Chapter 81: The Prelude to the Great War
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: The Prelude to the Great War
A cloud of dust rose behind the cavalry charging in a line abreast. The thigh muscles of the horses rippled dynamically as they kicked off the earth, their breaths coming in harsh gasps.
The full-force lance charge looked powerful enough to trample everything in its path. I would be no exception. An image of my body being pierced by a sharp lance, as if foreshadowing the future, flickered in my mind.
I could feel my horse’s agitation through my skin. Even this clever and brave steed, which had carried me to victory several times, was clearly tense in the face of the enemy’s ferocious charge.
I gently stroked my horse’s neck and whispered a spell of victory.
“We will win this time, too.”
As if it understood me, the horse’s breathing slowly calmed. I composed myself as well.
The enemy was in a single line, after all. At most, I would face no more than two of them. There was no reason I couldn’t break through.
As if sharing my thoughts, my horse picked up its pace. I felt an illusion of becoming one with my steed as the enemy cavalry closed in at a frightening speed.
And then, it was the enemy who panicked. Seeing that we were about to collide head-on, the enemy knight reflexively squeezed his eyes shut.
Horses are sensitive animals. It faltered at its rider’s agitation. Its speed naturally slowed, and the enemy line fell into disarray. We had won the psychological battle. I did not miss the opening.
“Hiyah!”
I batted away a wild spear aimed at my horse’s head. Thanks to my horse, who trusted me and didn’t stop even when the lance was about to pierce its skull, I was instantly inside the weapon’s reach.
The enemy knight opened his eyes too late. He dropped his lance and tried to switch the sword he held with his reins to his other hand to block me.
His reaction was far too slow. My sword had already slashed across not only his horse but the horse of the rider next to him as well.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
The horses’ legs gave out, and they tumbled to the ground, their riders along with them. Taking a much harder fall than usual, they couldn’t get back up easily.
“Ignore them! Pierce straight through!”
Despite seeing their comrades fall, the enemy cavalry didn’t stop their charge. They aimed their lances and sped up, as if to take revenge on my soldiers.
I pulled on the reins, wheeled my horse around, and spurred it forward.
“Form up! Shields up!”
Humans on the brink of death sometimes display superhuman strength. My soldiers were no exception.
Though they hadn’t been trained for this, they moved swiftly upon witnessing the enemy’s ferocious charge. They packed into the gap I had created and raised their shields.
Of course, the impact couldn’t be completely negated. It was a proper lance charge, after all. Some of the mercenaries were swept away.
However, I could confidently say the enemy’s results were far poorer than they had expected.
“Wheel around! We’re wheeling around!”
Rather than engaging in a melee, the enemy cavalry tried to wheel around to charge again.
I wasn’t about to let that happen. Their speed had slowed as they turned, and the distance between us had closed once more.
I urged my horse on, plunging into the enemy cavalry before they could reform their ranks.
“You—!”
The first man I encountered tried to parry my sword as it aimed for his horse.
I put more force into my swing, cutting down his horse along with his sword. The man tumbled to the ground with his mount and didn’t get up again. My sword, having endured an overwhelming impact, groaned with the sound of twisting metal.
“Tsk.”
Still, it wasn’t unusable. I spurred my horse on again.
“Don’t engage him! Just break through!”
The enemy completely ignored me. It seemed they had received their orders in advance.
It was the judgment of someone who knew that if they didn’t engage, the prowess of a single individual could do little to affect a war’s outcome. It must have been an order from Joang Conrad.
But there was one thing he had overlooked.
“Hiyah!”
I turned my horse toward the reserves where the enemy command was located. For the command unit, retreat was tantamount to defeat; they couldn’t just flee like the cavalry.
“Sir Beil! Over there—!”
The cavalry didn’t know what to do when they saw me. On one side, my soldiers were gradually surrounding the enemy, and on the other, I was charging their command post.
They couldn’t easily decide which side to help. But only for a moment. Soon, they were chasing after me.
They had belatedly realized that while soldiers could be replaced, the game would be over if Ailgar was captured.
“Get him! Get that bastard!”
By then, it was too late. I had already reached the command post.
“R-run away!”
Could mere infantry stop me when even the elite cavalry had failed? Besides, weren’t these just mercenaries with no loyalty to speak of?
The infantry, having seen the cavalry actively avoiding me, lost all will to fight the moment they saw me and scattered in every direction.
“Come back! Come back! Any man who shows his back dies by my sword!” Joang Conrad threatened, drawing his sword, but the soldiers were already swept up in the panic and busy fleeing. They looked like a flock of sheep set upon by a wolf.
“Sir Joang! It looks like your head will be the one hanging from the castle walls, not mine!”
Joang Conrad had no time to react to my taunt. Perhaps thinking I was too close, he abandoned his efforts to rally his men and immediately turned to flee. I thought I caught a glimpse of Ailgar’s face as well.
I didn’t give chase. If the civil war ended now, it would only be doing Segerik a favor. Besides, a convenient excuse had just presented itself.
“Protect Lord Ailgar!”
The cavalry had finally caught up to me. There was no reason to spare them.
I showed no mercy. As easily as a farmer harvesting his crops, I lopped off the cavalrymen’s heads one by one.
“A m-monster…! How can one man…!”
“He’s not human! He’s not human!”
It was obvious how I must have looked to the enemy cavalry. I ignored their cries and continued to reap their lives. Any decent knights among them had already fallen by my hand, so there was no one left who could stop me.
Once Ailgar and Joang were a good distance away, the few remaining cavalrymen also fled.
By then, my forces had completely surrounded the enemy. I rejoined them and raised the Rasino family banner I had picked up earlier.
“The enemy commander has fled! Surrender!”
As the eyes of the surrounded enemy soldiers fell upon it, I snapped the banner in half.
When no one attacked me, the surrounded enemy soldiers realized I was telling the truth and began to lay down their weapons, one by one. They still outnumbered us.
“Sir Allen! A great victory!” Muel exclaimed, overjoyed at our triumph against an enemy twice our size.
“We can celebrate after we’ve captured Ailgar. Form a pursuit team.”
Our losses were fewer than expected, and they still had some cavalry left, so they wouldn’t be caught easily.
I had no intention of actually catching him, though. A hunting dog that has served its purpose is destined for the pot. Ailgar still had a role to play.
“You are right, sir. A victory isn’t truly a victory until Lord Ailgar is captured…!”
Unaware of my true intentions, Muel looked impressed. The mercenaries serving under me for the first time reacted similarly.
“See, you guys? I told you. He’s a hero straight out of a legend! Twice our number? Pahaha, we would’ve won even if they had ten times as many soldiers!” the veteran soldiers who had fought with me before boasted on my behalf.
Of course, victories like this would be harder to come by in the future. Powell Osborne, who knew me well, would be thoroughly prepared, and the Count would try to crush me with sheer force.
But just like this time, I would be the one left standing as the final victor.
#
Nobles place great importance on appearances. Even if they lacked food for the morrow, it was considered natural to serve a grand feast when entertaining guests.
The banquet Segerik held immediately after his victory, despite having been cornered and besieged by Ailgar’s rebel army, was likely an attempt to restore his damaged reputation.
At the same time, it was a declaration that he was the victor of the civil war, a move to secure his succession to the barony.
And the one who had made all this possible was none other than me. As soon as I entered the banquet hall, all eyes turned to me—gazes of respect, admiration, and favor.
The influential figures of each family, sensitive to the currents of power, tried every means to connect with me, while beautifully adorned maidens sent alluring smiles my way.
The one who welcomed me most enthusiastically was, of course, Segerik.
“The hero of the banquet has arrived!” Segerik exclaimed, grabbing my hand and leading me to the seat of honor.
Baroness Adeleade, Muel, and Dreng were already seated. I was placed across from the Baroness, right next to Segerik.
As I took my seat, Segerik raised his glass of wine high, drawing everyone’s attention. The musicians stopped playing, and all eyes naturally fell on him.
As a quiet silence fell over the hall, Segerik smiled with satisfaction and began to speak.
“When that wicked bastard Ailgar besieged Polton, I finally understood that the phrase ‘the world going dark before your eyes’ is no exaggeration! It was a desperate crisis. But! I had faith. Faith that my loyal knight would come to my rescue! Even though his forces were half the size of the enemy’s, my faith never wavered, and now, it has been rewarded!”
The guests cheered and applauded. Meanwhile, Segerik personally poured wine into my glass and continued.
“There’s a world of difference between hearing about something and seeing it for yourself. I had heard much of your valor and leadership, but only after witnessing yesterday’s battle did I realize how much I had underestimated you. No wonder that bastard Ailgar fled like a colt with its tail on fire.”
The praise was excessive. Segerik was testing me.
Thanks to our minimal losses in the last battle, the number of my soldiers now inside Polton was too great for the city guard to handle alone.
In other words, if I changed my mind, he wouldn’t be able to secure his position as heir. Ailgar hadn’t been captured yet, after all. I hadn’t let him escape for nothing.
“A great victory like this cannot be achieved by mortal strength alone. Is there not a saying that man proposes, but heaven disposes? This victory would have been impossible without the Lord’s aid. This means the Lord himself has judged you, Lord Segerik, to be the rightful heir.”
I deliberately took a humble stance. For my plan to succeed, I needed to play the part of Segerik’s loyal vassal.
Unaware of my true intentions, Segerik’s face brightened instantly. At his gesture, the musicians began to play again, and the banquet came to life.
“By the way, what happened to the Baron? Did Lord Ailgar truly assassinate him?” I asked, my eyes on the young men and women dancing. My voice was low, meant only for Segerik’s ears. He, too, answered without turning his gaze from the front.
“Of course it was Ailgar! My brother—no, that bastard is unworthy of the name—pointed the finger at me, but why would I assassinate my own father when I was set to inherit the title just by waiting? Hah. How absurd.”
Segerik was hiding the truth even from me, his foremost vassal. It couldn’t have been to protect Eusebia.
Segerik took several gulps of wine as if in disbelief and continued.
“Isn’t it too convenient? Raising an army the moment our father died, as if he’d been waiting for it? That bastard was planning a rebellion from the moment he took war funds from Father under the pretext of a crusade. Didn’t you yourself warn me that you were suspicious of him stepping down so meekly?”
“But I never imagined he would go so far as to assassinate the Baron.”
“Who could have predicted kinslaying? It’s an unimaginable act for anyone not as wicked as him. Yes, indeed.”
After a brief pause, Segerik glanced at me and continued cautiously.
“Just between us, this outcome isn’t so bad for us. I get to inherit the title a little sooner, and you get to win the woman you love.”
“You mean…”
Segerik put on a smug expression.
“My mother was against it, but I insisted. I argued that for the sake of my foremost vassal, we must break off the marriage arrangement with Count Broua and give Eusebia to you.”
Segerik acted as though he were making a grand concession, but the reality was likely different.
Tainted by unsavory rumors, Eusebia’s value had plummeted. If Count Broua were to learn of his betrothed’s scandal, he might even take it as a personal provocation.
Regardless of how he took it, the Count would certainly demand a much larger dowry than before.
Rather than deal with that, Segerik must have judged it more profitable to give Eusebia to me, the man who had proven his worth in this war.
It was just as I had intended.
“Is that true?”
“Haha, have you lived your whole life being deceived? From now on, we are family. A family that shares its joys and sorrows.”
Segerik was just like his father, the Baron. He would push the sorrows onto his vassals and keep the joys for himself.
I knew this, yet I smiled. As long as I could have Eusebia, my plan was already halfway to success.
“I pledge my loyalty.”
“Well, that goes without saying. More importantly, shouldn’t we discuss what comes next? We need to sort out and distribute the assets of Ailgar and his supporters, hold the succession ceremony…”
Segerik was already trying to hand out rewards, as if everything were over. To be precise, he was eager to hold his succession ceremony.
That couldn’t be allowed to happen. The barony had to go to Eusebia. I was ready to pour cold water on his feast.
“We still haven’t captured Lord Ailgar.”
“He lost all two hundred of his men, did he not? He won’t have the money to raise another army.”
“But his cause remains.”
“What’s so frightening about a cause with no power to back it up?”
“He could borrow that power.”
Only then did Segerik turn to look at me.
“Surely not…?”
“Would a man who murdered his own father and plotted a rebellion hesitate to borrow the strength of an outside power?”
The war could not end yet. And Ailgar wouldn’t want it to, either.