Those on the Run (1)
โ. . . . . .โ
“. . .”
An awkward silence filled the tent where the nobles were gathered. The pagan expert noble who had been arguing that they should retreat earlier awkwardly avoided eye contact.
A noble who had no battle experience and knew little about command spoke up quizzically.
Are they trying to lure us?
Unless they are complete fools, they would not try to lure us like that.
One of the nobles murmured. Indeed, what he said was true. If they wait a little, the opponent was retreating at full speed. To lure someone, you need to match the speed to some extent, but the opponent was abandoning the spoils and supplies they had gathered and was running away.
The nobles did not know whether they should be happy or embarrassed about this situation, so they just kept looking at each other.
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
It would have been best if they had captured several guys from Adviko and the Empire, but they ran away first.
Johan was regretful, but did not chase after Adviko. There was too much to do.
“Chase after those b*stards!”
Both the center and left were worried. If we had chased after Adviko and their allied camp collapsed, there would be nothing more absurd.
The warriors seemed regretful as they turned their heads in succession to look in the direction Adviko had escaped.
“Still. . . even if His Excellency is not here, there’s no way the others, who are not *ssholes, would immediately collapse, right?”
“Assume they are *ssholes.”
“. . . . . .”
At Johan’s words, the warriors who were grumbling closed their mouths. They could feel genuine anger mixed in.
If Johan’s leadership was weak, there would have been people who refused the order and ran out, but Johan’s presence was too great for that.
The warriors attacked the crumbling center of the enemies. Realizing their commanders had fled, the helpless enemies collapsed and fled. In such chaos, having several times more in number meant nothing.
“Don’t bother chasing the escaping ones! Maintain formation! Take care of the remaining guys first!”
When the enemy’s center collapsed beyond recognition, Johan received a report that the enemy’s right wing was also escaping.
‘๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ.’
Johan heaved a sigh of relief. The enemies on the other side clearly panicked and fled hastily, realizing the allied army had escaped over there.
From Johan’s perspective, it was rather fortunate. After all, they had just gone through several intense battles without rest. He did not really want to clash with still robust enemies in this condition.
While his side had the enemies surrounded, to be honest, the allied encirclement was far from robust enough. . .
‘๐๐ต’๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด.’
โThose guys are escaping! Let’s fight fair and square!โ
โCome back, you cowardly cravens!โ
“. . . . . .”
Seeing the warriors next to him yelling tirelessly, Johan was dumbfounded. Even the veteran mercenaries, elites to some extent, were now sprawled on their horses, exhausted. . .
In fact, the mercenaries were hesitating whether to stop the warriors or not, staring at them.
โ๐๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ.โ
Johan looked over the battlefield with a strange sense of catharsis mixed in. The disorganized escape of countless enemies was a luxury only the victor could enjoy.
. . .Of course, for Johan, this allied force was one that made him grit his teeth, swearing never to join forces and fight again. . .
โGood job. With this, it should be quiet for a while. No need to think too far ahead for now.โ
Starting with chasing the remaining enemies, and how to request compensation from Mairene City which dared attack the Order. . .
These were not issues Johan had to worry about now.
โWe were very lucky in many ways.โ
Seeing how things were going, if Johan had not come out early, it could have really become dangerous. If the center and left had collapsed, even Johan’s elite troops would have had to retreat first, no matter how outstanding they were.
โYes. We were really lucky. Especially Jyanina. . .โ
At Suetlg’s words, Johan nodded. Jyaninaโs feats were unexpected to both Johan and Suetlg.
Jyanina drove the suddenly appearing trolls and swamp drakes into a frenzy before they even reached this side. They started rampaging amidst the enemies, and the effect was tremendous.
Johan reflected. He had underestimated Jyanina too much. Every skill has its use. . .
โShe was a great wizard. From now on, I should treat her with more courtesy.โ
Iselia went ‘๐บ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด’ and nodded. Jyaninaโs feats seemed to have left a strong impression on her.
โNo, thereโs no need for that.โ
โItโs not to that extent. Iselia.โ
The two spoke decisively. Iselia had an elven demeanor, which could become troublesome if handled poorly.
โThereโs no need for that. Giving her a proper reward will satisfy her.โ
โI intend to do so. However. . .โ
โ?โ
โSeeing the opponents, they seemed to be wizards from the Empire. Was it okay for her to step up and be so active?โ
It would be good if the wizards did not recognize Jyanina in that situation, but that seemed unlikely given the circumstances. They would surely report back about Jyaninaโs impression.
โ. . .Well, she already had a grudge against the emperor faction. Adding a bit more to that. . .โ
โIt doesn’t seem to just be a small addition.โ
While Jyanina could not return due to messing up the viscount-related affairs, what she did today was on another level.
The nobles who had forgotten about Jyaninaโs existence might become furious when they hear about today’s events, to the point of sending assassins after her.
Jyanina was highly likely unaware of such a situation. She was far removed from political insight or capabilities after all.
โI think I should tell her about this.โ
โYou really are a generous man.โ
โI think so too. My dear.โ
โ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐๐บ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ.โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
To welcome Johan who had returned with his army, Bishop Castilionne went to Johan’s tent in person, leading his guards.
It might have seemed excessive, but no one said so. In the central camp, there were many who had witnessed Johan’s charge.
When Johan led the soldiers at the very front and charged, the enemies just collapsed. While there were people who fought shoulder to shoulder with Johan, the only one that caught the eye was the young count.
Those who had underestimated the young count’s military prowess shut their mouths after witnessing the battle in person.
Whether a heavily armed knight or a bare conscript, they were equal before Johan’s sword. Every time he swung his sword, the enemies fell, and later they couldn’t even put up a fight and fled.
The bishop blessed Johan in person with the relics he had prepared, praising his exploits.
“Your Excellency Count. What Your Excellency Count has done for the Order will never be forgotten!”
Johan humbly accepted the praise. The nobles who had come with the bishop cautiously joined in the praise. As they had many sore spots, they participated in the praise much more exaggeratedly.
As the nobles who led the soldiers were given considerable rights accordingly, so was their responsibility. The nobles were not so generous as to just let those who had caused disturbances be.
If another nobleman in charge of another area fled even when one fought hard himself, wouldnโt he be furious?
If they had lost, the bishop wouldnโt have stopped Johan from challenging anyone to a duel out of anger.
“How dare you butt in! I heard it all. You tried to flee like a coward, didn’t you?”
“I-It’s a misunderstanding. I just stepped back temporarily to regroup because the situation was unfavorable. . .”
“That excuse is for cowards!”
While Johan, who should be angry, remained silent, the nobles who were with Johan on the right erupted in condemnation.
They were confident and overflowing with righteous indignation. As the opponents also knew it, they couldn’t properly make excuses.
โWhat were you doing while the count was cutting, smashing, and stabbing the enemies with his sword, spear, and mace! I fought at the very front with the count. Arrows pierced my skin and swords grazed my face, yet I did not stop!โ
They harshly condemned the nobles on the left who had tried to flee. They were proud and overflowing with legitimate confidence. As the opponents also knew it, they couldnโt properly make excuses.
However, Johan found it preposterous.
โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐จ๐ถ๐บ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ.โ
From Johanโs perspective, it was absurd that those who couldnโt properly ambush and caused disturbances blamed others for not fighting well. Of course they desperately fought with the soldiers afterwards, but. . .
Honestly, it seemed it wouldnโt have made much difference if they werenโt there.
“Shouldn’t we stop them?”
Johan quietly asked the bishop. The battle hadnโt completely finished yet, so it wasnโt good for them to bite and tear at each other like that.
“Why should we stop them?”
“. . .”
The Bishop of Castilionne looked at Johan as if he really didnโt understand.
Just because one is a bishop doesnโt mean one unconditionally loves peace and encourages reconciliation. If one was that slow-witted, one wouldnโt have been able to rise to the position of bishop either.
While it made sense to stop the quarrel since the fight wasnโt over yet, the bishop preferred punishing the useless cowards.
Besides, it wasnโt the bishop but other nobles who stepped forward and fought.
Johan realized he was the only one in this place who could stop the fight.
“Everyone, stop. They probably didn’t act cowardly on purpose either. According to the knights who were with them, I heard they fought quite bravely too.”
“???”
Johan’s knights looked at Johan in puzzlement.
They were the ones who hurriedly came to him as soon as the battle ended, saying โ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฃ*๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด! ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ด ๐๐น๐ค๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ. . .!โ
And now they bravely fought?
“If His Excellency says so. . .”
The feudal lords who were angry also hesitated, wondering what more they could say when the person who should be angriest said that.
The nobles who were condemned sent Johan grateful looks from their hearts and slightly bowed their heads.
The grace given at times like this left a deeper impression than a hundred words of courtesy or gift boxes full of gold coins. They sincerely thanked Johan in their hearts.
โ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ! ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต.โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
As the fighting was more or less over, one knight cautiously opened his mouth.
“Should we not chase after the escaping enemies?”
At those words, all those who had just fought nodded their heads at the same time. It was something worth doing.
Although the spoils of war and hostages gained from today’s battle were considerable, many had escaped. Adviko and his adjutants, as well as the knights and wizards from the Empire, and so on.
If they were captured, they could extract a huge ransom.
Originally, even if they escaped, it would not have been easy to chase them with so many soldiers. But this time was different. They had escaped with only their bodies from a completely collapsed state.
If we can catch them before they get out of this region!
“You’re right. Let’s organize a pursuit team quickly!”
“Your Excellency Count, will you come with us?”
“No.”
Johan flatly refused. He would never agree to catch them alone and then catch them together with these nobles who would turn them inside out.
“Your Excellency must be worried about the baron. To match your words, the baron may have to fall down.”
“These guys. . .”
As the other nobles added as if they were being condescending, the baron glared at them angrily.
“Fine. I will definitely catch those city b*stards and show them to you!”
“I want to go too. Bishop, you will allow me to join the pursuit, won’t you?”
Since the number was like grains of sand from the beginning, it was similar during the pursuit.
The nobles were stimulated by the competitive spirit mixed with the resentment that had just occurred. The nobles who had subordinates who could ride horses embarked on the pursuit without hesitation.
“. . .Your Excellency Count. Our family has a horse with good lineage that we would like to give you as a gift. Would you like to join us?”
Some feudal lords cautiously approached Johan despite having seen him be flatly rejected just before. It was more because they wanted to build closer ties with Johan rather than wanting to capture the enemy.