Chapter 186 : Chapter 186
Chapter : 186
In truth, it was fair to say that Count Steffen had no real choice.
A night raid. That was all.
But the fewer options a man has, the more likely he is to do something unexpected—especially a commander like Count Steffen, a veteran who had been through every kind of battlefield and lived to tell the tale.
That was why I devised a battle of wits that would leave Count Steffen no choice but to take the obvious one.
“Pull out the cavalry and support Captain Konrad and Sir Biden. I have heard the supply lines have been attacked frequently of late.”
“What? Is that so…?”
“It is. They say nearby bands of brigands and deserters have joined forces. Those bastards keep interfering with our supplies.”
“Ah, yes….”
At my words, my vassals tilted their heads in confusion. They had heard no such report.
But I was the lord. If I told them to do it, what else could they do?
If told to peel, she had to peel.
The vassals hurriedly busied themselves, agreeing as they prepared to dispatch the elf knights. And then I added, speaking to their backs,
“And we will hold a banquet as well, to comfort those who have suffered.”
“A banquet, my lord? The palisade is not yet fully complete, and the enemy is right nearby.”
“That is correct. It is dangerous, my lord….”
This time, unlike before, every one of them showed reluctance.
Sending out the knights at least had a plausible justification. It was not without reason.
But a banquet?
This was a battlefield. The enemy might strike at any moment….
“This is troubling. Do you not see how much everyone has suffered? We must comfort them. Their grievances will ease, they will regain their strength, and we will be able to finish the work faster. Besides, we will keep a strict watch in shifts. The palisade is being built, and if the enemy comes to attack, we can use it to hold them off.”
“…….”
At my words, the vassals fell silent and traded sidelong glances.
The order was so different from my usual self that it might as well have come from another man.
Their eyes darted back and forth like a ping-pong ball as they held a rapid conversation without a sound.
‘Hey, did something happen to our lord?’
‘No. Not as far as I know.’
‘Now, now. You lot. He has been working himself hard lately. Perhaps he simply wants to rest. He wants to lighten his mood with a banquet.’
‘What are you saying? Our lord is not that sort of man. He must have a great purpose. Just trust him. Is he not a Performer of Miracles?’
‘Hmm…. That is true! Come to think of it, that sounds more likely. Perhaps he even received a revelation in the night. Then all that remains is for us to respond well on our own.’
Then, as though they had reached a decision, they nodded and spoke to me.
“Understood. We will carry it out properly. Please do not worry, my lord.”
“That is right. Leave it to us, my lord. We will prepare a most splendid banquet.”
Watching them, I felt uneasy, as though something had gone slightly astray.
Why do they look so resolute—and so sacred? Like monks.
They were not misunderstanding something again, were they? I hated it when things became tangled in yet another strange direction.
Still, I forced down the vague anxiety rising in my chest and nodded.
“Good. Then I will be relying on you.”
If they were willing to work hard without arguing, what was there to complain about? If anything, the process would become simpler, and efficiency would rise.
Of course, Magician Agpiel, who had been watching it all, clicked his tongue.
“You are trying to fool the enemy by fooling your own side, but your plan seems to be taking a strange turn.”
“…Magician Agpiel. Please.”
He was teasing me with malicious delight.
Honestly.
---
-Move, quickly!
-The foolish human knights have been waiting for us so desperately! Hyah!
The formation stirred, and hundreds of elf knights thundered across the distant road, kicking up a cloud of dust.
-Wahahaha! Drink!
-Long live the pious Margrave!
-Hear, hear! This tastes splendid.
Meanwhile, the palisade work that had been in full swing ground to a halt, and a roaring drinking spree erupted.
It was not only wine. There was abundant meat, and bread as well—lavishly provided.
After this unbroken famine and the disastrous harvest, to eat generously—no, to eat until they were full, to the point of being able to grease their lips—was almost unbelievable.
The countless pilgrims and laborers who had joined the palisade work praised the margrave, each and every one of them, and devoted themselves to the banquet.
However, this magnificent feast did not please everyone.
“Th-that! Those wretches without honor. There are limits to how much they can scorn us. How dare they do that?”
“Your Excellency, give the order. I will butcher those pieces of trash at once.”
From the castle walls, Count Steffen’s men watched everything unfold and seethed with rage.
There were people in there—disciplined troops, armed to the teeth—and they were holding a drinking party?
Was that not the same as saying they were not even worth facing?
Still, not everyone was consumed by anger.
“Hm, Your Excellency. Is this not a fine opportunity?”
Among Count Steffen’s followers were vassals and knights who had served him for many years—seasoned veterans of a hundred battles.
“Form a detachment as it is. Was it not said that Your Excellency intended to teach him a lesson? Is this not the perfect chance?”
They urged him to seize the opening. A night raid and an ambush were dishonorable, but on a brutal battlefield, the shame was worth enduring if it brought victory.
“Hmmm….”
Count Steffen hesitated.
Was it a trap—or not?
If he took the bait and the enemy had prepared for it, the losses would be catastrophic.
Count Steffen knew the Margrave of Bellua well enough to believe he was capable of exactly that. And yet, for a trap, the guard truly seemed far too lax.
“Even so, we wait. Just in case.”
“What?”
“Think about it. Is it not strange? He pulls out the elf knights, his greatest strength, and throws a drinking party. It is as though he is openly advertising, ‘Please attack us.’ That is temptation—meaning, a trap.”
“Oh….”
At Count Steffen’s analysis, everyone exclaimed in admiration. It was, indeed, a razor-sharp assessment.
The only problem was that although the analysis was correct, there was one thing Count Steffen did not know.
“C-Count Steffen, Your Excellency. The banquet has continued for a week now. Is it not possible they truly have simply grown lax?”
“……???”
That I had truly gone mad—thoroughly, decisively.
“What is this little bastard made of blood?”
In the end, Count Steffen had no choice but to bite the bait, even knowing it was bait.
---
To deceive the enemy, first deceive your allies thoroughly.
This stale old maxim was meant as a warning about the importance of secrecy. I, too, understood the importance of security and had taken it to heart, but….
“Wahahahaha!”
“Drink!”
-CLANG! CLANG-CLANG, CLANG!
“Ooooo! Who will win?”
“I will bet on Sir Johan!”
“Then do I have to bet on the other side? Hahahahaha!”
I had the distinct impression that I had deceived my own side a little too seriously.
The nobles who served as commanders were already drunk on the banquet, reveling with unrestrained delight. In the era of [Pangea Universalise], a banquet inevitably included duels between knights, fought for pride—and those were already underway.
It was chaos beyond chaos.
“Heh heh. Are you not going to end up in trouble at this rate?”
“…I am already regretting it, Magician Agpiel. Please do not say things like that….”
“Tsk, tsk. What can be done? It is all thanks to you selling off your gods so diligently.”
In truth, discipline would not normally collapse to this extent. Even on a battlefield, any man with his senses would maintain at least some tension.
And yet—
-I heard the margrave received another revelation.
-I heard we have already won. That is why he is holding this grand banquet. They say that if we hold it, Count Steffen will open the gate and surrender.
Somewhere along the way, a bizarre rumor began to spread, and now it had become an uncontrollable, settled fact.
As a result, the army’s discipline snapped—and collapsed in an instant.
“When did I ever sell off any gods?”
I answered, bitterly wronged. But Magician Agpiel only clicked his tongue.
“Is that truly so? Over there, the goat beastman is selling them with great enthusiasm. Even the clergy of the Holy See are using your name to advertise. Tsk, tsk.”
“…….”
That… that goat beastman Bishop Marco, that bastard! And why were the clergy of the Holy See involved? All I could do was sigh.
So that was why everything had been moving in such a strange direction….
“Still, look at it kindly. If things are this much of a shambles, will Count Steffen not be fooled for certain?”
“Well… that is true.”
“Then make full preparations. You need to go around again and tighten discipline among the units on standby. If you are careless, you may be swallowed by your own stratagem. Confusion strikes all at once, and an army in confusion becomes as weak as a child.”
At Agpiel’s practical advice, I nodded inwardly, impressed. He really was meticulous about such things.
“I am already swapping out the elf knights we dispatched with the nobles’ knights, quietly. More than three hundred have come in already.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“So please do not worry too much. I have deliberately left an opening. In that area, I have already inserted my elite troops in secret. If Count Steffen decides to aim for that….”
I looked at Magician Agpiel for a moment, then let a sharp smile curl at the corner of my mouth.
“He will see hell. That day will be the last day Count Steffen falls—the final day of his ruin.”
“Heh heh….”
---
Deep in the night.
-KREEEEAK!
The gate of the capital city of the County of Campania opened, and from within, hundreds—thousands—of people began pouring out without end.
-Shh. Quiet!
-Everyone, move in secret!
It was an assault force meant to strike the Margrave of Bellua, who was daring enough to hold a drinking party.
They could not draw out their entire army, but even so—one thousand five hundred. And among them were four hundred knights, the finest of the fine, whom Count Steffen had raised with obsessive care.
With this attack, Count Steffen intended to shatter one pillar of the Margrave of Bellua’s defensive plan completely.
But when some of them reached the palisade—
-WHOOSH!
“They are climbing up!”
“Kill them! Loose the arrows!!!”
As if they had been expecting it all along, soldiers who had been hidden behind the palisade erupted forward, shouting as they charged.
-WAAAAAAAH!
-?!?!?!?
“N-no. How…?”
The commanders who had joined Count Steffen’s raid fell into utter confusion.
The enemy was supposed to be off guard.
But they were not?
They had never even imagined it was a trap meant to lure them out—exactly as Count Steffen had said.
-KKAAAARGH!
-CRUNCH!
-FSSSSSHK!
And the price was horrific.
Count Steffen’s troops were struck down, helpless beneath the onslaught.
At this rate, annihilation was only a matter of time.
“Mm. Good.”
Hearing the reports as they came in, I smiled with satisfaction.
With this, I had dealt Count Steffen a truly serious blow. Having lost his elite troops in this battle, Count Steffen would no longer be able to hold his castle.
And yet Count Steffen was, indeed, a veteran of a hundred battles.
“M-my lord! This is terrible!”
“?”
“Count Steffen’s army is charging this way. Please evacuate at once!”
“??????”
A messenger shouted in desperation, and then—
-WAAAAAAAH!
-Capture the Margrave of Bellua!
-The center is shallow instead. Break through as we are and force a breakthrough!
The knights led by Count Steffen had launched a sudden assault on the central position—where I was.
“Damn it?!”
It was the moment I understood exactly why Count Steffen was one of the few four-star generals in [Pangea Universalise].