Chapter 365: Who's Bullying Who? (2)

Marquis Rodrick continued to laugh as if he found everything amusing. To him, this entire situation was nothing more than a rare source of entertainment in his otherwise dull daily life.

Flexing his power and instilling fear in others—those were his favorite pastimes.

"Life has been quite boring lately."

There have been very few arrogant individuals like this brat recently. The rest were all insignificant pests.

After all, Marquis Rodrick had been the undisputed ruler of the West for a very long time.

When power accumulates, there's an urge to unleash it. Having spent years ruling and amassing power in the West, he often felt the need to display it.

But due to the duchy's restraints, he had been forced to suppress those urges. There was no way he would let such a good opportunity slip through his fingers.

"When is that cosmetics merchant guild supposed to arrive?"

"About next month, I believe."

"Well, we'd better prepare quickly. Tenant."

"Yes."

"Start with that. Just poke around a little to see what happens. Let's provoke the Fenris brat and Marquis Branford."

"How many should we send?"

"Send a reasonable number, say… about a thousand?"

A thousand soldiers—enough to engage in a small-scale territorial skirmish. But for Marquis Rodrick, it was merely a convenient number to ransack a single merchant guild.

Tenant, too, nodded calmly, as if a thousand soldiers were no big deal.

"I'll make sure to establish Lord Marquis's dominance and bring back the goods as well."

"Good, good. Just thinking about them daring to protest gets me excited. Once the real war begins, it'll be even more fun."

Marquis Rodrick trembled as if genuinely delighted.

He almost felt grateful to the Drake Mercenaries for killing his son.

"Once we're ready, let all the nobles know that we have a legitimate reason. That way, we can openly torment that Fenris brat."

Thus, Marquis Rodrick began preparations to attack Ghislain's cosmetics merchant guild.

***

Although Rozalin was in charge of the cosmetics sales and branch expansions, Fenris wasn't entirely uninvolved.

Transporting the cosmetics to the branches was Fenris's responsibility.

Initially, shipments were only sent to the capital, but as the business expanded, Fenris's role grew as well.

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

A merchant guild headed for a branch in the West was on the move.

Dozens of carts were loaded to the brim, and the convoy was escorted by nearly 400 people.

Watching the procession from afar, a knight muttered, "What's with those outfits? Do they always dress like beggars?"

The knight clicked his tongue. Even after a closer look, it was clear that this was Fenris's cosmetics merchant guild.

The flags of Fenris and Marquis Branford were unmistakably displayed.

But everyone in the merchant guild, from the escorts to the laborers, was draped in dark robes.

To an outsider, they might have looked like an assassination squad.

The knight scanned the merchant guild procession and muttered again, "Hmm, but there are a lot more escorts than I expected."

According to the information he had, the cosmetics merchant guild heading to the West was usually guarded by about 200 people.

Even that was considered a lot, given that it wasn't a royalist region. Extra security was always added as a precaution.

But now there were twice as many guards.

"Looks like they're scared, after all."

The knight was the commander of the forces sent by Marquis Rodrick to raid the merchant guild.

'So they refused the Marquis's request so confidently, but they prepared in their own way.'

He turned to look at the troops behind him.

He had brought about 800 soldiers, with an additional 200 waiting at another location.

"We probably won't lose, but there are more of them than expected. Better to play it safe. If it comes to a fight, so be it."

His strategy assumed that the merchant guild would flee rather than confront them.

If the merchant guild's escorts weren't fools, they would quickly realize that someone was targeting them.

Still, with this many escorts, they might choose to fight to the death instead.

"It'd be great if they panicked and scattered. That'd make them easier to deal with…"

Muttering to himself, the knight raised his hand.

Flutter!

Immediately, Marquis Rodrick's flag was raised over the soldiers.

The knight had no intention of pretending to be bandits.

He wanted it to be clear who was behind this and escalate the conflict.

"Move out!"

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The Marquisate's forces advanced toward the merchant guild.

The sudden approach of a large force visibly startled the merchant guild's escorts.

They quickly identified the approaching troops' flag and began to flee.

The symbol of two crossed axes over a central tower—an emblem well-known across the kingdom as belonging to the Rodrick Family.

"Hahaha! They're running without a fight! Perfect!"

The knight leading the Marquisate's troops laughed heartily.

It seemed the merchant guild had bolstered its security as a precaution, but the sight of double their number charging toward them must have been terrifying.

This was even better. The fleeing merchant guild likely had no idea what lay ahead.

"Don't chase them too quickly! Herd them to the designated spot!"

The Marquisate's troops were all mounted.

In contrast, the merchant guild, while also mounted, was weighed down by their carts.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Though they could easily overtake the merchant guild, the knight kept their pace deliberate, steering the merchant guild toward a specific direction.

Sure enough, as the game of cat and mouse dragged on, the Fenris merchant guild was forced to follow the Marquisate troops' intended route.

This area had no escape routes aside from the road the merchant guild was traveling. The knight had chosen this spot deliberately, knowing it was perfect for an ambush.

"We're almost there."

In the distance, a narrow gorge came into view.

Cornered by the pursuing Marquisate troops, the Fenris merchant guild had no choice but to enter the gorge.

The knight, following closely behind, smiled cruelly at the sight.

"Fools. This area is completely under our control. This will be easier than expected."

The knight grinned with satisfaction.

If they managed to wipe out all 400 members of the merchant guild's escort, it would earn him significant merit.

It would also weaken Fenris's overall strength.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The fleeing Fenris merchant guild finally came to a halt within the gorge.

A force had already erected barricades at the other end, trapping them.

Cornered, the merchant guild had no choice but to stop.

The Marquisate's knight raised his hand, signaling his troops to slow down as they entered the gorge at a leisurely pace.

"Hey, Fenris brats! I am Sir Brian of the Rodrick Family!"

Brian's voice was cocky and disrespectful as he called out.

From the merchant guild, a figure stepped forward, still shrouded in a robe, making it impossible to see their face.

"Why are the Marquis's forces chasing us?"

"Don't pretend you don't know. You're well aware, aren't you? Did you think you could refuse the Marquis's request and conduct business here safely?"

Brian's mocking tone was met with a calm response from the robed figure.

"Are you really going to interfere in a business involving Marquis Branford? This has already been formally contracted with the Marquis."

Being in different factions didn't mean they lived in complete isolation.

After all, they were all nobles of the same kingdom, only differing in political alignment.

Under normal circumstances, they would help where necessary and fight when necessary.

In Ghislain's previous life, it wasn't until the duchy openly revealed its ambitions that things became problematic.

Even Marquis Rodrick wouldn't arbitrarily block the trade of cosmetics desired by many nobles in the West.

Even people within the Marquis territory used the products because they were so effective.

However, the situation is different now.

Marquis Rodrick wanted war.

Brian sneered as he replied.

"The contract is null now. We have a legitimate reason to attack Fenris. No, 'attack' isn't quite the right word. The difference in our levels is too vast. To be precise, we intend to keep harassing Fenris from now on."

At this, the man in the robe sighed and shook his head.

"Then shouldn't you notify Marquis Branford first and resolve that matter?"

"We'll kill you first and deal with that later. Maybe a messenger has already reached Marquis Branford by now. What's certain is…"

Brian drew his sword and pointed it at the robed man.

"All of you will die here, and we'll take all those cosmetics. So there's no need to surrender. We won't accept it anyway."

The robed man nodded a few times and then pulled back his hood. Beneath the white hair was a hardened face—Gillian.

Gillian spoke to the others around him.

"Unload the cargo."

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The escort troops began unloading long wooden crates from the wagons. Brian, watching this, burst out laughing.

"Are you surrendering now? Do you think handing that over will save you? I told you, we'll kill you and take it all anyway. What's wrong with these backwater Northerners? Can't they understand plain words?"

Ignoring Brian, Gillian gestured to his men.

"Open them."

Clink. Clink. Clink.

The crates were opened, revealing not cosmetics but rows of sharp, long spears and massive greatswords packed inside.

"What the—? It's not cosmetics? What are you people?"

Brian's expression turned incredulous. The crates unloaded from the wagons were all filled with weapons.

Still ignoring him, Gillian knocked on the door of the central carriage and spoke.

"Doesn't look like they have any other tricks."

Click.

The door opened, and Ghislain stepped out slowly. Glancing around, he clicked his tongue.

"So, this is all there is to your plan? Just a simple encirclement? If you'd openly declared a fight, we'd have fought right away. Why bother splitting your forces and making it so complicated?"

At this, the man standing next to the carriage threw back his hood and spoke.

"See, I told you we should've just fought! What's with all the curiosity?"

The man complaining was Kaor. He had been dragged to this place right after returning to the territory.

Ghislain shrugged and said.

"Handling them all at once is more efficient, isn't it? Their moves are so predictable."

"Then let's kill them now. My body's been itching for action lately. And what was that? Who's harassing whom? This is ridiculous. Let's show them who's better at harassing."

To Kaor, Ghislain was the world's best at tormenting others, with himself coming in second.

Their banter drew a cold question from Brian.

"Who are you? Are you the merchant guild leader?"

Ghislain frowned at that.

"What? Don't you know my face? Haven't you seen my portrait yet? Am I not famous enough?"

"…"

Brian was momentarily at a loss for words. Something about the way Ghislain acted like he was a celebrity grated on him. His confidence was irritating.

"I asked, who are you?"

"I'm Count Fenris."

"...!"

At Ghislain's reply, the Marquis soldiers collectively drew in a sharp breath.

Count Fenris was rumored to be at the level of a Master. If that rumor was true, the forces here wouldn't stand a chance.

'But…'

Among the soldiers of the Rodrick Family, another rumor was circulating—that Ghislain's achievements were actually the work of his subordinates.

This rumor came from Tenant, a high-ranking knight who had personally seen Ghislain.

While the rumor was accompanied by a warning to remain cautious, Brian leaned into the doubt it planted.

Brian cautiously asked again.

"Are you… really Count Fenris?"

"Yes, I'm Count Fenris."

Looking at his confidence, Brian thought he might be genuine, but words alone weren't enough to convince him.

Just then, another knight approached Brian and whispered. This knight had accompanied Tenant to Fenris before.

"It's him. That's Count Fenris. I saw him with Tenant."

'Got him!'

Brian's heart raced.

He trusted Tenant's firsthand account more than the rumors circulating in the world.

If he captured Count Fenris—the Northern Saint and a great lord—here and now?

His path to fame and fortune would be guaranteed.

Having made his decision, Brian shouted loudly.

"Attack! Kill everyone except Count Fenris! If necessary, kill him too, but bring back his head intact!"

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The Marquis's cavalry spurred their horses, charging forward in an instant.

Watching the incoming forces, Ghislain said.

"Prepare yourselves. It's been a while since so many people gathered in one place."

The 400 men Ghislain had brought with him were all knights of Fenris. He had brought them specifically to create havoc.

Clink, clink.

The knights drew greatswords from the crates. Spreading his arms wide, Ghislain spoke.

"Leave no one alive. It's time to instill fear of us in the West."

Roar!

Hundreds of spears still inside the crates began to rise slowly into the air.

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