Chapter 50 : Second Clash (9)

Chapter 50: Second Clash (9)

Head throbbed.

Nothing went the way he planned and it drove him nearly mad.

This was exactly what Baron Friedrand was thinking.

Baron Friedrand tightened the muscles around his eyes. Just as the messenger had said, he saw routed soldiers in rags stumbling toward him from far away.

‘Could they possibly be the ones from the supply depot?’

It was still too early for a rash judgment.

They could be Knight Lindalph’s men.

“What utter chaos-!”

After riding closer and checking the routed soldiers himself, Baron Friedrand erupted in anger.

Their condition was terrible. Not a single piece of their armor remained intact and some had makeshift bandages on severed or mangled wrists. The fact that they made it this far was practically a miracle.

Baron Friedrand lifted a soldier who was collapsing.

“…W-Water….”

“I am Baron Friedrand of the Imperial Army. State your unit.”

But ominous instincts were always right.

The soldier jolted in fear and his answer was exactly what Friedrand never wanted to hear.

“P-Please spare me! The supply base has fallen.”

“Fallen? What about Ludwig? What was that man doing that it fell?”

“T-That is… Hgk.”

The soldier dropped with a thud before finishing his sentence. He had died, unable to endure any longer.

Baron Friedrand let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of it all.

‘Baron Ludwig was really defeated?’

He could not believe it.

The great Baron Ludwig, defeated here? In such a small skirmish? The smaller the battlefield, the more terrifying a skilled knight became. There was a reason knights were called warriors who equaled a hundred men.

Yet if it were not Ludwig, then there was no reason soldiers defending the supply base would be here.

“We will ride to the high ground at once!”

“Pardon?”

“Now!”

He shouted at the bewildered guard, then urgently drove his horse toward the high ground. From across the ridge, the supply depot came into view.

“Ahh…!”

Baron Friedrand let out a groan. Atop the supply depot fluttered a banner he had never seen before.

‘Was the Black Raven Mercenary Company about one thousand men?’

Their strength would be worn after a fierce fight, yet the number was still burdensome.

Worse, the path to the supply depot was a steep uphill slope.

It was a poor place for a lance charge and his knights would not be able to build speed.

He needed more manpower.

“Lieutenant. How far has Baron Lichten’s vanguard come?”

“…They should arrive at the supply depot by tomorrow morning.”

“Hmm.”

Baron Friedrand pondered.

What should he do?

Should he join Baron Lichten and attack the supply depot, or retreat and gather even more troops?

But the hesitation did not last long.

“Send a messenger to Baron Lichten. Tell him to increase speed. We will attack the supply depot together.”

“……”

The Lieutenant fell silent, then spoke carefully.

“If the supply depot is already occupied, it will not be easy. My lord, the location is not a plain. It is a palisade built on a hill. In truth, we will need to wage a siege. There is also the possibility that we are surrounded from front and rear. It might be better to…”

“Enough!”

Baron Friedrand cut him off. Of course he knew all of that. But the quality of their forces and their numbers were different.

“They are mercenaries, Lieutenant. Barely eight hundred of them.”

He commanded two thousand soldiers. Retreating would earn him the title of coward.

Besides, he had forty knights as well. That alone changed everything.

“Do not make me a coward.”

He had fought tooth and nail to earn command of the vanguard. If he turned back now, he would lose both honor and influence.

“Understood, my lord. My thoughts were shallow.”

The Lieutenant bowed his head. He too was a noble. He understood the importance of honor.

Even failure was better than avoiding battle.

“Let us go down.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Before descending from the high ground, Baron Friedrand cast one last look at the supply depot.

The banner fluttering above it felt ominous.

‘Does the Black Raven Mercenary Company have an unknown expert? Or is Captain Mordo truly that strong?’

His head only felt more tangled.

* * *

“Khuuugh!”

Shatien exhaled a long breath and regained his senses. The warm drowsiness felt as if his soul had been pulled out. He then looked around and realized he was not on a battlefield. This feeling. He had experienced something similar once.

But this was different.

Back then he died and returned to the past. This time he had merely brushed death and survived.

“Ugh… where is this…?”

He found himself in a room filled with beds. Each bed held injured soldiers.

It was not a field tent. This was a proper infirmary inside a base.

‘That means… this must be an inner base, right?’

Shatien looked around. If he was here, it meant they had won the battle. As he pieced that together, a cold shiver ran down his spine.

‘No way… did I really defeat Baron Ludwig?’

It made sense from the circumstances, yet he still could not believe it. He remembered Ludwig’s reputation and the vivid memory of their duel.

“Mmm.”

Shatien touched the bandages wrapped tightly around his torso. It still hurt but the discomfort was manageable. He should have been on the brink of death, yet his recovery felt too fast.

“So that really was not my imagination. It must have been a real potion.”

The high grade potions used by nobles were said to have a sweet taste and healed wounds quickly. Someone had apparently used one on him.

With that thought, Shatien rose slowly and stepped outside to gather information.

“……?”

The moment he opened the door, mercenaries standing guard looked straight at him with wide eyes.

“I-It’s Centurion Shatien!”

“He is awake.”

“Are you alright? Can you see properly?”

Especially the mercenaries under his Centurion command ran to him in relief. They had survived that fierce battle against the odds.

Shatien gave them a soft smile.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“Thank goodness. Miles said it was the treasured potion he had hidden as a family heirloom, so we thought he was bragging.”

“Yes, that is right. You burned up with a fever and wandered for a long while.”

They waved their arms as they spoke, but this was not the information Shatien wanted.

“What about the battle? How did the battle end? Especially Ludwig?”

“That bastard? He ran away when you gave him that fatal blow!”

“He got surrounded by his escort knights and escaped. Thanks to that, the battle ended right there. Seems he had quite a name. Once he ran, their entire formation collapsed and we broke through the front too.”

“Oh…!”

Shatien let out an admiring sound.

He regretted not finishing Ludwig, but victory was certain.

No, perhaps it was better this way.

‘I can settle the unfinished duel later.’

They had traded fatal blows. This time he had relied on tricks because he lacked skill, but he wanted their next duel to be a test of strength alone.

As he thought that, someone rushed toward him.

“Shatien! Oh! My Centurion!”

Miles came running with a bright expression.

“I, you see, used my precious heirloom potion for you. Seriously, Shatien, you better not forget this. Right, Hudson?”

“Kkik!”

“How could I forget? Thank you, Miles.”

“Ahaha. It was nothing.”

Miles scratched his head shyly, despite pretending otherwise.

“But we lost many men in this battle.”

“Oh no. How many?”

“Twenty. Mostly the ones with poor gear. And at least ten more are injured.”

The loss was larger than he expected. Nearly thirty percent of their strength was gone. It was almost crippling. They might even have to disband the unit.

“It seems we will need to improve their armor.”

“Armor? That costs a fortune so how could we. You are not planning to pay out of your own pocket, are you? I’m absolutely against that. Besides, you do not have that kind of money. And you are not even a noble with household retainers.”

“Hmm… Retainers…”

He was now the successor of his master, Joachim. If he wanted to move like a noble, he needed a group of retainers. Turning these mercenaries into retainers was actually a good idea.

They had built strong bonds over consecutive battles after all.

“What is with that strange look? You are not seriously thinking of doing that, right?”

“Hahaha. Alright. I am not. I will not.”

Of course, in the future, who knows what will happen. If he saves up enough money…

‘If I ever become wealthy, I will outfit them in heavy armor and create my own assault corps.’

Though that would be far in the future.

As they talked, a visitor arrived for Shatien.

“Hey, Shatien. Still not dead huh. You have a long life.”

“Ah, Centurion Jenga.”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

It was the greedy Centurion Jenga. He grumbled for no reason as he spoke.

“The Captain wants to see you. And I’ll say it again, but don’t speak arrogantly. Neither Jacri nor I will tolerate rudeness. Understand?”

Jenga added an unnecessary warning, but Shatien barely heard it.

‘The Captain wants to see me? Why?’

That alone filled his thoughts.

* * *

-Knock knock knock.

“Captain. You called for me? It is Shatien.”

“Enter.”

“Yes.”

Shatien stepped into the room carefully. It was quite luxurious, likely the office where the enemy commander had stayed. Well, it made sense. Captain Mordo deserved a room of this level.

“So Miles was not exaggerating huh? You look better than I expected, Shatien Centurion.”

“Haha. That heirloom potion really seemed to have worked. The effect was impressive.”

Mordo laughed and gestured.

“Sit down.”

No sooner had Shatien sat than the attendant brought a drink. The attendant must have been someone who belonged to this base originally.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. In fact, I should thank you. You accomplished something tremendous, Shatien.”

“I was lucky.”

“Lucky? Hehe... You cannot defeat a knight with luck. Especially the champion of the southeast.”

This was news to Shatien.

He had not known that Baron Ludwig held such fame. Which meant something else too.

“Your own reputation will spread across the continent soon. Your duel with Ludwig especially was fierce and perfect for heroic tales. Wandering bards will be delighted.”

A knight’s fame usually grew that way.

One rose by taking the name of another. Even though Shatien did not defeat Ludwig outright, he had proven himself. At the very least, he was someone who could fight an impressive champion evenly.

Because of that, Captain Mordo felt troubled.

“I acknowledge you. Your dedication to our mercenary company has been extraordinary.”

“……?”

Shatien blinked in confusion at the sudden praise.

“Especially the moment you felled Baron Ludwig, your fame rose above mine whether you wanted it or not.”

“What do you… mean by that. That’s not true, Captain.”

Shatien panicked.

Such words sounded like he had become a burden. He feared exactly this.

And then,

“To be honest, you have already become too big. It is difficult for you to stay under me.”

The words he dreaded came out at last.

Shatien froze.

What should he say?

But Mordo continued with an even more shocking statement.

“Tell me, do you have no desire to receive a fief formally?”

“……?!”

It was a proposal he never imagined.