Episode 74: They’re really some guys. (1)
“Eww! All in a place like this!”
Victor couldn’t stand it.
Although the troop losses were not great, losing one expensive and valuable siege tower was a huge mistake.
My pride was greatly hurt by the fact that I had no choice but to retreat, rather than intentionally retreating for tactical reasons.
“Hoo, hoo… … .”
Next to Victor, who was grumbling, Thamos was making a displeased expression.
‘Isn’t this kid just a idiot?’
They kept showing off by talking about strategies and sieges, but in the end, they retreated without causing much damage.
Still, it wasn’t something I couldn’t understand.
Those black knights that emerged from the gate looked quite strong, even to me, a layman in battle.
If they had attacked on their own without Desmond’s help, they would have been destroyed before the siege could even begin.
“Ahem. By the way, those black knights over there look a bit strong. Are they okay?”
“It’s not a knight. It wasn’t a movement that used mana.”
“You’re so strong even though you’re not a knight?”
“If they were well trained and followed orders, it would be possible. If there were only a few hundred knights in the first place, they would have just opened the gates and charged. There is no way that Ferdium would have such a force.”
“Ahem, then what are you going to do now? Are you going to just keep watching like this? It doesn’t seem to be working, so let’s just all gather together.”
Then Victor glared at him with menacing eyes. Thamos raised both hands, sweating profusely.
“It’s just an opinion, an opinion. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Victor snorted and turned his head away.
But Thamos didn’t stop there. He took a look and asked quietly.
“I heard there are two 4th circle magicians here. Can we borrow their powers?”
“It’s not time yet.”
The tone was blatantly unpleasant.
Thamos silently pouted his lips as if he had known this would happen.
‘Tsk tsk, I wonder if anyone will call me a knight… My pride… ‘
From what Thamos had observed, the relationship between Victor and the magicians was not very good.
Although Thamos was a poor fighter, he was well aware of the dark political dynamics.
His eyes clearly showed the discomfort and awkwardness that Victor and the wizards felt whenever they met.
‘Well, knights and wizards don’t get along very well.’
If you are a 4th circle wizard, you can become the exclusive wizard of any territory.
Even if Victor had asked them to come forward, it was questionable whether their proud nature would have obediently followed his instructions.
Thamos shook his head and quietly left the barracks.
There was no reason to stay, because there was no point in communicating and I would just get scolded.
Viktor, left alone, muttered, exhaling hot breath.
“Damn… … . This is such humiliation.”
It was even more humiliating to be caught off guard by Perdium, whom I had ignored and believed I could deal with quickly.
I kept thinking of the black knight who swept through the friendly forces and even destroyed the siege towers.
‘His fighting power was strong, but… … he couldn’t have judged so quickly in that short moment. He probably just trusted in his strength and came out to give it a try.’
Victor somehow belittled his opponent in order to protect his pride.
I rationalized that he must have come out in a hurry because it seemed like he was being pushed around without thinking.
When you think too much, sometimes you get fooled by ignorant and lucky people.
Anyway, he couldn’t just let it go like this. He slowly calmed down and decided to use a new strategy.
“I did find it funny.”
Victor admitted that his opponent was stronger than he thought.
Although it was a small rural estate, it was not easy as they had been fighting in the north for a long time.
“I’ll shake it from the inside.”
Victor secretly summoned ten knights and gave them new orders.
“Tomorrow night, infiltrate Perdium and seize the eastern gate. I will have five hundred cavalry and a thousand infantry waiting nearby. Once you secure the eastern gate, give the signal. We will enter immediately.”
The knights asked with puzzled expressions.
“Can we do it on our own? You’ll be guarding it tightly as well.”
Even if Ferdium’s forces were small, they would definitely be standing guard.
If the enemy invades in large numbers, we will contact them immediately and call in our main force.
But Victor said not to worry.
“Don’t worry, there is someone who is colluding with you. If it is difficult to subdue the Dongmun, set fire to various places and cause a commotion. And… … .”
Viktor continued, breathing life into his words.
“Take advantage of the commotion and assassinate Zwalter. The knight of Ferdium will guide you.”
* * *
The next day, Victor’s army attacked Ferdium Castle again.
But the movement was more passive than the previous day.
They simply put their shield bearers in front and shot arrows at the walls.
The Ferdium Army also responded by firing back and protecting themselves.
After fighting for half a day without causing any significant damage to either side, Victor’s forces withdrew.
“Wow!”
Although they thought something was a bit odd, the soldiers of Ferdium cheered that they had made it through another day.
The command was concerned that the enemy might have some hidden agenda, but there was nothing they could do since they didn’t know what they were thinking.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As night fell, several firecrackers exploded in the enemy camp.
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Seeing that, the soldiers of Ferdium were dumbfounded.
“Are you already firing off the victory gun?”
“We won today, didn’t we? Did someone write it by mistake?”
While the soldiers chattered and watched the fireworks, Giselle folded her arms and sat lost in thought.
‘That’s… … .’
Jiselle, who was looking at the night sky where the fireworks had disappeared with a strange expression, quietly turned around and headed somewhere.
As the night deepened, some of Victor’s troops began to move stealthily under the cover of darkness.
The knights covered themselves in black robes so as not to be noticed, and moved to find the most vulnerable part of the castle walls.
“Move quickly. This should be good.”
It would be impossible for Perdium, with its small force, to place soldiers densely along all the walls.
The knights easily found a place with few sentries and used their mana to quickly jump over the wall.
Assassination of agents was a method often used during wartime, so I had some experience with it.
Besides, if there was a traitor, there was no need to worry.
I have already memorized the route to the place where I will make contact with the informant.
They soon encountered a knight waiting for them.
“Are you Dren?”
The knight standing in the darkness, Dren, nodded.
He was one of the spies Harold had planted in Ferdium.
The two traitorous vassals went to Digald’s territory to create a pretext for war, but Dren remained there.
Earl Desmond was a careful and meticulous man, and he made numerous countermeasures, considering various possibilities.
Dren was also one of those countermeasures.
“Yes. We don’t have much time, so let’s move quickly. The soldiers won’t be suspicious if I’m here.”
Dren spoke urgently. He seemed very nervous, afraid that he might be caught.
The knights nodded and followed Dren.
But before they could even walk a few steps, someone jumped down from the roof and blocked their path.
thud!
“Hey! Where are you all going at this late hour? Haven’t you had dinner yet?”
Sreung!
Dren and the knights quickly drew their swords.
Dren muttered as he recognized the other person’s face.
“Your, Your Highness?”
Although I always looked down on the Grand Duke, I saw him in action during this war.
Dren knew that he could not defeat the Archduke on his own.
But that’s only in a one-on-one match.
Even the most powerful of knights would not be able to deal with eleven knights at the same time.
Dren said urgently.
“We have to stop them from screaming!”
Jiselle raised one hand with a relaxed expression.
Clank! Clank!
As if waiting for a signal, figures wearing black armor rushed out from the surrounding areas.
Victor’s knights cried out in horror.
“You already knew! How do you know our movements so accurately?”
“Dren! Is that what you said?”
Dren was waving his hands wildly, sweating profusely.
“No! That’s not what I said!”
In an instant, the mercenaries who had completely surrounded them all pulled out their crossbows.
Charruk!
The knights gritted their teeth as they faced hundreds of crossbows.
No matter how well a knight can manipulate mana, he will not be able to dodge hundreds of arrows.
When everyone was at a loss as to what to do, Jiselle said, shaking out her pants.
“Dren, you were a traitor too. Why are there so many spies in this territory? How much money did they all take?”
“Damn it! How did you not know?”
Andren did not deny that it was a situation from which escape was impossible.
Jiselle nodded as if it was nothing.
“Well, yes. I didn’t know who the traitor was. But I expected that they would sneak in today. It’s not the first or second time I’ve been at war with you.”
I fought Harold Desmond many times in my past life.
In the end, the match was decided when Jiselle smashed the guy’s head.
“what……?”
But to someone who didn’t know the secret of Jiselle returning to the past, it was just nonsense.
While Dren was bewildered, Victor’s knights slowly advanced forward, swords drawn.
He planned to escape by taking the Archduke Giselle hostage.
Jiselle narrowed her eyes as she watched the knights slowly approaching.
“As expected, these are Desmond’s knights. They seem to be of a fairly high standard.”
The knights’ faces hardened.
They went to war in the name of Digald.
Given the sudden increase in troops, it was expected that outside forces were involved, but how did they know that they were Desmond’s knights?
Jiselle snickered as she watched the confused knights.
“Welcome, is this your first time in Ferdium?”
“… … Hit it!”
If everything had been discovered anyway, there would have been nothing to be embarrassed about.
All the knights drew their swords towards Giselle.
Kaang! Kaang!
Their attacks were blocked by Gillian and Kaor, who appeared like lightning on either side of Giselle.
Whirlyrick!
Behind Giselle, several daggers suddenly emerged from the shadows and struck the knights.
Phew! Phew! Phew!
“Ugh!”
Three knights fell to the ground, their throats pierced by an unexpected surprise attack.
At the same time, the mercenaries pulled the trigger of their crossbows. The bolts flew through the air and towards the knights.
Pavababak!
“Kwaaak!”
The crossbow is strong enough to pierce armor if hit at close range.
The knights fell out like hedgehogs.
Some of them managed to block the attacks by striking with their swords and spewing out as much mana as possible, but they were only able to avoid the vital points.
“Ugh… … .”
Only five knights, including Dren, survived until the end.
“Wow, five people survived. Did Desmond really send them on purpose?”
Jiselle approached them in admiration.
Even he wouldn’t be able to avoid injury if he was targeted by hundreds of crossbows in such a narrow space.
Even though he was rendered incapable of fighting, the fact that he survived this attack shows that he is skilled.
“Still, it looks like it’ll be hard to stand.”
The knights fell to their seats, bleeding.
Dren gasped and pleaded with the approaching Giselle.
“Ugh… … . Please save me. I was wrong. Your Highness, please… … .”
“Our territory is already short on knights… … It breaks my heart that such an outstanding knight would betray us. How did it turn out like this?”
Giselle sighed as if she was truly sorry as she received an axe from Gillian.
When it seemed like there was a chance of survival, Dren clung desperately.
“Please spare me! I will never betray you again! I, I know their plans… … .”
Kwajik!
Dren’s corpse, with its head split open, fell to the ground.
“No need.”
Jiselle shook the blood off her axe and approached the remaining knights.
One of the knights noticed and shouted urgently.
“We surrender! We surrender! Treat us as prisoners! Ransom us… … .”
Kwajik!
The knight who was speaking also fell down with his head split open.
The knights were so shocked by the outrageous behavior that they were speechless.
It is against custom to kill a surrendered knight.
In all my years as a knight, this is the first time I’ve seen someone kill someone without even listening to them.
“Why? Do you think it’s too much? Then when you came to assassinate me, didn’t you even think about dying?”
Jiselle, who had been giggling, suddenly became expressionless.
If we make concessions according to common sense, custom, and law, we will just be dragged around by these guys.
What do things like face and honor matter?
Jiselle’s purpose was revenge against them.
The only thing that matters is the destruction of our enemies.
Jiselle slowly crouched down in front of the knights and whispered softly.
“The first one to open his mouth dies.”
“… … .”
“If you move even one finger, you die.”
“… … .”
The knights were unable to say a word and kept their mouths shut at the cold gaze.
“Answer only the questions asked. If you answer late, you will die.”
