Chapter 323: 𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 (11)

How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Then, the eunuch’s anxiety was quickly realized. The expedition that was on the rise began a full-scale counterattack.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Raise this flag.”

“U-Ulrike-nim. Is it okay to do this?”

The knights under Ulrike, who was in charge of the right flank, were astonished to see her casually raising Duke Yeats’ flag.

The flag of a noble was an object that symbolized their honor. Since many nobles valued honor more than their lives, it was not something that could be handled recklessly.

There was even a war over which noble’s flag to raise first when a castle was captured. It was an object with that much weight.

And yet, she was trying to steal it and raise it at her own will. . .

It was a dangerous thing to do, even if she was close to the duke.

Ulrike said as if she couldn’t believe it. The knight realized his mistake from Ulrike’s attitude.

“I apologize!”

“It’s fine. Raise the flags without missing a single spot. Make the enemies panic and confuse them.”

Apparently, not only the knight, but all the other knights thought that Ulrike had brought it on her own accord. Ulrike suddenly began to reflect on herself.

She wasn’t ashamed of her scheming and tricks, but if her subordinate knights were taking it that way. . .

‘. . .𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦?’

But come to think of it, the duke was someone who loved tricks more than she did. Ulrike regained her composure.

“Send the signal to advance! Crush the enemies when they’re shaken!”

“Ulrike-gong. The tribal chiefs have sent a letter of surrender.”

“They’re quick to catch on. Hurry up and tell them to leave their position and run away!”

Just because there were tens of thousands of them didn’t mean that they all moved in unison. As one side shook and collapsed, the other sides shook violently as well. Since they had made contact in order to betray each other from the beginning, they turned their backs quickly.

“A miracle! God is showing us a miracle!”

The mounted order knights and priests rode quickly in front of the army and shouted in excited voices. Ulrike smirked at the sight.

The numerous groups of enemies gathered far away were scattering one by one like a mirage.

Anyone who didn’t know the circumstances would naturally feel like it was a miracle.

‘𝘕𝘰. . . 𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦?’

When she was young, she had heard a sermon from a priest that had such content. He meant that it came down not only in a direct way that could be seen with the eyes, but also in a metaphorical and roundabout way.

At that time, she was heavily influenced by Countess Abner and thought, ‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺?’, but now that she looked back, she thought that there might be some truth to those words.

Otherwise, how could an enemy force several times larger than them collapse without even crossing swords once?

The sound of people sobbing with emotion spread throughout the army. It was a collective madness that came from witnessing a miracle. Ulrike waited with a bored expression, and was startled to see her subordinate knights trembling as well.

“. . . . . .”

If she made a fuss here, the knights would be angry, no matter how high her position was. Ulrike waited patiently for this moment to end.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“No. . .”

After taking a break, Johan looked at the remaining enemies in the center retreating and felt disappointed. Suetlg handed him a potion he had personally prepared and said,

“You’ve worked hard. Did you think the remaining enemies wouldn’t run away?”

“I heard a lot that the enemy commander was fierce and valiant, so I thought I’d try it out once.”

Johan had also heard rumors of Yeheyman here and there. As a pagan commander, he had landed like a surprise attack and conquered the Holy Land, so it was impossible for rumors not to spread even if he didn’t want them to.

Although the left and right wings were broken, there were still close to ten thousand troops left in the center, so he thought that the enemy might not give up and charge at them. And he wanted that.

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘺. . .’

Contrary to the rumors, the opponent seemed to be unexpectedly patient and persevering. Maybe the rumors were wrong.

“Did you do as I told you?”

“Duh. Whose orders do you think I would treat carelessly?”

In the current situation, the best outcome was to annihilate the enemy’s large army here, and the worst outcome was for the survivors to flee back to the Holy Land and barricade themselves in.

If the remaining soldiers, who were still numerous, held out against the walls, it would be a pain in the neck for this side as well.

Even if he couldn’t annihilate them, he had to prevent them from going towards the Holy Land.

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

There was a reason for Yeheyman’s patience, which surprised Johan.

Just as there was a rebellion on the left and right, there was also a rebellion in the center.

Of course, to be precise, the nature was slightly different. If the rebellions on the other sides were literally betrayals, the rebellion in the center was a power struggle among themselves.

“Eup eup eup!”

“Forgive me, Yeheyman-gong.”

The eunuchs who remained in the center tied up Yeheyman tightly and locked him inside. Just in case, they took off all of Yeheyman’s clothes, starting with the weapons he had. They didn’t know what he might do if he was hiding something with magical powers inside.

They were as meticulous and thorough as those who had spent a long time in the Sultan’s court. The problem was that they were doing this to their own allies.

“(I’ll kill you!)”

Yeheyman screamed with bloodshot eyes, but no sound came out because of the gag. He was so angry that he forgot that he was someone sent by the Sultan and tried to kill him.

“Yeheyman-gong is also at fault.”

“Shhh. That’s enough. How can you make things worse by provoking him more?”

The reason for their quarrel was simple.

Yeheyman insisted on fighting, and the eunuchs insisted on retreating.

For Yeheyman, who had already been defeated by Johan once, retreating again was a humiliation worse than death.

Considering that he had taken several times the number of troops and lost more than half of them, it was clear that he would have to yield all authority to Suhekhar if he returned. Then, he wouldn’t be able to do anything until the Sultan arrived, and even after he arrived.

In that case, it was better to die honorably on the battlefield.

Of course, the eunuchs didn’t understand the heart of such a knight at all. They just wanted to live happily in the Sultan’s court for a long time.

━𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭! 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬!

━𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫!

━. . . . . .

━. . . . . .

━𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐡. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

━. . .𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥! 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

━𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞. 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐠. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐮𝐬?

And when he got up after drinking tea, Yeheyman was tied up and locked up. He had no idea where his escorts and slaves had gone. The eunuchs had put drugs in the tea.

Yeheyman gritted his teeth at the eunuchs’ cunningness. He should never have let his guard down.

“Is he still lying down?”

“Yes. He hasn’t regained consciousness yet, so no one is allowed to approach him!”

The knights cast suspicious and worried glances, but they didn’t dare to argue with the eunuchs. The Sultan’s authority was behind them.

In the end, the eunuchs succeeded in gaining control by lying that Yeheyman had collapsed.

The problem was that this so-called command was not very useful now.

Who would want to take on the role of commanding the defeated soldiers while fierce enemies were chasing after them?

“Let’s quickly ride southeast and enter the Holy Land.”

“It’s more dangerous because there are so many of them.”

“Of course we have to split up.”

The eunuchs were clever and knew the basics of tactics. However, they tried to use their abilities for their own safety.

Even if they were defeated soldiers, splitting them up when their numbers were close to ten thousand would only make them good prey for the enemy. However, it was rather good in the current situation.

The enemies wouldn’t chase the ones they could clearly see right in front of them, but the ones that were hard to catch far away.

Fortunately, this conversation took place in a place where Yeheyman couldn’t hear it. If Yeheyman had heard this as well, he might have really stopped his heart from anger.

“. . .!”

“A duke’s flag in the village. . .?!”

The eunuchs, who had just ordered their men to split up and chase after them, were shocked by the news reported by the scout as they were about to escape on fast horses.

“Maybe only one village was captured. We can go back! Have you checked the other places properly?”

“T-That. . . Actually. . . A pursuit force sent by the duke appeared on the hill, so we couldn’t search any further. The number is considerable. . .”

“!!!”

The eunuchs felt their hearts sink. The enemies who were supposed to be behind them were already appearing in front of them?

“Isn’t something strange? They’re human too, so how can they be this fast?”

“No! It’s possible. They might have pulled out some troops while fighting and set up an ambush.”

“But. . .”

“Be quiet! If the ambush is real, can you take responsibility with your life?!”

The eunuchs snapped at the knight who had spoken up. The knight was so shocked that he lowered his head.

Neither the eunuchs nor Yeheyman were lacking in ability, but the difference was clear in this aspect. Yeheyman could risk his own life, but the eunuchs thought of their own lives unconditionally first.

If they had thought a little more carefully and checked, they would have been able to find out how many people there were. . .

“Let’s change direction.”

“Where to?”

“Southwest! Let’s go to Aniza City.”

Aniza City, located much further south than here, was a port city on the coast.

They had played a part when the Sultan’s army landed, so they were capable, and they could also borrow the power of Viceroy Manansir, the cause of this incident who had formed a marriage alliance with the Sultan.

“That’s a good idea. It will be easier to escape if something happens, and the enemies won’t chase us this deep, right!”

“However. . . The people of Aniza City won’t allow an army to enter.”

Everywhere they went, the people of the city hated the nobles leading the army. They shouldn’t be mistaken for helping the Sultan’s army land.

“We can just leave the army outside and go in.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s hurry! We don’t know when the enemy will chase after us!”

“Ah, no. . .”

The knight couldn’t continue speaking in his haste. No matter how much Yeheyman had collapsed, wasn’t this too much?

It was one thing to split up the troops and move first, but it was another thing to be so careless. It seemed as if he didn’t care how many soldiers were scattered as long as he could save his own life.

‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘠𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘺𝘮𝘢𝘯-𝘯𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴.’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“You’re really saying they didn’t go towards the Holy Land?”

“Yes!”

“I’m happy, but. . . I’m a little flustered.”

“Aren’t they terrified of Your Highness’s prestige! Yeheyman’s reputation turned out to be nothing but a bubble!”

Biorarn shouted roughly. He was slightly exhausted from the continuous pursuit, but his expression was brighter than anyone else’s.

It wasn’t just Biorarn. The knights who were part of the expedition were in a state of excitement for several days and nights.

The joy of the unbelievable great victory was one reason, but the enemy prisoners who kept getting caught were another reason.

Like fish taking the bait as soon as the fishing line was cast, there were now many groups of defeated soldiers scattering like rabbits around this area.

For the poor knights or mercenaries who had participated with only their bodies, this was a reward given by God. They were enthusiastically capturing prisoners as they came across them.

“Now that they’re scattered like this, the enemy commander won’t be able to lead many of them! There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore!”

“I see. Biorarn-gong. Thanks to your efforts, the enemies couldn’t escape.”

“!”

“I heard earlier that there was a trace of a camp on the western hill. The enemies seem to be quite strong, so a reliable knight. . .”

“I’ll go!”

“Oh. Would you do that!”

“Yes!”

Johan sent Biorarn away easily. Suetlg was impressed. If he had left it alone, he would have been bothered by all sorts of offers to accompany him, but he had made the first move.

“You handle them well.”

“It’s not that hard. I got used to it because of Iselia. . .”

“. . . . . .”

Iselia, who had been listening quietly, suddenly realized something strange and looked at Johan.,

Then, the eunuch’s anxiety was quickly realized. The expedition that was on the rise began a full-scale counterattack.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Raise this flag.”

“U-Ulrike-nim. Is it okay to do this?”

The knights under Ulrike, who was in charge of the right flank, were astonished to see her casually raising Duke Yeats’ flag.

The flag of a noble was an object that symbolized their honor. Since many nobles valued honor more than their lives, it was not something that could be handled recklessly.

There was even a war over which noble’s flag to raise first when a castle was captured. It was an object with that much weight.

And yet, she was trying to steal it and raise it at her own will. . .

It was a dangerous thing to do, even if she was close to the duke.

“. . .Sir, do you think I stole this?”

Ulrike said as if she couldn’t believe it. The knight realized his mistake from Ulrike’s attitude.

“I apologize!”

“It’s fine. Raise the flags without missing a single spot. Make the enemies panic and confuse them.”

Apparently, not only the knight, but all the other knights thought that Ulrike had brought it on her own accord. Ulrike suddenly began to reflect on herself.

She wasn’t ashamed of her scheming and tricks, but if her subordinate knights were taking it that way. . .

‘. . .𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦?’

But come to think of it, the duke was someone who loved tricks more than she did. Ulrike regained her composure.

“Send the signal to advance! Crush the enemies when they’re shaken!”

“Ulrike-gong. The tribal chiefs have sent a letter of surrender.”

“They’re quick to catch on. Hurry up and tell them to leave their position and run away!”

Just because there were tens of thousands of them didn’t mean that they all moved in unison. As one side shook and collapsed, the other sides shook violently as well. Since they had made contact in order to betray each other from the beginning, they turned their backs quickly.

“A miracle! God is showing us a miracle!”

The mounted order knights and priests rode quickly in front of the army and shouted in excited voices. Ulrike smirked at the sight.

The numerous groups of enemies gathered far away were scattering one by one like a mirage.

Anyone who didn’t know the circumstances would naturally feel like it was a miracle.

‘𝘕𝘰. . . 𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦?’

When she was young, she had heard a sermon from a priest that had such content. He meant that it came down not only in a direct way that could be seen with the eyes, but also in a metaphorical and roundabout way.

At that time, she was heavily influenced by Countess Abner and thought, ‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺?’, but now that she looked back, she thought that there might be some truth to those words.

Otherwise, how could an enemy force several times larger than them collapse without even crossing swords once?

The sound of people sobbing with emotion spread throughout the army. It was a collective madness that came from witnessing a miracle. Ulrike waited with a bored expression, and was startled to see her subordinate knights trembling as well.

“. . . . . .”

If she made a fuss here, the knights would be angry, no matter how high her position was. Ulrike waited patiently for this moment to end.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“No. . .”

After taking a break, Johan looked at the remaining enemies in the center retreating and felt disappointed. Suetlg handed him a potion he had personally prepared and said,

“You’ve worked hard. Did you think the remaining enemies wouldn’t run away?”

“I heard a lot that the enemy commander was fierce and valiant, so I thought I’d try it out once.”

Johan had also heard rumors of Yeheyman here and there. As a pagan commander, he had landed like a surprise attack and conquered the Holy Land, so it was impossible for rumors not to spread even if he didn’t want them to.

Although the left and right wings were broken, there were still close to ten thousand troops left in the center, so he thought that the enemy might not give up and charge at them. And he wanted that.

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘺. . .’

Contrary to the rumors, the opponent seemed to be unexpectedly patient and persevering. Maybe the rumors were wrong.

“Did you do as I told you?”

“Duh. Whose orders do you think I would treat carelessly?”

In the current situation, the best outcome was to annihilate the enemy’s large army here, and the worst outcome was for the survivors to flee back to the Holy Land and barricade themselves in.

If the remaining soldiers, who were still numerous, held out against the walls, it would be a pain in the neck for this side as well.

Even if he couldn’t annihilate them, he had to prevent them from going towards the Holy Land.

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

There was a reason for Yeheyman’s patience, which surprised Johan.

Just as there was a rebellion on the left and right, there was also a rebellion in the center.

Of course, to be precise, the nature was slightly different. If the rebellions on the other sides were literally betrayals, the rebellion in the center was a power struggle among themselves.

“Eup eup eup!”

“Forgive me, Yeheyman-gong.”

The eunuchs who remained in the center tied up Yeheyman tightly and locked him inside. Just in case, they took off all of Yeheyman’s clothes, starting with the weapons he had. They didn’t know what he might do if he was hiding something with magical powers inside.

They were as meticulous and thorough as those who had spent a long time in the Sultan’s court. The problem was that they were doing this to their own allies.

“(I’ll kill you!)”

Yeheyman screamed with bloodshot eyes, but no sound came out because of the gag. He was so angry that he forgot that he was someone sent by the Sultan and tried to kill him.

“Yeheyman-gong is also at fault.”

“Shhh. That’s enough. How can you make things worse by provoking him more?”

The reason for their quarrel was simple.

Yeheyman insisted on fighting, and the eunuchs insisted on retreating.

For Yeheyman, who had already been defeated by Johan once, retreating again was a humiliation worse than death.

Considering that he had taken several times the number of troops and lost more than half of them, it was clear that he would have to yield all authority to Suhekhar if he returned. Then, he wouldn’t be able to do anything until the Sultan arrived, and even after he arrived.

In that case, it was better to die honorably on the battlefield.

Of course, the eunuchs didn’t understand the heart of such a knight at all. They just wanted to live happily in the Sultan’s court for a long time.

━𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭! 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬!

━𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫!

━. . . . . .

━. . . . . .

━𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐡. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

━. . .𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥! 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

━𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞. 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐠. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐮𝐬?

And when he got up after drinking tea, Yeheyman was tied up and locked up. He had no idea where his escorts and slaves had gone. The eunuchs had put drugs in the tea.

Yeheyman gritted his teeth at the eunuchs’ cunningness. He should never have let his guard down.

“Is he still lying down?”

“Yes. He hasn’t regained consciousness yet, so no one is allowed to approach him!”

The knights cast suspicious and worried glances, but they didn’t dare to argue with the eunuchs. The Sultan’s authority was behind them.

In the end, the eunuchs succeeded in gaining control by lying that Yeheyman had collapsed.

The problem was that this so-called command was not very useful now.

Who would want to take on the role of commanding the defeated soldiers while fierce enemies were chasing after them?

“Let’s quickly ride southeast and enter the Holy Land.”

“It’s more dangerous because there are so many of them.”

“Of course we have to split up.”

The eunuchs were clever and knew the basics of tactics. However, they tried to use their abilities for their own safety.

Even if they were defeated soldiers, splitting them up when their numbers were close to ten thousand would only make them good prey for the enemy. However, it was rather good in the current situation.

The enemies wouldn’t chase the ones they could clearly see right in front of them, but the ones that were hard to catch far away.

Fortunately, this conversation took place in a place where Yeheyman couldn’t hear it. If Yeheyman had heard this as well, he might have really stopped his heart from anger.

“. . .!”

“A duke’s flag in the village. . .?!”

The eunuchs, who had just ordered their men to split up and chase after them, were shocked by the news reported by the scout as they were about to escape on fast horses.

“Maybe only one village was captured. We can go back! Have you checked the other places properly?”

“T-That. . . Actually. . . A pursuit force sent by the duke appeared on the hill, so we couldn’t search any further. The number is considerable. . .”

“!!!”

The eunuchs felt their hearts sink. The enemies who were supposed to be behind them were already appearing in front of them?

“Isn’t something strange? They’re human too, so how can they be this fast?”

“No! It’s possible. They might have pulled out some troops while fighting and set up an ambush.”

“But. . .”

“Be quiet! If the ambush is real, can you take responsibility with your life?!”

The eunuchs snapped at the knight who had spoken up. The knight was so shocked that he lowered his head.

Neither the eunuchs nor Yeheyman were lacking in ability, but the difference was clear in this aspect. Yeheyman could risk his own life, but the eunuchs thought of their own lives unconditionally first.

If they had thought a little more carefully and checked, they would have been able to find out how many people there were. . .

“Let’s change direction.”

“Where to?”

“Southwest! Let’s go to Aniza City.”

Aniza City, located much further south than here, was a port city on the coast.

They had played a part when the Sultan’s army landed, so they were capable, and they could also borrow the power of Viceroy Manansir, the cause of this incident who had formed a marriage alliance with the Sultan.

“That’s a good idea. It will be easier to escape if something happens, and the enemies won’t chase us this deep, right!”

“However. . . The people of Aniza City won’t allow an army to enter.”

Everywhere they went, the people of the city hated the nobles leading the army. They shouldn’t be mistaken for helping the Sultan’s army land.

“We can just leave the army outside and go in.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s hurry! We don’t know when the enemy will chase after us!”

“Ah, no. . .”

The knight couldn’t continue speaking in his haste. No matter how much Yeheyman had collapsed, wasn’t this too much?

It was one thing to split up the troops and move first, but it was another thing to be so careless. It seemed as if he didn’t care how many soldiers were scattered as long as he could save his own life.

‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘠𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘺𝘮𝘢𝘯-𝘯𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴.’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“You’re really saying they didn’t go towards the Holy Land?”

“Yes!”

“I’m happy, but. . . I’m a little flustered.”

“Aren’t they terrified of Your Highness’s prestige! Yeheyman’s reputation turned out to be nothing but a bubble!”

Biorarn shouted roughly. He was slightly exhausted from the continuous pursuit, but his expression was brighter than anyone else’s.

It wasn’t just Biorarn. The knights who were part of the expedition were in a state of excitement for several days and nights.

The joy of the unbelievable great victory was one reason, but the enemy prisoners who kept getting caught were another reason.

Like fish taking the bait as soon as the fishing line was cast, there were now many groups of defeated soldiers scattering like rabbits around this area.

For the poor knights or mercenaries who had participated with only their bodies, this was a reward given by God. They were enthusiastically capturing prisoners as they came across them.

“Now that they’re scattered like this, the enemy commander won’t be able to lead many of them! There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore!”

“I see. Biorarn-gong. Thanks to your efforts, the enemies couldn’t escape.”

“!”

“I heard earlier that there was a trace of a camp on the western hill. The enemies seem to be quite strong, so a reliable knight. . .”

“I’ll go!”

“Oh. Would you do that!”

“Yes!”

Johan sent Biorarn away easily. Suetlg was impressed. If he had left it alone, he would have been bothered by all sorts of offers to accompany him, but he had made the first move.

“You handle them well.”

“It’s not that hard. I got used to it because of Iselia. . .”

“. . . . . .”

Iselia, who had been listening quietly, suddenly realized something strange and looked at Johan.