My Villains Episode 329
57. Preamble (10)
The marching ranks became busy in an instant. It was because the order to prepare the camp was given around dusk.
The soldiers found a flat area near the road, scooped up snow, lowered the tent from the cart, and climbed the hill in search of firewood.
“This way.”
As I was following the messenger through the cluttered soldiers, I suddenly asked a question.
“…hey messenger.”
“Tell me.”
“Even if it’s me, why are you taking this person?”
Next to me was Princess Theodora, a beautiful genital woman, walking confidently. She too was called to the meeting.
“The princess is accompanying me, but she is not a party to this war. But does it make sense to call the military doctor?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m just a messenger, sir. Go and ask the general directly.”
“…doesn’t sound like you’re very apologetic?”
Theodora smiled and dissuaded me from trying to make fun of myself.
“No way sir. How strange it is for the commander to ask for the accompaniment of the younger brother.” “I am not a subordinate of the former Marquis, so there is no need for the princess to answer the call.”
“I’m really fine, so please don’t mind. And what is ‘a place like this’? It’s an army of faithful Gwangmyeong followers.”
Theodora who said that was dressed in a surcoat over shiny scale armor.
If it had been that far, it would have been the typical appearance of a Kalandari paladin, but just taking off the heavy full helm and putting it on his side was quite a different picture.
This is because her light blonde hair and radiant features were clearly visible. In the midst of the gloomy everywhere, she is showing off her fresh colors alone, so it is inevitable that her gaze will naturally gather.
“……Hey.”
“Who is that? Are you human?”
The soldiers setting up the tent were captivated by Theodora’s strong yet captivating figure.
Some of them displayed disrespectful attitudes, such as licking their lips or casting sly glances. But Theodora, as if nothing had happened, rather glanced around and made eye contact with the swaying crowd.
A look of arrogance at first glance.
At least the light green eyes with tenderness made it look like haughtiness instead of arrogance.
“That princess. princess? hey?”
“…ah. What did you say?”
“This way. Command.”
“Um, that’s right.”
As the soldiers dispersed at the disobedience of a sergeant, Theodora shook her head with a look of regret.
“Let’s go sir.”
…Is this lady the type to enjoy other people’s eyes
?
“Welcome, Princess. And Lord Phoenix.”
“General McNeil.”
McNeil was a man who appeared to be in his mid to late forties. Except for the messy beard, it’s an ordinary impression.
It was said that he was a person who started his military life as a conscript and rose to the position of general, but on the outside he looked like a dwarf man.
After bowing to Theodora and me, General McNeil looked around the tent with calm eyes and urged his men.
“Hurry up. Everyone is waiting for you.”
Excluding the officer spreading a map on the central table, the soldiers bringing in a small stove and firewood, and the attendants bringing chairs from somewhere, there seemed to be about a dozen people who could be called ‘command’.
As I was looking at it, someone spoke to me.
“You’re late, pilgrim knight.”
It was Baron Ruyan, a handsome boy with reddish-brown eyes that seemed to hold fire.
Unlike a few days ago, he was wearing a chain vest and a thick cloak over leather clothes.
Well, he still doesn’t look like a lord. A 13-year-old boy with a mercenary aura…
I swallowed a bitter smile inside and sat down next to Ruyan with Theodora.
“You came first.”
“of course.”
“I heard from my subordinates. You hired some mercenaries?”
“…however? Are you going to reprimand me?” “Could it be possible?” When Confair and some of his subordinates gathered mercenaries in Lianwell, he ordered them to pick only 20 mercenaries based on their skills.
In the middle of the city, the only way to see their skills was to compete in person, so Confyer called the applicants to the entrance of the plaza and held a sparring.
And at the end of the test, Baron Ruyan appeared from somewhere and recruited all those who narrowly failed the test.
“Well, the baron didn’t do anything bad, did he? Rather, I think it was a clever move.”
“It was an act of trying to be praised by the Lord. And in the first place, you are not in a position to reprimand or praise me.”
“Yes. Because I am just a knight.”
“okay. You are smart.”
Seeing the boy pretending to cross his legs, I groped the corners of his mouth to cover his smile. Then he looked at the others and lowered his voice.
“Looks like all the lords are gathering, right?”
“no. Only the seven men with the largest number of troops were present.” Ruyan also looked around and lowered his voice.
“By the way, it can be said that I am the one with the highest rank.”
“You mean Baron Ruyan?”
“Two of the seven are not lords, but knights who act in his place, and four are barons like me, but with fewer troops than me.”
He murmured, ‘Good job filling up a hundred at Lianwell…’ and shrugged.
“Anyway, my rank is the highest.”
“…I think Baron Tosses over there is about four times older than Baron Luyan?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just because the day you die is near doesn’t make you nobler.”
Has this little boy not received home education?
…Well, since he said his father was executed and his mother went mad, that could be the case. I need you to understand.
Ru Yan’s clear eyebrows wrinkled slightly as if he had noticed my pitiful gaze.
He was about to open his mouth when he heard General McNeil’s voice.
“It looks like everyone has gathered, so let’s start the military uniform.”
I looked inside the tent again and raised my palms.
“…everyone gathered? Isn’t Count Ossu here?”
“You must be a bit tired, so you are resting first, Sir Phoenix. If you allow it, I will preside over the meeting on behalf of the little lord.”
General Macneil is nominally Adjutant to the Earl of Orth, but he is actually in charge of this army. It was a fact known to everyone here.
With everyone’s silence, McNeil cleared his throat and started talking.
“If we leave early tomorrow morning, we will reach the plateau around noon. It is to enter the battlefield.”
The general pointed out the border between Antrum and the plateau on the map.
“The main battle line is centered around High Castle, a giant castle west of the plateau. The 3 Prince and most of his main force are gathered here.”
“Then you can put your mind at ease until near the border. I just need to secure a supply route and proceed slowly.”
When the elderly lord, Baron Toset, said that, Luyan laughed.
“It’s too early to be careless.”
“…what does that mean?”
“A friend from the west gave me the news. Just as the silver prince gained us, the enemies also gained new reinforcements.”
The eyes of the lord, knights, and officers all focused on the boy lord.
It must have been burdensome, but Ruyan just flicked his feet with his chin resting on the armrest.
“The ‘Bloodmane Mercenaries’ have arrived.”
“what? Is it true?”
General Macneil, who was stared at by the old baron, rubbed his forehead in affirmation.
“This is the intelligence I also obtained while preparing for the campaign. Baron Ruyan himself tipped me off.”
As the eyes gathered again, the boy lord waved his hand with a natural face and said, ‘Thank you for your words.’
“It’s not a definite intelligence, I just reported it to the Marquis, but I just received a letter. A fleet of ships moved into Blade Bay and unleashed a group of goddamned bandits. They were aiming for a gap in the activity of the fish people.”
“…Oh Lord. When?”
“It was seven days ago. It looks like Abillambus or Burcard hired you in advance.”
“Lord.”
Some, including Baron Tosses, turned their complexions pale, but the rest, including myself, only blinked with bewildered expressions.
McNeil, who noticed that, added an explanation.
“The ‘Bloodmane Mercenaries’ is a huge mercenary group of the Mittergerant Empire. They plundered the southern colonies of the Amir Allied Powers and grew in power.”
“Are they dangerous?”
“In many ways, yes. First of all, the scale is up to 3,000, and all of them are cavalry.”
“…Three thousand mounted corps?”
“yes. In fact, they are close to warlords.”
The knight who led the soldiers on behalf of a certain lord opened his mouth in disbelief. As the atmosphere in the tent subsided, General McNeill hurriedly added his words.
“Of course, it is unlikely that all of the Bloodmane mercenaries came. The ransom is really expensive.”
“well? How many pennies do the Elector Counts of the Mitergerland Empire have?”
It was the young lord Zhu Ruyan who burst out with such a cynicism. When people shook their heads, McNeil retorted with an expressionless face.
“These are the guys who receive and eat 5,000 gold coins in one fight. It’s not just a few pennies.”
“The battle allowance must have been paid for by looting rights or something. As the general said, they are like thieves.”
“The plateau is the poorest land in the kingdom. You cannot buy the bloody mane mercenaries with the right to plunder such a place.”
Even with that assertive statement, Ruyan’s cynicism did not stop.
“Just because you have nothing doesn’t mean you have nothing to take away. Especially women.”
“Your opponent is an expert in murder, arson, and rape, and an excellent slave trader. They’re real bastards who even get their employers if they’re wrong. And the plateau is poor? Then we might aim for the fertile lands beyond. Antrum, our beloved hometown.”
The atmosphere in the tent froze at the venom of the thirteen-year-old.
…but. Many of them are cavalrymen, and the quality is bad. Definitely the worst enemy.
“The citadel won’t be of much use either. If we use the advantage of being all cavalrymen and take a detour, even the silver prince will be in a hurry to chase after me.”
Ruyan stood up from the chair and pointed to a part of the map while turning to the crowd. People’s eyes focused on the boy’s fingers, which were long and thin but full of scars.
“It might be better to set up camp at the corner of the road. It’s to prevent the brutal mercenaries from trampling on Antrum. Instead of wiping Prince Silver’s back, I want to protect my precious land, our hometown.” At that intense eloquence, the lord and the knights met each other’s eyes. Half of them looked confused and the rest looked like they agreed…
“Stop. Stop talking.”
As the atmosphere became strange, McNeil knocked on the table as if knocking. Lu Yan, who was persuading the people, crumpled the prize of Warak.
“Can you stop?”
Her hazel eyes turned to General McNeil with ferocity.
“Are you giving orders now? A commoner, a general, to me, a lord?”
“Yes that’s right.”
“under. How dare you-”
McNeil drew his knife the moment Luyan was about to shout.
visor!
The lord and the knights, who were whispering among themselves, gasped in surprise, and the boy stiffened up and blushed with anger.
“…what are you doing here?”
“The Marquis appointed Count Osu as the commander of this army, and entrusted me with the military uniform to the Count.” McNeil held up a sword that emitted white light.
“This sword is proof of that.”
Even at first glance, it was an unusual item, so when I looked at it with my magic power up, it looked like a precious magic sword with four or five spells. A lord muttered, ‘Hogar…’. It seems to be the name of that treasured sword.
“In a word, I am now representing the Marquis of Eavon.”
General Macneil flicked the light-emitting sword Hogar with an expression of annoyance.
“Let me borrow his name. Shut up and sit down.”
“…You cheeky-”
The boy lord gritted his teeth and tried to shoot me, and I quickly reached out and pressed his shoulder.
“Baron.”
Ruyan, who was slumped in his seat, glared at me, and I looked at him gently. Soon, the boy lord shut his mouth and let go of his anger.
General McNeill gave me a grateful glance as he retrieved the hogar. Then, looking around the crowd, he opened his mouth.
“I’m telling you that some people seem to have forgotten for a while, but the army here is less than 30% of Antrum’s strength.”
The nobles shut up and listened to the words of the commoner representing the great lord.
“Your estates and manors are under the protection of the Marquis. So please focus on the assigned mission. To support the 3rd Prince.”
The lord and knights remained silent, and General McNeil continued the meeting with a calm face.
