Chapter 219

Uh-huh-huh-huh?

What was this?

I had been thinking about how to coax Count Steffen and make good use of him, but if this was how it turned out, then it was practically a gift.

He was offering to cooperate on his own.

Was that not a wonderful thing?

‘The power of a 4-star general was tremendous.’

It was Count Steffen’s command skill that could overturn even an unfavorable matchup and still inflict massive losses. And now, even if only temporarily, a man like Count Steffen was becoming a feudal vassal under my command?

For my infantry-heavy force, which lacked flexible responsiveness, it was as though I had been given wings in the form of the greatest cavalry commander on the continent.

“Are you truly saying you will help me and join this expedition?”

Even so, I asked again carefully, just in case.

Count Steffen nodded and answered.

“That is correct, Your Excellency. Unless it is against His Majesty the Holy Empire’s Emperor, there is no reason I cannot take up my sword.”

“Hm…. I see.”

I nodded at his words. Hearing the reasoning, it did sound plausible. Since he would not be raising his blade against his own lord, he likely deemed it acceptable to join the campaign in lieu of paying ransom, to restore his honor.

Of course, even so, it was surprising to see him act this way when marching with me would hardly earn him a good reputation with the Holy Empire’s Emperor.

‘He must be thinking beyond what comes next.’

Was he planning that, after enough time passed and his prisoner’s life ended, he would slip away from the Holy Empire’s Emperor and change sides?

Well, in any case, it was good.

And if the one he changed sides to was me, that was even better.

So I intended to earn a little more credit this time.

Had the system not told me?

Count Steffen’s joining was “temporary.” I needed to score a bit more to peel off that “temporary” tag and make him a true feudal vassal.

Heh-heh-heh.

“Your expression is rather… insidious.”

“Ahem. Hush. Hush. Count Steffen and the nobles are right in front of us, Magician Agpiel.”

“Tsk….”

Leaving that small incident behind, I looked at Count Steffen and spoke.

“Very well. Then, Count Steffen. The position of cavalry commander is vacant for this expedition. Would you be willing to take it?”

And I had chosen something truly shocking.

“What?!”

“Did you… perhaps misspeak?”

Startled, Count Steffen asked again in confusion.

Think about it.

Was it sensible to entrust the strongest arm of an army to a man who had been an enemy until recently?

Of course, I was someone whose thinking diverged greatly from the common sense of the Pangea Universalise era.

“I did not misspeak. You heard correctly, Count Steffen. I would like you to lead your vassals and serve as the cavalry commander of my cavalry.”

Then it was my own vassals beside me who were thrown into an uproar.

“Your Excellency! What is this—!”

“That is right, my lord. Was Count Steffen not our enemy until just recently?!”

“To give the post of cavalry commander to such a man…!”

But Magician Agpiel, who had watched me closely for so long that he knew me too well, only clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk. So you are using that insidious head of yours again. You fox.”

Even as he spoke, I ignored him quietly and addressed the others.

“You say that because he is an enemy commander, we cannot give him the post of cavalry commander? Before he is an enemy commander, Count Steffen is an honorable noble. Even that eccentric Holy Empire’s Emperor trusted him absolutely—an imperial general! A general who, if given an order, followed it steadfastly and led his men to victory again and again! If I were to slight such a general merely because he was once an enemy, then which nobles and knights would follow me? I trust Count Steffen’s proud dignity as a noble.”

“Ah….”

“Oh…. Indeed.”

At my words, admiration burst from the gathered nobles.

A generous lord who so faithfully forgave and accepted an enemy commander taken prisoner—

was this not the sort of tale that belonged only in heroic folk legends?

When the war ended and they returned home, it would be the sort of story they would pass down to their descendants for generations.

Of course, I had not said any of that to win over those nobles.

My target was Count Steffen.

And fortunately—

“Ah…. Your Excellency, Margrave of Bellua.”

Count Steffen’s lips trembled as he spoke, his expression deeply moved.

“I, Count Steffen, will gladly offer my sword until I have reclaimed my ransom and my honor. This is a firm oath made before God, and all the nobles here will stand as witnesses to this oath, Your Excellency!”

-Tiriring!

[Count Steffen’s favor increases. If you raise it a little more, you can formally integrate him.]

“Oh! We as well.”

“We, too, will gladly serve in your campaign until we have paid our ransom to Your Excellency, Margrave of Bellua!”

“We swear it!”

It was, in every way, a splendid outcome.

Yes. Splendid, indeed.

“You… truly…. You have the Devil’s mouth.”

“Now, now. The Devil’s mouth? Please say it like this: ‘You speak beautifully.’”

As expected, lip service was an excellent method.

Heh-heh-heh.

Leaving the horrified Magician Agpiel behind, I smiled to myself.

***

Once the situation settled, I immediately entrusted Count Steffen with seven hundred elf knights and ordered him to attack Crown Prince Charles I’s territory at once.

The existing three hundred cavalry were already harassing the rear, so it meant a total of one thousand cavalry were now in Count Steffen’s hands.

A thousand cavalry was tremendous strength, so if he turned the blade on me, it would be a heavy burden—but I refused to waste such a powerful general by leaving him idle among my infantry.

Besides, since I was fully responsible for the cavalry’s supplies, he would not be able to turn his blade easily.

“Then are we going straight to the Duchy of Aquitaine now?”

“Yes, Magician Agpiel. By the reports, Crown Prince Charles I fell into Sir Biden’s trap and suffered enormous losses. So we must hurry there all the more.”

“Why? If he took enormous losses, would he not withdraw?”

Good heavens.

It seemed our Magician Agpiel had not grasped Crown Prince Charles I properly.

“Crown Prince Charles I is not that kind of man. He will press even harder and try to take the castle by any means necessary.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It is. Have I ever spoken nonsense, Magician Agpiel?”

“That is why I listen so closely, is it not? If it were some other foolish noble, I would have given him a stern scolding.”

“Goodness. Thank you.”

Crown Prince Charles I.

A tactical genius who crushed opponents with boldness and exceptionality.

And so, even now, he might exploit the momentary carelessness of the defending forces—drunk on victory—and launch an all-out offensive.

‘If he cannot take the Duchy of Aquitaine this time, then for Charles I, it is practically the end.’

The fortress left in the rear remained intact, and Crown Prince Charles I’s territory was being scorched by my army. If he retreated without any achievement, he truly had no future.

“Then the Duchy of Aquitaine will be in grave danger.”

“Yes. It will. That is why we must go quickly.”

Thinking that, I urged the soldiers forward at once,

praying that Sir Biden would hold out until then.

***

My guess was largely correct.

“Attack! Keep pressing!”

-Waaaaaah!

-Let us take revenge on them!

Though Crown Prince Charles I had suffered enormous losses to fire in the waterway, his army only became more vicious.

No sooner had they gathered themselves than they launched a siege against the capital city of the Duchy of Aquitaine.

-Uh, uhh?

-W-we are being pushed back! We are losing ground!

-This cannot fall. Request reinforcements, quickly!

So the soldiers of the Duchy of Aquitaine, briefly drunk on victory, were forced to yield parts of the wall to the fierce assault.

But Sir Biden had anticipated this to some extent.

“Send the direct troops at once. It is better when they climb onto the walls! Drive them back all the way down with pikes!”

The moment part of the wall fell, he dispatched the pikemen he had hidden nearby.

-THUD, THUD, THUD!

The pikemen, packing in tightly with long pikes, immediately formed a pike phalanx.

And then—

-Woo!

-Ha!

-CRUNCH! CRACK!

With their shouts matched to one another, they began to advance step by step, thrusting their pikes forward.

-Woo!

-Ha!

-Kyaaagh.

-S-stop coming up! This is hell, you bastards!

The dense wall of pikes swept across the troops of Crown Prince Charles I who had climbed onto the ramparts. After climbing ladders, most of his soldiers relied on short swords, and before the long pikes they were utterly helpless.

Those who made it up became skewered on iron spikes in an instant, or tried to flee and tumbled off the walls in a clattering cascade.

“Damn it!”

Watching from behind, Crown Prince Charles I spat a curse.

He did not know which general was defending the castle, but the man was more capable than expected.

To think there had been such a general under the Margrave of Bellua. Crown Prince Charles I had believed that the only commander worth fearing in Bellua’s forces was the Margrave of Bellua himself.

“Your Highness! Should we not turn back now?”

“That is right. The soldiers who took the wall have all been driven off. Even now—”

The retainers around him were frantic, shouting.

They wanted only to preserve the troops and return to their lands. If they lost more soldiers here, many troubles could arise during the retreat.

But Crown Prince Charles I thought differently.

“There will be no retreat!”

Considering the fortress he had left behind, retreat was the worst possible choice.

It was better to take that castle, seize his sister, and bring the Duchy of Aquitaine’s vassals to his side.

“B-but…”

“Their resistance is not to be taken lightly.”

“Stop your weak talk!”

So Crown Prince Charles I bared his teeth and shouted.

“We must seize this castle. This is our only way! Knights—send the knights up. And proclaim to the soldiers: whoever first plants our banner atop the wall will be granted ten gold coins and a manor!”

He intended to see this through to the very end.

***

“They have committed knights!”

“The eastern outer wall has fallen!”

“The north gate is about to break! General, reinforcements—quickly!”

As expected, Crown Prince Charles I was not an easy opponent.

Sir Biden felt a throbbing ache in his head at the grim messages arriving from every direction.

By pushing knights forward, Crown Prince Charles I had managed to seize parts of the wall and a gate.

“W-what should we do? Should we retreat through the south gate, even now?”

“It might not be a bad choice. Ahem.”

The nobles in the command group, terrified, were already speaking of retreat.

“Stop your pathetic talk. There will be no retreat. Her Grace, Duchess of Aquitaine, is still recovering.”

“B-but….”

-TAP!

When it seemed the argument would drag on, Sir Biden rapped the tabletop with his command baton.

“Our lord will arrive soon. We only need to endure. We have already heard that he repelled the Holy Empire’s Emperor’s army in the eastern region and is coming here. All that remains is time.”

“Hm…. Is he truly coming? Is the victory certain?”

“Are you saying I am lying?”

Under Sir Biden’s harsh gaze, the nobles who had questioned him lowered their eyes and avoided answering.

A truly wretched sight.

But Sir Biden, too, understood well that his situation was not favorable.

He should either retreat, or pull the troops back to the inner castle and defend…

Just as he was thinking that—

“General! General!”

A messenger came sprinting in.

Everyone’s expressions tightened, expecting yet another piece of bad news—

“The Margrave of Bellua’s army has arrived! Reinforcements are here!”

At last, the news they had been waiting for.

The Margrave of Bellua’s army had arrived.

And for Crown Prince Charles I—

“My God! Why do you give me such a cruel trial?!”

It was news as dreadful as hell itself.