Chapter 282
Chapter 282 – It’s Our Turn to Help. (2)
The 3rd Legion and the Perdium Army weren’t the only ones bustling with concern for Ghislaine.
Some were worried about Penris more than anyone else.
[Victims of Investment Meeting]
Rosalyn and Meriel, who had gathered a heap of investments from the nobles, sighed as they looked at the banner hanging at the entrance of the banquet hall.
This time, the prevailing opinion was that Count Penris would surely lose.
Count Desmond was different from other lords. He was a great lord of the North, leading an army of 30,000 soldiers.
No matter how successful Ghislaine had been recently, regarded as a sacred figure of the kingdom, he couldn’t compare to Count Desmond.
“Oh no! We’re doomed!”
“I’ve put my entire fortune into this!”
“I shouldn’t have invested!”
They had poured enormous amounts of money into cosmetics and road construction. They had started the road project trusting Marquis Branford, but Ghislaine was still the main subject of the business.
If Ghislaine were to fail, the cosmetics business would definitely be over. If the main subject of the business failed, who knows what would happen to road construction?
Thus, everyone was in a panic, fearing they would lose all the money they had invested.
Especially in this place, there was someone who had invested more than anyone else.
“Damn it! That crazy bastard! I brought in all the funds from other bishops and the temple donations!”
It was none other than Bishop Porisco, the devout servant of Goddess Juana.
Having earned a saintly reputation, he was arguably the most successful religious figure in the capital right now.
Once he gained a status not to be touched by anyone, he revealed his nasty habits again.
Not only had he accepted countless bribes, but he had also started gambling with temple money by investing it everywhere.
“What to do? I shouldn’t have trusted that bastard! I should have just believed in Goddess Juana! If I lose all this money, I’ll fall back to the bottom… No, wait? Isn’t it better if he dies?”
Thinking about it, if Ghislaine died, no one would know his weaknesses. It seemed okay for him to die.
“No, what about my money? Just throw away that much money? Then I’ll be impoverished again.”
As much as he wished Ghislaine would die, it shouldn’t be now. Porisco could only regard this as a test from the Goddess.
“Ah! Why do the gods keep giving me such trials!”
While all the investors were pacing around restlessly, Rosalyn stepped forward and shouted.
“This isn’t a situation that can be solved just by worrying here!”
Everyone looked at her with gloomy expressions. What were the investors supposed to do other than worry about their money?
Rosalyn spoke resolutely, as if the problem were nothing.
“If you’re worried that the business might go under, then we can help it not to fail!”
“…?”
“You all have soldiers in the capital, right? Let’s gather them to support Count Penris!”
“…”
Everyone made sour faces at her words.
Of course, they all had many soldiers. But that was merely insurance to keep safe in the capital. It paled in comparison to the elite troops of the so-called strongest in the North, Desmond.
In fact, if a few thousand were gathered, they would look shabby before his 30,000 strong army.
However, Rosalyn continued with a look that suggested not to worry.
“My father has ordered the 3rd Legion to move! If we move alongside the Kingdom Army, our soldiers will be a great help! We don’t even have to win the war! We just need to bring back Count Penris!”
“Oh…”
The nobles’ eyes sparkled. If Marquis Branford mobilized the Kingdom Army directly, it would change the situation.
Moreover, they were part of the Crown Prince Faction. There was no problem attacking Desmond, who had started a war without justification.
Civil strife would bring greater issues, but that was not a concern right now. It was far more important that Ghislaine didn’t die and they didn’t suffer losses. They simply had to rescue him.
“If that bastard survives again this time, I’ll pull all my money out.”
“I can’t live peacefully if I’m tied to that guy.”
“Ah, I experienced this last time too, but the urge to make big money keeps making it hard to back out.”
Everyone else was doing it, and they were earning a lot of money; it was hard not to get involved. But because they thought they might truly collapse from anxiety this time, everyone genuinely intended to pull out once this matter was resolved.
The nobles concealed their true intentions and readily voted in favor of Rosalyn’s proposal.
“Good! I will offer all 100 of my soldiers!”
“I’ll contribute 50!”
“I’ll put forward 200 men.”
They all eagerly promised troops.
These were nobles with plenty of money and power. Just the soldiers they promised added up to about 3,000.
The unexpectedly large number surprised the nobles a bit.
“Haha, gathering our soldiers makes for a substantial number.”
“Of course, isn’t that how investments work?”
“With this number, we can be quite a help.”
Rosalyn clenched her fist. The nobles’ response was better than anticipated. Moving alongside the Kingdom Army would increase their chances of rescuing Ghislaine.
Meriel, wearing a pleased smile, said, “The Count Ailzbur household will provide food and military funds.”
“Oooh!”
The nobles admired her.
It’s not easy to mobilize 3,000 troops all at once. I was wondering whether to put in additional funding, but Meriel sorted it out; I was truly relieved.
As decisions were made swiftly, Rosalyn turned to Bishop Porisco, who was attending the banquet.
“Bishop! Please send just 10 priests! Not the low-ranking ones like last time, but skilled ones!”
“Huh? But the temple shouldn’t be involved in war…”
“Just like last time, can you follow along and make sure Count Penris doesn’t die! From a humanitarian perspective!”
“Ugh…”
“If Count Penris or the critical technicians of the territory get hurt and die! Even if we go to help, it will all be in vain! Are you willing to lose the precious donations of the temple?”
“Ah… I shouldn’t…”
Porisco hesitated. He couldn’t afford to lose the temple’s precious… no, his precious money.
After all, they weren’t directly participating in the war, so the priests wouldn’t be in danger.
Humanitarian rescue operations were a common pretext among the nobles.
“I guess there’s no choice… If this is also the Goddess’s will… I must comply.”
While pondering, Porisco chose money over Ghislaine’s life. He simply passed the responsibility to the goddess. He was indeed a man of firm conviction.
“Very well… The unity of everyone here must surely be the guidance of Lady Juana. I will send the priests.”
Thus, the Capital Nobles’ Alliance, also known as the Victims of Investment Meeting, was formed.
Rosalyn let out a sigh of relief. While she shouldn’t let her guard down yet, it seemed they could manage to rescue Ghislaine with the assistance of the 3rd Legion.
‘He’s quite popular, after all.’
Whatever the intention, thousands of troops were mobilized to rescue Ghislaine.
The commander of the allied forces, who had war experience and had invested greatly, was Baron Etherian.
He shouted confidently during the departure ceremony.
“I will definitely rescue Count Penris!”
“Waaaah! Baron Etherian is the best!”
Receiving the cheers of the nobles, the Capital Nobles’ Alliance army closely followed the 3rd Legion.
*
“Are we ready?”
As Ghislaine tied bandages around his hands, Claude replied with a tense expression.
“We have 2,000 elf archers and 1,000 cavalry ready.”
“What about the knights?”
“All 300 of them are armed and standing by.”
“Any news from Gillian?”
“Not yet…”
It had already been a month since the war had begun. They had received news that the fortress had fallen, but there was no word from Gillian.
Information had come a few days prior that they’d engaged in skirmishes with Desmond’s army, but since then, they had received no updates.
Due to the reconnaissance and pursuit units of Count Desmond, it wasn’t easy to obtain information, and Gillian couldn’t keep exposing himself either.
Swish.
Ghislaine unfolded a map and focused on a particular spot.
Nodding a few times, he asked Claude again.
“Father and the Kingdom Army, the Capital Nobles’ Alliance, right?”
“Yes, it has been a while since they set off. They’ll reach the territory’s borders soon.”
“We can fill the gaps in our troop numbers with them. My letter was delivered properly, right?”
“Yes, it was conveyed securely, and I received a response.”
Ghislaine nodded without saying a word.
He wanted to prepare more, but he couldn’t. The longer he delayed, the more danger Gillian and others would be in.
All personnel in the territory were putting forth their utmost effort in creating new bows. Thanks to that, they were barely filling in the lacking parts.
The concentrated training of the archer cavalry had yielded some results, and now that the bow production was completed, there was no time to waste.
As Ghislaine stepped outside the castle, a huge crowd surged toward him.
“Lord! We can fight too!”
“We’ll protect the castle!”
“We’ll join you! Please take us with you!”
These were the territory residents who had gathered as new recruits, armed and ready.
Everyone was excitedly shouting that they wanted to fight.
The territory residents, who had always been despondent and indifferent to the nobles’ wars, were now stepping forward themselves.
It was truly a thankful sight. With such people, there was nothing that couldn’t be stopped.
But not now.
“I’ll accept your hearts. It’s not yet your time to fight.”
He couldn’t let them fight now. The residents had only recently stabilized their lives and were finally increasing their productivity.
What if the territory were devastated by war and many residents died? They would have to spend more time than they had previously invested.
If it were the final battle, if the Duke’s main forces were to invade, he might have issued a total mobilization order to fight.
After all, it would just be a matter of winning once.
But that wasn’t the case now. Desmond was merely a mountain they had to cross along the way. Thus, Ghislaine had initially intended to temporarily step back from here.
The territory residents looked frustrated at his refusal, but it couldn’t be helped.
“It’s because we’re still weak…”
“We can only trust the lord this time…”
“We just need to get past this crisis. Next time, we’ll definitely…”
They had been so complacent for far too long. Recently, there had been rumors that their territory was being targeted, and many had volunteered as soldiers, but it still wasn’t enough.
They should have received training and built the strength to protect the territory long ago.
The residents felt it was a deep regret and a pity.
If a chance were given again, they would never live so carelessly.
They all held such determination.
Ghislaine looked over the residents and then gazed at the army before him.
The 300 knights in black armor wore fierce expressions as if they were about to explode at any moment.
Though they often bickered, the knights who had been with Gillian and in the fortress were comrades who had battled alongside him until now. Knowing they were risking their lives to hold back the enemy’s advance made him want to rush in.
“Haah… Haah…”
Everyone was merely exhaling sharply, as if anger was swelling inside them.
Ghislaine turned back again.
Leading the way were wizards draped in robes, including Vanessa and Alfoy.
They seemed a bit tense, but they didn’t appear frightened.
Count Desmond’s army had many wizards. To counter them, Penris’s wizards also had to step up.
Whoosh.
With the fierce snorting of the horses, Ghislaine turned his head toward the sound.
In front were over 200 elves, led by Lumina and Ascon. And behind them were 2,000 archer cavalry, waiting on horseback.
These elves would play the most crucial role in this war.
All of them had folded new bows and had them hung at their waists.
Behind them, there were over a thousand cavalry, including the labor assault team, also mounted and standing by.
Another noticeable difference from the last war was that Belinda and some certain figures were nowhere to be seen.
After surveying the gathered forces, Ghislaine slowly opened his mouth.
“Right now, our friends are facing the enemy’s great army, risking their lives and shedding blood. To buy us time.”
The knights began to exhale even more vigorously. They looked as if they were about to leap out at any moment.
Ghislaine’s words continued softly yet firmly.
“The enemy is Count Desmond, called the strongest in the North. He brought an army of 30,000, but even if we gathered all our forces, we wouldn’t reach 4,000. So those who are afraid can step away.”
Thud!
One knight slammed his spear into the ground as if to say not to be ridiculous. Then, the other knights began to follow suit and strike their spears into the ground as well.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In their eyes was a fierce determination. Ghislaine smiled with satisfaction.
“Good. We cannot delay any longer. We cannot let their courage and sacrifice be in vain.”
Thud!
The knights thrusted their spears into the ground again. The reverberation echoed like the heartbeat of the earth. Hearing that sound, everyone’s heartbeat and breathing gradually began to quicken.
“Now it’s our turn to help them.”
As Ghislaine finished his statement, he immediately mounted his horse. The knights who had been waiting also climbed onto their horses.
With all preparations complete, Ghislaine tightly grasped the reins of the Black King.
“Let’s go, to save our friends and obliterate Desmond!”
Neigh!
The Black King raised its front hooves and neighed. Then, it fiercely kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
The knights and soldiers followed behind Ghislaine.
All were cavalry. They looked entirely different from when they had been holed up in the castle.
The Penris army suddenly burst forth at tremendous speed, as if they were about to unleash all the strength they had accumulated so far.
On top of the Black King, Ghislaine gritted his teeth.
“Hold on just a little longer, Gillian.”
His eyes were filled with a murderous intent that seemed ready to destroy everything.
