The Blood Knight’s Villains

My Villains Episode 328

57. Preface (9)

It has been snowing for the first time in a while.

Could it be because we entered the end of January, when the cold is at its peak? Despite the Antrum region, which is famous for its warm climate, there was a fairly fierce snowstorm.

It’s quite unlucky to meet a snowstorm from the second day of the campaign.

Hee-hing-

That’s how I feel. Anyway, the bicorn ran through the snow field, blushing all by itself. After being blown by the cold wind for several hours, I thought that a monster must be a monster after all, seeing that the spirit did not die, but rather grew more vigorous.

As it was about to enter the plateau, the winding road continued endlessly with high and low hills on both sides.

Excited, the bicorn led me to the highest hill among them. As they climbed the slope at once with their horns extending from both sides, the scouting party sent by the commander of the Marquis of Eavon was startled and rolled across the snowy field.

I giggled and handed them a leather water bag. Opening the stopper to the declining soldiers, he invites them again, and he accepts the water bag with delight, as if he smelled the faint scent of Dandeli wine.

While the three young men, who must have just turned 20, were flirting, I approached the man who seemed to be the leader and asked a question.

“Is that a plateau from there?”

“That’s right, Nari.”

In the distance to the west, beyond the fierce snowstorm, sheer cliffs came into view, albeit in a hazy way.

The leader, who had become quite friendly during the past three days driving the bicorn and poking around here and there, glanced at West and added:

“It’s a fucking place. Especially on a day like this.”

“Looks like it.”

That plateau was the land of the Mittergerland Empire just a few decades ago. That is, until Lionel II, who was called the ‘King of Knights’ as the previous king, personally swept the army and took it away.

Since then, the Elector Counts of Mitterge Land, who long for revenge, have frequently attacked, and the plateau has become one of the most contested areas on the continent. It is not unreasonable that it gained such notoriety, as it is a place where war breaks out once every 5 years at the shortest and once every 10 years at the longest.

Come to think of it, Prince Ulkar’s reputation began to rise after he played an active part in the battle of the highlands at the young age of seventeen.

“The story of the prince shooting six arrows and knocking down seven jockeys is a story so famous that no one in the kingdom knows about it.”

“Yeah, he was really famous. Even if no one knows.”

“Sometimes the skeptics think the rumors are inflated. Well, it’s worth thinking about it that way. It was a sight that was hard to believe even after seeing it in person.”

“Even if you see it yourself?”

The scout leader brushed the snow off his helmet and smiled.

“yes. Eight or nine years ago, I was also in Gowon.” “oh. Are you a veteran?” “It’s nothing special. If you eat jjambab in Antrum, you will definitely go to the highlands at least once. One out of ten would have rolled on the plateau there too.”

He pointed to the troop of soldiers walking along the road down the hill like a giant snake.

“Still, few people have ever seen Prince Ulkar draw his bow. It’s something I’m proud of.”

“okay? I am also interested.”

“Hmm, you must be. You are His standard.”

The chief of staff succinctly released the events in the battle of the highlands nine years ago.

It was certainly an interesting story, but in the end it was a thing of the past, so I nodded my head appropriately and looked back at the army of the Marquis of Eabon.

One thousand six hundred soldiers.

Among them, 500 were elite soldiers directly under the Marquis Arya, and the rest were soldiers led by the minor lords of Antrum. If you add in my subordinates and the servants brought by the nobles, the number of pages exceeds 2,000.

2,000 people was considered a small army in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and historical books, but seeing it in person is just full of troops.

It is a world with high food production and low infant mortality thanks to the activities of the church that wields divine power, but the monsters that appear in the forest still make people precious.

In that sense, that army was by no means small. In fact, it was also the largest army I have ever seen.

If I had accepted Marquis Eavon’s offer, that army would have been entirely mine. Seeing the majesty of the elite soldiers at the forefront, I regretted rejecting the proposal in the end.

“I have vivid memories of… You were so active when you were a 17-year-old kid, but what about now?”

The scout leader’s chatter continued even as I looked around the troops.

“A few months ago, they were the electors who rolled their tails in front of the prince’s 2,000 soldiers, so this time won’t be much different.”

“hmm. I wish it was.”

“You said Gowon was the first, right? I can guarantee you nothing to worry about. Compared to the formidable enemies that you have experienced, the large Gellans are no better than scarecrows.”

Even in severe weather with a blizzard, the scout leader’s voice was pleasant.

His words seemed to represent the mood of the entire Marquis Army.

It was only in August of last year that Prince Ulkar rallied the forces of the west and prevented the invasion of Mittergerland.

Given that 2,000 reinforcements were added in such a situation, it was not surprising that the soldiers were optimistic.

In addition, the fact that the boy Count Os, who would become Antrum’s future owner, led the army had a great influence.

A story is circulating in the crowd, ‘The Marquis, unless he is an idiot, would not have entrusted command to a 16-year-old in the face of a difficult war.’

It’s good to have high morale, but you shouldn’t be vigilant, but the command department has a slightly different atmosphere, so you don’t have to worry too much.

“I will have to go back soon. Tell me the rest of the story later.”

I pulled the reins behind the scout leader’s sad expression. The bicorn shook his head, gave a short tantrum, and turned his horse’s head.

No, strictly speaking, it’s not a horse, so it’s a bit strange to say it’s a horse’s head.

well anyway

The bicorn went down the hill about twice as fast as it went up. It was so fast that it gave the illusion of flying into the sky against a blizzard.

Passing through the ranks of marquis soldiers and heading towards the place where the party and his subordinates were gathered, he suddenly felt empty.

Originally, at this point, Mungchi should have appeared with his characteristic flustered face and greeted him.

Is it because it’s only been five days since we broke up? His vacancy feels too big. The trespasser who used to dig into the futon every night disappears, making it difficult to sleep.

Mungchi left for Oakdelli, a province to the east of Antrum. This is because the place where the Pasa Sword Master died was ‘Oakford’, the capital of Oak Delhi.

Oak Delhi was confused by the incompetent lord and at the same time was a key point close to the royal road. It was a perfect fit for a secret society like the Three Swordsman Association to have its headquarters.

Whether it was Oak Delhi or Oakford, it wasn’t too far away, so if Mungchi managed to safely obtain the Pasa Sword, they would be able to meet again before long.

When I was Kim Seung-soo, I remember being annoyed by the swordsman’s exclusive quest.

Unlike other characters whose dedicated quest ends in one shot, the scenarios of the martial artist and the swordsman, which were added as expansion packs, were divided into several finely divided scenarios.

At that time, it was annoying that the hunting tempo was interrupted in the middle, but now I am grateful. I’ll be able to meet the bunch again soon.

“Did you come, sir?”

At that time, a veteran conductor rode a horse and approached.

While thinking of Munchhi’s cute face, when I saw the top of Confir, with his hair shaved like chestnuts and a huge scar around his mouth, I wondered if reality was a gutter.

“Ha fuck.”

“…why do you do that?”

“Nothing.”

Confair put the horse’s hair side by side with a puzzled expression. His horse was an old warhorse with gray hair, and although he had some energy, he was fearless and did not budge even when the bicorn growled.

After looking at the old warhorse for a while, I looked back at the party and asked.

“It’s cold on me too, and everyone is having a hard time. How are the newcomers?”

“I’m just walking, is there anything special? You don’t have to worry because we picked good guys from the beginning.” As Confair suggested, I selected twenty mercenaries from Lianwell.

A weekly wage is set according to skill, so two silver coins are three, one and a half silver coins are five, and one silver coin is twelve. With a silver coin as a weekly wage, they belonged to veteran mercenaries, so it was like they brought in some of the best.

As if I was such a newcomer, I looked back at my new subordinates who were not newcomers, and I narrowed my eyebrows slightly.

“Why is his face like that?”

“Who- oh ‘Taggart’?”

Taggart was the most skilled among the mercenaries gathered this time, and his trademark was a large gauntlet that covered his elbows and an ignorant-looking cleaver.

Glancing at the grunting Taggart with the bandage slanted across half of his face, Confyer smiled wryly.

“There was a bit of a pitch battle. It happens all the time.”

“Did you fight? with who?”

“This is Donnell.”

“Donell? Weldon Donnell?”

“It’s not Weldon- anyway, he’s right.”

“Donnell made him that way? Wouldn’t you be able to do that?”

Even during the march, I did not skip evening training, so I immediately finished grasping the skills of my new subordinates.

Knowing this, the Confair also quickly shook his head.

“Donnell is, of course, terribly broken. But that guy got his momentum up and attacked Fritz.”

“aha.”

Takat said he nearly lost an eye. My eyeball was half blown out from being hit by Fritz’s fist.

“Thanks to Okan-nim’s quick treatment, I was spared.”

“okay. Well, it’s brave that Fritz’s temper saved his life at least.”

Come to think of it, monk Okan was preaching a sermon on Fritz for recklessly using violence.

No matter how stupid Fritz was, he couldn’t be annoyed with the priest.

“Tsu” 入- .

Fighting with each other wasn’t something he was proud of, but it was inevitable.

Most of my subordinates were mercenaries who operated individually or in small numbers, and those guys were usually more like gangsters than soldiers.

If he tried to solve such a small problem himself, he would have to hold on to his subordinates all day. It is also a trick to leave it alone in moderation.

“So, is the order sorted?”

“It’s almost done. The youngest members felt sorry for them. Not a single one of the newcomers is easy enough.”

“Sorry. If kids with no skills are already trying to escape as the youngest, that’s because they have no conscience.”

Meanwhile, Utequai whispered incomprehensible words to the direwolf and was intent on taming it, and Heila was nowhere to be seen. He had been befriending an old wizard from Trumwell the past few days, and he must have been riding in her carriage to escape the blizzard.

Theodora was watching the marching ranks on her white horse, Brightmere. It is giving the power of healing while looking after fallen soldiers or horses with injured ankles.

As I approached and spoke to her, the messenger approached.

“Sir Phoenix! General McNeil has requested that you attend the military doctor’s examination.”

“…i get it. Go now.”

‘Mekneil’ was the actual commander of this army, and he was a highly regarded professional commander and a general of ascent (常勝) that Eavon cherished.

Unlike the soldiers, he was looking at this war quite hard. Let’s listen to
what you have to say .