41fury
41Laurence's Flower (2)
Jump and run.
down the castle walls.
I saw a man walking.
Even though countless people were looking down from the castle wall, there was no fear in his steps, and the flag he was holding in his hand fluttered in the wind, revealing its pattern..
A white deer standing alone. Lawrence's soldiers swallowed dry saliva with nervous faces at the emblem symbolizing the Barco family..
widely.
stopped walking.
The man looked around the castle wall with a relaxed expression, and stopped looking when he saw the face of Viscount Lawrence..
“As Viscount Barko's representative, I will now give you three options. First, open the gate, come out, and surrender. Viscount Barco is a magnanimous man who does not turn away those who ask for forgiveness, and surrender is the only way to save your lives. But you won't choose the first one. If that was your intention, there would be no reason to face me now..”
The man's attitude became arrogant..
He spoke as if he were Viscount Barco, to a subject who was at best a messenger conveying a message..
“The second is to engage in an all-out war against us. Let’s come out to the plains and decide the winner fairly in front of the judges of the central government. Any method of winning is fine. Whether it is hand-to-hand combat or the battle of Daejeon Temple. We intend to follow your request..”
close combat.
Or, the Battle of Daejeonsa Temple.
It was a method mainly used by noble families to determine right from wrong..
The people of this world considered it a shame to fight sieges in disputes between nobles..
Since I was not confident in dealing with the opposing family, I thought I would hide behind the walls, so most problems were solved using the previous two methods..
That's why judges exist.
Even though the winner and loser were divided in one way, a noble judge watched the match in case the result was not accepted..
Viscount Laurence.
He took a step forward..
“We do not believe that your cause for declaring war is justifiable. The document that mentioned the debt to our ancestors was forged, and we have no reason to go to war with you, nor do we have the intention to open the gates and go out and sacrifice Lawrence's people as you wish. So go back now and tell Viscount Barco. In any case, Lawrence…….”
“third!”
I stopped talking..
actually.
The choice has already been decided.
Even on the day Barco had predicted, from the moment Lawrence locked the castle gate, the two families knew that they would choose the third option..
Nevertheless, there was only one reason for sending the messenger. He wanted to put pressure on Lawrence, and the messenger turned into a fierce demon and notified Lawrence's terrified soldiers..
“Abandoning their pride as a noble family and fighting to the death within the castle walls. From now on, the Barco family will accept your will and make sure to pay for the blood shed during the siege..”
That was the end of it.
The messenger turned away..
Even after seeing the flag fluttering in the wind, Lawrence's soldiers could not bear to fire an arrow..
and.
the war has begun.
* * *
first battle.
It ended sooner than expected.
The Barco family, who seemed likely to impose severe punishment at any moment, ordered a retreat 30 minutes after the battle began..
bang!
“Cheeky bastards!”
Viscount Barco threw the helmet he was wearing on the ground..
Just now.
The aspect of the battle was different than expected.
The Barco family's troops were more than three times larger than Lawrence's, and they led the troops forward with a ladder truck with the intention of tearing down the castle walls at once..
Lawrence's walls are not high..
It is said that Dmitry's iron fortress would be difficult to capture even with ten times as many troops, but in comparison, Lawrence's walls were easily conquered..
With rude language.
1I thought we would win in time..
But why??
Lawrence's counterattack was more intense than expected..
“Viscount. It seems like Lawrence was fully prepared. He dug a deep moat to block the troops' access, and even set it on fire with boiling oil. And judging from the fact that they fired a large amount of arrows without hesitation from the start, it appears that they even secured a sufficient amount of war materials..”
Those were the adjutant's words..
I got annoyed for a moment.
one week.
That time was not for the opponent's preparation..
The plan was to corner Lawrence and force him to surrender, but contrary to expectations, Lawrence chose to fight to the death..
‘According to our calculations, Lawrence should have surrendered with the intention of protecting the land at least a little. Although he completely blocked the possibility of an unexpected alliance and showed a clear superiority in his troops, Lawrence locked the castle gate, risking destruction. Where did it all go wrong? Surely he wouldn't have dared to risk his life on the life path we opened for him..’
Barco's Plan.
From the beginning they did not want war.
Golden Bank and the referee were preparing for an emergency situation and planned to force the opponent to surrender by putting pressure on his opponent..
and now.
The plan went completely wrong.
Although it was only 30 minutes, Lawrence's response was systematic, and judging from his action of setting fire to a field he owned, it seemed like he was preparing for a long battle..
It was a moment when just thinking about it made my head hurt..
As Flora expected, the Barco family borrowed a huge amount of money from the Golden Bank, and the only way to reduce losses and for Barco to survive was to win the game as quickly as possible..
“Viscount. What should I do?”
The adjutant looked closely..
Dozens of soldiers were lost in the recent battle..
I was planning to check Lawrence's strength, but the fierce counterattack killed the soldiers before I could do anything..
‘Viscount Lawrence is not a very strong man. He is the kind of guy who cowers like a coward in a critical situation, just like when he sold Lawrence's jade leaves to the Dmitri family under pressure from Varko. Nevertheless, the fact that he chose to fight to the death means that a change occurred internally. They would never have made that choice if the odds were against them, and they clearly see the long-term benefits of taking the lead..’
My head was spinning quickly..
this war.
It was all Viscount Barco's plan..
He moved his son, Antony Barco, and started a fight with Lawrence using false documents, leading to war..
It's almost over now.
It was the climax of the plan, and there was no intention of giving up Lawrence's fertile land like this..
“How can I do it? Get ‘it’ ready right now..”
“……All right.”
that.
Viscount Barco smiled bitterly..
There was a fact that the Lawrence family overlooked..
Viscount Barco just wanted to win with minimal spending and was not at all worried about the possibility of defeat in the first place..
golden bank.
They lent more money than expected.
And, that money was enough to create variables for war..
* * *
on the castle wall.
Lawrence's soldiers were busy.
Victory in the first battle put a smile on his face, but he knew now was not the time to relax..
“move quickly!”
“Barco's bastards might attack again at any moment. Stay alert and quickly bring your weapons.”
one win.
That gave me confidence..
He was just scared, but Barco was not an opponent he could not fight against..
Viscount Lawrence said.
“Flora, you were right. Just by preparing for Mercury in a standard way, it was enough to block Barco's attack. How on earth did you come up with this idea? You only learned the skills of a nobleman at the academy, but I have never heard of you being taught the art of war..”
Flora's changes.
It was unexpected.
Flora actively expressed her opinions in both setting fire to the fields and preparing for Mercury..
Flora looked at the soldiers..
Her attire was like that of a soldier..
She usually wore an elegant dress as a noblewoman, but now she was wearing armor over her top in preparation for an unexpected battle..
I even practiced shooting a bow over the past few days to help in battle..
Of course, just a few days of preparation will not be enough to hit the target, but the soldiers' morale went up a lot when they saw Flora taking such an active role..
Lawrence's Flower.
Flora was Lawrence's symbol..
Because she did not give up until the end, Lawrence's soldiers were able to prepare for Mercury without losing hope..
Flora said.
“Like my father said, the academy didn't teach me the art of war. I said that there was no need to learn such knowledge since I would never go to battle while living as a noblewoman's wife. But after seeing the Barco family's behavior, I knew I had to become stronger. Rather than waiting for all problems to be solved like plants in a greenhouse, I wanted to be able to identify what problems were currently occurring and develop the ability to solve them. So I studied on my own, and that is the direction I plan to live in the future..”
“……Flora.”
“Do not worry too much. It's something I do because I want to..”
Flora's words.
My heart ached..
If the family had been powerful, we wouldn't have had to experience something like this, but Flora suddenly grew up in a short period of time..
Still, I was proud..
The fact that she is this kind of daughter.
Your golden jade leaves have grown beautifully without you even realizing it..
“If the issue with Barco is resolved, this father will never have to argue with you in your life in the future. I am sorry for forcing you to marry Dmitry. At that time, I thought that was the only way to survive with your family falling apart. But now I trust that you will make the right choice in any situation..”
with that in mind.
The conversation was postponed for a while.
To be exact, I had no choice but to postpone the conversation..
“omg.”
“no way?!”
soldiers in panic.
beyond the castle walls.
In Barco's camp, it was the moment it was revealed..
its identity.
The overall shape was like a catapult..
But those who saw it saw that it was completely different from a simple catapult..
“This is crazy!”
“Barco prepared a flare!”
flare.
It was the name of a siege engine..
The catapult-shaped flare was designed to throw something at the castle wall, and that something was a magic weapon that caused a huge explosion..
A huge amount of magic weapon worth dozens of gold per shot..
It is literally throwing money into the sky, but the flare is known to have a certain effect..
It was an unexpected development..
No matter how much money Barco borrowed, I had no idea he had enough connections and wealth to rent Flair..
“Everyone go to your location!”
“Everyone prepare for attack.”
In a busy situation.
Flora's expression turned pale..
She studied the art of war for several days, so she knew very well the power of the flare..
‘When the flare starts attacking, the castle wall collapses in an instant. The powerful flames will collapse the castle walls and burn all the soldiers on them. There are only two ways to stop play. Fight back with the appropriate magic weapon, or open the castle gate and go out to destroy Flare..’
The former is impossible.
Lawrence didn't have that kind of power, and in fact, a magic weapon like play can't be obtained only with money..
But I choose the second one?
It's suicide.
It was then.
The flare burst into flames and launched a huge fireball..
Kwaang!
Crumbling rumbling!
“Wow!”
“Ahhhhh!”
just one room.
The top of the castle wall became a hell of abuse..
Fortunately, the walls did not collapse, but the soldiers screamed as their skin burned and melted..
That was the extent of the miss..
If the fireball was hit squarely, the firepower was so great that dozens of soldiers would be burned without even having time to scream..
accident stopped.
Opponent's power beyond limits.
It did not appear in the Art of War.
I said it would be best to run away in such a case, but unfortunately there was no space to retreat behind the castle walls..
‘I can't give up like this.’
I gritted my teeth.
Flora held the bow.
To try something.
When you try to struggle somehow.
The maid hurriedly came over and shouted at her..
“miss! miss! I've just received a call from Roman Dmitry.!”
“now? Dmitry's Roman?”
roman.
An unexpected name suddenly popped up..
I don't know the reason for the contact.
But that wasn't the important thing right now, so Flora turned her head and tried to run to the castle walls..
however.
“Roman Dmitry told me to tell you this. Lawrence's crisis. He says he has a way to help, so get in touch with him..”
In those words.
Flora had no choice but to stop walking..
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