novelraw Chapter 131 : Chapter 131
Chapter 131 : Chapter 131
Chapter : 131
"L-Lord Count Bozen! The Margrave of Bellua's army is in formation."
"Give the order, quickly-!"
No, does this make sense?
That was the thought that occurred to Count Bozen as he looked at the Margrave of Bellua's army before his eyes. What kind of idiot gets suppressed entirely less than half a day after starting an uprising?
Even in a situation where the main force of soldiers had gone outside. Based on the reports alone, it happened in a completely advantageous state, so to think it would collapse so futilely.
'Was it a trap?!'
Count Bozen was flustered and confused.
It would be understandable if the feudal vassals and the Margrave of Bellua had plotted together to set a trap.
And if so, this place right now was extremely dangerous. It meant he had stupidly jumped into the trap they prepared.
But then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
'Wait, didn't my sister Juana join in too?'
Juana, who was forcibly confined in the spire, joined hands with the Margrave of Bellua to deceive him?
Why?
What benefit would there be? She was pushed out of the power struggle, and since her nephew João was entangled in the succession fight, there was no reason to do so.
'Rather than a trap, it's more likely that the feudal vassals of the Margrave of Bellua were all suppressed early.'
Clicking his tongue, Count Bozen stroked his chin. A sigh escaped him, wondering how incompetent the feudal vassals of the Margrave of Bellua must be for that to happen.
But that was only for a moment.
Count Bozen's eyes sparkled.
'That means it's an opportunity!'
If they fought a battle with the feudal vassals internally and came down here straight without rest, it was clear that the fatigue of the soldiers would be very high.
Moreover, since they moved in a hurry, the composition of the troops would surely be a mess.
"Prepare for battle-! Everyone into battle formation-!"
Having finished his thought, Count Bozen shouted quickly. He intended to push without giving an opening and crush them in the initial engagement. But then...
"Uh...?"
"L-Lord?"
-WAAAAAA!
A thunderous shout erupted from the opposing formation of the Margrave of Bellua.
-Is there no one to face my sword?
-Count Bozen! Instead of cowardly watching the blood of your subordinates, let us decide victory or defeat between ourselves in a fair battle before God!
That damned Margrave of Bellua blocked even a momentary opening.
* * *
No matter how disciplined an army is, it eventually collapses in unexpected situations.
Since it is a fight between people, not machines, the mental aspect was extremely important.
In that sense, it was truly fortunate that I crushed the feudal vassals as quickly as possible and gathered the army before Count Bozen arrived.
I drank the potion Azuela handed me and asked the messenger.
"Huff huff. What is the status of Count Bozen's army?"
"It appears to be an army of roughly three or four thousand. It seems he brought all the available heavy cavalry. Lord."
"Is that so?"
I frowned at the number of troops, which was larger than I thought.
As expected, Count Bozen was formidable.
To bring 1,000 heavy cavalry and that many infantry.
"It will not be an easy fight."
"Indeed. Magician Agpiel."
I wanted him to let his guard down even a little, but an ambitious man is an ambitious man after all. Unlike his greed-blinded actions shown so far, he was doing his very best.
"Still, since we have accumulated a lot of combat experience, we are fully capable of dealing with them. If necessary, I will help too, so do not worry too much."
Right.
How many cavalry units have the pikemen and crossbowmen I trained dealt with so far? Now I wasn't particularly worried greatly.
Even for me, unlike before, I had a cavalry force of nearly 500, although inferior to Count Bozen's.
However, the problem was.
'It means we need some time....'
After scanning the condition of the soldiers, I smiled bitterly.
It was a forced march, coming down straight from the Arhen Mountains and running to the edge of the territory. The soldiers were quite exhausted.
Battle is something where victory or defeat is decided when subtle differences accumulate one by one. The role of a commander was to eliminate these subtle differences one by one.
"Open the formation."
Ordering so, I grasped the holy sword received from the Archbishop of Cologne and mounted my horse.
To stall for time to form up and to raise morale, I intended to hold a duel before the battle.
-WAAAAAA-!
As I rushed out, a thunderous shout burst out from behind. I waved my hand once amidst the cheers, drew the holy sword, and shouted.
"Is there no one to face my sword!"
-Is there no one-! Woo! Woo!
Then the soldiers behind me repeated my shout in unison.
Although not intended, the effect was quite good. It was visibly clear that the enemies on the opposite side were agitated by the thunderous sound shaking the earth.
"Count Bozen! Instead of cowardly watching the blood of your subordinates, let us decide victory or defeat between ourselves in a fair battle before God!"
-Woo woo woo! Come out, Count Bozen-! Cowardly! What a coward-!
Of course, it made no sense to decide victory or defeat through a simple duel of representatives while leading an army of this size.
But who cares about knowing that.
What mattered was morale.
Our commander is this confident and noble, so why is your commander hiding? According to the customs of the [Pangea Universalise] era, where it was desired for a commander to be an outstanding and powerful warrior, this was really important.
If the commander the soldiers follow is a coward, nothing drops trust and morale like that.
"Ee, eek!!"
Of course, for Count Bozen, it was an absurd situation.
* * *
"C-Calm down. Lord!"
"There is no need to fall for that wicked provocation."
At the sight of Count Bozen running wild, the surrounding vassals began to stop him while sweating profusely.
If Count Bozen suddenly stepped forward saying he would duel like this, it would be a catastrophe.
From what they heard, wasn't that Margrave of Bellua a truly terrifying warrior? He was a knight who had established achievements as tremendously dazzling as the Holy Empire Emperor in the past.
'Danger must be avoided.'
This was the common thought in the heads of Count Bozen's vassals.
Also, bringing such a large army and ending the battle with a single duel, wouldn't that also be absurd?
"Are you saying I should just stay put receiving that insult right now?!"
Even knowing he should, Count Bozen shouted in anger. Staying still like this would be like his honor falling into a dung pit. Moreover, the soldiers' morale would drop.
Especially since the entire infantry was hired mercenaries, the possibility of them losing morale and collapsing in an instant could not be ignored.
"Lord! I will punish him as your champion."
Then a knight shouted and stepped forward.
"Oh! Sir Alfonso!"
It was Alfonso, a knight from the Kingdom of Aragon who gained outstanding fame in the last southern heretic subjugation.
Alfonso's nickname was the Knight of Three against One!
He was an undefeated knight who single-handedly stopped the charge of three knights. How much effort had Count Bozen put into recruiting Knight Alfonso.
"If you step forward, it is truly reassuring. Go out and cut the breath of that dirty Margrave of Bellua with this opportunity!"
Therefore, Count Bozen shouted very excitedly. Sir Alfonso would sufficiently protect his honor.
-OHHHHH!!!
As a knight rushed out from their camp too, Count Bozen's soldiers cheered.
Although it was a champion, still, that was something. Just knowing that their employer was not a coward made Count Bozen's soldiers feel good.
However.
"I am Knight Alfonso from the Kingdom of Aragon! Margrave of Bellua, receive my sword!"
Sir Alfonso, who rushed out with great momentum.
-BANG!
With a thunderous roar.
"Kuk!"
He collapsed and rolled on the ground in a single engagement.
"......."
"......."
It was the moment the battlefield became quiet.
* * *
'Hmm.... Seems I've gotten stronger...?'
I thought so while looking at the knight fallen on the ground.
It was said that combat power increased as combat experience accumulated last time, and indeed it was so. Even feeling it myself, this power surging from my body felt like I wouldn't lose at all.
"Alfonso? Too weak. Count Bozen! Is this the honor you show? Is there no other champion! If not, why don't you step forward yourself?"
I raised my sword and shouted like that. Then, a thunderous shout burst out again on the battlefield where silence had settled.
-Uh-ha-ha-ha! Coward Count Bozen!
-Come out! Come out!
-You are a coward like a child hiding in a girl's skirt!
-Woo woo woo woo-!
Truly tremendous insulting shouts.
Not only Count Bozen but also his subordinate vassals' faces turned red in an instant.
"Eek!"
At this point, it was a battle of pride for honor.
Count Bozen's subordinate knights began to step forward vying with each other without being told.
"For honor! Margrave of Bellua, let's fight a round with me-!"
The first one was a knight with a very heavy body.
The knight, possessing a body like a huge bear, rushed out holding a war hammer as huge as his body. He seemed intending to attack using his heavy strength somehow.
The only problem was that I wouldn't lose in strength either.
-WHOOSH!
As the knight who rushed in like lightning swung the war hammer, I ducked to dodge it easily, then grabbed the handle of the war hammer.
"?!"
The surprised face of the knight was visible at the unbelievable feat.
But the surprise didn't end here. Because my strength grabbing the war hammer handle was beyond imagination.
-GRIP!
Flustered by that strength, the knight fumbled but soon had his weapon snatched away.
"Uh, uh...?"
The knight made a dumbfounded expression at the unbelievable reality.
I swung it immediately as if showing the knight how a war hammer should be handled.
-SWISH!
A strike as if swinging a normal sword! For a knight who knew its weight, it was dumbfounding, but an even more unbelievable thing followed immediately.
-CRUNCH!
He hurriedly raised his shield to block, but the shield shattered, and the knight's body bounced backward.
This also happened in a single engagement.
"Such a fool!"
Count Bozen's knights watching that spat out curses.
No, what kind of knight gets his weapon snatched away? Originally, due to the structure of the weapon, if one grabbed the handle first, it was very difficult to snatch it away. To think such a knight without basics was their comrade!
Count Bozen's knights spat out curses and began to rush at me one by one.
However.
"I am Knight Jormun of the Aquitaine region.... Kuck!"
The knights who rushed in with great momentum could understand why that knight earlier had his weapon snatched away futilely and died.
-WHOOSH!
Before they knew it, the war hammer in my hand was swung making a bloody sound tearing the air.
-BANG!
Making a roar like a giant knocking on a city gate, it was smashing them along with the shields they raised.
And this was not a fluke, the knights' mistake, or coincidence.
"Ack!"
The next knight too.
-CRUNCH!
And the knight who stepped forward after that too.
-SQUELCH!
-CRACK!
All turned into a handful of blood and sprawled on the ground in a single move.
"......."
"......."
Truly shock and horror!
It was the moment silence descended on Count Bozen's camp.