124. End of the Siege (3)

The Essenmund Elite Forces.

Along with the White Night Knights, they were the elite of the elite, the core of Essenmund.

The 3,000 troops they led were approaching Harsen, a western city of Essenmund.

“Tomorrow is the promised day.”

At the adjutant’s words, Gunther, the High Knight of the White Night Knights, nodded.

“Since it’s already past midnight, if we enter Harsen safely, the joining date will be today.”

As he said, the time was already deep into the night. Gunther continued to urge his horse while talking to his adjutant.

The 3,000 reinforcements were troops to help Harsen Castle, which was surrounded by the Bairea army. And the situation of Harsen Castle, as they understood it, was very urgent.

‘Those Bairea bastards are pathetic guys with no pride or honor as swordsmen…’

However, the notoriety of the Bairea Mercenary Corps was famous even among the Essenmund Elite Forces.

They were battle maniacs, to the extent that they were involved in every battle of the Empire.

As such, they were elites who had gone through numerous actual battles and survived until now.

‘And they said there are also special forces made up of Demon-touched and Magical Beasts.’

In just the last few months, the war against the Magical Beasts had completely changed.

Chaotic Gate.

The very large gate, the source from which Magical Beasts emerged, had awakened one step further.

As a result, not only the number of Magical Beasts but also the danger had increased. Even the number of Demon-touched had increased significantly, and they were systematically commanding the Magical Beasts.

‘Above all, the Apostles who were directly chosen by the Chaotic Gate…’

Among those Demon-touched, there were those who far surpassed the level of ordinary Demon-touched.

The Northern Chaotic Gate Permafrost.

The Demon-touched chosen by that Permafrost. To stop that Demon-touched, the best elites of Reinheim were concentrating all their elite forces on the Permafrost.

‘His Highness Wilhelm himself had to step in… that Demon-touched, the Apostle, was dangerous.’

So, creating 3,000 troops to rescue Harsen Castle like this was not easy. Even Reinheim, the capital of Essenmund, was filled with a sense of crisis.

However, if Harsen Castle fell, the western part of Essenmund would be captured.

And above all, the fact that the successor of the great Margrave was currently the Lord there. There was a clear reason why Harsen should not be abandoned.

• But just because my successor is there, I cannot recklessly turn troops there. Personal feelings should not be involved.

Although Margrave Wilhelm said so at the vassals’ meeting.

All of Reinheim’s vassals knew very well. That the Margrave was losing sleep at night worrying about his only successor, Yulian.

‘He was even skipping meals because of that worry.’

The vassals who had sworn allegiance to Wilhelm. So, they could not ignore the heart of their lord.

And if the west fell, the front line would have to be doubled.

So, the vassals unanimously decided to send reinforcements to Reinheim.

‘Anyway, Count Yulian. That young Reinhardt…’

Although they had not yet received news from the most recent report a few days ago.

Harsen Castle was said to be holding out surprisingly well against the large army of Bairea.

“Still, in the last report I heard from the scouts, Harsen’s morale is said to be surprisingly high.”

The adjutant said from the side.

The enemy was a whopping 10,000 elites. The number seemed large or small at first glance, but.

They were not awkward conscripts. All of them were mercenaries. And the best elite soldiers composed of Magical Beasts.

‘Although he has the merit of suppressing the rebellion in the Imperial Capital. The Count is still very young as a Lord…’

He was just a young Count of 21 years old.

Being an excellent swordsman as an individual. Being an excellent commander. And being excellent as a Lord were completely different areas.

Moreover, the Count was in his late teens, when he should have been properly receiving successor education.

He was famous in Reinheim as a complete delinquent. There was no way that successor education had been properly carried out.

Still, High Knight Gunther had a very high loyalty to Wilhelm.

‘There is no need to doubt Reinhardt’s blood.’

So, he believed that Yulian, the successor of Wilhelm and the son of the Great Saint Agnes, would definitely change someday.

And surprisingly, the Count was showing actions beyond Gunther’s belief.

‘Nevertheless, the situation the Count is in now is too difficult.’

Almost two weeks had already passed since the start of the war. A siege with fewer troops and lower quality. Although reinforcements were heading there, it would not be strange if it had been captured at any time.

• Gunther. I trust only you. Please, Yulian… no, Harsen Castle.

Still, Wilhelm had called him out separately and asked him for a favor.

Of course, Gunther, who had great loyalty to Essenmund and Reinhardt, could not help but be greatly worried.

Although Harsen Castle was holding out well. He did not know the news for the past few days.

‘I hope Harsen Castle hasn’t been captured in the meantime…’

So, his face seemed to have hardened unconsciously.

At that very moment, a huge man riding a horse next to him spoke to him.

---

“Keu keu. Sir Gunther. There’s no need to worry too much. Count Yulian should be holding out very well.”

At his words, Gunther turned his head to the side for a moment.

“Iseltier…”

A man from a mercenary background called Mad Dog Iseltier. And that man was a member of the Assassination Squad, which was famous as the most elite even in the Bairea Mercenary Corps.

‘For a man like that to swear allegiance to the Count.’

The reputation of Mad Dog Iseltier was famous even among the Knights of the White Night. There were more than one or two knights who had lost their lives to him.

Still, unlike the other mercenaries of Bairea, who were known for being very cunning and using dirty tricks.

Iseltier always preferred fair one-on-one duels. So, apart from his notoriety, the Knights of the White Night acknowledged his skills.

‘For that Iseltier to swear allegiance to the Count. I still can’t believe it.’

That Iseltier suddenly came to Reinheim a few months ago. And he joined the Essenmund Elite Forces and showed great performance in the north.

Even if he suddenly defected to Essenmund, he was originally a member of the Bairea Mercenary Corps. So, apart from his merits, he could not be trusted.

Surprisingly, his identity was directly guaranteed by Yulian. And Iseltier had accumulated amazing merits over the past few months.

‘To receive the loyalty of a man like that… has Count Yulian changed now?’

While he was lost in thought for a moment. Suddenly, there was a great commotion around him.

“B, big trouble! It’s an ambush!”

At the report of a soldier, Gunther bit his lip.

‘Damn it. At this point, just before joining Harsen Castle…’

But he was the commander leading 3,000 troops. He hurriedly shouted.

“Everyone, prepare for battle and face the enemy! And what is the scale of the enemy?”

“We have confirmed about a thousand soldiers mixed with Magical Beast soldiers!”

It was a large-scale ambush. And he confirmed with successive reports. The ambushing opponent was the most elite even in the Bairea army.

‘It’s a crisis. I have to pull myself together.’

Thus, a very fierce battle began.

An hour later. The reinforcements led by Gunther were clearly on the defensive.

‘Damn it. The ambush is on a larger scale than I thought.’

Considering that they were ambushed unexpectedly, the reinforcements responded quickly. Most of our troops were Essenmund elite soldiers.

So, the initial damage was small considering that it was an unexpected ambush that could have been annihilated. The core force of the reinforcements, such as Iseltier, played a big role.

But after entering full-scale combat. The reinforcements were gradually pushed back by the enemy.

‘This is troublesome. If we suffer losses in troops before joining the Harsen territory army like this…’

Only when the reinforcements join will the number of troops barely match the Bairea army.

If we lose a large number of troops in this ambush. The purpose of the reinforcements coming directly will be lost. That was what the enemy was aiming for.

‘But the enemy troops made up of Demon-touched and Magical Beasts… are stronger than I imagined.’

Each of those Magical Beasts was overwhelming the Essenmund elite forces. Even the Demon-touched were as strong as the Knights of the White Night.

‘No. We must not lose even a single soldier here! Losing even a few hundred would be a big loss!’

Gunther directly ignited Aura on his sword. He had to move himself, the commander, to reduce the loss of troops.

That was the only way to keep Margrave Wilhelm’s orders. But it was still not easy as it was.

‘If this battle ends. In the worst case, more than a thousand losses may occur.’

As he cut off the neck of a Magical Beast rushing at him like that. Gunther heard an unexpected shout.

“The enemy camp has suddenly collapsed! Support has come from Harsen Castle!”

And the flow of the fierce battle began to change in an instant.

In the middle of that battle, a man’s voice was heard.

“Soldiers, fight back! As you can see, the opponent is very weak! And you will have the blessing of the Reinhardt family and the Great Saint with you! There is nothing to fear!”

It was the voice of a young man. But Gunther remembered that voice.

“N, no way…”

That guess was correct. It was the voice of Yulian von Reinhardt.

The one who came to help the reinforcements was the Lord of Harsen.

---

The fierce battle was all over.

Lucia and her party were relieved only then. The thousand Bairea troops who ambushed the reinforcements. They all retreated.

“Hoo… that was not an easy battle.”

Charlotte, who was sitting down nearby, said. But her expression was bright.

“The damage to our troops seems to be very small. Thank goodness.”

Uriel said. As Uriel said, the troop loss of the reinforcements was less than 100.

After a short break, the group moved to the nearby commander’s tent. The three of them took a seat in the conference room with the Knights of the White Night who had come here.

There, Sir Gunther, the commander-in-chief of the reinforcements, was talking to Yulian.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Count Yulian. Thanks to you, our reinforcements were able to win!”

“It’s not like that. It was thanks to your good response to the unexpected ambush that we were able to defeat the Bairea army.”

“No! If it hadn’t been for the attack by the knights led by the Count from the rear of the ambushing enemy… our reinforcements would have certainly suffered great losses!”

Gunther’s words were correct.

Late at night. Yulian secretly gathered troops, mainly knights, in one place.

Lucia and her party thought it was a company dinner. But after joining Yulian, they heard his plan.

‘There will definitely be an ambush against the reinforcements tonight. If we leave it as it is, we could lose valuable troops as they are. We have to go and rescue them.’

So, the Knights of the White Night stationed in Harsen Castle stepped forward directly.

Although it was only about ten people, they were the best elites and commanders of the territory army. They were the core of the territory army.

‘No, even if we are like that…’

Yulian, the Lord of Harsen, was Harsen itself. It was never an easy operation for all of them to leave the castle at night.

But thanks to the secret security. The knights were able to leave the castle without being noticed by anyone.

And since everyone was knights, they were able to move very quickly towards the reinforcements.

When they arrived at their base camp after moving for two hours.

Just as Yulian said, the reinforcements were being ambushed by the Bairea army.

It was then.

Charlotte, who was sitting next to Lucia. The voice of a young knight sitting on her left was heard carefully speaking to Charlotte.

“Um, Sir Charlotte. Just who is that Count… no, the Lord of Harsen? I can’t believe the performance he showed today.”

He was a Knight of the White Night belonging to the reinforcements led by Gunther.

So, he was naturally acquainted with Charlotte, who was a Knight of the White Night. At the knight’s words, Charlotte smiled brightly.

“We can’t believe it either. The performance the Lord showed today. We’ve been watching it for two weeks now.”

Charlotte’s words were correct.

Those who left Harsen Castle with Yulian today were all Knights of the White Night. But the one who played the biggest role was definitely Yulian.

The knights launched a surprise attack from the rear of the Bairea army fighting the reinforcements.

And Yulian literally slaughtered the Demon-touched and Magical Beasts in front of him.

“He was definitely more skilled than a High Knight. Then he was a master beyond the Aura Expert… it was a completely different appearance from the rumors I had heard about the Count.”

The knight continued to speak to Charlotte like that. But Yulian, the person in question, was calm.

After finishing a brief conversation with Gunther, he spoke to the commanders gathered in the tent.

“Thanks to your performance, we have achieved a perfect victory. This will definitely further increase the morale of Harsen Castle. Everyone has worked hard.”

At Yulian’s words, the commanders on the reinforcement side immediately answered.

“A, no! It’s all thanks to the Lord fighting with us!”

“That’s right! If it weren’t for the Lord’s support, we would have faced a great crisis!”

Even they seemed to be greatly encouraged by Yulian’s performance.

Seeing that, Uriel’s cheeks turned red as if she was feeling good. Lucia felt the same way.

‘As expected… Yulian-nim is amazing.’

Thus, the battle of the deep night was over.

A new bright morning. The 3,000 reinforcements safely joined Harsen Castle.