Chapter 197: The Chaotic Warfare of Olm Fortress and Baron Burke’s True Purpose (Part 3)

Chapter 197: The Chaotic Warfare of Olm Fortress and Baron Burke’s True Purpose (Part 3)

Translator: The Light

Editor: Entelchy

Clyde himself had successfully infiltrated Ord Castle with his younger sister Lucifer and Demon Princess Andrea. Now, there were over 20,000 troops in this castle, and this was the last defensive line blocking Steinbeck Fief’s army. As long as Ord Castle were captured, Olm Fortress would fall into Clyde’s hands. After breaking through Aldington River, this natural barrier, there would be no other natural barriers, and they could immediately march for the center of the Needham Plains to fight a decisive battle against Marquis Charles’s army.

Under the concealment effects of shadow magic, Clyde and the two girls moved unimpeded in Ord Castle. His shadow magic’s concealment far exceeded the stealth skills used by human assassins. Unless a senior priest of the Light Church were present, no one could see through their movements.

Ord Castle was tightly guarded, so Clyde waited until night to start his activities. He wished to negotiate with Norma alone, skipping Baron Burke. Although Ord Castle was rather big, and finding a person was quite troublesome, Clyde quickly located her position with the help of his younger sister Lucifer.

When the trio arrived at the Earl’s residence of Ord Castle, they immediately discovered that something was off. The residence’s original owner had been Earl Winissa, so the guards here should have been Norma’s subordinates. But now, the guards here were the direct subordinates of Baron Burke. This change suggested that things had become complicated.

“Big Brother Clyde, my subordinate Countess just sent me an interesting spiritual transmission. I’ll go to take care of that side. As for this place, I’ll leave it to you and Big Sister Andrea, okay?”

“No problem. Sister Lucifer, you... are you going to receive something?”

“That’s a secret! I will naturally share any good things with my big brother. If I say it now, the mystery will be lost.”

Lucifer showed an evil smile. Then, a bloody mist shrouded her entire body, and she disappeared. Her movement speed was so fast that he almost couldn’t catch her trajectory. He didn’t know whether she had used flying or teleportation magic, so he could only ask her later.

Although there were a lot of soldiers guarding the Earl residence’s entrance, they couldn’t see Clyde under his concealment. Clyde openly entered the temporary Earl residence via the main entrance with Demon Princess Andrea. He didn’t encounter a single blockade as if he were walking through his home.

The environment within was awful as if bandits had ransacked the place. Various objects lay shattered. Saying this place had been looted by bandits was not particularly accurate. In Clyde’s view, the scene more implied that someone had searched the house to attempt to confiscate certain possessions. A lot of gold coins lay scattered all around. If the place had been looted, the ground would have been much cleaner. Many valuables had been left behind.

Clyde ventured deep into the esidence and finally found Baron Burke in Earl Winissa’s bedroom. Baron Burke had short hair and regular features. However, his gentleman look was ruined by the wretched and obscene light within his black eyes. His typical profligate son expression seemed to beg for a beating.

Earl Winissa’s bedroom was very messy. A lot of clothes and other daily articles had been turned inside out and abandoned on the bedroom carpet. The wardrobe’s doors had been forced open, and a quick glanced confirmed that the clothes inside were in a complete mess. On the ground, Clyde saw many elegant undergarments. Judging from their sizes, Clyde guessed that their owner was Winissa. After all, not long ago, he had personally measured Winissa’s entire body.

Housekeeper Norma, Winissa’s close girlfriend, was on the bedroom’s big bed of Earl Winissa’s bedroom. She was a standard straight, black-haired beauty with a pair of blue eyes. Now, she had a look of shame and resentment. Her outfit had been stripped, and she wore only thin black undergarments. That last layer barely covered her key parts, leaving her with a last hint of dignity. At least, Norma had chosen a comparatively conservative style, so the fabric was not particularly transparent and covered many things.

In addition to Norma were several beautiful women. Like Norma, they only wore thin, rather conservative, black or white undergarments. They hung from ropes in “人” standing postures with cloth balls stuffed into their mouths. Their faces were filled with embarrassment and restlessness. They didn’t know what would happen next.

These captured women were Earl Winissa’s aces and senior battle magicians responsible for commanding the magic attack unit. Earl Winissa was quite prudent when choosing her commanders; she only trusted female officers. These few were all the senior commanders of the magic attack unit. They had all been caught in Baron Burke’s scheme with one fell swoop. Norma herself was a civil officer lacking combat power. Like Princess Saras beside Clyde, she was a only a strategic commander. She relied on these magic attack unit commanders to act as her bodyguards. Since these commanders had lost their combat power, she had no ability to defend herself.

“Awesome! It’s a pity that Earl Winissa is not here. Otherwise!”

“Burke, you bastard! You actually betrayed Earl Winissa! Release me, Earl Winissa...”

“What betrayal? Earl Winissa is already dead. I, however, helped you deal with Steinbeck Fief’s army. Is this your attitude toward your benefactor?”

Baron Burke showed a gentlemanly smile while sniffing a black triangular cloth, ignoring Norma’s protests. He actually dared to do this in front of a group of women. Clyde, who was similarly a gentleman, couldn’t look at him. This fellow’s taste was too low. This cloth’s owner belonged to him, so he could smell the source whenever he wanted. He didn’t need to do such an indescribably perverted thing to a piece of fabric like Baron Burke did. Demon Princess Andrea, who had accompanied him, took the initiative to walk out of the bedroom and act as a lookout. She didn’t want to participate in a battle between two gentlemen. Now, she had to admit that the Human Race was far eviler than the Demon Race in some aspects. At least, she, a Demon Princess, admitted that she was inferior.

Compared to the Human Race, the Demon Race was more bold and open. But in terms of dirty tricks, they were not comparable. The Demon Race was straightforward and didn’t like to play tricks, unlike the Human Race. In this regard, many demons had learned from humans. For example, the Demon Race hadn’t originally worn undergarments before they were introduced by the Human Race.

Listening to the argument between Norma and Baron Burke, Clyde gained a general understanding of what had happened. After destroying Steinbeck Fief’s army, Baron Burke won Housekeeper Norma’s trust and successfully entered Earl Winissa’s temporary residence. Afterward, he initiated a coup that he had carefully concocted for a long time. He had previously investigated the magic defense unit and found a way to neutralize them without Norma being any the wiser. Activating the fire series super forbidden magic spell “Heavenly Fire Burn City” required a large amount of magic power, so the members of the magic attack unit had exhausted themselves, entering a weakened state. This had allowed Baron Burke to successfully launch a coup. Cooperating against Steinbeck Fief had been a pretense. From the very beginning, this fellow’s sole target had been Earl Winissa’s peerage.

Clyde’s side just happened to have an Undead army that had acted as cannon fodder. Otherwise, Heavenly Fire Burn City might have truly bankrupted him and killed most of his human troops. Baron Burke had also deceived Viscount Carlisle to a certain extent. This fellow had already long reached a secret agreement with Marquis Charles since he only wanted to replace Earl Winissa. Marquis Charles was not at ease with a female Earl among his subordinates because he doubted a woman’s ability to manage political affairs. In the past, he had taken consideration of his old friend’s face and reluctantly recognized Earl Winissa’s position after the former Earl Winger’s sons had refused to dive into this awful mess.

“Norma, don’t be a person who cannot tell good from bad. Where did you conceal Winissa’s Earl seal? If you don’t speak, don’t blame me for being rude!”

“What seal? I don’t know anything. Anyway, it is not something you can touch!”

“Marquis Charles has already tacitly consented. Your master, Earl Winissa, has been missing for a long time. Hand over the Earl’s seal, and you will maybe be able to keep your former post.”

“Impossible, Winissa is not... not my boss! She is my best friend!”