Episode 67 I have no choice but to change the board myself. (3)
Baron Fabreau, Digald’s vassal and commander of the supply corps, paced around his tent, unable to sleep.
I wasn’t thinking about strategy or unit organization or anything like that.
I was just in such a good mood that I couldn’t sleep.
“Hehehe, I’m finally getting a fief.”
Fabreau had no fiefdom of his own.
The land of Digald, which he served, was small and insignificant, so it was unlikely that his vassal, Pabro, would have had a chance to receive a fief.
But this time it was different. If this went well, I could receive part of Ferdium’s territory.
“I’m glad I stuck with Desmond. It was the best decision of my life.”
Fabreaux took bribes from Desmond and always gave his side of the story.
Not only Pabro, but most of Digald’s vassals were like that. It wasn’t difficult for them to move the territory as they wanted.
“Hehehe, maybe I can make a name for myself this time?”
Even though they are a supply unit, they participated in the war, so they will gain some fame.
In social circles, simply participating in a war attracts attention.
Besides, since he was in the rear, there was no danger at all. He only had to provide supplies to the main force.
Where in the world can you find such a sweet war where you can only profit from safety?
“By the way, I didn’t know Count Desmond had this many soldiers. Isn’t he stronger than Leipold?”
Although they were pretended to be conscripts and mercenaries from the Digald Territory, the scale of the force was so large that it was impossible to ignore it.
Desmond sent reinforcements to support the forces that had been gathered from several small and medium-sized fiefdoms.
Because the main force was so large, it was difficult to even form a second supply unit with Digald’s soldiers.
“Oh my, Ferdium is finished now. It’s finished.”
If the levels are similar, then it’s okay to fight back, but at this level, it’ll be enough to crush Ferdium.
With siege weapons, Perdium probably won’t be able to last even a day.
A war you can’t lose even if you want to.
So Fabreau has been in a good mood every day these days.
Ddddddd.
“Huh? What does this mean?”
Fabreaux, who was lost in a happy dream, felt a strange vibration and came to his senses.
As I went out of the barracks, I saw some knights looking around with curious eyes.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
When Fabro asked, the knight shook his head as if he didn’t know.
“I don’t know. Was it an earthquake… .”
They did not even consider the slightest possibility that it might be a surprise attack by the enemy.
It was unimaginable that Perdium, which already had a small force, would prepare a separate force to attack.
There was no particular news from the main force that was ahead.
Ddddddd.
In a moment, the vibrations became stronger.
Fabreau scratched his chin in thought.
“What could it be? Is there a herd of cattle passing by?”
As soon as he thought of the word herd of cattle, Fabbro realized that this vibration was similar to the sound of horseshoes.
“Hey, no way.”
He chuckled at my wild imagination.
Although we lit the torches, the clouds were thick and visibility was poor, so we couldn’t see far.
It took a long time to figure out the situation because I had to judge it just by listening to the sound.
Ddddddddd!
It was only after Giselle’s army had fully closed in that they realized what the sound was.
“Get up! Get up! It’s a surprise! Surprise! Move!”
The knights who reacted relatively quickly shouted.
Even Commander Fabreau still had an expression of disbelief on his face.
“A surprise attack? How? Why?”
Doo doo doo doo doo!
“Hehehehe!”
Only when the enemy was right in front of him did Fabreau come to his senses.
He ran backwards, screaming urgently.
“The enemy! The enemy! Everyone come out and block us!”
Even during that time, I never thought I would lose.
The number of enemies would probably be at most a few hundred.
Otherwise, there’s no way we could have bypassed the main force so quickly.
Even though they are a supply unit, they have a thousand men. They are more than capable of repelling a surprise attack like this.
“Move quickly! Quickly! We can stop them! There are more of us!”
The soldiers came out of their tents in a hurry, carrying their weapons.
Some people didn’t even have time to pack their equipment, and the battle lines were a mess.
At that time, everyone was moving around in a hurry.
Kwaaaaang!
Jiselle’s army emerged from the darkness.
“Eww!”
The soldiers on the outskirts were swept away in an instant.
Torches placed here and there fell over after hitting the corpses that bounced off.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
Soon flames began to envelop the surrounding area. The soldiers, in confusion, began to run around, not knowing what to do.
Several of Digald’s knights hastily commanded the soldiers.
“Gather! Gather and form a line!”
But it was impossible to regroup.
With their excellent mobility, they lined up in a long line and destroyed anything that blocked their path.
There was even a mercenary who pushed so hard that he tore through the tent and passed through it.
Doo doo doo doo!
Digald’s knight noticed Giselle running at the front and drew his sword.
A dress different from others, horsemanship superior to anyone else.
The knight instinctively realized that the man before his eyes was the enemy commander.
‘We just have to kill this guy!’
It was when I raised my sword with the intention of cutting it down with my words in one breath.
Doo doo doo doo!
Because of the flames that spread everywhere, it was impossible to see the face of the approaching person.
In the shadows, where only the outlines could be seen due to the backlight, the knight finally saw it.
The opponent’s two eyes burning red with fear.
The moment he felt the unknown hatred and endless anger contained within it, the knight’s body froze.
“Eww!”
The knight drew on his mana and tried to shake off his fear as he ran forward with all his might.
“Die!”
Jiselle leaned slightly to the side.
And with all his might, he swung the axe strongly from bottom to top.
Kwajijijik!
With a single blow, the approaching knight was split in half from groin to head and fell down.
The mercenaries following Jiselle cheered and whistled.
Crunch! Crunch!
All the soldiers standing in front of Jiselle had their heads smashed by axes or had their necks blown off.
Belinda looked at Giselle with a worried expression.
It would be his first time killing someone directly, and I was worried that he might be hiding his feelings.
Meanwhile, Jiselle, who had arrived at the opposite end of the camp in an instant, immediately turned her horse’s head and spoke.
“Sweep it all away.”
At the dry command, the mercenaries turned again and charged at the enemies.
Digald’s forces, having lost a few knights, were helpless and collapsed.
This was because there were no pits or obstacles to stop the cavalry.
It was also the commander’s ability to identify and prepare for places and times when surprise attacks were likely. And Fabreau was not a very good commander.
“Gillian and Kaor, deal with the remaining knights.”
Doo doo doo doo!
The mercenaries split into two groups and surrounded the enemies.
They moved organically without a single error, just like a skilled cavalry corps.
“The training went well.”
Jiselle nodded with satisfaction.
Surprise attacks and assaults using mobility, which were also my favorite techniques in my previous life.
Giselle spent all her money on equipping her mercenaries with equipment and horses for this very shock tactic.
The personal military power of the Mercenary King was ranked seventh among the seven powers on the continent, but his war-fighting ability was ranked in the top three.
He was a murderer and a king of the battlefield.
Digald’s soldiers screamed.
“Eww!”
“We have to stop it! Shield, where’s the shield!”
“Gather! Gather!”
There was no way they could stop the mercenaries who had come out in a hurry without any equipment and were attacking with determination.
No matter how many infantrymen there are, they cannot exert their full force if they are not in formation. Furthermore, in this kind of melee, command was impossible.
The massacre begins again.
Digald’s soldiers began to throw away their weapons one by one and take cover.
“Don’t miss a single one!”
Following Giselle’s orders, the mercenaries chased the soldiers who were scattering in all directions.
Soldiers who fled in fear from their horseback riders were easy prey.
Several opposing knights fought bravely, but were caught by Gillian and Kaor and killed one by one.
Since the supply unit had only a few knights, the enemies quickly fell.
“Hahahaha! This is really annoying!”
In particular, Kaor and the Mad Dogs were running wild like fish in water.
In the Demon Forest, there were so many monsters and it was so dangerous that they were busy holding out.
But if the opponent was human, they could freely unleash their madness.
Some of them got off their horses and ran towards the nearby soldiers.
“Hahahaha! Die! Die!”
“You’re so weak! You little bug-like bastards!”
Although some of Digald’s soldiers banded together to fight back, they were unable to turn the tide of the battle.
Jiselle roamed the battlefield without rest.
Whenever there were even a few enemies gathered or the mercenaries looked dangerous, he would run without fail and split the enemy’s heads with an axe.
More than a thousand of Digald’s soldiers were swept away in such a futile manner.
“It’s over.”
Belinda looked at Giselle, who was mumbling as if it was obvious, with strange eyes.
‘What? This must be your first time in war?’
Killing monsters and killing humans were two entirely different things.
It’s hard for anyone to stay sane when they first experience war.
But her worries were unfounded.
‘Why are you so indifferent!’
Jiselle killed her enemies as if she were doing something she was supposed to do.
To this extent, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a natural-born warmonger.
‘It’s not bland.’
Giselle, sweeping across the battlefield, looked like someone forcibly swallowing a blazing flame.
I couldn’t understand it.
Why on earth would Jiselle hold such a grudge against Digald?
While she was wondering, the screams of the enemies died down.
It meant that the fight was coming to an end.
A moment later, Gillian dragged someone in and threw him in front of Giselle.
“I think this guy is the commander.”
Fabreau looked up at Giselle, shivering.
No matter how weak Digald’s soldiers were due to lack of training, over a thousand troops were annihilated in an instant.
“Ugh, uh, please save me.”
Fabreau relied solely on the numbers of his soldiers and missed the opportunity to escape.
I managed to escape belatedly, but was caught by Gillian who followed me.
I couldn’t die so unjustly.
‘The main force will win anyway.’
If only I could somehow survive, I could be released.
Usually, when nobles are captured in war, they are taken as prisoners rather than killed.
Because it is to one’s advantage to receive ransom from his lord or family.
That’s why Fabro was able to surrender with peace of mind.
“Save me! Count Digald will surely pay the ransom! I surrender! Surrender! Surrender!”
Giselle looked around Fabreau’s face silently.
The moment his eyes met with Giselle’s, Fabreau, who had been desperately pleading, shut his mouth tightly in suffocating fear.
A cold, snake-like gaze, an expression that conveys no emotion.
The eyes of a dazzling predator were observing him.
As if he was contemplating whether or not to eat himself.
“name.”
“Pa, Baron Pabro. Who are you?”
“Giselle Ferdium.”
“Gisel… …? Archduke of Ferdium?”
Fabreau opened his mouth wide.
I’ve heard of Giselle’s name before. Wasn’t he one of the two most notorious scoundrels in the North, along with Gilmore, Digald’s successor?
How could someone like that have the audacity to make a surprise attack and slaughter a thousand soldiers?
It was more credible to say that Count Ferdium’s true identity was a dragon.
But it was impossible to call Giselle Ferdium a loser in front of him.
Fabredo bowed his head without showing it.
“Your Highness, please accept my surrender. It will not be a bad thing for you either. You will receive a large ransom.”
But Giselle gave an odd answer.
“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t remember.”
“What, what does that mean?”
“It means that you are such a worthless person that you won’t even be remembered. Well, either way, the result would be the same.”
Giselle grabbed Fabreau’s hair with one hand and pulled it up, then lifted the axe with the other.
“Ahhhh! Save me! I will pay a generous ransom!”
“I don’t do business with you guys.”
“What are you talking about! I am a noble! Please follow the rules as befitting a noble!”
“Where are the customs on the battlefield?”
Jiselle said as if she found it funny. But there was not a single trace of laughter on her face.
“Yeah, I have something to get from you guys.”
The axe fell with a careless voice.
Kwajik!
“life.”
* * *
Clank, clank!
Jiselle walked into the castle.
Armored mercenaries followed him, cackling noisily.
Everyone in the castle lowered their heads and moved to the side as soon as they saw Jiselle.
With every step Giselle took, a bloodstain was left behind.
Blood was dripping down from head to toe, but Giselle didn’t even wipe her face.
What was even more terrifying were Giselle’s eyes.
Indifferent eyes that are no different from usual.
It would have been less scary if I had been struggling to live.
If the old Jiselle was a difficult and troublesome thing that you didn’t want to get involved with, now she was an object of fear that you couldn’t get involved with.
Kuung!
Jiselle opened the door to the main room and walked inside without hesitation.
Zwalter and his men, who had been meeting, opened their mouths in surprise when they suddenly saw Giselle.
The Archduke, who was thought to have run away, has reappeared.
He came back covered in blood, as if he had been fighting somewhere.
“You, you, what on earth have you been doing?”
Zwalter asked in a trembling voice.
Jiselle bowed her head in greeting without answering, then placed the box she was carrying on the table.
The people who went held their breath when they saw the blood-covered box.
No one had a clear idea what the situation was.
At that moment, Jiselle’s voice echoed throughout Daejeon.
“The supply unit has been annihilated. Now, let’s begin the siege.”
