Ch.126126. War (2)

Here, there is a man.

Born as the illegitimate third son of the 74th head of the Lefante barony, a family that had ruled the Lefante region for at least several hundred years.

The man was once an outcast in the family mansion.

His mother was a lady from a fallen noble family who became a concubine solely for her beauty, and even that value was lost the moment she lost her looks.

At the age of 10—neither young nor old by the standards of this era—the boy was subtly ostracized by his family members and driven into a corner…

The decisive moment came when the boy turned 13 and his mother died of an unknown incurable disease.

Now openly persecuted, the boy finally approached the man he could never call father and begged for independence.

The baron was not entirely devoid of paternal feelings, but he was a man who more firmly possessed the mindset of a ruler and lord.

Therefore, the boy’s father granted his request and, simultaneously taking the opportunity to settle matters of succession, gave him a modest amount of assets and a house in the city, granting him early independence…

Thus, at the mere age of 13, the boy left his family to stand on his own. After struggling with an emptiness and loneliness that could not be filled no matter how hard he tried, he attempted to find his worth in martial arts.

At first, he began training in martial arts simply to escape the cold and cruel reality, but as he continued to practice, the boy felt himself changing and soon began training with genuine dedication.

After continuous training, the boy finally succeeded in awakening the power of aura and reached the intermediate level on his own. From then on, his life truly followed a path of success.

In the year the boy turned exactly 20, his father succumbed to a magical illness and lost his life. At that point, being the only one among his siblings who had reached the intermediate level, the boy naturally became his father’s successor.

Of course, there was opposition to an illegitimate son with no proper lineage becoming the heir, but according to the kingdom’s strict laws, those below the intermediate level could never inherit a title.

Thus, the man who unintentionally gained the position of baron as the only intermediate-level practitioner had to overcome countless hardships and adversities that came his way.

Having become a lord without any foundation to speak of, he was not only alienated from the internal power structure but also had to spend several years as a figurehead ruler because he had never properly studied governance techniques.

What shook the man most significantly occurred just as his rule was beginning to stabilize… the event when the first daughter of the primary wife awakened her aura.

With a solid support base and significant political merit, her mere existence made her the man’s greatest political rival.

However, the man somehow managed to overcome all these hardships and trials.

With the political standing and foundation that naturally accumulated over time, he escaped his figurehead status.

He toppled his half-sister by shattering her built-up justifications, then buried her by exposing a scandal related to a heretical cult.

Through this process, using the credentials and connections he had built as a ruler and politician, he implemented several groundbreaking policies. As a result, the barony under his leadership reached a position it had never attained before…

Unfortunately, these consecutive successes blinded the man.

Consumed by success, he became capable of making reckless and bold moves without hesitation.

With excessive confidence gained through his string of successes, he soon revealed his ambitions without restraint and expressed his explicit intention to expand.

Of course, he had analyzed the possibilities before taking action, and in truth, had there been no unexpected variables, his conquest might have concluded successfully.

…If only that “unexpected variable” hadn’t appeared—if only he hadn’t attempted to push through the Aleinos Forest despite his vassals’ objections.

※ ※ ※

The Baron of Lefante had been troubled by various anomalies occurring recently.

After boldly declaring his intent for conquest, there were no problems even as he dramatically increased the military expenditures he had been steadily building up, and even reorganized the entire industrial system for war.

The baron’s will, having solidified his absolute position within his territory through consecutive successes, was more than firm—it was certain. Thanks to this, even if he was somewhat unreasonable, the people of the barony, knowing the influence of his policies, did not withdraw their support.

However… the real problems began afterward.

Before embarking on full-scale conquest, the Baron of Lefante first wanted to establish encampments that could serve as intermediate bases when invading each territory.

Knowing the importance of intermediate bases in military operations, the baron particularly emphasized this, but naturally, who would stand by and watch as forces intending to invade their land built strongholds?

Therefore, most of the bases were temporary encampments built within their own territory, functioning more like intermediate supply bases…

Except for one. Thanks to a conveniently located spot, the Baron of Lefante sought to build an encampment on an abandoned piece of land within the Dren Barony.

He appointed none other than Sir Enerval Gartrang, who had served him loyally without wavering for 20 years, as the person in charge, and assigned him a Men-at-Arms regiment and conscripts totaling about 200 men who were particularly loyal to him.

Dispatching troops separately might seem unremarkable from a modern perspective, but for the Baron of Lefante, it was an expression of his willingness to take a significant risk and trust Sir Enerval Gartrang.

Just as Liu Bei in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms fled with Cao Cao’s soldiers, subordinates taking their troops and defecting to an enemy territory was not uncommon, though not frequent.

In any case, after the Baron of Lefante dispatched Gartrang with such deep trust, the complete cessation of expected communications from him was the root of all problems.

‘…What happened?’

The two-way communication rod indicated that the opposite rod had been broken, and carrier pigeons, messengers, and even supply units disappeared whenever they went to the encampment.

In normal circumstances, one would naturally suspect Gartrang’s betrayal, but there were too many suspicious circumstances for that to be the case.

Even when sending dozens of messengers or carrier pigeons at the risk of information leakage, none returned.

Even when dispatching troops with supplies, somehow the entire group… even those who appeared to investigate the supply situation, disappeared.

Having interacted with Enerval Gartrang for a long time, the Baron of Lefante was certain that this communication blackout was the doing of someone other than Gartrang.

However, that was as far as it went.

The Baron of Lefante did not intervene further in this mass disappearance case. No, he found himself in a position where he absolutely could not intervene.

“How in the world…!!”

With large-scale accidents suddenly occurring simultaneously throughout the territory, the disappearance of one knight and hundreds of personnel became ‘merely’ a minor concern compared to the events that were unfolding.

A “horde of beasts” suddenly appeared in a forest located within the Lefante Barony.

These four-legged creatures with tattered fur appeared endlessly throughout the forest, occupying the woodland that produced most of the timber consumed in the barony.

From a nearby hill, terrifying sounds of beasts howling began to be heard daily.

Unfortunately, the barony’s elite troops were stationed near this hill, and unable to watch them lose sleep and suffer health issues, the baron ordered the relocation of the garrison.

Of course, within days of relocating, the beast howls would begin near the new location as well, driving the troops to the brink of madness from the neurosis caused by these sounds.

Additionally, rivers and wells suddenly turned an ominous red, granaries storing military provisions were emptied overnight, and wild griffins unexpectedly appeared, semi-forcibly blocking a major supply route.

This maddening pattern—where new incidents would occur somewhere else just as they tried to respond to each one—eventually paralyzed the entire Lefante Barony…

Regrettably, there were still many trials awaiting them.