episode_0020

“Meeting His Highness the Duke.”

Franz Mayer greeted. The person receiving the greeting was Adele von Setia. He was Franz’s lord.

“Master.”

“Sit comfortably. I have a lot to talk about with my Lord Franz.”

“Yes.”

As the lord instructed, I sat opposite the lord.

“Sir Franz.”

“Yes.”

“I am truly grateful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Considering that my power base was insufficient and I could be swayed by the four major factions at any time, didn’t I create a new faction to keep the four major families in check?”

“Hmm… ”

That’s about half right. It is true that they created a faction because they thought Adele would be shaken. However, it was not for Adele, but for me. A shaky lord and a mainstream faction that moves the lord like a toy. Because it was the worst situation for me.

“You don’t have to answer. Because I know your loyalty. When everyone else betrayed his father, Gyeongdaeng stayed by his side until the end. Just looking at that, it is clear that the other subjects are like a pack of wolves and that the only true loyal subject is Gyeong.”

“I am just so sorry.”

“So, I have a favor to ask.”

“Do you mean a favor?”

“Yes. As you know, the four great families are still powerful. As long as I turn my back on them, they will try to bite me any time I show weakness. I’m afraid. Those wolves. Help me. So that they can’t kill me and usurp power. Be on my side, be my shield.”

“… ”

Being on Adele’s side. It’s not difficult. However, if it went according to the original game story, it was also a risky choice.

“Adele.”

“What is it?”

“It is not difficult to be loyal to Adele and become Adele’s shield. If only Adele could promise you one thing.”

“Don’t make a promise! Tell me what the promise is!”

“That feeling right now.”

Adele gave a puzzled look.

“Desperation. Desperation. Desire for survival.”

“… ”

“Never change. As long as Adele doesn’t change, I will continue to be on Adele’s side.”

And after a while.

“Didn’t you think there was something great about holding the weight? How difficult is that! I will never change!”

“It’s a promise.”

“Of course!”

My lord and I held hands. It was a contract. Probably not for long.

—–

April 15, 552 Imperial Calendar.

Krusenstein’s army pushed up to the Aquila River.

40,000 troops deployed on the west side of the river.

If you ignore this large army and pass by, your supply line will be cut off and you may end up getting stabbed in the back.

Therefore, Krusenstein’s army camped on the eastern side of the river.

The plan was to wipe out all of these troops through the crossing operation.

However, the Setian army had 40,000 troops. 20,000 troops of Kruzenstein’s army.

Carrying out a crossing operation against twice as many enemies would not be an easy task.

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the morale of Krusenstein’s soldiers was quite high.

That was because Leona von Krusenstein had not been defeated once since she became a lord.

Whether the enemy is twice or three times as many, if Leona leads, she can destroy them all. That was Krusenstein’s idea.

Meanwhile, when the soldiers of the Krusenstein family were thinking about that.

In fact, the head of the family, Leona von Krusenstein, had a difficult look on her face.

Leona climbed the nearby mountain and looked at the overall formation of her allies and enemies.

In Leona’s opinion, this was not a very good situation.

“After all, it is a river. They’re talking about banning the use of muskets. After all, is there a talented person on the enemy side with his or her own brain?”

Franz Mayer. It was probably the person who had recently become powerful. It is said that in the last battle, he was defeated by a man named Franz Mayer.

“You can overcome it if you have a numerical superiority, but not being able to even use muskets is a headache.”

Should I step down? Leona thought about that for a moment, but soon composed herself.

“Whether you win or lose, it is worth giving it a try. Even just to find out what level the enemy is.”

So the next day dawned.

When dawn came, Leona moved her army.

In the darkness where nothing was visible, only the torches held by the enemy were busy.

And when morning came, both armies were able to see each other.

“40,000, this is the largest army I have ever seen before. Quite a lot.”

Leona thought so

“The movements of each soldier are linked. As expected, the organizational power of Kruzenstein’s army cannot be ignored.”

Franz thought so.

They approached each other carefully without belittling the other. In that situation, Adele was seen shaking her hands.

“Master, are you afraid?”

This was Adele’s first battle. Even if I was scared, there was nothing I could do about it.

“To be honest, I’m scared.”

“Don’t worry. We have blocked all elements that could cause our team to lose. Our army will win.”

“… I will only believe in you.”

As we were having this conversation, the sound of drums began to be heard from the enemy camp, and enemy soldiers slowly began to approach.

“All troops! Charge!”

“Archers forward!”

As Krusenstein’s army approached, our archers fired arrows at Krusenstein’s vanguard.

In such a situation, Leona also prepared a large number of muskets and began firing. With the river in the center, arrows and muskets were poured in large quantities from both sides.

Explosive sounds were heard from all directions. It was the sound of musket explosives exploding. A shooting battle between archers and musketeers. Although the number of allies was large, the level of training of Leona’s army was truly considerable.

The Leona army had an overwhelming number of excellent gunners. Because of this, our archers soon began to be pushed back.

“Get out! Get back!”

The drumming continued in an unsettling rhythm that was different from the signal for attack. It was a signal to step aside. According to the signal, the officers delivered orders to the soldiers. The soldiers fell back following the officer’s orders.

‘Is the skirmish a defeat for our troops? ‘

It was what I expected. Although our army may be overwhelming in terms of quantity, Krusenstein’s army is overwhelmingly stronger in terms of soldier quality.

I knew that I wouldn’t win easily. That’s why I decided to step down. Just allowing the enemy to cross the river would be beneficial to the allies.

We moved the group and everyone joined us 100 meters away from the river. This was the place where Adele had been waiting from the beginning.

And then, the Leona army, which crossed the river and began a full-scale assault, and our true vanguard, who had been hiding, began to clash.

The vanguard of the enemy army was Clemens de Balboa. Clemens was a fierce general who lacked insight into the overall battlefield, but had the courage and agility in a melee to make up for his shortcomings.

Clemens is not a great general, but he is a great general. And the other side…

“Pikemen, forward!”

It was the Meyer family. The Mayer family had originally increased the number of pikemen from 1,000 to 2,000. A total of 2,000 spearmen and 4,000 regular soldiers were mobilized, making up a total of 6,000.

The 2,000 spearmen of the Mayer family began to block the enemy at the vanguard. Despite being defeated once last time, Clemens stood at the vanguard without any fear and encouraged the pikemen.

“All army, attack! This is the time to avenge the humiliation of last time!”

To be honest, Mayer was a little tired of Clemens’ bravery. If you lose once, you might be a little discouraged, but Clemens’ bravery showed no signs of losing momentum.

However, in this battle, our army has an overwhelming advantage. We are outnumbered, we are on the defensive side, and we have decided where to fight. With all these advantages, it was impossible to lose.

“Never be pushed away!”

Mayer shouted. The long spearmen of both armies aimed their long spears at each other and slowly rushed toward the enemy, one step at a time.

Soon, the tips of each other’s spears began to touch. The pikemen on both sides began fighting for dominance, removing the tips of each other’s spears and striking them away.

Last time, our pikemen won overwhelmingly, but this time it didn’t work out that way. There were quite a few new recruits in the Mayer army who had been recruited for less than a year, and although they had increased in quantity thanks to this, they were inferior in quality and were unable to overwhelm the Kruzenstein army in terms of training.

Moreover, unlike last time, even Leona’s direct subordinate spearmen participated. The enemy’s training level was higher than before, and our ally’s training level was lower than before, so they soon became rivals.

‘Although they won last time, the Kruzenstein army is a strong army that has been forged through numerous battle experiences. ‘I didn’t think from the beginning that I would win easily.’

Therefore, the order given by Mayer. Don’t be pushed around.

Don’t be pushed, not pushed. That alone was enough.

“You’re solid, Mayer.”

Leona was impressed. I had expected it since Clemens said he would lose, but the enemy’s vanguard, Franz Mayer’s army, was truly solid.

It was on a completely different level from when I cooked Clozel with ease. Mayer’s army was truly the center of Setia’s army.

“If it weren’t for Mayer-kun, it would have been easier… ”

Since you can’t push the center, you can’t push both wings too carelessly. The Mayer army, firmly holding on in the center, was the center of support for the Setia army.

“But the real thing starts now.”

Leona decided to show it. How he cooked them when his younger brother attacked them with more than twice the number of troops.