How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 335

𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 (8)

“Did you catch it with magic?”

The knights looked around subconsciously. But the figure of the wizard was nowhere to be seen.

‘𝘖𝘩. 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵?’

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥.’

The centaurs were infamous for their ferocious name and their poison. There were also a few centaurs among Johan’s subordinates, so it would not be strange if they used poison.

“Strange. It’s the heirloom sword that has been passed down in my family.”

“What kind of magic do you need to use to defeat it?”

When the knights were unable to contain their curiosity and started chattering, Johan replied as if he was puzzled.

“Magic? I didn’t use any magic.”

“Oh. Then was it the centaurs’ poison?”

The centaurs under Johan snorted with displeasure. They were the ones who shot the arrows smeared with poison. Of course, they couldn’t help but be dissatisfied when the poison they shot didn’t work.

“No. I just beat it up until it died after knocking it down.”

“Oh. I see. . . .Yes??”

“I used this weapon because I thought a blunt weapon would be better than a sword.”

Johan pulled out the Giant Slayer. The old weapon made by the dwarves had the power to make even the most absurd story believable just by looking at its appearance.

“. . . . . .”

“. . . . . .”

“Did you guys take them down like this too?”

After hearing the details, the knights shut their mouths in embarrassment and absurdity.

They never imagined that something like this would happen in the duke’s camp.

‘𝘕𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺. . .’

‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵!’

The duke’s method was simple. He crushed the monster’s legs with the Giant Slayer, and every time it tried to get up, he swung it around and inflicted serious injuries.

If they were stabbed with a sword, they could endure and get up, but even a seasoned warrior would not be able to get up easily if they were hit by such a siege weapon.

“. . .In fact, we set it on fire.”

“You set it on fire? Well. . . that’s not a bad idea. You all must have suffered a lot.”

Johan consoled the knights. Judging from their appearance, they must have suffered a lot inside the castle. Some of them were covered in soot because they even set fire to it.

“Thanks to you, the subjugation was successful. Let’s celebrate!”

“Yes. . .”

“Thank you. Your Highness. . .”

“. . . . . .”

John was a little taken aback by the atmosphere being so different from what he expected.

Originally, the knights were a simple and hot-blooded group of people. They were the ones who would hold a celebration and praise themselves for their honorable achievements even if they only subjugated a goblin’s lair near the town.

Of course, he thought that the knights would be excited after the subjugation of the cultists this time and would be noisy about who had made more achievements.

Since the monotheists and the knights of the polytheists would definitely fight each other, he had prepared in advance, thinking about how to mediate the dispute if there was one between the two. . .

The current atmosphere was reminiscent of a prayer city in a monastery. Johan’s men looked at the knights who had collapsed like withered grass as if they were elf theologians. It was the first time they had seen the knights acting like that.

“Aren’t you guys happy?”

“We are happy.”

“Tell me about your achievements! I want to hear them!”

“No. I dare not. . .”

“. . . . . .”

The eunuchs behind them were also whispering to each other in embarrassment. The situation that was unfolding now was something that even the experienced eunuchs had not expected.

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“Thank you! Thank you! Your Highness!”

“I only did what I had to do.”

The composition of the hostages who were being held was diverse. There were nobles from distant tribes, farmers from nearby towns, and freemen from coastal cities.

However, they all had something in common. The fact that they had to pay a ransom since being captured. Even if they were captured by cultists, it was customary to pay the duke in the first place.

However, the duke mercifully decided to release them without receiving a ransom.

‘𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦.’

Johan had calculated like that and made the decision, but it couldn’t help but be touching for those who were captured.

“It seems like it will be difficult to interrogate the cultists because none of them are in their right minds. Your Highness.”

“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do.”

Because of the situation, there were almost no living prisoners. Even those who were captured chose death rather than being captured.

Anyway, he decided to be satisfied with the subjugation of the main camp. The atmosphere of the knights had become a little strange, but that was inevitable. . .

“Excuse me. . . Can I help you with your work?”

“?”

One of the captured prisoners raised his hand cautiously.

“I worked as a scribe in Aniza City. When I was captured by them, I heard a lot of things while doing various labor. . . If that could be of any help. . .”

“No. It’s a great help. Thank you.”

“I’ll help you too!”

The prisoners volunteered to help in any way they could. Johan was very pleased to receive unexpected help.

There were many capable people among the prisoners. Johan listened carefully to what they were saying.

And in the process, he heard an interesting story.

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“Wait. Where did you renovate?”

“Yes??”

When the duke suddenly spoke, the excited technician bowed his head in embarrassment.

“Speak comfortably. I asked because I’m curious.”

“Well. . . I renovated His Majesty Manansir’s castle. My friends and I worked on it for eight years.”

“Oh. . .”

“Ooooooh. . .”

Johan was impressed, but the other dwarf mercenaries next to him were even more impressed. The dwarves, who were well-versed in siege techniques, also had some knowledge of architecture.

Construction workers who were capable of renovating a castle would know the structure of the castle better than the lord.

The soldiers wanted to see the face of the b*stard Manansir who had captured the duke’s ship and caused all this trouble anyway. In the midst of all this, the appearance of the technician was very welcome.

“That’s great. I’ll ask you if I have any questions!”

“But you must have sworn an oath.”

“Hmm. An oath is sacred.”

Of course, when the feudal lords called the technicians, they used various methods to ensure security. The oath was the most basic. They would either force the technician to live in the fiefdom, or they would silence them by assassination.

In any case, the pride of these skilled craftsmen was considerable, and the oath they made in accordance with it was also sacred. It was clear that they would not speak easily even if they were told to.

“No. I can tell you. Can I draw you a blueprint?”

“. . .???”

The dwarf soldiers looked at the technician with betrayed expressions. Of course, they were happy, but it was a shameless act as a technician.

The technician must have realized the meaning of their gaze and hurriedly made excuses.

“No! It’s not that I betrayed my oath. There’s a reason for this. His Majesty was the first to break the oath.”

Anyone who had worked under a feudal lord knew how difficult it was to receive the money promised by the lord.

They would pay the deposit properly at first, but the feudal lords generally had a very poor sense of economy. They would often owe money to merchants, so there was no way they wouldn’t owe money to technicians.

Viceroy Manansir was similar. He kept postponing the payment while the work was being carried out for eight years, and when the construction was completed, he started finding fault.

The technician and his colleagues had to decide whether to hold out and receive the money until the end, or to run away in case of an unexpected situation.

“That’s why I escaped!”

“Aha. If that’s the case, then it’s okay to break the oath. Come to think of it, you were a true technician?”

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding you.”

The dwarf mercenaries relaxed their expressions again and encouraged the technician with a warm attitude. It was a dwarf custom to allow the burning of a castle if the employer did not pay.

“Then can you draw a blueprint?”

“Yes. . . If you give me some time. . .”

“Thank you!”

Johan, who had been listening, was very pleased. The dwarves were also happy. He never thought he would obtain such an unexpected treasure from the subjugation.

“Your Highness. They said there were people who hired assassins to assassinate Your Highness!!!”

The soldiers who had been extracting information from the other side shouted with trembling voices at the shocking fact. Johan, who was absent-minded, waved his hand and said.

“Just wait a moment. I’ll hear it later.”

“No! Your Highness! They’re saying that they were trying to assassinate Your Highness???”

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The eunuchs found and reported the location of the cult’s stronghold, but the cultists were not easy to deal with. They had secretly investigated who had commissioned them to assassinate them.

They claimed to maintain absolute silence, but those who did dirty work could not have such loyalty. The cultists always identified their opponents in case of emergency.

Johan, who heard the report, made an absurd expression.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.’

If it was true, it meant that the eunuchs who had placed the order had revealed the location of the cultists, and the cultists had checked to see who the client was just in case. It was ridiculous.

“But why did you accept the order to target me and target another duke?”

“We don’t know that either. We overheard them talking. . .”

Since the information about the eunuchs was not something to be taken lightly, Johan called others. He needed advice on what to do.

Suetlg asked Johan curiously as soon as he saw his face.

“What happened during the subjugation that made the knights look like that?”

“. . . . . .”

Johan didn’t have enough words to say even if he had ten mouths.

“It wasn’t something we did on purpose.”

“Of course it wasn’t something you did on purpose! It’s the first time I’ve seen knights so discouraged after going on a subjugation.”

“It’s not His Highness’ fault.”

Caenerna said from the side. Suetlg also nodded at those words. It was mostly their fault that the knights were so discouraged. And to be honest, it was fun to see them like that.

“Is it very serious?”

Johan asked, a little worried. He had a lot of fights to fight in the future, so it wouldn’t be good if the knights’ morale dropped. Suetlg replied with a nonchalant expression.

“How serious can it be? Don’t you know that it’s better for knight dastards to be a little discouraged?”

Caenerna nodded as if she agreed very much. The knights usually caused more accidents when they were pretentious than when they were discouraged.

The ones who always suffered headaches from the news from the emperor’s court were the people of the court. When the knights under the emperor recklessly charged, the scribes and wizards were the ones who had to clean up the aftermath.

It was better if they were discouraged like that. For a while, they would listen to what was said and there would be no accidents.

“Thanks to that, the fights that used to happen have completely disappeared.”

“Fights? Did it happen between the knights?”

In response to Johan’s question, Suetlg shrugged.

“It happened between the knights, between the captured and the knights, between the mercenaries, and between the mercenaries and the knights. . . Originally, if you gather those with swords, they fight among themselves. Since a huge number of them gathered, it’s natural for fights to happen.”

Johan made a dubious expression. Of course, he knew that there would be some friction or quarrels since the knights from various regions had gathered, but they usually refrained from doing so on their own.

“. . .There shouldn’t be any crazy b*stards who fight in front of Your Highness, right. . .?”

Caenerna looked at Johan as if he was asking a question that made no sense. Johan, who realized it belatedly, coughed awkwardly with an embarrassed expression.

“So what do you guys think of the information about the eunuchs?”

“They should be executed properly.”

“Catch them and torture them. . . No, let’s interrogate them first.”

“If we squeeze them until they tell the truth, they’ll tell the truth.”

Johan proceeded to the final confirmation with the opinions that were in firm agreement.

“The tribal chiefs who are close to the eunuchs might be dissatisfied, but wouldn’t it be better to give them a word?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. . . Well. . . I guess it’s not bad to do that?”

The reaction of the wizards was less refreshing than he thought. Johan was slightly taken aback.

Anyway, since the opinions were unanimous, Johan called the tribal chiefs in the vicinity and carefully brought up the story. It was to see their reaction.

“You should send soldiers right now and lock them up, what are you doing?!”

“There is no law anywhere that leaves those who are suspected of committing such acts alone! Your Highness. You have to lock them up right now!”

“. . . . . .”

At the much hotter response of the tribal chiefs than he had expected, Johan realized that the tribes around here were much more cooperative than he had thought. 

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