Chapter 95: The Two Counts
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: The Two Counts
Count Broua's eyes shot open. His pupils trembled minutely. It was a look of pure astonishment for anyone to see.
Then again, who could have predicted that Erik and I, who had been bowing and scraping just moments before, would betray him like this?
Moreover, a king's knight and Dresden joining forces? It was something his mind simply couldn't comprehend.
But I wasn't a king's knight, and if the benefits were great enough, I was more than willing to join hands with Dresden.
In the slowed world, Count Broua leaned back, trying to dodge my lance. I had the ability to adjust its trajectory to match his movement.
‘How dare you covet what is mine…?’
If I had my way, I would have killed the bastard in one blow, but that wasn't an option. This was a surprise attack, not much different from an assassination.
Count Broua wasn't valuable enough to tarnish the reputation and fame I had worked so hard to build. Even if I were to kill him, I first needed a pretext to save face.
I altered its path. The lance, aimed between his face and shoulder, struck the chair directly.
Crack!
The jousting lance, made of ash wood, shattered into pieces. Flying splinters of wood raked across Count Broua's body and face.
“…!”
Count Broua belatedly collapsed to the floor. Blood bloomed from his face, where sharp fragments were embedded.
He didn't seem to feel the pain. Instead of tending to his wounds, he pointed a finger at me. But he was so stunned that his mouth only gaped open, no sound coming out.
“You bastard! How dare you do this!!”
One of the count's vassals shouted on his behalf. Guards and vassals who knew how to wield a sword had surrounded Erik and me.
The tips of their swords and spears glinted menacingly. If only the count had been safe, they would not have hesitated to run me through.
“I am merely doing what must be done.”
“What!?”
I calmly set down the lance, of which only the handle remained. Then I drew Trollsverd and aimed it at the throat of the collapsed Count Broua.
The count looked up at me, his face pale as a sheet. His Adam's apple bobbed violently.
I raised my head. The count's vassals, members of various families, and even common city dwellers and peasants were all watching.
It was the perfect stage.
“The House of Broua began with a contract with the previous king. The king appointed the count's ancestor as Count Palatine and bestowed upon him this domain, which was once a royal demesne. The count's ancestor swore before the Lord to serve the king with loyalty and faith, and to fulfill his duties.”
A few of those watching us nodded.
The Broua family had only held the title and domain for two generations.
That was why a few people who knew of the relationship between the king and House Broua still remained.
“However, the count's father cast aside that oath like a worn-out shoe and, taking advantage of the chaos in the royal family, unilaterally broke the contract. After his ancestor's death, the title and domain should have rightfully been returned to the king, but he ignored this and made them his own. The current Count Broua has done the same.”
“Ahem—”
As the uncomfortable truth about Count Broua was revealed, those who knew the situation cleared their throats. Those who didn't could not hide their bewildered expressions.
Naturally, the points of the swords and spears aimed at me lowered slightly. The atmosphere was beginning to shift.
Count Broua tried to make some excuse, but his voice still wouldn't come out.
“House Broua's ingratitude did not end there. When Bronx II, who inherited the contract, commanded him to honor the oath once more, the current Count Broua ignored him. And was that all? He even shouted for a new price—none other than a member of the king's own bloodline.”
I lifted the royal family's banner from the ground. A timely gust of wind made the flag flutter, displaying the royal crest for all to see.
“What arrogant and insolent behavior is this? The count has ignored the king, forsaken his faith, and sullied his honor. As a loyal subject of Bronx II, how could I witness such a tragedy and remain idle! I, Allen, in the name of Bronx II, shall make the count pay the price for casting his faith aside like a worn-out shoe!”
I framed myself as a knight sacrificing his personal honor for the sake of his loyalty to his lord.
“Sh-shut up—!”
The count's voice finally boomed. Realizing he could speak again, the count glared at me as if to kill me and raised his voice.
“This title and this domain are mine! The House of Broua has legally ruled this land for generations, and now you think you can take it back!? Do you think I'll let you steal my rightful claim!?”
Even with a sword at his throat, Count Broua was so enraged that veins bulged on his neck. His wide-open eyes, however, were surprisingly rational.
In those eyes, I saw the confidence that he would survive. I brought the sword closer to his throat and asked.
“Do you think I can't kill you?”
“If you kill me in a manner no different from an assassination, do you think the nobility will stand by idly? The entirety of high society will condemn and sanction the king for ignoring customs and traditions!”
The king, after all, was merely a great lord with slightly more power than the others.
If all of high society united to check him, he would have no way of surviving.
That is, if the king were alone.
“No. High society will remain silent and watch to see which way the wind blows.”
“What nonsense is this!?”
“Who would dare challenge an alliance between two powerful great lords like the king and the margrave? On the contrary, they'll be too busy racking their brains, calculating how this alliance will affect them.”
If Dresden were to acquire the Broua domain as well, they would effectively rule the southeastern part of the continent.
A king allied with such a power would be free of worries from his rear and could focus his strength elsewhere.
It would be a massive geopolitical shift. Before challenging it, the nobles would have to worry and fret about how the aftershocks would affect them.
“How can Dresden and the king join forces!”
Only then did Count Broua seem to realize that Erik was also here.
Erik, who had jumped in a step behind me, stood back-to-back with me, holding the surrounding soldiers at bay.
He glanced down at Count Broua and snorted.
“Joining hands even with an enemy, if necessary. That is the Dresden way. Count. You should not have refused my offer.”
Weren't the king and Dresden arch-enemies competing for the throne?
Count Broua could never have imagined that these two houses would join forces. In fact, without my mediation, it would have been impossible.
Those who had surrounded us also began to stir. The king alone was a formidable opponent, but now Dresden was added to the mix? They had no chance of winning.
As the atmosphere took a strange turn, Count Broua finally seemed to grasp the danger. He shouted urgently.
“High society's hesitation will only be temporary! No noble wants to see the rise of a powerful king! The great lords will soon join forces to interfere!”
“That's what I'm hoping for.”
“What…?”
When Dresden leaves on an expedition across the sea, the nobles will likely assume the agreement between the king and Dresden goes like this:
They've signed a non-aggression pact and agreed to rule the northern continent and the inland regions, respectively. That's the only benefit great enough to justify the two houses overlooking their long-standing enmity.
Moreover, the ambition Bronx II has shown thus far would serve as evidence for such an assumption.
‘They'll have no choice but to make a move, one way or another. Just as the count said, no noble wants to see the rise of a powerful, absolute monarch.’
A great war will break out in the inland regions as well. A war that will be an opportunity for me. Count Broua's death was the starting point.
“N-no…!”
Did my true intentions finally get through to him? Count Broua looked up at me, his face ashen.
But by then, it was already too late. My sword sliced through the count's neck.
The head separated from the body with shocking ease. The body collapsed, and the head, its face frozen in shock, rolled into the spectator stands.
“Aaaah—!”
“My lord Count—!”
An uproar erupted. The guards and knights tightened their encirclement. The tensed muscles in their arms signaled an imminent attack. It was a touch-and-go situation.
I calmly turned to face them.
“Do you intend to follow Count Broua to hell?”
Even if they managed to capture Erik and me here, it wouldn't change the fact that the king and the Count of Dresden had joined forces. Resistance meant death.
Belatedly realizing this reality, they flinched and glanced at one another. Just then, someone stepped forward.
“What are you doing! The count is dead! The man you swore loyalty to has met a dishonorable end! How dare you hesitate!”
It was a middle-aged man who bore a strong resemblance to Count Broua. His words seemed to have an effect, as the guards and knights tightened their grips on their weapons.
But only for a moment…
“Begins! Stop shouting orders from the back and step forward yourself!”
Another man raised his voice. This one was a young man, who also bore a strong resemblance to Count Broua.
The face of the man called Begins, who was leading the guards and knights, twisted in anger.
“How dare you! A bastard like you has no place to interfere!”
“Hmph! Now that the count is dead, it is my place as his son to step forward! This is no time for an uncle with no official title to be taking charge!”
“What!?”
The argument wasn't limited to just those two. A man suddenly emerged from the distant crowd. He, too, resembled Count Broua.
“Is this any time for that!? The count was killed by that lawless bastard!”
“This is not your place to interfere!”
“You disgusting bastards! You don't know your place!”
Meanwhile, Erik, who was still back-to-back with me, nudged my back with his elbow.
“Just as you said. This family is a complete mess.”
“All the children he had with his official wife died young, and the lecherous count left behind numerous bastards. He has many brothers as well. The line of succession is bound to be extremely complicated.”
Furthermore, it seemed excessive greed also ran in the family. The conflict erupted even faster than I had anticipated.
“Then the next part of the plan should proceed accordingly.”
“Let's confirm that after we get out of here.”
The moment our eyes met, we kicked off the ground.
The nearest guard, startled by my charge, thrust his spear.
Despite the suddenness of the situation, the spearhead didn't waver, aiming straight for my neck. Just what you'd expect from the count's personal guard.
It was fast, too. In an instant, the sharp point filled my vision.
But I had already entered the slowed world.
I parried the spear shaft with my sword. With minimal force, the spear was sent flying. At the same time, the guard's upper body was left open. I lowered my stance and drove into his personal space.
He reflexively pulled the spear back. The butt of the spear swung out in a half-circle, trying to check my advance.
“Gack—”
Before it could, my sword plunged into his abdomen. It left a wound that looked as if the flesh had been violently torn away, a result of the immense force behind the blade.
The guard collapsed. I kicked the kneeling man's torso to pull my sword free, then immediately shifted my position and swung my sword in a wide, horizontal arc.
Vwoosh.
The sound of the air being crushed echoed. The side of the guard to my left was deeply gouged. The cross-section of the wound looked as if it had been mauled by a wild beast.
“Aaargh—!”
The guard tried to stuff his spilling intestines back into the wound before passing out.
It was then that a knight burst out from behind the collapsing guard.
“Die!!”
It seemed he had used his own ally as bait. Chivalry was merely an ideal; very few actually upheld it.
Using a half-swording grip, I raised my sword to block his downward strike. Without stopping there, I swung the arm holding the hilt.
My sword naturally pushed the knight's blade outward, and my protruding elbow struck him in the face.
“Aaaargh—!”
His cheekbone shattered, and several of his teeth flew through the air.
As he dropped to his knees, I brought the pommel of my sword down on him. The pommel at the end of the hilt had been sharpened for just such an occasion.
The knight, a hole now punched through his forehead, died instantly.
“Sir Ebwin!! You son of a bitch—!”
A knight, enraged by his comrade's death, rushed at me. Two other knights flanked him on the left and right, preparing to attack me from three directions at once.
I moved counter-clockwise. The knight on my right was momentarily blocked by the one in the center.
With just three steps, I had neutralized one of the threats.
It was only for an instant, but it was enough time to deal with two knights.
“Haaap—!”
I swung Trollsverd with all my might. Once again, the sound of crushing air echoed.
The diagonal slash cut through both the knight and his sword. Not stopping there, it severed the thigh of the knight right next to him.
The chainmail and the cloth armor worn underneath were of no help.
“Aargh! My leg!!”
The one-legged knight dropped the sword he had been thrusting at me and collapsed.
He foamed at the mouth, likely from shock, and lost consciousness. He would soon die from blood loss.
“Th-the Giant Slayer…!”
A knight who had charged with his comrades but was a step behind my movements faltered. He watched me warily and began to back away.
I didn't miss the chance to reduce the number of Count Broua's knights. I kicked off the ground, and the man turned to flee, showing me his back. My sword was faster.
Shunk.
With faint resistance, it pierced straight through the knight's back.
“Gurgle…”
The knight looked down at the sword tip protruding from his chest and collapsed without even a final scream.
“H-he's not human! He's not human!”
“Fuck!! He's even worse than the rumors!!”
“I-I don't want to die! I don't want to die!!”
Three knights who were supposedly a big deal had died without even putting up a coordinated fight. The guards, who were even less skilled, couldn't help but be terrified.
The remaining knights aimed their swords at the backs of the guards who were cautiously backing away.
“Don't run! If you run, you'll die by my hand first!”
“F-fuck you! If you want to fight so badly, you do it!!”
That's how terrifying I was; the guards committed an act of insubordination they would never have dared to attempt otherwise.
“Y-you bastard—!”
The knight's face turned purple with rage, and he moved to strike the guard's neck to make an example of him.
Before he could, the tip of a sword poked out from his throat.
“Gurgle…”
Behind the collapsing knight stood Erik. A considerable number of corpses were strewn behind him.
As expected of a Named Character.
“The skills you showed in the joust were just the tip of the iceberg.”
I shrugged and turned my head. The spectator stands had already turned into a sea of blood and bodies, and the distance to the encirclement had doubled.
With the knights blocking them gone, the guards had retreated a good distance. Even a few of the more cautious knights were no exception.
Even though there were still dozens of knights and soldiers left, they couldn't even think of trying to stop the two of us.
Thanks to that, we were able to ride our horses and leave the arena at a leisurely pace.
“What's the plan now? They're only stunned by their lord's sudden death. They'll sort things out soon and try to counterattack. Since they can't face us alone, they'll surely try to bring in other factions.”
Erik was reminding me again that he couldn't help me with his full strength.
My gaze fell upon Count Broua's vassals and soldiers, who were staring blankly after us, not even thinking of pursuit.
“That's if they can find any factions willing to help. Also, sorting things out won't be so easy. The factions vying for the count's title are all on equal footing.”
“So, it's going according to plan?”
“Yes. All we have to do is wait. Until the enemy offers up the domain on their own.”
We wouldn't have to wait for long.