Chapter 67: One-eyed Knight

Chapter 67: One-eyed Knight

One-eyed Knight

Lord Lansius had made his intention clear to counterattack and seize Korimor, causing cold sweat to form on Hugo’s back.

“My Lord, I’m with you, but is this even possible?” asked the deputy.

Lansius looked him in the eye and asked, “Do you think we can’t make it?”

“We don’t even have two hundred men to spare. That’s hardly enough for a siege.” Hugo recalled the report on the troops they had left.

Out of 400 core troops, 150 were either dead, wounded, or too shaken to fight. To maintain order and keep hostages in Korelia, they needed at least another 150 men. This meant there were only 100 left for the campaign to take Korimor.

“Go on, let us know your full thoughts about this.” Lansius encouraged his deputy to speak.

Hugo took a deep breath to calm himself down. “With fewer than two hundred, I even doubt that I can take a small castle like Korelia. Korimor has a better defense. It survived siege attempts multiple times... Maybe if it’s only a raid.”

Ignoring his suggestion, Lansius asked, “So, you agreed that this is impossible?”

The Lord’s reaction paused Hugo; he mulled for a while before declaring, “Yes, it’s impossible with just a small force.”

Lord Lansius, straightened his posture and gazed at Sir Harold, who simply nodded and said, “I’ve never heard of someone bringing fewer than three-hundred men to siege a castle and winning.”

“The rule is to bring three to five times the size of the garrison,” added Hugo.

Lansius gave another look at the provincial map on the table. Its yellowing surface and fading ink couldn’t hide its artful nature; however, it held little credible information. Just the general placements and borders of baronies, viscountcies—some even outdated.

“I’ve sent Audrey to meet with the surrendering Nicopolans. We’ll have the defender numbers soon.”

Hugo was surprised that Lansius was adamant about besieging Korimor. “My Lord, even if they only have the smallest number of defenders, say a hundred, we need at least five-hundred.”

“Oh, we can’t do that,” Lansius dismissed. “We don’t have the food to support five-hundred in a siege.”

The mention of food led Hugo to a conclusion. “You want to starve Korimor out?”

Lansius shook his head. “No, we likely have less food than them.”

Hugo chuckled. None of this made sense. “Then, My Lord, how do you plan to win?”

Lansius smiled, “I still have the Nomad tribes’ assistance.”

“But they’re still hunting for the remnants, and at most, they probably can provide only fifty horsemen.”

“We also have reinforcements from Lord Robert,” replied Lansius lightly.

Hugo was stunned. “Repurposing a relief force to a siege? Would they even consent to that?”

“Well, if they don’t want to, then we’ll make do with what we’ve got,” the Lord said with a shrug.

Hugo furrowed his brows. He knew Lansius had a plan, but he couldn’t even guess a glimpse of it, which bothered him greatly. “Then, My Lord, please enlighten me if you wish for me to lead the siege.”

Lansius was amused. “Besieging a castle isn’t all about the number of men and how much food you have.”

His words sent Hugo and Sir Harold into deep thought.

Lansius continued, “We have the element of surprise. No one expects us in Korimor. We likely only need to be intimidating.”

“Intimidating?” Hugo mulled over the words.

“Indeed. We don’t need to assault the castle. We just need to appear large enough to intimidate,” Lansius explained.

The Lord’s brief and enigmatic words hardly instilled confidence, but that was intentional. From the start, Lansius realized he wasn’t all-knowing, and there was no guarantee that his plan was the best. Thus, he conditioned his retainers to think critically, hoping they might come up with a better strategy or pinpoint a weakness in his own.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the stairs, and Margo, the pageboy, entered. “My Lord, I beg your pardon, but the guards report seeing cavalry to the east.”

“Ha!” exclaimed Sir Harold, who then bolted towards the stairs.

“They’re late,” remarked Lansius, exhaling in relief.

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White Lake Viscountcy

Michael had been the favorite of the White Lake nobility since he was a boy. Through his family’s standing, perseverance, and intellectual prowess, he had won the hearts of influential men and women. However, his once-stellar reputation was no more.

Last year, as the Marshal, he lost the war against Lansius’ much smaller force. In the aftermath, he was captured and lost an eye. Despite having Lord Robert on his side, that alone couldn’t save him from the wrath of the other members of the court.

Many noble families were losing or ransoming their husbands, sons, or other relatives in the war. They blamed Michael, and Lord Robert was powerless to intervene at that time. Consequently, the ex-Marshal was removed from the court and disgraced.

As such, the promise of betrothal to Robert’s daughter was also called off. Many thought that was the end of him.

Since then, a year had passed.

While Lord Robert’s influence and power had waned after losing the war, his House was still influential with a functioning administration. Lansius’ generous capitulation terms allowed Robert to hold on to his seat of power.

The White Lake region had a yearly income of around 800 gold coins. As agreed upon his capitulation, Robert had agreed to send the requested goods and silver, equivalent to 500 gold coins, to Lansius.

White Lake Relief Force

“Riders ahead,” warned the scout who had just returned from the front.

“I see them,” Michael replied after squinting his eye. They had been fully armored since that morning, fearing that the Coalition might have subjugated Korelia town.

Their assumption seemed to be correct. Lansius was unlikely to send riders to intercept when his opponent was on the other side. Meaning, the riders approaching him were Lansius’ opponents.

“Draw them in, I want to trap them between cavalry and infantry,” Michael declared.

“Horsemen ready!” The lieutenant commanded.

Leaving their infantry to prepare their lines behind, Michael led the cavalry forward. He wasn’t disillusioned and aimed only to steal a small skirmish victory while hopefully capturing a man or two for interrogation.

Forty cavalry in shining armor galloped through the grassy plains. Michael counted twelve horsemen in armor from the opposing force.

Upon closer inspection, however, their opponent was raising a Blue and Bronze banner and rode calmly.

Intrigued by this, Michael slowed down his horse to a trot, and his cavalry followed.

“Blue and Bronze chevron, isn’t that the Lord of Korelia’s banner?” his lieutenant asked as they slowed down.

“It seems like it,” Michael commented.

“Impressive, they still have the town under control. Lord Lansius must’ve pulled out some incredible defense,” said another knight in his service.

“Let’s meet up and ask. If they still have the town, then it’ll be a blessing for our reinforcement.” Michael spurred his horse forward.

After trotting a distance under the Korelia summer sun, they met up with the opposing side. A knight rose his right palm and addressed them, “Hail, I am Harold, a knight of House Lansius. To whom am I speaking?”

Lifting his helmet visor, Michael replied, “I am Michael from White Lake; we’re bringing reinforcements.”

“Ah, welcome to Korelia. Let us set up a place so you and your men can rest for today.”

Harold’s calm words, without any hint of urgency, aroused suspicion. “Rest? What about the siege?” Michael blurted out.

The tall knight in dashing armor chuckled. “Don’t worry about it.”

The tone made Michael uneasy. “What do you mean?”

“You’re late by a day. The battle happened yesterday,” the knight explained.

Thinking that the sun was still up and there was a chance of another battle, Michael spoke, “Then we must hurry.”

Harold chuckled. “There’s no need. Korelia has already won.”

Michael’s eye opened wide while his knights looked at each other.

“The Lord of Korelia won the war?” asked Michael carefully.

“Indeed. We’ve won. Korelia is free; the siege has been lifted,” Sir Harold laughed as he spoke.

Harold’s confirmation stunned Robert’s Knights. They couldn’t believe what they had heard.

“Korelia won in just one day?” Michael asked again, this time fully amused by this absurdity.

“Against how many?” one of Michael’s knights asked.

“Six-thousand,” answered Harold proudly.

Michael and his men were astounded. They shook their heads and chuckled, unable to believe what they had heard.

“Come, you’ll see for yourself,” invited Sir Harold as he turned his horse around and trotted with his escorts towards Korelia town.

“What should we do? Do we trust him?” asked his lieutenant, still harboring doubts.

“Get me a runner,” Michael commanded. To prevent a possible elaborate trap, he sent a runner to warn his infantry. He feared a trap might be aimed at his supply train.

“What do we do if Korelia is already freed?” his lieutenant asked as they went.

“Aside from joining the celebration and feast?” quipped Michael.

The man chuckled. “I’ll be more than happy to entertain such a thought.”

“If this is really true, then Lord Lansius is truly a frightening man...” Michael looked left and right, for signs of trouble but found none. Instead, he saw shepherds and their flocks grazing lazily beside the northern riverbank.

Sensing no hostility at all, his lieutenant commented, “I see nothing suspicious. The shepherds acted calmly and there was no glittering of swords or armor from anywhere.”

"Then the Lord of Korelia is indeed a rising star," said Michael without hesitation. "To triumph over such numbers in a single day... I would be more than willing to pledge myself to his cause."

Little did he know that his support, stemming from a blend of respect and uncertainty about his future role after his current appointment, would be the final missing piece in the puzzle that would reshape the fate of Lowlandia.

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