Chapter 85: Turbulent Whirlwind
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: Turbulent Whirlwind
The road before Polton was lined with indelible bloodstains, remnants of the last battle.
The assembled troops stared at them for a while. There was no sign of unease. After all, the stains were proof of their great victory in the previous battle.
If anything, many pointed out the marks to the newly joined soldiers, boasting.
Those who had joined with a hundred men were the baron's advisors. The heavy-bottomed bastards had finally made their move.
One of the advisors gathered in the command tent spoke up.
“Lord Segerik, please allow me to lead the vanguard in the next battle.”
Bodin, the most influential advisor after Joang, was getting greedy.
These were the same men who had originally planned to play it safe, preserving their strength to side with the winner of the civil war. They had changed their minds.
The way they kept glancing at me told me their goal was to keep me in check. And to be fair, I had grown far too powerful.
Not only had I finished every battle with a great victory, but with my marriage to Eusebia confirmed, I had become Segerik's in-law, had I not?
They must have felt a sense of crisis, thinking that at this rate, I might become even more powerful than Joang Conrad.
‘Hyenas.’
Besides, they must have judged that Ailgar and Joang Conrad, who had barely escaped with their lives, would be easy to defeat.
In other words, it was a chance to gain the greatest military honors with almost no risk.
“Oh? If Sir Bodin is stepping forward, then I have nothing to worry about.”
It seemed Segerik also thought my influence in the political sphere had grown too strong. That must be why he was granting Bodin's shameless request.
The other advisors in the command tent rushed to endorse Segerik's decision.
“An excellent decision. An experienced man like Sir Bodin will surely crush the rebels and bring their leader to his knees before you, Lord Segerik.”
“Of course. His experience in successfully concluding numerous wars will lead us to victory this time as well.”
Their back-and-forth was like watching a well-rehearsed play. It seemed they had made a deal behind the scenes while I was spending time with Eusebia. Segerik's next words confirmed it.
“This time, I will take to the field myself.”
Segerik and his advisors were already squabbling over the spoils of a war they hadn't even fought yet, as if victory was assured.
“Lord Segerik, it is too dangerous.”
This behavior wasn't bad for me at all. Still, to avoid unnecessary suspicion, I had to pretend to dissuade him. After all, wasn't I Segerik's loyal vassal?
Segerik was nonchalant.
“Dangerous? Didn't you hear that Ailgar and Joang are holed up in the tower? They're rats in a trap. All that's left is to beat them with a club.”
“The battlefield is unpredictable. If by some chance you were struck by a stray arrow, the Rasino family line could end.”
Segerik waved his hand dismissively.
“Haha. I understand how you feel. Aren't all these victories your doing? But if we are to manage the affairs of the domain together, you must also learn to yield. It's not a world where one lives alone.”
He seemed to think I was trying to stop him because I didn't want my military honors to be taken away.
“I am merely concerned. Our opponent is Joang, who was once called the baron's bag of tricks. We don't know what schemes he might be plotting.”
“Even so, what can a man with no money and no troops do? You worry too much.”
Bodin chimed in.
“He is right. Even a great gambler cannot win if he holds no cards.”
Not to be outdone, the other advisors added their own comments.
“Sir Allen, leave it to us this time. We'll show you that old ginger is the spiciest.”
“We're just asking for a chance. You remind me of myself when I was young, so let me give you some advice: if you try to hog all the glory for yourself, you'll end up with no one by your side.”
With Segerik and the advisors all ganging up on me, there was nothing I could do.
No, actually, I was laughing on the inside. It was amusing to see them moving exactly as I wished without me having to do a thing.
“Then allow me to take my troops and search Joang's domain separately. If he's planning any tricks, he'll surely do it in his own backyard.”
I was telling them I would stay out of this battle, just as they wanted.
When I backed down so readily, Segerik seemed to grow suspicious. He looked pleased, but his eyes narrowed.
“If you do that, I'd be grateful, but you're not planning to do any looting, are you? Joang's domain will soon be mine, and it would be a problem if it were left in ruins.”
To Segerik, who was acting as if he'd already won, the enemy's domain was already his. I deliberately gave him an awkward smile.
“Ahem. Of course not.”
“Just keep it moderate. Moderate.”
The act worked perfectly. Segerik ended the meeting with a sly, all-knowing smile.
“The advisors put him up to it! Those petty bastards! To think they stood by while Lord Segerik was in danger, only to poke their heads out now that it's almost over! I don't know how people can be so shameless!”
Muel, having heard what happened in the command tent, was furious as if it had happened to him.
“Well, I suspect Lord Segerik might have been the one to suggest it. A brilliant vassal can sometimes threaten his lord. It's only natural to be wary and suspicious.”
Muel immediately fell silent and glanced at me nervously. It was the first time I had ever blamed Segerik.
I decided to show him my true thoughts. If you show weakness to an opportunist, won't it just encourage them to betray you?
“Why would Ailgar and Joang hole themselves up in the tower? If they were prepared to fight to the death, they wouldn't have fled the last battle.”
The enemy's forces had been twice as numerous. If Ailgar and Joang had risked their lives and fought back, the outcome might have been different.
As Muel held his breath, Dreng asked in his stead.
“Are you saying they're up to something?”
“The Barony of Debussy is just a stone's throw from the tower.”
Muel and Dreng's eyes went wide.
“Are you saying they're going to bring Baron Debussy into this?”
Muel refuted Dreng's words.
“That's impossible! The war with Baron Debussy isn't over. It was only paused due to circumstances; truce negotiations haven't even begun…!”
Dreng and Muel couldn't easily accept the idea of turning an enemy they were at war with into an ally.
“Think about it from Ailgar's perspective. He has no way out. If he fails, he'll face certain death. They say even a cornered rat will bite a cat. As a human, wouldn't he at least struggle? If he succeeds, he'll have to give a large piece of the pie to Baron Debussy, but that's better than dying.”
Because Ailgar was the one who had dragged Baron Debussy into the conflict in the future that would now never come, I was certain.
‘I made arrangements to prevent that… Tsk.’
But because Eusebia acted sooner than planned, the arrangements I'd made became useless.
Of course, if the war dragged on, it would have the effect of disrupting their rear, so if I adjusted my strategy accordingly, a bigger picture would emerge.
Muel, who had been mulling over my words and nodding, looked up at me with a horrified expression.
“S-So that's why you gave up the greatest honor and stepped back?”
“Like you said, I can't just let those shameless advisors fill their bellies, can I? For the sake of our future, we need to chip away at their power.”
Because the advisors had stayed out of the brothers' conflict, their power base was still significant.
The fact that they could muster a hundred soldiers in just three days proved it.
Muel swallowed hard and watched me cautiously. He had witnessed the ‘borrowed knife to kill’ strategy when I dealt with Segerik's vassals, but unlike them, the advisors were in a gray area, not quite enemies.
“B-But if they really suffer a major defeat, it could become a mistake…”
“Which is why we left them, isn't it?”
At a fork in the road, three days' march from the tower, I split off from the main force. Then I led my troops at a rapid pace.
“This isn't the way to Joang's domain!”
“We're going to the Barony of Debussy.”
“Gasp…!”
When I ordered Dreng and Muel to prepare the troops, I told them to secure as many warhorses as possible. I had judged that mobility would be the key to this battle.
The result was a makeshift cavalry unit of thirty men. Of course, most of them would have to dismount to fight, but we could still utilize their mobility.
“An army is a money pit. Unless you're a grand lord like a count, maintaining a standing army is unthinkable. That's why even if Baron Debussy decided to join the war, his forces will be small.”
Those few troops would have gone to the tower to help Ailgar and Joang Conrad. He'll recruit more soldiers later and have them join in stages. What I'm aiming for are those late-arriving reinforcements.
“They'll assume we don't know about the alliance between Ailgar and Baron Debussy, so the reinforcements will never dream that we're lying in ambush in their own territory.”
“…!”
Only then did Dreng and Muel understand my true objective, and neither could hide his shocked expression.
#
Meanwhile, as Allen infiltrated the Barony of Debussy and set up his ambush, the war was proceeding exactly as he had predicted.
“Aargh!!”
Segerik's army, judging the rebel force to be small, charged recklessly toward the tower. But the moment they got close, they were greeted by a volley of countless arrows.
Crossbowmen, an expensive type of soldier, packed the spaces between the tower's railings.
Having never imagined this, Segerik's army suffered immense damage in an instant.
They could only count themselves lucky that the crossbows had a low rate of fire.
“Ailgar, you son of a bitch! How dare you drag an enemy into a family affair?!”
In this region, only Baron Debussy could field that many crossbowmen. Enraged, Segerik swung his sword through the air and roared.
“You talk a lot for a usurper who assassinated his own father! Wipe them all out!”
“Ailgar—!!”
Segerik took his advisor's counsel and pulled his troops back, but in that brief moment, they had already suffered thirty casualties.
As a heavy mood settled over the camp, Segerik lamented.
“Ah—I shouldn't have sent Sir Allen away like that. I shouldn't have.”
But it was too late for regrets.
In contrast, the tower was in a festive mood. Flushed with victory, Ailgar spoke to Powell.
“Why don't we press our advantage with this momentum? If we just capture Segerik, we'll win the civil war!”
“Sir Allen was nowhere to be seen. If the enemy's retreat is a bait to lure us out, and Sir Allen is preparing to strike our rear, we will have to worry for our lives.”
Powell, who had been bested by Allen several times, was being extremely cautious.
“So are you saying we should just sit cooped up in this cramped tower forever?”
Ailgar didn't hide his frustration. Wasn't this a civil war that would end the moment Segerik was captured?
“It won't be too late to attack after the reinforcements from Baron Debussy arrive.”
As if Ailgar wasn't worth arguing with, Powell said his piece and turned his back.
Ailgar, who had barely escaped with his own life and a handful of soldiers, now had nothing to his name but the fact that he was Baron Rasino's son, and was being treated poorly.
‘When I become baron, I will never let this arrogant bastard get away with this…!’
Ailgar suppressed his rage, but his path to becoming baron was a difficult one. A messenger who arrived the next day in place of the awaited troops hinted at that fact.
“Sir Powell! We have word that the reinforcements were ambushed and annihilated!”
“What!? What are you talking about!”
“The devil! It was the devil's work!”
The devil was Allen. Powell's expression hardened.
“Allen, you bastard…!”
In the end, Segerik's and Powell's forces had traded one blow each. It was an outcome neither side had wanted.
Meanwhile, when Allen returned after his successful ambush, life returned to Segerik's camp.
Segerik came out to the front of the command tent to greet Allen.
“Those bastards are all talk. What? They'd bring me victory? Hah, you're really the only one I can trust.”
Segerik praised Allen while scolding the vassals from the advisory council.
The vassals, openly rebuked, flushed red but could not offer any rebuttal.
They were speechless. No matter how shameless they were, they couldn't argue after greedily volunteering for the vanguard only to be defeated.
In truth, from Allen's perspective, Segerik was no different from them.
“I will accept your praise after we have won the war.”
“As reliable as ever! So, what's the plan?”
Allen, having taken the lead again, guided the strategy meeting.
“We still have the superior numbers. If we continue to fight a war of attrition while eliminating their reinforcements through ambushes, Ailgar and Sir Powell will wither away in the tower.”
“A man like Sir Powell won't raise the white flag so easily, will he?”
“He lost face in the last war, so he'll risk his life to make up for it. After all, capturing you, Lord Segerik, would allow for a complete turnaround.”
Allen explained his strategy. When Powell could no longer hold out and charged from the tower, Segerik and the advisors would hold the line, while he himself would strike their rear to encircle and annihilate them.
It was a classic hammer and anvil. This was why the cavalry was necessary.
“Ahem. Won't that be dangerous?”
Segerik, tasked with the role of the anvil, looked displeased. He really knew how to look after his own skin.
“The gains will also be great.”
“Gains, you say?”
“Baron Debussy mobilized his army and interfered in our internal affairs to overthrow the rightful heir. If we crush Powell's forces, we can use this as justification to demand a great deal from Baron Debussy. Perhaps even land.”
Segerik's eyes widened. Wasn't expanding one's territory the dream of every lord?
“Land, you say… land…?”
In the end, Segerik accepted. The advisors, hoping for a piece of the pie, welcomed it as well.
“Then I will set up another ambush. Please send a messenger the moment you see any sign of Powell's army leaving the tower.”
“Understood.”
Allen departed for the Barony of Debussy once more. He went as he had come—alone.
He looked at the foothills as dusk fell and recalled the past. It had been this dark on the day he interrogated Jude Horn.
Under torture, the man had confessed every detail of how Sir Maxim Tobalts died.
He said that because the baron never sent the promised reinforcements, they not only suffered a crushing defeat in a battle they were supposed to win decisively, but Maxim also had to give up his life.
A man skilled enough to be considered Andrei's equal was taken out by a single act of betrayal.
‘It's time to pay the price for that.’
If Segerik heard this, he would protest his innocence, claiming he had nothing to do with it. But wasn't this an era where collective punishment was common?