from anywhere.

As time passed, the new King’s power gradually increased, and the Prince was left with only control over the southern region.

The Mulan River, flowing down from the distant southern Alps, is followed by a gentle plain from Toriholi Village to Milona Town. However, after Milona, the landscape abruptly changes into a hilly area that separates the south and the center. Here, the Mulan River slows its flow as if gathering strength, carves out valleys in the hills, and flows north. Before reaching these hills, the Mulan River is fed by the waters of Lake Milona, which can be called the water reservoir of the southern region. Therefore, to enter the southern region from the central area where the capital is located, one has no choice but to pass through the narrow space between this river and lake. The destination beyond that narrow space is Milona, a crucial point for transportation. This area was once under the control of the Jamal Empire, and naturally, the Jamal soldiers built fortresses here to prepare for rebellions. After independence, the southern region was also placed under the control of the Flanderk Kingdom, but the importance of Milona Fortress remained unchanged, and successive lords of Milona were always concerned with reinforcing the castle walls. As a result, Milona’s defensive walls became known as ironclad, and it was considered possible to defend it with a small number of soldiers. This was precisely the reason why Prince Charles’ side chose this location. Food was sufficiently supplied from the surrounding area, and it could be said to be more abundant compared to the often cold-damaged central plains.

“With these high castle walls, simply dropping stones will crush the enemy soldiers,” said one.

“Food is always readily available,” said another.

“With this, couldn’t we hold out for years?” a third asked.

Those under the Prince’s command who entered Milona felt reassured.

However, this sense of reassurance was exploited. The new King did not rush to attack the south. His policy was to steadily undermine Prince Charles’ power.

As a result, the morale of Prince Charles’ side, who had been eagerly anticipating the start of a war, rapidly declined. It is a curious thing about people: when faced with an immediate crisis, they can withstand maximum tension. However, when the crisis fades, the sense of tension is lost. And once lost, it is difficult to regain that sense of tension.

Prince Charles himself quickly grew tired of the narrow town of Milona. The capital was ten times larger than Milona, and the residences and villas of various royals and nobles were scattered throughout the suburbs, so there was no chance of getting bored. But in the small town of Milona, he visited everything and got bored after only a month. The Prince began to enjoy hunting in the nearby forests, ignoring his retainers’ warnings that it was dangerous. In particular, Lake Milona, about ten kilometers to the south, was his favorite hunting ground, and he was almost always seen hunting there for a whole day when he went out.

With the person at the top behaving in this manner, the soldiers whose job it was to guard him could not be blamed for becoming lax. Few of the soldiers were professional soldiers. Most were farmers who had been conscripted for their youth and large builds. For soldiers far from the capital, this town was also far too boring. There were few brothels, and the number of pubs was also limited. The young soldiers were unable to suppress their desires for the opposite sex, and some began to assault the town’s daughters.

Naturally, the voices of protest from the townspeople grew louder, and the complaints reached Earl Milona. However, he could not strongly criticize the Prince’s guards, who were on his side.

“Your Highness, please be a little more careful with the guard soldiers,” was all he could manage to say.

The King cleverly exploited this situation. A year after his enthronement, he summoned Prince Lutoa to the palace.

“Lutoa, you know that Tzukira was executed. You have always opposed me, but what about now?”

“Your Majesty, I am sincerely loyal to Your Majesty.”

Prince Lutoa had been immediately captured during the Crown Prince’s rebellion and separated from his close aides. He was imprisoned, became timid, and his ambition had disappeared. He had even attended the celebrations for the new King’s enthronement, joining in the circle of congratulations, completely losing his fangs. The execution of Prince Tzukira was also a great shock to him, and he feared that he might be next.

“Is that so? But those who were once under your command are still opposing me and holed up in Milona. Is that not at your direction?”

“No, absolutely not. I have instructed them to be loyal to Your Majesty.”

“In that case, I order you to summon your subordinates who are holed up in Milona. If your subordinates do not return from Milona indefinitely, I will regard you as having a rebellious heart.”

Prince Lutoa trembled at these words from the King. He immediately sent a secret messenger to Earl Samol in Milona.

“Samol, do not oppose His Majesty the King any further! You may be able to obtain His Majesty’s pardon now.”

Even Earl Samol thought that there was no benefit in continuing to act with Prince Charles indefinitely.

He had come to Milona because of his past involvement as an anti-Crown Prince faction member. However, for Earl Samol, he had family ties to Prince Lutoa, but not to Prince Charles. There was no reason for him to continue to raise the flag against the King together with the southern lords, with Prince Charles as their figurehead.

“Earl Samol’s soldiers assaulted a townsperson last night. Please warn your soldiers, Earl,” Earl Milona said at a meeting of senior officials. Such incidents had been occurring frequently lately, and it was a common topic at meetings. Normally, the commander of the unit to which the offending soldier belonged would apologize, and that would be the end of it. But this time, it was different.

“What is the meaning of this? There are no soldiers in our army who would do such outrageous things,” Earl Samol denied, using surprisingly strong words.

“We confirmed the Samol soldiers’ crest.”

“Anyone can attach a crest. That is not evidence.”

“What are you saying? This is absurd.”

“It is you who are being absurd.”

A heated argument ensued. Marquis Milanda hurriedly intervened, but Earl Samol left the meeting as it was. Furthermore, he left Milona Town without permission.

Earl Samol left behind the message that he could no longer tolerate being in Milona and having his soldiers insulted.

More than 600 Samol soldiers deserted. This news quickly spread to the soldiers who were holed up in the castle.

For the soldiers who had come from the villages of the southern lords to serve as guards, the long period of stationing had become depressing. Even though they were called soldiers, they were mostly farmers who had been mobilized, and many had been working to harvest wheat and other crops during the farming season.

“I wonder how the wheat harvest was this year,” one would say.

“It would be good if it was a bountiful harvest since it rained in the summer,” another would say.

The local soldiers would talk about such topics. And the news of the Samol army’s withdrawal quickly sapped their motivation.

“I don’t want to be in a place like this anymore,” soldiers began to say, and they began to desert the castle in the dark of night.

Prince Charles’ forces, which had once numbered over 5,000, dwindled to less than 3,000 after more than two years of siege.

At this point, Prince Charles’ side’s strategy was on the verge of collapse. The Prince’s side’s initial idea was that if they holed up in the well-defended town of Milona, it would be easy to repel the new King’s attacks. In fact, the Crown Prince faction could not lay a hand on the south in the early stages.

They had predicted that if they continued to demonstrate their power in this way, the King’s side would eventually seek reconciliation with Prince Charles. They thought that if they maintained at least a certain level of power, those within the country who had doubts or grievances about the new King’s authority would appear and join the Prince’s side. However, the Crown Prince prioritized consolidating his foundations and postponed the subjugation of the south. By solidifying his power centered on the capital, only a few people cooperated with the Prince’s side.

Many nobles had been hedging their bets in the power struggle between the Crown Prince and Prince Charles, but when the Crown Prince ascended to the throne, they inevitably sided with him. Furthermore, even those who had once joined the Prince’s side were now fleeing the situation.

Taking advantage of Earl Samol’s withdrawal, the King launched an offensive against Prince Charles’ side.

When he sent troops to areas of the southern region away from Milona, there were no longer any who resisted in the Prince’s sparsely defended distant villages. Some villages, which had been troubled by the violence of Prince Charles’ soldiers, even welcomed the arrival of the King’s soldiers. The King knew the circumstances well and cracked down on the soldiers’ violence, so it could be said that almost no resistance arose against the King’s army in any of the areas. The town of Milona was gradually being cornered by the King’s army from all sides.

Even some of the nobles who had been advocating for thorough resistance paled at the sight of the King’s army, which outnumbered their allies by more than four to one. The forces deployed to surround Milona were overwhelming. Everyone could see the difference in military strength.

The castle walls of Milona were quadrilateral, and it was believed that at least 500 soldiers were needed to defend one side. However, that was a calculation that did not take into account shifts without rest, and if three shifts were considered, three times that number of personnel would be needed. With the number of soldiers under Earl Milona and Marquis Milanda falling below 2,000, there were no longer enough soldiers to defend the castle.

The soldiers defending the castle could not be expected to maintain their strength or motivation without sleep or rest, and it was only natural that some would desert the castle. On some nights, entire units on guard duty had disappeared by the next morning. An important part of the castle was left undefended and unguarded until morning.

Isolated and without reinforcements from anywhere, Prince Charles had no choice but to surrender.