After Byner left, the people inside the commander's headquarters turned to Zich. People admired or appeared unsettled by the way Zich treated Byner, but the Count said, “You drove the dispatch rider away on your own accord,” the Count said.
“He came to tell you to just surrender anyway. Were you planning to accept it when our enemies’ intention to anger us and make us refuse by sending a betrayer is so obvious?”
“Your grandfather is the type of person who would do things like that without blinking an eye. Well, you are right. I have no intention to surrender so it doesn’t matter whether he sends me a betrayer or not.” Although it was unbelievable for someone to send back the dispatch rider without asking the superior commander, the Count didn’t disagree with Zich. Other people also did the same seeing the Count’s response. Even the person heavily scowling like he was deeply upset about the situation didn’t raise questions.
“I just came to pick on Byner when I saw that he came as a dispatch rider,” Zich then said.
“…Is that really all?”
“Yes.”
“There’s really no other reason why you came here?”
“That is exactly what I’m saying.”
The Count clutched his forehead. He thought Zich became a brazen guy, but he didn’t think Zich was this reckless too. To be honest, the Count did feel refreshed seeing Zich wrangle Byner dry, but he didn’t expect Zich to come inside the commander's headquarters just to do that. The Count glanced at Hans who appeared a bit exasperated, but he didn’t appear to be surprised.
‘In other words, he must be used to Zich behaving this way.’
The Count shook his head. After parting ways with Zich, the Count regretted leaving Zich unattended for most of his youth instead of teaching him some manners. It was the first time Count regretted his treatment of Zich in the past.
“It’s fine. I had an announcement to make anyway. You should stay to listen since you are already here.”
“Do you have something else in mind? I heard that your strategy is to focus on defense right now.”
“Of course, I will move with a focus on defense. However, just because we are on the defensive doesn’t mean we have to be stuck in only one place. Even if a defensive strategy is advantageous compared to an offensive one, we will have the weakness of losing our initiative over the battle. We should try to limit our weakness as much as possible.”
“Then, what must I do?” Even if Zich accepted the Count as the commander-in-chief right now, he was more than willing to refuse the Count’s order if he didn’t like the order.
“We will have to thoroughly torment them.”
“Tell me the method.”
Although, if he did like the order, Zich didn’t mind following it too.
* * *
At the invader’s campsite, the military forces were joined by the allied forces, but everyone knew that the main force belonged to Count Flaud. Thus, naturally, Count Flaud was the commander-in-chief. Right now, Count Flaud was meeting face-to-face with Byner in his tent, which was the first one that was built.
“They refused our offer to surrender?”
“Count Steelwall didn’t refuse in person, but seeing how he didn’t stop Zich from chasing me away, it’s clear he has no intention to surrender.”
Count Flaud stared at Byner. To stabilize and secure his position as a betrayer, Byner had headed to where Count Steelwall was without any fuss to relay the offer; but when he returned, there was something wrong with Byner’s attitude. Byner appeared to be polite to the Count like usual, but his mind was elsewhere.
‘It’s similar to Glen Zenard.’ The two guys who completely screwed up the plan to involve Karuwimans at Yuras were now even beginning to act alike. However, unlike how he acted to Glen, Count Flaud didn’t say much to Byner because he was not a very important man, and the Count simply thought, ‘I have no intention of giving him any special plans, and I’m sure he will just die on the battlefield on his own if he doesn’t get a grip soon.’
Thus, Count Flaud said, “Good work. You can leave now.”
“Yes, thank you, sir!”
After Byner left, Count Flaud spread out a map on top of his desk and began to think about the upcoming war. Soon, something interrupted his thinking time.
“Sir Count! Viscount Pinne arrived!”
“Guide him in!” Count Flaud immediately yelled at the soldier.
A stout, half-balding man entered through the entrance. It was Viscount Pinne. Like his appearance, the Viscount’s personality was also not that great. Furthermore, in comparison to Count Flaud, his forces were incomparably weaker. Since they were even from different countries, Count Flaud normally wouldn’t have even placed the Viscount on his mind for even a brief moment. However, it was different now. Viscount Pinne was now an important collaborator who allowed Count Flaud to attack Steelwall without being seen as an invader from a neighboring country.
“What is it, Viscount Pinne?” Personally, Count Flaud didn’t want to become too acquainted with Viscount Pinne, but he still forced a smile.
“I came because there was something I wanted to discuss about the war.”
“Discuss? I thought we finished talking about most matters in the last meeting.”
“That was before the situation changed.”
Count Flaud sighed lightly, knowing what the Viscount was talking about.
“Are you talking about the reinforcements that are gathered at the Steelwall residence?”
“Yes.”
Unlike the time when the allied forces first confidently declared war against the Steelwalls, they were now in a bit of a bind. It was because reinforcements had appeared for the Steelwalls. Of course, they thought Steelwall would be able to get some support forces with all the connections they had made until now no matter how bad the public opinion was against them. However, the reinforcements that arrived at Steelwall completely flipped over their expectations.
“Well, let’s just say that support from Marquess Rouge and Marquess Windpool were still within our line of expectations. Even though they aren’t very close to Steelwall and they’re one of the highest ranking nobles in the kingdom, it still makes sense to me somewhat despite how bitter it makes me feel. Hiring the Wolf’s Canine mercenaries also makes sense to me. Even though the Wolf’s Canine is a famous mercenary group, they’re still mercenaries in the end. The Steelwalls could have easily hired them with their wealth.” These reinforcements he listed out so far were still within normal lines of thought; of course, they were still much more than what they expected the Steelwalls to gather. However, the reinforcements that came later were a completely different story.
“But this isn’t true for the mages from the magical tower or the elves.”
Count Flaud narrowed his eyes. He also thought it was ridiculous when he heard this news for the first time.
“I heard that the former master of the magical tower and his disciples have joined the Steelwalls! They are one of the best mages even in Sunewick! Sir, you must know also very well how powerful mages can be on the battlefield.”
“We also have mages on our side.”
“Yes, but they’re all mages who failed in a rebellion and barely managed to survive.”
Count Flaud did not reply because it was clear to everyone the stark difference in the power between these two groups.
Viscount Pinne continued, “That’s already a pain in the neck, but I’ve heard that elves have also joined the Steelwalls! Why the hell are elves joining in a war between humans!”
Elves. Everyone knew of their existence, but very few people had seen them in person. It was hard to believe that elves who distanced themselves from human society suddenly appeared as their enemies, so it was only natural for the allied forces to fall into chaos.
“It doesn’t matter if elves were just a mysterious, magical race, but you know they’re nothing to laugh about!” Due to their innately higher physical ability and lifespan than humans, they often surpassed humans with pure martial arts alone. Their skills with the bow, which was the first weapon that came to mind when people thought of elves, were also close to being supernatural. Moreover, each and every one of them was a powerful mage. A race like that suddenly emerged as their enemy in droves. On the other hand, this wasn’t their only problem.
“I’ve also heard that other nobles in the Cronon Kingdom heard this news and are moving to support Count Steelwall. Although the nobles of the Cronon Kingdom were reluctant to support Count Steelwall because of the malicious rumors surrounding the Steelwall Estate, they were beginning to show signs of supporting him little by little as reinforcements gathered around Steelwall. News that the former master of the magical tower and the elves were on the Steelwalls’ side was the pivotal reason.
“If they drag out the time a little further, other nobles in the Cronon Kingdom will begin sending their reinforcements to Steelwall. Then, our advantage in numbers would disappear.”
Then, the allied forces would be completely at a disadvantage. They were currently in enemy territory, and they couldn’t say that the quality of their soldiers were better either. Their enemy was the Steelwalls, known for their military prowess. The number of soldiers, which was the only thing they overwhelmingly had an advantage over the Steelwalls, might soon become equal. It was only natural that Viscount Pinne would be nervous. In the worst case scenario that they lost, Count Flaud and the others in the allied forces could return to their own countries but Pinne was an aristocrat in the Cronon Kingdom and couldn’t leave. There was no way that Count Steelwall would leave the Pinnes alone.
Viscount Pinne continued, “We need to crush them before the other nobles begin sending their reinforcements to Steelwall. You must know how hard it is better than anyone else, since the Flauds have fought with the Steelwalls for generations.” Time wasn’t on the side of the allied forces either.
Viscount Pinne sighed. “When we joined forces, we were in an overwhelmingly advantageous position, but I don’t know how it became like this…”
Count Flaud also agreed with Viscount Pinne in this matter. He had been overjoyed that his sweet dream of finally beating the Steelwalls would come true, but before he knew it, they were at a disadvantage.
Viscount Pinne glanced at Count Flaud. “According to the rumors, most of the reinforcements are apparently from Count Steelwall’s first son, Zich. Your grandson.”
Zich. His name was brought up again. Count Flaud thought that his grandson was completely useless, but now, he was slowly pushing them into a corner. “We’re merely connected by blood. We share no personal feelings as grandson and grandfather.”
Viscount Pinne also seemed to have no intentions of digging further into this matter, and he just nodded. “Anyway, please know that I’m not the only one with these worries. The others will probably say the same thing in our upcoming meeting that’s going to happen soon.”
“I’ve listened to your concerns.” Even though it was bothersome as hell, Count Flaud did not show it. Instead, he made a serious expression as if he had carefully regarded the Viscount’s opinions and thought of them as extremely important. He added, “Your words do have a point, but we also have a lot of talent on our side. What you’re worried about won’t happen, so it’ll be better for you to not worry too much.”
“…I’ll trust you.” While not erasing the suspicions in his eyes, Viscount Pinne then left the commander's headquarters.
Count Flaud sat back on his chair and looked down at the map. However, unlike before, he couldn’t stay focused. Count Flaud covered his forehead with his hand and looked up at the ceiling. Even though the war hadn’t even started yet, he was already tired.