Chapter 499
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When Zich looked at her Lubella shrunk her neck back like a turtle.
âOf course the Pope and I tried to stop Lady Lubella. Although she isnât normally a stubborn person she was very firm about this matter. We finally agreed to exchange the priests going to Steelwall with Lady Lubella and me in the end.â
âItâs simply because Luceâs words were hanging on my mindâ Lubella said very quietly. âBefore quitting his priest position he said somethingâŠâ
âLuce said that even if the Pope already gave his order his religious conviction is screaming at him to not let this matter go as it’s connected to the Bellids. Even if he loses his status and future he said he will act for the great Karuna and the world. Iâm not recounting what he said word for word but it was generally something like that.â
Zich clicked his tongue at Weigâs explanation. âHow tear-jerking for a traitor.â
âItâs true that his words were convincing. If Sir Zich hadnât told me that guy was a traitor beforehand I wouldâve been moved by his words too.â As if the thought disgusted her Lubellaâs body trembled.
âWhat that guy said also made me think. I wondered if it was really in accordance with Karunaâs teachings for me to not do anything even while knowing that the Bellids planted traitors and even brought in nobles inside the organization. If you only consider his words Luce might be right in this case.â
âBetrayers say surprisingly logical or even truthful words. Itâs so that people can be easily swayed and moved by their words. From there they will distort their intention or mix in slight lies to move the situation along to their advantageâ Zich said and joked to Lubella. âDoesnât Lady Lubella mean that she doesnât trust me to win and stop our enemies in this war?â
âWhat? Thatâs not the case at all!â Lubella yelled in shock but Zich tilted his head doubtfully.
âReally? You might not think you have those thoughts but you might be unconsciously harboring them. Donât you think so Sir Weig?â
âAs someone who has served Lady Lubella for a long time I have to say that itâs a very persuasive claim.â
âSir Weig!â Lubellaâs voice went one pitch higher while Weig chuckled. Zich also laughed aloud and the more he did the reddish tint on Lubellaâs face deepened.
âAnyway I understand what both of you are saying. I will also tell the Steelwalls. Thereâs no doubt that they would welcome you both joining. Why donât you both leisurely move with the Steelwall forces and watch the war from there?â Zich said confidently âThen I will surely show both of you that your worries were completely unnecessary.â
* * *
The Steelwall forces began to move. Flaud troops passed the Cronon Kingdomâs boundary and reached the Pinne Estate but they didnât tread into Steelwallâs territory yet. After receiving this news from their agents the Steelwalls didnât quicken the pace of their march. They still had plenty of time to arrive at the battlefield first and prepare their formation. If they needlessly hurried it might lead to losses in troops or supplies instead.
However the Count didnât let his guard down. He continuously sent people to the estateâs boundaries and confirmed their enemiesâ location and prepared for possible scenarios. Thankfully their enemies only appeared once they finished getting into formation.
âThere are many troopsâ Hans murmured while watching the swarm of enemies in front of him. âJust in sheer numbers they have three times the number of troops.â
âIf itâs that much hasnât victory already been decided?â
âI canât deny that our enemies have the clear advantage in numbers.â Zich then glanced at Hans and asked âWhy? Does it scare you?â
âI admit that seeing their numbers made me nervous at first but I feel better now that Iâve changed my way of thinking.â
âHow did you change it?â
âI just wondered which one is better. Fighting with three times the Steelwallsâ current size or fighting against Sir Zich.â
âAnd the result is?â
âOf course the latter is overwhelmingly better.â Hans shook his head. âWhether the latter is better or not I thought about how I would feel if I was in our enemiesâ position. I immediately felt chills down my spine. Thus after realizing that my situation was the latter all my anxiety disappeared.â
âThatâs an interesting way of relieving tension.â
âI also taught Snoc the same method. He also looked quite anxious but he immediately relaxed when I taught him this method. Unfortunately Elena didnât receive such a drastic effect while the method was almost completely ineffective for Ms. Lara.â
âWell they havenât been with me as long as you guys.â In the end it was a good thing that important forces such as Zichâs companions were able to loosen up before battle.
âWhoâs going to make the first move? Wouldnât it be better to strike when our enemies are getting into formation?â
âThatâs a way to do it but if things go wrong our enemies could surround us since they have three times our number.â
âWouldnât it be all right if we add our support?â
âYes but it seems like my father is planning to focus solely on defense. Itâs not a bad strategy since the other side is invading. We will win if we just manage to block them from going through this location but the other side needs to break through our troops and march forward. Itâs also true that defense is more advantageous than offense especially as time goes by. Thereâs no need for us to go out of our way to attack since thereâs a high possibility of failing. Even if we succeed there will be more sacrifices.â
âI didnât know you would be negative about having sacrifices Sir Zich.â Although Hans admired Zich it wasnât like he didnât know his personality.
âOf course I donât care about other peoplesâ sacrifices but thereâs someone who needlessly dislikes stuff like that.â
âSir you must be talking about Ms. Lyla.â
âEven now sheâs currently working hard with a roommate she doesnât like. I should at least fulfill her wish.â
Hans thought that Lyla would be delighted to hear this if she was next to them.
Zich continued âMoreover I donât have any desire to lead this army so I plan to follow orders for now.â If Count Steelwall was an unskilled and inexperienced leader he would have thought the contrary but Count Steelwall was one of the top military leaders in the whole kingdom.
âIs there nothing more to see?â Even though they were standing guard against each other there were still no signs that the two forces would begin fighting soon. Zich turned around and asked âAre you going to keep watching?â
âYes this is more fun than I thought.â It seemed as if Hans had found the enemyâs formations interesting.
âAll right. Then Iâll be taking my leave.â
âYes sir.â
âWhat?â Zich was about to move away when a few people on horseback moved out from the enemyâs side. âTheyâre dispatch riders. Are they coming to suggest surrender?â
However Count Flaud probably also didnât think that the Steelwalls would surrender and this was merely a formality. Zich lost interest and was about to turn around again when a person caught his eye. âThat guy is?â
The dispatch rider in the very front was extremely noticeable and immediately caught Zichâs attention.
âHey Hans.â
âYes sir.â
âCome with me for a bit. I think weâll be able to see something fun.â Zich brought along Hans and headed towards the commander’s headquarters.
* * *
Count Steelwallâs tent was almost two times bigger than the other tents. There was a flag indicating that it was the commanderâs headquarters on top of the tent and there was much higher surveillance around it. Several people were inside the tent. There was Count Steelwall the captain of the Steel Sword Order of Knights Mihen Tiner and other captains and vice-captains in the Steelwall army. They were continuously receiving reports about the enemyâs movements and were making plans. While they were making plans they received a report that the enemy had sent out dispatch riders.
Even though they roughly expected what the dispatch riders would propose and already decided on their answer they couldnât just send off the dispatch riders without even meeting them. Thus Count Steelwall let the dispatch riders enter. However he didnât expect the identity of one of the dispatch riders at all.
âHave you been well Sir Count Steelwall?â
ââŠIâve not been well because some bastards invaded us with no good reason. Now my mood has gotten significantly worse.â Count Steelwallâs scary face twitched like a snake. âIf Iâm not wrong arenât you Halton Byner?â
âYes sir. That is correctâ Byner replied indifferently at the Countâs furious glare.
âI was sure that you were part of our Steel Spear Order of Knights.â The Count glanced at the captain of the Steel Spear Order of Knights sitting next to him. The captain was glaring at Byner as if he wanted to kill him. Anyone could see that his underling had betrayed him.
Byner replied âIâm serving Count Flaud now.â
âYeah so youâre telling me you betrayed us.â
âSir please think of it as following the right path.â
Slam!
âA bloody bastard dares to spit out such trash!â The captain of the Steel Spear Order of Knights couldnât suppress his anger any longer and slammed the desk and jumped out of his seat.
However Byner was still nonchalant because he knew they would react like this if he came as one of the dispatch riders. On the other hand he felt nervous and after slightly licking his dry lips he looked at the Count and said âSir Count Flaud has proposed the Steelwalls to surrender. If the Steelwalls abandon their wrong and unjust path as Bellid supporters and take responsibility for all their sins he promises ?he will treat the Steelwalls kindly.â
âThis fucking bastard!â The captain of the Steel Spear Order of Knights shouted even louder. The captain seemed as if he was going to pull out his sword at any moment but Byner still did not stare at him. However Byner didnât completely ignore him either.
He said âIs this how the Steelwalls treat a dispatch rider?â Even though sweat was dripping down Bynerâs forehead he didnât back down. He was also desperate. He had already completely turned over to Count Flaudâs side and since his plan to sell off the Steelwalls to the Karuwimans failed he needed to do whatever he could to earn merits.
Clang! The captain of the Steel Spear Order of Knights pulled out his sword in the end. It seemed as if he was going to slice Byner at any moment but the Count stopped him.
âStop!â
The captain of the Steel Spear Order of Knights had no choice but to stop at the Countâs shout.
The Count asked âWhat happened?â
He didnât direct the question to someone but the captain immediately understood that the Count was asking him so he immediately answered âWe suddenly lost contact with him recently. I thought that he ran away because he was afraid to fight in the war and pulled him out of the order of knights. We had many problems with him after the duel in the past so I apologize for not checking on his status. After this war is over I will take full responsibility.â
âSo thatâs what happened.â Count Steelwall looked at Byner with a cold gaze.
âSir!â A soldier called out to Count Steelwall.
âWhatâs the matter?â Mihen asked instead of the Count.
âSir Zich has come to visit!â
Everyone including the Count shifted their gaze towards the tentâs entrance. Bynerâs eyebrow twitched in displeasure.