How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 311

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 (6)

“Not yet. Has all the force gathered?”

Even the ones who have joined the expedition to the Holy Land, not to mention the neighboring feudal lords, are still not around.

If we were to rashly attack, we might end up with a heavy blow.

However, Duke Bronquia was absolutely certain of the current situation.

“Of course, duke. However, think of it this way: Don’t you think they’ll prepare even more if we give them more time? The Holy Land’s defense will grow stronger, and the land around it will fall to the enemies.”

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩?’

The duke’s words went straight through Johan, who had little interest in taking back the Holy Land. However, the duke thought that Johan had been touched by his words.

There was no way a devout person wouldn’t get mad in this situation.

“We’ve had about seven fierce battles on our way here. And not once have we been defeated in those battles. Do you know what that means? It means that God is on our side. Our enemies are not our match!”

“Oh. . .”

Johan listened to what the duke said and expressed his genuine admiration. He revised his opinion of the duke.

Seven battles and not a single defeat? This was not something anyone could do.

‘𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.’

Anyone who has commanded a troop, even a small one, knows how hollow the phrase ‘unbeaten general’ or ‘invincible knight’ is.

In a battle, defeat is sometimes inevitable. 

No matter how hard you fight, if you have bad luck piling up, you could lose. An outstanding commander is called outstanding because they can quickly recover from such a defeat and withdraw.

But here, in this distant foreign land, he won seven battles without a single defeat. This was truly incredible.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“What ■■ ■■■ nonsense!”

Abner’s successor, who they were meeting after a long time, was furious, so instead of speaking, Johan handed her some alcohol. After taking a sip of the strong wine, Ulrike let out a heavy breath and opened her mouth.

“Even the most useless minstrel in the fiefdom would make up a better tall tale than that.”

“Is it that bad?”

Duke Bronquia was an ordinary noble, neither good nor bad. He was not born as a knight, but being the successor of a grand aristocrat made it so he didn’t have to go through the harsh knight lifestyle.

The problem was that he was overconfident in his abilities.

Feudal lords are known to have enormous pride, but shouldn’t they at least not show it when the situation is dangerous?

‘𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮?’

It wasn’t from the empire, the east, or the orient. . .

Johan became curious from an academic standpoint and was about to ask, but he stopped himself. It wasn’t a good atmosphere to be asking questions.

“Those seven battles he won, was that a lie too?”

“He did win. Against a group of rogues.”

“Ah.”

The meaning of those words was obvious.

Even though a large army of enemies had landed, it did not mean that all the enemies were gathered together. Gathering so many people in one place eats up the local supplies. Unless it was Johan, everyone dispersed and moved around.

The enemies that landed were currently divided into two groups.

One group occupied the Holy Land and the surrounding area. The other group split up and raided the fiefdoms of the monotheist feudal lords.

In order to raid, they had to move quickly and separately, so the size of their troops ranged from a dozen or so to a few hundred at most.

On top of that, many of those troops were hastily hired mercenaries or conscripted soldiers, so their skills were bound to be inconsistent.

Anyone could win a battle against guys like that, even if they were blind, deaf, and dumb.

“Oh, I see. So that’s what it was.”

“Don’t tell me you. . . really believed that, even a little? You of all people?!”

Ulrike looked shocked. Johan of all people believed the duke’s words.

“It’s not good to have preconceived notions. I thought that even though he was reckless, he might be a master tactician.”

“. . .R-Really? Is that why you brought that Stephen kid with you?”

“No. I just brought that guy along because it makes Countess Abner pay attention. In any case, I’m disappointed that that’s what he was like.”

“What else did that duke talk about?”

“Hmm. Let’s see. . . He said we should attack, and attack some more, and what else did he say? I didn’t really pay attention, so I can’t remember well. Oh, he did say that he wanted to bring the other pilgrims under my command no matter what.”

“Aha. . .”

Ulrike nodded. Any feudal lord would be tempted to do that.

The army that the feudal lords brought with them was powerful, but the other pilgrims were also a considerable force.

Of course, their skills varied from old farmers who had never fought before to veteran paladins, but their numbers and passion made them a better force than half-baked mercenaries.

Paladins who prayed in the morning, swung their swords, prayed at noon, swung their swords, prayed in the evening, and swung their swords could easily take on three mercenaries.

And these people gathered after hearing about his fame.

When rumors spread that a certain renowned and devout feudal lord is leading an army, they came over and joined them.

It was a much safer route than wandering around by themselves.

In that sense, Johan was like a Pied Piper. Without even doing anything, pilgrims with strong faith gathered just to see his face.

There was no way Duke Bronquia wouldn’t be envious of that.

“I told him to do whatever he wanted.”

“You didn’t stop him? Why not?”

“What reason do I have to stop him?”

“. . . . . .”

Johan was right. When the pilgrims decided to follow another feudal lord on their own, there was no way to stop it.

However, Ulrike knew that the young duke wasn’t that good-natured of an idiot.

“And even if I left them alone, I didn’t think it would be that easy.”

Duke Bronquia didn’t have a good reputation. There were very few people from the emperor’s faction who had good things to say about the order.

He sent a letter to the order and donated money after the civil war was over, but the order wasn’t foolish enough to forget what happened just because of a few gold coins.

“True. No priest would follow Duke Bronquia.”

Ulrike recalled the journey to get to where they were now.

It was difficult to stay vigilant against surprise enemy attacks, but dealing with the nagging priests was just as bad.

Priests who didn’t bend to power or wealth were always a pain in the neck of feudal lords.

If a feudal lord collected some taxes, they would come and say, ‘Today, I will tell the brothers the old tale of those who were punished for their wealth. . .’ and if the feudal lord asked for some labor service, they would come and say, ‘𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘧 𝘴𝘰-𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘧 𝘴𝘰-𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭’ while shedding tears.

From the feudal lords’ perspective, priests were nothing but annoying.

The pilgrimage to the Holy Land was no different.

If a feudal lord indulged in luxuries, or if the feudal lord’s subordinates caused trouble or raided the pilgrims, they would come and. . .

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱.’

Johan listened in silence. Ulrike was a strong and capable feudal lord, but they were also human. Even strong people sometimes get frustrated and feel the need to vent somewhere.

In times like those, it was helpful to just listen quietly without saying anything. In fact, after Ulrike finished venting, they let out an awkward cough.

“. . .I’m sorry. I went on for too long about things that don’t concern you.”

“No. It’s fine. It was an interesting story.”

“And I’m sure the duke also had a hard time because of the priests?”

“I had no problem with the priests.”

“. . . . . .”

Ulrike flared up a little.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Uvarik, the vampire noble who led the ‘Second Crescent’ tribe, looked around with extremely vigilant eyes.

There was a thick forest and many hills near this unnamed small town, so there was a possibility of an ambush.

“Master, I’ve confirmed it several ti. . .”

“Be quiet!”

“S-Sorry.”

Normally, his personality wasn’t this foul, but right now Uvarik was extremely sensitive.

He kept scouting the area again and again, but the area surrounding them was empty.

“Whew. . .”

The slaves working under Uvarik grumbled as if they couldn’t understand.

“What the hell is he doing?”

The slaves, who were not familiar with the rumors, didn’t understand the fear that Uvarik had.

Yeheyman, who had managed to somehow calm down the commotion in the Holy Land, felt the need to regain the courage he had lost.

He pointed out a few nobles under his command. These unfortunate ones had to raise troops, go north, and occupy towns while being wary of the monotheists who could appear at any moment.

That was fine on its own. However, Uvarik was a noble who fought alongside Yeheyman in Vynashchtym. He couldn’t forget the image of a duke born from a demon on a ship in that distant land, swinging his weapon, and it was stuck in his mind like tar.

“Is there really none??”

“Yes.”

“If you find even one, hang ten of them!”

“Yes.”

Uvarik looked down at the villagers who were prostrating themselves with a vigilant expression.

Normally, he would have whipped them, extorted their money, or insulted their faith, but he was so nervous that he didn’t even think about doing that.

The villagers murmured at his appearance.

‘𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺, 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳?’

“A flag in the north! A flag in the north! The pagans are coming!”

“What did I say! What did I say!! Yeheyman, you cursed. . .”

“Master! Please! Listen to m. . .”

The slaves were terrified when Uvarik tried to curse the supreme commander in front of his soldiers. However, Uvarik was too caught up in his panic to care and kept cursing Yeheman.

“Give the order to retreat. . .”

“Please master! We can’t go back now!”

It was the loyal slaves who held on to Uvarik as he tried to escape. They also had an idea. In a situation like this, if you ignore orders and just go back, no matter how noble you are, you could end up hanging.

Uvarik seemed to understand that and gritted his teeth before nodding. His fingertips were trembling.

“Prepare for battle! Deploy soldiers on the town walls and aim your arrows! Shower them so that the enemies can’t come! Don’t let them come here! Make them go somewhere else!”

“Y-Yes sir.”

The soldiers nodded at the feudal lord’s spirited words. Strangely enough, the soldiers were more alert after hearing his outburst.

“They’re coming!”

Armed cavalry began to charge from beyond the horizon amid clouds of dust. The soldiers squinted their eyes and looked ahead. There were marked rocks in front of the town, and those rocks allowed the archers to estimate the distance.

“They’ve passed it, fire!”

Archers revealed themselves from behind the palisade and began to shower arrows. A few arrows hit the heavily armored cavalry, but it didn’t slow them down.

“Gods, please. Gods, please!”

Uvarik prayed desperately for the enemies to be kept out of the town.

Surprisingly, Uvarik’s fear was having a positive effect on the town’s defense.

Thanks to hastily dug moats and piled up obstacles made of broken furniture and carts, the cavalry’s movements were halted. The wandering cavalry gathered in front of the main gate.

“Break through the main gate!”

“Block them!! Block them!! Don’t let them come in! If they come in, we’ll all die!!”

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘥. . .?’

The knights serving under Uvarik were frustrated by their lord’s fear, but they kept quiet and fought for now.

Thanks to the enemies being concentrated at the main gate, their movements seemed to have gotten even slower. Some of them got off their horses to fight, but the main gate didn’t fall easily.

“Don’t back down! Our lord is watching!”

“Why for this stupid town?!”

The pagan knight looked at the town in confusion. When he heard news that enemy troops were in the area, he received Duke Bronquia’s orders and came here. . .

But the resistance was much stronger than expected.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯?’

He thought that they would just run away if he charged through the main gate, but instead, his own casualties were increasing. No matter how well-armored they were, they were bound to get hurt if they got hit by arrows. One by one, they began to fall.

“Retreat! Retreat!!”

In the end, they couldn’t withstand it and began to retreat from the attack. Uvarik was shocked and raised his head when he saw the enemy start to run away.

“M-Master! The enemies are running away!”

“That’s impossible!”

“But they’re running away. . .!”

“Uvarik-nim. Order the pursuit!”

“No! It could be a trap!”

“No. . .”

“Tell everyone to stay vigilant!”

“Should we execute the ones we’ve captured?”

“What. . . Treat them and take good care of them!”

“Even the ones who won’t pay the ransom??”

“How dare you!”

“S-Sorry.”

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