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“To name such a smart creature “Karamaf”. Isn’t that pitiful?”
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“He may be dishonorable and without prestige, but he’s still imposing.”
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“That’s true.”
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To the elf knights, Karamaf wasn’t a good image. His notorious deeds in the Empire had tarnished his reputation.
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Of course, to Johan, insults to Karamaf meant nothing. In fact, he preferred it.
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“. . .?”
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Johan realized something was off. Karamaf had brought a person in its mouth. The man was completely disheveled and struggling, but Karamaf wouldn’t let go.
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“Who did you bring here?”
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Initially, it seemed that he had caught one of the rogue groups. But the clothes of these rogues were too fine. The face and hands were soft, not like those who had roughed it.
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“Let go of me, you wolf cub!”
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“What are you doing?”
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Sensing something was off in his words, drew their weapons and aimed them at the man. Startled by the sudden weapons at his throat, the man exclaimed.
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“I. . . I am just a traveler, sir!”
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“Where are you traveling from and to?”
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“I came from Thuringia, heading to Marcel to visit relatives. . .”
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An elf knight asked.
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“Sir Johan. May I ask?”
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“Go ahead.”
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𝐒𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐡!
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The elf knight drew his dagger and sharply cut the traveler’s hand. The traveler screamed sharply.
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“If it’s found that you lied, I’ll tear your limbs and burn them. Tell me who your relative in Marcel is!”
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‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦?’
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The answer was ‘𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦’. Elf knights had a convenient mindset that even Johan couldn’t dare to follow.
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The traveler named a few, but the elf knight didn’t listen. It seemed he had already made up his mind.
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The elf knight continued to interrogate with the blade, and finally, the traveler, crying, confessed.
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“I. . . I am Baron Eiven’s scribe! Baron Eiven sent me here with a troll to help the mercenaries!”
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“!!”
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Johan and the elf knight were both startled by the sudden name.
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“So, it was you who brought the troll to our fiefdom?!”
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The knight exclaimed in anger. Trolls had appeared while they were subduing rogue groups.
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Johan was surprised for a different reason.
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‘𝘚𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵!’
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He had thought they were just chasing a troll in the woods, but this scribe had intentionally orchestrated it.
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‘𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. . . 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵.’
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“Is a troll a controllable monster? Never heard of that.”
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“Me neither. Not usual for an evil wizard.”
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The knights continued to interrogate the scribe.
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The scribe, in tears and snot, rambled on.
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He came to support the rogue groups on Baron Eiven’s orders, learning how to control a troll for this purpose. He said that by spraying a special potion given by a wizard, the troll wouldn’t see him as an enemy, allowing him to control it.
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. . .And Baron Eiven himself came leading mercenaries.
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“. . .!!”
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“How many? What kind of men did he bring?!”
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“Empire’s <Bull Mercenary Group> a hundred in five units. . .”
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“!!”
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The elf knights’ expressions changed drastically. They had thought their force was enough to easily crush a group of rogues, but the story changed with so many additional forces arriving.
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Furthermore, if mercenaries brought personally by the Baron were involved, they were undoubtedly well-trained heavy infantry.
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“Baron Eiven, a notorious figure as the Emperor’s right hand, his presence here means something! It’s a direct order from the Emperor himself!”
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“What cursed ignorance, not to recognize such honor! How dare they resort to such schemes?!”
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The knights of Erlans Kingdom were enraged. Even though Marcel city maintained friendly relations with the anti-Emperor factions among the Empire’s nobility, such blatant maneuvering was unprecedented.
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Supporting bands of rogues and mercenaries to threaten the city?
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Had they not realized, they would have shattered the punitive force once again, extorted gold from the city, and then acted innocently back in their own fiefdom.
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While the knights were furious over this dishonorable scheme, Johan urged them calmly.
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“Return quickly.”
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“We shall do so, sir.”
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“Why did you act like madmen, creating this situation?”
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“I, I’m sorry, sir.”
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“When a troll appears, just retreat and rejoin the main force. Why behave as if it’s your sworn enemy?”
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“I’d appreciate it if you don’t say anything to the others about my mistake, sir.”
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“After all jumping in together, what now?”
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Johan naturally scolded the knights. The proud elven knights, unbeknownst to themselves, bowed their heads in submission━a surprising sight not shown in front of the Count.
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🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
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Battles among mercenaries often lasted long until one side crumbled and fled. Despite fighting back and forth for hours, Suetlg felt uneasy as the enemies held out well.
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Yet, it was evident that they were slowly being surrounded by a larger force. The fear in the enemies was palpable.
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“In the name of Fort Oxso! Charge!”
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“Bulls! Tear the enemies apart!”
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“??!!”
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Thus, when hundreds of heavy infantry suddenly emerged from the flanks, even Suetlg was bound to be taken aback.