Chapter 365
Chapter 365: Who’s Harassing Whom? (2)
Marquis Roderick continued to chuckle as if he found it all amusing. To him, this whole affair was merely a diversion from his otherwise dull routine.
Showcasing his power and instilling fear in others—this was his favorite pastime.
“It has indeed been quite boring lately.”
There were hardly any stiff-necked individuals left around. The only ones around were mere small fry.
This was because the Marquis had been a dominant figure in the West for a very long time.
When power accumulates, there’s an urge to explode. Having reigned over the West for ages, he felt a constant desire to show off that power.
However, due to the Duke Faction’s control, he had to suppress that impulse forcefully. He certainly wasn’t about to let this good opportunity slip away.
“When is the Cosmetics Merchant Group arriving?”
“Next month, I believe.”
“Oh my, I need to prepare quickly. Tenant.”
“Yes?”
“First, let’s hit that. Just a little test. Let’s provoke the Penris brat and Marquis Branford a bit.”
“How many should we send?”
“Let’s send enough… about a thousand?”
A thousand could wage a small territorial war and conduct a territory conquest. But to Marquis Roderick, it was merely a suitable number to shake down one merchant group.
Tenant also replied nonchalantly, as if a thousand were nothing unusual.
“I’ll ensure that the name of House Roderick is firmly established, and we’ll bring back some goods too.”
“Right, right. Just the thought of them protesting already sends a thrill down my spine. Once we really start a war, it’ll be even more fun.”
Marquis Roderick shivered with genuine delight. He practically felt grateful to that dead kid from the Drake Mercenary Group.
“Once ready, inform all nobles that we have a justifiable reason. That way, we can openly harass the Penris brat.”
Thus, Marquis Roderick began preparations to plunder Ghislaine’s Cosmetics Merchant Group.
*
Though Rosalyn was in charge of selling cosmetics and expanding the branches, Penris was not leaving everything to chance.
Sending cosmetics to each branch was Penris’s responsibility.
Originally, they sent goods only to the capital, but as the cosmetic business expanded, Penris had more to manage.
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
The merchant group was on the move, headed to their branch in the West. Dozens of wagons were loaded with goods, and the escorting personnel numbered nearly 400.
A knight observing from a distance remarked,
“What’s going on? Why does everyone look like that? Do they usually walk around like beggars?”
The knight clicked his tongue. Upon checking again, he confirmed that it was indeed Ghislaine’s Cosmetics Merchant Group. The banners of Penris and Marquis Branford were clearly displayed.
Yet, the escorting soldiers and laborers were all draped in dark robes, looking like some sort of assassination group at first glance.
The knight examined the procession and muttered,
“Hmmm, but there are way more escorts than I expected?”
According to confirmed information, the usual escort for the cosmetics merchant group coming to the West was about 200.
That was already quite a lot. After all, the Crown Prince Faction wasn’t a region that typically had such heavy escorts.
But now, they had doubled.
“So they’re quite scared, huh?”
The knight was the commander of the force sent from House Roderick to ambush the merchant group.
“They confidently rejected the Marquis’s request, but it seems they prepared something.”
He looked over the troops behind him.
He had brought along around 800 soldiers, with an additional 200 waiting elsewhere.
“I don’t expect to lose, but they have more men than we heard. It’s better to approach cautiously. Well, if they engage, we’ll just have to fight.”
He assumed that the opponent would flee instead of resisting. If those attached to the merchant group weren’t fools, they would quickly sense that they were being targeted.
However, with that many people, they could most likely dare to fight back.
“It would be great if they panic and scatter. Then it would be easier to strike….”
The knight was muttering to himself when he raised his hand.
Flap!
The banner of House Roderick went up over the soldiers’ heads.
The knight had no intention of pretending to be a bandit. He was ready to escalate the conflict and make sure everyone knew who was responsible.
“Let’s go!”
Dududududu!
House Roderick’s troops moved toward the merchant group. The sudden approach of a large force visibly startled the individuals escorting the merchant group.
They quickly turned to flee upon recognizing the approaching force’s banners.
A coat of arms featuring two axes crossed over a tower.
They realized it was the emblem of the renowned House Roderick from the Kingdom.
“Ha ha ha! They’re fleeing without even fighting! Perfect!”
The knight commanding the troops from House Roderick laughed heartily.
While the opponent had reinforced the merchant group’s escorts in anticipation, they must have been shocked to see twice their number charging at them.
It was even better for them. Those fools probably had no idea what was waiting for them as they fled.
“Don’t chase them too quickly! We need to lead them to the designated spot!”
Everyone in their ranks was cavalry. Meanwhile, while their opponents were also riding horses, they were hauling many wagons.
Dududududu!
They could easily catch up at any moment, but the knight adjusted their speed to ensure that they could drive the opponents in the desired direction.
As it became a tug-of-war with the distance, the Penris merchant group could only comply with House Roderick’s wishes.
In this area, there were no escape routes outside of the road leading in and out of the merchant group. The knight knew this and had deliberately set up camp here to wait.
“We’re almost there.”
He spotted a low gorge in the distance. The Penris merchant group had no choice but to enter the gorge, fleeing from the troops of House Roderick pursuing closely behind.
Seeing the situation, the knight couldn’t help but smile cruelly.
“You foolish fools. This area is all under our thumb. It seems I can deal with this easier than I thought.”
The knight was grinning with satisfaction. If he could annihilate over 400 of the opponent’s forces, he would receive great recognition.
It also meant diminishing Penris’s military power in a broader sense.
Dududududu!
The Penris merchant group, desperately trying to escape, ultimately couldn’t exit the gorge and came to a stop.
A line of troops was waiting on the other side, erecting barricades. They had walked right into a trap.
The knight of House Roderick raised his hand to slow the speed of his following troops and slowly entered the gorge.
“Hey, Penris brats! I am Brian, a knight of House Roderick.”
As Brian called out casually, an individual wearing a robe stepped forward from the Penris merchant group.
Still shrouded in the robe, his face wasn’t fully visible.
“Why are you pursuing us from the Marquis’s house?”
“Are you running away without knowing why? You know very well! Do you really think you could safely do business here after rejecting the Marquis’s request?”
In response to Brian’s taunting, the robed figure spoke calmly.
“Are you planning to interfere in a business that involves Marquis Branford? We’ve already made a contract with Marquis Roderick.”
Nobles from different factions didn’t entirely ignore each other. After all, they were all nobles of the same kingdom, just with differing political directions.
Thus, they helped each other out when needed and dealt with conflicts as necessary. Back in Ghislaine’s previous life, the Duke Faction’s ambitions became an issue only when they became too blatant.
No matter how powerful Roderick was, he couldn’t simply block the cosmetics that many nobles in the West desired.
It was a product many from the Marquis Family also used. There was no need to obstruct something proven to work so well.
But now the situation had changed. Roderick craved war.
Brian smirked and continued speaking.
“That contract is now void. We have justifiable grounds to strike at Penris. No, ‘strike’ doesn’t even fit—there’s too much of a gap in our levels. To be precise, we plan to continue harassing Penris from now on.”
The robed man sighed and shook his head.
“In that case, you should notify Marquis Branford first and wrap things up.”
“I’ll kill you lot first. By now, a messenger may have already reached Marquis Branford. What’s certain is….”
Brian drew his sword, pointing it at the robed figure.
“You all will die right here, and we’ll take all those cosmetics with us. So, there’s no need for you to surrender. I won’t accept it.”
The robed figure nodded a few times, then pushed back his hood.
A hardened face emerged from beneath his white hair. It was Gillian.
Gillian addressed those around him.
“Unload the goods.”
Kuwung! Kuwung! Kuwung!
The escorting soldiers swiftly unloaded long wooden boxes from the wagons. Seeing this, Brian’s laughter grew.
“Wait, are you surrendering right now? Do you think we’ll spare you if you give that up? I’ll just kill all of you and take it. Are you northern country bumpkins really that hard of hearing?”
Ignoring Brian, Gillian waved his hand at his subordinates.
“Open it.”
Clash, clash, clash.
The boxes opened. Instead of cosmetics, they were filled to the brim with sharp, long spears and enormous greatswords.
“What? It wasn’t cosmetics? Who are you guys?”
Brian’s face twisted in disbelief. All the boxes unloaded from the wagons were packed with weapons.
Gillian still ignored Brian’s words, walking to the center wagon and knocking on its door.
“Doesn’t seem like there’s any other trick.”
Clunk.
The door of the wagon opened slowly, and Ghislaine stepped down, surveying the surroundings and clicking his tongue.
“I was expecting some trick, but this is it? You’ve just surrounded us. If you had meant to fight straight up, I’d have fought, but this whole roundabout thing isn’t necessary.”
Then, a man next to the wagon pulled off his hood.
“Ah, I told you to just fight! What are you so curious about?”
The one complaining was Kaor. He had been dragged here immediately after returning to the territory.
Ghislaine shrugged and said, “Well, this is better if we’re gonna handle it all at once, right? We know your pattern well.”
“Then let’s just kill them. My body’s been itching for a fight again. And what? Who’s harassing whom? I’m just baffled. Let’s see who can harass better.”
In Kaor’s eyes, Ghislaine was the top harasser in the world. He considered himself second.
As the two engaged in their playful banter, Brian shot a cold gaze.
“Who are you? Are you the merchant leader?”
Ghislaine frowned.
“What? Don’t you recognize my face? Haven’t you received my portrait? I’m not famous yet?”
“……”
Brian momentarily lost his words. Something about the way he spoke as if he were some celebrity rubbed him the wrong way.
And that nonchalance somehow grated on him.
“I asked who you are.”
“I’m Count Penris.”
“……!”
At Ghislaine’s response, the soldiers from House Roderick momentarily held their breath.
Count Penris had gained a reputation for being a master-level figure. If that rumor were true, they wouldn’t be able to stop Ghislaine’s forces here.
‘But…….’
Among the soldiers of House Roderick, there were other rumors circulating as well. It was said that all the achievements attributed to Ghislaine were actually those of his subordinates.
This was an evaluation made by Tenant, a high-ranking knight of the Marquis family, after personally witnessing Count Penris.
Of course, there were disclaimers suggesting other abilities might exist, so caution was advised.
Brian cautiously asked again, “Are you… really Count Penris?”
“Yes, I am Count Penris.”
That confidence seemed genuine, but it was hard to believe it just from words.
At that moment, a knight approached Brian and whispered. It was a knight who had been to Penris with Tenant.
“It’s really Count Penris. I saw him with Tenant back then.”
‘Got him!’
Brian’s heart raced.
He trusted the word of Tenant, who had seen Count Penris in person, far more than the rumors floating around.
What if he could capture the legendary noble and lord of the North, Count Penris, right here?
The possibilities for his future endeavors would be practically guaranteed.
Resolute, he shouted earnestly.
“Attack! Kill everyone except Count Penris! If it’s troublesome, we can even kill Count Penris! We just need his head intact!”
Dududududu!
The cavalry of House Roderick spurred their horses and charged in an instant.
Seeing the advancing forces of House Roderick, Ghislaine remarked,
“Get ready. It feels like it’s been ages since we had everyone gathered like this.”
The 400 individuals Ghislaine had brought were the Knights of Penris. He had the intent to cause a proper ruckus, so he had brought them all along.
Clash, clash.
The knights withdrew their greatswords from the boxes. Then Ghislaine spread his arms and declared,
“Leave not a single one alive. It’s time to instill fear of us in the West.”
Guooooo!
The hundreds of spears that had been kept within the boxes slowly floated into the air.
