𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 (6)
In addition, recently there have been many families in the empire who have lost their fiefdoms. Using them as an excuse made the disguise even easier.
“How do I look?”
“You look very credible.”
The mercenary who took on the role of a knight, Fulleriesi, had a skill that others did not have, even though his position was only a sub-captain. He was skilled at disguise and camouflage.
He had an impressive record, impersonating barons with fiefdoms in cities or famous knights in towns. Having experienced near-death situations several times, Fulleriesi was not afraid of such things.
“The other sub-captain b*stards can’t take on this mission. Let alone those plump knights on the ship. If I didn’t have Adviko-nim’s trust, how could I have taken on such a mission?”
“You’re absolutely right!”
The slaves agreed with Fulleriesi’s words. His subordinate mercenaries also agreed.
Of course, to Adviko, Fulleriesi was just a replaceable horse. If he was really a valued subordinate, he would not have sent him to such a dangerous place.
But to the mercenaries, it seemed like a tremendous opportunity. It was a line cast by the ruler of a city. From the perspective of mercenaries who wandered the roads, slept rough, and killed each other over a single silver coin, it was a refreshing offer.
“But I heard Count Yeats is a great knight. . .”
One of the mercenaries said worriedly. Johan’s reputation had spread beyond the mountain range to the Holy Empire.
Few were as sensitive to rumors as mercenaries, and those participating this time had roughly checked the rumors. The mix of exaggerated rumors made it even more daunting.
“Don’t worry. He’s just a kid. How many nobles have I dealt with?”
Fulleriesi set off confidently. It was natural for him to be confident.
Although Johan’s achievements as a knight were great, Fulleriesi was not going to cross swords with Johan now.
Since he was just trying to gain trust by stirring things up a bit and then send back information, there was no need to be afraid. Fulleriesi actually thought it was even better.
If someone so young has achieved such merits, they would become arrogant. Especially if they were nobility. Such people were easy to deal with.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
“. . . . . .”
When Fulleriesi faced Johan, he froze instinctively. The huge wolf sitting next to Johan growled and glared at Fulleriesi.
“You must have had a hard time coming here, Sir.”
“Oh. . .no, Your Excellency Count. I’m just grateful that you accepted my surrender.”
After finishing the procedures, Fulleriesi, who came to the front of Johan’s tent, tried his best to straighten his collapsing posture.
It was much more oppressive than he had thought.
The atmosphere of Count Yeats’ camp was completely different from that of other nobles’ camps. Starting with centaurs and dwarves, there was an inexplicable sense of alienation.
The wolf next to Johan completed that atmosphere. Even though he knew that beast would not pounce without the Count’s order, he was still scared.
“Have a seat. Pour yourself a drink.”
“Yes. . .thank you.”
Jyanina peeked out from behind the tent. Johan had instructed her to speak out if she recognized the visitor’s face.
But it was an unfamiliar face.
Suetlg next to her asked.
“What do you think?”
“Well. . .I don’t know.”
“That’s fine. I didn’t expect much anyway.”
“. . . . . .”
Sitting down, Fulleriesi carefully received the glass. The deep, aromatic wine sloshed inside.
Originally, he was going to tease and seduce the other party as soon as they met, but strangely his mouth wouldn’t open.
It was because of the unique presence the Count in front of him exuded. At first he thought it was because of the wolf, but as he got used to it, he could distinguish who was emitting that presence.
‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰. . .’
Fortunately, as the alcohol went in, the tension in his body relaxed a bit. Fulleriesi cursed Adviko and the other nobles, the expedition soldiers, and the knights from the empire.
Johan occasionally asked about the composition of the expedition and famous knights. Fulleriesi did not deliberately hide anything. There was no information worth hiding, and often a mere knight would not know much confidential information anyway. He could just say he didn’t know.
“Are you from the empire too?”
“Yes, I am. I got caught up in the southern conquest and had to leave the empire. . .”
Johan looked at Fulleriesi as if puzzled. He could not have expected it. That a participant who left during the southern rebellion in the empire would be right in front of him.
“Oh my. You were unlucky. Who did you serve?”
“I was serving Baron Zinen.”
Fulleriesi spoke smoothly. This part was already prepared. The baron was in fact a quite influential noble in the southwest of the empire. He also employed several mercenary knights, so claiming to be one of them made sense.
“Baron Zinen. . .”
“Do you know him?”
“No. I’ve only heard the name.”
In fact, he knew him well. His territory wasn’t very far from Johan’s hometown. He was on a completely different level than a knight like Sir Gessen who only had a small town, but still. . .
In any case, nobles of that level would have rumors floating around about them even if they just stayed put. His brothers used to entertain vain hopes of making successful marriages with the baron’s children.
“I heard the baron’s forest is very good for hunting.”
“Of course. I’ve been in a few times myself, and the beasts were quite docile, barely fleeing. . .”
“That must have been fun. How was the town?”
“There was a monastery that made pretty good beer, so that was nice.”
Fulleriesi’s answers were plausible and vivid. Even Johan who had been suspicious was a bit confused.
‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?’
Johan felt something suspicious while talking with Fulleriesi. To confirm, he asked various questions and the other answered very well.
But one cannot torture and interrogate an innocent knight just because. . .
‘𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.’
Johan waited patiently. As a human, if one keeps talking, they are bound to make a mistake somewhere.
Fulleriesi had ignored Johan as a young count, but it was he who got caught. Without even realizing, he just kept chattering on while Johan listened.
He hadn’t even begun his original plan to charm Johan.
“I heard the baron handles his spear very well, is it true?”
“Ah yes, that’s true, count. He has hunted down a beast as big as a house all by himself without his subordinates’ help.”
“So the rumors were true.”
“Of course not as good as you, count. . .”
“I heard the baron’s firstborn is very good with the bow, how about that?”
When the baron’s children were mentioned, Fulleriesi was flustered. He didn’t even know about the children’s talents.
But there was no need to panic. He just had to find an opening in Johan’s question and make up a satisfying answer.
“He can shoot two birds flying in the sky with one arrow. Amazing skill.”
“I see.”
Johan nodded and called Gerdolf over. Fulleriesi, not fully grasping the situation, was puzzled.
“This is Sir Gerdolf. One of my most loyal knights.”
Gerdolf’s eyes showed his pride. Fulleriesi greeted Gerdolf, feeling things were going rather well. He already felt quite friendly with him.
“Nice to meet you, Sir Gerdolf.”
“Gerdolf. Take him out and make him spill everything.”
“. . .????”
Fulleriesi wondered what he meant. Johan said coldly.
“The baron’s firstborn doesn’t have one arm. What bow skill?”
“. . .!!!!”
It was like having cold water poured on him. More than the fear, Fulleriesi was shocked to realize he had been dancing on the count’s palm.
He knew the baron??
Then could it be. . . all those casual questions from earlier. . .?
“You said you didn’t know the baron. . .?”
“Not just you can lie.”
“. . .!!!”
Gerdolf grabbed Fulleriesi’s shoulder and said slowly.
“Come with me.”
Fulleriesi struggled instinctively. Just a habitual resistance. But his opponent was Gerdolf.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐦!
Gerdolf mercilessly slapped and kicked and trampled Fulleriesi. Fulleriesi screamed and tumbled around.
“Gerdolf. Don’t kill him. We need to make him cooperate.”
In less than an hour of being dragged out, Fulleriesi spilled everything and swore to cooperate.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
“Baron, take the left side. Gong, take the right side.”
As Johan gave the order, the nobles had expressions mixed with anticipation, anxiety, and competitiveness.
Now they were preparing an ambush.
Since it was already known that Fulleriesi was a spy, there was no choice but to take advantage of that. Johan spread information through Fulleriesi. He said that a bishop from the Order would stop by a town not too far away while traveling.
Capturing one bishop did not have tremendous strategic value, but the bishop had a ransom value. There would be quite a few among the enemies whose eyes lit up for gold.
Speed was life in things like this, and the scale would not be too big either, perfect for ambushing and striking.
‘𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.’
Although he remained at the headquarters, Johan was also greedy for money. The more ransom the better. Also, for opponents in a messy situation like the enemy, even a defeat like this would deal a bigger blow. If lucky, some unexpected effects could also be expected.
. . .The problem was that the eyes of the others were not easy either.
Despite Johan conceding the vanguard, no one had achieved any particularly noticeable feats. They had just fought decent battles.
In this situation, the ambush was an attractive opportunity. They had to establish clear achievements here and obtain war booty.
“Ambush around the town, and when they come in, charge in all at once. No one should charge early or late. Understand?”
“Don’t worry, count. We’ll do that.”
“We shall do as the count says. No need to worry.”
‘𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴’ 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨?’
Johan swore to himself.
It was different from when he was a mere knight leading soldiers around. Dealing with these tangled nobles was an entirely different matter.
In short. . .
Annoyingly disobedient people!
When there were so many who charged and rushed recklessly even at the king’s summons, how much would the words of a count, not even their own lord, mean?
“Does it matter? Anyway, it won’t need to be perfect. Even if there’s some difference, the moment they step in, they won’t be able to run away.”
Suetlg was much more accustomed to such behavior from nobles than Johan. He didn’t find it particularly strange.
“That may be so, but it is frustrating.”
“Isn’t it always like that when commanding forces gathered from many places? Don’t let it trouble you too much.”
Suetlg comforted Johan.
“Even though it’s annoying, it was a good decision to give them this opportunity. Their eyes may be bloodshot now, unable to think straight, but after achieving merits, their minds will return and they will be grateful for your grace.”
It was customary for people to express gratitude when their stomachs were a bit fuller. Although they were blinded by greed now, after gaining some achievements, they would suddenly become appreciative of the opportunity Johan had given them. It was natural since it was related to their own honor.
Johan nodded. That’s why he called those guys in the first place, because he agreed with that judgment.
“Head to the center. Move out!”
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The ambush was almost successful.
At least hundreds of enemies swarmed into the town under the cover of darkness. Although they were not visible, the hidden friendly forces seemed to be thrilled.
“Charge! Charge!”
“Don’t let the enemies get away!!”
‘𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.’
But what happened next was also as expected. As soon as it was confirmed that the enemies had entered the town, the assault began without Johan’s order. The left flank rushed out first, and the right flank also started the assault for fear of missing out.
Instead of an orderly encirclement, a messy melee ensued. Johan, who was leading the soldiers, clicked his tongue.
‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯.’
It seemed better to observe the situation than to get mixed up and have his own troops fight each other. Although it was chaotic, his troops still overwhelmingly outmatched the enemy. After all, they had them surrounded.
If the enemies collapsed like this, then the pursuit. . .
“Count, Your Excellency! Count, Your Excellency!”
“Have you come to get permission to pursue?”
Johan asked without much thought as a messenger rushed over from the right flank. It looked like quite a few were already fleeing.
“Please help us!”
“. . .What?”
Johan was surprised and double checked. Surprisingly, it was his own troops that were fleeing.