Chapter 22
Episode 22
"Don't tell me there's no one else to command your mercenary band?"
"...There is, but it's my mercenary band. So naturally, I—"
"You are the heir of this family! Do you truly intend to march onto the battlefield alongside lowly mercenaries just to hand them some petty achievements?!"
The patriarch's scolding drew nods of agreement from most of those present.
Their disdain for mercenaries couldn't have been clearer.
But Logan didn't back down.
"My presence in the knight order isn't particularly significant. Moving separately with the mercenaries would contribute more to our overall strength."
"What did you say?!"
From the start, Logan had planned to operate independently with his mercenaries during the territorial war.
The repeating crossbows were perfected, and the contingency plan of merging with the knight order was now off the table.
His continued participation in knight training had only been for his own growth and the future beyond the war.
'The knight order will be under Father's command anyway. It's better for me to move with the mercenaries. At least they'll pretend to die if I order them to.'
To Logan, it was the most rational decision—but Patrick, of course, saw it differently.
"Have you considered the catastrophic impact on morale if you're captured or killed while fighting alongside mercenaries?!"
"That won't happen."
"Do you think war is some childish game? Are the lowly mercenaries you trained some invincible army? Or are you just too stupid to tell reality from delusion?!"
The last words dripped with fury.
Patrick saw his son as a fool who couldn't grasp the gravity of the situation, stubbornly clinging to his own whims.
But what truly shattered his patience was yet to come.
"I'm neither stupid nor ignorant of reality. I'm simply going where I'm needed most—where I can make the greatest difference."
"And that place is with your little toy soldiers?"
"My mercenaries are not toys! I'll prove it by distinguishing myself in this war."
Logan's gaze never wavered, but to Patrick, it looked like nothing more than petulant defiance.
That only stoked his rage further.
"...If you insist on this, then from this moment on, I will no longer consider you my son. Even if you're captured—or killed—in this war, the family will treat you as a stranger. Are you truly fine with that?"
The extremity of Patrick's declaration made the gathered vassals widen their eyes in shock.
But the Grand Prince's response was even more staggering.
"That's acceptable."
"...You dare provoke me at a time like this?! What in the world are you thinking?! Do you believe everything will go your way?! Are you truly this thoughtless?!"
Patrick's face flushed crimson as his fury erupted, his sharp words lashing at Logan.
"Fine. Do as you please. But remember my words: in this war, you will not be treated as a direct descendant of this family!"
"I will distinguish myself."
"Ugh! You—!"
Perhaps due to the crisis, Patrick was struggling to control his emotions more than usual—but unfortunately, Logan wasn't the only one shaking his composure.
"L-Lord Patriarch! Emergency report!"
Despite the ongoing family meeting, a servant burst through the doors.
It was hard to imagine anything more urgent than wartime developments, but the news he brought was utterly baffling.
"The Cairos family has refused to send reinforcements! They're citing timing issues and liquidity problems—"
Every vassal's gaze instantly snapped toward Marian.
Her mind went blank. Stuttering, she rose defensively.
"Th-There must be some mistake! This can't be right!"
She raised her voice in disbelief, but the servant's expression remained grim.
"Lord Dwain confirmed it multiple times."
Marian's face paled instantly.
"I—I'll verify it myself!"
She shot up from her seat and rushed out in a panic—only for a familiar, burly figure to enter the hall moments later, his somber expression confirming the worst.
"There's no need, Lady Stepmother. The Cairos family's refusal is official. They've also declared they're cutting off all financial support to House MacLaine, effective today."
Dwain's words went beyond shock—they invoked outright horror.
The financial repercussions, which would become an even greater bomb later, weren't the immediate focus.
The true catastrophe was that their supposed allies—the patriarch's in-laws—had abandoned them in their hour of need. The sudden loss of reinforcements plunged the hall into chaos.
"No! No!"
"M-Mother, calm down!"
"It's a mistake! It has to be!"
"Mother!"
As Marian fled the hall with a deathly pale face, Ronian could only bite his lip and slump into his seat, staring blankly after her.
Logan approached and patted his brother's shoulder.
"It'll be fine. Everything will work out."
"...Brother."
Ronian could only bow his head further, assuming his brother's hopeful words in such a hopeless situation were nothing but hollow comfort.
The blow from the Cairos family was that devastating.
The other vassals murmured among themselves, too bewildered to act, only stealing glances at their red-faced patriarch.
Amid the chaos, only one person remained coldly composed.
'Just as I expected.'
The Cairos family's refusal to assist in the territorial war had happened in his past life too.
Whether it was due to some hidden circumstance or simply drawing a line, the fact that Ronian had severed ties with his maternal family even after reviving House MacLaine as an Aura User meant reconciliation was near impossible.
Not that it mattered to Logan.
'This means Stepmother won't wield the same influence as before. If we win this war, there'll be no more obstacles within the family.'
If anything, it felt like a nagging impediment had been cleared away.
So without hesitation, Logan stepped forward.
"I'll go ahead to prepare. If there are further orders, please send word."
No one responded—his words echoed hollowly—but Logan's steps out of the hall were unwavering.
"War... is it?"
"Yes. You don't seem surprised."
"If war hadn't come, I would've wanted to start one myself."
"What kind of horrifying—"
"Isn't it natural to want to test new weapons once you have them?"
Kai's remark drew roaring laughter from the mercenaries behind him.
Though seasoned in war, their confidence seemed almost excessive.
'But they've earned it.'
The monster hordes that descended upon MacLaine's stronghold last winter numbered less than a tenth of previous years.
The family dismissed it as a seasonal anomaly, but Logan knew better than anyone that wasn't the case.
'Last winter's horde was larger than ever.'
And the majority had been slaughtered by a mere 300 mercenaries.
Their confidence wasn't arrogance—it was conviction born of proven strength.
"Alright! Let's go wipe them out!"
"Yes, sir!"
Amid the unrest in House MacLaine over the sudden war, only 314 people were utterly certain of victory.
The war began sooner than House MacLaine anticipated.
"Enemy forces from Count Tesron's territory have appeared at the western border! Count Haman Tesron has been confirmed at the rear."
"Those bastards aren't even observing formalities...!"
Only a day had passed since the declaration of war.
Yet Tesron's forces were already at MacLaine's doorstep.
Considering their main force had marched from Tesron's stronghold, they must have mobilized the moment war was declared.
And their numbers were staggering.
"Over a hundred knights alone! Their regular forces exceed a thousand!"
"Add to that nearly ten thousand conscripts! This is total war!"
"What?! Has Haman lost his mind?!"
Patrick roared at the flood of horrifying reports.
This wasn't a war between nations—it was a territorial dispute with a proclaimed justification.
Yet the aggressors had mobilized conscripts—something even defenders rarely did.
In this era, battles were decided by knights—superhumans who stood head and shoulders above ordinary soldiers.
No matter how many conscripts were gathered, their role was limited to reinforcing victories or delaying defeats.
'Haman Tesron must be desperate to obtain 'that thing.'
Even Logan, who knew the war's true cause, found it absurd. The already overwhelmed MacLaine family was thrown into further disarray.
"Madmen. Ten thousand conscripts? Did they squeeze their entire territory dry?"
"A hundred knights?!"
"Since when did they—?"
The conscripts were one thing, but the enemy's main force—their knight order—had inexplicably grown by dozens.
"Haman, you lunatic... You've staked your territory's fate on this."
Grind.
Patrick's face twisted as he gritted his teeth hard enough to break.
"What's our readiness?"
"53 knights are prepared."
"552 regular troops are ready."
"The conscripts will need another day."
"Logan's mercenary band—314 strong—is ready."
Patrick ignored his eldest son's report, furrowing his brow.
'Why?!
No one would believe this was truly about some ancestral grudge.
But regardless of Haman's pride, Patrick knew MacLaine's territory wasn't valuable enough to justify such an all-out assault.
The mystery gnawed at him, but with enemy forces at their doorstep, answers no longer mattered.
'Pull yourself together, Patrick MacLaine. Focus on what must be done now.'
He straightened his posture.
Though his house had fallen to the rank of a mere barony, he was still its lord.
He couldn't afford to show weakness.
"Mobilize every able-bodied man! We'll meet them head-on!"
"Yes, sir!"
"We march as soon as our forces are gathered! We'll crush these insolent invaders on our doorstep!"
Even with maximum conscription, MacLaine's forces would barely number five thousand.
Excluding conscripts, their knights and regular troops were outnumbered two to one.
The disparity was worse than anticipated.
Yet Patrick ordered a field battle instead of a defensive siege.
Not a single vassal objected—they simply bowed in acceptance.
'Just like before.'
Logan listened with a frown.
Choosing an open battle despite the disadvantage wasn't entirely illogical.
At this point in history, knights were the decisive force in war.
A group of superhuman Force Users clad in sturdy armor, charging in formation, became an unstoppable wrecking ball—unless met by equals.
MacLaine's stronghold walls, though tall and thick, lacked magical reinforcement. They couldn't stop a massed knight assault.
A chaotic melee inside the walls with inferior numbers would be worse than meeting them head-on in the field.
And House MacLaine had one trump card:
Patrick MacLaine, a High Knight.
Among the rare elite who achieved such a rank, he stood at the pinnacle.
Even an average mid-tier Force User—a mid-rank knight—could match most knight order captains.
A High Knight could take on ten such captains at once.
So despite being outnumbered, Patrick and his vassals believed their High Knight patriarch could at least hold the line.
Territorial wars ended when the ruling lord surrendered or died.
If Patrick killed or captured Haman Tesron, the war would be over.
'...Or so they think.'
Logan smirked bitterly, recalling his past life.
This wasn't a war between nations—just a border conflict.
Brute strength mattered more than ingenious tactics, so the family's unorthodox strategy wasn't entirely wrong.
'It wouldn't be, if I didn't already know we lose.'
But this time, unlike his past life, Logan and his mercenaries were here.
'So I'll change the outcome. No matter what!'
Amid the bustling hall, the ostracized Logan clenched his fists, eyes blazing with determination.