I Was Reincarnated as a Marquis in Another World

The dawn following the day when Simon Marquis and Croilet Marquess had confronted each other.

Simon Marquis, the commander of the Eastern Defense Corps of Franche, drew his sword and shouted orders to his soldiers.

“All troops, we march to eliminate the wicked invader, Croilet Marquess. Charge!!”

At the same moment, the military band of Franche’s allied forces vigorously waved drums and trumpets, while the standard bearers shook the flags commanding the advance.

Receiving that signal, the junior commanders and messengers of the Franche Legion moved hurriedly through their ranks, issuing commands.

“Charge, Calias Battalion!! We’ll smash the barricade held by that damn marquess!”

“Long live Baron Spade! Hilton Battalion, charge!!”

Though the commanders and messengers of each unit displayed confidence as if victory were already assured, the peasant soldiers under them bore expressions and attitudes far removed from enthusiasm, cloaked in fatigue and fear.

Nevertheless, amid their turmoil, the serfs seemed to believe that the Franche army, now with three times the forces, could not possibly lose, as they only discussed “what to do after victory.”

“I don’t think we’ll lose… but can we really make it back alive?”

“If we can’t return as that bastard Croilet Marquess said, we’ll miss the harvest. And if taxes are collected then…”

“Shut up, the damned tax collectors behind can hear you. Besides, if we win, we can sneak back and grab some armor on the way. We should sell the armor those pigs wear instead of paying taxes…”

As the soldiers of Simon Marquis grumbled and approached the barricade across the river, Croilet Marquess ordered the cavalry regiment to move out and intercept the enemy.

Some might question whether it wouldn’t be better to fight from the stronghold they had built firmly.

However, that applies only in cases where there are no obstacles for the enemy’s march, like open plains or low hills, and they must fight far from the fortress.

If the fortress is nearby and the enemy has to pass through terrain that creates difficulties for their march, the strategies increase.

The strategy is to utilize the time taken by the enemy to breach obstacles to mobilize as many soldiers as possible and reduce their numbers from a distance while retreating quickly.

Colonel Frost’s matchlock cavalry regiment proceeded orderly towards the riverside to execute that operation, unlike Franche’s allied forces.

As the armies of Franche and Croilet Marquess marched and reached the riverbank, the leading colonel issued his orders first.

“When the enemy enters range, we will fire in unison at once!! While shooting, when their soldiers draw near, ride straight into the northern gate of the barricade and join the intercepting troops.”

Soon after, Simon Marquis, seeing the Frost Regiment across the river, directed the Franche defenders.

“The enemy numbers only about a thousand. They will flee scared as soon as we approach! Also, don’t worry about their matchlocks, they aren’t that accurate, cross the river!!”

Simon Marquis, the commander of Franche, downplayed the accuracy of the enemy’s matchlocks, but this was partly true and partly false.

Matchlocks tend to miss significantly due to improper aiming in chaotic or urgent situations, often hitting only one or two out of ten shots…

However, when sniping at slowly approaching soldiers crossing the river, their accuracy can boast hitting seven to eight out of ten shots.

Thus, amongst Simon Marquis’s legion, about seventy to eighty percent of the soldiers targeted in the initial volley by matchlocks fell in that first shooting.

“All are under the command of His Excellency the Commander! Cross the river!!”

The infantry and knights of the allied forces led by Simon Marquis began to cross the shallow part of the river with splashes.

Amid this, some serfs, seeing the cavalry aiming matchlocks at them from across the river, trembled in fear and hesitated.

“Ha… I’m really scared… help… If I cross there, I might die… can’t I just stay at the back?”

“There is a cavalry right in front aiming a matchlock or whatever; it’s me, but…”

However, such soldiers were soon killed by the executioners mingling amidst the crossing legion.

And each time the executioner’s soldiers killed those trembling soldiers, they shouted.

“Advance and fight, and you will share the wealth and honor given by the marquess! Those who are caught fleeing will die this pitifully!”

Thus, the Franche allied forces sometimes urged their soldiers forward even while killing them, and just as they were about to cross the river completely.

The bullets from the matchlocks aimed by the brave cavalry began to pour down like a deluge.

The bullets raining down pierced the bodies of unarmored soldiers, and the blood of those shot down or injured flowed into the river.

“Ahh!”

“If I had known this would happen, I should have deserted yesterday… panicking and not being able to run away led to this…”

Thus, the Frost Regiment fired on their enemies crossing the river four times before quickly turning sharply right to return to the northern gate of the barricade.

Seeing this, while Simon Marquis anticipated this outcome after observing the stationed enemy before crossing the river, he could not contain his anger and shouted loudly.

“Damn that Croilet Marquess… not only has he built such a large barricade in a month, but he’s also resorting to this sly trick against our troops crossing the river…”

However, Simon Marquis, having been taught that “a lord who leads in war must remain composed” since childhood, soon calmed his anger.

Next, he looked at Croilet Marquess’s barricade, about three to four hundred meters away.

It seemed to stretch about 3 km in length and width, but only about 2 meters high, with an irregularly shaped wall.

In between, there were watchtowers and oddly shaped holes meant to attack soldiers clinging to the wall.

More strangely, the unusual shape of the wall made it impossible to see any soldiers.

After viewing the irregularly shaped wall, Simon Marquis briefly contemplated whether to create proper siege equipment to assault the enemy.

However, he soon shook his head and firmed his resolve.

“If I withdraw here, my status and honor as a commander will fall to the ground. While I may be able to defend the fortress, my family and I would effectively meet our end. Furthermore, with this level of fortress, if our forces take advantage of their numerical superiority… we could succeed in breaching it with ladders.”

Then Simon Marquis pointed his commanding staff at the barricade erected by Croilet Marquess and spoke.

“Attention, Franche forces. Though the Marquis may say we are scared and built this fortress, it’s just a shoddy fort erected in a month. Hence, with our numbers, even with just ladders, they will crumble quickly. All forces, commence the attack.”

Within the marquis’s judgment lay a mixture of anxiety about the potential repercussions of failing this expedition, but his orders were not entirely wrong.

In fact, if a barricade lacks special defenses…

It could still impose significant losses on Simon Marquis’s army, but with numerical superiority, a constant push could break through.

In fact, given that the fundamental principle of nearly all recorded sieges in history is overcoming the enemy’s wall using more soldiers and ladders?

It would not be wrong to state that this was indeed the only option to annihilate Croilet Marquess’s forces.

As Simon Marquis mobilized 80,000 soldiers to implement the strategy of breaking through the barricade with sheer numbers, the troops slowly approached.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of Croilet Marquess diligently performed their duties from their positions.

The matchlock troops loaded bullets in their respective positions, while the spear-wielders moved to places where they could charge out at any time should the enemy draw close.

Additionally, the cannon-handling soldiers placed fully loaded cannons into the multiple openings in the floor measuring over a meter.

Seeing the enemy infantry come within cannon range, Croilet Marquess and the engineers signaled to the cavalry.

As soon as the artillery received the signal, they ignited the fuse and fired the cannons.

With a loud bang, the cannon was discharged, and the heavy metal projectile weighing several kilograms shot forth towards the Franche army.

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