Chapter 19

“Why are you targeting a small mercenary like this?”

After Sal left, Vera asked in a mischievous tone.

Obviously, Vera also saw Colin’s hostility toward Sal, but she thought that they were fighting over her.

Thinking of this, her small face covered by the black veil was a little red, but she couldn’t help but feel a hint of joy in her heart.

Women always liked to see men fighting for themselves, even if they did not like any of those men.

“A person who dared to kill his own father is not worthy of my respect,” Colin said righteously and revealed Sal’s background without any hesitation.

“What?” Vera was very surprised.

“Indeed, Sal is a poisonous snake. You need to be careful,” Bliss chimed in from the side. This knight obviously looked down on this filial son who killed his father.

“I got it.” Vera nodded and blacklisted this clever little mercenary.

“Okay, let’s get back to the main topic.”

Vera began to introduce the specific situation that the sentinel cavalry had found out about.

At this time, there were two wolf cavalry units that could be confirmed to have caught up with them. Each unit had about seven or eight hundred people. The total number was equal to the current number of people on their side.

However, the other party was the most elite wolf cavalries in the regular army of the trolls. On their side, except for the less than one hundred cavalries that were considered elite, the rest were all defeated soldiers who had escaped from the Mirror Lake camp.

Moreover, these defeated soldiers were mercenaries and civilians who had been summoned by the emergency conscription order.

They were completely a motley crew.

Under such circumstances, even Vera, who did not have any military common sense, began to panic. She hurriedly found Colin to discuss countermeasures.

Colin sighed and made one last effort. “It’s still not too late to abandon those defeated soldiers now. We can take the cavalry and leave.”

“Isn’t there a better way?” Vera was still unwilling to give up.

In Colin’s opinion, this female mage’s kindness was somewhat misplaced. He could only persuade her again:

“I know you don’t want to abandon them, but even if we stay, we won’t be able to save them. We’ll only lose our lives.”

Vera did not speak, but her eyes were still stubborn.

Colin could only turn to look at Bliss, hoping that this battle-seasoned knight would be a little more rational.

However, Bliss’s eyes were filled with determination. “I was the one who dragged these people into this battlefield, and I’ve already abandoned them once. I don’t want to abandon them a second time.”

Only then did Colin realize that Bliss had not agreed to accept the defeated soldiers because of Vera’s orders. Instead, it was because he felt guilty.

Although in Colin’s opinion, he was merely acting under the orders of the marquis. It was not his fault.

Looking at the determined-looking Knight Bliss, Colin sighed in his heart.

He was very clear that once a person with a firm will like Bliss made up his mind, it would be very difficult for him to be convinced by others.

However, Knight Bliss also knew very well that this time, it was really a disaster. Therefore, he looked straight into Colin’s eyes and earnestly requested,

“Knight Colin, I hope that you can take Miss Vera and leave first…”

“No! I’m not leaving!” Vera immediately refused.

“Miss Vera…”

“I’m not leaving! These are my people, I have the responsibility to protect them!”

The atmosphere suddenly became emotional…

Colin only felt a headache, as if he was watching a melodramatic TV series.

However, Vera’s desperate words of “my people” startled him.

Because those who had the right to say such words must be members of the St. Hilde family, and they had to be direct descendants.

But the Duke of St. Hilde did not have a daughter.

Could she be an illegitimate daughter?

That was not right.

Colin thought again. Although the noble laws of this world were very similar to Earth’s medieval times, there were still differences. In this world, illegitimate children, especially daughters, absolutely had no right to inheritance.

The nobles here were particularly stubborn about the purity of their bloodline.

Even if all the direct descendants died, the nobles would rather choose an heir from the collateral line of the family than pass the title to an illegitimate child.

Therefore, even if Vera was really the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of the Northern Territory, she was not qualified to say such words as “my people”.

Just as Colin was questioning Vera’s true identity, the argument between the two opposite parties had also subsided.

Unsurprisingly, Bliss failed to persuade Vera to leave first.

Although she could be slightly naive and dull, this female mage had indeed shown admirable courage.

The tent fell into silence.

After a long while, Bliss suddenly spoke:

“Knight Colin, you should leave this place. I’m sure you’ve heard from Knight Raymond that your father, Baron Angele, died in the battle. You need to go back and inherit the title.”

Colin raised his head and looked at Bliss’s expressionless face. He asked, “Why didn’t you send the news back to Graycastle?”

Bliss hesitated for a moment but still told the truth. “Since the end of last year, the marquis has ordered that all news from the front line be blocked.”

“Why?”

Bliss did not reply, butColin could guess the answer.

It was because from then on, the situation at the front line had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Whether it was to save face or to prevent the people at the rear from wavering, Marquis Charles had a motive to block the news.

However, he might not know that such a move had indirectly killed Colin’s predecessor.

Charles St. Hilde.

Colin had already secretly put this name on the blacklist.

“Knight Colin, you’d better return to Graycastle first. They need you there…” It was obviously the first time Vera had heard this news. She immediately felt sympathy for Colin and wanted to persuade him to leave first.

However, Colin put on an impassioned attitude and righteously refused:

“I won’t leave either! Whether it’s to avenge my father or to protect the glory of the human race, I must stay and fight to the death with the trolls!”

Of course, Colin would not leave at this time.

However, it was not because of those noble reasons, but because he did not want to waste the blood of a high-ranking knight and mage.

“Colin…” Vera’s beautiful big eyes were shining, “You’re a real knight!”

Even Bliss was moved as if he suddenly looked at Colin in a new light.

The three of them looked at each other for a long time, and the tent was filled with the atmosphere of a generous death.

Unfortunately, Vera and Bliss did not know that Colin was already considering which posture he should use to pretend to be dead.

When the three of them gradually calmed down, they finally began to discuss countermeasures.

Since they had already clearly defined the principle of not giving up, with so many burdens, it was certain that they would be caught up by the wolf cavalry.

A battle was inevitable.

Bliss first began to explain his battle plan, where to meet the enemy, how to build a simple defense, how to coordinate the cavalry with the infantrymen, and so on.

Vera listened very attentively.

As for how much this female mage who lacked military common sense actually understood, only God knew.

Colin listened absent-mindedly as he was thinking about something else.

“Knight Colin, Knight Colin?”

“What?” Colin came back to his senses and saw that the two people opposite him were staring at him.

“Do you have any objections to this battle plan?”

Colin did not answer this question. Instead, he deliberated and said, “Sorry, I was distracted just now. I thought that perhaps, we might be able to avoid this battle.”

“Really? How?” Vera asked hopefully.

She did not want to be a martyr unless it was absolutely necessary.

Moreover, the successful breakthrough before had given her confidence. It made her feel that Colin might be able to create another miracle.

Colin calmly drew a simple map on the ground with his horsewhip, and then gently tapped on a bend in the river:

“We’ll hide here!”