395. In one battle
“Have I gone too far?”
The boatman said.
“It’s a whim.”
The boatman answered.
“It was crazy. What is pretty? Did you make it fun? “It was only for a moment.”
The boatman speaks again.
“Wasn’t that ‘something’ to come?”
The boatman asks again.
“Humans are animals of potential and possibility.”
“That’s why I’m arrogant.”
“He will be the same too.”
“You don’t know that, do you? “Just as it was fun, what’s to come can also change, right?”
“If you end up trapped there, that’s the end of it.”
It was a question and answer with no one there to listen.
* * *
Krang held his first strategy meeting in the royal palace’s ballroom. He set up a small platform and placed royal guards around it.
Among them, a group of nobles gathered first.
When people gathered together, words were bound to come out. It was one of those people who had keen ears and heard various rumors.
“I heard that fifty lycanthropes came out in front of the Border Guard. They say Count Molsen is a wizard. How can we know what else will come out of his domain?”
“her.”
“It’s dangerous. “I blocked it, too.”
“It is said that not only the lycanthrope but also the monsters that previously plagued the capital were his work.”
“Is that the end? “It is said that it was the Count’s resourcefulness that led to the accident within the royal palace, led by Viscount Mernes.”
Krang did not control information. Rather, it spread further. So he knew the full story of the incident.
“I also said that we should fight without calling any of the knights outside.”
“Does that make sense? “One of the Knights of the Red Cloak should come right away.”
“… … “It won’t be an unwinnable fight, right?”
Among them, one young noble who received a hereditary title crossed the line and spoke. These words came out unconsciously due to anxiety.
Even though Krang’s side was the only one left, not everyone was of one mind. When anxiety encroaches, your faith is bound to waver.
They were like that now.
It was a group of people from simple nobles to semi-nobles, masters of the capital’s upper ranks, guild masters, etc.
“It’s cruel.”
“Do you not even trust the lord you have chosen?”
When the two nobles who were watching intently reprimanded him, the noble who had spoken first also opened his mouth.
“I don’t think it will work just by blaming. “It’s helpful to look at the situation, read the trends, and make a judgment. If you just blindly believe, shouldn’t you just go to a temple somewhere and pray?”
“Baron Zeppel, what do you want to say?”
To those words, the man called Baron Zeppel immediately responded.
“The idea is to face the situation and do what needs to be done.”
“Is it betrayal?”
The man who spoke seemed ready to swing anything at any moment.
Since the training hall was used as a meeting place, everyone had weapons.
Some of those who were not nobles frowned. Is this okay? I don’t know how long the civil war will last, but is it true that I’m on the same side as these guys?
“Do you want to see blood? “Baron Rudin.”
There was a stiffness in the way we called each other. It wasn’t like they were enemies, but they had experience fighting because they were adjacent territories over a mineral mine in the middle.
We couldn’t get along well.
Apart from their small fight, the anxiety spread further between them.
The closer the nobles were to Count Molsen’s territory, the stronger this tendency was.
What will happen to my territory if a group of monsters form a colony and attack me right now?
Even if just one city is lost, the damage will be enormous.
Even if it’s a civil war, should you risk everything you have?
And what if you lose? No, is there anything left even if I win?
If a territorial war breaks out in the future, whose side will the king take?
Who fought better? Or, what would be helpful at that time?
This was a common sentiment among not only nobles but also artisans and guild masters.
Everyone here had quite a bit to consider politically. Nevertheless, they were people with courage and will.
Aren’t they the ones who turned their backs on Count Molsen?
Of course, there were many among them who could never be on the same boat as the Count.
For example, Ina lost her entire family business that had been passed down for generations because the Count was running a business and preyed on the surrounding commercial districts.
There was also a person who lost half of his territory because he was deprived of ridiculous protection fees for preventing attacks by nearby monsters.
Those people would grit their molars whenever the name Molsen was mentioned.
“Humans become monsters? No, wasn’t it because he had a group of monsters in the first place? “How can people like that be called the same person?”
Monsters are the enemies of humans. There was also a writer who made such fundamental statements.
He is the master of the artisan guild. It was something worth saying, since they took pride in making weapons for humans.
Those gathered were over twenty.
The Marquis of Baisar and the Marquis of Octo, who were both great nobles, had not yet arrived.
To be exact, both were by Krang’s side.
It was a barracks inside a small building behind the training center, with a musty smell of sweat.
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“Not everyone will feel the same way.”
“But we can’t call them enemies.”
The two marquis spoke in turn.
Those who jumped on the bandwagon.
Those who stand on Kraang’s side but are not willing to risk everything.
There were also others who had different bundles of thoughts.
Nevertheless, they are necessary.
It is difficult to even estimate the extent of the Count’s hidden power right now.
So, if even a ghoul was on the same side, he had to close his eyes for a moment and do it.
No, the Count was actually doing that.
‘They said he was a wizard.’
Weissar seemed to have increasing wrinkles between his eyebrows.
What did Count Molsen do? People who were either humans or monsters stood on his side.
I don’t know now how that could be, and I don’t think I need to know.
This is just a moment to fight and win.
“You have to take a long view.”
The Marquis of Okto spoke.
His strength comes from the earth. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the two letters ‘Okto’ as his second name.
As the war dragged on, the person who suffered the most was the Marquis of Okto.
If there is a lot of fighting here and there, will farmland be properly maintained?
Nevertheless, they say that the war should not be short. In order to win, you will have to take away Count Molsen’s power.
Inwardly, he must have calculated that the Knights would take their time and intervene on their own.
“Did you say you declined the knight’s intervention? “You shouldn’t have done that.”
No, I said the right thing.
The caution is that you should not be selective about what means and methods you have in order to win. That was correct.
To all those words, Krang only showed a faint smile. The weather was good and the sun was warm. Summer would come soon.
Isn’t this the time of year when the noise of grasshoppers increases significantly?
“The weather is nice.”
Krang said.
Marcus, who came in late, saw the faces of the two marquis frozen and asked.
“Did you even swear?”
Marcus could be said to be a loyalist. If the two marquis had joined on condition or were here because they could not tolerate the other, Marcus had bet everything on a man named Kraang.
“You’re lacking in elegance. Marcus.”
“Since when did you care about my dignity?”
Marcus responded to the Marquis’ words and stood next to his lord.
“You’ll finish it once, right?”
This is a natural question.
“That’s right. “I don’t have enough liver to do it twice.”
Krang answered.
“Oh my, is this just because I have a small liver? “It’s a joke that really makes fun of people with small livers.”
Marcus joked.
“What do you mean you’ll just finish it once?”
These are the words of the Marquis de Baisar. He is an old politician who never panics. Still, he couldn’t just ignore these words.
That means risking everything in one battle.
“If time is wasted by civil war, what will be left in this land?”
Krang asked back with a smile.
“If it’s a civil war that we don’t win, we’ll lose everything we have.”
It’s a straight argument.
“You can win.”
“Do you think it would be easy to win with a group like that?”
“Are you belittling the count’s power?”
“No to both. “I can only do what I can and pray that Lady Luck will smile.”
“We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Victory even if it makes the country sick.
Krang shook his head inwardly.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t understand the two in front of him.
If you don’t win, you lose. I see it as that kind of fight. Krang looked further than that.
‘It can’t end with winning.’
Perhaps Count Molsen will also try to end it in one fight.
That was very natural to both of them.
If you want to have a throne, and if you want that throne to be called the King’s Chair from now on, you have to do that.
I couldn’t become a wild animal that gets eaten by a hunting cat after the fight is over.
Rihinstätten in the south and Arzpen in the east.
The enemies are still many. The threat from the devil is also dizzying.
Therefore, we must finish this once and for all with the strength we have now.
‘Broader and bigger.’
“The threat from the Demon Lord increases every year, and we are losing territory. “That’s because I don’t want to leave it like that.”
Krang cut back and forth and talked about the future. The two marquis were not idiots either. Both understood.
It was after the civil war. Krang was drawing the future.
The two marquis fell silent.
“My heart is too narrow right now to understand the big meaning.”
After that, Marcus told me something similar to a joke.
This is a proverb that has been handed down since ancient times.
It sounded half mocking, but in reality, it was saying that if it was difficult to understand Krang’s meaning, shouldn’t we trust him and follow him?
Of course, the two marquis understood.
However, I didn’t just pass over it.
“That tongue will always be in trouble.”
“I’ve said this several times, but it doesn’t change.”
The two marquis criticized Marcus in a noble tone, and Marcus smiled and followed his lord.
Kraang went out.
It was time to meet the gathered nobles, guild masters, merchants, etc.
Their strength was needed. I don’t have enough justification or troops.
Above all, in order to fight properly, we had to become one.
It would be better if they all had the same meaning, but if that is difficult, they can just be tied together through a central point.
What if nothing works? You can at least put a condition on it. This is a thought that comes to mind again.
‘Is this an unfavorable fight?’
Krang immediately denied the self-deprecating question.
Since when did you only fight in an advantageous way?
Disadvantage is not directly related to defeat.
There was a man by my side who turned the impossible into possible.
Even half of what Encred showed would be nice.
It would be nice to have half the luck he always talks about.
The first button was here.
Crang climbed up onto the stage and looked at everyone in the nice sunlight.
The mouths of those who were talking naturally fell silent.
“Did you sleep well?”
Those were the first words.
A few words are exchanged. The nobles’ exclamations, thoughts, and concerns come out.
After hearing everything, Krang calmly raised his hand and lowered it. The short hand gesture followed by the words silences them.
“I believe I will win, don’t I?”
Are you confident of victory? where?
“Baron Zeppel, your light infantry is so fast that no one can follow you in the forest, right?”
Zeppel had a troop of rangers that he raised by feeding and sleeping in the forest.
If he was hunting, he would wake up and go out even while he was sleeping.
“… … yes.”
“And I heard that Baron Rudin is a great spearman.”
“It’s poor workmanship.”
“Besides, I heard that you once dreamed of joining the Knights. Am I mistaken?”
“It was my childhood dream.”
It was said that his skills were above that of a squire. Krang grinned.
“I think it only needs to be done once. “Just once.”
The voice spread widely in the wide gymnasium and quickly disappeared.
But what Kraang said seemed to remain.
It seemed like words were left floating around. These are words that seem to be engraved in their minds.
All that can be seen are two arms hanging down and a faint smile.
He didn’t look like a king, nor did he look like a great strategist.
But I felt like I could trust it. If he had committed fraud, wouldn’t he have become a rare fraudster?
But he wasn’t a fraudster. He was the next king and the current head of this group.
“How are you going to fight?”
“I asked you to meet me on the plains of Nauril, so I will.”
His attitude was as nonchalant as saying he would go out to meet a friend who lives at the end of the city when he came to visit.
That calmness and calmness actually gave me confidence.
The belief that I would definitely win.
There were some who believed in and followed Krang from the beginning.
“I have fifty well-trained spearmen under my command. “Write it down, but write it well!”
Starting with one nobleman.
“Although it is a humble skill, I will take the lead.”
“We have food stored up. I will send you wheat and beans.”
Others also added their words.
If you cannot relieve your anxiety, you can cover it up with faith.
“Trust me. “I will win.”
Krang did just that.
Without making any great speeches, he united the remaining people to one purpose.
I said just one battle, that’s enough.
“What if Count Molsen has other feelings?”
The Marquis of Octo muttered.
He was considered a genius only when it came to internal affairs, but combat was different. War was not his specialty.
Krang came down from the podium and answered the question.
“Count Molsen will do it because he is ambitious and because he is very intelligent.”
* * *
A month passed quickly.
“Not a single knight is coming?”
Count Molsen answered the guard and adjutant’s question while adjusting his armor.
“You must be sad.”
“yes.”
“me too.”
It was a military strategy prepared with the assumption of intervention by the Knights.
But fighting without knights?
‘It’s arrogance. ‘You shameless bastard.’
Just like that.
He is wearing armor made of iron plates attached one after another, and in his hand is holding a magic sword that symbolizes the count. The Count, who had finished arming himself, declared:
“I will end the royal family on the plains of Nauril.”
Woooooo!
The earl’s troops stationed themselves on the plain and blew their horns.
It was a signal to come out and stick around.
fantasy,
