Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: The Holy Knight's Trap
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“Very well, then. I’ll leave the rest to you all. Both Lord Eugene and I have high expectations.”
“Oh! From Lord Eugene himself?”
“Indeed. No matter what anyone says, this is the lord’s rightful territory—the very first one he claimed. He has a special affection for it.”
The men gathered in the office smiled brightly as they watched Delmondo, who hadn’t removed his black hat even indoors.
“We heard Lord Eugene has become the Duke of Brantia.”
“And the rumors say the Brantia expedition is going smoothly.”
“Correct. And soon, the lord will establish a royal house there. In other words, our territory will become land owned by the Brantia royal family. I trust you all understand what that means.”
Ooooh…!
The men couldn’t hide their excitement and let out gasps of admiration. Delmondo watched them with a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
‘That’s right. It’s all true, so spread the word far and wide. That way, the great one’s fame will rise even higher, and the territory will prosper all the more.’
The five men gathered in Delmondo’s office were all guild masters from various fields.
As the village around the lord’s castle grew in size, the need for guilds arose, and Delmondo had taken the initiative to scout suitable candidates and establish them himself.
Normally, guilds were formed by practitioners in each field banding together on their own, but Delmondo knew from experience that this often led to all sorts of problems and headaches.
He had seen firsthand, during his time as an imperial official, how the growing power of guilds—interest groups by nature—gave headaches to the rulers of cities and nations.
So, as the population boomed and certain essential industries expanded with the territory’s development, he had received Mopern’s backing and taken the lead in creating the guilds himself.
The guild masters of Mopern had welcomed it with open arms, since it meant their own people could become the inaugural guild masters of Lord Eugene’s territory.
“As you all know, the prosperity of our Eugene Territory means greater profits for you as well. So I trust you won’t do anything to disappoint the lord.”
“Of course! Just leave it to us!”
“We won’t let Lord Eugene or Lord Delmondo down.”
The men bowed their heads deeply, fully aware of why Delmondo had appointed them as guild masters.
A territory with its own mines, backed by a frontier lord who was practically the hegemon of the Kalsbaegin Peninsula—and now even a foreign duke.
Becoming the inaugural guild master in such a place meant a smooth path to success lay ahead, so they had no choice but to avoid falling out of Delmondo’s favor.
“Lord Regent! Lord Delmondo!”
At that moment, commotion erupted outside, and a guard burst through the door.
“Sir! I’m sorry, but the situation is urgent!”
“What? What’s going on?”
“An unidentified force has set up camp outside the village!”
“Hmm?”
“What did you say?”
“A f-force?”
Delmondo tilted his hat brim slightly as the guild masters buzzed in alarm.
“What kind of scum are they? Bandits, perhaps?”
Ever since Essendra Archbold had fully unified the Kalsbaegin Peninsula, security in the region had stabilized.
Of course, bandits and Roamer monsters hadn’t vanished entirely, but all major groups had been crushed, making it a far cry from the past—like heaven in comparison.
Yet now, in these times, someone dared to stage an armed demonstration right in front of Yan Eugene’s territory?
“They number around a hundred, by the look of it. Their morale is high, and their armament is no joke. No banners, so we don’t know who they are, but they don’t seem like riffraff.”
The guards of Eugene Territory were mostly veteran mercenaries who had long served on the Kalsbaegin Peninsula, so they were experienced and reliable. Hearing their report, Delmondo furrowed his brow.
“Let’s go see.”
Delmondo left the office with the guild masters.
It was an overcast day thick with storm clouds, so he climbed atop the village walls wearing only his hat pulled low, without his mask.
The guards, who had been peering anxiously outside, snapped to attention and saluted crisply.
“Hmm.”
Delmondo’s red eyes turned icy cold as he gazed down from the wall.
As the guard had reported, the force of just over a hundred unidentified soldiers didn’t look like amateurs. Among them were even knights clad in chain mail and plate mail.
Then, one knight mounted on a black horse rode forward to the gates, removed his helmet, and bellowed loudly.
“I am Vermoff of Brickfell! I am a Holy Knight who has come to purify the territory of this filthy heretic!”
“……!?”
Delmondo’s eyes widened more in shock at the knight’s identity than at the absurd excuse about heretics.
“A Holy Knight?”
“Why would a Holy Knight from the Central Church come here?”
“No, more importantly, how did he get here? He couldn’t have crossed the mountains. Did he come through Mopern?”
The guild masters grew agitated.
The Karo Mountains, dividing the peninsula from the Kaylor Kingdom mainland, were so high and treacherous that crossing was nearly impossible except during the brief summer thaw.
Even then, the summer was fraught with savage mountain beasts and monsters, making it more dangerous than other seasons.
It was now autumn, so the only explanation was that the knight claiming to be a Holy Knight and his forces had come via Mopern’s port.
“N-no way Mopern has fallen, right?”
“No chance! Not with that number. And if it had, the guilds there would have sent word already.”
“Did they sneak in?”
“Probably.”
Delmondo nodded at the guild masters’ exchange.
If they had split up on multiple ships and disguised their weapons as cargo, a force that size could easily slip into Mopern.
At that moment, the self-proclaimed Holy Knight Brickfell shouted again.
“Commanding monsters of the demon realm with evil sorcery is a grave crime that directly violates divine providence and church law! Thus, I, Brickfell, vested with authority from the Central Church, demand you hand over the monsters controlled by this heretic leader at once! Let the one responsible crawl on his knees and repent before God and the Church!”
“That bastard’s insane?”
“Seeing him spout such nonsense so boldly in Kalsbaegin… he really must be a Central Church Holy Knight!”
The guild masters flew into a rage at Brickfell’s fanatical ravings. The guards were equally incensed, fingers itching on their crossbow triggers.
“Quiet. Everyone, calm down.”
Delmondo soothed them with calm authority. They all admired his demeanor befitting the lord regent, but his mind was far from at ease.
‘Damn it all. Of all the times, why do these bastards have to show up now?’
Like other territories, Eugene Territory maintained only a small regular army.
With Essendra having stabilized the Kalsbaegin Peninsula, keeping a large force would be a waste of funds.
Moreover, the knights who had received commissions from Essendra and either held manors or served as village overseers in Eugene Territory had all departed for the Brantia expedition.
So Delmondo couldn’t think of any clever way to repel a force with over ten knights that exuded such menace.
‘Wait for nightfall and ambush them? No.’
Delmondo immediately dismissed the idea that had crossed his mind.
Even as a vampire, wiping out that many soldiers was impossible. With a Holy Knight among them, the odds were vanishingly low even at the risk of his life.
‘Son of a bitch!’
Delmondo, his temper flaring after so long, inwardly cursed up a storm as he glared at the Holy Knight’s forces.
But then—
Bwooooooo!
A long horn blast echoed from the distant hills, and soon a group of cavalry charged down the trails and slopes.
“It’s Archbold! The marquis’s knights are here!”
Waaaaaaaaah!
The guild masters and guards cheered wildly upon spotting the banner of Marquis Archbold’s house—Lord Eugene’s staunch supporter and near-ally.
In contrast, Holy Knight Brickfell and his troops panicked, scrambling to turn their formation and horses toward the walls.
The momentum and pressure from Archbold’s battle-hardened forces, forged in the peninsula’s long chaos, were formidable.
And with unheard-of invaders camping right in their front yard, they were already seeing red.
Thus, the Holy Knight—who lacked much experience in large-scale battles—couldn’t avoid making a mistake.
“F-fire! Fire! They are apostates aiding these evil heretics! Traitors who have turned from the great and glorious God! Attack! Slay them all!”
Without confirming the foe’s identity or intent, Brickfell rashly ordered an attack.
“In the name of God!”
Uwaaaaaaaaah!!!
Before the peaceful Eugene Territory, a hellish slaughter unfolded as hundreds clashed and died.
And thirty minutes later, the battle ended in victory for the forces led by Knight Gecko, flying Essendra’s banner.
* * *
“What? A trap?”
Knight Gecko, sent by Essendra to aid Eugene Territory, widened his eyes.
“That’s right.”
Delmondo, who had a knack for torture, plopped into a chair reeking of blood and explained.
“Interrogation revealed Brickfell became a Holy Knight just two months ago. A greenhorn.”
“Still a Holy Knight, though?”
“True. But think about it—does it make sense to put a novice in charge of a grand mission to subjugate heretics on the Kalsbaegin Peninsula?”
“Hmm. Fair point. But a hundred troops? And they snuck into Mopern with that level of secrecy and planning?”
Gecko, one of the frontier lord’s trusted knights with exceptional martial skill but weaker in the political webs of intrigue, tilted his head.
“That’s what makes it a trap. Not too many to ignore, but enough to force our hand. And with Lord Eugene away on the Brantia expedition, our forces are thin. A hundred men means we have no choice but to call on Marquis Archbold’s aid—just like now.”
“……No way!”
Gecko’s face snapped up as he listened to Delmondo with furrowed brows.
“You mean bringing a middling force was deliberate…? They could slip into Mopern by ship unnoticed, but marching here would inevitably alert us? They knew that and did it anyway?”
“That’s my guess. Sneaking into Mopern by splitting ships works, but getting from there to here? Impossible without detection. That draws the marquis’s forces for sure.”
“……!”
“And the commander is a Holy Knight not even twenty years old. Naive, incapable of sound judgment or command. Even if luck let him seize our territory, the marquis stepping in means annihilation.”
“T-then, the royalists and Central Church are using the marquis to—”
“Yes.”
Delmondo nodded gravely.
When he and Knight Gecko had crushed the Holy Knight’s forces, he’d been overjoyed. But interrogating commander Brickfell revealed they’d fallen into a trap.
“Sacrificing a hundred men… to give them pretext to attack Marquis Archbold and the Kalsbaegin Peninsula.”
“This is bad…!”
Essendra’s alliance with Eugene was well-known.
The issue was that their alliance skipped ‘law and custom.’
Strictly speaking, they were merely neighboring lords—no vassal bond, no blood ties.
In other words, Essendra had no business outright attacking Holy Knight Brickfell’s forces, who had come on direct orders from the king and cardinal to exterminate heretics.
Sure, Brickfell—blinded by youthful zeal and ambition—had struck first.
But once blood was spilled, the sequence hardly mattered.
“Knight Gecko, return at once and inform the marquis. I’ll report to Lord Eugene immediately.”
“Hmm. I can reach His Excellency quickly, but you? Letters take time, and the royalists likely have that covered. Besides, where even is Lord Eugene in Brantia?”
At Gecko’s concern, Delmondo licked a spot of the Holy Knight’s blood from his glove and murmured lowly.
“I’ll go myself. Until then, please ask the marquis to watch over our territory.”
* * *
“Lord Edmund has returned!”
At the head butler’s cry, the doors to the ducal castle’s great hall swung open. Edmund and his centurions strode in, sweat-soaked and unwashed.
“Knight Edmund! Have you fulfilled His Grace’s command?”
“Your feats have already reached my ears. Excellent work.”
Eugene, gazing down at Edmund with satisfaction, turned his eyes. Slaves swiftly approached, setting large chests before Edmund and the centurions.
“You’ve earned rewards. This is for the troops. For you, I’ll grant manors in the villages of the conquered lands.”
“Ooh! Thank you!”
“God and the ancestors bless Your Grace!”
Edmund remained stoic, but the centurions couldn’t hide their joy.
Not formally knighted, they—mere mercenary captains—were now treated as knights in all but name.
“Good! With all my knights returned, let us feast!”
Eugene, who had finally seized all of Brantia save the north, declared boisterously.
Uwaaaaaaaaah!!!
As cheers and praise for Eugene filled the air, Edmund approached cautiously and whispered.
“But, Your Grace. I received this. From armed orcs…”
Eugene unfolded the parchment Edmund carefully drew from his breast, cocking his head.
“Hoh. ‘In the honorable name of Baiman, we shall judge the shameless, impudent Duke Bartla who dares claim the throne himself’?”
A cold smile curled Eugene’s lips.
He hadn’t even declared the founding of the nation yet, and already the impatient Baiman orcs had taken the bait.
(To be continued)