My Villains Episode 3
61. Art of War (13)
The sun is in mid-heaven.
The scenery under the clear sky without a single cloud was so peaceful that it was unbelievable that it was a town on the verge of a war.
To the left of the dirt road is a long, low stone wall, and to the right is a wide field of barley. Barley, which until recently had been showing off its green color among the melting snow, had yellowed the tips of its hair in mid-February.
Farmers wearing yellow straw hats, as if matching colors, were carefully moving their feet and pulling weeds. The soldiers who followed them spread out on the edge of the field and yawned, then quickly looked back and got up.
“Huh-”
The cool air of late winter or early spring overflowed all over the body, not enough to fill the lungs. Throwing in the breeze, across the rippling barley fields, I excitedly grabbed the reins.
Greung!
The large beast with two horns continued to run while snorting nervously. The bicorn’s hooves pounded the ground like drum sticks. The wind in front of the heavy performance grew stronger, and the surrounding scenery retreated before we even recognized it.
“Uh-ha!”
A cry of exclamation or admiration came out of my mouth.
It was unclear whether it was Kim Seung-soo, who was dying day by day in his boring daily life, or Phoenix, who had been particularly fond of words since childhood. Well, it was a distinction that has no meaning now anyway.
The dirt road between the stone wall and the barley field curved towards a low hill following a low slope. The bicorn didn’t slow down even though it let out a sound that I didn’t know if it was a gurgling or a growl.
I pulled the reins only when the low stone wall connected to the beacon tower that doubled as a bulwark. As soon as I took off my helmet, the sweat on my forehead quickly cooled in the cold wind.
“…Red knight, sir?” As I stroked the bicorn’s neck, I looked up and saw the sergeant sticking his head out over the awning, with a puzzled expression on his face.
“What are you doing? Shall we raise the beacon?”
It wasn’t hard to see the misunderstanding in his pressing question. It was natural to have ominous imaginations seeing the jockeys running at full speed.
I quickly waved my hand.
“No, no. Don’t worry, we’re just scouting as usual.”
“Reconnaissance? Did you go out to reconnaissance alone?”
“yes? Of course, with the cavalry,”
he said, looking back and seeing that the road he had come on was only thick with dust. In the midst of running happily for a long time, he unintentionally overran the other cavalrymen.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before more than forty cavalrymen appeared. Unlike me, who ran as if I was running into the enemy, it was a leisurely pace, as if I had come out of a walk.
In fact, that person was normal and I was abnormal. No matter how much a warhorse is, a horse is not as strong an animal as you think. Carrying a heavily armed person and running with full force was something to do on the battlefield, not something to do during reconnaissance.
In the same vein, bicorns were monsters in the true sense of the word. In addition to my body weighing nearly 100 kilos, I ran with full force for a long time even with plate armor and various luggage loaded on me.
Even if he had been an ordinary war horse, or even if he had been a famous horse, he would have fainted and collapsed, but the bicorn was standing still, sticking its snout into the water jar the soldiers had given him.
“Euhaha Sir Phoenix!” Finally, the cavalrymen arrived at the beacon tower, and the ‘giant’ Lord Ankir in the lead laughed at me.
“It was a very exciting run! Where is the man who was crying like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse?”
As small laughter spread among the troopers, I too laughed out of embarrassment.
“I was annoyed at why I waited so long, but now that I look at it, my expression has changed.”
“Lord Ankir, when did I get irritated… Well, maybe because the weather is nice, I feel better.”
“It’s spring in full swing now. It is a very good season to march.”
“When you see sunny weather, you think of war instead of outings or picnics. I am worried about your feelings.”
“Huh white noise!”
In fact, my mission in the heavy cavalry was very simple. It’s not that I’m not in charge of anything else, it’s because I’m just the vanguard.
Well, the vanguard was an important role in its own way, but it was nothing compared to the captain or the commanders. Fifty infantrymen were also feeling burdened inside, so if he had been asked to take on five hundred cavalrymen, he might have really run away.
Anyway, I’m just a vanguard, not a commander. Thanks to that, when I went out of High Castle as a member of the heavy cavalry, it was annoying to be honest, but when I went out, it felt like I was going for a pleasant walk.
Of course, the power reconnaissance conducted by the heavy cavalry was by no means an ordinary walk. Rather, it is more of a leisure sport full of tension where you don’t know when you will encounter an enemy.
But for me, encountering an enemy and engaging in sword fighting is much easier and more fun than managing subordinates. That seems to fit the aptitude.
Of course, the heavy cavalry did not have my men at all. It was because he had brought Fritz the horsehair, Gidon the crossbow, and three or four mercenaries who were good at horseback riding.
However, in Fritz’s case, he kept his mouth sealed after getting into a fight with a knight on the first day of his mission, and he spent about three-quarters of his waking hours praying, so he didn’t have much to worry about. None of the other guys have the guts to do anything in a troop full of knights. Thanks to this, as long as I kept an eye on Fritz and took care of myself, there was no problem.
“But why did you divide the cavalry today?”
Since we decided to take a break at the beacon tower, the knights and cavalrymen fed the horses water or sat down here and there to take out and chew the dry food they had brought. Lord Ankir, who was feeding seeds, watching the horses himself, and feeding them snacks such as beans or pieces of sugar, smiled at my question.
“You will find out soon.”
“Do you have any evil plans?”
“What a bad plan. I’m just saying there was a reason to split the cavalry.”
“So what is the reason?”
“Oh great. wait a little bit I mean, I have an interesting plan.”
“…Isn’t Prince Ulkar aware of the plan?”
The huge knight averted his eyes slightly.
“I gave it to you roughly. You probably know.”
“’Maybe’? Sir, you’ve been putting off your mission to Sir Daleshid, so are you okay with that?”
“If someone you don’t know hears that you are postponing your mission, they will misunderstand you.”
Lord Ankir cleared his throat.
“It was just distribution based on the weight of the work. I’m doing my job as a captain, and Sir Daile Cid is doing his job as a vice-captain.”
“Hmm, that’s right… But if you divide a 500-man unit into 450 and 50, doesn’t the general usually stick to the 450?”
“…only if you don’t trust your comrades. I believe in Lord Daileshid’s ability and loyalty.”
As I mentioned, the current heavy cavalry is divided into two. The lieutenant commander and the best knight in Odenrock, Lord Daileshid, is scouting the valley to the south with 450 men. Lord Ankir is leading the other fifty men to look around the beacon tower north of here.
After looking suspiciously at Lord Ankir for a moment, he took out a questionable bar.
“You’re not thinking of doing something different, are you? The duty the prince has given to the heavy cavalry is to conserve power and conduct reconnaissance.”
“I know.”
“If you’re trying to do something reckless because you haven’t made any progress in the past few days
. ” You said no.”
The power reconnaissance of the heavy cavalry was more difficult than expected.
In the first few days, they played an active part, such as catching an enemy detachment or catching a skirmisher. However, as the imperial army crouched down in earnest and began to prepare for sieges, the number of enemies crossing the valleys and swamps was significantly reduced.
For the last four days, it was to the point where I couldn’t even see the enemy at all. The heavy cavalry crossed the valley a few times under the command of Lord Ankir and attempted provocation, but the enemy simply did not move.
In this situation, I did not easily get rid of my doubts because I watched Lord Ankir feel frustrated from the side.
“Oh, it’s really nothing. I just
want to do some reconnaissance because I know something.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t know that Kyung was such a persistent person… but there’s nothing I can do about it. Do not be surprised when you hear it.”
In my suspicious eyes, Lord Ankir finally told me the truth with a smile on his lips.
“I intend to cross Asag.”
“…Are you going to cross Asag? The swamp of death?”
As I said before, ‘Asag’ is a land of the dead, full of dangerous poisons and all kinds of monsters. It is said that it is absolutely not a place that can be used as a maneuvering route for the military.
I said, ‘What bullshit is this?’ Looking at him with a worried face, Lord Ankir shrugged.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Then what eyes should I look at? A nobleman who said he would drag his comrades and men to death.”
Only then did I realize that the fifty horsemen who had come from the north were all directly subordinate to the prince. The knights, including Lord Ankir, as well as the regular cavalry were also soldiers given by Ulkar.
“Lord Ankir.”
“Even if you crumple your face, listen to the end and crumple it. Do I look like an idiot to jump into that cursed land without a plan?”
“Well, from the outside…
It’s easy to misunderstand because of his huge size, messy beard, and scars all over his face, but Lord Ankir wasn’t a very stupid person. Although he is strong, he is a swordsman who is good at deception, and a commander who is courageous but knows how to be prudent.
“ruler.”
While I was speechless, Lord Ankir took out a long wad of paper from his bosom and spoke confidently.
“This is my plan.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t be surprised to see it.”
He took a deep breath and slowly unfolded the stack of papers. The inside of the paper was full of writings, but what drew more attention was the item wrapped inside.
“……Bone?”
yes it was bone A bone about the size of a hand span and cut in half.
“The shinbone of the ‘White Shepherd’.”
“Yes?”
There are several patron saints in Gwangmyeong Bridge, but the most well-known of these are the ‘Sun Rider’, the patron saint of war, the ‘Flower Maiden’, the patron saint of agriculture, and the ‘White Shepherd’, the patron saint of pioneering.
“Are these the bones of the patron saint?”
“exactly. I got it from the depths of the cathedral in ‘Andal-Viren’.”
As I stared at him, the excited Lord Ankir started talking about how he had obtained this precious object.
I went to the cathedral to worship, heard the floor rumble, searched the underground tomb, opened a flagstone without knowing it, and found it. what blah blah blah
“So this bone is your plan? Are you going to cross Asag?” “Oh, because it is.” I tried to raise my magic power by his continued boasting. However, no energy was felt from the dog bone, or from the shin bone of the patron saint.
“…Have you at least mastered necromancy? Are you going to use it to summon the White Shepherd to pioneer Asag?”
When asked in a puzzled tone, Lord Ankir replied in a similar tone.
“Necromancer? Say something that will cause trouble so calmly.”
“Aren’t you talking nonsense in a calm manner?”
“Because this is not nonsense, yes. Didn’t you hear that in the old days in the north, the flames of the world were extinguished after pleading with the gods through the remains of saints?”
After tracing Phoenix’s memory for a while, it seemed that a similar story was passed down like a fairy tale or a legend.
“I’m aiming for a miracle like that.”
“…okay.”
Looking at his eyes wide and clear like those of a calf, I lowered my evaluation of Lord Ankir.
…Oh, he looks like an immature old man. How old are you and are you serious about this bullshit?
And after a while, in front of the side road entering Asag-
“……Uh.”
I opened my mouth.
Looking back at me with a bewildered expression, Lord Ankir said, ‘Hahaha what did I say!’ I was talking.
Roaring!
He was holding his shinbone like a torch and making a triumphant expression. The shinbone of the patron saint was emitting white flames, absorbing miasma around him and burning them up.
“No X feet. What the hell is this…
I tried to argue with this nonsense, but soon realized that it was meaningless and shut my mouth.
