“Mercenaries are on the move. Isn’t that a problem?”
“What are their intentions in coming down here?”
The pirate leaders gathered at Marquis Crucho fief frowned.
They knew that mercenary groups numbering several thousand were wandering around the northwest. But clashes were surprisingly few.
It was a kind of unspoken agreement.
The mercenaries also came to plunder, and the pirates also came to plunder. There was no need for the two to fight and drain each other’s strength. Except when fighting over treasure, they avoided each other.
But they’re coming down now. They had no choice but to be vigilant.
“Didn’t they say the mercenaries were cursed?”
“It seems they have recovered. They say an excellent priest lifted the curse. . .”
“Don’t talk nonsense. How could a priest of the Outsider God be that excellent.”
To the pirates, the monotheistic denomination was a heretical religion. To those who worshiped the Father God and Mother God of the ditheistic religion, the monotheistic denomination was insignificant.
But an excellent priest was instinctively respected. No matter how pagan the priest was, it was inevitable.
“No, a saint has appeared. He has shown miracles that heal illnesses just by touching. . .”
“What the f**k. . .”
One of the pirate leaders spat out a swear word as if he couldn’t believe it. But he wasn’t the only one saying it. As several of them spoke in unison, even the leader had to back down.
“Don’t spread the word that a saint has appeared over there.”
“The rumor has already spread widely. . .”
“These assh**e b*stards! What’s so scary about a saint!”
“Quiet. The important thing now isn’t that.”
When the young vampire spoke, everyone became quiet. It was a scene revealing the man’s authority. Even though there was a noble right next to him from the Jekyllid Hundred Kingdoms.
Ahir Mulc.
He was the second son of the prestigious Mulc family from the Eastern Empire. The Mulc family also had fiefs in the not too distant Ulcana Peninsula, so it was natural for the pirates to be wary.
“If the mercenaries are aiming for us?”
“Why would mercenaries aim for us if they weren’t crazy? . . .Unless they were out of their minds.”
“There are plenty of reasons. It’s not impossible either.”
Whether they had gone mad with greed or were ordered to, it wasn’t impossible. At Ahir’s words, the others made thoughtful expressions.
Taking over the Marquis fief in high spirits was good, but they hadn’t been able to conquer the essence of Marquis Crucho himself. Marquis Crucho was holding on with astonishing ability.
Now winter was about to come. If they kept staying here, things could get complicated.
“Shall we divide the army in two to intercept them?”
“What about the Marquis’s castle still remaining?”
“It’s just a handful of men relying on the castle walls anyway. Dividing won’t matter. Leave it to me. I will tear those weak mercenaries to shreds and come back.”
“Terrible news!”
“What??”
“The enemy, the enemy’s reinforcements have arrived at the front of Marquis fief!”
It was Johan’s main force, which had advanced swiftly to Marquis fief.
It was an advance that pierced the pirates’ negligence after remaining still for a while to the south.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
𝔞𝙬ė̇𝕓𝚜𝙩ᴏṙ̇𝕚𝔢𝚜.𝚌𝚘𝚖
“We’ve passed the first barrier at least.”
After entering the Marquis fief, Johan inspected his troops while talking. While crossing the river behind them, all the boats were burned and the remaining bridges were broken.
Now that this was the case, the pirates could not escape. The pirates had to either cross the bridge behind Johan’s troops or turn around and get out of the Marquis’ fief.
Both were impossible. His troops couldn’t possibly fail to chase the movement of such an army. The pirates had no cavalry, and mercenaries were coming down from above.
“When the mercenaries come down from the north, the pirates will be surrounded from front and back, Your Excellency! How will the pirates follow Your Excellency’s strategy?”
The vassals desperately tried to impress Johan. Especially since this was the Marquis fief. By leading the army here, they had truly crossed a river of no return.
‘𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵.’
‘𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴!’
Those who had been vassals of the Marquis rather than Johan were desperate. They were determined to make Johan capture the Marquis no matter what. Otherwise, it was dangerous for them.
“I must say that I will take the vanguard. I must break the fervor of the enemies!”
“You’re right. We must show the pagans the valor of knights!”
Some knights came looking for Johan. It was quite common for knights to come forward and demonstrate their skills before a fight.
It looked absurd to Johan, but it was directly related to the soldiers’ morale.
“You just went out on patrol.”
“?! “
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
𝘢ẇ̇ᴇ𝘣sṫ̇ᴏʀ𝙞𝐞𝚜.𝕔𝐨𝙢
Johan himself was leading his guards and approaching the pirates’ forces.
Far in the distance, the faint figure of the Marquis’s castle could be seen. It was a castle located on a mountain, focused on defense. It seemed it could hold out for a while.
Nearby were scattered pirate camps. Johan narrowed his eyes and glared at them.
‘𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴?’
But since he hadn’t, he had to get closer now. Though his guards would worry, Johan was determined to persuade them to bring him along.
However, there was no need.
“. . .?!”
As he glared into the distance, the pirate forces seemed to get closer and closer into view. It felt as if he was using a telescope even though he wasn’t.
Johan didn’t have bad eyesight, but this was like an eagle’s eyes. Johan was startled and blinked.
‘𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦?’
The mysterious power flowing through his body seemed to invigorate his eyes.
‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩. . .? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺? 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺.’
Anyway, there was no reason not to see what the power was lending. Johan narrowed his eyes and glared at the enemies. Some camps were quite orderly despite the disorder. Several banners that looked like noble family crests could also be seen.
“There really are nobles.”
“You. . .you can see that?!”
The guards were surprised. Then the priest next to him spoke.
“If God himself has revealed it, of course you can see it.”
The priests regarded the pagan temple purge as a kind of revelation. With a big fight ahead, it was a natural thing.
“A few are coming from that hill!”
Although the guards warned of horsemen discovered below the hill, it was unnecessary. The opponents had a white flag attached.
They were envoys coming for negotiations.