Those on the Run (2)
Of course Johan refused.
“I appreciate the castellan’s offer, but I want to join the pursuit with my subordinates.”
“If that’s what you wish, then I can’t insist.”
The other party reluctantly backed down, convinced by Johan’s reasoning.
Originally, a large number was not necessary for this kind of pursuit. After the pursuit team exceeds a certain number, it can often become more disadvantageous. The speed slows down and the enemy can discover them first.
Since the opponent was fleeing anyway, they would be moving in small groups, so what Johan needed was the ability to track them down, not fighting ability. If the opponents were unexpectedly numerous, they could simply turn around without fighting and call the main troops.
It seemed the young count intended to take only his knights and pursue quickly. It would be difficult to force company on him.
‘𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯.’
After achieving victory and receiving acclaim, it would be natural for someone to become lax, but seeing that he did not relax his guard at all and intended to set out, the castellan honestly admired him.
As he watched those preparing to set out, Johan thought to himself,
‘𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧.’
If he had been together with them during the pursuit as well, he really might have shot one of them with an arrow out of irritation.
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“Do you guys know how to hunt and track here?”
At Achladda’s words, the others nodded as if in agreement. The veteran mercenaries and eastern warriors serving under Johan were all from different places, and accordingly, their pride was strong.
This chase was also a fight for their self-esteem.
One of the mercenaries opened his mouth. Originally, he was in a position where he could not dare open his mouth, but Johan did not care about such things. Whether he was a ten-man commander or a baron, he could speak if he had something to say.
“The guys are probably trying to get back as quickly as possible now. Let’s block the road and catch people.”
The highway that had been handed down since the days of the ancient Empire was one of the best built roads.
From the perspective of those escaping, following that road would feel quite tempting.
Iselia nodded at those words. It was a reasonable thing to say.
However, Johan and Suetlg shook their heads.
“The likelihood seems low.”
“His Excellency the Count is right. The enemy will think that far. Everyone will chase them on the road first, but they won’t do that without blocking troops.”
After Adviko took only a few escorts and withdrew from the battlefield, the right wing of the enemy that had somehow withdrawn safely from the battlefield also scattered.
Since the situation had already gone bad, there was no reason to join together and fight anymore.
Knights fleeing to return to their fiefdoms, mercenaries escaping with their property. . . In a situation like this where just saving one’s own life was busy enough, Adviko’s commands, leadership, and communications did not work.
Adviko himself would also prioritize his own safety first, of course.
“You might be able to escape by riding a horse at full speed along the road for a day or two. But Mairene City is not that close, and Adviko has come too deep into the territory of the Order.”
Driving horses at full speed was not an easy task either. Villages along the road were needed to exchange horses.
But around here were the fiefs of the Order or nobles strongly influenced by the Order. Even if they took Adviko’s side, seeing the penniless Adviko, the possibility of betrayal was high.
“Of course, this is all just my guess. As a nobleman, Adviko may also have pride and is going back dignifiedly along the road.”
“In any case, wouldn’t others have caught him first in that case? Let’s go with the less likely possibility. So what do you think happened?”
At Johan’s words, Suetlg smiled thinly. If he were another nobleman, he would have only heard what he wanted to hear. But no matter how high Johan’s position became, he never changed his original attitude.
“If it were me, I would pretend to be a mercenary or a merchant.”
“Isn’t that too far-fetched, wizard-nim?”
“Of course it could be humiliating. . . but isn’t it the best method?”
The escaping soldiers and the merchants accompanying the army were countless now. Pretending to be one of them would not arouse much suspicion.
Iselia tilted her head as if puzzled.
‘𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯?’
Elf knights rarely used such tactics unless absolutely necessary due to their racial pride.
But Adviko was not an elf, and neither were the Empire figures accompanying him. The idea of disguising themselves and escaping was quite plausible.
“Alright. Assuming they disguised themselves. . . How can we catch these guys then?”
“The escaping side always has the advantage. If you hide and escape like that, it’s hard to even get rumors. There’s no choice but to get ahead of them and wait in a place they’re likely to stop by, right?”
Everyone present nodded their heads. There were several forks in the road back to Mairene City, but there were a few towns located at the places where those roads diverged.
Of course, even if you get to those towns first, you could still miss them if you diverge. But Johan was willing to accept that much misfortune.
It was better than blindly chasing the enemy’s trail like other nobles, wasn’t it?
‘𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵. . . 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵.’
He could be sufficiently satisfied just by winning the battle. Johan decided to empty his mind and chase.
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The mood of Adviko and the Empire people was as heavy as a lump of lead. It was because of the unexpected shocking defeat.
Winning and losing in battle is as common as eating, but it is not common to lose so badly.
It is common for small skirmishes to occur several times, the side that is disadvantageous leads the army to retreat, but it is rare for the entire army to be destroyed and flee like this.
But now that this has happened, they had to accept reality.
“. . .You should go back to the city to deal with the situation.”
“. . . . . .”
At Uterman’s words, Adviko nodded. He wanted to get angry but he didn’t even have the energy for that.
However, even if they returned to the city, it was doubtful whether there would be a solution.
Having lost most of the army they brought out, it would not be surprising if the city people rebelled and drove Adviko and his family out.
Considering the relationship with the Order, the possibility was high.
“Sir Uterman. Isn’t this a bit too much, even if you say that?”
Complaints came from among the knights about the appearance of pulling shabby carts while walking, wearing rough cloth over armor, and deliberately dirtying the horse’s fur.
At that time, they were disguising themselves as merchants.
“We must be prepared for the enemy to chase us.”
“How can those guys chase us to the place we escaped when they don’t even have wings?”
“I see. But in the villages we visit from now on, there could be someone who poisons the food you eat, right?”
“. . . . . .”
At Uterman’s words, the knight shut his mouth, unable to retort. It seemed the matter was settled, but one irritable knight was unconvinced and persisted.
“Are you telling me to just bear it when those damned serfs go crazy? I can cut them down as soon as they charge.”
“Sir Metzger. That’s enough.”
“I can’t. It’s frustrating enough to be defeated in battle, and Sir Uterman keeps insulting the honor of knights!”
The current party consisted of Adviko and the Empire people, along with their attendants. Among the Empire people, aside from Uterman and his slaves, all were knights and squires.
It was only natural they harbored much discontent about this defeat. In their eyes, the wizards on the left flank were greatly to blame.
What did they do to collapse and get penetrated so quickly? It wouldn’t have happened if they just stood still.
“Arguing now won’t do any good.”
The other knights tried to pacify Metzger, but he kept on ranting. The knights even apologized to Uterman on his behalf.
“Sor. . . Sorry, Sir Uterman.”
“I understand. It’s only natural for a knight to react like that.”
Uterman smiled benevolently. Then he called Metzger.
“Sir Metzger. Come here.”
“. . .?”
Although puzzled, Metzger stood in front of Uterman. Then in an instant, his face turned black and he coughed up blood before collapsing to the side.
“Cough, cough. . .!”
“!!”
Uterman looked down at the convulsing Metzger with small, jet-black pupils devoid of any trace of laughter. Eventually Metzger’s breathing stopped.
“It seems Sir Metzger had a chronic illness. Hey. You need to take care of your master’s corpse.”
“. . .Y-Yes!”
Despite his master dying right before his eyes, the squire didn’t even dare to meet Uterman’s eyes as he dealt with Metzger’s corpse.
The knights who were complaining earlier didn’t even dare to breathe loudly as they glanced at Uterman. Only now did Uterman’s reputation occur to them.
Uterman the Hexer!
It was said he had killed many nobles on the emperor’s orders, and seeing his actions today, it seemed those rumors were not unfounded.
“Be more careful in your speech and conduct henceforth. Someone else might contract a chronic illness!”
Uterman said in a raspy voice. Then he turned to Adviko.
“We should move quickly.”
“O-Okay.”
Adviko felt a chill down his spine, having caught a glimpse of Uterman’s true nature.
He had thought Uterman was a supporter sent by the emperor, but he was much more sinister than expected.
‘𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰!’
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The mercenaries smirked as they looked at Johan. His Excellency the Count had lowered his banner and taken off his characteristic surcoat, dressing up like a mercenary.
Johan was an easygoing master, but disguising himself like this was another matter. If it had been another nobleman, the mercenary’s suggestion would have cost him his head.
“Do I look like a mercenary?”
“You look like a country bumpkin who’s just come up from the countryside, Your Excellency.”
“I guess the disguise is decent.”
Since he was pursuing anyway, Johan decided to disguise himself as a mercenary. If he had wandered around carrying his family’s banner, his target might have escaped.
Surely even the most cautious fugitive would not expect his pursuers to don disguises and give chase.
“Your Excellency need only remain still. If you remain still, no one will suspect you.”
When looking at a mercenary, the first thing that was assessed along with their equipment was their face. The rougher, more scarred and weathered the face, the more it symbolized experience.
In that regard, Johan’s still somewhat youthful face was practically announcing ’𝘐’𝘮 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵!’.
“You shall say that I am the master who hired you mercenaries.”
“A role that suits you perfectly.”
Suetlg said with a satisfied expression. However, Jyanina did not have a satisfied look. She had taken on the role of Iselia’s maid.
“I’ll treat you well. No need to worry.”
When Iselia patted Jyanina’s head as she said this, Jyanina swore to herself.
Phemoia was a fairly large town with over a thousand residents. While not on the Empire Highway, it was connected to several other major roads, and had multiple routes leading north.
“From asking around, it seems those guys haven’t arrived yet.”
The mercenaries who had gone on reconnaissance returned with bright expressions. It had been worth recklessly riding their horses.
“They could have gone elsewhere, but isn’t this enough to be hopeful?”
“I suppose so. But don’t let your guard down, they could be disguising themselves as something other than mercenaries or merchants. You mustn’t rouse suspicion and act normally.”
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Lucchese, a merchant of the Katana Merchant Guild, took interest when he heard unfamiliar mercenaries had arrived in town.
This town had been growing nonstop recently, attracting more and more people. Naturally, the number of shady types had grown as well.
Lucchese had been getting by with just two guards so far, but he was starting to think about expanding. He had to prepare for bandits and monsters, after all.
“The mercenaries who came last time were useless. Did this new group seem competent?”
“Yes. Solid numbers, seemed disciplined, and their equipment looked good above all.”
“Is that so?”
Lucchese said, rubbing his hands together as he walked off, an expectant look on his face.