A mountain of wheat sacks piled up in front of him.
A thick smile began to spread across his lips as he stood before them.
With shaggy brown hair, a high nose, and a cunning expression,
he possessed sharp eyes that emanated the power of a High Mage.
Mansfeld Ernst slowly nodded his head, admiring his recent achievement.
The massive food supply acquired through a deal with Spinola.
With this, he could operate his mercenary band without worries for some time, and he felt genuinely happy to have alleviated a constant headache.
“Good job. Feed the soldiers well, and you should take a rest too. We made quite a bit of money this time, so we shouldn’t have any worries for a while.”
“Yes, Commander.”
After finishing the task and sending his subordinates to rest, Mansfeld moved to take a break himself.
In his mind, the image of the world unfolding for him was automatically drawn.
Mansfeld, known as the King of Mercenaries,
was a being commanding an astounding army of 15,000.
This figure represented 2,000 Mages and 13,000 armed soldiers, purely referring to combat-effective troops.
In truth, this massive group included not just the 15,000 mercenaries but also their families, servants, and traders doing business with them, bringing the total to nearly 40,000 to 50,000.
Mansfeld’s colossal mercenary entity could practically be considered a moving small nation.
And as the ‘king’ ruling them, he needed to decide on his next course of action.
Unlike a city that moves based on food and supplies, Mansfeld’s mercenary group operates based on funds earned from contracts with employers.
They procure food from nearby cities with the money they make, or if that’s not feasible, they engage in battles to seize it.
A starving mercenary group always had the potential of transforming into a massive band of robbers, and in that sense, a band of 15,000 mercenaries carried the risk of becoming a locust plague that devours everything in its path under the worst circumstances.
Of course, choosing the wrong opponent could lead to their own annihilation, so Mansfeld understood this nature of mercenaries well and was appropriately managing it.
Deceit was a given, along with proper negotiations and threats, and when necessary, he was pursuing the maximum benefit for himself and his men.
This recent deal brought him a tremendous benefit, so with high spirits, Mansfeld entered his military tent.
The largest and most extravagant dwelling within the mercenary camp.
Here, beautiful women he had prepared in advance were waiting for him.
“Welcome, Mansfeld!”
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
The women bowed respectfully towards him.
Seeing them with well-fed bodies that suited his taste, Mansfeld’s lips automatically curved upwards.
“You look very well-fed today. Now come here, let’s see if you can satisfy me with those lewd bodies of yours.”
“Hehe… I will obey your orders, Mansfeld!”
“Please enjoy the girls’ bodies to your heart’s content today.”
Following Mansfeld’s words, the two women began to slowly remove their clothes.
Settling comfortably between them, Mansfeld indulged in pleasure, as if he were a hog being feasted upon.
His army remained intact, and he had ended up acquiring more funds than initially promised.
Meanwhile, Friedrich the Lord, who had left Bohemia, lost his base in the Palatinate, and the Emperor, who triumphed in the Palatinate, suffered humiliation in Bohemia.
In essence, the only one who could genuinely smile amid the frustration of his two ‘clients’ was none other than Mansfeld.
Knowing this very well, Mansfeld was confident that he was the ultimate victor of this war.
Of course, at this moment, others…
Especially the residents and nobles of the Palatinate, were likely spewing hateful words, condemning his actions of slapping his employer on the back of the head, while believing he wouldn’t last long.
However,
Mansfeld paid no attention to such criticisms and knew very well that there was no need to.
This wasn’t simply because he was the type to not care about others’ reproach.
Though he was cunning and self-serving, it would be inaccurate to say that Mansfeld was narrow-minded.
He was someone who could read the flow of the times and think long-term.
To him, this betrayal wasn’t merely an impulsive act but a calculated maneuver based on reading the situation accurately.
“If the war drags on, it’s excellent for me. In a chaotic world, military strength equates to power, and the longer this turmoil lasts, the more my value will inevitably rise.”
Though his betrayal caused the Palatinate to crumble, Mansfeld knew the war was only just beginning.
Alongside the fall of the Palatinate, King Moritz of Lorend announced his intention to accept Friedrich’s family and actively support them.
Additionally, Friedrich’s wife, who fled to Lorend, was the princess of the Britten Kingdom, making it highly likely her father, King Jim I of Britten, would also start to make moves.
Moreover, the repercussions of the Palatinate’s fall would certainly stir the nobles of the Sacred Empire nearby.
And in this situation,
they had no choice but to extend their hands toward him, as he was the single strongest force in the Empire’s heretic factions, whether they liked it or not.
People are surprisingly simple; when they see a benefit before their eyes, they can’t help but seize it.
Even though they knew their credibility was eroding, they would still rather not spend a great deal of time and resources turning their citizens and local folks into an expeditionary force but would instead calculate that it was far more advantageous to act through Mansfeld and his mercenaries, who already held well-trained elite forces and were significant in scale.
Even knowing it was a poisoned apple, those in the throes of starvation would ultimately have to swallow it.
It’s better to try something and die than to sit idly and wait to die.
Knowing this all too well,
Mansfeld was fully focused on capitalizing on the current chaotic situation and reaping whatever benefits he could.
“People may speak of loyalty to the gods and such, but in the end, they are merely creatures moved by the difference of a single coin. Even lords who blather about the cause of heretics stood idle until the Palatinate completely fell. Seeing that, it’s clear that it’s utterly impossible to deny the benefits they could gain through me.”
Thus, Mansfeld reaffirmed through this incident that notions like honor or credit are just simple façades.
And true to his expectations, shortly after, another employer appeared before Mansfeld, seeking his assistance, prompting him to eagerly move his army toward where the client was located.
With high hopes about what further benefits he and his subordinates could gain from this ‘deal’…
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