Chapter 65 : A Brief Lull (5)

Chapter 65: A Brief Lull (5)

From a distance, the Centurions watched Shatien’s training and clicked their tongues.

“Harsh. If he keeps that up, what is he going to do when someone deserts?”

“Heh heh. He says he gives them full armament. Did you see it? Hauberk and coif. I thought it was some knight’s kit.”

“His gear might actually be better than yours, you know?”

“You little punk. Are you kidding me!”

The newly appointed Centurions bickered with each other as they commented on Shatien’s training.

However, none of them tried to interfere with his brutal training methods. No, they could not. For one thing, Shatien’s skill had already risen to a level they could not even hope to match, and within the mercenary company his position, except for Centurion Jacri, was practically that of a Vice Captain.

“Damn it.”

Because of that, Centurion Jenga grumbled as he watched Shatien.

His head was a mess.

‘Damn it. The gap has gotten way too big.’

It was not as if Jenga did not want to raise his own hundred to an elite force. He simply had the ability to bark and keep discipline and order, but he did not have the ability or the funds to actually train them up.

He hated to admit it, but Shatien was far above him.

And it was clear that this gap would only widen in the future.

‘Ah, damn. Our first meeting had to go badly, what do I do? Maybe if I keep rubbing my hands and sticking close, he will start to look kindly on me?’

So Jenga decided to stick to Shatien as much as he could.

He was already steadily losing points with Captain Mordo.

Centurion Jacri also frowned at him every time he saw him.

‘Ugh. That bastard. As if it is not obvious he is a noble born. Ptoo.’

No matter how much they tried to hide it, they had a certain refinement they could not conceal. The kind of refinement Jenga did not have.

‘If this keeps up, I really am going to end up like an egg dumped on the riverbank.’

Ever since Shatien had joined, the Black Raven Mercenary Company had grown larger by the day and its fame had risen.

Jenga had no intention of leaving. Everyone knew the odds of surviving went up when you stuck to the strong.

Besides,

‘If Captain Mordo keeps valuing Shatien, the company will only grow even larger.’

They had already surpassed the scale of a small or mid-sized band. They could soon aim for the status of a great mercenary army that commanded thousands.

As far as he knew, Captain Mordo was also of noble birth, so he would have the connections to make it happen.

In that case, he himself might one day end up as an officer in charge of a unit of a thousand.

‘Heh heh heh. Slow, steady, and solid, that is the way to go.’

For that reason, Jenga decided to throw away his pride and back Shatien completely.

Seriously…

It was a very Jenga-like choice.

* * *

“Achoo!”

“What, did you catch a cold?”

“No. A sneeze just came out of nowhere. Did someone perhaps curse me behind my back? Miles?”

“Ehehehe. Would I curse you? Those mercenaries collapsing over there are probably the ones who will curse you.”

At some point, Miles had found great joy in teasing him. Shatien clicked his tongue and then turned to greet the caravan merchant who had brought the goods.

The shipment of hauberks had arrived three days earlier than scheduled. The head merchant explained.

“We put the entire party on pack horses and rode here. Branch Manager Marhen kept hurrying us along. It is the first time, hoho. We rode without day or night and that is how we arrived so quickly.”

Shatien was surprised at those words and paid thirty silver coins. He had not imagined they would shorten the schedule this drastically.

‘Hm, I still ought to check them once.’

– Clank.

Shatien opened the crate and checked the goods, but there seemed to be no real problem. They were properly made hauberks, every metal ring tightly linked.

The merchant smiled broadly.

“Branch Manager Marhen said she was very pleased and told me to be sure to pass those words along.”

“I am pleased as well. Haha. Excellent work.”

“I knew it would be that way. We picked out only the good pieces and sent them. The branch manager will be delighted.”

Shatien handed over a pouch of silver and a letter. It was a certificate stating that the balance had been paid.

“Oh, we have received it clearly. Then stay well. The Loren branch of the trading company firmly believes in and supports Sir Shatien.”

After those courteous words, the caravan left. Shatien immediately called his men and began arming the mercenaries.

The mercenaries, who came running in a rush, all widened their eyes.

They had known they would receive gear, but having it in their hands was still amazing.

“Are you really lending these to us?”

“Never thought in my life I would wear armor like this…”

“Think of it as the reward for all the hard training. From now on, you lot are Shatien’s elite infantry.”

At Shatien’s confirmation, the mercenaries’ faces brightened at once.

“Thank you, Centurion!”

“It is not as heavy as I thought. I figured it would be insanely heavy.”

“Hey, hey! Wrap this around your waist. I used to serve a knight lord back in the day, and he said if you do that, the weight feels lighter.”

“Oh? Really? That is wild.”

Shatien laid down a warning to his delighted mercenaries.

“I am only saying this just in case, but I hope there is no one who runs off with that armor. It was made in the Free City of Loren, so you cannot sell it just anywhere. A traveling caravan is no different. Merchants all band together for each other.”

Even though he warned them like that, deserters still appeared the next day. And two days later, they were caught by merchants and dragged to the supply depot.

“Some lowborn rabble tried to sell us expensive hauberks. It felt odd, so we checked, and they turned out to be the goods delivered to Sir Shatien by the company the other day. We threatened to kill them if they did not speak the truth, and they said they deserted with the goods, so we brought them here.”

“Thank you.”

Shatien slipped a few silver coins into the merchants’ hands. They walked off chuckling, asking him to seek them out if he needed more goods.

The deserters left behind trembled and confessed their wrongdoing without resistance.

“Spare us! Centurion.”

“We were wrong. We lost our minds for a moment. Please! I have an old mother back in my hometown.”

However, Shatien shook his head firmly. As expected, not everyone lived by loyalty and good faith. And since they were mercenaries who chased money, they could not help but be tempted by material things.

As Centurion Jenga had said, it was a time that required the lash. They were an example.

“You have committed two crimes. Do you know what they are?”

“Yes, yes. One is deserting without permission, and the other is theft.”

“Wrong. One is betraying my trust. The other is breaking the trust between comrades. If I forgive you, other deserters will appear, so I cannot forgive you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shatien cut off both of the deserters’ wrists.

“Aaaargh!”

“Aaagh! My hands, my haaaands!”

The guilty mercenaries stood in shock as they looked at their severed wrists. Each time they did, blood spurted from the stumps with a hiss, dyeing the area red.

“Cauterize their wounds with fire. Then prop them up on poles and do not give them a single drop of water.”

“Y-Yes! Understood.”

The mercenaries swallowed dryly at that brutal sight. Sadly, those men would shrivel and starve to death in misery.

‘I really must never run away.’

‘I thought he was a kind officer with a lot of heart, but damn it… no, he is a madman.’

‘Gulp. If I desert, I should not take the gear with me. I should just run with my body alone.’

Thanks to Shatien’s firm response, no more deserters ran off with hauberks.

Only a few faint-hearted ones, shaken by the blood, said they wanted to go home.

Miles cursed them as weak country bumpkins, but Shatien paid them for their past hardships and sent them back.

Fear spread easily, and it was better to cut off the sprouts from the start.

In that way, Shatien’s mercenary unit, with very strong bonds between its members, was steadily being completed as a single heavy infantry formation.

-Neighhh!

And a few days later.

The brief ceasefire ended.

Right on cue, rumors spread that the main force of the Imperial Army was marching into the plains. Count Bellua’s main army was also moving to meet them in that same plain. The Black Raven Mercenary Company, led by Captain Mordo, handed over their base to the supply column the count had dispatched and headed to the assembly point.

‘All preparations are complete.’

-Turururuk.

The horse he had mounted snorted.

The next assembly point was the Jupenheim Plains. His past experiences had diverged greatly from the future he remembered, but at least the battlefield where this decisive battle would be fought, that much of the future, remained unchanged.

Both commanders had chosen to fight in the plains where knights could shine.

‘In that case, there will be a long standoff this time as well.’

In the past, both sides had been so intimidated by each other’s forces that they could not move rashly. Then, because of some event, a sudden general engagement had broken out, but he could not recall exactly what that was.

‘Well, I will know when I get there.’

But now Shatien was no longer afraid of such uncertain memories. The only things he could trust were the strength given to him and the cohesion of the subordinates who trusted and followed him.

That was the key that would unravel this age of chaos.

“Hyah!”

With that thought, Shatien pulled on the reins.

Their destination was the Jupenheim Plains.

The battlefield… The crimson wind of the battlefield was calling to him.

* * *

On the Jupenheim Plains, an army of nearly ten thousand soldiers faced each other.

And inside the Imperial Army’s command tent.

Supreme Commander Count Heinrich had gathered the nobles.

“How are the enemy’s movements?”

“They are not budging.”

“Hmm.”

That was all.

Count Heinrich did not offer any other opinions.

In truth, he wanted to launch a pre-emptive attack, but he kept hesitating.

‘If we fail again, it will be disastrous.’

If they collapsed here, then the next sector to the rear was Carcassonne, which his ancestors had guarded for generations. If he lost it, it would become difficult to maintain his countship.

It was literally a battle for his life. When Count Heinrich swallowed a groan, the nobles raised their voices.

“My lord count, perhaps you should simply give the order to charge. We have already been facing off for a full week.”

“The longer we stare at each other, the heavier the burden becomes. The knights and the squires, everyone is full of complaints.”

Listening to them made Count Heinrich’s insides burn.

In the past, the nobles had not rebelled like this. However, after the defeat at the Free City of Loren, his position had become shaky.

If he had not still possessed his remaining reputation, his title of count, and the emperor’s favor, he would have had to give the position of supreme commander to another noble.

In the end, the count tried to soothe them.

“Haha. Everyone, calm yourselves. The longer we wait, the more of our forces gather. We must crush them with truly overwhelming numbers.”

“The same goes for the enemy.”

“I hear that the Black Raven Mercenary Company is on its way as well. The ones who raided the supply depot!”

The council chamber stirred.

The reputation of the Black Raven Mercenary Company had already spread within the Imperial Army.

“Is there any reason to care about some mercenary band?”

“Think of the fact that we lost the preliminary battle because of that company, my lord count.”

“There is no need to stir up needless agitation. Even now, we must raise morale and do something.”

At those words, Count Heinrich sighed. Either way, it meant they wanted to fight.

Given the warlike temper of the nobles, the fact that they had obeyed his orders this long without incident was already impressive.

However, no matter how he thought about it, launching a full-scale battle right now was reckless.

‘We are still not ready.’

The high proportion of peasant levies was the problem. They had the upper hand in knights, but their infantry, which had to support them, was inferior.

Those damned nobles seemed to think that knights alone could solve everything, but this battle would pit units in the tens of thousands against each other.

In such a fight, infantry formations with strong cohesion were crucial.

Then, suddenly.

‘Hmm? That might do.’

A good idea occurred to him.

Something that would quell their discontent and raise morale.

“In that case, why do we not hold a duel to show our morale and our honor?”

“What? A duel, all of a sudden…?”

“I mean that our houses should stake their honor and have our knights fight those of Count Bellua’s side.”

“Oh…!”

At that moment, every noble’s eyes shone. The knights under them had been rampaging all over the camp, and they had been uncomfortable with it. This would be a good way to tamp down their complaints.

On top of that, the strength of the coalition under Count Bellua, whose core was the Kingdom of Ellang, was obvious.

When it came to knights, Imperial knights were superior.

The nobles had confidence.

“Very well.”

“Let us begin at once!”

As the nobles answered enthusiastically, Count Heinrich quietly let out a sigh of relief inside. He would be able to settle them down for a while.

‘Come to think of it, I hear there is a sword demon in the Black Raven Mercenary Company who is very good with a blade, no…?’

So his nicknames were the Noble-Slayer, the Knight-Butcher, or something like that?

However, he quickly realized that he was worrying over nothing. This duel, after all, would be a sacred contest only between knights.

‘There is no place for some mercenary like that to meddle.’