305 – I Need One More. (1)
Chapter 305: I Need One More. (1)
Raoul, having returned to his office, spoke to the following staff officers with a cold expression.
“Update the information on Penris immediately. And contact Amelia, tell her to regroup the northern lords with the support we will provide.”
The staff officers responded with slightly hesitant expressions.
“Amelia is still an unproven woman. Just recently, she was a young lady sipping tea elegantly.”
“The northern lords won’t recognize Amelia.”
“How about selecting another person? She hasn’t even subdued Baron Valua’s rebellion yet.”
“Though they say she defeated the northern coalition, they were all pathetic individuals. Isn’t it thanks to Count Raybold’s leftover military strength?”
Raoul frowned at the officers’ objections.
“So, is there another option? What we need isn’t Amelia. As I just mentioned, it’s Raybold’s military strength. There’s no one among the beggars of the north with that level of military power anymore.”
The officers fell silent. They had protested, but there was indeed no alternative as Raoul said.
Although Amelia’s rebellion had diminished her status, Raybold was still on par with Desmond.
That military strength is still among the best in the north. They had to trust in Raybold’s military, not Amelia’s.
Still, the worry wouldn’t completely disappear.
“It may not be long before Amelia could turn Raybold into a mess. She could raise a rebellion here and there, like Baron Valua, couldn’t she?”
“Then we can’t just sit back. Let’s assign someone to monitor Amelia to ensure she acts according to our wishes. We can’t let her operate freely like Harold.”
The officers nodded at Raoul’s statement.
Count Desmond was not a person who could be easily controlled by just assigning someone. Thus, they had to leave that process to chance.
But Amelia was a rookie who had just become a lord. She was probably just starting to maintain internal order, so they could control her to comply with the Duke Faction’s wishes by suitably assigning someone.
The officers knew little about Amelia. Thus, they thought she would obediently follow orders.
Of course, Raoul didn’t underestimate Amelia as much as his officers did.
‘Surely… Harold had requested someone to eliminate Jurgen. He was referring to assigning someone to Amelia. Yet, before we could send anyone, he already dealt with Jurgen and succeeded in the rebellion.’
No matter what it took, it meant she had the capability to eliminate the northern first sword. That was pretty impressive for a woman.
Having sorted his thoughts, Raoul continued in a cold voice.
“Anyway, I was already considering getting rid of Harold, so think of it as a fortunate occurrence. We will reorganize the north based on the person we send and Raybold’s army. After that, we’ll leave the handling of that Ghislaine fellow to him.”
He was a very busy man. He couldn’t focus solely on the trivial northern matters.
Though it was indeed a big deal that Ghislaine defeated Harold, there were far stronger great lords in this kingdom.
The real fight between the Duke Faction and the Crown Prince Faction is only just beginning. There are even stronger great lords aiming for each other beyond Desmond.
Raoul looked around at the officers.
“Let’s give Marquis Branford one last chance.”
“One last chance?”
“If he steps down quietly, we’ll tell him he can peacefully transfer the crown.”
The officers shook their heads, looking somewhat troubled.
He shook his head in denial.
“There’s no way the Marquis Branford would accept.”
“He’s someone who bends but never breaks, right?”
“No matter what is offered, it would be useless.”
Raoul nodded along with their words. The Marquis Branford’s temperament was well-known throughout the kingdom.
“I know. Still, it seems like His Majesty is a bit upset right now, so we should at least give him a warning.”
“A warning, you say…?”
Raoul’s snake-like eyes gleamed as he flashed a cruel smile.
“I mean to say we could turn the royal family and the Crown Prince Faction into a bloody mess.”
*
When Ghislaine gathered his retainers and declared they would begin their next task, Claude interjected.
“What task?”
There was still an overwhelming amount of work to do. They needed to move the Territory Residents of Desmond and integrate the villages, and training for the new recruits was also pending.
Before Ghislaine could even respond, Claude shouted as if in disbelief.
“Are you kidding me? We have to do everything we’ve done in our territory all over again here! We have to build residences, workshops, cultivate lands, construct roads, produce more armament, and even set up a gambling den! We need to recruit more administrators, fill the public order gaps quickly, do this and that…! Damn, why is there so much to do?”
Claude’s rant seemed endless. Everyone around him turned pale as they were reminded of the monumental tasks they had already completed.
All of this required significant manpower and funding. With the increase in population and territory, everything had grown on a much larger scale. They really had to work their fingers to the bone.
And now, they were adding even more tasks to the pile?
It felt like they might as well drop dead at the hands of Count Desmond who had returned.
As Claude went into an exaggerated fit, Ghislaine chuckled lightly and waved his hand dismissively.
“Hey, it’s not that difficult. Thanks to taking over Desmond, we can now start on new projects.”
“What is it?”
“First, let’s remind ourselves of our goals. From now on, we all know who we will be fighting against, right?”
“……”
At his words, everyone fell silent. It was now common knowledge that behind Count Desmond lay the Duke Faction.
On top of that, they had already beaten Count Cabaldy, who was officially a member of the Duke Faction, and seized territory from him.
It was obvious that the Duke Faction wouldn’t just sit still. Frankly speaking, they had managed to hold on until now because the Crown Prince Faction had been keeping them in check.
If it hadn’t been for that, wouldn’t they have been wiped out already when they struck against Count Cabaldy in Penris?
Similar thoughts raced through everyone’s minds.
‘Ah, this doesn’t seem right.’
‘Looks like we really are going to fight.’
‘How did it come to this?’
Having been dragged along in a daze by Ghislaine’s decisions, they now faced a situation that was hard to believe.
They had toppled Desmond, known as the strongest in the North, and taken his place. That was already hard to fathom, and now they had to fight the Duke Faction. It was simply too much to swallow.
In truth, they had achieved accomplishments worthy of pride. If the opponent hadn’t been the Duke Faction, they wouldn’t have been scared; instead, they might have become overconfident.
But knowing that a powerful foe awaited them, an involuntary humility rose within.
Seeing his retainers grow humble despite their great triumph, Ghislaine smiled.
“I like that attitude. A person has to be humble to avoid becoming complacent.”
“……”
Everyone remained silent. The one saying those words was someone they had never seen being humble.
“We will inevitably clash with the Duke Faction moving forward. This means the battlefield may not just be the North, but could stretch across the entire kingdom.”
“That means it could span all over the Kingdom.”
Penris alone couldn’t hold its own against the Duke Faction. In the end, they had to unite with the Crown Prince Faction and fight, which meant they would have to move frequently.
They might have to support in various places and sometimes ambush the Duke Faction’s lords.
If they only focused on defense here, they would obviously wither away.
Everyone could understand that much.
Ghislaine spread out a map and pointed to a location.
“Our next target is here.”
The retainers gulped as they confirmed the location Ghislaine indicated.
‘Gasp! That place?’
‘Are we really going to hit that place?’
‘You don’t mean us, do you?’
The location Ghislaine pointed to was the territory of Marquis Roderick, a part of the Duke Faction located in the western region of the Kingdom.
Although Roderick’s domain was classified as part of the west when considering the capital, it was close to the center of the entire Kingdom.
The vast Roderick estate connected to all regions of the Kingdom except for the east, making it a traffic hub.
Ghislaine said with an excited expression, “You know that place is super rich, right? Just by eating there, money will roll in every time you wake up.”
As a traffic hub, commerce thrived in Roderick’s territory. Thanks to that, they had accumulated an immense fortune for generations.
It was based on that overflowing money that they could become a powerful grand noble.
The Crown Prince Faction also had the Kingdom Army stationed near this territory, as it would be the biggest threat when civil war broke out due to its proximity to the capital.
If they took over this place, the Penris Army could extend in all directions at any time.
“Since the east is tightly held by Marquis Branford and the Crown Prince Faction, we don’t have to worry about that. Just by taking this place, we can jab at the Duke Faction from all sides. Our operational range would increase tremendously. And the Duke Faction nobles wouldn’t be able to move recklessly either, since they wouldn’t know when I’d hit them from behind.”
Claude scratched his head with a sour expression. It was always easy to talk.
“My Lord? Marquis Roderick is a historically great noble of the Kingdom and the supreme commander of the western army. Nobles from the Duke or Crown Prince Faction wouldn’t dare to treat him carelessly.”
Ghislaine gestured as if to encourage Claude to continue. With a sigh, he continued.
“Moreover, he’s incredibly strong. Even the poor Count Desmond from the north wouldn’t compare; this place is wealthy and powerful to a degree that can’t be compared to Desmond’s.”
“Do you even know me? Have I ever lost?”
“How many wins was that again?”
This time, Gillian held on well, and thanks to the quick arrival of reinforcements, it was lucky that they won… But hearing the story, it seemed Ghislaine had wrecked everything on her own.
So, even if he wanted to argue, he had nothing to say.
“Okay, let’s say we do manage to take that place. Do you think the Duke Faction would just let such an important strategic location go? They’d be coming at us from all directions.”
“Then we just have to smash them all.”
Claude thought internally.
“Sure, go ahead and do whatever you want. When has it ever been any different?”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He didn’t even want to persuade her anymore. It wouldn’t make a difference anyway. If the lord wanted to take it, she would find a way, no matter what.
Of course, Ghislaine didn’t just want to take Roderick’s estate because it looked delicious.
‘That guy was the ruler of the west.’
Just as the north was overseen by Count Desmond, the west was under the care of Marquis Roderick. Given that he was an incredibly powerful grand noble, it made perfect sense.
He was doing it. It was only natural, considering he was such a powerful lord.
He already had all the nobles in the West under his command. The one who first captured the capital in his past life was none other than Marquis Roderick.
If he could ambush and crush him first, there would be no one left to properly lead the western nobles.
Ghislaine had no intention of grinding down the weaklings one by one.
“I’m not saying we should attack right now. I mean we should prepare for this as our target. At this point, it won’t just be a simple territorial battle. Once the civil war breaks out, battles will erupt all over the kingdom.”
“Hmm, so we’re aiming for that opportunity,” Claude nodded. It certainly reduces risk if they’re not going to face off one-on-one.
They might even make a joint attack with the Crown Prince Faction, and Marquis Roderick could split his forces or leave his territory unguarded.
“Right, many lords will be on the move, and battles to gain strategic advantage will be constant. If we take advantage of that gap, we have a good chance of winning.”
“So how do you plan to prepare?”
“There’s a lot to prepare. The first priority is to secure a means of enhancing our mobility. That’s our biggest advantage.”
“Mobility?”
“We’re training all our soldiers to ride horses. And we’re providing them with very light Galbarium armor. There aren’t any cavalry in this kingdom with such a combination of defense and mobility as us.”
That’s true. Medium cavalry is slow and weak against long-range attacks. Light cavalry is fast but has low defense, making them easily vulnerable to archers.
Claude understood what Ghislaine wanted.
“Then we need to finish the road construction quickly.”
“Exactly, once the roads connect each territory, we can move even faster than now. But we need one more thing.”
“What else do we need?”
“What do you think? To roam around here and there, supplies are the most crucial, right?”
“Supplies?”
“Yeah, even if we normally receive supplies, the supply route could get blocked or become distant. We need to be prepared for that. Depending on the situation, we might have to move very quickly.”
“After all, we’re heading into battle; if supplies run low, we’ll have to rely on plunder.”
“I don’t embarrass myself by resorting to plunder.”
The former Plunder King stated with pride.
In reality, plundering couldn’t sustain them for long. It was a method rarely used unless in extreme situations.
It’s susceptible to tactics like scorched-earth, and plundering takes time. The residents of captured territories tend to become hostile, increasing the failure rate.
Claude knew that, but hadn’t the lord himself called himself the Plunder King? He shot a sideways glance at Ghislaine and continued.
“Aren’t you already making a lot of biscuits? It might be chicken, but we’re also slowly producing jerky now. Isn’t that enough?”
“Of course not. We won’t last long with just that.”
In this era, there are only a few types of food that are portable and have a long shelf life. Most of it was jerky or dried bread.
But even that makes it hard to last without a steady supply. It takes up more volume than you’d think. Even if you pack a few days’ worth in your backpack for emergencies, that’s the limit.
If the supply isn’t smooth, their range of action becomes restricted. And when that happens, they can’t make full use of their advantage in mobility.
That’s not what Ghislaine wanted.
So this time, he intended to solve that problem.
“We’ll create a new kind of combat food. Something easy to carry and can be stored for a very long time.”
A confident smile appeared on Ghislaine’s face.
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