Chapter 391
My Villains Episode 391
62. deception tactics(18)
The cathedral in Andal-Viren is quite large..
If you look at the chapel alone, the ceiling height was over 10 meters, so you had to bend your neck to see the ceiling painting, and it was also wide enough for 500 believers to attend mass at the same time..
Of course, it was inferior to the few cathedrals throughout the kingdom, but it was still quite surprising to see such a magnificent cathedral standing in a city on the border like High Castle..
No, maybe it's natural. High Castle is not only a border between countries, but also a border between religions..
Just as the kingdom built magnificent castles and majestic fortresses to prepare for the invasion of the Empire, the Church of Elganor may have also built a cathedral with great care to prevent the invasion of the Calandari..
Well, anyway.
In the cathedral of Andal-Viren, where it was natural for a bishop-level or equivalent priest to run the diocese, and in fact it was, there were now only eight priests left..
Five of them were military priests brought by Ulkar and other great lords, one was a monk priest I brought, and another was a paladin of the Calandari Church. The only priests who originally belonged to Andal-Viren were young priests who had just passed their terms of service..
These priests were brutally trampled by the procession of wounded coming from the west and south gates. Medical soldiers and young servants were in charge of medical treatment, such as moving the wounded and tying bandages, but ultimately it was the priests' job to save those whose lives were in danger..
After endlessly reciting healing prayers, six of the eight priests collapsed from exhaustion. There were only two people standing on their own two feet: Father Gospatrick, confessor to the Silver Prince, and Theodora, the Holy Knight of Calandari and the ‘Anointed One.’.
And at this moment, Father Gospatrick and Princess Theodora were examining a person in the inner room. One person, of course, was Prince Ulkar..
While the old priest and the beautiful princess were whispering to each other as they looked at the prince lying on the bed, a heavy silence fell behind them..
The narrow inner room located at the back of the cathedral was crowded with lords, knights, and commanders, but no one spoke. There was a lot of tension as no one was sitting..
‘I, who was standing in the front row with the 'giant' Lord Ankir and the 'Bird Knight' Sir Gisella on either side, looked back for a moment and narrowed my brows unconsciously..
……This is it. There is no dust pit..
Because everyone had rushed over as soon as the battle was over, their bodies were covered in dust, blood stains, and soot. There seemed to be no one seriously injured, but there were several people who were bleeding because their wounds could not even be bandaged..
“why but?”
“……“No, no.” I hesitated for a moment in response to Lord Ankir’s question, then shook my head..
I wanted to kick out all the people who were blowing dust in front of the patient, but it was difficult to say anything because my fellow knights, including Sir Ankir, were acting similarly..
Well, I'm in the process of healing with the power of God, so dust shouldn't be a problem.…….
As we were finishing our appetite, Theodora, who had been discussing her thoughts with Father Gospatric, turned to us and opened her mouth..
“He just fainted for a moment due to fatigue, so don't worry too much..”
“Whoa, damn it. I thought my liver was failing……
As Sir Ankir grunted on behalf of the relieved knights, Sir Hylterre, the 'painter' standing next to him, whispered softly..
“Be careful with your words and actions. Princess, I'm not safe..”
“Uh, oh... … . “I have been rude, please forgive me.” “It’s okay, sir.” Theodora smiled softly, then turned to the audience and added,.
“You don't need any special treatment, so if you rest for a while, you will be able to wake up..”
“When will you regain consciousness??”
The person who urgently asked the question was Sir Ariad, the Adder..
He already had a very shabby appearance, but some of his graying hair was scorched by fire, so he had no trace of the majesty of a knight. Even after seeing his face, the princess shrugged her shoulders calmly..
“well… … . Right now, my mother-in-law is trying to sleep, which she had been putting off, so she may wake up in three or four hours, or she may wake up only tomorrow morning..”
“Umm.”
“Why are you doing this? Is there something wrong??”
When I asked a question, the old driver, who had a frown on his face, slowly nodded..
“There is an operation that Your Majesty has already planned..”
“It's an operation.?”
“yes. He muttered nervously that the operation had to be carried out immediately after the successful sit-in, so time was running out. However, the lords and knights all looked upset..
“Lord Ankir. Gather your knights and cavalry and get ready to sortie.”
“prepare for sortie?”
“yes. It doesn't matter if other preparations are delayed a bit, but the light cavalry must move as soon as His Majesty's orders are given..”
“However, your Majesty did not say anything to me..”
“This is because you were worried about whether or not the plan would be implemented until the very end..”
“You said you were worried?”
Lord Ankir frowned and scratched his beard..
“So that means you haven't made a decision.?”
“The current war situation is hardly different from what you had assumed. He must have wanted to carry out the operation..”
“So, what exactly is that operation??”
“that,”
Sir Ariad looked inside the inner room and said with an embarrassed expression..
“I can't tell you. Your Majesty has given strict orders to keep it a secret..”
“Are you just telling me to prepare without giving you a detailed plan??”
“I'm embarrassed to say it, but yes.”
“hmm.”
Sir Ariad is the third knight of the Silver Prince. However, unlike his colleagues who were high-ranking nobles or boasted outstanding dance skills, he was of low status and lacked the skills of a knight..
He was ordained a knight by Ulkar, who praised his resourcefulness, but in the eyes of other lords and knights, he appears to be just a serf who quickly became successful..
Lord Ankir seemed to think this was no different, and after thinking for a moment, he made a reluctant expression..
“More than half of the cavalry were injured during the fierce battle, and the rest either lost their horses or were exhausted and needed maintenance. If you move too hard in this situation, you won't be able to use your strength..”
“It is not necessary for all heavy cavalry to move. Four hundred, no, three hundred will do..”
“three hundred•…-
The giant knight sighed and crossed his arms..
“No, that still won't work. It is not a direct order from His Majesty, so we cannot use our troops unreasonably..”
“Lord Ankir, but-”
“stop. Don't act rashly..”
As the old knight began to raise his voice, Sir Ankir looked a little angry and stopped him..
“Didn't you hear what the princess said? Your Majesty will wake up tomorrow morning at the latest, so all you have to do is gather your troops and wait. There's no need to be impatient..”
As those gathered in the inner room silently nodded their heads in agreement, Lord Ariad sighed and stepped back..
I watched the series of conversations in silence and belatedly opened my mouth..
“Well, then we can organize our troops and prepare for a sortie..”
“……Lord Phoenics, the story is already over..”
“Then let's start again.”
When Lord Ankir's face contorted, I shrugged with a smile on my face..
“There's nothing that can't be done, right? The basic mission of the heavy cavalry is reconnaissance, and it is natural to reorganize and prepare for another sortie..”
“I don't even know how much damage the heavy cavalry caused. What they need now is treatment and rest..”
“Knights and cavalrymen have high priority for treatment anyway, so they would have received most of the treatment. And rest, all you have to do is tell the prince to rest until he wakes up..”
« O ”
“What's so difficult? Wouldn’t it be okay to just gather horses and weapons and tell them to rest??”
Of course, it's easier said than done. The quality of rest will be different between waiting while preparing for a sortie and resting with the belief that there will be no operations for some time..
But what can I do? If you want to win, you have to work hard.
“If the prince's plan is truly a time-consuming affair, it would be better to prepare in advance. Because it could be the deciding factor between victory and defeat..”
“Off ”O •
Lord Ankir scratched his forehead with his hand, which had two fingers torn off. and nodded.
“Okay, let's do that. Lord Dailecid, please gather your troops. The rendezvous point is to receive orders immediately after His Majesty wakes up, so this is the place.-”
“Let’s use resistant high castle..”
“……“Why?” I nodded at Lord Ankir’s puzzled expression..
“Are you planning to push heavy cavalry into the cathedral already crowded with wounded people??”
“hmm. That's right.”
“Your tolerance will be better. There is plenty of space, and the command center of the castle tower is just around the corner, so the prince's orders won't be delayed much..”
“……Well, let's do that..”
Sir Ankir eventually sent Sir Dailesid, the commander of the heavy cavalry, away with a shocked expression..
After confirming Prince Ulkar's condition, the lords and commanders withdrew and only his close associates remained, and Sir Gisella opened her mouth with a dark expression..
“Princess, are you really okay??”
“What do you mean, sir??”
At the princess's question, the birdman's worried gaze fell on the prince lying on the bed..
“Look at His Majesty. You seem to be in pain.……
Just as she said, Ulkar looked a little pale and was sweating coldly. Occasionally, he frowned or clenched his molars..
“Maybe it's a nightmare.”
The princess caught a glimpse of the prince and reassured the female knight..
“I don't know that your mother-in-law has been suffering from nightmares more frequently lately.?”
“Yes, princess. But this is my first time seeing you in such pain. Is there any other prescription??”
“Unfortunately, there is none..”
Theodora shook her head with a very determined expression..
“A nightmare is not a wound or an illness. It cannot be cured by borrowing the power of light. And, if you try to delve into other people's dreams, something unexpected may happen..”
“Are you saying just watch??”
“There is no other way. If you get enough rest and rest, you will get better, so don't worry too much..”
While Sir Gisella was biting her lower lip and lowering her head, I was fiddling with my left wrist, or more accurately, the dimensional seal..
After gaining semi-dimension in the citadel of Modos, 'Raven's Cliff', my dreams came completely under my control..
I have fewer useless nightmares, and even if I do have them, I can twist them or shatter them to my will..
Perhaps, and this is just my guess, we will be able to interfere to some extent with other people's dreams. I realized this instinctively, recalling the sensation I felt when I entered the dream of saints Abel and Ellen..
So, you will be able to enter Ulkar's dream as well. I'm not sure if I can interfere with his dreams, but I'm sure I can figure out what kind of nightmare he's having.…….
In my heart, I want to immediately reach out and check Ulkar's dream..
Why not? In the original scenario, he is a person who is imbued with the power of the dark world and becomes a ‘King of Murder’. It would be foolish to look at the negative events that happen to Ulkar and just think 'Oh, that's right' and move on..
But, is that okay? Is it okay to invade other people’s dreams at will? It is said that dreams are a reflection of the unconscious, but perhaps they are having a negative impact for no reason.?
Also, what if that terrible monster, the artist buried deep in my subconscious, suddenly pops out??
“……Sir, Sir Poynix?”
“yes, yes?”
When I blinked and raised my head, Princess Theodora smiled warmly..
“You must be tired. Well, considering the stories I've heard, it's almost a miracle that the temple is still standing..”
“……uh,”
“Leave your mother’s house to me and go home. Now that the lord is sick, if even his strongest knight falls, the military spirit may be in jeopardy..”
As she patted my shoulder and urged me to take a break, I suddenly gave up what I was worrying about and walked away..
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