Chapter 371
My Villains Episode 3
61. art of war(13)
the sun is in the sky.
The scenery under a clear, cloudless sky was so peaceful that it was unbelievable that it was a place on the verge of war..
To the left of the dirt road is a long, low stone wall, and to the right is a wide barley field. The barley, which had been showing off its green color among the melting snow not long ago, had turned yellow at the tips by mid-February..
Farmers wearing matching yellow straw hats were carefully moving their feet and pulling out weeds. The soldiers who followed them sat spread out on the edge of the field and yawned, then looked back and quickly got up..
“Hmm-”
The cool air of late winter or early spring not only filled my lungs, but also overflowed my entire body. With the barley fields waving in the breeze, I excitedly took the reins..
Grung!
The large two-horned beast snorted nervously and continued to run. The bicorn's hooves pounded the ground like drumsticks. The headwind became stronger due to the heavy performance, and the surrounding scenery receded before I even realized it..
“Uh-ha!”
A loud noise, I don't know if it was a shout or an exclamation, came out of my mouth without me knowing..
I couldn't tell whether the person who shouted was Kim Seung-su, who was dying day after day in his boring daily life, or Poynix, who had been particularly fond of words since he was a child. Well, it was a distinction that has no meaning now anyway..
The dirt road between the stone wall and the barley field had a low slope and then curved towards a shallow hill. The bicorn did not slow down even though it was making a sound that was either a growl or a growl..
Only when the low stone wall connected to the beacon tower that doubled as a fortress did I pull in the reins. As I took off my helmet, the sweat on my forehead was quickly cooled by the cold wind..
“……“Sir, the red knight?” When I looked up while stroking the bicorn's neck, I saw the sergeant peeking his head out from behind the visor, looking embarrassed..
“What's going on? Shall we raise the signal fire?‘?”
It wasn't that difficult to figure out the misunderstanding in his urgent question. It was natural to have ominous thoughts upon seeing a jockey running at full speed..
I quickly threw up my hand..
“No, no. Don't worry, we're just scouting as usual..”
“Reconnaissance? Did you go out scouting alone??”
“yes? Of course with the cavalry,”
When I looked back and said that, there was only dust on the road I had run on. While running happily for a while, I unintentionally left behind the other cavalrymen..
Fortunately, it wasn't long before about 40 cavalrymen appeared. Unlike me, who ran as if I was going to hit the enemy, I was at a leisurely pace, as if I was taking a walk..
Actually, that person was normal and I was abnormal. Even if it is a fighting horse, a horse is not as strong an animal as you might think. Carrying heavily armed men and running at full speed is something that should be done on the battlefield, not something that should be done during reconnaissance..
In the same vein, Bicorn was a monster in the truest sense of the word. Even though I was carrying plate armor and various luggage in addition to my body weighing nearly 100 kilos, I ran with all my might for a long time..
If it had been an ordinary war horse, or even a famous horse, it would have fainted and collapsed in an instant, but Bicorn was standing still and sticking its muzzle into the water jar given by the soldiers..
“Hahaha, Lord Phoenics!” Finally, the cavalry reached the beacon tower, and the 'big' Lord Ankir, the leader, chuckled at me..
“It was such a fun ride! Where is the person who cried like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse??”
As small laughter spread among the cavalrymen, I too found myself laughing out loud..
“You were annoyed earlier, asking why I waited, but now I see your expression has cleared up..”
“Lord Ankir, when did I get irritated… … . Well, I feel better because the weather is nice..”
“Spring is in full swing now. It's a great season for marching.”
“When you see sunny weather, you think of war instead of outings or picnics. I'm worried about Kyung's emotions..”
“Hmm, the white sound!”
Actually, my mission in the heavy cavalry was very simple. Because I'm not in charge of any other responsibilities, I'm just a leader..
Well, the vanguard had an important role in his own way, but it was nothing compared to the captains or commanders. Even fifty infantrymen are a burden, so if you had asked them to take charge of five hundred cavalry, they might have run away..
Anyway, I am just a vanguard, not a commander. Thanks to this, when I went out to High Castle as a member of the heavy cavalry, to be honest, it was annoying, but when I went out, it felt like I was going for a pretty enjoyable walk..
Of course, the power reconnaissance carried out by the heavy cavalry is definitely not an ordinary walk. Rather, it is closer to a leisure sport full of tension, where you never know when you might encounter an enemy..
But for me, encountering the enemy and engaging in sword fighting was much easier and more fun than managing my subordinates. It seems like this is a good fit for you..
Of course, it wasn't that there were no men in the heavy cavalry at all. This is because they brought along Fritz the ponytail, Gidon the crossbowman, and three or four mercenaries who were good at horseback riding..
However, in Fritz's case, he had his mouth sealed after getting into an argument with a knight on his first day on duty, and since he spends about three-thirds of his waking hours in prayer, he is a guy who doesn't have much to worry about. Among the other guys, there's no one who has the nerve to do something crazy in a unit full of knights. Thanks to this, as long as I kept an eye on Fritz and looked out for myself, there would be no problem..
“But today, for some reason, the cavalry was divided.?”
Since they decided to rest for a while at the beacon mound, the knights, squires, and cavalrymen gave water to the horses or sat down here and there to take out the dry food they had brought and chew it. Lord Ankir, who was watching the horse with his seed and feeding it snacks such as beans or pieces of sugar, smiled at my question..
“You'll find out soon.”
“Do you have a wicked plan??”
“What a wicked plan. I'm just saying there was a reason to split the cavalry..”
“So what is the reason?.”
“Oh, really. I told you to wait a moment. I have a fun plan..”
“……You know that plan, Prince Ulkar, right??”
The giant knight slowly looked away..
“Well, I gave you a rough idea. You probably know.”
“‘Maybe? The Lord asked Lord Daylecid that he had put off his mission, but is that okay??”
“You're putting off your mission. Someone who doesn't know will misunderstand..”
Lord Ankir cleared his throat, ‘Hum’..
“We just distributed it based on the severity of the work. I do my job as a captain, and Sir Daile Cid does my job as a vice commander..”
“Hmm, I see… … . But if you divide a unit of 500 men into 450 and 50, isn't the commander usually assigned to the 450 side??”
“……That's the case when you don't trust your comrades. I believe in Lord Daylecid's abilities and loyalty..”
As I mentioned, the heavy cavalry is currently divided into two. Sir Daylessid, commander of the unit and the greatest knight of Odenrock, is leading a force of four hundred and fifty men to scout the valley to the south. Lord Ankir is leading the remaining fifty men to look around the beacon tower in the north..
After casting a suspicious glance at Lord Ankir for a moment, he raised his doubts..
“You're not planning on doing anything different, are you? The mission given to the heavy cavalry by the prince is to conserve strength and conduct reconnaissance..”
“I know too..”
“If you're planning to do something reckless just because you haven't had any results these past few days,,”
“Well, pretending to be picky. I said no..”
Reconnaissance of the power of heavy cavalry was more difficult to achieve than expected..
In the first few days, he was active in capturing enemy detachments and scouting units. However, as the imperial army began to crouch and prepare for siege in earnest, the number of enemies crossing valleys and swamps decreased significantly..
For the past four days, it was impossible to even see the enemy. The heavy cavalry, under the command of Lord Ankir, attempted to cross the valley and make a few provocations, but the enemy literally did not move..
Because I watched Lord Ankir get frustrated in this situation, I did not easily let go of my doubts..
“Oh, it's really not that big of a deal. just
I'm just trying to do some reconnaissance because I have something to point out..”
“What is the point??”
“I didn't know Kyung was such a persistent person... … . Well, it can't be helped. Don't be surprised when you hear this.”
In response to my skeptical eyes, Lord Ankir finally told the truth with a smile on his face..
“I plan to cross Asag..”
“……Are you going to cross Asag? That swamp of death?”
As I said before, 'Asag' is a land of death full of dangerous poisons and all kinds of monsters. This means that it is definitely not a place that can be used as a military maneuver route..
I said, ‘What kind of bullshit is this?’ Lord Ankir shrugged his shoulders..
“Why do you look at me like that??”
“So how should we look at it? A man who is willing to drag his comrades and subordinates into the grave.,”
Only then did I realize that the fifty cavalrymen who had come north were all under the direct command of the prince. Not only the knights, including Lord Ankir, but also the general cavalry were Ulkar's personal soldiers..
“Lord Ankir.”
“Well, even if it makes you blush, just listen to the end and do it. Do you think I'm a fool to jump into that cursed land without a plan??”
“Well, on the surface it seems……
It may be easy to misunderstand him because of his massive size, messy beard, and scars covering his face, but Lord Ankir was not a very stupid person. The world's opinion is that he is a swordsman who is strong but good at deceit, and a commander who is brave but also knows how to be cautious..
“ruler.”
While I was speechless, Lord Ankir took out a long wad of paper from his arms and spoke confidently..
“this is my plan.”
“What is that??”
“Don't be surprised when you see this.”
He took a deep breath and slowly unfolded the stack of paper. There was something written on the inside of the paper, but what caught my eye more than anything was the object wrapped inside..
“......bone?”
Yes, it was a bone. A bone about the length of a palm, shaped like it was cut in half..
“‘The shin bone of the ‘white shepherd’..”
“Yes?”
Gwangmyeong Bridge has several patron saints, the most well-known of which are the 'Sun Rider', the patron saint of war, the 'Flower Maiden', the patron saint of agriculture, and the 'White Shepherd', the patron saint of pioneering..
“This is the bone of the patron saint.?”
“exactly. I got it deep inside the cathedral of 'Andal-Viren'..”
As I stared, Lord Ankir, very excited, started talking about how he got this precious item..
I went to the cathedral to worship, heard the floor shaking, searched the crypt, opened a flagstone without realizing it and found this, and it was such an old relic that the priests of El Ganor must have forgotten about it and left for the royal capital. … … . Well, blah blah blah.
“So, these bones are your plan? Are you going to cross Asag?” “Oh, that’s right.” As he continued to rant, I tried to muster up my magic power. But no energy was felt from the dog bone, or rather, from the shin bone of the patron saint..
“……Have you ever mastered necromancy? With that, I'm going to summon a white shepherd and pioneer Asag.?”
When asked in a bewildered tone, Lord Ankir also answered in a similar tone..
“Necromancy? Why do you say things so calmly that will cause trouble?.”
“You're just calmly talking nonsense, aren't you?.”
“That's because this isn't nonsense. I have never heard of a story about how in the North, long ago, the flames of the Flame Realm were extinguished after pleading with God through the remains of a saint.?”
When I looked back at Poynix's memory for a moment, it seemed like similar stories were being told like fairy tales or legends..
“I'm aiming for that miracle.”
“……okay.”
Looking at the large, clear eyes of a calf, I internally lowered my evaluation of Lord Ankir..
……Oh my, what an immature old man he is. How old are you and are you seriously talking nonsense like this?.
And after a while, in front of the side road leading to Asag-
“••••••uh.”
I gaped..
Looking back at me with a dumbfounded expression, Lord Ankir said, 'Hahaha, what did I say!' I was talking about it..
Grumbling!
He was holding his shinbone like a torch and had a triumphant expression on his face. The patron saint's shinbone was emitting white flames, absorbing the surrounding poison and burning it..
“No, fuck it. What the hell is this……
I was about to ask something about this nonsense, but then I realized it was meaningless and I kept my mouth shut..
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