episode_0213

A zombie wyvern was called to move to the battlefield where Viscount Tar was, where a fierce battle had just taken place.

They were flying around scattering various skeletons on the battlefield, but like the undead, they came back without the slightest fatigue.

And, when the zombie wyvern came back, I rode on the zombie wyvern’s back together with the Death Knight that I had called in separately from the blacksmith shop.

“Why am I going together?”

“Escort. Just in case you don’t know.”

There was a very simple reason for accompanying the Death Knight.

This is because Viscount Tar, who received all kinds of support, tried all kinds of tricks, and used all kinds of methods, seemed to be able to use all kinds of tricks even in this situation where defeat was certain.

For example, it could be that the goal was to hide a master-level strongman as a guard and cut him down the moment I showed up.

That’s why he accompanied the Death Knight.

As some time had passed since its creation, Death Knight had become quite strong. I can’t say that I can definitely defeat a master-level opponent, but it’s still enough to give me time to pull myself out if the situation arises.

Moreover, in order to ensure safety in such a situation, a few more powerful undead were taken. This is enough to predict victory if you attack with Death Knight.

Anyway, I boarded the zombie wyvern with the Death Knight and immediately moved to the spot where Viscount Tar was. No, more precisely, to the place where all of Viscount Tarr’s army has been wiped out, and where Viscount Tarr is somehow gathering up the meager remaining troops.

After moving for a while on a zombie wyvern flying in the sky at incredible speeds, I was able to see the blackened earth below me.

And then, the sight of Viscount Tar huddled a little away from that land caught my eye. After spotting Viscount Tarr, who seemed to be protecting himself with a very small, barely organized force, I approached at a leisurely pace.

“Keuuu… … ! A lowly person with no roots… … !”

As I approached leisurely, Viscount Tar seemed to have spotted me, gritting his teeth and glaring at me with menacing eyes.

Of course, it wasn’t threatening at all. No matter how angry Viscount Tar was, hiding among the few surviving knights who didn’t even have the courage to come out in front of me, there was no way he could reach me.

Moreover, after closely checking the surroundings, my worries were for naught. There were no master-level strongmen or anything like that.

The Death Knight I had brought as my escort could now be used to put pressure on Viscount Tarr.

“I won. So now you have to pay the price, right?”

“Not yet… … ! Not yet! I am not defeated yet!”

“What should I do if I’m not defeated?”

I laughed lightly at Viscount Tar’s refusal to admit defeat and decided to remind him of his current situation.

Thousands of corpses strewn across the black ground, a small number of knights who were somehow holding their swords but suffering various injuries, and soldiers who were not holding their weapons but were sitting on the ground because their legs were shaking. He pointed to them one by one.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I can do. Most of the troops had already evaporated, and only about ten knights survived. There’s only one soldier who looks like he’s about to urinate because he’s lost his medicine tooth.”

“… … .”

“And, even if there is more to do, is it really meaningful? There are still plenty of undead under my control. Besides, there are plenty of things over there that can be turned into undead… … .”

“Qu… … !”

When he appealed that he could immediately use thousands of corpses to create undead, Viscount Tar could not even say anything and only ground his teeth.

The remaining skeletons alone were enough of a risk, but it was clear that they were afraid that thousands more undead could be added.

Although Viscount Tarr did not admit it to himself, everyone had no choice but to accept that Viscount Tarr had been defeated.

This is because Viscount Tar no longer had the ability to sustain a war.

Although the number of supplies they had was quite high, they were in a situation where they were depleting the supplies and there were almost no troops to continue the war. With the troops available, it could have been difficult to manage supplies.

Even if you claimed that you were not defeated and that you could do more, the reality was that you were not.

And, as Viscount Tar gradually realized the reality, many people began to gather. Nobles from the royalist and aristocratic factions who had been watching the territory exhibition in other places came to visit, as did the official in charge of the territory exhibition and his party.

“Hahaha! Viscount Steel, congratulations on your victory in the territory battle!”

Count Carbon, who was watching the territory battle from a relatively close distance, burst into laughter as soon as he saw me. He laughed so loudly that I thought I might have developed vocal cord nodules, and then he patted my shoulder and congratulated me on my victory.

It goes without saying, but the main purpose of the appearance seemed to be to stimulate the nobles of the aristocratic faction, including Viscount Tarr. In fact, while congratulating them, their gaze stayed on the nobles longer than on me.

“I, I have not been defeated yet! Count Carbon, a foreigner, please leave!”

“It would be absurd to say that we were not defeated. Don’t you think so too?”

Count Carbon saw Viscount Tarr not admitting defeat, and with a smile that bordered on ridicule, he elicited opinions from other nobles as if asking for their consent.

Opinions poured in, mainly from the royalists, that it was Viscount Tarr’s defeat.

Even among the nobles of the noble faction, there were some who nodded, saying defeat was defeat, even though they were shaking.

“Originally, territory battles end when either party admits defeat or is completely occupied!”

Of course, not all nobles of the noble faction agreed. I don’t know if it was because they supported Viscount Tarr, but some nobles were spitting and eagerly expressing their opposing opinions.

But that opinion did not last long. After hearing that story, I asked if it would be okay to completely push out the Tar Viscounty and take over right now, and at the same time, I kept my mouth shut.

In the end, not only the royalist faction but also the aristocratic faction had no choice but to accept Viscount Tarr’s defeat.

“Most of the nobles who watched as notaries agreed, so we will end this territory battle with Viscount Steele’s victory.”

Thanks to this, the official in charge of the territory battle felt very comfortable and officially declared my victory.

And, at the same time, the moment to collect the loot came. There was no difference in the fact that it was a territorial war, with the winner taking the spoils from the loser.

“As a legitimate right of the winner, I will absorb and annex the Viscounty of Tar.”

The beginning, of course, was the confiscation of the territory.

Since a territory war is usually a contest involving the territory itself, it was possible for the winner to confiscate the loser’s territory. It was also possible to receive something in kind equivalent to the value of the territory, but I was thinking of confiscating the territory.

“That’s not possible! We have priority over the Viscounty of Thar!”

However, as soon as the forfeiture of the territory was announced, a tackle came. Among the noble faction, there were nobles who seemed to have supported Viscount Tarr, and they all shouted that confiscation of the territory was impossible.

However, what I was thinking was that I was referring to the contract with Viscount Tarr. When applying, there was a contract that if the situation was such that the support could not be repaid, the territory would be offered instead.

In a word, it was an unreasonable situation because they would be in a situation where they would be left behind if their territory was confiscated.

“Let’s discuss that with Viscount Tarr.”

Of course, I had no intention of listening to such an argument and had no reason to listen to it. Rather, the priorities they claimed were mine.

In fact, providing support for territorial warfare was close to an investment. If you win, you can receive compensation for your support, and if you lose, it is natural to receive nothing and lose your support.

The risk of investment failure should not be borne by me, but by those who invested.

“Keuuu… … !”

The nobles of the noble faction glared at me as if they were indignant, then immediately turned around and began to move at a brisk pace. This is because they realized that if they continue like this, they will only explode inside themselves and gain nothing at all.

However, some of them suddenly appeared approaching the land contaminated by the curse. I wondered what on earth they were trying to do, but they were trying to collect some of the dead bodies.

It appears that they were the ones who had provided troops to Viscount Tarr, and were trying to retrieve the bodies of the knights they had supported and return home.

It goes without saying, but I couldn’t stay still after seeing that. The loot I would take included Viscount Tarr’s territory, but it also included numerous corpses resulting from the territory war. In particular, the bodies of excellent knights were not something that could be easily given up.

Even so, we had a meeting with Father Thomas about the issue and even received an answer that there was no problem.

I immediately stopped the nobles who were trying to retrieve the bodies of several knights.