66th Chapter: I Have No Choice But to Change the Game Myself. (2)
While all the retainers were busily preparing for war, Randolf was struggling with how to devise a strategy.
“After all, the answer is a charge. We push as hard as we can into the enemy’s depth. Once we create chaos, their formation will collapse.”
In reality, the Perdium army had often benefitted from charges while fighting in the north.
“What’s so hard about it? My brother and I can just smash them all! Right? That should work.”
Zvalter and Randolf, being high-ranking knights, could afford to say such things.
Sure, there were strong knights on the opposing side as well, but Randolf deliberately pushed such thoughts from his mind.
After all, with Perdium’s troops outnumbered, there weren’t many tactics available. Charge, just charge—that was the truth.
Zvalter had primarily taken charge of battlefield commands, but this time Randolf firmly believed that his strategy would be adopted.
“What’s the most suitable battlefield? I should discuss this with my brother. As for the formation….”
As Randolf pondered over formations and troop arrangements, his thoughts suddenly drifted to the mercenaries led by Ghislaine.
“Fortunately, the Grand Duke is leading the mercenaries; that’s a relief.”
Even one soldier was a loss, yet the mercenaries under the Grand Duke were quite a significant force.
Even if they gathered all the conscripts, the numbers wouldn’t amount to much, and their combat power was negligible.
Amidst all this, having a few hundred mercenaries with strong personal combat abilities was like rain in a drought.
“Wait, I shouldn’t be wasting such good troops on their own. I need to take command and integrate them all into the assault team.”
The inexperienced Grand Duke couldn’t be allowed to command high-level troops.
The Grand Duke should participate as a knight, while the mercenaries should be placed under the command of the Supreme Commander.
“So he better listen this time. If not, I might have to threaten him with punishment for disobeying orders.”
With hurried steps, Randolf went in search of Ghislaine.
No matter how reckless the young master was, he couldn’t be stubborn when the territory was on the brink.
Determined to find a way to take the mercenaries, Randolf searched frantically, but Ghislaine was nowhere to be seen.
“Huh? Where could he be? Is he at the fortress?”
Randolf hopped on his horse and galloped towards the northern castle gate.
Upon arriving at the fortress where the mercenaries were stationed and looking around, a sudden wave of unease washed over him.
Only laborers passed by occasionally; not a single mercenary was in sight.
The only remaining forces at the fortress were Guard Commander Skoban, his deputy Ricardo, and a few soldiers.
“Hey, where are the mercenaries? Where’s the Grand Duke?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you know?”
“Suddenly, he came and took them all away.”
Skoban, the Guard Commander of the Forest of Monsters, responded with a perplexed expression.
He too didn’t know where the Grand Duke had taken the mercenaries.
“Ugh, that brat, could it be?”
Randolf hurriedly returned to the castle to find Belinda.
“Belinda! Where’s Belinda?!”
Belinda always stayed by Ghislaine’s side. Surely she would know where he was.
However, there was no one in the castle. No Belinda, no big guy who always hung out with Ghislaine, no one causing trouble at all.
Only then did Randolf realize the situation and collapse.
“This bastard… he ran away to save himself! Uwaaaah! Ghislaine! You jerk!”
Somehow, it felt off when he acted surprisingly calm about holding the defense.
But seriously, how could a Grand Duke of a territory sneak away like this?
While his father and retainers were preparing to fight with their lives on the line, what a disgrace this was!
“You scoundrel! I’ll definitely throw you into prison!”
Furious, Randolf ordered the remaining soldiers to find the others and then went in search of Zvalter.
As soon as the retainers gathered, Randolf exploded with anger about the Grand Duke’s escape.
The already gloomy atmosphere sank even further.
“Ghislaine… has run away?”
Zvalter asked back in disbelief.
“Yes! He took his entire crew and disappeared!”
Randolf’s blood boiled as he hopped around in rage.
Baron Homern tried to calm him down, wiping the sweat beading on his forehead.
“Maybe he just went out for a quick reconnaissance?”
“Who takes their entire crew when they go scouting?”
At that moment, Albert suddenly shouted as if he thought of something.
“The Runestone! Didn’t we just dig up some Runestones recently? Let’s check if we have them! If there are any left, he can’t have run away.”
Homern nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. He wouldn’t leave behind money when escaping. Hurry and check!”
A short while later, the soldiers returned after checking Ghislaine’s personal storage and reported, “The storage… is empty.”
Everyone’s faces turned serious.
It was an unbelievable situation, but considering Ghislaine’s behavior, it was entirely possible.
One retainer hesitantly spoke up, “Come to think of it, mercenaries have been going in and out of the Grand Duke’s storage for a while now. It’s likely they didn’t manage to move all those Runestones at once… They must have moved them in advance.”
Other testimonies came in, one after another.
“There was a time when mercenaries forced soldiers to change places on night castle gate duty. It seemed they were trying to hide the theft of the Runestones.”
“I never thought the Grand Duke would have such thoughts. It fits, though…”
As the retainers’ testimonies continued, Zvalter pressed his temples and closed his eyes.
“In the end, was that all you were worth, you fool? To throw away your honor is to lose any claim to life… Did you have no pride at all?!”
Why would a noble be noble?
If you gained honor and benefits, you also carry the heavy burden of responsibility.
Nobles who do not take responsibility are worse than slaves.
“It’s over before the fight even starts.”
If the fact that the Grand Duke ran away before the war got out, the soldiers’ morale would plummet.
It would be the same as admitting defeat.
It was already a disadvantage, and leading such soldiers into war was futile. No one would risk their life to fight.
“You’ll just barely survive and keep your family name alive. Why didn’t you take your younger sibling with you?”
If he was going to throw away his honor to survive, it would have been better to run away with his sibling.
He was a selfish guy who only cared about himself till the end.
While Zvalter was gritting his teeth, the entrance to the main hall was getting noisy as someone was dragged in.
“Let go! Do you know who I am to treat me this way!”
The ones brought in were Alfoy, the Mages, and Vanessa.
Seeing them, Randolf clenched his teeth and approached.
“Aha, there were some guys who got left behind in such a hurry to run away.”
“Wait, just wait a moment!”
Baron Homern urgently stopped Randolf.
It was clear that if he threw a punch first, there would be no way to have a proper conversation.
Homern walked up to Alfoy and asked, “You lot! Do you know where the Grand Duke went?”
Under such sudden questioning, Alfoy also snapped back angrily, “Argh! What the hell is wrong with your territory?! Do you know who I am to treat me like this?”
“And who are you? Just a worthless mercenary, right?”
Homern glared at Alfoy, looking down at him dismissively.
Alfoy glared at Homern and shouted loudly.
“I am the number one in the North….”
He suddenly realized he shouldn’t have said that and clamped his mouth shut.
“I… I…”
His mind was racing with the need to keep a secret; he could barely take it.
After stuttering a few more times, Alfoy angrily shouted again.
“You don’t need to know who I am!”
All the retainers, including Zvalter, wore expressions mixed with disdain.
“Tsk, tsk, there’s not a decent one in that guy’s company.”
Homern shook his head and asked Alfoy.
“We don’t care who you are. Do you know where the Grand Duke ran off to?”
“Wh-what? He ran away?”
“Yeah, when the war broke out, he got scared and took off. Did he give you any hints?”
Homern asked, not expecting much.
If the guy was important enough to be told where to go, he wouldn’t have left them behind like this.
Alfoy looked around in disbelief.
Seeing the lord and the retainers’ expressions, it really seemed like Ghislaine had disappeared.
“That guy ran away? After gobbling up the mage tower and bringing us along?”
Clenching his teeth in anger, Alfoy tilted his head.
“Did he really run away?”
Though Alfoy wasn’t well-versed in the world, he wasn’t an idiot.
Looking at Ghislaine’s actions so far, that guy wasn’t one to run away from a war.
Unless he was completely reckless and didn’t care about his life.
“Ha! You guys are from the same territory and still don’t know him well? He’s not the type to run away. He’s crazy and lives in the moment!”
As Alfoy laughed heartily, the retainers frowned.
The retainers of Perdium had long watched Ghislaine’s pathetic antics.
That’s why they couldn’t help but hold a bias against Ghislaine.
But Alfoy was different. Unless there was some different kind of bias.
Homern decided it was useless to ask a lunatic and approached Vanessa.
“Are you a mercenary too? I heard the Grand Duke took you to the training ground every day. He seems to care for you quite a bit.”
Vanessa swallowed hard with nervousness and bowed deeply.
“I greet the Lord and Chief Officer.”
Homern was a bit surprised by her polite demeanor.
He had never seen such a normal person among Ghislaine’s entourage.
“Ahem, at least you seem somewhat human. So, what do you do by Ghislaine’s side?”
“I… I am the Grand Duke’s… maid.”
Vanessa could not bring herself to say she was Ghislaine’s exclusive mage.
How could she explain being an exclusive mage when she couldn’t even use first-circle magic properly?
However, her response from her conscience made Homern frown and click his tongue.
“There are plenty of maids in the castle, so why… Well, it’s true there aren’t many wanting to serve the Grand Duke.”
“……”
When Vanessa didn’t respond, Homern pressed her.
“Did the Grand Duke give you any hints? If you know anything, say something.”
“I… I…”
There was something Ghislaine always told her.
— You are the key to victory. With you, I will surely win the war.
“I-I have a promised victory…”
“What?”
Vanessa couldn’t continue and clamped her mouth shut.
How could she say such an embarrassing line herself!
So she cut it short and only said what she could.
“He said he would surely win this war.”
“Victory, what victory…? That guy ran off quickly? And took all the runestones with him?”
“The Grand Duke is not that kind of person!”
“Hey! Who do you think you are to speak loudly before the Lord? Tsk, they’re all the same kind of people.”
Homern grimaced as if to say, “Of course.”
Since Ghislaine abandoned them, there was nothing to gain by pressing further.
At that moment, an absurd thought flashed through Alfoy’s mind.
He raised his hand slightly and said, “Could it be that guy…”
But Zvalter cut him off.
“Enough. It seems they know nothing, so let’s send them back for now.”
Alfoy clicked his tongue and retreated with the mages.
With the soldiers, they retreated.
There was no obligation to inform someone who didn’t want to listen.
Vanessa, unsure of what to do, kept bowing and then turned away.
Looking at them, Zvalter let out a deep breath.
‘Ghislaine, since you’ve run away, just survive somehow.’
*
On a low hill, between densely packed trees, Ghislaine and the mercenaries were lined up.
Everyone was ready to ride out at any moment.
Unlike the tense mercenaries, Ghislaine had a rather relaxed expression.
Belinda worriedly asked Ghislaine.
“Young Master, wouldn’t it be better to fight together at the castle to minimize damage? Isn’t it dangerous?”
“It’s fine. It’s just a supply unit. We need to cut them off first. That’s how we can hold out at the castle.”
“But they outnumber us by more than double… if we’re unprepared, it’ll be a big problem.”
“Maybe. But those guys, since they’re overwhelmingly strong, they probably don’t think we’ll charge at them.”
The most important thing in preventing an ambush is recognizing the possibility of being ambushed.
But Ghislaine was sure the enemies wouldn’t think that way.
“They probably think we’re holed up in the castle. They’ll look down on us, thinking we’re trembling in fear.”
“Hmm, that’s true, but…”
“If their ambush fails, our already small troop will dwindle even more, so they’ll be confident that we won’t rashly try anything.”
“Isn’t that a bit too optimistic? What if we fail?”
“We won’t fail. Ambushes work best when the enemy underestimates us.”
Belinda was actually okay with an ambush failing.
She just worried that Ghislaine, who was experiencing war for the first time, might get hurt for no reason.
With a cool smile, Ghislaine continued.
“At first, the main force won’t care about the supply unit at all. Whether we disappear or not doesn’t concern them.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’re just thinking about eliminating us quickly. They brought siege equipment, didn’t they? The supply unit is probably just a ragtag bunch assembled by Digald. There’s no way they’d prepare for an ambush.”
In the first place, 6,000 men wasn’t a troop level Digald could manage.
He must have received support, and that support would likely be with the main force.
So the supply unit could only operate with Digald’s troops.
“Anyway, they arrived just in time.”
In the distance, the supply unit from Digald was setting up camp.
Ghislaine had led the mercenaries on a wide detour around Perdium and had been riding non-stop for a day.
After spotting Digald’s supply unit, they gradually closed the distance.
The distance had widened a bit while prioritizing the ambush, but they could easily catch up on horseback.
As night deepened, only torches flickered in the enemy’s position.
With over a thousand soldiers, the number of tents and torches was quite considerable.
Confident that it was the right time, Ghislaine looked up at the sky.
The moon was obscured by clouds, and not a single beam of light was visible.
“What perfect weather for killing,” Ghislaine said, and the mercenaries began to quietly laugh.
Occasionally, Ghislaine exuded a mix of leisure and strange confidence.
Seeing that, the mercenaries relaxed a bit.
“Let’s get started.”
As Belinda tightly wrapped bandages around Ghislaine’s hands, she earnestly warned him.
“Please be really careful. If it gets dangerous, fall back.”
“Yeah, don’t worry.”
After flexing his bandaged hands a few times, Ghislaine extended one hand out to the side.
Gillian handed over a large battle axe.
“It feels heavy and good.”
With the double-edged axe in one hand, Ghislaine raised his other hand.
“Prepare yourselves.”
As soon as the command was given, the heavily armored mercenaries mounted their horses and raised their spears.
Whoosh!
The horses seemed to sense the approaching battle and began to paw the ground.
Ghislaine spoke up.
“We don’t need prisoners.”
He slowly stretched out his hands forward, a cruel smile gracing his handsome face.
“Kill them all.”
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