Firstborn: Return of the heir - Chapter 40

“What the heck did they do with my plans…”

Muttering to himself as he rode past the last line of the local defenses, Saulus tightened his fists. Leaving this place in the hands of his officers seemed like a good idea when he did it, but seeing how the commanding officer of the defending army managed to butcher his fortification plans made the general reconsider his choices.

“Sir, we shouldn’t go any further. Beyond that line, the true warzone begins.”

Saulus’ unit didn’t remain fully cohesive during this quick scouting of the area. Even behind all the fortifications that protected his force’s camp, venturing to the areas that could be struck with an attack at any given time was something to be avoided.

With two of his guards warning him against going any deeper into the mess of the fortifications, Saulus pulled the reins of his horse back. Those two men were sent forward to scout the situation of further fortifications, and from the looks on their faces, the situation was even worse than what Saulus could see with his own eyes.

“Bring me the commander of the forward detachment. I need to have a talk with him.”

Jumping down from his saddle, Saulus ignored the previous warnings and jogged towards the closest ditch. Shaped as a reverse slope, it was basically a descending depression dug directly into the plain, with a makeshift barricade made with wooden bails at its front.

Originally, it was supposed to be just one element out of the imposed fortification scheme, but from the looks of things, it turned into a simple bunker all on its own. From a perfectly designed fortification allowing all the lines of defense to support each other during an attack, this specific ditch was turned into a graveyard for the soldiers who would be insane enough to remain in it during an attack.

“Sir!”

A soldier bearing lower-officer insignia on his legionary uniform reported.

“Who are you?”

Angling his head to the side, Saulus looked at the soldier with curiosity. For a simple officer like the man before him to approach him directly, it was a huge mistake protocol-wise. And that meant that there had to be some important reason for the young officer to risk his position like that.

“Sir, I’m Beneth from Myrra, I was appointed as the secondary engineer… I know I’m crossing the line by asking you directly sir, but was this place supposed to adopt the Kakashian fortification system?”

Hearing the inquiry, Saulus eyebrows shot up. He didn’t expect the random officer at the front to know the actual name of the schematic he had in mind while ordering the construction of those fortifications.

“Yes. That was indeed my intention. What should I make out of the fact that you are asking this?”

Now fully focused on the young man in front of him, Saulus felt as if he had touched on the potential reason behind the butchering of his plans. Sadly, he wasn’t given any time to actually finish the discussion.

“Attack! Seventh bunker, third region!”

A loud voice sounded from a simple, wooden tower nearby. Saulus could hear the same report repeated with the faint voices from the other watchtowers securing the vision over the no-man’s-land.

“Sir, please! We tried to convince our commander to adopt the schematic, but we were refused. What should be an impenetrable line of fortification turned into traps for our own brothers! Please, talk with…”

Pushing the boundaries of what he was allowed to do, the soldier moved two steps closer towards Saulus before beseeching the supreme commander to act. Regretfully, his desperate expression froze on his face when a stray arrow suddenly penetrated his throat.

“Attack! Third bunker, second region!”

The next moment, a small detachment of horse archers passed by, showering the area of fortifications with arrows.

“…”

Saulus’ guards didn’t even need to receive an order. Before even a single bolt could endanger their superior’s health, Saulus was smashed to the ground under the weight of several, fully-armored soldiers.

“Get off me. I need to watch this!”

Even when using all his might and ordering his people at the same time, Saulus was unable to move from under their combined weight. Barely capable of breathing, it seemed as if his men had turned deaf to his orders.

“Attention!”

Seeing no other choice, Saulus ended up using the most basic of commands. But to his surprise, the guards hesitatingly moved away from the pile of bodies, freeing the general.

Not willing to waste this chance, Saulus dashed into the ditch, taking cover behind a sturdy-looking part of the barricade. According to the schematic, this barricade should protrude from the earth only as high as one’s arm while a simple, wooden cap was supposed to cover the deeper part of the trench. But while this mistake in the construction was most likely the main reason behind the casualties ramping up, it also made it easy for Saulus to observe the events.

After riding past several bunkers already deep within the lines of the defenses, the enemy cavalry used the free space between the ditches to retreat. With no further attack being announced, the entire event came to a close barely a few minutes after it started.

And while there were some enemies that were unlucky enough to somehow encounter friendly fire, a huge procession of healthy soldiers carrying their injured commanders away quickly proved how effective this attack was for Saulus’ opponents.

“Firstborns… Have mercy on me…”

Watching the rows of bloodied soldiers, Saulus felt a painful sting on his soul. Those people were injured because he irresponsibly left the wrong person in charge. In a sense, he was responsible for their wounds and for the deaths of their brothers-in-arms.

But now, it would change. Even with all the losses, the entire situation could be turned around. While turning those damned ditches back into what they were supposed to be was no longer possible with the enemy lurking at every step, there was a simple and relatively cheap way to turn them into an effective defense.

“Sir, the commander of the region…”

As Saulus stood up from behind his cover, one of his guards came to report while pointing his hand back at the camp behind them.

“To hell with him. Gather the men, we need as much wood as the lands around us can provide.”

There was no point dealing with that idiot right now. Even if it meant spending way more time on the frontlines that Saulus initially intended, he had already decided to ensure the frontlines would be secure. After all, the entire strategy that he designed for the coming months relied on this place holding the enemies off with ease!

Looking to the back, Saulus noticed a man in an elaborate uniform approaching his position while accompanied by two of Saulus’ personal bodyguards. Terror mixed with anxiety as the local commander approached his supreme superior.

“Sir, I can explain…”

Not even letting the officer excuse himself, Saulus pointed at the closest ditch.

“Start with the last line and work your way towards the front. Connect all the ditches with thick but low barricades, one that horses won’t be able to jump over. If you fail to finish it in time…”

There was no need for Saulus to finish his words. Everyone present in the area instantly understood the underlying threat behind his message. But just to make sure everyone was perfectly aware of the situation, Saulus didn’t bother with being tactful.

“… you will be executed for sabotage and treason.”