282 – It’s Our Turn to Help
Chapter 282 – It’s Our Turn to Help
It wasn’t just the 3rd Legion and the Perdium Army that were busy worrying about Ghislaine.
Some were concerned about Penris more than anyone else.
[Victims of Investment Meeting]
Rosalyn and Meriel, who had gathered a hefty amount of noble investments, sighed as they looked at the banner hanging at the entrance of the Banquet Hall.
The prevailing opinion was that Count Penris would lose this time.
Count Desmond was different from the other lords. He was a major lord of the North, leading an army of 30,000.
No matter how well Ghislaine was doing lately, being hailed as the kingdom’s divine, she couldn’t compare to Count Desmond.
“Oh no! It’s over!”
“I’ve invested all my wealth!”
“I shouldn’t have invested at all!”
They had poured enormous sums of money into cosmetics and road construction. They had started the road project trusting Marquis Branford, but ultimately, the business was under Ghislaine’s management.
If Ghislaine fails, the cosmetics business is definitely finished. If the head of the business fails, who knows what will happen to the road construction.
So everyone had no choice but to fret about losing all their invested money.
Especially since there was someone who had invested more money than anyone else here.
“Wow! That crazy bastard! I brought all the other bishops’ properties and temple donations and put them in!”
It was none other than Bishop Porisco, a devout servant of Goddess Juana.
He had gained a reputation that could rival a saint and was arguably the most prominent religious figure in the capital.
Once he gained an unassailable status, he began to show his nasty habits again.
Having already accepted countless bribes, he even started playing with money by investing the temple’s funds here and there.
“What should I do? I trusted that bastard for no reason! I should have just believed in Lady Juana hard! If I lose all this money, I’ll be back at rock bottom… Wait a minute? If that guy dies, isn’t that better?”
Thinking about it, if only Ghislaine were to die, someone who knows his weaknesses would be gone. It felt okay if he died.
“No, then what will happen to my money? Just throw away all that money? Then I’ll end up destitute again.”
He wished for Ghislaine to die, but not right now. Porisco couldn’t help but see this as yet another trial from the goddess.
“Ah! Why does the divine give me these trials every time!”
While all the investors were pacing nervously, Rosalyn stepped forward and shouted.
“This isn’t a situation that can be solved by just worrying here!”
Everyone looked at her with gloomy expressions. What else could the investors do besides worrying about the business?
Rosalyn, seeming unfazed by the problem, spoke firmly.
“If you’re worried about the business going under, then we just need to help it not go under!”
“…?”
“Everyone has soldiers in the capital, right? Let’s gather them to support Count Penris!”
“….”
At her words, everyone wore sour expressions.
Of course, they had a decent number of soldiers. But that was merely insurance to stay safe in the capital. They couldn’t compare to the elite forces of Desmond, known as the strongest in the North.
Even if they gathered a few thousand, they would look pitiful in front of an army of 30,000.
But Rosalyn continued with a reassuring expression.
“My father commanded the 3rd Legion to mobilize! If they move alongside the Kingdom Army, our soldiers will be a great help too! We don’t even need to win the war! We just need to bring back Count Penris!”
“Oh….”
The nobles’ eyes sparkled. If Marquis Branford had indeed mobilized the Kingdom Army, things would be different.
Their eyes sparkled. If Marquis Branford had moved the Kingdom Army directly, things would change.
Plus, they were the Crown Prince Faction. There was absolutely no problem in striking Desmond, who raised a war without any justification.
If a civil war broke out, bigger problems would arise, but that was not something to worry about now. It mattered more that Ghislaine was dying, and they had to rescue him at all costs.
“Really, if that bastard survives again, I’m pulling out all my money.”
“I can’t live in peace with that guy around.”
“Ha, I went through this last time, yet every time I see a chance to make big money, it’s hard to back out.”
Everyone else was doing it; they were making a lot of money, so how could they not get involved? Still, this time, because it felt like their hearts were sinking, everyone really planned to pull out once this matter was resolved.
The nobles concealed their inner thoughts and willingly voted in favor of Rosalyn’s proposal.
“Sure! I will support all 100 of my personal troops!”
“I’ll send 50!”
“I’ll provide 200.”
They all scrambled to promise troops.
These were nobles with plenty of money and power. Just gathering the soldiers they promised amounted to about 3,000.
The unexpectedly large number slightly surprised the nobles.
“Ha-ha, still, gathering our personal troops has resulted in quite a significant number.”
“Of course, isn’t investment all about gathering support like this?”
“With this kind of number, it will really help.”
Rosalyn clenched her fist. The nobles’ response was better than expected. If they moved with the Kingdom Army, the chances of rescuing Ghislaine would increase.
Meriel, wearing a satisfied smile, said, “The Count Ailzbur family will provide food and military funds.”
“Oooh!”
The nobles admired her.
Moving 3,000 troops at once wasn’t easy. They were looking to see if they should put in additional funds, but it was truly a relief that Meriel took care of that.
With decisions made quickly, Rosalyn looked at Bishop Porisco, who was attending the feast, and said, “Bishop! Please support just 10 priests! Not those low-ranking priests like last time, but skilled ones!”
“Uh? But the Temple shouldn’t be participating in the war…”
“Just like last time, they just need to ensure that Count Penris doesn’t die! For humanitarian reasons!”
“Hmm…”
“If something happens and Count Penris or a key technician from the territory gets hurt or dies! Even if we go to help, it would be pointless! Are you really willing to lose the Temple’s precious donations?”
“Ugh… I shouldn’t…”
Porisco hesitated. As Rosalyn said, the precious… no, his precious money couldn’t be lost.
After all, since he wouldn’t be directly participating in the war, the priests wouldn’t be in danger.
The humanitarian rescue activity was a widely accepted excuse among the nobles.
“Ugh… It can’t be helped… If this is the will of the Goddess, then I have no choice but to follow.”
After struggling with his thoughts, Porisco chose money over Ghislaine’s life. He effectively pushed the responsibility onto the Goddess. He was indeed a man with a firm belief.
“Alright… Since everyone is united in this, it must be due to the guidance of Lady Juana. I will send the priests.”
Thus, the Capital Nobles’ Alliance, or in other words, the gathering of investment victims, was formed.
Rosalyn let out a sigh of relief. They couldn’t let their guard down, but with the 3rd Legion, she felt they could somehow rescue Ghislaine.
‘He’s got quite the following, doesn’t he?’
Regardless of their intentions, thousands of troops were on the move to save Ghislaine.
The commander of the allied forces was Lord Etherian, who had war experience and had invested a great amount.
The commander of the allied forces was the Earl Etherian, who had war experience and had invested a significant amount of funds.
At the departure ceremony, he shouted with a confident expression.
“I will definitely rescue Count Penris!”
“Wooaaah! Earl Etherian is the best!”
Receiving cheers from the nobles, the army of the Capital Nobles closely followed the 3rd Legion.
*
“Is everything ready?”
As Ghislaine tied bandages in his hands, Claude responded with a tense expression.
“Two thousand Elves and archer cavalry, one thousand cavalry, all set.”
“What about the knights?”
“All 300 are armed and standing by.”
“Any news from Gillian?”
“Not yet…”
A month had already passed since the war broke out. News had come that the fortress had fallen, but Gillian’s whereabouts were still unknown.
A few days ago, there had been information about skirmishes with Desmond’s army, but since then, there had been no updates.
It wasn’t easy to gather information due to Count Desmond’s reconnaissance and pursuit teams, and Gillian couldn’t expose his location either.
Swish.
Ghislaine unfolded a map and stared intently at a specific spot.
Nodding several times, he asked Claude again.
“Did we say my father and the Kingdom Army, along with the Capital Nobles alliance?”
“Yes, they set off quite some time ago. They’ll arrive at the territory boundary soon.”
“We can fill the gaps with their troops then. My letter was delivered properly, right?”
“Yes, it was delivered securely, and I received a response.”
Ghislaine nodded silently.
He wanted to prepare more, but he couldn’t. The longer he took, the more danger Gillian and others would face.
All personnel of the territory were dedicating their full strength to producing new bows. Thanks to that, they could barely fill the shortfall.
The concentrated training of the archer cavalry had shown some results, and with the bow production finished, there was no more time to waste.
As Ghislaine stepped outside the fortress, a massive crowd surged toward him.
“My Lord! We can fight too!”
“We will protect the fortress!”
“We will join you! Please take us with you!”
These were the territory residents equipped with weapons, eager to fight.
All of them shouted loudly, filled with enthusiastic expressions.
The territory residents, who had always been disheartened and indifferent to the nobles’ wars, were now stepping up themselves.
It’s truly a blessing. With people like these, they could block anything.
But not now.
“I appreciate your spirit, but it’s not your time to fight yet.”
He could not let them fight now. The lives of the territory residents had just begun to stabilize and their productivity was on the rise.
But if the territory fell into ruin because of war and many residents died? It would take even more time than before.
If this battle was to be the last and if the Duke faction’s main force had invaded, he would have called for full mobilization and fought.
It would be a battle they only needed to win once.
But that’s not the case now. Desmond was merely a mountain they had to overcome in the middle. That’s why Ghislaine initially intended to retreat from this place for a while.
The territory residents showed frustrated faces at Ghislaine’s refusal, but there was nothing they could do.
“We’re just weak right now…”
“This time, we can only rely on our lord…”
“We just have to get through this crisis. Next time, we will definitely…”
They had lived too complacently. Recently, there were rumors that the territory was being targeted, and many had signed up to serve as soldiers, but that was not enough.
They should have trained earlier and built the strength to protect the territory.
I should have raised him.
The territory residents felt a deep sense of regret and sorrow about that.
If given another chance, they vowed never to live like this again.
They all carried such determination.
Ghislaine scanned the territory residents and looked at the army standing before him.
Three hundred knights clad in black armor wore fierce expressions as if they could explode at any moment.
Though they always bickered, Gillian and the knights in the fortress had been companions all along. Hearing that they were risking their lives to hold back the enemy made him want to run to them quickly.
“Huuk… Huuk…”
Everyone was panting heavily, perhaps fueled by a surge of anger.
Ghislaine turned his head again.
Vanessa and Alfoy led a group of robed mages gathered to one side.
They showed a bit of nervousness, but they didn’t appear to be overly afraid.
Desmond’s Army had many mages. To counter them, Penris’ mages needed to step up now.
Thud.
The furious stomp of hooves made Ghislaine turn his head toward the sound.
In front were about two hundred elves led by Lumina and Ascon. Behind them were two thousand archer cavalry.
They were to play the most crucial role in this war.
They all had new bows strapped to their waists.
Behind them, over a thousand cavalry, including the labor assault units, were mounted and waiting.
Another difference compared to the last war was that Belinda and a few others were nowhere to be seen.
After observing those gathered, Ghislaine slowly opened his mouth.
“Right now, our friends are risking their lives against the enemy’s great army, shedding blood to buy us time.”
The knights began to exhale more heavily, looking ready to leap out at any moment.
Ghislaine’s words continued softly yet powerfully.
“The enemy is Desmond, known as the strongest in the North. They’ve brought an army of thirty thousand, while we can barely gather four thousand. So, those who are afraid are free to leave.”
Boom!
One knight slammed his spear hard into the ground as if to silence the jokes. The other knights followed suit, striking their spears down.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Their eyes reflected intense battle spirit. Ghislaine let out a satisfied smile.
“Good. We can’t delay any longer. We must not waste their courage and sacrifice.”
Boom!
Once again, the knights thrust their spears into the ground. The rumble resounded like the beat of a heart. The heartbeat and breath of everyone listening slowly began to quicken.
“Now it’s our turn to help them.”
With that sentence, Ghislaine immediately mounted his horse. The waiting knights also climbed onto their steeds.
As all preparations were finished, Ghislaine firmly grasped the reins of the Black King.
“Let’s go, save our friends and smash Desmond!”
Heeey!
The Black King reared up, letting out a cry. Then it immediately kicked off the ground powerfully and charged forward.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
The knights and soldiers followed behind Ghislaine.
They were all cavalry. They looked entirely different from when they were holed up in the fortress.
The Penris Army began to dash forward at an incredible speed, as if they were unleashing all the power they had been gathering.
On top of the Black King, Ghislaine bit down hard.
‘Just hold on a little longer, Gillian.’
His eyes were filled with the intent to kill as if he was about to destroy everything.
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