Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

Chapter 648 Counter Encirclement

The castle's stone walls are covered with sword and knife marks, and some of the crenellations have cracked and fallen off.

Beneath the city walls, the mercenaries of the Eagle Band were repairing the castle and moving corpses alongside the militia.

Armed with hammers and nails, they secured newly felled logs to the damaged frame of the watchtower.

The surface of the logs was smoothed and fitted tightly to the remaining wooden beams. Each nail was carefully checked for secure fastness before being driven in.

Some of the mercenaries were responsible for filling the gaps in the city wall. They mixed gravel with clay and compacted it with wooden rammers to ensure that the filling was flush with the original wall.

Some of the militiamen were collecting weapons left over from the battlefield. The bloodstains on some short swords, spears, and battle axes had dried and congealed into dark brown patches. The militiamen wiped them repeatedly with damp cloths until the metal surfaces gleamed coldly, and then piled them up outside the castle's armory according to their type.

Another group focused on moving the bodies. They wrapped the bodies tightly from head to toe in rough linen, and in pairs, they lifted the makeshift wooden frames and steadily made their way to the burial site behind the castle.

Inside the meeting room, Griffith sat at the head of the long table, with an unfolded parchment in front of him. The parchment was covered with dense numbers written in charcoal, each line corresponding to a different loss item.

The numbers clearly show that nearly half of his own Band of the Hawk were killed or wounded.

This number far exceeded his expectations, making him feel heavy-hearted. He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present before quickly returning to the parchment.

As you continue reading, the number of militia casualties becomes even more shocking, almost four times that of the Band of the Hawk.

Meanwhile, three settlements were burned down, leaving thousands of people homeless and forced to temporarily gather around the castle.

This was the biggest loss he had suffered in the past year, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and silently told himself that this was a necessary sacrifice. After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes, his emotions gradually calming down, and he regained his usual composure.

Griffith folded the parchment in half and placed it on the corner of the table. He raised his hand and tapped the table, making a crisp sound.

The leaders, who had been talking in hushed tones, immediately stopped and looked at him. They then convened a war council, where everyone sat up straight and waited for him to announce his decision.

"Next, we must immediately send troops to surround the Yoda camp on the edge of the Rhône mountain range."

"Completely capture this camp by next spring."

As soon as Griffiths finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the conference hall.

The leaders of each settlement were astonished. They exchanged glances, their faces filled with disbelief.

The leader, who was sitting in the second chair on the left, spoke first.

"It was already quite an achievement to repel Yoda's army's attack this time."

"We are currently short-staffed and simply do not have enough manpower to surround them."

"Your decision is too risky; it will drag everyone into danger."

The leader of the third chair on the right then continued:

"Our food reserves are only enough to last for one month. If we launch another war, our logistics will definitely not be able to keep up."

“The Yoda camp is surrounded by mountains and forests, so if they hide inside, we won’t be able to find them at all.”

"I suspect that you're trying to save face by fighting a war because you've suffered too many losses."

The other leader leaned forward, his tone clearly questioning.

“Thousands of people are still waiting to be resettled. We need to build sheds and distribute food to them first.”

"If we surround Yoda's camp now, who will care about the lives of these civilians?"

"Are you only thinking about eliminating the enemy so you can claim credit with your superiors?"

Griffith listened quietly, and only spoke slowly after all the dissenting voices had ceased.

"Yoda's army suffered a defeat this time, losing more than half of its strength. Now is their weakest moment."

"Their food reserves are also not much; they can only last for two months at most."

“If we don’t take this opportunity to wipe them out now, and they replenish their troops and stockpile food, the next time we attack, there will be even more settlements.”

The leader of the first chair on the left immediately retorted.

"Even if they are weak, we are not in much better shape than they are now."

"Draw troops to surround them, and the castle's defenses will be weakened."

"If other forces take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, we won't even have the power to resist."

“There are many able-bodied men among the people around the castle, and we can organize them to participate in the defense.”

Griffiths responded.

“These young men only need simple training to take up arms and defend the castle.”

“Our spies report on the movements of surrounding forces every day, and so far there is nothing unusual.”

The leader, sitting in the first chair on the right, frowned as he spoke.

“The young and strong among the people have no combat experience and will only panic and run away when they encounter the enemy.”

"What if Yoda's army manages to break through and then joins forces with other powers to attack us?"

"I think you just want to risk everyone's lives to achieve your own goals."

After listening to everyone's remarks, Griffith remained silent for a moment before expressing his own opinion.

"I made this decision not for personal gain, but for the safety of everyone."

Griffith's voice remained steady.

"The burning of these three settlements and the leaving of thousands of people homeless were all caused by Yoda's army."

"Only by completely eradicating them can the people rebuild their homes with peace of mind and no longer worry about being attacked."

"This is indeed the last chance to wipe out these Yoda armies. If we miss this opportunity, we will never have another chance like this."

One of the leaders, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

"We still have many wounded soldiers recuperating in the castle who need care."

"Drawing troops away from the army will lead to a shortage of manpower to care for the wounded. What will happen to the wounded?"

"Soldiers with minor injuries can help take care of those with serious injuries."

Griffiths answered.

"At the same time, women were drawn from various settlements to be responsible for the wounded's food and dressings."

"These problems can all be solved; the key is not to miss the opportunity to eliminate the enemy."

The leader who had previously questioned Griffith's disregard for the people spoke up again.

"Resettling the people requires building shelters and distributing food, all of which require manpower."

“If people are diverted to fight, the resettlement work will be stalled, and the people will be dissatisfied.”

"If there is unrest among the people, we will be beset by internal and external troubles and will be unable to cope at all."

"We can first build simple sheds so that people have a place to live."

Griffiths explained.

"Regarding food, we should first divert some from the castle's reserves to prioritize the needs of the people and soldiers."

"After we wipe out Yoda's army, we can recover their supplies and replenish our reserves."

"Moreover, without the harassment of Yoda's army, next year's planting can proceed smoothly, and the food problem will be completely solved."

Another leader raised a question.

"We are unsure of the defenses at Yoda's camp, and a hasty encirclement could be disastrous."

"If they have a secret passage to call for help, our encirclement will fail."

"At that time, we will not only fail to wipe them out, but we will also be surrounded by their reinforcements."

“Our scouts have already scouted the area around Yoda’s camp and found no secret passages.”

Griffiths responded.

"When surrounding the camp, three layers of sentry posts will be set up around it to ensure that they cannot send messages out."

"Even if reinforcements arrive, we can detect them in advance and prepare accordingly."

"Yoda's main force is all near Rona City, and with it being winter, the main camp simply has no ability to send reinforcements."

The leaders continued to argue with Griffith, some worried about troop strength, some about logistics, and some about the resettlement of the people.

Griffiths addressed their concerns one by one, explaining every aspect of the plan in detail to dispel their doubts.

As the debate deepened, more and more leaders realized that now was indeed the best time to wipe out Yoda's army, even though it was risky, the subsequent risks would be even greater if they missed the opportunity.

The leader who was the first to object paused for a moment before speaking slowly.

"The plans you mentioned can indeed solve our concerns."

"Now is indeed the best opportunity to annihilate Yoda's army, and I agree with your decision."

"I will do my best to draw young and strong men from my settlement to support the war effort."

Other leaders also expressed their agreement with Griffith's plan.

After the meeting, the leaders got up and left to arrange for the selection of able-bodied men, the preparation of provisions, and the resettlement of the people.

Griffith and the captains of the Band of the Hawk remained in the meeting room. He unfolded a map and began to plan the army's marching route and encirclement deployment.

Meanwhile, inside the Yoda camp, Dester sat in a chair, his brow furrowed, calculating the losses suffered by Midland.

At that moment, the tent flap was lifted, and the messenger strode in.

"Lord Dester... Commander Aten says he cannot send troops to you."

"He told you to hold your ground and figure out how to deal with the situation yourself."

He also said that his troops were needed to defend the front lines of the Rhône Territory and the main force of Midland, and could not be allocated to you.

"That idiot, Adon!"

Upon hearing this, Dester immediately flew into a rage and almost started cleaning up his desktop.

"Shortsighted; they can't see the current situation at all!"

"He thinks he'll be safe just by holding onto Rona? Can someone like him really hold it? He's just fooling himself!"

"Without reinforcements, my remaining troops won't last long!"

The messenger stood there, knowing that Dester would definitely curse after hearing this, but he didn't expect him to be so agitated that he didn't dare to speak.

Just then, the tent flap was lifted again, and a scout ran in.

His chest heaved violently, his breathing was rapid, and his face was covered in sweat and dirt.

“An army of Midlanders is coming down from the mountains and advancing this way.”

"The army numbered about four or five hundred men and carried ladders."

"They are moving very fast and are expected to reach the camp in an hour."

Upon hearing this, Dester's expression changed drastically.

"What? They actually dared to launch an attack."

He thought that Midland would take a good rest after suffering heavy losses and wait until next spring to start the war again, but he did not expect that the other side would take a risky move and launch an attack.

Unfortunately, his side also suffered heavy losses. Of the original two thousand men, only a little over twelve hundred remained. If they were to take the initiative to fight back, given the enemy's performance last night, even if they managed to repel them, they would probably only have a few hundred men left.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately walked to the tent entrance and shouted to the soldiers outside:

"Immediately order the camp gates closed! Have the remaining soldiers prepare for battle!"

"Archers, climb the wooden wall and prepare to fire!"

"The logistics team moved the food and water from the camp into the large tent in the middle for safekeeping!"

"The wounded soldiers were responsible for moving logs and stones and piling them up against the wall!"

Dester then stepped out of the tent and walked along the wooden wall, inspecting the setup of each post.

When he reached the East Gate, he stopped and looked at the distant hillside.

The Midland army could already be seen on the hillside, lined up in neat rows, slowly descending the slope.