Episode 37
In the past, there were many casualties, but now that skills have improved evenly, there are no major injuries. This is also thanks to the order to avoid fatal injuries as much as possible.
Kaang! Kaang! Kang!
The sound of clashing weapons echoed through the mountains in the middle of the night. The slave soldiers were breathing heavily, and sometimes they would let out screams to squeeze out their remaining strength.
After over an hour of fighting and hitting each other, the sparring training finally ended.
Fifty slave soldiers descended Mount Tobe first. Their movement was also an infiltration training. It was a tough training that would result in reprimands if discovered not only by civilians and Delgain scouts, but also by Hebron soldiers.
The slave army will arrive at the lord’s castle of Hebron by tomorrow morning.
I stayed in the mountain with ten slave soldiers. I took the corpses of real bandits and scattered them on the ground, while I made contact with the Delgain army that was trapped in a corner of the mountain.
“Who, who are you?”
The knight sniff looked at me with a beggarly look. Not only that, the soldiers’ weapons were cleanly stripped off and carried to the wagons waiting at the bottom of the mountain.
“I am Baron Louis de Hebron. I have come to subdue the Bebe Bandits at the request of Baron Delgain.”
“So, what happened to the bandits?”
“They were all killed. Some of them escaped. My soldiers are chasing them, so I can catch them before the sun rises.”
“Are you saying that you defeated them?”
“They are just a bunch of worthless bandits.”
Sir Sniff blushed as he was captured by that lowly bandit group.
I told Sniff.
“Go back to your master and tell him that the Bebe bandits have been defeated, and that he must bring the remaining 400 gold within this week. If you are even one day late, you will face the wrath of Hebron.”
* * *
47 soldiers and Knight Sniff arrived safely at Lord Delgain’s castle. They were in poor condition, carrying the body of the bandit leader Bebe on a stretcher.
Delgain’s staff officer, Spiel, who was examining the body, had a somber expression. He delivered the sad news to his master.
“I was attacked by the Baron of Hebron.”
“You got hit? What do you mean?”
“These bodies have been dead for at least five days. They appear to have been treated with herbs to prevent decay, but the inside of their wounds is in an advanced state of decay.”
“Well, then… … ?”
Delgain counted the days. Five days ago, Sniff had led his men out to subdue the Bebe bandits.
No, it was before that.
Staff Speil spoke with a firm, confident tone.
“The ones who captured our troops were not the Bebe bandits, but the Hebron army.”
“Hebroooooon! I will kill this cunning bastard right now! Gather the army! Conscript the standing army! I will gather all my strength and strike them!”
Although Delgain was furious, the knights did not react hastily. This was because the conversation between Spiel and Delgain was not over yet.
Baron Delgain relied on a brilliant man named Spiel, so much so that it was said that Spiel was the real master of Delgain.
Spiel wore a black suit that covered his entire body all year round. Under the jacket he wore a gray shirt with a collar turned up, revealing only his face and hands.
“Calm down, my lord. Unfortunately, Hebron’s forces are formidable. Although it was a surprise attack, our troops were captured without even being able to resist. They have absorbed Baron Nurha’s forces, so we are at a disadvantage in terms of manpower.”
“So you’re saying I have to give those thieves 400 gold?”
Delgain had to pay the balance to Hebron within five days. If Spiel’s reasoning is correct, the Delgain Baron was in a position where he had to pay not only the humiliation but also the money.
A rumor was circulating among the Seoljanggasan people that ‘Baron Delgain’s army was captured by the Bebe bandits and the Hebron army rescued them’. Although the source of the rumor was not yet known to be the Serpens Merchant.
“I just said that it would be difficult with just Delgaine.”
Baron Delgain calmed down his excitement. He had noticed a peculiar wink that Spiel made whenever he came up with a solution.
“Explain it.”
“Ask Baron Biskin for help. If Hebron attacks Delgain, Biskin will be next. They will also feel a sense of crisis. If we promise Baron Biskin 2,000 gold, they will pretend to be defeated and join us.”
“Oh! It’s my Spiel. Good idea. But where did you get the two thousand gold?”
Two thousand gold was a huge sum of money for the Baron.
Even Baron Delgain had spent 400 gold to bring his sister and niece back from Hebron. The treasury was nearly empty, and he had to sell jewels and territory to raise funds.
“You should get it from the treasury of the Baron of Hebron. If necessary, you can give him some of the land in Hebron.”
“Good! Very good!”
“We must buy as much time as possible. Tell Baron Hebron that we will definitely give him 400 gold, and ask him to give us a little more time. We must induce them to let their guard down by saying that we will pay interest and ask for more time.”
“Leave that to me and do yours.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Spiel was about to step back when he nodded to Baron Delgain.
The Baron gestured to the knights.
As the knights left the conference room, Spiel approached Baron Delgain and whispered softly.
“This matter must be done in the name of Rustic de Nurhah.”
“That child is my nephew. I am about to adopt Rustic as my son and send him to the Royal Academy. Are you asking me to betray my bloodline? Who will take my place if that child disappears?”
Baron Delgaine had no heir.
He was childless and had tested his infertility with several women.
“I’m just preparing for the unexpected. Isn’t Delgaine more important than my nephew?”
Baron Delgain, who had been pondering for a moment, nodded his head.
He thought that Spiel’s words were always right.
“I will do as you wish.”
* * *
Hebron has been working hard to expand its information network.
Even though the barony’s income had increased considerably, it was also struggling with financial difficulties due to the acquisition of information.
To this end, the merchants at the top of the serpent were scattered in all directions, and Hebron’s money was distributed to informants hired at the top.
Thanks to this, I was able to clearly see how Biskin and Delgain’s armies moved.
The Serpense was the largest in the area. It had expanded its branches from four to six, and added ten more carriages to its original fifteen. It also doubled the size of its guard, and while maintaining this, it was still making more money than before, thanks to the trade route between Hebron and Jailson.
Delgain and Biskin ordered war supplies from the upper ranks. They included weapons, tents, and combat rations, and the Serpens upper ranks that I had been told about immediately sold off the supplies they had prepared.
While other merchants were also rushing to sell supplies, the two barons signed an exclusive contract with the Serpens Merchant.
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As a result, the cooperative front between Biskin and Delgain was quickly established, and the top stock of Serpens was sitting on a pile of money. 30% of the net profit was mine.
“Biskin and Delgain moved.”
“What is your choice?”
“I think the same as you, my lord.”
Amy’s answer made me chuckle.
“Let’s go to Biskin.”
“Yes, tonight.”
* * *
The movement of troops has already been completed.
Of the 112 regular troops, 60 were mobilized and deployed north of Nurha. They were led by Lord Brown.
The 100 slaves, armed with shields, swords, and light leather armor, were led by the young knight Solon.
He taught the Wolf Sword and Zero-style Aura Sword to Solon and Adol, who were knights of Nurha, respectively.
It was modified to fit the two knights, and the two completely forgot their old swordsmanship and devoted themselves to the new swordsmanship.
I too went south from Hebron and reached the northern border of Nurha.
chuck!
The knights and soldiers saluted me, skipping the chant. They had given the order to remain silent.
Solon, who had led the slave army, returned and reported.
“I killed the messenger and three of his escorts. Biskin is quiet.”
Solon handed me a scroll sealed with Biskin’s seal. I tore off the seal and unrolled the scroll, and the expected text caught my eye.
– Biskin declared war on Hebron.
Every time Syang let out a soft, “meeeeeee,” cry, this place felt more like a quiet farmhouse than a battlefield.
The air was thick, but it didn’t smell like death.
Meeeeeee.
“fizzle.”
The stray understood what I said. His body was covered with a rag made of rags, and I sat on it.
Food!
A fly flew through the darkness and landed on my shoulder. I ripped the note off his ankle and read it.
-Secured. P.S. Rustic de Nuhar.
He chuckled.
I wanted to laugh out loud at the sky, following the family tradition.
In a civil war between nobles, a declaration of war was essential. It was common to give at least one day of preparation time after a declaration of war, even for the sake of justification.
Amy stationed troops on the border of Nurhya, captured the messenger, and took the declaration of war.
Both sides simultaneously declared war, meaning that they would invade simultaneously twenty-four hours later, in keeping with the custom of the nobility.
Biskin’s troops were deployed, but they were prepared for battle tomorrow, not today. The soldiers waited for the bloody feast, eating the wine and meat provided by the Baron.
Now that the declaration of war had fallen into my hands, I could accept it and deploy my troops. They were merely conventions, not strict laws of the Kingdom of Zenon.
Even if he took the matter to the royal lawyer, Marquis Théodore de Stogen, he was confident that he would win the legal battle.
Lord Brown also came to me and reported.
“We killed seven scouts. All seven were regulars, and Biskin is quiet.”
“How many soldiers are left in Biskin now?”
“31 regular soldiers, Knight Roca, and 100 standing soldiers.”
“Why should we lose?”
“doesn’t exist.”
Even the justification was tilted in our favor.
In order to become a high-ranking noble, one had to eliminate all the dirty rumors behind them. Even dealing with such rumors required a lot of money, but Hebron, who had lived like a dead rat in the outskirts, had a clean past and present.
“Then go, win, and come back.”
chuck!
Sir Brown saluted me. He led his men and ran towards Biskin, assisted by the knight Solon.
A force of 160 men rode north. Compared to the Duke of Breyot, who had only 200 high-ranking knights, it was a modest force, but this modesty was the reality of the Baron’s family.
The ownership of the land changes with just a slight advantage in force.
“Let’s go too. We should at least open the walls for our men.”
Meeeeeeeee!
The outer wall of Biskin was built strong to block out the shouts. It was about 4 meters high and could not be jumped over in one go, and soldiers armed with bows were also stationed on the wall.
Doo doo doo doo doo doo!
The earth shook with each step the mutant sheep took, as they dug deep into the ground with their strong claws.
A soldier on the wall shouted as he pulled back an arrow from his bow.
“Stop! This is the Biskin Wall! If you don’t stop, I’ll attack!”
Meeeeeeeee!
“sheep?”
Syang ran alone. This was also part of his training to overcome fear.
Although there were a few living human soldiers, Syang charged forward without hesitation toward the inanimate wooden wall.
Kwaaaaang!
The drunken Syang stopped in front of the castle gate.
