Chapter 193. Engagement – Sagittarius
By the time the army set out from Avril Castle and arrived at the battlefield, it was spring, when the scent of winter had faded. Leo looked around the hastily constructed fortifications with some unfamiliarity.
The soldiers smelled green. Their armor was clean, and the weapons they carried had yet to see blood. They fussed over the wounded brought in.
It was the early days of the military camp.
Although the generals of both sides were only conducting light reconnaissance before the real fighting began, the soldiers acted as if they were already in the chaos of a bloody frenzy. Some waited for their turn with hubris, while others were jittery with fear.
The swirling emotions seemed ridiculous. These men would either become corpses or grow numb to blood and death within two months. They would become the favored, cold, hard pawns of the generals.
These were sights that could be seen because they arrived two weeks early on the battlefield.
Up to now, Leo had always arrived at the battlefield a month after the war had started, but this time, Avril Castle had made preparations in advance, and their arrival was hastened.
A significant factor was not joining the troops departing from the capital along the way.
As it wasn’t necessary to wait, they came directly to the battlefield. Leo wondered how the flat-nosed centurion, who always quieted down after a bribe, would react to him now as a knight, but he missed out on that small delight.
At that moment, the knight who had been inspecting the fortifications with Leo called for the leader of a thousand men. A burly soldier saluted with precision.
Although someone of his rank usually received treatment similar to that of a knight, this soldier was actually a centurion.
During the march, he was temporarily assigned the rank of leader of a thousand men to lead the soldiers, so the knight spoke down to him.
“We’re going to report to the Commander-in-Chief. You wait here for a while and then go find the administrator. He’ll give you instructions.”
“Yes, understood.”
Leo and four other knights made their way to the Commander-in-Chief’s tent. Leo waved to the squires gathered far off, indicating he’d be back.
Lena returned the gesture with a salute.
Soon, they were in the Commander-in-Chief’s tent. Four long poles stood in the large tent where the senior knight reported,
“Long time no see, Earl.”
He started his report.
“I’ve brought soldiers from Avril Castle. 300 tribe warriors, 900 main force soldiers, 18 squires, 5 knights. No mages or priests. The Crusader Church… Yes, it’s the same case for others as well. Most of the warriors are axe fighters. Their weapons are in good condition, and 113 of them are quite confident in archery. We haven’t tested if they can be assigned as archers. The gender ratio is about 8 to 2, with a higher proportion of women among the Einarr tribe warriors. We brought 90 horses, eight of which are suitable for combat, and seventeen are fast movers. It would be good to distribute them to couriers. We also brought thirty-six loads of supplies, twenty-seven of which are food. One ton of sugar and salt each, thirty-two tons of radimu, twenty tons of potatoes, and jerky…”
The senior knight continued his report. The Commander-in-Chief occasionally asked questions like “What types of medical supplies?” or “What is the training level of the soldiers?” and soon smiled satisfactorily.
“Good. It’s regrettable that you couldn’t bring much alcohol, but thank you for bringing many weapons and tobacco. I know the timeline was tight, good job.”
“Thank you.”
“But why are there five knights? Did one desert?”
Hahaha! The people in the tent laughed ceremonially at the Commander-in-Chief’s joke.
“No, one was added. This is Leo Dexter. He received an interim knighthood at Avril Castle, and as you may know, he is the famous Noel Dexter’s son.”
“Noel Dexter?”
He seemed confused.
After thinking for a while, he exclaimed, “Ah! Noel!” indicating he likely wasn’t in Bernoulli during the civil war. Noel Dexter was only famous in the capital.
The Commander-in-Chief greeted him warmly.
Although it was clear he wasn’t very interested, Leo’s young age impressed and garnered praise, possibly owing to his accomplishment of meeting Armold de Klaus, Prince of the Blood of the King.
The senior knight also credited Leo for securing many supplies.
After the formalities, the senior knight asked,
“How should we allocate the soldiers we brought? The soldiers from Avril Castle are ready for immediate deployment. However, the warriors have not yet been organized.”
“No need to organize them right away. We were just planning to separate the warriors. Perfect timing. Administrator, merge the Avril Castle soldiers and squires with the main force. Send the warriors to the nearby hills to hunt. Picking some vegetables would be good too.”
The Commander-in-Chief leaned back leisurely in his chair.
“It’s just the beginning, we need to feed them well first. Even scared soldiers will want to fight with full bellies.”
He was a fairly experienced general. Having been a general in the ‘Nine-Day War’ ten years ago, he knew how to drive soldiers into dire situations.
The general must possess fundamental virtues. Rather than boosting the soldiers’ morale by borrowing the name of the king and the kingdom, he should be able to draw out their voluntary enthusiasm.
In any case, the senior knight who came to report had no further business with the supreme commander. Having handed over the soldiers he led, he saluted as he said he would now go to see the head knight.
At that moment, Leo interrupted.
“Supreme Commander, excuse me. I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“May I remove my squire from the organizational structure?”
The supreme commander looked puzzled, as if he did not understand what was being said. So, Leo added an explanation.
“I would like to take my squire with me.”
“What do you mean? Take him where? Where to?”
It was only after saying this much that the supreme commander seemed to understand and furrowed his brow deeply.
“It’s not something I should be involved in. Do as you wish. But you’ll need permission from the head knight.”
“Thank you.”
Leo bowed and left the room. However, the expressions of the knights who came out with him were strange. They seemed hesitant, as if they wanted to say something to Leo.
“Arrogant.” ─ Perhaps this was what they wanted to say?
The request Leo had just made was in fact not only arrogant but also came across as extremely presumptuous.
A knight who joined the order was assigned a senior mentor. This was to mean that they should learn the basics from a veteran knight, but it was also the basic unit for deployment in battle.
How could an interim knight dare to break such conventions? Under normal circumstances, it would be unheard of.
However, unlike the frowning supreme commander, the knights knew Leo’s skills. Despite being very young, his depth in swordsmanship was immeasurable. He was robust enough to wound a man’s pride, exuding an overwhelming vitality.
[Achievement: Beast Hunting – ‘3’, a faint mana resides in the body.]
[Achievement: Expert – Leo’s body becomes stronger.]
To add to that, his body had the talent of imbibing mana…
Leo’s physique emitted a power far exceeding what the muscles of that size should, and the knights couldn’t scold him for being arrogant. They clenched their teeth, feeling the immense gap in skills.
Fine. It’s better this way. They had no intention of becoming the mentor to such a monster and wished Leo to rise far beyond them.
It hurt their pride, but this was nothing new. They too were royal knights who would not easily be daunted in terms of swordsmanship, but the nature of the order was that it was composed of individuals from across the kingdom, and thus, hierarchies inevitably formed.
This hierarchy could be discerned merely by looking at which knightly order a given knight belonged to.
Aside from the Aisel Kingdom, known as the Magic Kingdom, other kingdoms had three knightly orders. These were classified into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Knight Orders, with the 1st usually having the superior knights.
This was because those who performed best in the admission exams were sent to the 1st Knight Order. For example, a historically youngest knight like Noel Dexter would almost certainly join the 1st Knight Order.
Thus, those who achieved quickly were first recruited by the 1st and 2nd Orders, making it a fact that the knights of the 3rd Order were generally a step behind.
However, that was generally speaking. There were many exceptions.
A prime example would be…
The Sword Master of the Austin Kingdom, Baron Arpen Albacete, was a product of the 3rd Knight Order.
Awarded in the Maunine-Retii Tournament and becoming a knight, he was a native (barbarian) who joined the 3rd Knight Order as he did not take the admission test.
On the surface, it might seem like an injustice for such a talented individual, but back then, his skills were not exceptional. Even after becoming a knight, he was nothing more or less than a warrior who insisted on using an axe.
However, he grew at a remarkable pace. Despite it being rare for knights to be transferred, he moved from the 2nd Order to the 1st Order, and just before the civil war erupted, he became the head of a knightly order, breaking even the convention that only nobles could attain such a position.
And by the end of the civil war, he had become a Sword Master. He became the first barbarian to be ennobled.
Of course, Baron Albacete’s case was an extreme example. Even so, many who started from the 3rd Order achieved great things.
The current 3rd Knight Order head of the Austin Kingdom, ‘Jensen Baileigh’, who Leo and the knights were now visiting, was also among those.
The mid-aged knight with a heavily starched uniform scrutinized Leo and asked.
“Noel Dexter’s son?”
After the senior knight’s report, there was an introduction for the interim knight, Leo. Jensen stood up and extended his hand for a handshake.
“I saw you a few times when you were young, but time has surely flown. Nice to meet you. You resemble your mother more. How is she? Has your father ever talked about me?”
His face was covered with scars. Though he had received prolonged treatment and the flesh hadn’t sunk in, the color was different.
It would be hard to notice the elegant oval face because of this. The colors of his face were varied to the extent that it looked almost colorful in places, with the most severe scar stretching from his right cheekbone to his nose, so wide that it was a wonder he was still alive.
Even more so, Leo was flustered when he realized he had met someone from his past. He couldn’t respond immediately and hesitated.
“It would have been fine to just answer, ‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’”
However, he had no idea what kind of relationship this person had with his father, and having been betrayed by strangers many times before, Leo was scared. ‘What if pretending to know him causes a big problem?’
In such situations, it’s best not to say anything.
Leo silently lowered his head, and Jensen gently shook the hand he was holding. Misinterpreting Leo’s silence, Jensen muttered, “You must still be angry with me.”
Having nothing to add, Leo changed the subject. He asked if he could operate independently without a protector, just with his subordinate.
“Why?”
“Because my subordinate is my fiancée.”
Leo closed his mouth after saying only this. He had many things he wanted to say if asked to explain, but he left it for the person to imagine.
As a result, the once amicable look in the steadfast Marshall’s eyes cooled.
“I see. Well, if that’s what you want, I’ll allow it.”
Jensen smirked, looking quite displeased. His densely scarred face twisted before he composed himself and spoke firmly.
“However! I have to say, it’s quite presumptuous of you. This is a battlefield, not a place to play tag with your fiancée. Are you still determined?”
“Yes.”
“…Then you’ll have to prove it with skill.”
Crunch.
Jensen Baileigh drew his sword. As he held up a large two-handed sword with a square tip, he shouted.
“Let’s see how impressive you have become. Don’t blame me; I’m doing this all for you!”
– Whir!
Jensen’s sword emitted a unique piercing sound as it plummeted down. And shortly after, Leo had become a master.
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