Chapter 210
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Reinforcements from Maren
"Hmm."
Count Winslon's gaze was somber as he stood atop the high castle walls for the first time in ages, clad in his family's armor, looking down below.
In the vast tent village where dozens of banners fluttered everywhere, three thousand troops swarmed like a horde of ants.
It was the army of the noble alliance, comprising six nobles with royal titles and over twenty minor lords in total.
On numbers alone, it seemed a match for the royalist forces. In fact, just a few days ago, Count Winslon had believed the noble alliance could claim victory.
But the mood of optimism had plummeted after news arrived that elite troops from the northern border had joined the royal family in large numbers.
While the alliance's forces had been tempered through demon realm subjugations and various territorial skirmishes, they couldn't compare in quality to the border troops who faced real war every day.
"Trust in our knights, Your Excellency."
"Hmm. Of course, Sir Limesler. With you here, I feel secure."
The count forced a smile at the words of the knight order captain he personally sponsored.
But his inner thoughts were far from cheerful.
The knight order had been formed to display power to the lords around Winslon territory, not assembled with this crisis in mind.
There was no doubt about their individual prowess, but small-scale territorial battles and full-scale wars involving thousands were entirely different matters.
In a situation like this, a hundred well-organized mercenaries were far more useful than ten exceptional knights.
"Your Excellency! Count Winslon!"
At that moment, several nobles climbed up to the walls with flushed faces.
"Hmm."
Wondering what new troubles they would bring today, Count Winslon's expression refused to brighten.
Perhaps due to the long peace, or their immersion in tales of ancient heroes, the nobles lacked a sense of reality.
This was especially true for those with titles and prestigious houses, who seemed to treat this war like a game, confident their status would be preserved even in defeat.
They could lose their titles, lands stripped away, left penniless on the streets as prey for roamer monsters.
But regardless of the reason, they were valuable allies gathered under Winslon's banner, so the count forced a smile.
"Yes. What brings you here in such haste, my lords?"
"Troops have arrived from Maren City. They're sending reinforcements from Maren to aid Your Excellency and our alliance!"
"Ooh...!?"
Rather than the port city of Maren itself, the faces of the knights based there flashed first in Count Winslon's mind, and his face lit up.
But moments later, when the commander of the Maren troops arrived, Count Winslon couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.
The man was sturdy in build and imposing in presence, but he was a knight the count had never seen before.
"Pleased to meet you, Count. I am..."
But the moment the knight finished his introduction, Count Winslon's disappointment vanished far away.
"Duke Bartla? You truly are a knight of Sir Eugene Bartla, the Duke?"
The count was more shocked that the supreme commander was Eugene's knight than by the eight hundred seasoned mercenaries and supplies from Maren sufficient to feed two thousand men for a month.
The leader who had brought Maren's mercenaries was none other than Edmund.
"Yes. His Grace the Duke commanded me to warn Your Excellency of the royalists' scheme and join the noble alliance."
"A scheme? What do you mean?"
"You likely know the king sent a large force to attack Maren."
"Hmm. Yes. That's why your presence here worries me somewhat."
Edmund was slightly moved by Count Winslon's words.
As Eugene and Langslo had described, Count Winslon was a noble who understood honor and propriety.
"You live up to what His Grace said—honorable and full of integrity. But there's no need for concern. The Ash Heap Knights who targeted Maren were annihilated by His Grace."
"Th-the Ash Heap Knights? Annihilated!?"
As Count Winslon's eyes widened, the surrounding nobles buzzed excitedly.
"The Ash Heap—the ones with that notorious reputation?"
"Yes. They're the force led by the king's infantry commander. They were rampaging near the capital, I heard. Annihilated..."
Though he hadn't personally joined the battle to defend the city in case of contingencies, Edmund nodded with pride.
"Yes. They were the light cavalry led by the king's infantry commander, Cody Zenas. Including the mercenary corps, there were over five hundred regular troops as well. His Grace and our knights annihilated them all."
Ooh!!!
The alliance nobles erupted in cheers at the unexpected victory report.
But a few among them only smiled with their mouths, exchanging uneasy glances.
Edmund, knowing the reason, felt a bitter taste.
'As expected, His Grace's decision not to come here was wise.'
Before the noble alliance could even clash properly with the king's army, Eugene had suddenly appeared and claimed a great feat.
Some nobles couldn't simply welcome that.
If Eugene had come in this situation, something would surely have happened given his personality, souring the alliance's atmosphere terribly.
"Count, and my lords."
As Edmund's voice grew firmer, the rejoicing nobles' gazes refocused on him.
"His Grace obtained some information while annihilating the Ash Heap Knights."
"Hmm. Speak."
Sensing it related to the 'scheme' just mentioned, Count Winslon's eyes darkened.
"The king and the cardinal never truly intended to seize Maren. The Ash Heap Knights were bait to draw the noble alliance's attention to Maren."
"What!?"
"No, what do you mean?"
Edmund continued as the shocked nobles looked around.
"As you all know, the Ash Heap Knights are led by the king's infantry commander. Most consider them the royalists' main force. And they departed for Maren."
"Hah! So even if they took Maren, fine—or if they just stalled, our attention would be fixed on Maren?"
Edmund nodded in admiration at Count Winslon's sharp judgment, befitting a regional hegemon.
"Yes."
"Then the Ash Heap Knights draw attention, while the king's main force..."
"Yes. His Grace judges they will head here. I've come to warn you and bolster the noble alliance."
"......!"
The nobles' widened eyes shook briefly.
"Dishonorable scoundrels without a shred of honor! Think we'll cower and retreat?"
"My lords! Let's show them what we're made of! We can't fail where Maren succeeded!"
"Quite right!"
As a few raised their voices, the rest joined in righteous indignation.
Everyone seemed ready to charge out immediately, their morale visibly high.
Then Count Winslon spoke in a heavy voice.
"My lords! Inspect your troops and prepare to march at once! We must show those honorless fools we are unshaken!"
"By Hairood's will!"
Edmund was newly impressed by how Count Winslon had seized the moment, turning the nobles' anger into unity toward him.
The count, who had united them with such brief words, turned a stern gaze to Edmund.
"Sir. I express my deepest gratitude for Sir Eugene and Maren's goodwill. I, Winslon, never forget favors or grudges."
"I will convey Your Excellency's sincerity to His Grace. For the time being, use me as the honorable alliance's sword with all my might, as you see fit."
"Hahaha! As expected of Sir Eugene's knight! I shall treat you with the utmost respect!"
Count Winslon was genuinely delighted. He felt even greater pleasure toward Eugene for sending such a humble and steadfast knight.
'As I thought, I didn't misjudge him. Not content with claiming the Bartla dukedom, he even gathers talents like this. I shall cherish Sir Eugene as a pillar of the kingdom.'
With that resolve, Count Winslon suddenly tilted his head at a thought.
"But Sir, where is Sir Eugene now?"
"Ah, His Grace is moving separately with the knights to scout the royalist army's movements."
"Oh! After such a great victory, he still fulfills his knightly duties without rest! What fortune. Sir Eugene is the kingdom's fortune. Hahaha!"
Oblivious to the dark intentions of that 'fortune,' Count Winslon let out a hearty, satisfied laugh.
* * *
From Maren, the royal castle in the capital of Keiler Kingdom was over a hundred kilometers farther than Winslon territory.
While Edmund's mercenaries had all traveled on foot, the force Eugene had separately selected consisted entirely of knights.
Though heavy armor prevented them from galloping like couriers, they could cover over fifty kilometers daily without major fatigue.
However, Eugene's planned entry into the capital after about seven days was slightly delayed.
There were more territories between Maren and the capital than anticipated.
The Ash Heap Knights, flying the royal banner, had passed through without hindrance, but Eugene's group encountered issues everywhere.
The few knights blocking the path of the eighty-odd knights, along with forty to fifty territorial soldiers, were one such case.
"Halt! This land is rightfully governed by the grace of the gods and His Majesty the King..."
"Bring the top official forward first."
"Yes, sir!"
Having faced similar situations repeatedly, the knights spurred their horses without hesitation and charged the blocking forces.
Of course, at first, they observed conventions, letting the opponents speak fully out of honor and offering Eugene various advice.
But after the same thing repeated every other day, the knights' patience wore thin.
"Ah, no! Such insolent dogs!"
"Have you no honor, sirs!?"
The Maren knights sneered at the flustered knights from some obscure noble house whose names they didn't care to know.
"Hmph! If they knew honor, they'd have joined the king by now—or us!"
"Cowardly lurkers daring to speak of honor!? Get lost!"
Though irritation and anger boiled over, the knights did not cross the line.
They let the fleeing ones go and merely roughed up(?) the opposing nobles or knights without killing them, dragging them before Eugene.
"Ugh... If th-they find out about th-this..."
With a broken nose and swollen mouth obscuring his face, the noble mumbled through tears and snot.
"Find out and what? Who will you complain to? The king? The noble alliance?"
"......!?"
Trembling at Eugene's response, which showed not a shred of the honorable demeanor expected of a noble, the man had a thought flash through his mind, filling him with terror. He barely pried open his split, swollen lips.
"Th-the Ash Heap Knights? The infantry commander..."
"Time for more beating."
"Eek!?"
"This wretch dares call Sir Eugene what?"
"Seeing us as those lowborn weaklings? This won't do."
"Forget honor or whatever. You need more thrashing to come to your senses!"
The merciless beating resumed.
"Ugh, uwaaaah...!"
Judging these ruthless, brutal cavalrymen could only be the Ash Heap Knights infamous near the capital, the noble felt wronged.
Moreover, they raged at being compared to the Ash Heap Knights, but their actions seemed as bad if not worse!
"Sir, listen well. This is the great hero of Maren, true friend of Marchibald the Margrave, ally of Count Winslon—Sir Eugene."
Following Eugene's intent, Madrica omitted his status as Duke of Bartla in Brantia.
"......!"
His pain eased somewhat by the mana crystal tossed by the knights, the noble's eyes bulged.
Come to think of it, he recalled a tale of a knight from the distant south who entered the demon realm, slew mid- and high-tier monsters, and was greatly praised by the margrave there.
Moreover, that knight had won championships in all events at Count Winslon's house knight tournament.
'Th-this is bad! Then...'
Eugene smirked as he watched the noble's eyes dart in sudden panic.
"Better not spout nonsense about drawing your sword against injustice upon learning we're royalists."
"......!!!"
His eyes flew wide at words that seemed to read his mind.
"How'd I know your thoughts? Simple. We're tracing the exact path those Ash Heap or whatever came down. Letting the king's army pass while blocking you? Obvious, isn't it?"
"N-no, sir. I-I..."
Sensing doom, the noble stammered.
"By the way, we've met eight nobles like you already. You're the ninth. One more thing: they all received the same treatment."
"Eek!"
With only one grim fate imaginable for blocking these savage knights, the noble unwittingly wet his pants.
"Pay the ransom first, then gather as many troops as possible and join Count Winslon."
"Ah...?"
Stunned by the unexpected response, the noble blanked.
"You know Sir Parein?"
"Y-yes, I do."
"Gather your troops and go to him. Join up and head to Winslon territory."
"Th-that's it?"
"Yes. Ah, of course, your ransom must show sincerity. You know what that means?"
Trembling under Eugene's cold smile, the noble nodded vigorously.
Somehow, failing to show proper sincerity here felt far worse than mistaking them for the Ash Heap Knights.
In the end, after stripping every coin he had and stamping a promissory note for an additional hundred gold coins, he was released.
"Now hurry."
"Y-yes, sir! I shall never forget your magnanimity."
Bowing repeatedly, the noble led his surviving soldiers—excluding the few dead—and quickly departed.
Then Prince Rokarop and Bizak sidled up to Eugene.
"Sir Eugene, do you think that one will truly join Lord Parein?"
"The ransom, maybe not, but he'll join for sure. And Baron Parein will head to Winslon territory out of fear of Maren City if nothing else."
Baron Parein was the first lord to block Eugene and the knights' path.
But unlike this case, he had decided from the start to cooperate with Eugene and Maren.
Thus, Eugene had told him to send troops over the next seven or eight days, gather suitably, and go to Winslon territory.
"Hmm. Sending Edmund's main Maren force to Winslon to disrupt the royalists, while using other nobles' armies to strike their rear! His Grace's strategy reaches the heavens."
Prince Rokarop, already impressed by Eugene's valor and having sought him out, seemed fully won over now.
But that wasn't Eugene's intent at all.
'Striking the royalists' rear, and the more nobles, the noisier the alliance gets—that's all.'
He had no idea his little scheme to drain both royalists and alliance without interference when striking the castle would be seen as a heaven-reaching grand strategy.
(To be continued in the next chapter)