How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 365

𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (9)

Rumors were scary. Once something became a rumor, it was almost impossible to change it. Even if evidence to the contrary appeared, people perceived it in accordance with the facts they already believed.

Several nobles were genuinely heartbroken and mourned upon hearing the rumor that Duke had fallen in battle during the expedition. Such heroes would not appear for a long time.

And some nobles pretended to mourn while worrying about the future. Thanks to the duke, the surrounding area had been peaceful despite the many wolves and jackals. If the duke were gone, the flames of war could once again erupt here.

And some crazy nobles hatched ambitious conspiracies.

“Now that His Highness the Duke has passed away, isn’t this the opportunity? The only one currently in the fiefdom is an immature child. If we just seize the castle. . .”

“W-What is this nonsense? How can such a treacherous act work when there are so many nobles and knights serving His Highness the Duke?”

“What’s the problem? Of course, I admit that the duke was a great man. He completely pacified this area with the approval of the Order.”

The young duke’s charisma was beyond imagination. No one expected that the foreign duke would control this area in such a way.

Originally, it would not have been strange for the dissatisfied and stubborn feudal lords to rebel or rise up with their knights, but the duke skillfully handled the surrounding area with both a carrot and a stick.

Sometimes humbly, sometimes ruthlessly.

If you looked at the number of rebellions since then, you could see how overwhelming the duke was. Even when the duke went on an expedition, there was not even a single common disturbance or commotion.

However, grievances are bound to build up in people. No matter how perfect the rule was, there were a few dissatisfied nobles at the bottom.

“But that duke is gone now!”

“Is that rumor true? If it’s a false rumor. . .”

“You fools! How can that be a false rumor? Didn’t you see the baron next door? He’s calling the priests and mourning!”

“That makes sense! Now that the duke is gone, the nobles who were loyal to him won’t be so loyal. At best, she’s just a child who doesn’t share a drop of blood with the duke.”

“If we’re going to do it, we need to do it now. If other feudal lords or people from the republic get involved. . .”

Rebellion also had its timing. They had to suppress, conquer, and finish everything while there was no one capable in the duchy, or they would become sitting ducks if more fleets returned and other forces came in from outside.

“Once we conquer and get our hands on the child, the other nobles will follow our will.”

“Hmm. . .”

The skeptical nobles gradually began to come around as the persuasion continued. In the first place, those gathered there were the dissatisfied ones, so they couldn’t help but be tempted.

“Pardon my rudeness, but with just the families here, it seems like our reputation might be a bit weak.”

“I knew you’d say that, so I sent someone to the eastern kingdom.”

“!”

The feudal lords had prepared meticulously in their own way. Since they obviously lacked a just cause and reputation on their own, they sent envoys to the small eastern kingdoms and recruited a capable count.

Outwardly, it would proceed with the pretext prepared by the count (in fact, a distant relative of the duke). The count was also very pleased with the fact that he could make a fortune without lifting a finger.

“Now. Let’s all swear before God!”

Five barons, eight quasi-barons, and eleven knights joined hands and took an oath. They planned to gather under the pretext of hunting and then rush in at once.

※※※※※※

“It’s a rebellion! Rebellion!”

However, their conspiracy was foiled from the start. One of the knights immediately galloped away to report it. The knight who came running did not want to forgive the nobles who dared to betray His Highness the Duke.

“Huh!?”

The people in the fiefdom were shocked by the sudden news of the rebellion. There were scribes and merchants working inside the inner palace, but they had little combat experience.

They ran to the most reliable person.

“Jyanina-nim!”

“. . . . . .”

Cold sweat ran down Jyanina’s back. She had no idea how things had turned out this way.

‘𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺!? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨?! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬!’

From the perspective of Jyanina, who had seen Johan slaughter the pagans, she couldn’t understand the nobles who had rebelled.

Why? Why on earth?

“Wizard, give us your orders!”

Fortunately, Johan did not leave the fiefdom alone, only trusting Jyanina. The Dwarf captain, Mackald, ran up to Jyanina and whispered.

“Wizard, I will mobilize the mercenaries and slave soldiers right away and gather them. Calmly order them to evacuate to the inner palace. The reinforcement work on the inner palace is complete, and we can face a thousand men with just a hundred.”

“. . .C-Calmly order them to evacuate to the inner palace.”

“We don’t need to evacuate everyone. Wizard, at most, there will be about a thousand of them, no matter how many of them rebel. They won’t be able to enter the city. You only need to evacuate the important people to the inner palace.”

“Order the important people to evacuate to the inner palace. . .”

The scribes nodded with relief at the sight of Jyanina whispering instructions with the Dwarf captain.

When the leader is calm in a crisis, their subordinates naturally calm down.

“Send a centurion to arrest those who can be arrested. Even if only one or two disappear, they will panic.”

“Yes!”

As soon as everyone present left, Mackald exclaimed in admiration.

“Well done, Wizard. Very experienced. . .”

“Ugh.”

“. . . . . .”

※※※※※※

“Raise the flag and attack!”

The knights gathered around the outer castle with the soldiers, servants, and slaves they had brought.

Compared to the elites that Johan had led in the east, they looked like a ragtag group, but that was the average to begin with.

Whether they were servants or slaves, thanks to eating well under the lord, they were quite large and had swung their weapons a few times, so they were decent soldiers.

Even mercenaries who had fought all their lives were surprisingly rare. Usually, they died or retired before that, and there were many mercenaries who didn’t know how to swing a sword.

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨━

With the sound of trumpets, the knights burst out of the forest and rushed towards the eastern outer castle gate. They intended to rush through the outer castle gate in one breath and capture the people inside.

“!”

However, what greeted the knights who came running were the raised drawbridge, the deep moat, and the eerily quiet atmosphere around the castle.

Usually, it should be lively and noisy with people coming and going from the outer castle. . .

“W-What is this. . .?”

A noble muttered ominously, but the other knights were so excited that they didn’t care at all.

“It doesn’t matter, we’ll cross the moat! Bring the equipment!”

At the knight’s cry, four servants came dragging a ladder from behind.

“You fool! If you cross the moat with a ladder, how do you plan to cross the castle wall! Bring other planks!”

It took a while, and the servants barely managed to find some planks from somewhere. They looked at the castle wall with anxious expressions and placed the planks over the moat.

. . .However, it was too short. Instead of hanging over the moat, the planks fell to the bottom.

“. . . . . .”

“Look at those fools!”

The knight beat his chest as if frustrated.

The Dwarf mercenaries watching from above asked in disbelief.

“What are those guys doing?”

“It seems like they’ve only done mounted combat and never fought a siege.”

“Should we just shoot them?”

“Wait. If we shoot them now, they might get scared and not come at all.”

The Dwarf mercenaries waited patiently.

Originally, a siege was a heart-pounding battle where you waited for a formidable opponent who might come at any time, but. . .

Looking at their opponent’s guts now, they couldn’t help but sigh.

Shouldn’t you at least bring the proper equipment!

“Put it up!”

It took another hour before the enemies began to hang planks everywhere. The soldiers crossed the moat hesitantly.

And the attack began.

“Thwack!” “Argh!” “Cough!”

Although they were not as good as knights, they were wearing armor and had some kind of metal attached to their limbs, but they were no match for the Dwarf mercenaries’ precise aim.

Dozens of soldiers fell in an instant and tumbled into the moat. There was no time to even put up a ladder.

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠!

The knights blocked the bolts with their shields and shouted.

“Don’t be afraid and advance!”

At that cry, his men advanced.

Backwards.

“Advance! Advance! Don’t run away! Cowards!”

“Oh my. . .”

The baron covered his head as he watched the retreating figures from the rear camp. Looking at the way they were fighting now, he suddenly regretted why he was here.

The knights, who had been acting so smug and causing trouble, were doing nothing but holding up their shields in front of the tightly closed castle wall and gate.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

In the end, those who couldn’t stand it anymore gave the signal to retreat. The knights shouted with resentful expressions.

“It seems there’s a traitor! Judging from how thorough the defense is!”

The Dwarves would have been shocked if they had heard that. The outer castle’s defenses were at their usual level right now. They had also been hastily assembled.

The place that was hastily beefing up its defenses right now was the inner palace, and the outer castle only had the available troops. . .

Groaning sounds came from all over the camp. It was the sound of soldiers who had been hit by arrows groaning.

“Let’s go down and get supplies. We have to get them from the city people.”

Coolia originally consisted of the existing castle (which Johan had expanded several times since he arrived) and the port city below it.

Although the important people were in the castle, the city was rich in supplies. If they requisitioned some, they would be able to restore their morale, which had fallen to the ground.

“Got it. Take your men and go requisition them.”

The two knights led nearly a hundred of their men to the city. And four hours later, eighty of them returned.

“. . .We ran into those mercenary bastards who were lying in ambush.”

“. . . . . .”

The other knights dropped their jaws.

The castle had a high wall and a moat, but the harbor below had a low wall, and there would probably be quite a few even outside the wall. . .

“The city people must have been very determined, so they organized a vigilante group and waited. The moment we tried to break into a house, arrows flew. . .”

“. . . . . .”

※※※※※※

“What nonsense are you talking about? What crazy b*stard started a rebellion?”

Johan was dumbfounded by the urgent message. Even though he was absent, it wasn’t enough to start a rebellion.

“It’s true! A rumor spread that Your Highness the Duke had passed away. . . Some must have harbored sinister intentions. Count Oldor from the eastern kingdom also joined the war with his army!”

Of course, the count was in his own fiefdom, and he had no intention of attacking Coolia across the sea. What was he thinking doing something like that?

However, once he lent his name, he naturally had to be included in the rumors. Johan’s face became serious.

‘𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥.’

Coolia’s defenses were sufficient, but that was assuming a normal situation.

What if a huge army came in from outside. . .?

“Select only those with good stamina and elites among the cavalry! Return quickly.”

“My dear. I’ll go with you too.”

“No. Iselia, you’re not coming with me. It would be a bigger loss if we changed the direction of the expeditionary force because of something like that.”

If things really got bad, he could bring them in for additional support, but he didn’t want to change direction in the middle of leading the expeditionary force across the empire.

It was better to suppress them as quickly as possible with a small and elite force.

‘𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤.’

Johan sent a message to the people of the republic to send ships, and he prepared to quickly rush out with his cavalry.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

Johan also asked the two wizards for a favor. It was in case something happened while Johan was away.

“This isn’t the east. . . Nothing will happen. Rest easy and don’t worry about it. Contact me with the Fire Goblet if you need help.”

Caenerna also gave advice.

“It might be a good idea to send someone to the count as well, just in case.”

“A threat? Will it work?”

“Even if it doesn’t work, won’t you remember it later if things get bad?”

“That’s true. Send a message to that Count Oldor too! If he doesn’t withdraw his army right now, I’ll chase him to his fiefdom and cut off his head, even if he runs away! I’ll hang him and all his bloodline on the gate of the castle!”

Johan didn’t intend to chase him that far, but when making threats, it’s always better to make them strong.

He might not know now, but he might remember it later if things got bad for him.

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵. . .’

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