Chapter 373
My Villains Episode 373
61. art of war(15)
Even after taking care of the swamp giants, we were attacked two more times. One time it was a bunch of zombies growing bloated in a poisonous swamp, and the other time it was a slime that was bubbling and spewing acidic bubbles..
An ordinary group of adventurers would have suffered a great loss while dealing with these difficult enemies, but the knights responded like masters of battle. The zombies were crushed in half with a mounted charge and finished off in close combat, and the slime was melted by swinging the sulfur torch it had prepared like a blunt weapon..
There were people who were poisoned by the miasma emitted by the corpse and fainted, or were covered in acidic foam and their skin melted, but everyone did not consider it a big deal..
Well, the knights' vitality was too strong to risk their lives to that extent. As long as you don't die, you can use a potion or take it to a priest to completely heal you, so there's no need to worry too much..
“Still, if you're going to take this route, you'll need to make sure you're prepared for monsters. You better bring some wizards.”
The Asag reconnaissance ended with Lord Ankir's concise review..
Returning to Highcastle's cavalry camp, they sent the wounded to Andal-Viren and headed to the temporary training ground. It was to report the results of reconnaissance to Ulkar..
“Put your shoulders back and raise the window-!”
“Don't be a slug and run! It means risking your life to maintain the formation.!”
The long training ground between the inner and outer walls was full of soldiers, and dust rose constantly and shouts came and went..
“Speak louder! I'm going to crush the Gelan guys with my yelling.!”
“Wow!—!”
Is it because of the harsh training the fierce non-commissioned officers and senior soldiers underwent under Ulkar's command? The conscripts who used to look like naive peasants now seem quite useful..
Well, there won’t be much difference in physical ability or skills. But at least ‘Who am I? There wasn't a single person with a stupid face like 'Where am I?'.
This achievement was largely due to the soul-searching supply operations carried out by Margrave Landry and General McNeil..
The provision of military equipment such as iron helmets and gambitsons played an important role, but what played a greater role was the plentiful meals provided. Most of the conscripts declared that the last few weeks were the best eating period of their lives. There were even soldiers who could not eat all the rationed food and secretly sold it to merchants..
Most of the conscripts were serfs, but just because they were of low status did not mean they were stupid. No, perhaps because he had lived his entire life under exploitation, he was rather quick to notice. They were sensitive to the atmosphere surrounding them and could easily guess the intentions of their superiors..
The conscripts realized that the quilted armor, round shields, and large pieces of meat that were provided according to the prince's orders had special meaning. They realized that they were being treated as 'real soldiers' and not just expendables or meat shields..
Proper supply and subsequent training like this raised the morale of the unit beyond imagination..
And Prince Ulkar showed up at the training ground every day. Not only did he personally supervise training, but he also often mingled with the soldiers and chatted with them..
He was none other than Prince Ulkar. A man who is kind enough to be called the great warrior of all the weak, has an invincible reputation for having never lost in his life, is kind enough to fit his noble status as a prince, and is so handsome that you don't feel like he is a human being. It was he who even ordered abundant supplies. It was so easy to win the loyalty of soldiers..
From the soldiers' point of view, it was difficult to serve a great lord they had never seen in their lives or to invisible noble values, but it was easy to be loyal to the prince who was right in front of them..
Some lords expressed concern after realizing belatedly that the soldiers they had led were completely fascinated by Prince Ulkar. But fortunately, there were no idiots who would engage in pointless squabbles with a large enemy army just around the corner..
This was also thanks to the fact that the Margrave of Landry and the Count of Orth, the most powerful of the lords, took center stage..
The Margrave of Landry was a nobleman who had been considered a follower of Prince Silver for many years, and the Count of Orth was also very cooperative, perhaps because he had recently made some sort of deal with Eulkar. Since the two giants were following the prince's instructions without a word, the rest of the minnows had no choice but to remain quiet.
As a result, all the troops gathered at High Castle were united under the banner of the Silver Prince. Nearly five thousand people from five provinces came to obey one man, Ulkar..
“……Asag, you scouted that cursed land? You must have had a hard time.”
This situation could have been burdensome or overwhelming, but the prince seemed unconcerned. He was standing at the inner wall bastion used as a command post for training, observing the soldiers. He looked a little tired, but his face was as calm as usual..
“Could it be that he trusted that one stolen item and set foot there??”
“……Is it stolen goods? No way, that bone is gone.”
When I turned around with a puzzled look on my face, Lord Ankyr shook his head with a somewhat proud look on his face..
“Your Majesty, it's a stolen item. I simply obtained the holy relic according to a revelation from the Lord..”
“Revelation? I never imagined that I would hear something like that from a cathedral knight..”
Ulkar smiled and added,
“And it looks like that revelation was pretty inaccurate, right? If you look at the basement of Andal-Viren's cathedral, they've completely trashed it..”
“……Okay. I'm sorry.”
“Hehe, I apologize. So, I guess that cut in half shinbone was pretty useful.?”
In response to the prince's question, the giant knight excitedly talked about the sight of the castle relic emitting white flames..
“……Whoa. I mean, it had that kind of effect..”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I discussed with the drivers who accompanied me how I could use this.……
When Lord Ankir's report seemed to be getting longer, I watched and quietly retreated. I think it was a pretty good decision to use my duties as a swordsmanship instructor as an excuse..
Sir Ankir, the leader of the heavy cavalry, will give you a good report. There’s no need for me to keep my position.?
I hurried down the redoubt and headed toward the inner castle. Because I just heard some good news before reporting to Ulkar.
am.
“Oh, Lord Phoenics. It's been a while.”
“It seems like it's been almost 15 days since I last saw you. Thank you for your hard work.”
The person who greeted me among the soldiers unpacking was the 'painter' Wheel Terre Seymour, a knight with an intelligent face and an impressive gray plate of gold armor..
He was in charge of reconciling the rear of High Castle, that is, the territory around the plateau, including Longdale. The task of repairing villages that were devastated by the Blood Mane mercenaries..
Sir Hülterre, who had just arrived at High Castle after completing his mission, shook his head with a smile..
“There was nothing to say that was difficult. All I did was take a walk around with the cavalrymen..”
“Even though you only came back once, you gathered quite a few soldiers..”
He was both an outstanding knight and a meticulous administrator. Judging from the fact that in that short period of time, he was able to clear up territories that had been swept up in the uprising and recruit more than 100 soldiers from among the refugees, his resourcefulness was not ordinary..
“Still, it's nothing compared to the hardships Sir Phoenics went through. Your Majesty has entrusted you with many missions.?”
“Well, it can't be helped. Isn't it the natural instinct of a farm owner - no, a superior - to want to exploit a subordinate as much as possible if he or she has a capable subordinate??”
Lord Hülterter nodded with a smile, then opened his mouth with a hint of regret..
“Many knights learned a lesson from Sir.?”
“……Ah, sparring.?”
“yes. It's a pity that I didn't get that opportunity because I arrived late..”
The third position that Ulkar entrusted to me was that of a sword instructor..
Originally, the duties of this position were to teach non-commissioned officers. Contrary to his name, Swordsmanship Instructor, he did not only teach swordsmanship, but covered all types of techniques useful on the battlefield..
But the problem was that on the first day I came to High Castle, I became a rock star among the knights by throwing a spear and catching several dragon knights..
They must have gotten to know each other while carrying out missions together in the heavy cavalry, and the knights wooed me passionately, saying they would carry out their duties as a swordsmanship instructor and held on to me when they were about to throw me out. The knights' courtship was, of course, about having a fight..
“I heard the story. I heard there were only a few people who stood up to me properly.……
Unable to find an appropriate answer, I just smiled with a puzzled look on my face. This is because what Lord Hülterter said was close to the truth..
I had passed level 30 through my previous adventures and had completely absorbed the memories of Poynix, so my skills had increased significantly. Thanks to this, it was rare to find a knight capable of dealing with me in a one-on-one sparring..
After arriving at High Castle, there were about 40 knights who sparred with me. Even though they were fighting with all their might, half of them couldn't withstand the ten combined force. Of the remaining half, only four or five survived more than twenty sums..
Sir Daylessid, known as Odenlock's greatest knight, and Sir Ecbert, known as 'Bronze with an Axe', were at least good enough to fight..
I am confident that if I make up my mind and do my best, I can defeat it within six or seven sums, but since I couldn't use blood magic or magic tools during the sparring match, I think it was quite an exciting match. I haven't tried it myself, but I think 'arrogant' Sir Lyam and 'Seahawk F Sir Gisella are at this level..
Calmly evaluating, the only person in High Castle who could equal my ability in blood magic and sealing magic tools was Lord Ankir. Well, Sir Langbolt, Ulkar's first knight and who was away for a while to borrow the Iron Fleet, would also be a good opponent..
I laughed awkwardly, then scratched my eyebrows and said to Sir Hülterre:.
“Don't be too sad. If the time is right, there will be a chance to compete..”
“I hope so. It's not often that you get a chance to share a sword with a knight as high-level as Sir..”
Although he showed signs of being a bit psychopathic, Sir Hülterter was also a knight with a reputation..
Although I have already seen him freely wielding a spear with a half-moon shaped blade, he has earned the nickname 'Painter'.
I have never seen such knife skills. So, sparring with him was something I was also quite looking forward to..
After concluding the conversation appropriately, I brought up the main topic that came to him..
“And, I heard you brought my men too.……
“Oh, that's right. I stopped by Keibor on the way. Hey, he'll be waiting for you over there..”
In the direction he pointed, my original soldiers and newly recruited recruits were waiting..
Veteran Confire, heavy soldier Dervish, night watchman Dillon, spearman McCaig, and even poacher Cabas. After briefly exchanging greetings with the subordinates I had left behind in Keibor, I looked back and saw that the new recruits had a very unique appearance..
“……We built an army, not mercenaries.?”
“Since we already recruited a large number of people, I thought it would be more efficient to do so..”
I quietly nodded at Conwyre’s words..
There were a total of fifty new recruits recruited from Keivor, and as I said, they looked more like an army than a group of mercenaries. This is because, like the soldiers that Ulkar is currently training, they were uniformly armed with iron helmets, quilted armor, round shields, and single spears..
Not only was the armament decent, but the five-row column and disciplined appearance were quite impressive..
“……Well, did you do any training on the way?‘?”
“It's not a big deal, it's just barely enough to walk in line or form a line. Full-scale training hasn't even started yet..”
Conwyer is a veteran soldier with over 15 years of experience, and since becoming my subordinate, he has been acting as an acting commander and managing other mercenaries. As such, it was clear that he was planning to raise 50 new recruits at once as he was planning to turn them into an army..
“……Well, I guess you can take care of it. If you need anything, let me know.”
“Yes, Nari.”
For me, it was better to have soldiers with strong discipline and loyalty than a mercenary unit that was a bunch of thugs and scoundrels, so I had no intention of dissuading his plan. As I looked around at the soldiers who had completed their mission and the newly recruited subordinates, the sun soon set..
About that time, another group returned to Highcastle, following Lord Hylterre and his soldiers. Sir Ariad, who had gone east with Sir Langbolt, has returned..
He was accompanied by completely unexpected guests. They brought in the blood knights of Count Akele, called the Blood Whites..
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