Chapter 429
My Villains Episode 429
65. peak of spring(4)
“All Guard troops are on standby at headquarters..”
Shortly after Munchi and Iopiya left, Sergeant Gottlob came to the office and began reporting..
“The Permanent Court and Council of Ministers have requested that security forces be dispatched instead of vigilantes.-”
“Don't say nonsense. Even though their name says it, I think they are a real security guard..”
‘‘Guards’ refers to the troops under my direct command. The main members are soldiers obtained from the capture of Froshafen and Eisbowald, and their number is slightly less than two hundred..
The non-commissioned officers lent by Sir Langbolt and Gottlob in front of us are leading the reorganization and maintenance. Since they had surrendered, I felt uneasy about scattering them here and there, so I packed them up at the headquarters of the security guard that I use as my residence.,
Maybe that's why they got the nickname "Guards"..
“No one does something pointless.?”
“Yes, Nari. Even though they are anti-military, most of them are serfs who only dig for dirt, and at most there are only a few mercenaries. If you take good care of it, you won't have anything to worry about..”
“You would say so. It's important to keep an eye on new recruits, but don't be too trusting of the kids in your neighborhood either..”
“Okay, Nari..”
The main body of the guard is still the soldiers of Froshafen..
Perhaps because they worked as soldiers in a large port city, they are all skilled soldiers in their own way. Although we were reduced to around 70 due to various losses and desertions before we occupied Icebobalt, we were able to build a certain level of trust with the survivors..
All I did was participate in group training four or five times, hand out plenty of loot and combat allowances, and memorize the names of a few guys who stood out. It was an insignificant action, but it seemed to be considered quite meaningful by the soldiers due to my reputation and status..
Excluding the soldiers from Froshafen, about 120 people surrendered here in Eisbowald..
Even among the soldiers of Eisbowald, none of them were originally soldiers from the city. Most of the standing army died during the battle, and the few who were taken prisoner were not even encouraged to surrender from the beginning..
So, those who joined the guard were conscripts drawn from nearby manors or villages, or mercenaries hired by Mayor Passyhorse..
Mercenaries are servants who have no hesitation in switching sides depending on the situation. Moreover, I have experience dealing with not only novice mercenaries such as Amias' gang, but also so-called 'high-level' mercenaries such as Fritz the Ponytail, Dervish the Heavy Soldier, and Veteran Confire. Managing a bunch of mercenaries wasn't even a task..
Rather, the problem was the innocent conscripts..
Perhaps because they were people who had settled in Obdorf and farmed for generations, they had a strong identity as part of the Ghelan people. Therefore, he was displeased with obeying a knight from the kingdom..
However, since 90% of those in the guard were Gelan, there was no conflict between soldiers. No one was big enough to show their displeasure to my face..
I think it will take time to fully digest them as my subordinates. Rather than forcefully holding on to him for no reason, it might be better to release him once the situation is roughly resolved..
As I was organizing my thoughts, a sudden thought occurred to me and I asked Sergeant Gottlob a question..
“Are you good at it?‘?”
yes'?" “Are you worth it? be my subordinate.”
“ ah.”
He hesitated for a moment and then nodded..
“Yeah, whatever. Surprisingly it's worth it.”
“Surprisingly? This bastard.”
I glanced at him with a grin, and Gottlob shrugged his shoulders..
“As a subordinate, I seem like a loose, lazy person. But compared to the better people I've met in my life... … Well, it would be rude to compare. And, when will I ever make eye contact with someone like Nari?.”
“What is a person like me??”
“Hmm, are you looking for flattery??”
As I nodded shamelessly, Go Tropp continued with a smile..
“Aren’t you the one who will decorate one side of history?.”
“……history?”
“yes. “If I stick close to Nari, I might be able to keep my name in order.” “I didn’t know you had a strong desire for fame..”
“Since he was telling me to flatter him, I tried to say it in a plausible way. In fact, I will be satisfied if I have a business foundation..”
“Fund for business? Didn't you save a lot of money??”
“Since I'm not good at going back to Froshaven and doing business, I'll have to go to Faberis. If you want to open a nice bar there, you have to save 20 times more money than you do now..”
Hearing his boastful words, I smiled and gestured..
“Go ahead and let the people in there one by one..”
“Yes, Nari.”
Sergeant Gottlieb gave an uncharacteristically modest Milanese military salute..
Broadly speaking, there are two areas occupied by the army I lead: Froshafen and Eisbowald. To add a few more fortresses - 'Untrier' and 'Zirna' - and five villages as big as the palm of your hand..
Among them, the port city of Froshaven, the fortress Untrier, and four villages in the Angst region are managed by 'Annenso of Lejeun', the clan chief under Atalanta. In other words, he was acting as governor, and Prince Ulcar had promised to give half of the Angst region to the Nudein people, so he handed over authority to them..
Of course, Annenso, an old Nudean woman, did not manage it alone. Several of the knights and vassals left behind by Count Aeneas remained as advisors. She had a 15% stake in Proshafen, so she deserved it..
The town of Eisbowalt, the castle of Girna, and the small farm attached to it, belonging to the Obdorf region, are managed by Count Aines..
Of course, since I was in charge of military-related matters, most of what she was in charge of was administrative-related. The owner of this area has not yet been determined, and Count Aeneas was promised a 15% stake, so he left the reigns for a while..
Of course, there was no way a girl in her mid-teens could rule the city alone, so the talented family members she brought with her took on the role of key officials. Still, it was Count Aines herself who made decisions on major issues. Considering his age, that much is enough.
It was definitely a great thing.
Due to these circumstances, Count Aines frequently sent messengers. It was no wonder that the four vassals of Milgrester who had just entered the office each brought with them different issues..
The man who came forward first gave shocking news from the beginning..
“King Ruilix II went to his parents' house..”
“……Your family? The emperor?”
When I opened my mouth slightly, the knight serving the Milgrester family nodded with a stern expression..
“When is the departure date? The scale is?”
“It is said that more than 20,000 troops left Mittel Tang seven days ago..”
“A week? No, even if the information is slow, it’s not too slow.?”
“The distance itself is quite far, and the Imperial Army is controlling the spread of rumors. I'm lucky that the news has arrived just now..”
“shit……
I narrowed my eyes and quickly opened the map..
Mitteltan, the capital of the Mittergerand Empire, is located across from the sphere of influence of Viceroy Burcard and Duke Avilambus. It would have taken at least three weeks for a large army to march here..
“If we had gone to war a week ago, that would mean we had about 15 days left... … . And 20,000 is less than I thought..”
At my words, the driver shook his head with an awkward expression..
“Counting the troops deployed from Mitteltang alone, there were 20,000. The summons had been announced long ago, so by the time it passes the Altenburg region, the number will have at least doubled..”
“••••••crazy.”
It was about three weeks ago that I set foot in the Empire. If the emperor's army set out a week ago, it means that they raised the army as soon as they heard about me..
“I knew that the reaction would be quite quick because the prince had told me in advance, but... … . This is a bit harsh. 20,000, 30,000 troops are not even the names of your dogs..”
“Ruilix II has been talking about conquering the Amir Alliance since last summer.
You told me.”
The Amir Alliance is managing the southern colonies and amassing enormous wealth. It was already widely known in the world that Emperor Ruilix II and the Electors of the southern part of the empire were coveting colonies..
“It is clear that the troops prepared for this purpose are being moved in this direction. Otherwise there's no way I could react this quickly..”
I sighed and cupped my forehead..
How on earth does Prince Ulkar plan to solve this problem? Just dealing with Duke Avilambus and Vice King Burcard was a daunting task, but to have the Emperor's large army come in as well!.
Is this a plan to induce Zacharis, who has come from the royal capital, to confront the emperor and form a two-way alliance??
If that were the case, the chances of success would be extremely low..
After all, the Emperor and Zacharis had no reason to fight..
All the Emperor needs to do is stabilize Angst and Obdorf by dealing with the army I lead, and Zacharis' goal will be to drive out the army of Duke Avilambus, who occupied Unfast and the Highlands..
In my opinion, there was no chance of the two great armies facing each other at the risk of extreme losses..
There were other things I could guess, but the situation was so complicated that I couldn't make a decision..
“……Please compile the reported information in a letter and deliver it to Ogshlizo..”
“Okay, Lord Phoenics..”
Ogshlizo, the mage of Antrum, will use the secret spell to deliver a letter to the prince..
The secret art is also called 'The Secret Book of the Byway', and it is the same spell using the fireplace that Sir Ariad once introduced in Longville..
Only wizards with a pocket dimension like Master Lymond can receive letters, and each time it is cast, it requires a very precious material - an elm tree branch scorched by otherworldly flames - so it has the disadvantage of not being able to be used often. However, it was a secret technique that was useful in today's situation because it was almost the only means of transmitting letters over distances of hundreds of kilometers..
The issues brought by Milgrester's other vassals were trivial compared to those of the emperor's own government..
There were issues related to the vigilante group run by the salted fish seller Deogen, a proposal to close the Permanent Court, and a question about expelling the priests of the Qalandari Church who belong to the Council..
I responded appropriately, sent them away, and then called in the thugs Deogen sent..
“It's an honor to meet you, Nauri. I am-”
“Shut up.”
Deogen's subordinate was a large man with a long knife mark on his face. It is said that he once made a name for himself as a mercenary, but got caught up in some story and committed himself to the underworld, but it was none of my business..
“Go and tell Deogen. Come back here in thirty minutes..”
“••••••yes‘?”
I shot back in annoyance..
“I'm not good at talking to a gangster, so should I also talk to a gangster subordinate? go away. I also told them to know that for every five minutes they were late, one of their fingers would be cut off..”
It was only after the thugs ran out in a hurry that they were able to understand the situation of the battle through a messenger sent by Lord Langbolt and Atalanta..
There are approximately five hundred troops currently stationed in Eisbowald..
The non-guard guard I have with me is about two hundred, and the Milgrester family's troops are about three hundred..
The Milgrester family's army was also quite damaged, so only about a hundred elite soldiers remained, and except for about fifty conscripts, all of them were mercenaries. They are hired by Count Aeneas at a price much higher than the market price to make up for the shortage. Although they are not very reliable, they are a force that will do the job for one person..
Keeping the imperial army in check from the direction of Topal are the armies of Atalanta and Lord Langbold, totaling about seven hundred..
Although some of the troops stationed on the Daybal Road were recovered and barely able to balance the numbers, there is no doubt that both the Nudein warriors and the Ulshore family soldiers are useful resources. Their morale is high due to continued victories, and they are well-armed due to ample distribution of loot..
As I placed the pieces on the map one by one, I glanced to the east. I had left that place blank on the map, but I couldn't do that anymore. Soon, the enemy and allies coming from the east were to mingle and engage in a decisive battle..
I gathered recently obtained information and news and filled in the eastern part of the map..
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