Chapter 174 : The Decisive Battle (1)
T/n: Late last Saturday and Tuesday Chapters double release. Sorry about the lateness. Juggling the first week back at college and translating has been more difficult than I expected.
On that note, IatM’s release schedule will change for now to 2 chapters per Tuesdays to fit my college schedule.
Around the time that Roan had began to seriously move at the northeastern frontline, one young man showed up at the main Owell Forces’ camp that had advanced all the way to the vicinity of the Pavor Castle.
A young man, although the tired look was apparent, whose eyes at least were fiercely alive, it was Walter Owells.
Receiving the guide of the Owells Forces’ major commanders, he headed towards the tent Viscount Kali Owells was staying.
“Have you come?”
When he entered the inside of the tent, Kali, who was sitting at the head seat, passed his greeting with a brusque voice.
Walter quietly stood and stared at Kali’s face, then slowly lowered his head.
“I was a little late, father.”
“A little late, is it…… you’ve became brazen during the time I haven’t seen you.”
Kali made a bitter smile.
If Walter wasn’t the eldest son who would lead the Owells House, he would have threw him out, but threw him out long ago.
Walter looked straight into Kali’s eyes.
“Father has aged while I haven’t seen you.”
He, even with Kali, an imperturbable opponent and an incredibly ambitious man, in front of him, didn’t step back a single step.
‘This brat……
Kali looked at Walter with a complicated light in his eyes.
From the time he was in the Pavor Academy, he was the son whose talent at least was chosen on a hand.
Because his character too was upright and excellent, he was a talent that Count Io Lancephil had greatly valued.
Walter was certainly the most qualified man who could revive the Owells House.
But.
‘He is too soft.’
He was a brat who was bounded by an empty thing called chivalry or whatnot.
Because of that, Walter had chosen not his father Kali but Io Lancephil in the current fief war.
‘That you have suddenly came finding me?’
It was natural that the intent was extremely suspicious.
“What’s the reason you suddenly changed your heart?”
What could have changed the resolved heart of his son?
If it wasn’t a proper reason, the possibility of it being a lie or a deceit was high.
Walter faintly smiled and answered.
“Having gotten old, it seems that even your ears have gone dark, father.”
Purposely scratching Kali’s ego, he spat out word by word as if to chew.
“Right now, Roan has appeared in the Landingham Region at northeast.”
“What?”
Kali’s face that had been maintaining the composed look abruptly crumpled.
‘The bastard is not at the west but northeast?’
In order to catch Roan, he had transferred the elite troop to the west.
That was not only the Owells Forces but the same for the Chase Legion.
But in actuality, Roan had showed up at a completely dubious place.
Walter sinisterly smiled and added on.
“The bastard has secretly appeared while bringing just a single retainer. Using that he himself is the new Count Lancephil, Roan instantly seized the Guardian Army.”
“Hmm.”
Kali creased his forehead.
His chest felt stifled.
‘Does it mean he has taken even the Guardian Army into his grasp?’
t felt as if the things were becoming more and more complicated.
Even so, Kali tried to maintain his calm.
‘Either way, I also have to destroy the Guardian Army bastards.’
He laboriously calmed his breath and looked at Walter.
“And what’s the relation between that and you changing your heart?”
“There’s a very big relation.”
Walter instantly answered, then added on with a cold expression.
“I wish to serve Sir Count Io Lancephil, not serve Roan Lancephil. Word for word, he is no different than a stone that rolled in. There is no way for me to lower my head towards a bastard who’s even background is vague.”
“Hmm.”
Kali leaked a quiet groan.
Walter’s thoughts of Roan was the same as Kali’s thoughts.
‘He has rose up in fear of the Lancephil fief and the title going over to the lowly bastard.’
Ultimately, Io, as according to Kali’s prediction, transferred the fief and the title to Roan.
He slowly nodded his head.
“And what do you plan to do from now on?”
Kali thought to check over his son Walter’s intentions.
Walter coldly smiled and answered.
“Either way, Lancephil fief and the title have went over to Roan. Now the Count Lancephil House isn’t the house I was going to serve. Now that it became like this……”
His eyes flashed and shone a light.
“I also plan to look at a much higher place, father.”
“A higher place, is it……?”
Kali hesitated the end of his words and looked at Walter.
Walter slowly nodded his head.
“Yes. When even a lowly bastard becomes a count, there shouldn’t be any reason that even I can’t become one.”
At those words, Kali made a satisfied expression.
‘This is it. This is it. The look I wanted was exactly this.’
He wished that his son Walter would have a little bigger ambition.
Kali stood up from his seat and grabbed Walter’s shoulder.
“Walter.”
“Yes. Father.”
The two people’s gazes blazingly tangled.
Strength kept going into the father’s hand holding the son’s shoulder.
Kali, in a quiet and powerful voice, spoke.
“The very final viscount of the Owells House is I.”
An incredible energy spouted out from his entire body.
“Walter Owells. You……”
They were words exhaled as if to declare.
“Become the first count of the Owells House.”
*****
“Sir, we have conquered the Labenum Castle.”
Baron Bernard Landingham looked at the rampart where the Lancephil Guardian Army’s flag went up and formed a smile.
Roan, who had waged a fierce battle at the frontline until just now, spat out a short breath.
“It was easier than expected.”
At those words, Bernard smiled much brighter and answered.
“As the tales of Guardian Army’s achievements spread, the citizens of the fief and the preexisting retainers that shrunk are responding, sir.”
“On top of that, the spirits have went up even more as the West and Southern Center’s Tale Legion won consecutive victories.”
“Several small castles’ lords are personally attacking the Owells Forces, sir.”
Numerous commanders echoed and cheered.
At that moment, Baron Andre Molde, who had personally raised the legion’s flag, rode his horse and approached.
“We have carefully inspected the surrendered men and organized them into a new legion, sir.”
“Good work.”
Roan shortly thanked him and nodded his head.
Andre looked at the Lancephil Guardian Army that had took place on the field outside the castle and let out a short exclamation.
“As we undergo more and more battles, the number of our soldiers isn’t decreasing, but rather increasing greatly, sir.”
At those words, Bernard cut in.
“Since we let those who surrender live and give them a new chance, while cutting the necks of those who resist without exception.”
Another commander continued on his words.
“The ones who are afraid of death are surrendering even before fighting, sir.”
Thanks to that, a large number of uninjured soldiers were joining the Guardian Army.
This too was one of Roan’s aims.
The ones who surrender can live.
As such rumor spread, the ones who became afraid at Roan’s fame chose surrender without hesitation.
At that moment, one commander bitterly smiled and spat out a sarcastic sound.
“To betray without even knowing that the situation would flow like this. Hmph! Well, I did know he would do that.”
A loud sound of snort hit the ears.
Andre, who was staring at the Lebenum Castle with a satisfied expression, creased his forehead.
“Is that talking of the Walter bastard?”
His voice was edged.
The commander who snorted, with a slightly flustered expression, nodded his head.
“Eh? Yes. That is correct, sir.”
The instant his answer ended, Andre spoke with a stiffly solidified expression.
“Don’t even speak of that trash-like bastard. You cannot fool one’s blood. There is no way that the son bastard would be okay when his father Kali is like that. If I meet that bastard on the battlefield……”
He lightly tapped the scabbard at his waist.
“I will cut his neck with this sword.”
“O, of course, sir. You will definitely be able to do it.”
The commander awkwardly smiled and echoed.
Roan, looking at that sight, inwardly let out a long sigh.
There was an unspeakable ache inside him.
‘To fool the shrewd Kali and Jonathan, I must fool my allies first.’
Infiltration of Kali’s Owells Forces was one of the most major strategies that could flip the state of the war.
For the perfect success, he had to strictly protect the secret even from the ally commanders.
‘Because of that, I said that it won’t be an easy mission.’
It was a mission that one had to infiltrate the enemy camp and fight a lonely fight for the allies even while enduring the allies’ jeers and furious looks.
However, Walter readily accepted that mission.
‘Walter. If this event ends, I will definitely grant a great reward.’
When his thought reached about that point.
“The birds have arrived, sir!”
One of the commanders pointed at the sky and shouted.
Above their heads, various birds had already gathered.
They were the messenger birds and the spy-use birds Agens and the Tenebra Troop used.
Roan extended his right arm to called an eagle, then untied the long tube tied to its ankle.
A small paper that words had tightly filled appeared.
He read the letter for a long while, then snapped his fingers.
Boosh.
With a spark, the letter burned up.
In an instant, the top secret document turned into ashen dust.
Roan looked at the commanders including Bernard and Andre and spoke in a quiet voice.
“Ready to march.”
His gaze headed not towards the west but towards the south.
“We march south.”
It was completely different than the direction they had marched until now.
However, not a single one asked back with a puzzled look.
They knew.
That the road is not inside the map but within the direction Roan looked.
*****
“It has been a while.”
It was a husky voice.
Four canines that sharply rose roughly moved.
“Have you been well, sir?”
The person who passed his greeting with a composed expression was Chris.
“There’s no way I’ve been well.”
The voice fully rubbed off with annoyance.
Once again, the four canines that sharply rose roughly moved.
The being that sat opposite Chris and conversed was not a human.
An Orc.
And it was the tribe head Marrak of the Auraq tribe that was known to be quite strong within the Byron Kingdom’s southern regions at that.
Chris and Marrak.
Human and Orc.
A relation that seemed to have absolutely no connection.
But surprisingly, the two people, no, the two were acquaints who were quite close.
‘Since we’ve been trading from the time the Istel Kingdom and the Byron Kingdom invaded the Rinse Kingdom.’
At the time, Chris had received Roan’s order and went around searching for the orc tribes that were spread out in the Byron Kingdom’s southern region with his life on the line.
The orcs, who were fleeing to this and that place due to the Byron Kingdom’s extensive subjugation and an extreme food shortage, did not welcome Chris’ visit.
It was a situation where the head could fly off if he spoke a single word wrong.
However, Chris stayed calm.
Using the card he held, food assistance, he seated the orcs on the negotiation table.
‘Since we would give them food assistance, to be exact tell them the location of the Byron Kingdom’s provisions storage, we asked them to attack and pillage those places.’
He also made them a promise to separately aid them food if things did not become solved as planned.
The orcs, who were suffering from the extreme food shortage, instantly accepted Chris’ offer.
Then, they raided the rear provisions storage of the Byron Kingdom, which had been fiercely pushing the Rinse Kingdom.
Thanks to that.
‘The Byron Kingdom army gave up the war and could only retreat.’
And as one of the allied army’s pivots stepped back, the Istel Kingdom army too, which had been carrying out arduous battle even without that, could only retreat.
‘If I think about it now, it truly was a reckless plan.’
It was good that it were resolved well, but if things did not go as planned, his head could have ran away the moment he visited the orc tribes.
Since the orcs at the time were at that degree of a frenzied state.
Chris looked at Marrak and made a faint smile.
‘It was thanks to Marrak.’
He, unlike the harsh look, was an orc who was quite conversable.
Chris, with a short sigh, opened his mouth.
“As expected, is the reason you aren’t well because of Baron Noel Kyword?”
The instant his words ended.
Boom!
Marrak harshly slammed down on the wooden desk.
“That damnable human bitch!”
The four canines greatly shook and then a curse jumped out.
Baron Noel Kyword.
The hero who saved the Byron Kingdom from the crisis of national ruin.
He was the individual who had once allied with Istel Kingdom’s Viscount Peid Neil and attacked Pershion Kingdom in the past.
Although there were significantly many achievements he had raised, the one that received the biggest appraisal amongst them was the very work of subjugating the orc tribes of Byron Kingdom’s southern region.
In Marrak’s position, he was no different than a sworn enemy.
No, not only Marrak, but the orcs of the Byron Kingdom’s southern region grinded their canines and raged at the mention of Noel Kyword.
“Due to that chewable bitch running around, my people are starving to death.”
Marrak growled and showed his anger.
Chris stealthly nodded his head.
‘As expected, it is so.’
It was as the information Agens had collected.
Then.
‘The work should be resolved easier than I thought.’
He, with a serious expression with effort, passed words of consolation.
“That truly is a tragic event.”
Then soon, in a small and covert voice, added on.
“If it’s somehow okay, may we provide you some aid?”
“An aid?”
Marrak forcefully sank his rage and asked.
Chris nodded his head.
“Yes. As urgently, we will provide you the rations we are reserving.”
“Oh!”
Marrak roundly opened his mouth and exclaimed.
He fully opened his arms.
“That truly are thankful words!”
Marrak fussed as if to at least immediately hug Chris into his chest.
At that moment, Chris, who was smiling brightly, suddenly creased his forehead.
“Ah! But there is one problem.”
“A problem? What problem?”
Marrak creased his forehead.
The elated feeling flew away in an instant.
Chris hesitated for a long while as if his worry was deep, then carefully answered.
“Our side’s food storehouse is in the Tale Region, but if we were to transport the food from there to all the way here, we must pass through the Chase County. But right now, the Count Lancephil House and the Count Chase House are fighting a fief war. With the current state, there is no way that Count Chase would let our side’s people pass through.”
“Oh no……”
Marrak exhaled a sigh.
The mean to solve the food shortage had turn into a bubble.
On his face, a downhearted look was clear.
At that moment, Chris spoke in a quiet voice.
“But even so, it isn’t as if there is truly no way.”
“Oh! Does that mean that there is a way?”
Marrak once again made a bright smile.
As befitting an orc, his change in emotion was extreme.
Chris cheerily smiled and nodded his head.
“Yes. That is……”
< The Decisive Battle (1) > End.