episode_0070

“We have received news that the enemy territory is on a campaign! We are planning to launch a campaign in our territory soon, so nobles who wish to watch should use the carriages prepared in advance!”

The butler of Viscount Deputy’s family came running and announced that the territory war had begun. I could not hide my surprise at the news that the territory war had begun in earnest so suddenly. Naturally, the nobles present also reacted with quite surprise.

“Like the petty aristocrats, it looks like Viscount Deputy is not giving them time to complete their preparations.”

Baron Farmer frowned upon hearing that a territory war had begun.

“Not giving time means you are trying to win by attacking an opponent who is not yet ready, right?”

“That’s right. This is an idea that only the most petty aristocrats can think of.”

Baron Farmer shook his head, saying that the nobles were not people to deal with. It seemed like they were quite dissatisfied with not being able to easily obtain iron products from the surrounding noble estates.

But I couldn’t react to Baron Farmer like that. It occurred to me that if I had been even a little late, the outcome of the Battle of Territory could have been very disastrous. A drop of cold sweat ran down my back and I felt a cool sensation.

Of course, even if it was late, there was still time for the promised delivery date, so I wouldn’t have suffered any damage, but I couldn’t help but be concerned. He could have suffered indirect damage, such as a falling out with Count Carbon or not being able to sign a franchise contract with Baron Farmer.

“Baron Steele, why are you doing this?”

“… … I feel like if I had relaxed a little more, I would have been in big trouble.”

“Oh, that definitely wouldn’t have been a good thing. But thanks to Baron Steele bringing the weapons on time, there are no problems, so you don’t have to worry. They must have let their guard down, and when they saw Baron Steel deliver the weapons, they were surprised and went on a mission.”

Baron Farmer, who had been nodding his head in agreement with what I said, suddenly began praising me. Aside from simply saying it was my virtue, he was even saying that I was the reason the other party suddenly went on a campaign.

It felt unclear whether he was flattering me because of the iron product, or whether he really thought that way. This is because Baron Farmer’s words were not entirely unlikely. Since I didn’t hide the weapons separately, I couldn’t deny the possibility that someone who had spied on the weapons being delivered had hurriedly set out.

Anyway, as I was thinking that, Baron Farmer in front of me slowly got up from his seat.

“I plan to go watch the game, but what will Baron Steele do?”

“When you say watching, do you mean watching from a different location?”

“Yes. You are watching from a place that is not far away and where the aftermath of the battle will not reach you. In the process, it is checked whether troop support was provided illegally and the decision of victory or defeat is made.”

“Then let’s go together.”

I was a little curious because it was my first time in my life, or even my first time in my entire life, to see war in person. Although it is said to be a war in which people are dying, there is still nothing directly related to war.

As I followed Baron Farmer, who asked me to go with him, I could see quite a few troops gathered in front of the castle gate.

“Oh! I guess that’s the weapon Baron Steel supported?”

“Yes. This is a weapon I made.”

And, among the soldiers gathered like that, there were quite a few of them wearing full sets of the weapons I had created. Although there were many who wore existing armor or wore it slightly poorly, a significant number of soldiers were still wearing armor made by Smith Skeleton.

“The weapons worn by the leading knights… … ?”

“I paid some attention to it. It is made entirely of steel plates, so it is not easy to injure it with the blades wielded by ordinary soldiers. what… … It’s a pain if you swing something like a mace, though.”

It was difficult to scratch the plate armor I made with an ordinary blade. It was natural since it was plate armor made of steel plates. Because it was properly heat treated, it was not easily dented.

Although the only problem was the mace, there would be no one in the middle of the battlefield who wielded the mace in a way that the knights could not avoid, so it was possible to say that there would be no problem as long as they were not attacked blindly.

Anyway, after chatting like that, we got on the carriage that had been prepared in advance. The carriage we boarded was draped in white and black cloth, a sign symbolizing the guards. You had to have that mark to avoid getting caught up in the battle.

I sat down in the carriage, which could be considered safe as long as I wasn’t jumping into the middle of a battle. After a while, the carriage slowly started to move away. The sound of horses’ hooves was heard through the window of the carriage.

“Ah, I guess I’m going to go to war now.”

And almost as soon as the carriage departed, the soldiers also moved. A large number of soldiers, perhaps close to a thousand, moved forward in unison.

As the troops moved behind the knights riding the war horses at the forefront, the sound of their movements could be heard even though they were a little distance away. The sound of footsteps that seemed to be made in unison created a strange sense of intimidation.

Looking at that, I chatted lightly with Baron Farmer for a while. After chatting like that for about two hours, the carriage stopped moving with a “whoa” sound. I thought it had stopped because there was a problem, but the driver opened the door as if it was okay to get off.

When I got off the carriage, I could see that the place I was in was a slightly high hill with a view of a wide plain. As we chatted about various things in the carriage, it seemed like we didn’t even realize that we were climbing a hill.

“Oh! Baron Steele, Baron Farmer. I was waiting.”

As I looked at the surrounding scenery for a moment to see where this place was, Count Carbon was already sitting near a slightly higher hill. When we saw him calling out to us, we moved straight to where he was.

“Count Carbon. Are you watching the territory battle here?”

“That’s right. Originally, I was planning to watch the game from further away in that direction, but due to the noble faction’s sudden expedition, the location changed.”

As I was nodding at Count Carbon’s words, he stretched out his hand and pointed somewhere.

“If you look closely in that direction, there are people gathered there. The people there are aristocratic people. We took a seat here first, and then they took a seat over there. They also realized that a battle was taking place on this plain.”

As I looked along the outstretched hand, I could see a group of people the size of fingernails gathered quite far away. Judging from what looked like a white and black carriage there, I could tell that they were nobles from the aristocratic faction, just as Count Carbon had said.

And, as I looked around, I could see a large crowd of people even further away than where the nobles of the noble faction were. It was hard to make out clearly because it looked smaller than a fingernail, but it was clear that it was a soldier belonging to an aristocratic fiefdom.

“There will be a battle soon.”

“Still, both sides need to recover from the fatigue from the advance and understand the opponent’s strength, so it will take about an hour for the conflict to occur.”

As Count Carbone said, the two armies engaged in a territorial war took a short break at a certain distance when they approached the plain. But not everyone was so relaxed.

On both sides, something was seen moving a little further away than where the troops were resting. I don’t know if they were moving at some distance from the main base, but there was a group moving at a distance from the main base. I was able to spot it because I could clearly see the entire plain, but it was a movement that I would not have even been able to spot if I had been down there.

“Some of them will ambush in a position where they can see the battlefield, gauge the situation of the battle, and report it to the main camp, while the rest will disrupt the opposing camp. Destroy supplies or disguise themselves as enemy soldiers to identify their weaknesses.”

As Count Carbon, who explained various things, said, the people who escaped like a separate team split up again. Those from Viscount Defuty’s troops moved toward the noble force, and those from the noble faction moved toward Viscount Defuty’s troops.

And, for a moment, I noticed a slight commotion in each camp. Suddenly, flames erupted in certain places, causing fires, and people were seen rushing around as if they were chasing someone. It was impossible to perfectly perceive the situation due to the distance, but it was still possible to recognize that something had happened.

“If you have identified the enemy’s weakness or lowered their morale, a report will be sent to the headquarters. Then, the commanders proceed with the battle based on that information.”

This time, things started to go as Count Carbon had said. The two armies that had infiltrated each other were slowly moving. However, the reactions of the two armies were slightly different. Viscount Defuty’s army spread out and moved like paper in rock-paper-scissors, while the army of the nobles grouped together and advanced as if they were going to pass through as one point.

“Perhaps the soldiers of the noble faction had poor quality armor. Viscount Defuty has begun to move with the troops wearing the armor you made. There is no way those wearing quilted armor or leather armor can stand in front of a sharply forged blade. So, in the noble faction, I plan to break through to one point even if it means making sacrifices. Apparently, there are quite a few troops brought by the nobles… … .”

The two armies began to march towards each other, albeit in different ways, but quickly became closer and soon clashed.

The sound of metal objects hitting each other softly echoed all the way to this place far away from the plain. Also, the sounds of people screaming could be heard, albeit faintly.

“Wow… … .”

Of course, I couldn’t help but frown when I saw two armies clash and kill each other. Even though I was a warlock, so I was used to death and didn’t feel too much pressure about taking life, I wasn’t happy about seeing people killing and dying on such a large scale.

As I was frowning like that, Count Carbon tapped my shoulder.

“You may feel differently because you are a warlock, but it won’t be a very pleasant sight. But it’s still a good idea to pay close attention. Even if the goal is not complete destruction, war is war. As you are also a noble, I am sure that what you learned and felt while watching Yeongjijeon will someday become good nutrition.”

From what he said, I could understand to some extent why he continued to explain various things next to me. As a member of the same Royalist faction, he seemed to want to develop further and become an axis of the Royalist faction.

In the end, I had no choice but to stay there for two days with Count Carbon and watch the entire process of the territory battle.

Not only did they clash and kill each other, but I also saw them taking a break by slightly increasing the distance as if they had reached an agreement, and even making surprise moves to attack. I even saw it as if only the knights were fighting in the center of the battlefield.

The battle for territory, which was fought in various ways for two days, came to a conclusion shortly after noon on the third day.

Although the troops were relatively lacking, Viscount Defuty was well armed with superior weapons and was victorious.