Chapter 240: ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????? (1)

Chapter 240: Season of the Return of the Dead (1)

Johan listened with such an intense expression that the Baron was rather taken aback instead.

“Your excellency. The mercenaries are just babbling nonsense because they are drunk. . .”

“Ah. I’m listening while taking that into account. So you mean they sent someone?”

“According to the story, it seemed like that. So I thought we should confirm the facts before punishing them. . .”

The Baron hesitated. In fact, he had hesitated even as he was speaking.

It was ridiculous in itself that a nobleman was seriously talking about the drunken babbling of mercenaries. It was more likely that the mercenaries had not sent anyone rather than sending someone.

Besides, it was unlikely that the Emperor would approve of the request from such a rude group of mercenaries.

So although he spoke, he hesitated for fear of ridicule. But to his surprise, the young Count listened seriously. No, he showed a reaction that exceeded expectations.

“Baron. That was very well done. As expected, the Baron has discerning eyes. Not everyone can notice something like that in a caught situation.”

“Is that so?”

No one disliked being praised. The Baron was no exception. Especially when the compliment came from the renowned Johan.

‘Is he mocking him?’

The Elf King thought Johan was mocking the Baron for praising him too much. To the Elf King’s eyes, the Baron didn’t seem to have done anything particularly well. He had just been stupidly caught by the mercenaries. . . n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

However, Johan was sincerely praising him in his own way. Ulrike nodded along, matching Johan’s actions.

‘You’re doing well.’

The Baron needed some encouragement. Not only because of the hardship he went through, but to genuinely gain his cooperation for future events.

People moved not only by gains and losses, but also by emotions. And Johan was clearly good at touching on this aspect. Wasn’t he getting along well with that Elf King?

“Then let’s interrogate those mercenaries.”

“Ah. Wouldn’t it be better to order my men to do it?”

“No. I will do it myself.”

Hearing that Johan would take care of it personally, the Baron felt bad and didn’t know what to do. If the mercenaries said ‘What? We were just babbling nonsense while drunk’ to the Count, Baron would lose all face.

Of course, Johan didn’t care much. Johan didn’t care about saving face in situations like this.

‘You can’t avoid some fruitless efforts in life.’

He didn’t have the temperament to say ‘How dare you! You made me do fruitless work!’ just because there was some fruitless effort.

“Gerdolf. Would you help with the work?”

As Gerdolf had been busy attending to Suetlg, his opportunities to participate in combat had decreased. When an opportunity came up to show his skills after so long, Gerdolf smiled sinisterly and nodded.

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Johan washed his hands with water from the wooden barrel. There was no blood on them in particular. As soon as Johan and Gerdolf entered, the mercenaries tried their best to spill everything they knew.

“They really sent someone.”

“The emperor will. . .”

“Won’t he send someone?”

“Hmm.”

Suetlg could not deny Johan’s words. It was a fifty-fifty question, and any result would not be surprising. At times like this, it seemed good to believe in Count Johan’s intuition. His intuition was sometimes sharper than a demon’s.

“Suppose the emperor endures all the insults he hears from others and the rumors that he is in cahoots with the gang of thieves, and sends someone. Then, wouldn’t they just not come?”

“I think they’ll bring escorts.”

Johan nodded at Iselia’s interjection. The mercenaries were not very reliable. Even if the emperor sent someone, he would not just send a mere envoy.

‘Hmm. . .’

Johan fell into thought. All the things he had heard and experienced about the emperor so far. Putting all of that together and imagining himself as the emperor.

If he were the emperor, how would he have acted?

“By any chance, what do you think about killing all the mercenaries and seizing the castle?”

“. . .What? No, that’s. . .”

Suetlg was bewildered by Johan’s sudden words. It was something he had never imagined.

“It’s not easy to save mercenaries like them, so is there really a need to discard them? Besides, if the rumor spreads wrongly, other mercenaries may also become afraid.”

“But if you kill the mercenaries, you don’t have to pay the back pay you owed them.”

When sending someone, the mercenaries had requested the emperor to pay their overdue wages in return for their loyalty. At first glance, it seemed like an absurd demand, but the mercenaries were thorough about this kind of thing.

But one’s skills could not be concealed.

If an imposter was sent only to be defeated, it would impact the emperor’s faction as a whole. While an individual’s loss, such things tended to spread through rumor and superstition.

Hence the rumors that Sir Karamaf had fallen ill, been cursed, and shut himself away. . .

Yet now this?

“Do you think they underestimated the mercenaries?”

“I doubt it. The mercenaries were caught off guard, but they were an elite force. While deception may have gotten them through the castle gate, once inside they would have to cross swords. No way around it. . .”

“You make a fair point.”

They discussed but reached no conclusion. Regardless, they agreed on one thing:

━Do not let your guard down. Be vigilant.

Anyone sent with such fanfare must be confident in their skills.

“But looking at the current situation, it seems likely they will retreat without achieving anything. Should we not inform the elf king?”

“We shall tell him later.”

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“The mercenaries were subjugated?! Those *ssholes?! What the hell did they do?! It would have been a fort that lasted a year if they had just closed the gates and held on!”

The emperor faction’s army, after hearing the news from the surrounding villages, was at a loss for words.

The Severed Gallows Mercenary Group were greedy and rough people, but not idiots. And yet, to be subjugated like that from a fort like this.

It was simply unbelievable.

“What about the baron?!”

“We hear he is safe inside.”

“This goddamn. . .!”

One of the knights seemed angry as he stamped his foot. Most of the knights here were either newly noble or mercenary backgrounds. They retained more of their usual habits than preserving the honor and dignity of knighthood.

They had to kill the mercenaries and capture the fort to receive a reward from the emperor, but that had gone wrong from the very start.

“Let’s attack! How many troops could the baron possibly have?!”

“You little punk. Shut your mouth. Do you even know how solid this fort is? We couldn’t take it even if we had a hundred able warriors!”

“Then why were the mercenaries able to take it? If it was possible for them, it should be possible for us too, right?”

The young knight’s words hit the mark precisely. That was certainly true. As the knights quarreled among themselves with nothing to say, someone spoke up.

“What is Lord Karamaf doing? Shouldn’t he be giving orders?”

On paper, Lord Karamaf was the leader of this envoy party, but he did not show himself easily. He would emerge from his tent occasionally and say a few words.

As a result, it was Lindemann giving orders to the envoy party. A noble serving as an administrative official and envoy of the emperor.

While his status and qualifications were sufficient, subduing these rough warriors required not just lineage but also brute force. Continued friction was inevitable.

“His lordship is resting. I will give orders in his place, so swear allegiance to me!”

“We are not swearing allegiance! If you want our allegiance, give decent orders!”

“Shut that mouth! Before I report to his lordship!”

Karamaf’s name was enough to silence even the unruly knights. Satisfied with that effect, Lindemann continued.

“Since we’ve come this far, we can’t just leave empty-handed. I know that too.”

First they had to get those sturdy gates opened in order to do anything. Lindemann sent word to the baron.

To comfort him for the great loss caused by the mercenaries, and say that they had come to help but were quite embarrassed for things to end like this. His party was very tired and weary, so could they not come inside the fort to rest. . .

If they were lucky, there could be unexpected results.

However, there was something Lindemann did not know.

The baron was in an extremely foul mood from being backstabbed by the mercenaries.

Lindemann’s attendant returned with all his fur standing on end and his clothes stripped off. He had to recite insulting poems about the emperor’s lover before he was allowed to return.

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Translation-(COMPLETED) – How to Live as a Wandering Knight

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