Tanska is the name of the large river that flows into Lake Seth and is mainly the name of the part near the mouth of the river. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The river is called the Mersai a little further upstream, and further upstream it is called by names such as Guera. Near the mouth of the river there are four sandbars named Emera, Miuze, Thaiwen, and Naich, each of which is connected by a suspension bridge. In the shallows, logs are driven deep into the bottom of the river to form a wooden fence, forming a water fortress that obstructs the entry of both land and water.

However, despite being called a fortress, it is not the kind of stone piled up that the empire usually builds. It is an irregular building with wooden walls, although the main pillars are firmly made of stones.

In the common sense of the Empire, this was not called a fortress. This is because the structure that can be called a fortress must be a permanent building made entirely of stone.

Wood is used for short-term use, such as camping. The building in that case is not called a fortress, but is generally called a walled city.

Despite this, this Tanska is exceptionally known as the Fortress.

The reason for this is that, at the time of the plan, it was supposed to be a fortified fortress built of stone. In fact, construction was also underway, and masonry workers were sent to the site along with a large amount of stone to pile up stones.

However, one day, the building began to sink into the ground due to its own weight. There is no exaggeration, no literary rhetoric, and the ground engulfs the building as the text says.

Of course, they knew from the beginning that the foundation of the sandbar was loose, so the foundation work was underway to bring together the best of the Empire's civil engineering technology at that time. No, it was "should" be done.

However, the building under construction sank into the ground as if it were sinking like a ship, and in just a few days, the original second floor was partially turned into a first floor.

And even the part of the second floor that remained on the ground was about to sink.

Panicked masonry and Imperial soldiers hurriedly dismantled building materials such as walls and stairs in an attempt to reduce the weight of the building. Then, when the sinking finally stopped, the building was reduced to only the roof and pillars.

Of course, it is difficult to fulfill the role of a fortress, not only as a barracks, but also as a fortress.

For this reason, they put logs in the vast space between the columns to fill the walls, and as a barracks, they had to make this half-hanging substructure of wooden buildings coexisting.

This incident meant that Tanska had significant shortcomings as a defensive facility. Of course, it is common to wonder if the situation is not going to turn towards the question of the responsibility of those responsible. However, "the function required by this fortress was that it was located on the sandbar of the Tanska River, and was set up as a base for controlling the water traffic of Lake Seth." The idea that it was necessary to rely on the walls to defend against enemy attacks was very low, so there was no need to regard them as a problem as a defensive facility."

In that case, it may be a pity to abandon a building that was built with a huge amount of money without using it. But most of them are evading responsibility, and everyone agrees. It was not uncommon for the Empire to be far-fetched, and the nobles' claim that "even so, there was nothing wrong with Tanksca's function" was passed, and it was officially called the Fortress.

"Your Excellency Goddarson. This is the instruction of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. ”

Goddarson, who had been appointed to rule the states around Lake Seth centered on Tansca, accepted the letter from the Imperial Power Councillor who had just arrived from Telta, and quickly glanced at the contents.

"You are?"

"Yes, my subordinate is Dares, the Imperial Power Support Committee member who was ordered by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to follow Your Excellency. ”

Dareth carries two of his men wearing the same goblin mask. The two saluted Goddarson with their fists in the chest.

"The letter says you want me to hear a detailed explanation from you?"

Darres tucked the goblin helmet under his arm and began to explain to Goddarson.

The purpose of this operation was to use decoys to capture the Japanese behind enemy lines, or to annihilate the enemy forces in an attempt to reduce the enemy's combat strength. In addition, it is also necessary to find out the real situation of the enemy army.

"I've heard that before. But the old man was against it. ”

"The subordinates know. But this is the order. ”

"The old man knows. The old man also knew that His Highness had assigned me a very valuable legion for this purpose. But what's the point of the old man forcibly taking chestnuts from the fire?"

"In order to reveal the true situation of the executive organization responsible for the operations behind enemy lines, please understand. ”

"Do you fight behind enemy lines...... The old man doesn't like it. ”

"It's not a good thing to judge by likes and dislikes, is it? In order to make the battle on the surface advantageous, fierce battles are fought behind enemy lines. It's the same today. ”

"The old man knows that kind of thing. But I have to let the old man talk about his feelings. ”

After leaving the executive room with Commissioner Darres, Goddarson complained, "Speaking of which, you are underestimating the enemy. ”

"Is that what I feel too?"

This is a covert question asking him if he is criticizing the crown prince, and it also contains the warning that "if you continue to talk about it, you will become the target of purge".

"Of course. What else can you hear?"

As soon as you leave the building, you will see the cage where the Japanese are being held. Goddarson looked over the cage and snorted with a look of disgust.

“…… You've really brought a terrible plague god to the old man. If it was known that this man was here, the Japanese would be furious and kill him directly. ”

"My subordinates want them to attack them. We are waiting for this moment. ”

"The old man doesn't know what the result is. ”

After Goddarson finished speaking, he ordered the Japanese to be transported to Miuzawa's underground warehouse. The wooden cages were removed by the soldiers.

"Your Excellency. Subordinates are against hiding the bait underground. If you don't know where he's hiding, the enemy probably won't come. ”

"Then why don't you put it in the middle of the central square and let him show it on the streets?"

"That's fine. And then they were kept strictly guarded. ”

"So let's do it. ”

Disinterested, Goddarsen changed the order, directing that the cage with the bait be placed in the central square of Miuze.

"If only it worked. ”

"Speaking of which, Your Excellency fought with the Japanese?"

"Ahh Helpless. What a fiasco. ”

"But we're not going to lose all the time. With General Helm's operational command, the situation is gradually becoming favorable. In addition, the subordinates heard that new magic had been reported. It seems to be a very epoch-making magic, and if you use it, you will be able to fight those guys. ”

"You're talking about blast magic. I remember it as if it was reported in Lendl and it was getting a lot of attention. Moreover, it has the record of defeating the flame dragon, and it is also guaranteed in terms of power. But that's also a skill that's hard to manipulate. Although Magi everywhere are reading through papers to keep this skill for themselves, not many of them can master it. ”

"Didn't Your Excellency challenge it too?"

"Ahh But you can't make more than two auras anyway. In order to be useful, you have to make at least five. ”

"If you can make five auras, please return to the army. ”

"Forget it. The era of Magister battles ended a long time ago. If you throw blast magic at each other, the war will be terrible like before. ”

"There is no war that is not terrible. ”

Goddarson thought back to the wars he had recently been involved in and nodded, "That's what happened." ”

"Okay, put the whole army on alert at once! We don't know when the enemy will attack. ”

After receiving Godason's order, the heralds ran at the same time. Armed soldiers ran through the fortress to the sound of metal clashing, and entered the place of deployment.

"Let boats patrol the rivers and strengthen precautions. Enemies can also fall from the sky. Alert all places. ”

Then a soldier saluted and preached to him,

"Your Excellency, do you want to pay more attention to the underground?"

Goddarson frowned as if he had been hit in the underbelly, but soon nodded heavily,

"Quite possibly. Pay attention!"

Then the soldiers lowered their gaze and retreated in unison.

"Sky, underground, water...... Watch out for all locations! Don't be lazy if you don't want to die!"

In this way, the guards are everywhere, and the river is full of Naruko (note: a sound-making prop used to repel birds. The soldiers took turns to be close to their ears to watch for any unusual noises approaching, forming a vigilant posture.

"Although you said that you hated it and opposed it, you were really positive. ”

Dareth applauded.

"Personal feelings belong to feelings, and tasks belong to tasks. At this point, all you have to do is what you have to do. ”

"You're saying it so well. I think Your Highness will be very pleased. ”

"But only if it works. At least the old man doesn't want people to say that he failed because he was lazy. ”

"With such a large scale of combat power assembled, your subordinates don't think that it will be possible to fail, do you think your Excellency will fail?"

"Who knows. No matter what kind of battle you fight, you start with the conviction that you will succeed. However, once you get to the execution stage, you may fail. Commissioner Darres, why do you think that?"

"It's because of the lack of heroic fighting spirit. If you don't have the will to win, you will fail. ”

"This old man has never heard of it. Failure is due to will?"

"Do you think there is any other reason for this? What do you think is the reason for the failure?"

"Who knows. Isn't it true that the battle itself is a matter of chance or luck? Sometimes it may be that the battle itself is wrong. ”

"You said the same thing twice?"

"Really? Maybe you're misunderstood?"

"It could be so. The subordinates must have misunderstood. Otherwise, the subordinates had to think that it was a criticism of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who approved the operation. ”

"I see. Does that mean that the responsibility for failure always lies with the field?"

"Yes. That's why, in order to supervise the scene, we, the Imperial Power Support Committee, are here. ”

Darres said, a man nodding convincingly.

When the sun sets and nightfalls.

At the edge of the reed-like water, which was rooted in the bottom of the river and jutting out of the water about a man high, the Imperial soldiers, who listened attentively to the sound of the splashing of the river, stared in the direction from the side of the ship.

Although they stretched out their hands to get the light of the torches as close as possible to the source of the sound, the clumps of reeds spread like curtains, preventing the light from reaching deep.

On moonless nights, the only things that stand out by the light of the torches are the weeds and haystacks stuck on the fence that seems to surround the fortress. It is a common sight for these things to be washed by the current and piled up everywhere. Because of this, soldiers can't spend so much time constantly observing these things.

"Hey, let's go. ”

Hearing the voice of his anxious companion, the Imperial soldier replied, "Look a little longer, wait......" leaning out from the side of the ship and staring at the dimly lit opposite.

"Anyway, it's a fish or something, right?"

"To put it that way, the water is too loud. ”

"So that's a big fish. If you stop at the sound of splashing, you'll be patrolling until the Year of the Monkey.

And there's Naruko pulling around here. If you accidentally touch it and make it ring, you will be scolded to death by those veterans. ”

In fact, as soon as the patrolling boat touches Naruko, who is pulled up, the soldiers come to a futile emergency assembly.

If it were once or twice, it might be forgiven for being enthusiastic about its work, but if it was repeated again and again, it should no longer be used as an excuse.

Interpersonal relationships in the military are complicated. Being targeted by veterans is something that anyone wants to avoid. What's more, being hated is something that you definitely don't want to provoke.

The Imperial soldier thought for a moment, nodded honestly at his companion's words, and turned his face in a different direction.

"Okay, let's go. ”

In this way, the Imperial soldiers in small boats let the boat head for the next patrol spot.

…… Gone?

Kenzaki protrudes half of his head from the water and gestures towards the pile of water grass in front of him to try to communicate.

If you look closely, the aquatic plants are faces with dark green and green skin and carefully camouflaged heads.

In the darkness, by finding his two side-by-side white eyes, he was finally able to recognize the human face.

The shot quietly swept around, sending a positive signal.

"It was so dangerous. ”

Relieved, Kenzaki approached the fence and returned to his work in the water.

In fact, it is not difficult to deal with the powerlessness of Naruko, who is scattered all over the place. As long as you know how to stop the sound of the local phone. That is, the rope that holds the vibrations in place.

Specifically, bamboo poles and other objects are tied to the bottom of the river, and nets with Naruko are attached to them. After that, cut the net at the critical point. But his hand slipped during the operation, and the rope fell into the water. This voice was heard by the soldiers of the Imperial Army.

After confirming that the patrol boat was sufficiently far away, Kenzaki approached the fence and sawed it again.

Luckily, wood with sufficient moisture makes little noise when sawed with a saw. Soon a log that formed the fence was sawed off.

However, the gap opened up was only about 30 centimeters wide. If Kenzaki and the others, who are heavily armed, want to pass, it will be necessary to saw off another one and open a gap of about 60 centimeters.

Kenzaki continued his work and managed to cut off another one.

He put a light green fluorescent sticker on the sawn fence as a marker.

Everyone was dressed in camouflage combat uniforms, and the jungle hats on their heads were dripping with water. They are armed with M4 carbines, a type of equipment that is not usually seen in the Self-Defense Forces. Some of them did not carry guns, but bows and arrows.

Finally, Kenzaki, who patrols the surroundings with a vigilant eye, enters the interior after giving a signal to the shot.

After leaving there, the remaining shooter returned to the rubber boat hidden among the overgrown reeds and lay prone on it. Then peek into the night scope of the .50 BMG placed next to the rubber boat and watch the situation in the direction of Kenzaki and the others.

"Strictly patrol! Don't let go of the slightest movement!"

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We'll have to figure out how to solve the problem of the renewal of the Savior.

Although the number of words that can be completed has been reached.

But I still don't want to leave it at that!