Chapter 305
Chapter 305 – One More Is Needed. (1)
Raoul returned to his office, his expression cold as he addressed the following staff.
“Update the information on Penris immediately. Also, make contact with Amelia and tell her to gather the northern lords again while we provide any necessary support.”
The staff responded with a bit of reluctance.
“Amelia is still an unproven woman. Just recently, she was a young lady elegantly sipping tea.”
“The northern lords will not recognize Amelia.”
“Why not select someone else? That woman still hasn’t quashed Baron Valua’s rebellion.”
“Though she defeated the Northern Allied Forces, they were all pathetic. Wasn’t it thanks to the military strength left by Count Raybold in the first place?”
Raoul frowned at the staff’s objections.
“So, is there an alternative? What we need isn’t Amelia; it’s Raybold’s military strength, as I just mentioned. None of those pathetic fools from the north have that kind of military power.”
The staff fell silent. Although they had opposed him, there was indeed no better alternative.
Amelia’s rebellion had caused her status to drop, but Raybold was still a contender against Count Desmond.
That military strength remains one of the top in the north. As Raoul said, they had to rely on Raybold, not Amelia.
Still, concerns didn’t fully dissipate.
“It hasn’t been long since but, Amelia could wreck Raybold’s forces. She could start rebellions similar to Baron Valua’s, right?”
“So we can’t just sit back. We’ll assign someone to keep an eye on Amelia and make sure she moves according to our wishes. Just like Harold, she shouldn’t be allowed to act freely.”
The staff nodded at Raoul’s words.
Count Desmond couldn’t be controlled easily just by appointing someone. Therefore, any commands issued would have to rely on the natural course of events.
But Amelia was a rookie who had just become a lord. She was likely still struggling to maintain internal order, so it should be possible to keep her in check with a little oversight.
The staff didn’t know much about Amelia. They thought she would comply willingly.
Of course, Raoul didn’t underestimate Amelia as much as the staff did.
‘Certainly… Harold requested someone to deal with Jurgen. He was to be sent to Amelia. But before we could even send anyone, Jurgen was dealt with, and the rebellion was a success.’
It meant she had the ability to eliminate the northern strongest swordsman. For a woman, she could be deemed quite capable.
Collecting his thoughts, Raoul continued in a chilling voice.
“Since Harold was contemplating whether to cast her aside, consider it fortunate. We will restructure the north centered around the personnel we send and Count Raybold’s forces. Afterward, we’ll leave the handling of that Ghislaine to them.”
He was an extremely busy man. He couldn’t afford to concern himself with the trivial northern affairs.
Ghislaine’s victory over Harold was certainly a remarkable feat, but there were many stronger great lords in this kingdom.
The battle between the Duke Faction and the Crown Prince Faction was just beginning. Powerful great lords, surpassing Desmond, were targeting each other.
Raoul looked around at his staff.
“We’re giving Marquis Branford one last chance.”
“One last chance?”
“If he steps down quietly, we’ll tell him he can peacefully transfer the crown.”
The staff shook their heads, looking a bit troubled.
“Marquis Branford wouldn’t accept that.”
“He is a person who never bows even when he is broken.”
“No matter what you offer, it won’t matter.”
Raoul nodded at their words. The character of Marquis Branford was famous throughout the kingdom.
“I know. Still, it seems the king is somewhat displeased, so we should at least convey a warning.”
“A warning, you say…?”
Raoul’s snake-like eyes glinted as he flashed a cruel smile.
“I mean to say I’ll bathe the royal family and the Crown Prince Faction in blood.”
*
As Ghislaine gathered his retainers and declared the next course of action, Claude interjected.
“What’s the plan?”
There were still many tasks to handle. They needed to relocate the territory residents of Desmond, merge towns, and continue training the new recruits.
Before Ghislaine could respond, Claude exclaimed in disbelief.
“Don’t tell me we have to do everything we’ve done in our territory here too? We need to create workshops, agricultural fields, build roads, produce more armaments, set up gambling houses! We need to recruit more administrators, quickly fill in the security gaps, do this and that… Ugh, why is there so much to do?”
Claude’s list seemed endless. The people around him turned pale as they were reminded of all their previous undertakings.
All of this required immense manpower and funds. With the growth of both population and territory, the scale had expanded significantly. They were truly going to have to work to the bone.
But now there was talk of starting something new as well?
Thoughts of meeting an untimely death at the hands of Count Desmond, who had returned alive, crossed their minds.
As Claude frantically gestured, Ghislaine chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
“Eh, it’s not all that hard. Thanks to taking Desmond, there’s a chance to start fresh.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s recap our goals. Everyone knows who we’ll be fighting against next, right?”
“…”
Everyone fell into silence. It was now common knowledge that the Duke Faction stood behind Count Desmond.
Moreover, Count Cabaldy, who was officially part of the Duke Faction, had also been beaten, and his territory seized.
It was evident that the Duke Faction wouldn’t stay silent. To be honest, they had managed to endure until now because the Crown Prince Faction had kept them in check.
If it weren’t for that, maybe they would have already been finished when they struck Count Cabaldy in Penris?
Similar thoughts flashed through everyone’s minds.
‘Ah, this seems a bit off.’
‘We really are going to fight, aren’t we?’
‘How did it come to this?’
Having been swept along with whatever Ghislaine wanted, they were faced with an unbelievable situation.
They defeated Count Desmond, known as the strongest in the north, and now they had to fight the Duke Faction. This was something they couldn’t quite wrap their heads around.
In fact, they had achieved an accomplishment worthy of pride. If their opponent were anyone other than the Duke Faction, they might not have even been afraid, but instead felt a bit overconfident.
However, knowing a powerful enemy awaited them quelled any such arrogance.
Seeing the humbled retainers after their great victory, Ghislaine smiled.
“I like that disposition. A person should be humble; it keeps one from being careless.”
“…”
Everyone remained silent. They had never actually seen the person saying that act humble.
“We will inevitably clash with the Duke Faction in the future. The battlefield may not just be the north but the entire kingdom.”
Penris alone couldn’t contend against the Duke Faction. Eventually, they would need to unite with the Crown Prince Faction to fight, which meant they would have to move frequently.
They might have to provide support here and there, and sometimes launch ambushes against the lords of the Duke Faction.
If they only focused on defense here, they would surely wither away.
Everyone understood that much.
Ghislaine spread out a map and pointed to a location.
“Our next target is here.”
The retainers confirmed the location Ghislaine indicated and swallowed their saliva.
‘Huh? That place?’
‘Are we really going to attack there?’
‘No way, you can’t be serious, right?’
The spot Ghislaine pointed out was the territory of Duke Roderick, located in the western part of the kingdom.
Although Duke Roderick’s territory is classified as a western region in relation to the capital, it is actually quite central when considering the entire kingdom.
The vast expanse of Duke Roderick’s territory connected all areas of the kingdom except the east. It could be seen as a crucial hub for transportation.
Ghislaine spoke with a gleeful expression.
“Do you know how rich it is there? Just by being there, you’ll wake up every day to money rolling in.”
Due to being a transportation hub, commerce flourished in Duke Roderick’s territory. This allowed them to accumulate an enormous wealth over generations.
With such overflowing money, Roderick could step up as a powerful great lord.
The Crown Prince Faction even stationed the kingdom’s army around the territory due to its proximity to the capital. It was the greatest threat in the event of a civil war.
If they seized this place, the Penris Army could spread out in all directions anytime.
“Besides, the east is tightly held by Marquis Branford and the Crown Prince Faction, so we don’t need to worry about that. Just by taking this place, we can stab the Duke Faction in various spots. We can significantly expand our range of movement. Also, the nobles of the Duke Faction can’t just act recklessly anymore, because they won’t know when they might get stabbed in the back.”
Claude scratched his head with a grim expression. He always felt that words came too easily.
“Lord? Duke Roderick is a long-standing great lord in the kingdom and the supreme commander of the western army. He’s a noble that neither the Duke Faction nor the Crown Prince Faction can treat lightly.”
Ghislaine gestured for Claude to keep going. With a sigh, Claude continued.
“Moreover, they’re incredibly strong. Even the poor Count Desmond was no match for them; they’re wealthier and more powerful than Desmond could ever be.”
“Don’t I know? Have I ever lost?”
“…How many victories was it again?”
This time, Gillian managed to hold his ground, and thanks to the quick arrival of reinforcements, they had a fortunate victory. But from what he heard, Ghislaine was the one who single-handedly wrecked everything.
So, he had no counter-arguments to provide.
“Alright, let’s say we’re going to take that place. Surely, the Duke Faction won’t just let go of such an important strategic location? They’ll be attacking us from all sides.”
“Then we’ll just smash them.”
Claude thought inwardly.
“…Yeah, go ahead and do whatever you want. When hasn’t it been like that?”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He didn’t even want to try persuading anymore. If the lord decided to take it, they would do whatever it took to go for it.
Of course, Ghislaine wasn’t aiming for Duke Roderick’s territory just because it seemed appetizing.
‘That guy is the overlord of the west.’
Just as Count Desmond governed the north, Duke Roderick oversaw the west. It was only natural for such a powerful great lord to do so.
He already held sway over all the nobles of the west. In his previous life, he was even the first to conquer the capital.
If they could knock him down first, there wouldn’t be anyone to lead the western nobles properly.
Ghislaine had no intention of exhausting himself with attrition battles against the small fry.
“I’m not saying we’re attacking right now. I mean we should prepare to target this place. From now on, it won’t just be a simple territorial battle. Once civil war breaks out, battles will erupt all over the kingdom.”
“Hmm, so we’re looking to seize that opportunity.”
Claude nodded. Surely, it would be riskier if they fought in a straightforward manner.
They could ally with the Crown Prince Faction and keep a lookout for opportunities where Duke Roderick might disperse his forces or leave his territory.
“Right, many lords will be on the move, and there will be continuous battles to gain strategic advantage. If we utilize that gap, we’ll have a fair chance of winning.”
“So, what do you plan to prepare?”
“There’s not much to prepare. The most critical thing we need to secure is a way to maintain our mobility. That’s our biggest advantage.”
“Mobility?”
“We’re training all our soldiers to ride horses. We are also providing them with very light Galbarium armor. In this kingdom, there probably won’t be any cavalry that matches our combination of defense and mobility.”
That much was true. Medium cavalry was slow and weak over long distances, while light cavalry was fast but lacked defense, easily falling to attacks from archers.
Claude understood what Ghislaine wanted.
“Then we need to finish road construction quickly.”
“Exactly, once the roads are connected in each territory, we can move faster than we could before. But we need one more thing.”
“What else do we need?”
“What do you think? Logistics are the most important for running around everywhere, right?”
“Logistics?”
“Yeah, even if we receive supplies normally, the supply routes could be blocked or become distant. We need to be prepared for that too. Depending on the situation, we may have to move rapidly.”
“Well, if we’re going to fight anyway, we’ll just have to manage with pillaging when supplies run low.”
“I won’t resort to that embarrassing looting.”
The former Plunder King said proudly.
In fact, one couldn’t sustain themselves for very long through plunder alone. It was a means rarely used unless in extreme situations.
It was also vulnerable to scorched earth tactics, and looting took time. The inhabitants of occupied lands would also grow hostile, resulting in a high failure rate.
Claude was aware of that, but hadn’t the lord himself claimed to be the Plunder King? He shot a glance at Ghislaine and continued.
“Aren’t you making a lot of biscuits right now? We might not have much chicken, but we’re also slowly producing dried meat. Isn’t that enough?”
“Of course not! That won’t last long.”
