𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 (6)
The pirates have gone crazy.
Johan was also confused by the sudden report. What is this all about?
However, after hearing the details, Johan also had no choice but to understand.
“. . .It seems the pirate b*stards have gone crazy.”
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Some of the pirates who were lower nobility escaped. They were shouting surrender and demanding their rights and safety be guaranteed.
It would have been nonsense if the opponent was a pirate, but it was a viable argument since they were nobility. But there was a more important issue for Johan.
Why did they run away?
━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬! 𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞. . .
━𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞?
━𝐘𝐞𝐬.
Surprisingly, the pirates had taken the Marquis’ ancestral home, Idra Castle. They had conquered the sturdy castle that had not taken a scratch even after being bombarded for over a month.
Of course it was not through normal siege tactics. The pirates had thoroughly searched the vicinity and found relatives of people working inside the castle. And they continually tried to bribe them.
Threats, bribes, persuasion. . .
It was still not an easy path since the pirates were pagans. Persuasion was even more difficult. But in the end there was a traitor. It was one of the Marquis’ servants.
A servant of a high ranked noble like a Marquis would usually be a position taken by a petty noble, and as such was sensitive to rumors. The trigger for the Marquis’ servant changing sides was ironically because of Johan.
He had misunderstood Johan’s troops as reinforcements for the pirates, and turned sides to save his own life.
━𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫?
━𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬. . .
The Nusard brothers had a lot of complaints about Ahir. It was natural for the old family of the Jekyllid Hundred Kingdoms to have to hand over command to an outsider.
With Johan adding fuel to their dissatisfaction, they started moving more actively.
They tried to capture Ahir and his close aides to take over command.
They didn’t intend to kill them. They only wanted to threaten them after capturing them to take over command. It was still very much in the manageable range.
. . .But the day they decided to take action happened to be the day Ahir opened the gates and took the enemy castle.
Ahir had not informed those around him about the bribery process for security reasons, and as a result things had become terribly entangled.
First the castle was taken. When the gates opened and the enemy flags were raised on the castle walls, the Marquis panicked.
The Marquis escaped with just his guards, and the remaining soldiers immediately collapsed losing their will.
After that a fierce civil war broke out inside the castle.
The Nusard brothers led the warriors and charged in. Ahir also resisted with his men but they were unprepared and helpless. Ahir also escaped somewhere with just his guards.
Then those among the pirates who followed Ahir or were on Ahir’s side also fled in fear. The Nusard brothers tried to persuade them somehow but such persuasion was useless.
The situation of those who fled was also hopeless. They were surrounded by enemies.
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𝚊𝕨𝘦ḃ̇s𝐭𝐨𝚛𝔦ᴇs.𝚌𝕠𝙢
“So they came to surrender to me?”
It was better to properly surrender to the military of nobility. If they fell into the hands of mercenaries by mistake, they could suffer all kinds of humiliation and die.
“Yes. . .”
“. . . . . .”
No matter how foggy the battlefield was, it was such a chaotic situation.
The vassals were also at a loss for words due to the confusion. It was too sudden a change.
At this time, only Johan could make a decision. Johan shouted firmly.
“Call the vassals! We will attack the pirates right now!”
“. . .We shall follow your words!”
Johan’s vassals who followed him shouted with joy on their faces. In such turmoil, masters who radiate light are trustworthy lords. To the vassals, Johan seemed full of conviction.
If God had not allowed it, how could he have such conviction in this situation?
‘𝘈𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.’
Johan checked his mind. There were too many things happening that even Johan’s mind was complicated.
‘𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴’ 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. . . 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘩𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰.’
Although his mind was complicated, his body moved without the slightest hesitation. In an instant the vassals awoke the troops and finished preparations to advance.
“With the sacred mission given by God, we will subjugate the pirates. Follow me!”
A roar like thunder followed after. A huge army began charging across the plain.
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No matter how the pirates fought amongst themselves and dwindled in number, they still held the castle. Johan was not reckless enough to attack outright.
Johan selected dozens of well-dressed men then charged forward. The pirates were taken aback by the sudden approach.
“Are they envoys?”
There were still quite a few pirates outside the castle, but they stood aside cluelessly. They did not look like enemies at all.
“Open the gates!”
Seeing Johan’s bold stance as he shouted loudly in Eastern, the pirates hesitated before opening the castle gates. They wondered if the men who came so boldly could really be enemies. Besides, there were only dozens of them.
“The gates are open. Charge!”
“?????!”
Johan charged right in. The cavalry’s assault as they raced in and broke through the castle gates caused the pirates to panic and scatter.
At that moment, the main force led by Johan on the other side of the castle came into view. Seeing the orderly, huge army of over a thousand approaching, the pirates outside the castle jumped in fright.
“Block the gates! The enemy is coming en masse!”
It seemed the pirates had not properly taken control of the castle yet. Despite the gates opening, not more than a few dozen charged in. They were likely drunk and plundering inside the castle.
Johan cut down, crushed, and trampled the enemies. When Karamaf roared ferociously and slashed his claws, a pond of blood formed in front of the gates.
“Surrender! We surrender!”
“Kill those still holding weapons first!”