My Villains Episode 388
62. Tactics of Deception (15)
“Where is Lord Garwin Garwin!”
“This way!”
When I stormed into the manor house with Sergeant Murg and a few soldiers, the soldiers of the Axodbrook Bag started guiding me as soon as they saw my face.
“Garwin Ball!”
The manor house, which seemed to be a mixture of a mansion and a castle in half, and among them, the deepest bedroom was full of men clad in iron. In the midst of the knights and vassals who had gathered like bean sprouts, Garwin, holding the Marquis Landry in his arms, was shedding tears.
“father. Father…
I passed the knights who gave way and glanced at Marquis Landry. It is a terrible sight with a deep cut under the neck and a dagger stuck in the heart.
…He was quite a pleasant man. It’s just a pity that we didn’t talk
a little more.
“Lord Garwin.”
“…Sir Phoenix.”
Garwin, whose face was wet with tears and blood on his hands and front, looked up at me with empty eyes.
Did you say you were eighteen this year?
On Earth, he is still at an age to be treated as a boy, but in this world, he is at an age when he should become a confident man.
“Let’s go to the castle tower.”
“To the castle tower?”
“We haven’t wiped out the assassins yet. You should go to the castle tower where safety is guaranteed.”
Even though they paid attention in preparation for an assassination, they killed knights and elite soldiers and made the vigilance fuzzy. The assassins are still roaming the city. Marquis Landry lost his life in vain, but he must protect his son.
“Wait a minute Sir Phoenix.”
The knight ‘Sir Zeppart’, who had come and gone and learned the face, came forward.
“Confucius needs time. We are here, so don’t worry and take care of the other lords.”
I slightly frowned.
“What is that? You guys have to go out and fight. Are you going to stay stuck here?”
“Then, only some of them stand by Gongja-nim, and the rest-”
“And then what if they get attacked again?”
“O”
“If the escort target is dispersed, it is too dangerous, let alone wasting troops. The lords, including Lord Garwin, must gather in one place so that we can escort them efficiently and turn the remaining knights to search.”
Sir Zeppard finally shut up. I glanced at him and the other articles, and although they looked sad, they seemed to understand that there was no time to waste.
“It is a tragedy and it is sad. But isn’t Lord Garwin the new marquee now? The Great Lord of the Highlands, the owner of High Castle, and the Margrave who is the guardian of the west side.” I got down on one knee and met Garwin’s eyes.
“Prince Garwin, not the Marquis.”
“Crazy assassins and screwed mercenaries are turning the city into a mess. The city of your Excellency and your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.”
After a moment of silence, Garwin closed his dead father’s eyes.
“…what can I do?”
To be honest, it was enough for Garwin to save his life by hiding in the castle tower.
No one would expect an 18-year-old to have the level of competence of his father. If you expect it, you have no conscience.
There would have to be a big setback in the supply, but isn’t it impossible to raise the dead Landry?
So, Garwin only needed to play the role of a land owner and a totem that increased the unity of the army gathered in High Castle.
But telling a boy who had just lost his father, ‘Shut up and hide’, was in many ways out of shape.
“Let’s go. Go do your duty and defend your right.”
“Do your duty and keep your rights?”
“First of all, command the troops and kill the intruders. Aren’t you supposed to get revenge?”
“What about the 3 princes? Didn’t you give an order otherwise?”
“Your lord must be busy.”
“Are you busy?”
“Unless the enemies are idiots, they won’t be sucking their fingers outside after digging through the inside of the walls. The offensive will resume soon.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Your Excellency, please organize the interior so that your lord can concentrate on Mercury. You must firmly control the city.”
Garwin nodded with a firm face.
He pulled a thick satin cloak over his father’s body. Leaving the dead margrave in the care of the old vassals, the young marquis slowly got up and looked back at me.
“…let’s go.”
“Yes sir.”
I headed for the castle tower with Garwin, whose hands and apron were stained with blood. Knights and soldiers followed.
Four low-ranking nobles, such as barons and courtiers, were assassinated. Among the high-ranking nobles, the Marquis Landry was the only victim.
Well, to be honest, there were only a few people in High Castle who could be called high-ranking nobles. Excluding the deceased Marquis Landry, there were only Prince Ulkar, who was nominally a duke, and Earl Orth, the future High Lord of Antrum.
Viscount Cirillo, who was considered next in line to them, was alive and well. I was having a good time at my place with my concubines disguised as bodyguards.
“…Are you insane to have a concubine in my castle?”
“You said they were my bodyguards, not concubines.”
“Oh is that so?”
I put on a sour expression. Behind the viscount’s diminutive shoulders, two of his concubines in thin clothes were trembling with frightened expressions.
“I don’t know, sir, but it seems to be a common custom among the nobility of the East to have a woman in bed as an escort. Very effective.”
to be shameless
I don’t know what the customs of the East are like, but looking at the women’s generous bodies, it seems that the Viscount’s taste is well known.
“Then let’s see your skills.”
“……skill?”
“I wanted to see if I had the skills to escort the Viscount. If they are clumsy, we will whip them out and attach soldiers to replace them.”
At the words spoken with a smile, the viscount’s concubines turned pale as if they would pass out at any moment. When the women tried to beg for mercy, Viscount Cyril tried to dissuade them with an angry expression, then clicked his tongue.
“I haven’t seen it that way, but it has a side like Gyeongdo and Wall Window… In the end, a series of skits ended with sending concubines to the viscount’s garrison outside the castle.
Arguing with Viscount Cyril was not a waste of time.
They said he was a nobleman famous for being narrow-minded, but even after gathering in the hall with other nobles, he kept his mouth shut. It seemed that his stomach was hurt, but thanks to that, Garwin was able to skip the useless fight and gain complete command.
“The siege has begun?”
“yes. The cultist slave corps and magic troops are on the offensive again.”
“Is it as expected…. I will give you support as soon as the internal chaos is settled.”
Garwin, who had sent a messenger, looked around at the staff.
“How is the situation with the other guards, Andal-Viren and Axod?”
“Andal-Biren is holding on after locking the gates firmly.”
“Smoke is rising from the axe. It appears to be engaged.” Garwin, who was seated at the top
of the
table, had a brief discussion with the noble officers and then gave orders to the knights belonging to House Axodbrook.
“I will give you a hundred bugs, so sirs, unite the confused soldiers in the city and save Axod.”
“Yes sir.”
“Also check the situation in Andal-Viren on the way. Since I am a member of the Equatorial Gwangmyeong Church, I will not invade the Lord’s Hall on purpose, but I am a little uneasy to hear that the enemy soldiers are showing madness.”
Fortunately, Garwin, the new Marshal, was not an idiot and had many advisers nearby. Thanks to the help of loyal vassals and veterans of the war, including General McNeil, the situation went much easier than expected.
Good thing. Then I should focus on my work now.
“The deployment of the soldiers is over.”
“Did you hide it well?”
“Of course sir.”
“Wizards?”
“As you commanded, we paired up with the knights and dispersed them.”
“good. Check the gate one more time and send troops, but tell them not to let the stern civilians in.”
“yep.”
When the commander, who served as the vice-captain, left, I looked around the inside of the hall and was lost in thought.
Realistically, there is no way for me to find the true sword master.
The ‘witch hunters’ that are secretly working in the empire are pretending to be a suspicious group organized to catch and kill evil witches.
However, the reality is an assassin organization that split from the Three Swords Society, and the leader of that organization is the Jeongma Sword Master.
He wondered if he would be able to find such a magic sword just by giving orders to the soldiers…
Of course, if he mobilized a group of wizards and dogs to carry out a search operation, he would be able to find it someday. However, it is not easy in the current situation where chaos is spreading in and out of the city.
In the end, I had no choice but to wait for the sword master to move first.
In that sense, the nobles gathered here were doing an excellent job as bait.
I don’t know exactly who the Sorceress Sword Master is, but since he’s an assassin, he’ll be aiming for a high-value target.
The high-value targets of High Castle would be the commanders guarding the walls and the lords gathered here, and Prince Ulkar would be the number one among them.
However, Ulkar, who is at the west gate, is not only brave, but there are monster-like knights and excellent battle mages beside him. Compared to Marquis Landry, the assassination difficulty was on a completely different level.
In the end, they had to target other commanders, but Captain Arbecon in the south and Gilbert, the senior sergeant in the north, are not nobles, and Baron Ruyan in the east is a 13-year-old kid with only one last name. An assassin will have to be sent, but it is unlikely that the master of the sword will step out.
“…then maybe we can come here again?”
Actually, this is just my wish.
If you think about it objectively, the probability that the Jeongma Sword Master will come here again is not very high. It’s a bit embarrassing to say it directly, but filtering out the other targets and coming to where I am… wouldn’t it be a bit stupid?
Actually it is. Right now, from the point of view of the enemy, the most dangerous person in this city is none other than me. Even the sword master would know this unless he was an idiot, so why would he come back here?
Still, thinking just in case, I ordered Confair to hide the soldiers. A handful of wizards and knights were also placed in each element of the castle tower and inner wall.
It’s unlikely that the head of a group of assassins would go unnoticed by such a clumsy ambush, but wouldn’t it be better to leave it out in the open?
“That enemy!”
“It’s an intruder-!”
Within five minutes of thinking about it, the hall was in a commotion outside the hall.
“…Did you really come?”
While I was perplexed, the knights and magicians who were waiting in the hall took up a combat posture.
Turtle!
The large, thick door with the iron plate nailed wide open, revealing a figure.
It was a middle-aged man wearing a white cape over a luxurious brown leather suit and a gently curved oriental sword around his waist. Because the hood was pulled back, his face was clearly exposed, but this neckline, where East and West coexist, is very impressive…
“That bastard-”
“Catch it!”
Dozens of soldiers were running through the door, clutching spears. Judging by the mixture of anger and bewilderment on the faces of the soldiers, the intruder must have hidden in the castle tower and only revealed himself in front of the hall. Behind the
leisurely
middle-aged man, the door, which moved by itself, slammed shut. The soldiers trembled and knocked on the door, but the door did not budge.
The sudden and unexpected appearance of the man made the people gathered in the hall look dazed for a moment. I spoke on behalf of them.
“…Are you the true magic sword master?” “hmm?”
The strange middle-aged man looked back at me with a curious look. And he smiled.
“You are the Phoenix. Whether it’s a ‘rider of mad bulls’ or a red knight.”
It is a voice that feels as strange as the atmosphere. The man touched his chin and nodded his head softly.
“About my addiction… I guess you heard about it from the ‘Black Woman’. In the end, the ‘bank’ chose her.”
“…What is he saying now.”
The black woman is the nickname of the mungchi, and the bank is a group of assassins from the kingdom of Milanol who have a sacred sword.
I knew this well, but I frowned as if the other person was looking at my reaction, pretending not to know.
“Where does a young assassin crawl in proudly?”
“Old people only walk on the main road.”
“what?”
“Even though I’ve been making a living from farming for over thirty years, I’ve never been afraid of people’s eyes since I got sick.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I put my wrist on the longsword’s furmal and let out a small smile.
“Sounds pretty good for a rat squeaking, right? Keep talking. If possible, leave a will to pass on to Amy and Abby.”
“Why are you not talking? Are you being fried in hell for the crime of ripping off a filthy assassin?”
“…They say there’s no such thing as a devil’s pitcher, and even your words stink.”
“What are you talking about, you bastard who smells like gutter?”
Low laughter flowed from the knights and soldiers. The sword master looked at them with cold eyes.
At that moment, I quietly raised my hand.
“Judio-cium!”
“En peadake!”
The battle wizards, who were hiding among the soldiers wearing armor, poured out spells such as arrows, lightning, debilitating rays, slow fire traps, and mud touches. The soldiers of Axodbrook took out the crossbows they had hidden in advance and shot them.
Chasing after the murderous net, I also kicked the floor.
The process of pulling out the longsword, covering the blade with blood, and throwing it out was done in one motion. Search!
Bang-
I thrust the knife through the dust and flashes created by all sorts of spells.
