The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

The moment Ciri entered, Duke aep Dahy's eyes lit up sharply. He was just about to speak, but his expression froze in place.

Despite his extensive experience with court intrigue, even he nearly lost control of his facial composure at that moment.

First, he saw the Skelligers—along with the iron crown atop Eist's head.

Then, he spotted the fully armored dwarves—and none other than Barclay, the military mastermind of Mahakam.

Since when had Cintra gained the allegiance of these forces? Just how wrong had their prior assessment of Cintra's military capabilities been?

He heard the Lion of Cintra announce:

"This is Duke Ardal aep Dahy, Supreme Commander of Nilfgaard's Eastern Army Group. He's a veteran of three imperial reigns, an old noble of deep heritage. The current emperor, Emhyr var Emreis, reclaimed the throne from the usurper thanks to the help of men like him."

Damn it! How did the Lion know all this? Could there be a Northern spy inside the Empire?

"Though the Eastern Army Group has now been defeated by me, the intelligence stored in his mind is still of great value to us. I hope you will join me in analyzing it."

Wait, wait—defeated? The Eastern Army Group was defeated?

Impossible! Even if he had been captured, there were still plenty of high-ranking officers in the camp who could take command!

Even if the legions had to operate independently, and were unable to press further into Aedirn, they could at the very least plunge all of Lyria into utter chaos!

"Even though I've already heard you say this before, I still have to marvel at it once again… but Lann, what you did was far too risky. You're a duke now…"

As Lann spoke, everyone's gaze shifted toward Duke aep Dahy as though watching a monkey being toyed with.

What unsettled the duke was that—aside from a few dwarves who still seemed in disbelief—most of the others, upon hearing how the Lion had captured him, looked not just surprised, but as though it was completely expected.

What did that mean? What did it mean?

"Well then, let's continue…"

Lann strode forward toward Duke aep Dahy. The steel greaves of his armor struck the floor with a heavy clang, clang.

Each step made the duke's heart lurch violently in his chest. He could no longer think. His body trembled uncontrollably, dignity slipping away with each shudder.

Through the swirl of his thoughts, he saw a hand reach out in front of his eyes, glowing with a familiar light.

"Tell me everything you know, Duke aep Dahy."

...

Strictly speaking, Nilfgaard's first war of invasion against the North wasn't exactly a failure.

Back then, the Empire had marched on Cintra with the aim of using it as a gateway into the Northern realms—establishing a broad transport route through which hundreds of thousands of Nilfgaardian troops could be deployed northward. At the same time, Cintra would become a firm foothold, a forward bastion—the Kingdom of Cintra transformed into the Cintran Province—thereby giving the Empire strategic initiative in all future campaigns.

Beyond that overarching strategy, Emperor Emhyr had his own secret ambition—one he never shared with anyone else: to reclaim his daughter, Princess Cirilla, and bring the 'Elder Blood', said to possess the power to conquer the world, fully into the Nilfgaardian royal lineage.

Now, although the stubborn resistance of the remaining troops and civilians had prevented the total fall of Cintra, the territory still under Cintran control amounted to less than one-third—or perhaps even just one-quarter—of its former size.

The regions now occupied by Nilfgaard were more than sufficient to serve as corridors for moving troops.

Cintra, as a whole, had once offered Nilfgaard a grand avenue. The incomplete Cintra of today might be more akin to a narrow bridge—but even that was far better than having no path at all. It also gave Nilfgaard a wider range of tactical options.

And that was what led to the Battle of Sodden Hill.

It was also the reason the Empire had the confidence to order a lightly equipped Eastern Army Group—numbering merely tens of thousands of infantry—to force a crossing of the Yaruga River. The units stationed on Upper Sodden could provide the necessary support.

At present, the Nilfgaardians referred to the lands they occupied as 'South Cintra', while Lann and his allies, centered around Brokilon Town, called their held territories 'North Cintra'.

This terminology caused several Cintrans in the war room to frown instinctively.

"Cintra is Cintra. There can only be one Cintra in this world," said Mousesack coldly.

Others began whispering among themselves, trying to analyze the strength of Nilfgaard as revealed—intentionally or otherwise—through Duke aep Dahy's words.

"What are Nilfgaard's operational plans for the next phase? How many armies are involved? What are their troop counts, compositions, and commanders? How much do you know?"

Lann intensified his magical output, hoping to extract even more intelligence on the enemy.

Duke aep Dahy, now in a dazed state, continued to spill what could only be described as top-level military secrets.

"The Imperial army is currently divided into three fronts: the Western Army Group, the Central Army Group, and the Eastern Army Group," he said.

The Eastern Army Group, led by Duke aep Dahy himself, was composed primarily of the Black Army Infantry Corps, totaling 60,000 troops. Accompanied by a mage detachment, they used magic to briefly freeze the Yaruga River, abandoning standard supply lines to launch a rapid strike on Lyria. The original plan was to live off the land while resting in Lyria before heading north to annex Lyria and Aedirn, pushing toward the Pontar Valley to provide right-flank cover for the main Central Army Group.

The Western Army Group was under the command of Duke Joachim de Wett. Numbering 30,000, it was composed mainly of light cavalry and infantry. Their mission was to consolidate gains in Cintra and secure the Empire's supply lines. Once the war fully erupted, they were to push north to capture the remaining parts of Cintra, as well as the smaller kingdoms of Verden and Brugge, all while providing left-flank cover for the Central Army.

The main force was the Central Army Group, commanded by Nilfgaard's Marshal of the Army, Menno Coehoorn. Its core units included the Fourth Cavalry Legion and the Third Legion, a combined-arms force of infantry and heavy cavalry. These legions were currently stationed in Upper Sodden, with nearly 50,000 troops already deployed. Though the army's full strength exceeded 100,000, Marshal Menno had chosen to leave behind the majority of the infantry to save time by marching through South Cintra. Their logistics were now fully supported by the garrison stationed in Upper Sodden after the Battle of Sodden Hill, along with the Western Army Group.

The Central Army's objective was to launch a blitz assault on Sodden and break open the path northward. From there, they would launch an aggressive attack on Temeria, aiming to seize all the major northern port cities—including Vizima and Maribor—within half a month. Simultaneously, they would harass Novigrad to disrupt the North's key trade and transport routes.

Once those goals were achieved, they would advance into the Pontar Valley, where the borders of the four major Northern Kingdoms converged. There, they would take control of the narrowest section of the Yaruga Canal and link up with the Eastern Army Group.

…

As Duke aep Dahy continued his detailed monologue, one of the officers brought by Marshal Vissegerd walked over to the stone war table. He began arranging chess pieces engraved with black suns to reflect the troop counts mentioned, placing them across Cintra, Upper Sodden, and Lyria.

Another officer, with chestnut hair, picked up a handful of dyed sand and began outlining the Nilfgaardians' march routes. Everyone's eyes followed the lines drawn on the map, their gazes converging on Nilfgaard's ultimate objective.

The Pontar Valley—the former site of the Northern Conference—was widely regarded as the 'Heart of the North'. If it fell to the Empire, the four great Northern Kingdoms would essentially be exposed and vulnerable. All remaining geographical advantages would be lost.

Unfortunately for Nilfgaard, plans were grand—but reality was harsh. The Eastern Army Group had already been decimated by Lann, in cooperation with the United Kingdom of Lyria and Rivia and the Kingdom of Aedirn.

Though that army could still play a short-term role in containing those two kingdoms, pushing further north was now out of the question. Requesting reinforcements might even get them scorned by Marshal Menno.

"So, in summary, our primary opponent right now is the Western Army Group stationed in Cintra—30,000 troops. But if we strike at them, we can't afford to ignore the nearly 50,000 cavalrymen stationed in Upper Sodden. That makes a total of 80,000 troops…"

Everyone's expressions were grim.

"Lann, what was the situation in the east when you returned?"

Lann thought for a moment. "The Eastern Army Group was defeated in a single decisive battle. Out of sixty thousand troops, maybe twenty thousand are still alive. But Meve's forces suffered a devastating blow at the outset—of the fifteen thousand troops from the United Kingdom, perhaps only half remain."

"But the good news is that Aedirn has now fully committed to the war. They hadn't contributed much before, and in the first wave of fighting they lost only around 4,000 troops. If we calculate based on their peak strength of 40,000… once the Eastern Army Group is completely dealt with and they leave behind forces for homeland defense, they should still be able to field around 20,000 troops to support us in the coming battles."

"So that gives us between 25,000 and 28,000 troops to coordinate with us for a pincer attack on Upper Sodden."

The black-haired officer swept away a third of the black sun tokens from Lyria on the sand table, then added a few angular eagle pieces representing the United Kingdom and a large number of tri-colored rose pieces for Aedirn.

Viewed this way, the eastern front finally held a numerical advantage. And since they would be pursuing a routed enemy, losses would be minimal—allowing them to preserve much of their fighting strength after the battle.

"Now, let's move on to our side—the western front," said Marshal Vissegerd, stroking his beard.

"We currently have 5,000 Cintran troops. Of those, 3,000 are cavalry—elite soldiers I personally gathered from our vassals during the northern campaign. They continued training while we lay in wait at Brugge."

"The other 2,000 are infantry. Their training hasn't been long, but they're already far above the average conscript. In any minor kingdom, they'd qualify as royal guards."

"Most small kingdoms can't even muster 2,000 conscripts," Lann quipped, signaling for the black-haired officer to place several lion-head pieces in northern Cintra.

---

I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar

---