Chapter 374
Chapter 374: Since We Don’t Have It, Let’s Make It. (1)
“UAAAAAA!”
Slam! Slam! Slam!
Marquis Roderick screamed as he slammed down the chair.
He couldn’t contain his rage, his whole body trembling. The retainers could only bow their heads, unable to speak.
“Twenty thousand! A whopping twenty thousand troops sent, and we still couldn’t catch that punk?”
One of the retainers mustered courage and spoke up.
“It’s b-been confirmed that Count Penris has reached Master status, hence the need for higher-level knights and soldiers…”
“Are you using that as an excuse?! Kill that guy right now!”
“U-uh, my lord! It’s not that…”
Slash!
Before the retainer could finish his excuse, a knight severed his neck. The retainer didn’t even have time to scream before his head fell.
The battlefield was steeped in greater horror.
Although Marquis Roderick was cruel, he was also composed like a great lord. Killing a retainer so openly in battle was extremely rare.
“Hoo… Hoo…”
Only the sound of Roderick’s heavy breathing echoed in the battlefield. No one dared to stop him.
After taking a long time to catch his breath, having just killed a retainer, Marquis Roderick spoke.
“So, we managed to encircle them, but the looting mercenaries all gathered and hit us from behind?”
Responses to questions were mandatory. Another retainer spiritedly answered.
“Y-yes. We prioritized capturing Count Penris, leaving that side unattended, so because of that…”
“But how did that punk manage to contact and gather them all? Didn’t they say they came in response to the battle?”
“It seems someone sneaked away to make contact.”
At that, Marquis Roderick’s breath grew rough once more.
“A military that can’t even maintain an encirclement! Tenant! What happened?!”
Tenant had no words. Howard, the overall commander, was someone he had recommended.
“I’m sorry. It’s due to my shortcomings.”
Marquis Roderick merely glared at him. He couldn’t afford to lose the best knight of his house to such a blunder.
“And the soldiers that fled?”
“Out of fear of punishment, they all ran away. There are groups of soldiers who banded together, and some fled to completely different areas.”
“Ugh…”
After the battle at Deiker Castle, bands of thieves began to plague the western regions. All of them were stray soldiers raiding villages.
Some groups started with as few as a hundred, while others amassed as many as a thousand. With nearly ten thousand soldiers scattered, it was to be expected.
The problem was that small territories were suffering because of them.
“Lords are requesting support. It’s hard to stop the bands of thieves with just our territory’s forces.”
“Ugh…”
The marquisate had been suppressing the lords so they couldn’t strengthen their forces. Whenever manpower was needed, the marquisate would send reinforcements instead.
Even aside from that, protecting vassals was a lord’s natural duty.
Instead of pursuing the Penris Army, the marquisate was at the point of needing to form a suppression force and send it to each territory.
Marquis Roderick grit his teeth.
“That punk has completely done me in.”
Territories had been ravaged, and now they were too busy trying to recover.
The cost of having lost a single battle was incredibly high. Losing twenty thousand troops was a loss that even the marquisate couldn’t take lightly.
While the weakening of military strength was an issue, the more significant problem was the tarnished honor of the marquisate.
“Because of that punk from the north, I’ve suffered such humiliation…”
As a high lord, he had never experienced such disgrace. Even the Crown Prince Faction would likely mock him.
In any case, the immediate priority was to stabilize the internal situation and placate the vassals. They needed to show that the marquisate was still strong to avoid being shaken.
“Tenant, assemble a suppression force to wipe out the thieves for good.”
“Understood.”
“And prepare the entire army for deployment. We will strike Penris.”
“…”
The retainers wished to voice their opposition, but no one dared. It was clear that opposing him now would make them directly face Marquis Roderick’s wrath.
Civil war was imminent. They had to coordinate operations with the Duke Faction. The task of Marquis Roderick was to breach the Kingdom Army on the western front and seize the capital rapidly.
It was the closest to the capital, but since the mainforce of the Kingdom Army was spread in the south to block the Duke Faction, the defense on the west was relatively weak.
But what if they fought Penris that was in the north? The plan devised by the Duke Faction would be thrown into disarray.
As the retainers kept silent, Tenant ultimately spoke up.
“If we move first, the strategy laid out by the Duke Faction will fall apart. It’s obvious the Crown Prince Faction will also act if we march north.”
“So are we just going to leave that punk alone?”
“It’s not too late to occupy Cardenia first and then proceed. We can prepare for deployment but stick to the original strategy…”
“Too late!”
Marquis Roderick shouted again, his voice filled with rage.
“By that time, all the nobles of the Kingdom will mock me! That I lost twenty thousand troops to some punk from the north and did nothing!”
“Count Penris is a Master. Soon, the rumors will spread…”
“He only brought four hundred troops and still couldn’t catch him! Do you think we can just use the excuse of being a Master to get away with it?!”
“…”
Tenant had no response to that. No matter how strong a Master was, it didn’t make sense to fail to capture him with twenty thousand troops.
Even with the mercenaries joining, it should have been normal for both sides to get annihilated. No, in fact, the problem was that those mercenaries had stirred chaos in the west.
Marquis Roderick spoke to Tenant.
“Are you unaware of the reputation of our army being lazy and not knowing how to fight?”
Of course, it was because they were strong that they hadn’t had to go to war. However, the results of this battle would further substantiate that rumor.
The nobles from other regions who wished to slander the marquisate would surely embellish the story.
Marquis Roderick, the high lord of the west, had pride as high as the sky. He could not simply let this matter slide.
“Contact the Duke Faction. I’ll split the army. One will head to the capital, and the other to the north; so get the plans underway quickly. We must prepare for deployment no matter what.”
Tenant closed his eyes.
Even though Marquis Roderick’s power was great, his opponent was Marquis Branford and the Kingdom Army. There was no guarantee that he could easily breach with half the troops.
But here, Roderick was the lord. If he ordered it, they had to comply.
They had to quickly find a way to victory, doing their utmost.
Tenant bowed his head.
“I will convey the marquis’ wishes to the Duke Faction.”
“Good. Issue a summons to all lords. They must finish their preparations as quickly as possible.”
“Understood.”
The retainers echoed in unison, bowing their heads. While they couldn’t shake their worries, they saw a glimmer of hope.
The Crown Prince Faction still did not know the true power of the marquisate. Even splitting the army in half, they should still be able to handle the Kingdom Army.
Thus began the full-fledged preparations for war under the furious command of Marquis Roderick.
*
“WAAAAH!”
“Our lord has achieved victory again!”
“The undefeated conqueror!”
When Ghislaine returned to the territory, the territory residents flooded the streets to cheer.
They had already received word of numerous victories through the messenger. Now, the residents prepared a festival for Ghislaine’s return from his expedition.
“I knew he would win again.”
“Of course! Our lord is the greatest in the north. A Master, after all.”
“What’s a Master?”
“A nickname meaning one who excels at defeating people. It basically means he’s a master at beating people.”
“Ah, so that’s why he always wins.”
In this way, Ghislaine enjoyed immense trust from the territory residents.
Their lives were increasingly becoming comfortable, and after seizing Desmond, the scarcity of daily necessities was resolving little by little.
The victorious lord always returned with immense spoils from war.
Indeed, at the end of his triumphant return were hundreds of wagons following behind.
“Wow, is all that loot?”
“It seems to be far more than before.”
“Truly, our lord is the best!”
There was one more reason the residents were delighted. Every time Ghislaine won a war, he generously shared alcohol, meat, and other necessities with the territory residents.
By doing so, he boosted the morale of the residents and instilled a sense of confidence in always winning.
This was one of the ways Ghislaine united everyone.
When the loyalty of the territory residents is high, their productivity changes. During a total mobilization, they would all become exceptional soldiers to defend the territory.
Just as the residents had hoped, Ghislaine smiled wide and raised his hand.
“All of this is thanks to your efforts in supporting the territory! Soon, I will share drinks and meat while providing appropriate rewards, so look forward to it!”
“WAAAAAH!”
“Our lord is the best at spending money!”
“I will work even harder!”
Every time this happened, Claude would complain about not having any money, but recently, it had changed a bit.
As soon as Claude saw the return procession, he was delighted at the immense amount of wealth.
“Wow, we’ve been getting loot back to the territory, but this time it’s something else!”
“Yeah, this one’s a final haul, so we all swept it clean.”
“Wait, did Roderick Marquis just let this happen? He didn’t chase us?”
“They’re busy right now, you see. They have to catch the deserters. Their surrounding forces have all been raided.”
“Hahaha! Looks like they gotta get their act together after a beating!”
Hearing the circumstances, Claude clutched his stomach and laughed. Tenant had come here before, boasting around, so this was very satisfying.
“Go on and give the territory residents some alcohol and meat, plus the necessities. Let them all feel encouraged.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Claude sighed but didn’t fuss about it.
This wealth was taken from seven territories. While they all might be small territories, gathered together, they made quite a significant amount.
And thanks to the resources gained from the Forest of Monsters, the income was increasing sharply as well.
Additionally, the food production capacity of Perdium had also skyrocketed. The Forest of Monsters had exceptional fertility compared to other places.
Honestly, food was now abundant to the point it was close to being thrown away.
“What about the Runestone? Will you continue selling it at that price at the Tower of the Bloody Flame?”
“Yeah, for the time being, let’s keep doing that.”
“Well, we still have plenty left… but isn’t the Tower of the Crimson Flame done for? Is there really a need?”
“Now isn’t the time to conserve. It’s time to use everything we can and be generous.”
There wasn’t much time left until civil war broke out. While weakening the enemy’s power was important, enhancing the strength of allies was crucial as well.
The Tower of the Bloody Flame would be a great asset to the Crown Prince Faction, who lacked magical power. To do that, they needed to support them more than ever.
The same went for the Crown Prince Faction. Penris had already gained all the benefits it could from food.
They planned to provide the overflowing resources of Penris to enable the Crown Prince Faction to develop their ability to wage war.
Claude understood Ghislaine’s words and nodded.
“Indeed, there’s no need to hoard. It’s our turn now to nurture the Crown Prince Faction.”
“Exactly. The Crown Prince Faction needs to hold up well so we can move comfortably. The resources held by the Duke Faction and Marquis Roderick are beyond imagination.”
“Then I’ll get that ready quickly as well.”
Usually playful, Claude handled the necessary matters precisely. He would prepare that part well.
“Don’t forget the war preparations.”
“Of course.”
Now that they had offended Marquis Roderick, there was no way he would let this slide. Additionally, the increasingly tangled plans of the Duke Faction would eventually lead them to rapidly initiate civil war.
Penris needed to complete all preparations to be able to deploy at any moment and sharpen the soldiers.
As soon as they returned, Ghislaine immediately checked the status of the territory and went to find Galbarik.
Galbarik and the dwarves greeted Ghislaine with their usual dazed expressions.
“Ugh… Lord, you’ve finally returned.”
“Yeah, has everything I told you to prepare been done?”
Ghislaine had ordered Galbarik to create a new product before heading out to plunder the west.
Galbarik nodded with tired eyes. He looked exhausted, yet his expression was full of confidence.
“Yes. The prototype is already complete, and we’re ready to start full-scale production.”
“Great! We don’t have much time, so let’s ramp up production quickly.”
Ghislaine smiled in satisfaction.
If they could prepare the targeted quantity, this new product would completely change the course of the war.
