Episode 21
“Surely there is no one in the mercenary army who can act as a commander?”
“…There is, but this is a mercenary unit I created. So I…”
“You are the eldest son of the family. Do you want to go into battle with low-ranking mercenaries and make the enemy special?”
Many of those listening to the matriarch’s scolding nodded.
It was clearly evident what he thought about mercenaries.
But Logan did not back down.
“My role in the knights is not that large. If I move separately from the mercenaries, it will be beneficial to the overall strength.”
“what?!”
Originally, Logan planned to work with the mercenaries in the territory war.
The repeating crossbow was perfected, and joining the Knights Templar, once a worst-case solution, was now a non-existence.
Continuing to participate in knight training during this time was simply an act of thinking about his own development and the future after the Territory War.
‘Anyway, the knights are led by my father. I’d rather move with the mercenaries. If I tell them to die, those guys will at least pretend to die.’
It was the most reasonable decision from Logan’s point of view, but of course Padrick did not think so.
“Did you ever anticipate the negative impact it would have on our allies if you were captured or killed while moving with the mercenaries?”
“That won’t happen.”
“Is war like a child’s play? Are the low-level mercenaries you trained like an invincible army? Or are you so stupid that you can’t distinguish between reality and delusion?!”
The last words were clearly filled with anger.
Padric thought that his immature son was unable to understand reality even in an emergency and was only assertive.
But his upset had just begun.
“It’s not that I’m stupid or ignorant of reality. I’m just finding the place where I belong, where I can demonstrate the most power.”
“That’s just your military unit?”
“My mercenaries were not playing soldiers! I will prove it by making a contribution in this war.”
Logan’s eyes did not waver, but to Padric it seemed like he was just throwing a tantrum.
That made him even more angry.
“…If you really want to do that, from now on I will no longer think of you as my son. Even if I am captured and killed in this war, I will treat you as someone who has nothing to do with our family. Is that okay?”
The gathered retainers widened their eyes in surprise at Padric’s extreme remarks.
But the Archduke’s answer was even more surprising.
“You may do so.”
“…Do you really need to change my clothes in such a serious situation?! What on earth are you thinking! You think everything in the world will go your way! That’s so thoughtless!”
Padric’s face exploded in anger and he shouted sharply at Logan.
“Okay. Do whatever you want. But don’t forget what I told you. You shouldn’t even think about being treated as a direct descendant of the family during this war!”
“I will definitely do my best.”
“Profit! What the hell…”
Maybe because of the crisis, Padrick was having a harder time controlling his emotions than usual, but unfortunately, Logan wasn’t the only thing that shook Padrick’s mood.
“Go, matriarch! It’s an emergency!”
Even though it was in the middle of a family meeting, an attendant burst through the door.
I thought there would be an emergency worse than a wartime situation, but the news the servant brought was truly disconcerting.
“I have been told that the Kairos family will not support troops! The timing is not right and they are talking about liquidity of funds and all…”
At those words, the eyes of the vassals were all focused on Marian.
Then, Marian, whose mind suddenly went blank, blurted out something as if making an excuse.
“Well, there must be some mistake. It can’t be!”
She raised her voice again as if she couldn’t believe it, but the attendant gave the confirmation with a stern expression.
“Dwayne says this is an issue that has been confirmed several times.”
Marian’s complexion instantly turned pale at those words.
“I will check it myself!”
She, who was at the head table, got up and started to move quickly, but a large figure familiar to her retainers belatedly entered Daejeon and confirmed the fact again with a sad expression.
“There is no need for that, Matriarch. The Kairos family’s official refusal is correct. At the same time, they have declared that they will cut off financial support for our Macline as of today.”
Dwayne’s words caused astonishment beyond shock.
The issue of financial support, which could become a bigger bomb in the future, was not a hot topic right away.
However, the sudden news that the head of the family, who were thought to be perfect allies, had withdrawn from the emergency situation and that there were no immediate reinforcements threw Daejeon into chaos.
“No! No!”
“Oh, mother. Calm down.”
“There must be something wrong! No, it’s a mistake! It’s definitely a mistake!”
“mother!”
As Marian ran out of Daejeon with a blue face, Ronian, who was looking at her back with a devastated face, bit his lip and sat down in his seat.
Logan approached his younger brother and tapped his shoulder.
“It’s okay. Everything will be fine.”
“…older brother.”
Ronian had no choice but to bow his head even more because he thought his brother’s words of hope alone in a hopeless situation were bravado to comfort him.
That’s how big of a shock the Kairos family had.
The other vassals were whispering with confused looks on their faces, but were unable to rush forward and were just watching the head of the family with a red-faced face.
In the chaos, only one person calmly organized his thoughts.
‘Is that still the case?’
It had happened in a past life that the Kairos family had refused assistance in a territory war.
I don’t know if there was some other reason or if it was just a simple line drawing, but seeing as Ronian cut off contact with his maternal family even when he later became an Auror user and revived the family, it is safe to say that there is almost no chance of this relationship being restored.
Of course, to Logan, it was meaningless no matter what.
‘With this, my stepmother will no longer have the same influence as before. As long as we win the territory war, there will no longer be any obstacles within the family.’
Rather, it felt as if an unpleasant obstacle had been removed.
That’s why Logan was able to step forward without hesitation.
“I will go out first to prepare. If you have any further instructions, please contact me separately.”
It was an empty sound that no one responded to, but there was no hesitation in Logan’s steps as he left Daejeon.
* * *
“War…?”
“Yeah. I’m not surprised.”
“I wanted to start a war if it didn’t happen.”
“What a terrible sound…”
“Now that you have a weapon, isn’t it natural for people to want to use it?”
At Kai’s words, the mercenaries standing behind burst into laughter.
Although they were mercenaries familiar with war, their confidence seemed too excessive.
‘But it’s worth it.’
During last winter, the number of monsters that came down to McLane’s main castle was less than 1/10th of the previous year.
Although there was an atmosphere within the family that such a problem was ignored and ignored, Logan knew better than anyone else that this was not true.
‘Last winter, there were more monsters than ever before.’
And most of them were massacred by a mercenary force of only about 300 people.
Their confidence was based on solid evidence, not bravado or arrogance.
“Okay! Then let’s go wipe out the enemies!”
“yes!”
The McLane family is in turmoil due to anxiety caused by an unexpected war.
Among them, only 314 people were confident that the war would be won.
* * * The war started faster than the McLane family expected.
“Viscount Tethron’s troops have appeared at the western border! We have confirmed that Viscount Harman Tethron is in the rear.”
“These guys ignore customs…”
Only one day had passed since the declaration of war.
However, Viscount Tethron’s troops had already appeared in McLane’s territory.
Considering that their main force departed from Tethron Castle, it was clear that they moved as soon as war was declared.
Moreover, the enemy’s troops were beyond imagination.
“There are more than 100 knights. There are more than 1,000 who appear to be regular troops!”
“And on top of that, there are almost 10,000 conscripts! It’s an all-out war!”
“What?! Haman, that guy is really crazy!”
Padric let out a roar at the startling news coming in one after another.
It was not a war between countries, but a domestic territorial war under the guise of a cause.
But not the defending side, but the attacking side even mobilized conscripts.
Moreover, modern battles involve knights who are no different from superhumans to the average person, clashing as the main force.
Considering that no matter how many conscripts there are, they can only play a role in consolidating victory or slowing down inferiority…
‘It means that Haman Thethron was excited because he wanted to get ‘that’.’
Even to Logan, who knew the real cause of this war, it was absurd, and the already busy McLane family went into an uproar.
“You crazy bastards. 10,000 conscripts? Did you squeeze Young Ji-min out?”
“100 knights?!”
“When did it get that far…”
Conscripts are conscripts, but the number of knights who were previously known as the enemy’s main force has increased by several dozen.
“Haman, this crazy guy has put the fate of the territory at stake.”
Crackling.
Padric wrinkled his face and gritted his teeth as if they were going to break.
“What are our preparations?”
“53 knights are ready.”
“552 regular troops are ready.”
“I think the conscripts will take another day or so.”
“The 314 Logan mercenaries are ready.”
Padric frowned, ignoring his eldest son’s uncivilized report.
‘Why on earth!’
Now, there would be no fool who would really believe the talk of ancestors’ grudges.
However, despite his pride, Padric knew for sure that the current McLane estate was not a very attractive prey.
So my curiosity arose, but the reason was meaningless in a situation where the enemy forces were already right in front of me.
‘Let’s come to our senses and do what needs to be done now, Padrick McLane.’
Padrick consoled himself and straightened his posture.
A fallen family. Although he was now only a baron, he was still a monarch.
We should never waver or appear weak.
“Gather all the men who can carry weapons! We will respond with all our might!”
“yes!”
“As soon as the troops are gathered, we will march out! “I will crush those who fearlessly enter our front yard!”
Even if conscription was maximized, the McLane family’s troops numbered around 5,000.
Even if conscripts were excluded, the difference between the knights and regular troops was double.
It was more than expected . It was a serious difference in power.
In such a situation, Padric ordered a field battle rather than a water battle.
However, the vassals bowed their heads without any opposition.
‘This is the same.’
Logan just listened to his father’s instructions with a frown on his face.
Despite the military disadvantage, choosing an all-out war on the plains was an inevitable choice.
At this point, the main force in the war was the Knights, no matter what anyone said.
A group of superhumans made up of force users. The moment they are armed with strong weapons and form a square and charge in.
They have become a powerful weapon of destruction that no one can stop unless they are strong at the same level.
The castle walls of McLane Castle, which are tall and strong but have no magical effect, cannot stop many knights. There was no way. Rather than
engaging in a melee with unfavorable forces after the walls were breached, an all-out war where people could unite to respond was better.
And the McLane family had something else to look forward to:
the presence of senior knight Padric McLane.
A valuable force. He was the one who reached a level that only a very small number of knights had achieved.
Normally, just by reaching the level of an intermediate force user, he would be recognized as the top knight of most knights. A
high-level knight would be able to deal with more than 10 strong knights of that level. It was evaluated as a powerful force.
Therefore, Padric and his vassals decided that although the McLane Knights were only half of the Knights of Tethron, they would at least not be pushed back because they had a head of the family who was a high-ranking knight.
The Territory War ultimately resulted in the lord, the real power, either surrendering or It was a war that would end if someone died.
If Paedric, a senior knight, captured or killed Harman Tethron, this war would end.
‘…You’d think so.’
Logan smiled bitterly as he recalled the memories of his past life.
It was not a war between countries, but a war between border territories.
It was normal for it to be a battle of strength and power rather than amazing tactics and strategies.
Tactics that did not resemble the family’s tactics were not entirely wrong. ‘If only
I hadn’t known that the family would lose.’
But now, unlike in the past life, there is Logan himself and his mercenary army.
‘So we change the outcome. For sure!’
Logan, who had been left alone in the busy Daejeon, had his eyes shining and his fists clenched.
