Chapter 33.1

Winterfell camp, inside the command tent.

For the Winterfell army with its strong cavalry, doing battle on the plains was the easiest thing. Even if they didn’t know how at first, after dealing with Count Altair ridiculously declaring war all the time, it was bound to become second nature for them.

Some knights murmured as they sat at the meeting round table.

“Actually, I think they can only march through this route to get to us.”

“If it was me, I would talk to another lord and at least borrow their roads.”

“Unfortunately for him, all the neighboring lords are our allies…”

“Then, he shouldn’t have thought of coming to attack us in the first place!”

No one could say whether Altair thought coming to battle with them was a worthwhile thing to do, or whether he was just doing so out of some silly sense of pride. Whatever it was, it didn’t change the fact that he was stupid.

The enemy commander being an outright idiot had both its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that gaining victory over them could not be any easier. As for the downside…..

‘Fighting against that fool just makes me feel so embarrassed.”

Looking at the map that was spread out atop the round table, Glenn took in a shallow breath. One could say that their only hindrance was the terrain and the strong fortress of the Altair territory. But always having to blame external factors for failing to conquer the enemy territory felt just as shameful as if they had lost to a foolish enemy.

Each time, the Winterfell troops would win swift, painless victory.

And yet, every single one of those times, the front gates of Vallon castle was as far as they could go.

Seeing that name written at the top of the map felt exceedingly hateful.

Of course, it was possible that they could overthrow the castle if they stayed put and sieged it for a few months. Even if it meant that all the labor that had gone into this year’s farming would be wasted. The problem was that even if they laid siege to Vallon, at the cost of major economic loss, there was no guarantee that they would win.

It might just end up becoming a huge blunder, with their time and money vanishing into thin air.

So the only thing to do was follow the solution left behind by the previous clan heads, and for a quick and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. If they hit the Vallon forces hard enough and dragged them through the mud, it would buy them some quiet time for a few years.

Giscard, the knights’ commander, asked Glenn,

“My lord, do you plan to withdraw the troops?”

“……”

“If you really want to, then we should lay siege to the castle. The Count’s forces have just taken a beating, and it will take some time for them to recover their strength.”

“Retreat….”

In fact, quickly returning home would be the right thing to do. In any case, since they couldn’t capture Vallon, there was no need to waste lives and time in vain.

However, while that was true, leaving that long-time pain in the neck behind and returning home did not sound pleasing at all. Ah, his father and ancestors must have felt this way too.

‘I can’t put the lives of the soldiers on the line when the chances of failing are so high. I have to put reason before emotion.”

It was best to stop here and go back. Glenn pacified his roiling heart, and turned to order the withdrawal of the troops.

It was at that moment that a racket started outside the tent.

“Oh, oh no…..! You can’t go there. You really can’t….!”

“The, the commanders are in the middle of a meeting! Please wait just a few moments more!”

“Stop them, stop them!”

What on earth? Glenn and the knights all turned their gazes towards the entrance. The commotion was coming even closer to the tent.

All the leaders had gathered in the tent to discuss whether to stay or withdraw. So there was no one outside with enough authority to dare cause an uproar?

Had the guards gone and gotten drunk? There was no other way someone in their right mind would do such a thing.

As everyone inside the tent walked towards the entrance, each of them on high alert, Glenn spoke.

“Could something have happened?”

Almost as soon as Glenn reached the entrance, the flap of the tent was pushed back. A slender woman walked in with surefooted steps.

She walked in so confidently, one would not think that she had just interrupted the commanders’ meeting.

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“…..Nadia?”

She had on a tattered robe, but he was sure it was Nadia.

After identifying, Glenn was stunned speechless. A person who had no reason to be here was suddenly before him.