I’m a Rebel in Another World

Chapter 26: Blocking War

On the second night after hastily withdrawing from the main camp overnight, Henwil arrived at Six Bay Mountain.

This was the convergence point of three mountain ranges, with complex terrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack, situated beside a river.

Following Henwil's suggestion, Fabio announced news to those over twenty thousand serf soldiers.

They would build fortifications here, with food provided during the work period, and they would also receive payment.

After the fortifications were completed, they could receive a severance payment.

At that time, they would be free to go wherever they wanted, and they could take as much food as they could carry.

Of course, if they chose to stay, Fabio would welcome them.

They would receive food and shelter without having to fight on the front lines.

After specific tasks were assigned, these serf soldiers, who resembled forced laborers, immediately became full of motivation.

They quickly built multiple lines of defense according to Henwil's blueprints.Watching these tirelessly working serf soldiers, the Allied Forces' reconnaissance riders in the distance realized the seriousness of the situation.

This mountain pass position, once occupied on both sides with heavy armored troops holding the center, could stop even a hundred thousand strong army from breaking through.

By noon the next day, the pursuing cavalry legion of the Allied Forces also scratched their heads in frustration when they saw this situation.

They were responsible for driving and pursuing the Allied Forces, not heavily armored shock cavalry for charging formations.

Mounted archery?

Leaving aside how this terrible terrain prevented warhorses from running properly, just the arrow towers gradually being built on the mountainside, shooting from an elevated position, would prevent them from gaining any advantage.

Facing the gradually forming defensive lines, these several thousand light cavalry had no desire to attack at all.

Henwil had also anticipated this and had Fabio begin drilling the new army in defense.

By afternoon, this cavalry unit received news, directly turned around, with the vanguard becoming the rear guard, and retreated along their original route.

Henwil deduced that this cavalry intended to detour around Six Bay Mountain to pursue the main forces of the Allied Forces.

Cavalry had the advantage of speed and could take detours.

But infantry couldn't do this - catching up through direct pursuit was already questionable, let alone taking detours.

Therefore, defensive fortifications still needed to be built here, as the infantry legions would arrive soon.

That would be the most difficult time.

Contrary to Henwil's expectations, there was no sign of the Allied infantry legions on the second day.

It wasn't until the third day that infantry legions finally arrived.

But surprisingly, they showed no intention of attacking either, simply holding their position opposite the serf army.

Henwil understood this - the serf army here had already rested for two days.

The pursuing forces had chased over two hundred miles with great exhaustion, naturally having no desire to attack.

By the fourth day, sporadic probing attempts finally began.

Several hundred men formed square formations and pressed toward the valley entrance, but before they could reach the obstacles, they were driven back by dense arrow volleys.

Henwil stomped his feet in frustration and ran to find Fabio, ordering him to strictly follow the planned counterattack strategy.

The enemy only had a few hundred men, yet they had fired so many arrows - what a despicable waste!

When leaving the main camp, Henwil had insisted on bringing all the arrows they could carry.

In defensive warfare, the importance of arrows couldn't be overstated.

Close combat wasn't something the newly trained serf army was capable of yet.

Making arrows was skilled work that couldn't be completed in just a day or two.

Every arrow shot was one less arrow available!

No amount of stockpile could withstand such wastefulness.

This was why Henwil had ordered the construction of those arrow towers.

Henwil had personally come to observe this location, using geometric calculations to determine the best overlapping firing points.

Using minimal expenditure to contain the maximum number of enemies.

Each side of the valley would have two arrow towers working together, marked with same-colored flags.

Even with shields, they could only protect against arrows from one direction's arrow towers, inevitably getting hit by towers from the opposite side of the valley.

This worked like machine gun crossfire, not only creating the largest kill zone but also covering each other's blind spots.

This was the most valuable knowledge Henwil had demonstrated in this world so far.

But from Fabio down to the lower officers, no one recognized this.

They only thought Henwil was clever for coming up with such methods, but had no interest in understanding the underlying principles.

Thus, densely packed arrow towers were built on both sides of the valley, creating distinctive color patterns across the mountain slopes.

Only the attacking Allied Forces below understood the deadliness behind these colors.

After Henwil left, this area was taken over by the Allied Forces. The generals initially wanted to destroy these structures that had devoured their soldiers' lives.

But the Allied Forces commander stopped them, and over the next decade, using Henwil's defensive structures as foundation, they built a large fortress here.

Called Mountain Bay Fortress, it blocked several enemy attacks for the Ika Kingdom.

Until later when Henwil led his army back and personally breached the fortress that had originated from his own designs.

But now, Henwil was using these fortifications to mercilessly consume the lives of Allied soldiers.

Watching from the high ground of the valley, Henwil remained silent, thinking of his previous life.

That world was truly insane - knowledge that should have promoted technological development was quickly applied to killing one's own kind in warfare after its discovery.

Now, there was no time for Henwil to lament.

For three full days, the Allied Forces hadn't even managed to clear the obstacles at the valley entrance.

Seeing the massive casualties inflicted on the enemy, Fabio felt uncertain: "Henwil, with so many enemy deaths, can we really withdraw completely unharmed?

We've already delayed the enemy for several days - we've exceeded our mission objectives. Shouldn't we retreat now?"

Henwil shook his head: "We can't leave! First, not enough enemies have died - they haven't developed fear yet!

Second, not enough of our own men have died either. Only by seeing blood, only by brushing against the gates of hell, can serfs transform into warriors!"

These simple words made Fabio smell the thick scent of blood.

He found Henwil increasingly inscrutable and no longer treated him as a child.

Call Henwil cruel!

Yet whenever he had time, he ran to treat wounded soldiers, caring for them as much as possible!

Call Henwil kind!

Yet every decision he made now flowed with endless blood behind it!

Henwil also felt helpless about this. Once the fortifications were mostly completed, Fabio followed their agreement and dismissed those over twenty thousand ordinary serf soldiers.

Very few remained - only about three thousand people, while most of the others left.

Even so, plus the over ten thousand new army troops, they still had over twenty thousand people.

Too many people!

Too large a target, making long-distance rapid movement difficult and more likely to attract Allied pursuit.

So the best method was to sacrifice some new army troops while also killing some Allied soldiers.

Make the enemy cautious and afraid to pursue with full force.

But don't let them think you're valuable enough to warrant special attention.

Henwil believed around ten thousand casualties would be just right!

This meant at least another small half of the new army would need to be lost!