novelraw Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter : 85
Fortunately, I was not too late.
The main force led by Captain Konrad was struggling against the sudden enemy attack, but they had not collapsed.
“Maintain the spacing. We’ll break them just like this-!”
I shouted as I raised my spear.
The bastards had not spotted us yet. Infantry without a formation were bound to collapse like leaves from a single lance charge by cavalry, especially by knights, who were advanced human weapons.
“Kiyoooooot-!”
“For honor-!”
“Tear down the Emperor’s filthy dogs. Charge! Ride at full speed.”
The elf knights, excited, shouted at the top of their lungs and gripped their lances.
The Hook Mercenary Company, spotting them only then, was startled and tried to form a line, but it was already too late.
-Crrrrunch!
-Crack!
-Kuaaaaaaak!
Clustering together at the last moment actually worked against them. The charge of the elf knights, myself included, crushed the clumsily gathered enemy even more miserably.
The Hook Mercenary Company began to collapse in an instant.
“D-don’t scatter!”
“You crazy bastards. Get back here right now! Group up! Stick together to survive.”
The veteran soldiers screamed their lungs out, but they were outnumbered and outmatched.
That was how destructive my and the elf knights' charge was.
It was impossible not to feel fear when men of overwhelming stature, clad in heavy armor, were pushing them back.
-Crack!
-Thwack!
The spear I had been holding was long since broken. I furiously swung my sword and charged forward, sending the head of a resisting mercenary flying and piercing the back of another who was fleeing in terror.
I thought that was enough, but.
“Your Excellency! I think the mercenary captain is over there!”
“I know. I saw him too.”
I had no intention of stopping.
“Hiyah!”
In a flash, I whipped my horse again and shot forward.
My target was the man who appeared to be the enemy's captain.
The fellow, clad in fairly sturdy armor, was screaming his lungs out, trying to prevent the formation from collapsing.
And surprisingly, even amidst this chaos, the enemy mercenary company was gradually regaining its stability.
‘If I leave them be, the battle will drag on.’
A swift and decisive battle.
That was the way to minimize casualties.
“D-damn it all!”
And it seemed the enemy captain had spotted my charge.
He raised a sturdy, massive shield and crouched behind it. It was clear at a glance his plan was to endure just one hit and then aim for the horse!
It was a decent enough method for dealing with a mounted knight, but….
-Pow!
He had chosen the wrong opponent. A sound like leather tearing was heard, and then.
-Craaaaaack!
-Thwack!
“Keoheok.”
My longsword split the shield and cut off the enemy commander's head. Along with the sundered shield, the enemy commander collapsed to the ground.
“????”
For the surrounding mercenaries who had intended to rush in as soon as he blocked the attack, a shocking event had occurred.
“What the fuck?”
But shock was just shock. With their captain dead, there was no reason for the mercenaries to hold their ground.
“Should we… run?”
“Yeah, the captain’s dead, let’s just get the hell out of here.”
The mercenary company and the band of thieves began to fall into chaos. And the elf knights exacerbated that chaos.
“Your leader is dead.”
“All of you, meekly accept our swords!”
They began to wander around with the head of the Hook Mercenary Company's captain impaled on a spear.
It was quite a barbaric sight, but it was effective.
“Uwaaaaaah! Run!”
“The captain is dead!”
The thieves, having lost their morale, scattered in every direction like a swarm of locusts.
Some even threw down their weapons and surrendered, but that didn't mean the elf knights spared them. On the contrary, they were taking their heads as spoils of war.
“Keoheok.”
“But why! I surrendered!”
“Kill every last one of the thieves.”
“They are not nobles!”
Thanks to this, a few remaining remnants were grouping up and resisting, but it was meaningless.
That too was soon finished.
The battle was effectively over.
* * *
“Waaaaaaah-!”
Cheers erupted from all sides.
Having won a victory after facing a great crisis from a sudden ambush, everyone was greatly excited.
Receiving those cheers, I headed straight for the command post of the main camp.
Corpses were scattered all the way to the vicinity of the command post, a testament to the fierce battle that had taken place.
“You’ve worked hard commanding the main force, Captain Konrad.”
“Y-you human lord!”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Thanks to you, no!”
Captain Konrad, covered in blood, looked at me with an emotional expression.
If I had arrived just a little later, the main camp might have collapsed. To Captain Konrad, I must have looked like an angel descended from heaven.
I patted Captain Konrad on the back and scanned the surroundings. It seemed quite a number of soldiers had died.
‘Damn it. These are soldiers I trained with such difficulty….’
My mouth tasted bitter.
In the end, weren't they my domain's people? Most nobles didn't even treat them as human, but I was different.
“Treat the wounded soldiers quickly, and collect the bodies of the dead to be rewarded later.”
I said so and began to organize the battlefield. Now that I knew the Emperor’s intentions, a proper response was needed.
In particular, I had to inform the Prince-elector of Bohemia in a hurry.
If he had already been struck, there was nothing to be done, but if not yet, we could use this to gain a great advantage.
“What should we do with the prisoners, Your Excellency.”
“Hm? Besides the ones I brought, were any nobles working under the Emperor captured?”
“Yes. We caught them inside the thieves’ command. The elf knights stepped forward to capture them, Your Excellency.”
“Hmmm.”
What to do.
I was in a slightly angry state.
To the point where, if I followed my heart, I just wanted to execute them.
Besides, they had tarnished their own honor with a dirty conspiracy, so there was no reason to respect the customs of nobility.
“Sometimes, emotions are more important than reason, but most of the time, a rational judgment is more important. There is no need to be completely on bad terms with the Emperor. The only ones who would benefit from that are the Holy See or the Prince-elector of Bohemia.”
“Hmm, I know that too, Magician Agpiel. I haven’t lost my reason to that extent yet.”
“Hoho, then that’s a relief.”
Thanks to Magician Agpiel's advice, I was able to regain my composure. Indeed, there was no need to spill more blood here.
“Treat them according to custom. If anyone harms them needlessly, they will be severely punished.”
“B-but Your Excellency. Those men are cowardly….”
“Enough. We cannot act the same as the Emperor who violated custom and honor, can we?
We cannot become beasts just to catch a beast.”
“Ooh…. Indeed.”
“I-I understand. If Your Excellency says so.”
The reactions to my words were divided in two.
One side was the people of the knightly order, who were moved and made the sign of the cross, and the other side was the elf knights, who reluctantly agreed.
For the people of the order, it was a natural act as they were followers of God's word to show mercy, but the elf knights were a little different.
The margrave before their eyes was the very knight who had just strangled an ogre to death.
The elf knights, who had witnessed that unbelievable event with their own two eyes, did not have the courage to argue.
What would they do if the enraged Margrave Bellua decided to strangle them!
‘Huh?’
Of course, for me, who saw that subtle reaction, I felt a sense of unease and tilted my head.
“Then, hurry up and finish clearing the battlefield. We will head to the City of Tulung. Send a messenger ahead to the magistrate and tell him to prepare to receive us.”
The situation had become ambiguous, but in any case, it was true that I had carried out the subjugation requested by the magistrate.
So it was time to receive the reward.
I sent back Biden's army, which had arrived late, and immediately mounted my horse to prepare to head for the City of Tulung.
“But are you just going to leave the ogre's corpse? That’s a very valuable item. There’s no part to throw away, it has many uses.”
“Ah?”
Only then did I remember the ogre I had strangled to death.
The situation was so urgent that I had just left it on the ground and rushed here.
“My goodness, my mind. Of course, we must bring it. Thank you for telling me, Magician Agpiel.”
“Don’t mention it.”
It was a valuable spoil of war in its own right, and at the same time, it was evidence that would dramatically show the Emperor's dirty and cowardly scheme.
Using a monster to attack people was a truly detestable act.
If I could use this to stir up the anger of the Tulung city council and its citizens, I might receive their full support for the war.
“Ah, and.”
Just then, Magician Agpiel looked around and cautiously opened his mouth.
“Just in case, get the elf knights to get their story straight.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Surely you’re not going to tell them you strangled an ogre to death, are you?”
“A-ahem.”
Only then did I realize the true meaning of his words and let out a dry cough.
“The words of a few elf knights will be dismissed as the boasting of knights who like to exaggerate, and you, for now, should say you defeated the ogre with a miracle through God’s blessing.”
“That’s a bit…. Doesn't that sound too much like blasphemy?”
I'd rather say it differently than call it a miracle.
Couldn't I just say I dug a pit trap and it suffocated to death?
“What do you mean, blasphemy-!”
At that, Magician Agpiel sighed as if he found me frustrating.
“There was also the matter of dealing with the death knight last time. It's much better to have it be a miracle. Think about it. Wouldn’t it be more shocking and blasphemous for you to have ignorantly strangled it to death with strength?”
“Ummm….”
“That’s much better than saying you solved it with brute force.”
It was hard to deny.
It seemed that way would be better, just as Magician Agpiel said.
Of course.
“And since your nickname is what it is, everyone will understand. Hmmm…. Then will your nickname change to ‘The One Blessed by God’ now? Hahaha.”
“……”
I really didn't like that last part, though.
* * *
Having successfully completed the subjugation, it was only natural to be treated accordingly.
My army and I marched through the city streets of Tulung to a fervent welcome.
The number of troops was so large that we had to divide the force into five units and enter sequentially, so the event was quite long and drawn out.
“Waaaaaaah-!”
“Vengeance upon the vile Emperor! Blessings upon the faithful Excellency!”
Fervent cheers from the citizens erupted wherever we passed. It was because we had already spread the news about the reason for the thieves’ appearance and the Emperor’s cowardly actions beforehand.
And thanks to that.
“Ugh! Go and die.”
“Filthy bastards!”
Along with the jeers, the angry crowd threw mud and rotten tomatoes at the prisoners being dragged along.
Of course, Magician Azella could not escape this either.
No, if anything, it was even more severe for her.
“It’s a witch!”
“Killing people by controlling monsters? His Excellency is too generous! To spare such an evil magician.”
-Splat! Splat!
-Thud! Thud!
Azella was met with a concentrated barrage from the angry crowd.
“Ack! Ack! Your Excellency, save me. You promised to treat me according to custom. Ugh-!”
In an instant, she was covered in mud and filth. Watching from afar, it was truly a tear-jerking sight.
“Shouldn’t we put a stop to this?”
“Why, isn’t it fun? Besides, she has sinned, so she should endure this much.”
“True, I suppose that’s right.”
If it hadn't been for the edict issued beforehand that anyone who injured them would be severely punished, some people would have even mixed in stones to throw.
This was a punishment she truly deserved. It was fun to watch, and the person being punished wasn't seriously hurt.
“Aack! Ack! You evil bastard!”
Of course, it seemed the one on the receiving end didn't think so.