Chapter 46 : Second Clash (5)

Chapter 46: Second Clash (5)

Still, there was no way they could trust that squire’s words completely. 

“Call in the mercenaries who were surrounding the east side. I want to confirm it.” 

The odds that a commander, especially a knight who valued his honor, had simply run away on his own were very low. It was entirely possible that the squire had killed his commander in order to surrender, and was now pretending in his place. 

“Did anyone see a man on horseback trying to flee?” 

When Captain Mordo asked that, the mercenaries who had been stationed on the eastern flank turned pale. 

They had realized their mistake. A noble was an extremely valuable asset. You did not kill them carelessly on the battlefield, you usually captured them alive and took a ransom. 

They had just ruined a chance to make that kind of money. 

“Captain. To tell you the truth, there was someone who tried to escape on horseback. His clothes were shabby and he had no armor on, so we thought he had just stolen a horse. We meant to shoot the horse, but we…” 

“…We should confirm the body.” 

A short while later, the mercenaries came back carrying a corpse on their shoulders. When the imperial prisoners and the squire saw it, their faces hardened. 

“Sir Lindalph, that is him.” 

“Hmm… Tsk. That’s disappointing.” 

Captain Mordo frowned. 

They had missed a chance to coax valuable information out of the enemy commander. 

“Is there anything at all in Lindalph’s clothes?” 

“…There is nothing, Captain.” 

“That’s not good.” 

Captain Mordo looked around at the gathered Centurions. 

“Go search the command tent immediately. Cloth scraps, bits of wood, anything with writing on it, I want it all brought here.” 

“Yes, Captain.” 

“Oh, and…!” 

Captain Mordo glanced over at the captured squire, then spoke in a calm tone. 

“Jacri, Jenga?” 

“Yes, Captain.” 

“Go have a nice, quiet talk with that squire. Very calm, very quiet. I suspect he has quite a lot to tell us.” 

He was telling them to pull the information out quietly, then dispose of the man. 

“Understood, Captain.” 

It was something that could turn into a serious problem if mishandled. 

Yet the two men nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. 

This was the life of warriors who survived on the edge of a blade, killing and being killed. 

* * *

Sir Lindalph’s command tent had turned into a complete mess. His chain mail and gambeson were tossed across the floor. 

So he really had gone out in such a hurry that he had not even put on his armor. The bedcovers were thrown everywhere. Most of his personal belongings were still inside. 

However, 

‘There is not even a scrap of wood, let alone any paperwork.’ 

There were plenty of personal items, but no sign of written orders anywhere, no matter how hard they searched. 

“Sniff. Shatien, did this place get completely cleaned out or what?” 

Miles thumped at the floor as he spoke. 

It looked like he was trying to pick up even the smallest clue, but it was not doing any good. 

“We should check the campfire at least. There might be burned documents there.” 

“There was nothing though?” 

Miles sounded doubtful. 

“Shouldn’t we just hurry up and report to the Captain and then wring that squire’s neck?” 

“Hmmm.” 

He had a point, but Shatien was not convinced. No orders? That made no sense. If there were no burned scraps by the fire either, then the documents had to be hidden somewhere. Thinking that, Shatien slowly drew on his mysterious power. 

-Vmmmm. 

From past experience, he knew that mysterious sense was useful for more than just battle. 

As expected. 

-Wooong.

Information poured into his mind, and he immediately caught something strange. Shatien turned his head in the direction that uncanny sense was pointing. He spotted a small wooden plank under the bed. 

-Crunch! 

He kicked it, and the broken wooden box under it split open. Inside were a silver cross, a pouch of silver coins, a few changes of clothes, and... 

‘Found it! Bingo.’

A sheet of parchment stamped with the imperial seal. 

It was exactly what they had been looking for. 

* ** 

“We found it.” 

“Oh? Really. Let me see.” 

Captain Mordo took the parchment and unrolled it. But a moment later his brows twitched. 

‘Hmm…?’

The parchment that had been rolled up was filled with letters that could not be read. The handwriting was so wild and hasty that it was not clear whether it was real writing or just scribbles. 

Even so, it was a document stamped with the Emperor’s seal, so it had to be important. 

“I have no idea what any of this means.” 

After staring at it for a long time, Captain Mordo let out a sigh. Unfortunately, he had never studied cryptography. To decipher this, he would need a specialist. But the problem was…

‘There is no major city nearby.’ 

They could not just turn back after coming all this way. The alternative was to wait for the main army, but that was even more absurd. 

-Swish. 

At that moment, Centurion Jacri stepped into the tent. 

“Oh, you are back? Any progress?” 

“He has more backbone than I expected, but that is all. It is not as if he has any real loyalty to a commander who ran away.” 

Jacri’s hands were soaked in blood. He massaged his brow as he continued speaking in a tired tone. 

“The problem is that the squire did not actually know any useful information either.” 

“Damn.” 

“Given that cowardly knight’s character, maybe that was to be expected.” 

Captain Mordo had hoped for something, but there had been no result. 

At best, they had wiped out a small detached force and nothing more. 

“Do we just leave, then? We really will have wasted our time huh.” 

“Even so, we did take out an ambush party that could have struck us later. If the Count has any sense, he will count it as a contribution.” 

Jacri tried to console him, but the result did not satisfy Captain Mordo. With a sigh, he flicked the parchment onto the table. 

“We have the information, but no way to read it. I feel like a blind man with his eyes open. Does anyone know anything?” 

At his words, the men in the tent glanced hesitantly at the parchment, then shook their heads. 

All except one. 

“What is this? Why is it so messy? Shatien, can you make anything out of it?” 

“Uh, hmm…” 

All except Shatien. 

He had seen something like this before. In the scholarly studies where his master had smacked him over the head countless times. 

“Why are you staring at it like that, rookie? Well?” 

“Ah, about that,” 

He checked again, just to be sure, but he was right. Those scribbles that were barely more than graffiti matched the imperial cipher system he had learned from his master. If so, the method for decoding it should not be too difficult. 

He might be able to decipher it himself. 

“Uh, Captain?” 

“...?” 

All eyes in the tent turned to Shatien. 

“What is it, Shatien?” 

“Would it be okay for me to take a look at it?” 

“You?” 

Captain Mordo hesitated for a moment, then nodded. 

From what he had seen so far, Shatien was not the type to talk big for nothing. He could trust him at least once. 

“Go ahead.” 

Shatien received the parchment politely. For a moment, he worried about what he would do if he turned out to be wrong, but it was unfounded. 

The writing on the parchment matched the cipher system he had learned from his master. It was a venerable code that had been passed down since the days of the ancient Empire. 

“Did you find a signet ring on Lindalph’s body, the one with an engraved seal?” 

“If you mean that, I set it aside. Do you need it?” 

“Yes, Captain.” 

Captain Mordo gestured to the rear. A moment later, a mercenary waiting outside hurried in with the signet ring. 

“Hmm....” 

Shatien took the ring. Letters were indeed engraved on the inner surface. Someone who did not know would probably think it was just the family initials, but…

‘In truth, this is the key needed to decode the cipher.’

Using the ring as his key, Shatien slowly began to work through the writing on the parchment. 

After some time…

“...!” 

His eyes flew wide open. The content written on that parchment was far more important than he had expected. 

* * *

“So you are telling me this is about a supply depot?” 

“Yes, Captain.” 

“Haha...” 

Captain Mordo let out a dry laugh and stroked his chin. 

The parchment did not just roughly note a location. 

It detailed the exact positions of the supply depots used by the imperial army, along with the stores kept there. 

“He did not even burn this. For a man who ran away to save his own skin, this was too big a role for him.” 

Because the Emperor’s army was maintaining a massive standing force, their logistics system was quite organized. They established supply depots in each key region and used them to quickly deliver all kinds of supplies to every front. 

It was a system incomparable to those lords or mercenary bands who still relied on main suppliers and local requisition, patching things together as they went. 

However, that also made it risky. If the locations were exposed like this, they could lose all the carefully gathered supplies at once. 

“About three days from here. And enough food and material to support around three thousand men for a month are stored there?” 

“If what is written is true, then yes, Captain.” 

It was phenomenal information. 

The kind of thing that could temporarily flip the entire course of the war. 

If the supply depot was looted, then given the structure of the imperial logistics system, they would not be able to hold this region for long and would have to withdraw. Yet there was a problem. 

“But can we really trust this? Isn’t it too dangerous to move on uncertain information? Captain.” 

“The Emperor’s own seal is stamped on it. Of course we can trust it. What could be more certain than this. You are timid like a craven, Jacri!” 

“Quiet, Centurion Jenga. I am not questioning whether it is genuine, I am questioning how accurate the information is.” 

“Wow, listen to this important gentleman!I never realized you were so impressive. My apologies, Centurion Jacri, sir. There, I said it!” 

The Centurions had plenty of opinions after hearing the story. 

Captain Mordo clicked his tongue and turned to Shatien. 

“What about the scale of the troops? Is there anything about their garrison, their composition?” 

“There is nothing like that written.” 

“I see…” 

Mordo rubbed his chin. 

The supply depot was an appetizing target, but they had too little information to attack it immediately. 

That left only one real option. 

They would send word to Count Bellua and the main army. 

Even if the credit had to be shared, this information was valuable enough that they would be seen as the ones who had earned the greatest merit. 

He did not like the thought of sharing the glory, but such was life. 

Sensing what the Captain was thinking, Shatien spoke up. 

“Uh… Captain?” 

He cautiously offered his opinion. 

“If it is not presumptuous, may I say something?” 

“You little bastard? We spoil you a bit because you are a Centurion now and you start overstepping already huh? You think we have time to listen to some worthless opinion of yours? Is that it?” 

“…” 

Centurion Jenga exploded first. Jacri did not say anything, but he did not look pleased either. 

In that atmosphere, only two men remained calm. 

Shatien and Captain Mordo. 

“I always welcome opinions. Listening to your subordinates is the proper attitude for a commander. Speak.” 

After watching Shatien in silence for a moment, Mordo tilted his chin, granting permission. 

Shatien cleared his throat, then began to speak slowly. 

“First of all, I truly apologize if this is out of line.” 

“It is fine. No one is going to mind. Right?” 

“Ah, yes… Ahem. Of course not, Captain.” 

“We only follow your orders, Captain.” 

Mordo shrugged playfully after hearing their responses. He might as well have been saying, “see that?”. Shatien smiled bitterly inside and quickly went back over his memories. 

Events from his previous life, the strategy and tactics he had newly learned from his master. After a short time, with his thoughts organized, he opened his mouth. 

“As far as I know, the imperial army has continued to wage war even after the last armistice. Against the Duke of Burgundy in the north, and the alliance of the southern principalities. With enemies on every side, the Emperor’s available forces will not be all that great on any given front.” 

“That is correct. The Emperor of the Holy Empire has indeed continued his wars. He cannot have mobilized that many troops for this theater. But what about it? Surely you’re not saying that because of their situation, the garrison at the depot will be small, and we should simply attack. I hope that is not the depth of your thought.” 

If that was the case, it would be disappointing. 

Anyone could come up with something that simple. Even Jenga could have said as much. If Shatien had asked to give his opinion just for that, Mordo had intended to scold him properly. 

However, what Shatien said next was a little unexpected. 

“No, that is not what I mean.” 

“?” 

“What I propose is that we should change the playing board itself. We move the battlefield. Right here.” 

Not by a little, by quite a lot actually. 

“????”