Chapter 421
Chapter 421: Let’s Use the Strongest Power. (1)
The presence of the Northern Army, numbering as many as 80,000, was truly formidable.
Even setting aside the reputation of Penris, their sheer number was enough to make even the most prominent lords feel pressure.
Moreover, the commander leading them was none other than Count Penris, the strongest in the North.
Knowing that the Northern Army was heading out to deal with the rift, the lords in their path couldn’t help but fear whether that sword might turn towards them.
The soldiers of the Northern Army could sense this atmosphere fully. Even the soldiers from other territories involuntarily puffed up their chests with pride.
“Hey, look. Wasn’t it a good call to betray?”
A middle-aged man chuckled, stroking his magnificently grown beard. He was the leader of the spies who had defected from Desmond a long time ago.
Surprisingly, he had gained recognition for his achievements and skills and was now in charge of one of Penris’s cavalry companies.
“Exactly. Life is all about timing.”
“Listening to your orders back then was the right choice. I was so scared when facing Roderick. I almost betrayed again!”
The other two had also become the deputy of the spy leader. The leader furrowed his brows at their words.
“Hey, be careful with your words. If you keep calling me ‘leader,’ people will start to suspect. And don’t bring up betrayal either. We’ve cleaned our past well, and if we get caught, we’re done for. We’ve just made the choice that fit the times.”
“Oops, right. Hehe.”
The members laughed, scratching their heads. They were the personification of betrayal, yet no one was the wiser.
The three were subtly competent. They worked hard to survive, so they were rather well-regarded in their territory.
However, one thing was troubling…
“Hey, why is that intelligence officer snickering at us whenever he passes by? What does he know?”
“No way… If he knew, wouldn’t we have already been caught and killed?”
“Right? Just a feeling, I guess?”
Every once in a while, when the lord, the chief officer, and the intelligence officer spotted them, they would pass by chuckling.
Since they had taken Desmond, it had been like this.
‘Surely they’re not leaving us alone while knowing? I burned all the documents at the intelligence training facility as soon as we took Desmond… Yeah, it must just be my imagination. We’ve shown how loyal we are to the territory.’
They believed they were hard-working individuals contributing to the territory. That was why they hadn’t come out of the labor squad and had even gotten promoted.
So surely, even knowing their origins, they wouldn’t keep them alive just to exploit their usefulness…
The leader swallowed hard, thinking that far. No, it couldn’t be. It mustn’t be.
Except for the ones feeling anxious, the morale of the Northern Army was at its peak.
The sheer number raised the momentum, and the illustrious Count Penris and his close associates were present as well.
Ghislaine looked at the map and asked Gillian.
“We’ll arrive soon. But the rift must have expanded quite a bit.”
“The marching speed is slow, so it can’t be helped. However, all surrounding residents have evacuated.”
“Tsk, even after urging them…”
The marching speed of the Northern Army didn’t satisfy Ghislaine. This was largely due to their overwhelming numbers, with most being infantry.
It was also natural for them to slow down due to the food wagons and numerous equipment they had to carry.
In truth, for the scale, they weren’t particularly slow. In fact, if other lords saw them, they would be quite astonished.
However, if the Penris forces moved alone, they would have already arrived.
Ghislaine clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“It’s impossible to speed up further.”
At that moment, the soldiers at the rear were panting and barely keeping up. Regardless of morale, the standard of the soldiers couldn’t keep up with the Penris forces at all.
However, they couldn’t just have the Penris forces move ahead.
“How much have they increased?”
“The last report mentioned around 100,000. It’s probably more now.”
No matter how elite the Penris forces were, trying to hold back over 100,000 Cracked Beings with just them would result in immense damage.
Since they were unable to block Equidema in time, the number of Cracked Beings was increasing wildly.
Each lord at the rift was making efforts to stop the expansion, but due to the sheer number of Cracked Beings, the territorial forces could only continue to retreat.
The only silver lining was that it took time for the rift to expand, preventing the Cracked Beings from spreading too far.
“Tell them to hang in there a little longer. We’re almost there.”
Ghislaine encouraged the soldiers and led them forcefully. Aware of the seriousness of the situation, the soldiers followed as best as they could.
After several days of forced marching, the Northern Army finally reached their destination. It was the closest territory in the North.
There were several tents set up near the barrier line, which had been fortified with plenty of palisades.
The filthy soldiers standing guard at the camp boundaries brightened up upon seeing the Northern Army.
“It’s the Northern Army! The Northern Army has arrived!”
“Count Penris has come!”
“We’re saved, we’re saved!”
The soldiers, exhausted from fighting the Cracked Beings, looked like defeated troops. It was only natural they would be relieved to see the Northern Army.
Soon, a scruffy-looking man ran towards Ghislaine, breathless, and saluted.
“I-I present myself to the commander of the Northern Army! I am Baron Spenbell, in charge of the defense here.”
“Hmm? Where’s the lord?”
“A-Ah, he has evacuated to a safe place!”
“What a pathetic fellow.”
“……”
Baron Spenbell could say nothing in response to Ghislaine’s words.
The lord had the right to protect the territory residents. Yet, the lord was the first to flee.
‘Indeed, most of the nobles in this kingdom are utterly useless.’
After clicking his tongue several times, Ghislaine inquired about the situation.
“How much has the rift expanded?”
“Currently, one castle and three towns have completely fallen under their domain.”
That level of expansion was roughly equivalent to a Small Barony in scale. It was already too late to attack from outside the territory.
Ghislaine sighed.
“We must break in to kill Equidema.”
Equidema doesn’t move far from the rift. So, when blocking the rift, battles against relatively weak Cracked Beings become the primary focus.
However, if they’re unable to properly hold back the Cracked Beings this time and get pushed out, they will inevitably have to move through numerous Cracked Beings and suffer damage.
Ghislaine’s close associates swallowed hard upon hearing Baron Spenbell’s words.
“That’s an extraordinary pace.”
“They’ve already expanded to a level of a Small Territory.”
“If we don’t handle this quickly, the entire kingdom will be overrun by those things.”
Unlike them, Ghislaine wasn’t particularly surprised. Compared to his previous life, this wasn’t particularly fast at all. The erosion rate would only increase as time went on.
Still, this territory was indeed eroding slightly faster than others. There was a reason for that.
“You said it started from a small village? Tell me the location of that village.”
“Yes, right away!”
Baron Spenbell spread out the map and pointed to a specific location. It was where the rift had opened in the village.
Rifts that occur in villages with nothing around them expand at a quicker rate than those appearing in castles or cities.
In his past life, there was a hypothesis that the less disturbed nature was, the fewer obstructions there were, and with abundant mana, the erosion rate would be faster.
Ghislaine nodded at the location Baron Spenbell pointed out.
He had pinpointed the location. Now, they just needed to sweep away the Cracked Beings and go in to kill Equidema.
“Lead your forces to the nearest evacuation point. There should be an empty castle or city, right?”
“Th-That… Not yet…”
At those words, Ghislaine glared furiously as he grabbed Baron Spenbell by the collar.
“You were clearly instructed to create space for isolating the troops participating in battles in preparation for plagues, right? How many times have I repeated myself and sent official documents? And yet you didn’t make the space?”
“The lord refused… He said as long as they set up a barrier line and held on, it would be enough…”
“You foolish brat.”
This was the problem. There were way too many of these idiots who, even when given the method, failed to follow through due to their greed.
If the city and castle were emptied, the territory’s production capacity and economic power would plummet instantly. Naturally, they wouldn’t be able to collect taxes properly.
Out of reluctance to do that, lords were putting their soldiers in danger by refusing to listen.
These fools were precisely why a few examples had been made in the West. Yet those operating outside Penris’s influence dismissed Ghislaine’s words as a joke.
In the end, Ghislaine decided to use force.
“By the authority of the commander of the Northern Army, I revoke all rights of Count Heseltine. The charge is treason. Understood?”
“Y-Your Excellency!”
Baron Spenbell’s face turned pale. Treason! Was that simply a charge thrown around without evidence?
That was absurd. Even Marquis Branford, the most powerful person in the kingdom, couldn’t just do that.
When a lord becomes a traitor, all of their retainers are doomed as well. That’s why Baron Spenbell was so shocked.
“You’ve put the kingdom in danger, so it’s treason in essence. Don’t worry. The blame will fall solely on Count Heseltine. From now on, you are the lord of this place.”
“M-Me?”
“Yeah. Right away, select a few knights and have them clear out a nearby city. Tell the residents to move to another city. Compensation will be sufficiently handled from Penris. The messengers must be knights who can use mana. Understood?”
Knights are relatively safe from diseases. Mana blocks diseases from infiltrating. So, the knights need to be the ones moving as messengers.
Under the pressure of Ghislaine’s assertiveness, Baron Spenbell nodded.
“Y-Yes, understood.”
“Now, you are the lord of this territory. Anyone who opposes, let them come find me. Gather the forces and wait at the evacuation point. Soon, Marquis Branford will send supplies there.”
“Y-Your Excellency, that won’t be as easy as it sounds.”
Naturally. There were the count’s remaining forces and nobles bound by blood relations. The justification of treason was more or less a stretch.
The count had forces left over as well. If Baron Spenbell designated himself as lord, Count Heseltine would definitely not let it slide.
However, Ghislaine was not someone to make empty threats.
“Call the captain of the 8th Cavalry.”
When Ghislaine spoke, Harrison, the leader of the spies from Desmond, entered with a perplexed expression.
“L-Loyalty! I am Harrison, the captain of the 8th Cavalry!”
“Yeah, we’ve seen each other’s faces a few times, right?”
“Yup!”
“You’re capable enough, or so I’ve heard.”
“Y-Yeah?”
Why was he suddenly asking such things? Feeling an ominous atmosphere, Harrison started to sweat.
‘Am I… caught? Are they planning to kill me here?’
The two deputies following Harrison were also visibly on edge.
Fortunately, what came out of Ghislaine’s mouth wasn’t a death sentence.
“Immediately lead the troops and capture Count Heseltine. Deliver my orders. You can use Marquis Branford’s name. If he resists, feel free to kill him. Understood?”
“Understood!”
Relieved that his identity hadn’t been discovered, Harrison responded cheerfully and energetically.
Baron Spenbell stumbled over his words in response to the absurd situation that was progressing smoothly.
“Y-Your Excellency, is this really permissible?”
This wasn’t the North. Even if it was at the fringes, it still belonged to the central area of the kingdom.
No matter how much of a commander of the Northern Army one was, this shouldn’t be done. Even as the commander, he could only exert minimal authority over the Northern lords during wartime.
And even that only pertained to military authority. Only the royal family could revoke a lord’s standing. Even someone who committed a crime equal to treason.
But Ghislaine was no longer in a mood for leniency.
“I’ve received full authority regarding the rift. So just follow my orders. I won’t tolerate any more losses due to idiots. Think of this as a reward for your hard-fought battles against the rift.”
Under Ghislaine’s terrifying glare, Baron Spenbell lowered his head. He had just fought hard under orders, and now he was being offered the lordship.
‘Wow, is this good? Am I a lord now?’
What they said about Count Penris offering rewards generously was indeed true.
Initially startled, Baron Spenbell found it wasn’t such a bad deal. Since it was given by Count Penris, no one would dare question it.
With that strong backing, his confidence swelled.
‘I must obey.’
If he followed orders, he would receive substantial rewards, while disobedience would bring down the hammer. In a brief moment, Baron Spenbell grasped Ghislaine’s personality and vigorously saluted.
“Then I will send a messenger right away, and we will retreat to the nearby city!”
“Proceed with that.”
With Ghislaine’s determination not to hold back any longer, the situation was tidied up in an instant. The forces now under Baron Spenbell prepared for retreat.
The Northern Army would be going to eliminate Equidema, so there was no longer any reason for them to stay. They just needed to send back the troops assigned for surveillance after Equidema was gone.
“Let’s go.”
Ghislaine led the Northern Army slowly towards the Rift Area.
Soon, they arrived at a region heavily shrouded in green mist.
As they stepped into the area, a very faint sound of a beast’s cry reached their ears.
— Rumble…
