366

Episode 366 Who is bullying whom? (3)

"What, what is it?"

Rodrik, who was running without hesitation, was surprised to see hundreds of spears floating in the air.

This was their first time seeing such a strange phenomenon.

"So you really were a wizard!"

Brian clenched his teeth. If he was a wizard, then he understood why rumors of his exploits had spread.

'It's too late to turn back. We should go in sooner rather than later.'

They were already charging in a straight line. If they were to be hit head-on by those flying spears, they would take a lot of damage.

But they couldn't stop, because troops waiting behind them were also running towards them.

'Enough. I can endure it.'

There are a thousand cavalrymen. Since they have been surrounded, it will be impossible to block them all with infantry. All you have to do is endure initial damage.

"Run faster! Just push it!"

Doo doo doo doo doo!

It takes time to cast a spell, and the closer you are to the caster, the less damage it does.

Knowing that, Rodrik gritted his teeth and rode his horse.

Seeing them running towards him without hesitation, Jiselle lightly waved her hands to both sides. Unlike other magicians, his casting time is not long.

Wheaaaaaaaaa!

The spears flew towards Rodrik's army at incredible speed.

"Hold on! We must break through!"

At Brian's shout, all the cavalrymen raised their shields. However, that was not enough to stop the attack of Giselle who had gained Dark.

Kwakwakwakwakwang!

"Eww!"

Brian barely managed to slap away the flying spear, his expression filled with shock.

"What, what is it… … ."

The cavalrymen were sent flying, impaled on spears as if they were skewered. With one light swing of Giselle's sword, nearly half of the troops were killed.

It was the technique of the mercenary king who was famous even in his previous life. There were people who looked down on Jisel as the last of the seven great powers on the continent, but thanks to this technique, Jisel's war-fighting ability was ranked among the top three.

It was impossible to stop it with just a thousand troops.

Heeeeeeeeeing!

"Run away!"

"This is truly master-level!"

"You can never win with these numbers!"

Rodrik's army lost their fighting spirit all at once. Some of them pulled their reins hard and turned in an attempt to escape.

Brian exclaimed in surprise.

"Come on, charge! You idiots! If you run, you die!"

Brian's warnings were of no use. Those who lived in the peaceful West with their shoulders back couldn't handle this situation.

The ranks were in disarray. They suddenly stopped and changed direction in the middle of the charge, bumped into each other, fell over, and it was chaos.

Jiselle clicked her tongue at the sight.

"Tsk tsk, that's what the Western Lord's army looks like."

I felt this way when I fought Martin before, but discipline was definitely a mess.

They have reigned for so long that they have no enemies around them, so everyone can't help but become lazy.

But that doesn't mean it's something to be laughed at.

"We do have a lot of money and resources."

Sometimes quantity can be more powerful than any skill or power. If Earl Desmond's strength was the elite soldiers honed in the North, Marquis Rodrik's strength was the endless number of people derived from his wealth.

Didn't Jiselle herself experience firsthand how powerful the offensive force was when she fought against the kingdom in her previous life?

So, I couldn't let my guard down until I had properly weakened my power.

"Sweep it all away."

At Giselle's command, knights with greatswords leapt out on both sides.

Kwaaang!

"Kwaaah!"

Rodrik's army was already in disarray and had lost its fighting spirit. They could not stop 400 knights.

Brian was at a loss, unable to fight or run away.

'Oh, that was a mistake. I underestimated the enemies. They weren't known as the strongest in the North for nothing.'

It's too late to regret it. They were too blindly confident in their own power and influence.

Now that I think about it, the Rodrik army has always bullied those weaker than them and has never fought a real enemy.

Well, that was a given. Who would attack the great Lord Rodrik?

'We have to run away! We have to tell the truth quickly!'

Brian, who came to his senses late, grabbed the reins tightly.

In fact, if it was known that they were annihilated, it would be possible to roughly predict the power of the Fenris Territory. It was just an excuse to want to live.

But before Brian could run away, someone quickly approached.

Gillian swung her axe at Brian, who had just been talking to her.

"Hee, heek!"

Brian lost his will to fight and couldn't respond properly.

But the axe just barely missed his body.

"What are you doing?"

Gillian immediately frowned and looked to the side. Kaor was pushing Gillian with his body and extending his sword.

Phew!

"Ugh… … ."

Brian, whose neck was pierced by Kaor's sword, died spitting out blood.

"Hahahaha! You saw it! I caught the enemy commander! I'm faster and stronger than the old man!"

At Kaor's shout, Gillian simply ignored him and turned away. It would be better not to deal with this guy.

"Inspiration! You're ignoring me now!"

Kaor continued to rampage, but Gillian continued to ignore him and only killed the soldiers next to him.

The Rodrik army, which had even lost its commander and was unable to properly escape, was annihilated in such a futile manner.

Jiselle looked around the battlefield that had become quiet without using much force and said.

"Is this how you intend to torment us?"

Marquis Rodrik was known for his cruelty. He was also known for his relentless torment of his opponents.

They never finish them off in one go. They like to slowly destroy their opponents' bases one by one, harassing them for a long time, then cornering them and killing them.

That's why Giselle had predicted long ago that Marquis Rodrik would hit the top first.

'He must have done that a lot in his past life.'

It was Giselle who had dug up information from all the nobles in order to attack the kingdom. She knew well about Marquis Rodrik's habits.

Jiselle said with a sneer at the corner of her mouth.

"Okay, let's start the next operation. This guy who only lives to harass others, let's harass him this time."

* * *

"What… …? Earl Fenris killed the Crimson Tower Lord?"

Even the Marquis of Branford, whose expression rarely changed, opened his eyes wide when he heard this news.

That wasn't all. All the nobles who attended the royal meeting had their mouths open and looked dumbfounded.

Marquis Maurice Macquarie, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, asked in a trembling voice.

"That, that, that duckling really reached the level of a master? Is that true? Is it true that he killed a 7th circle wizard by himself?"

The reporter who came to deliver the news bowed his head politely and answered.

"Yes, the Red Flame Tower has already guaranteed it. There were many wizards who watched the duel. Also, the Crimson Tower was destroyed by Earl Fenris."

"… … ."

The nobles were speechless at the shocking news.

After hearing the details, it seems that an argument broke out during a confrontation at the Matap Exchange Meeting.

Even if the incident that occurred during the showdown was like that, it was condemnable that they wiped out the rest.

But it wasn't without a justification.

Because too many people had heard Delmude say that he would sweep away the Red Flame Tower and kill Earl Fenris.

It could have been manipulated by Fenris, but if what Delmud said was true, then the justification was clear.

Anyway, the important thing is that Jiselle is strong enough to kill Delmud.

The knight, who had been hesitating at the ambiguous response of the nobles, soon took out a letter and handed it to the Marquis of Branford.

"This is a letter from the Red Magic Tower. The Crimson Magic Tower was a puppet of the Duke's family and was said to have tried to destroy them under their orders."

"what?"

Everyone, including the Marquis of Branford, was shocked by those words, for they had never received such information.

The Marquis of Branford read the letter and nodded.

"The evidence is sufficient."

He circulated the letter to others so that they could all read it.

"Wow! Who would have thought the Duke was plotting something like this!"

"If I had made a mistake, I could have been hit in the back of the head."

"It's scary to think that a 7th Circle Wizard might have made a surprise attack on the battlefield."

The nobles trembled involuntarily. If Earl Fenris had not found out about this and prevented it in advance, they would have been in real trouble.

In addition, he killed a 7th circle wizard. It could be said that the Duke's power was greatly reduced.

The Marquis of Branford nodded with a look of satisfaction.

"The Prince's faction said they would participate in the civil war in return for helping to stop Delmud. It would be a great help. We already have a shortage of magicians."

The Red Flame Tower will soon send its disciples. It is only natural that its magical power will increase significantly.

The other nobles were also very happy about that fact. After all, the stronger they became, the higher their chances of winning the civil war.

But good is good, and the fact that Jiselle was a Master was still shocking.

The nobles stammered and blurted out words without realizing it.

"The Earl of Fenris is truly a master… … He's already uncontrollable… … ."

"How did you acquire such skills at such a young age?"

"Even Count Balzac did not reach the level of a master at that age."

"It's a talent that comes once in a thousand years."

Maurice became very angry at someone's muttering.

"Of course, such a guy should only appear once in a thousand years!"

That's definitely true. We shouldn't have too many people like that born.

The Marquis of Branford smiled happily as he listened to the nobles' murmurs.

"Very good. The Earl of Fenris is your master."

Maurice asked, raising one eyebrow.

"What good is that? Now he's out of our hands. He was already uncontrollable, and with that kind of skill, he won't listen to you at all. That duckling is a master, so he must have used black magic."

Morris did not give up on the hypothesis that Giselle was a warlock. Perhaps if he saw the Dark Aura, he would actually run wild and demand to be caught and killed.

But it didn't matter to Marquis Branford whether Giselle was a warlock or not.

"Think about it. The Master is more like a tactical weapon and a war deterrent. Isn't it because the royal family has a Master that Count Balzac can't move recklessly?"

"That's right? If you're a Master, you can cause enormous damage whether you assassinate or participate in war."

"That's another one of those cards for us. Of course, he won't listen to us, but don't we have a common enemy?"

"oh...."

"Even if the number of masters is the same, isn't the Duke's magic power higher? That's because they have one more 7th circle magician."

"Yes, now we can finally find a balance. The Red Flame Tower will make up for the lack of magicians."

Only then did the others start to cheer. Thinking about it, this was a huge deal. It was like one more Master had joined the royal family.

This was a much bigger deal than the Red Flame Tower's participation in the battle. The power of one Master was comparable to that of a 7th Circle Magician.

Although I disliked Jiselle for being so uncontrollable and wild, things are different when preparing for civil war.

The nobles were very happy and chattered.

"That's a very good thing. It gives us more strategic options."

"Then the North is all sorted out."

"I think this is really worth a try."

The nobles burst into laughter one by one. Even without that, the atmosphere had been spreading that they might try it out with the Duke's family recently.

Meanwhile, Fenris had risen to the position of the strongest in the North. One more Master had been added. It even seemed that he might win easily.

While this friendly atmosphere continued, another knight came in hastily and reported to the Marquis of Branford.

"Marquis Rodrique has sent word that he will attack Fenris. He has declared that this is not a factional fight, but a war for territory with a proper cause."

"what?"

Just as we were rejoicing over the good news, now comes the news of trouble.

"What are you talking about! Why is Marquis Rodrik starting a war?"

The knight immediately handed the report he had compiled along with a letter from the Marquis Rodrik to the Marquis of Branford.

The Marquis of Branford, who had been reading the letters and reports with fierce eyes, touched his forehead.

Morris urged him to do so.

"What is it? What's going on? Why does Marquis Rodrik suddenly want to fight Fenris?"

The Marquis of Branford handed over the letter without saying a word. After reading it, Maurice crumpled up the letter and shouted:

"This duckling! What the hell is that mercenary group doing, covering up for it! I knew it the moment that little punk started talking about becoming a mercenary group! What are you going to do about it!"

The meeting room of the pro-Prince faction, which had been in a good mood for a while, became a scene of chaos again.

Marquis Rodrik was a great lord of the West. No matter how strong Fenris became, he was not as strong as Rodrik in terms of objective power.

Aside from that, there was nothing good for the two great lords to fight now. The war had to be fought with careful and precise strategic judgment.

The Marquis of Branford spoke hastily to his butler.

"Marquis Rodrique has cancelled his contract with the cosmetics merchants, so stop selling for now. Tell the merchants to stay away from the west, and tell Earl Fenris not to make any hasty moves."

"All right."

The Marquis of Branford looked straight at Maurice and said:

"We have to mediate."

"Arbitration? What are you going to do? Marquis Rodrik is already a greedy man. Now that he has a justification, he will try to advance out of the West somehow."

"But we must do it. Even if a civil war is destined to break out, we cannot start it this way. We will all be dragged along."

Maurice nodded. In any case, the pro-Prince faction wanted to delay the war as much as possible.

The Marquis of Branford gave his butler a firm order.

"Tell the Earl of Fenris not to fight recklessly. I will mediate."

"All right."

The Marquis of Branford, who had been earnestly urging, entered the meeting again, leading the royalist nobles.

They are not yet in a state of conflict. We need to delay the fight by appropriately coaxing them, and if that doesn't work, by threatening them.

After two days of being engrossed in a meeting, brainstorming various solutions, the reporter came running in and reported.

"Oh, Marquis Rodrik is said to have attacked a cosmetics caravan heading west."

"What? So you're saying that you sent a messenger at the exact moment of the attack?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"This guy… … ."

The Marquis of Branford gnashed his teeth. Marquis Rodrik had deliberately timed his attack to inform us.

There was a strong intention to openly start a fight.

"I'll handle things from here for now, so tell Count Fenris again to not move at all."

"That, that… … but… … ."

As the knight hesitated, the Marquis of Branford asked with an angry expression.

"What's going on? Tell me quickly."

"It is said that the Rodrik army that attacked was annihilated."

"what?"

"The Earl of Fenris was there."

The Marquis of Branford asked back in bewilderment.

"Why is he there?"

"I, I don't know. Anyway, that's why I heard that Rodrik's army is all dead. And… … ."

"and?"

There was a slight unease on the Marquis of Branford's face. It seemed as if some very bad news was about to come.

"therefore...."

The impatient Maurice jumped up and shouted.

"What! Tell me quickly! What did that duckling do again!"

The knight shut his eyes tightly and shouted.

"They say they are having a blast pillaging the vassal territories of Marquis Rodrique!"

"… … ."

Everyone was speechless at the news. No, they all had the same thoughts.

This fucking punk.