A Peaceful Land of the Orcs (2.3)
―――This man is an unbelievably kind king.
Moreover, he completely lacks the excessive ostentation often found in those with power.
For example, take the royal residence, where he spends almost all of his daily life. While a prime minister or president in human nations might have such a residence, a royal residence for a king is unusual. Shouldn't it be a palace?
The royal residence was built relatively recently during the construction of the new city district. Made of steel and marble with ornamental carvings, its front-facing the main avenue boasted a grand Pantheon-style colonnade and a majestic staircase, making it an imposing and massive structure.
However, its interior was filled with purely functional spaces, with most decorations and furnishings being subdued. The king's living quarters occupied only a small fraction of the total building area.
By the riverside in the city center stood the old royal palace, where he once lived and governed. It was a fortress from an older era, far from luxurious or ornate. Now, it no longer serves as a royal residence, having been entirely vacated and repurposed as the headquarters for the capital’s police force, the Wildschwein Police.
Gustav’s private life is exceedingly modest when considering the strength of Orcsen’s national power.
He never rules his subordinates or citizens with arrogance.
As Dineluth sat across from him at a round table in a corner of the royal residence’s office, sharing breakfast, she renewed her appreciation for this.
"My King, Gustav, are you always like this?"
"Hmm? Ah, yes. It's easier this way, isn't it?"
"... Indeed."
Dineluth chuckled softly.
Upon reflection, this conversation, if overheard by someone unfamiliar with their circumstances, might seem as though it disregarded the formalities of a master-servant relationship.
Gustav never required his close aides to use formal speech with him, except during official ceremonies or public outings.
He had similarly instructed Dineluth upon her arrival in this city. Initially bewildered by his informal and almost wild speech patterns, she had since grown accustomed to them and adopted his style.
Nowadays, even Gustav’s once-ominous appearance, which had seemed so fearsome when they first met, seemed to embody his personality.
In particular, his black eyes were striking.
Set beneath his ruggedly carved brows, they were surprisingly round and gentle, radiating a youthful innocence like that of a child.
Especially during moments like the one at the morning market just now.
However, this is not to say Gustav is indecisive or lacks talent in governance or military strategy.
On the contrary, he is exceptionally decisive and unparalleled in both politics and military matters.
At the start of this year, he commanded the formation of a cavalry unit for the Dark Elves, including Dineluth, once they had recovered from the wounds and exhaustion of last year’s harrowing escape.
"... Cavalry?"
It was true that many Dark Elves excelled at riding, but the order left Dineluth and her people perplexed.
Organizing a cavalry unit requires significantly more funding than an infantry unit. A large-scale new unit would strain the country’s defense budget. This burden weighed on their hearts.
Dark Elves, with their innate magical prowess and physical strength, combined with skills honed through hunting and pastoral life, were also adept at marksmanship and mountain operations. They seemed more suited to forming mountain troops—called mountain rangers in this country’s military system. That was their role back in Elfynd.
Their arduous river-crossing experiences also influenced this thought.
Lightly equipped, they could cross rivers with ease.
In future conflicts with Elfynd, they could contribute better as light infantry, focusing on mobility. The maneuverability of light troops comes from carrying minimal equipment, making them less suited for prolonged combat. However, given their frugal lifestyle, they were confident they could fight fiercely and effectively.
"That’s appreciated, but... our army’s greatest weakness lies in the inadequacies of our cavalry corps."
Gustav smoothly explained to the confused Dark Elves.
His reasoning was undeniably clear.
"Orcs are unsuitable for horseback riding."
Indeed, this was entirely true.
Orcs are large and heavy. Their average weight is around 250 kilograms. Even the smallest among them exceed 150 kilograms, while those with large builds, like Gustav, approach 300 kilograms.
A typical horse would collapse under their weight.
As such, Orcs are forced to rely on draft horses—large breeds used for pulling heavy wagons or artillery in other races’ and nations’ armies.
Draft horses meet the weight requirements of the Orcsen army but, due to their size, lack agility. It’s like expecting a weightlifter to excel in sprinting or long-distance running.
In other words, they’re nearly useless for the key cavalry roles of rapid scouting and pursuit maneuvers. What results is a bizarre and sluggish cavalry unit, barely functional.
This is the current state of the Orcsen cavalry corps.
One might think it would be better to forgo cavalry entirely.
However, combined arms tactics in modern warfare render that impractical.
Combined arms tactics involve countering infantry with cavalry’s mobility and cavalry with artillery’s firepower, effectively utilizing each unit’s strengths to overwhelm the enemy.
If one’s army completely lacks cavalry while the enemy has it, the battle is disadvantageous from the start.
Thus, the Orcsen army maintains its flawed Orc cavalry units, aware of their shortcomings. But as things stand, this won’t suffice―――
"Basically, you want us to create a real cavalry unit for you. Are you, perhaps, desperately pleading for this?"
"Exactly."
When Dineluth teased him with an exaggerated understanding of the situation, Gustav broke into hearty laughter and nodded in agreement.
However, after laughing his fill, he straightened his expression and elaborated further.
"That said, this unit won’t be just cavalry."
The new unit would be formed around a core of cavalry but designed as an independent, combined-arms group—a miniature army unto itself.
"With three regiments of cavalry at its core, supported by a regiment of mountain rangers, a battalion of mountain artillery, a company of engineers, and logistics and field hospital units sufficient to sustain them in combat. At full wartime strength, the group will number around 8,000 troops."
Why such a structure?
Creating a mobile cavalry unit necessitated focusing on light cavalry—hussars equipped primarily with carbines and sabers, rather than heavily armored cuirassiers or lancers. That aligned well with the natural abilities of the Dark Elves.
However, using them exclusively as reconnaissance cavalry posed challenges. For any scouting or advance missions, infantry and artillery needed to follow closely behind to hold the ground or fortify positions as needed.
Without proper infantry and artillery support, the cavalry alone couldn’t maintain a foothold. While withdrawing might sometimes be an option, there would inevitably be situations where advancing positions had to be held, or even makeshift fortifications constructed.
If the enemy counterattacked with massed infantry, cavalry alone wouldn’t be able to withstand the assault.
Moreover, cavalry carbines, designed for mobility, had shorter barrels and thus shorter effective ranges compared to infantry muskets.
If the enemy employed artillery, it would require equivalent counter-battery fire. Engineers were necessary to navigate diverse terrain, construct bridges, or build field fortifications.
Relying on the Orcs to fill these roles wasn’t a viable solution either.
Orcs used heavy draft horses not only for their cavalry but also for infantry, artillery, engineering units, and logistics. Compared to the cavalry, these other branches actually used more horses overall, requiring substantial horsepower for officers’ mounts, artillery transport, and supply wagons.
Since these draft horses were large and slow, the Orcs’ military as a whole suffered from a lack of mobility.
As for smaller races like Dwarves or Kobolds, they could not serve as effective cavalry due to their small stature, which made even regular riding horses ill-suited for their use.
Thus, the new Dark Elf unit needed to be entirely self-sufficient, capable of handling any situation without relying on existing Orc forces.
A possible alternative had been to train all Dark Elves as cavalry and distribute them across existing Orc divisions. However, the limited number of Dark Elves made this impractical. Furthermore, mixing Dark Elf women into battalions of male Orcs raised concerns of misconduct and discipline issues.
"Think of it as a highly mobile, slightly smaller division—a brigade combat team. That’s what I want you to build."
"… Magnificent," Dineluth murmured, genuinely impressed.
Although she had reservations about scrutinizing the plans of someone who had saved her life and her people, she found herself deeply intrigued and ultimately in favor of Gustav's vision.
With an overall force size of 8,000, the approximately 12,000 surviving Dark Elves could provide the necessary manpower. The remaining 4,000 would serve as a reserve force for reinforcements or stay in civilian roles supporting their new settlement.
"We will do it.”
Dineluth was thus appointed not only as the representative of her people but also as the commander of this newly formed unit, with the rank of Major General in the Orcsen Army.
Responsibility for selecting senior officers was entrusted to her and her inner circle.
Once fully formed, this brigade would serve as a formidable combat force, directly under Gustav's command during both peacetime and wartime.
In peacetime, it would also serve as his personal guard.
With this, Dineluth became not only a trusted representative of her people but also a member of the king's inner circle.
What do you think about this chapter?
