CH 210

“Hmm.”

Count Winslon stood on a high wall and looked down with a somber gaze. He was wearing his family’s armor for the first in a long time. A huge encampment was located beneath walls with nearly three thousand troops swarming about like ants. Dozens of flags could be spotted hanging all over the place as well.

There were as many as six nobles with titles granted by royalty, and there were over twenty nobles, including the minor lords. This was the noble union’s army. The huge gathering of troops could surely compete against the army of the royalists. In fact, until only a few days ago, Count Winslon believed that the noble union could win.

However, his optimism about a victory quickly subsided after news spread that a large number of elite soldiers from the northern border had joined the enemy’s army. The soldiers of the noble union were experienced in evil land subjugations and territorial disputes, but they could never compare to soldiers from the border who experienced war every day. There was bound to be a qualitative difference between the two forces.

“Trust our knights, my lord.”

“Well, of course, Sir Rhymesler. I feel reassured thanks to you, sir,” Count Winslon responded to the words of the knight. Sir Rhymesler was the captain of a knight order Count Winslon had personally sponsored.

However, his thoughts were contradictory to his words. The knight order had been organized partly to flaunt his power to the neighboring lords, not to participate and effectively fight in an actual war. There was no doubt about the individual skills of the knights, but a small territorial dispute was completely different from a real war with thousands of participating troops. In a situation like this, one hundred well-organized mercenaries would prove much more useful than ten excellent knights.

“Your Excellency! Your Excellency Winslon!” A few nobles came up to the wall while shouting with excited expressions.

“Hmm.” Count Winslon could not easily relax his expression. He couldn’t imagine how they were planning to bother him today. The nobles were rather removed from their sense of reality, perhaps because they were too absorbed in the stories of old heroes, or it could be because of the long period of peace. This was especially true of nobles belonging to prestigious families. It was apparent that they considered war as a simple game, likely due to their confidence that their status would be preserved even in defeat. However, what they didn’t know was that they would be robbed of their titles and land, then thrown out onto the streets to become food for roamers.

However, regardless of how he truly felt, Count Winslon forced a smile. In the end, all of them were valuable allies who had gathered under the banner of the Winslon family.

“Yes. What brings all of you here in such a hurry, sirs?” Count Winslon asked them.

“We have troops from the City of Maren. Maren has sent reinforcements to help our union and Your Excellency!” one of the nobles answered excitedly.

“Ohhh…?!” Count Winslon’s expression brightened at once. He recalled the face of a certain knight based in Maren. However, he became rather disappointed when he briefly stared at the face of the reinforcements’ captain. The knight possessed a reliable physique and radiated powerful energy, but Count Winslon was unfamiliar with him.

“Nice to meet you, Your Excellency. I am…”

However, Count Winslon’s disappointment soon disappeared after the knight finished his introduction.

Count Winslon asked, “The Duke of Batla? Sir, are you truly a knight of Duke Jan Eugene Batla?”

The count was greatly surprised. He was even more surprised that the commander of the reinforcement army was Eugene’s knight compared to the arrival of eight hundred skilled mercenaries and enough supplies to last at least two thousand people for a month.

The commander of Maren’s mercenaries was none other than Edmund.

“That is correct. His Excellency the Duke gave me orders to warn the count of the royalists’ ploy and to join forces with the noble union,” Edmund responded.

“Ploy? What do you mean by that?” Count Winslon asked.

“You probably already know that the king had sent a large force to attack Maren,” Edmund answered.

“Well, yes. That’s why I was a little worried that you are here, sir,” Count Winslon said.

Edmund was slightly moved by Count Winslon’s words. Indeed, it was just as he had heard from Eugene and Lanslo. Count Winslon was truly a noble man of honor and faith.

“You are truly honorable and faithful, as I heard from His Excellency the Duke. However, you don’t have to worry. The Ashen Knights came after Maren, but they were annihilated by the duke,” Edmund said.

“T-The Ashen Knights? Annihilated, you said?!” Count Winslon exclaimed with surprise. The nobles around him also buzzed with excitement.

“Ashen? Aren’t they the notorious bunch?”

“That’s right. They were led by the king’s infantry captain. I have heard that they had performed all sorts of wicked deeds near the capital. Annihilated…”

Although he hadn’t participated in the actual battle, as he had to stay behind and guard the city, Edmund still nodded with pride after hearing the astonished gasps and whispers of the nobles.

“That’s right. It was a group of cavalries led by the king’s infantry captain, Cody Jenas. There were five hundred additional troops as well, including mercenaries. His Excellency the Duke and his knights wiped them all out.”

Oooh!!!

The nobles exclaimed at the news of the unexpected victory. However, a number of them exchanged glances with sullen expressions, though they had smiles on their lips.

Edmund felt bitter. He knew the reason behind their reaction.

‘As expected, it was an excellent choice that His Excellency did not come.’

The noble union had yet to even engage in a battle against the king’s army, but Eugene had already made an unexpected appearance and obtained a great achievement. Some of the nobles couldn’t simply accept it with joy.

Judging by Eugene’s character, something would have definitely broken out if he had come here personally, which would have soured the atmosphere of the noble union.

“Your Excellency, and many sirs…” Edmund called out in a stiff voice.

The eyes of the delighted nobles gathered toward Edmund.

Edmund continued, “His Excellency has obtained a piece of information from annihilating the Ashen Knights.”

“Hmm. Do tell,” Count Winslon said with grave eyes. He instinctively noticed that the information would be related to the ploy Edmund had mentioned earlier.

“The king and the cardinal had no intention of actually taking Maren. The Ashen Knights were simply a bait to turn the attention of the noble union to Maren,” Edmund explained.

“What?!”

“No, what do you mean by that?”

The nobles were shocked, and Edmund continued while sweeping his gaze at the nobles, "As you all know, the Ashen Knights were led by the king’s infantry captain. So, many people considered them to be the mainstay of the royalists. And such a group had departed toward Maren.”

“Huh! So if they had succeeded in taking Maren, it would have been good, but even if they failed and only managed to buy time, it still would have garnered our attention?” Count Winslon commented. He truly had a sharp judgment befitting a great lord of a huge territory.

“That is correct,” Edmund replied.

“Then, while our attention is on the Ashen Knights, the king’s main force…” Count Winslon muttered.

“That’s correct. His Excellency the Duke expects that they are headed here. I am here to warn everyone and to assist the noble union,” Edmund said.

“…!” The eyes of the nobles quivered with shock, but it was only for a moment.

“Those vile, dishonorable men! Do they really think we will falter in fear?”

“Sirs! Let’s teach them a lesson! There’s no way we couldn’t do something that Maren had succeeded in doing!”

“That’s right!”

Several nobles raised their voices, and the rest of the nobles voiced their agreement with indignation. Everyone was quite agitated, as if they would run out and charge at the enemy immediately. They were certainly in high spirits.

However, Count Winslon spoke in a somber voice, “Sirs! Inspect your troops right away and prepare to depart! We must show those dishonorable bunch that their trickery hasn’t bamboozled us!”

“As the high lord commands!” the nobles exclaimed.

Edmund was impressed by Count Winslon. The man certainly had the ability to act on the nobles’ wrath and use it as a catalyst. After successfully unifying the nobles in an instant, the count turned his stern gaze toward Edmund.

“Sir. I am deeply grateful to Lord Eugene and Maren for their great kindness. I, Winslon, never forgets any grace and enmity,” Count Winslon said.

Edmund responded, “Your Excellency’s sincerity, I will certainly relay it to His Excellency the Duke. For the time being, I will do my best as an honorable sword of the noble union, so please use me as you wish.”

“Hahaha! Just what I expect from Lord Eugene’s knight! I will treat you well and make good use of you, sir!” Count Winslon said joyously. He was genuinely pleased. In addition, he felt an even greater liking for Eugene after he had sent him such a humble, honest and trustworthy knight.

‘My eyes weren’t wrong. Not only did he obtain the Batla Duchy, he even acquired such a rare talent. I will make sure to treat Lord Eugene as a valuable pillar of the kingdom.’

Count Winslon came to a decision. However, a sudden curiosity struck him.

“By the way, sir, where is Sir Eugene right now?” Count Winslon asked.

Edmund replied, “Ah, His Excellency is working separately with his knights to figure out the movements of the enemy.”

“Oh! He is still performing his duties as a knight without break, immediately after achieving such a great victory! What a great fortune! Sir Eugene is truly a great fortune for the kingdom. Hahaha!” Count Winslon said while laughing boisterously, unaware of the true intentions of the so-called ‘great fortune.’

***

The capital of the Caylor Kingdom was located a hundred kilometers farther than the Winslon County from Maren. However, while Edmund’s mercenaries traveled on foot, Eugene’s chosen group were knights on horseback. They could not travel as fast as messengers, but it was possible for them to travel more than fifty kilometers each day without expending too much stamina.

Eugene’s entry into the capital had been expected to take around seven days. However, it was slightly delayed due to the presence of numerous territories between Maren and the capital, which was more than Eugene had expected. While the Ashen Knights passed through all the territories without a hitch due to the flag of the royal family they carried, Eugene had to face problems every step of the way.

Such was a case where several knights and 40-50 soldiers blocked the way of nearly eighty knights.

“Stop! You are now entering the land righteously given dominion by His Majesty and god to—”

“Bring me whoever’s in charge,” Eugene said.

“Yes, sir!” Eugene’s knights answered before quickly charging and attacking the troops blocking their way. They had already experienced a similar situation several times.

Naturally, the knights gave consideration to their opponents’ honor and gave Eugene various advice on how to deal with the situation according to custom. However, the patience of the knights quickly grew thin when they came to face the same situation every single day.

“N-no! Those vile men!”

“Sirs, do you have no honor?!”

The knights of Maren snorted in response to the dismayed shouts of the other knights. By now, the knights of Maren didn’t even care about the names of their opponents.

“Hmph! If you knew honor, you would have already sided with the king or with us!”

“You’re just cowards who only know how to hide and test the waters, so how dare you speak of honor?! Come on!”

The knights of Maren were trembling with anger, but they did not cross the line. Those who fled were let go, and the enemy knights and nobles were spared their lives. However, they were slightly roughed up before being dragged in front of Eugene.

“Uahhh… Eef othas fieend oaut hao yoau traeted me…” The nobleman mumbled rather incomprehensibly with tears and a runny nose. His nasal bone was broken, and the area around his mouth was swollen. It was hard to even make out his original appearance.

“So what if others find out? Who are you going to tell? The king? Or the noble union?” Eugene asked.

“…?!” The noble trembled with shock. He couldn’t find even any semblance of honor that any noble should possess with Eugene. Simultaneously, a thought flashed through the nobleman’s mind.

He struggled to open his torn, swollen lips with fear. “A-ah you… The Awshen Knwights? Infwantwy cwaptin…”

“I’ll have to beat him up some more,” Eugene said.

“Heeu?!” The man moaned with a horrified expression.

“What did you call Sir Eugene?”

“Do you really think we’re those lowly, vile weaklings? You haven’t learned your lesson yet, huh?”

“Who cares about honor? A man like you will only come to his senses with a beating!”

The brutal pummeling began once again.

“U-uahhhhhh…!” The nobleman felt wronged. He had no choice but to assume that such a rude, vicious group of horsemen were the Ashen Knights, who were notorious near the capital. Moreover, although they were enraged at being called the Ashen Knights, their current actions couldn’t be called better than the Ashen Knights; it was arguably worse.

“Sir, listen carefully. This is Sir Eugene, the great hero of Maren, the true friend of His Excellency Margrave Archivold, and one who shares the same will with His Excellency Count Winslon,” Madrica announced. He followed Eugene’s orders and remembered to leave out the fact that Eugene was the Duke Batla of Brantia.

“…!” The nobleman became wide-eyed. His swelling had somewhat subsided after consuming the refined mana stone he had received from the knights. He could recall hearing about a knight in the far south who had killed several high-ranking monsters in an evil land and had received great praise from the margrave. Moreover, he could also remember that the same knight had become the champion in all the events of the knight competition hosted by Count Winslon.

‘T-this is trouble! Then I have only one choice…’

The nobleman racked his head in the face of a sudden crisis. However, Eugene spoke with a smirk, “You better not say that you pulled out your blade to fight against injustice, thinking that we were royalists.”

“…!!!” The nobleman’s eyes filled with shock. His inner thoughts had been revealed.

Eugene continued, “How did I know what you were thinking? That’s simple. We’re following back the exact path that the Ashen Knights had taken while coming to Maren from the capital. Sir, while you let the king’s army through, you stopped me. Isn’t the conclusion quite obvious here?”

“No, sir. I-I…” the nobleman stammered. He knew he was done for.

“For your information, I have already encountered eight other nobles similar to yourself. You are the ninth, sir. Oh, and one more thing. I had dealt with all of them the same way,” Eugene said.

“Hiek!” The nobleman shrieked as he wetted his pants. There was only one thing that came to mind. Since he had blocked the path of such cruel, heartless knights, surely there was only one way things were going to end.

However, Eugene gave an unexpected answer. “First, pay us your ransom, gather as many troops as possible, then join forces with Count Winslon.”

“What...?” The noble was startled.

“You know Sir Farain, right?” Eugene asked.

“I-I do…” the nobleman answered.

“Gather your troops and go to Sir Farain. Join him before heading together to the Winslon County,” Eugene stated.

“I-Is that all?” the nobleman asked.

“That’s right. Ah! Of course, you will have to show your sincerity with your ransom. Sincerity. You know what I’m saying, right?” Eugene said with a cold smile.

The noble quickly nodded away. He had a hunch that if he failed to satisfy Eugene with the ransom, a worse fate than the beating he had received for mistakenly calling them the Ashen Knights was awaiting him. In the end, he was finally released after handing over everything he had in person, then stamping a promissory note, promising that he would pay one hundred gold coins.

“Then hurry up,” Eugene said.

“Y-yes! I will never forget your grace!” The noble bowed several times before departing with his troops, save the deceased few.

Prince Localope and Vizak slowly crept up to Eugene and asked, “Sir Eugene. Do you really think that man will join with Sir Farain?”

Eugene responded, “I don’t know about the ransom, but I am certain he will join forces with Baron Farain. Baron Farain is afraid of Maren, so he will head to the Winslon County.”

Baron Farain was the first lord to block Eugene and his knights. However, unlike the others, he had been determined to cooperate with Eugene and Maren from the beginning. As such, Eugene had informed him that troops would be joining him for the next seven to eight days and that he should head to the Winslon County after gathering enough troops.

“Hmm. To think that you would have Sir Edmund lead the main force of Maren to the Winslon County to confuse the royalists while you’re going to attack their rear with the armies of the other nobles! The duke’s strategy is truly remarkable,” Prince Localope exclaimed. He had long been impressed by Eugene’s skills as a knight, and now, he seemed to have completely fallen for Eugene.

However, he was misinterpreting Eugene’s intentions.

‘It’s to attack the rear of the enemy’s army, but it’s also because the noble union will become more chaotic, the more nobles there are.’

His plan involved weakening both the royalists and the noble union with his minor scheme so that no one would interfere with him when he hit the royal castle. However, he had never expected, even in his wildest dreams, that his plan would act as an incredible strategy against the enemy.