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Chapter 21 – Urich’s Brothers (4)
“Earl Degelton is preparing to invade with the Silver Lion Mercenaries as his vanguard. I’m sure all of you know already, but we have no chance of victory with our current troops. If we fight, we will have to squeeze out every last resource in the fief to prepare for it,” said Earl Molando, expressing his desire to fight back.
“Do you plan to fight, Your Lordship?”
“If you believe that there is a chance of victory, then yes.”
A heavy silence hung in the air.
“Are the Silver Lions that strong? Their name sounds damn tasty, though.”
Urich spoke while burying his chin in his palms. Another retainer glared at him.
“You’re a mercenary but don’t know about the Silver Lion Mercenaries?”
“So what if I don’t know? Do I have to know it? And is there anyone here who has seen the Silver Lion Mercenaries with their own two eyes? All of you are jumping to conclusions and getting scared.”
Bakman, who was next to Urich, was rather shocked.
“Urich, the Silver Lion Mercenaries are strong. In the mercenary world, no reputation is a mistake.”
“Oh yeah? So, Earl, are you going to fight? Or are you not?”
Urich looked at Earl Molando while picking his ear.
“If we choose to fight, will your group join us as well?”
Earl Molando asked the opinion of the mercenary group members present. Urich’s mercenary group made decisions through a majority vote.
Urich, Bakman, Donovan, and Sven.
These four individuals had the biggest influence in the mercenary group. The other mercenaries delegated the votes to them, and if all of them were to agree, the mercenaries would follow it as well.
“I agree. The Hill is waiting for me.”
Sven spoke quietly. The other mercenaries looked at him as if they already knew he was going to say that.
“I will act in accordance with Urich’s decision,” said Bakman.
“It isn’t a good idea to fight with the Silver Lions. They are essentially a regular army. It really isn’t a good idea.”
Donovan, who used to be a soldier, knew how scary a structured group like the Silver Lion Mercenaries was. They were individuals that fought in group wars as often as they ate. Even though their individual skills might be similar to gladiators, the difference becomes bigger with the difference in numbers.
“Haha, are you going to be the only one backing out, Donovan?” asked Urich.
Donovan glared at him.
“If you can’t tell when you should retreat, you’ll die without knowing anything at all, barbarian.”
He took turns looking at Sven and Urich.
‘These brainless barbarians.’
Donovan wiped out the barbarians while he was in the army. The remnants of the barbarians were warriors that fought even though they knew that their defeat was inevitable. The warriors were undaunted by their impending destruction.
‘They’re terrible bastards.’
Even though Donovan was working with them, his deep-rooted hatred of barbarians didn’t disappear so easily.
‘W-Were these guys a ragtag group?’
The retainers looked at the mercenaries with uneasy eyes. There was no point in hiring the mercenaries if their power was split up.
“Donovan, we agreed to follow the majority. We decided on that from the beginning.”
Bakman spoke threateningly.
“I knew it even if you didn’t say that.”
Before they became mercenaries, they came to an agreement. Even though they didn’t like each other, they believed that the other would keep to the agreements.
“Then we’ll be participating.”
Urich collected their responses and answered.
“Understood,” Earl Molando replied. He was relieved. The retainers’ mood also slowly changed to thoughts of fighting back.
“Let us go for a defensive battle. We just have to construct a defensive line on the farmland and endure. If we take it to a defensive battle, we will find a way to overcome the difference in soldiers,” said the marshal. He was the person that led Earl Molando’s elite militia of twenty.
“Draft all men who are capable of holding weapons. I will award them with my personal funds.”
Earl Molando was already prepared to fight to the end. Even if he had to use all of the Molando House’s wealth—which had accumulated for generations—he planned to protect his land.
“Then it might be best to buy more weapons and armor. If we arm some of the stronger men, they might be usable for immediate military strength.”
The captain planned to properly arm the conscripted soldiers as well. There wasn’t time to hire any more mercenaries.
Complicated talks went back and forth. Those were plans to build a defensive line in a short time and increase their number of troops.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator – goguma
Proofreader – yukitokata
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“Cut this tree here a bit more!”
“Move quickly.”
Earl Molando’s army was constructing a stronghold.
“Damn it, we’re the ones breaking our backs in a fight between lords.”
The conscripted soldiers grumbled while crafting wooden fences.
“At least His Lordship pays us.”
It is common for families to starve to death after being drafted without pay during the busy farming season.
“Apparently, the enemy is a really famous mercenary group. Do you think we can win?”
“That’s not something for us to worry about. Our higher-ranked officials will surely figure it out.”
The conscripted soldiers chatted amongst themselves then stopped. The heavily armed soldiers would give the conscripted soldiers a hard time while they were on patrol.
In the central tent of the stronghold, they were in the middle of a conference. They received news that the Silver Lion Mercenaries arrived at Earl Degelton’s fief and were stationed there. A conflict will happen in two or three days at the earliest.
“The surrounding area is all open terrain. It will be disadvantageous to defend.”
“That’s why we’re placing fences, no?”
“Defensive battles are better the longer we can draw it out.”
“With a simple stronghold? That’s impossible. The situation was worse than we thought. The wood acquisition didn’t go well, so the progress is slower than expected.”
With the unfavorable situation, a fight broke out between the retainers as well. They couldn’t find a breakthrough.
“We mass-produced spears with the melted equipment that we looted from the previous battle. The weapon supply is much better than last time.”
Even all of the newly drafted soldiers had spears. It was much better than fighting with farm tools.
The retainers schemed out multiple plans. There was a lot to do but not a lot of time remaining. They regretted the time that they wasted in the banquet hall after winning the first battle.
Swoosh.
The tent opened and Urich walked in. He just came back after his reconnaissance.
“Hey, I have a good idea.”
Urich spoke while looking at Earl Molando and his retainers.
“You have a good plan?”
The retainers opened their ears to Urich. They were still unable to come up with a good strategy.
“We wait in ambush. Wait for the fight to start and then capture Earl Degelton. I might have failed last time, but I will get him this time for sure.”
As Urich finished talking, all of the retainers scowled and sighed. There were even some that laughed like it was ridiculous.
“Urich, the area around here is all open terrain. There are no places where we can wait for him in ambush.”
“If you go wait in ambush, we’ll just die off one by one.”
“I was wondering what you were going to say, but it’s a completely ridiculous proposal.”
The retainers all shook their heads.
“What do you mean, ‘there isn’t a place to wait in ambush’? There was a good place over there.”
Urich thought they were the strange ones instead. He grew up in the plains and forests. Waiting in ambush was routine for him who would do it for hunting and fighting.
“There is no place to wait in ambush around here! These people grew up here and even they are saying that there isn’t a place!” shouted the captain.
Urich suddenly pulled out his axe and planted it into the table.
CRUSH!
“I told you there was one, you bastard.”
Urich spoke while grabbing onto the captain’s collars. The captain hiccuped and carefully asked again.
“Th-Then where is it?”
“Shit field.”
Urich led the people to somewhere. It was a place not too far from the farmland.
“Ahem, th-this smell…” Earl Molando commented while blocking his nose.
“This is where we gather our manure…”
The manure wasn’t fully rotten yet, so the smell was awful. This was where the farmers gathered up all of their sewage.
Splash.
Urich took a step into it. The nearby people were appalled as they watched him.
“It’s shallow, but we can wait here if we put dirt on our backs and lie down on our stomachs. The location is suitable as well. We will run out of here to capture Earl Degelton once the combat starts.”
Urich spoke while lying down there himself. Those with weak stomachs started to gag.
“He does have a point, Your Lordship. If it’s here…”
“There is a saying about how it’s better to stay in this world even if you have to roll around in a shit field…” Earl Molando muttered to himself.
“First, those who want to wait in ambush with me, raise your hands. His Lordship will promise additional compensation,” said Urich as he stepped out.
A disgusting smell emanated from his body.
A volunteer didn’t step out easily. Even the mercenaries who had seen a lot of atrocities in battles were reluctant to do it.
“You’ll definitely get a skin disease if you go in there.”
Bakman stepped back with a disgusted look.
“I’ll go.”
Sven was the first to step forward. However, his expression showed that he also didn’t want to do it.
There were no volunteers other than Sven. The silence continued.
“We need at least five people. It would be nice if we had seven or eight just to be sure.”
Urich looked at the mercenaries. The place where they would have to wait in ambush was disgusting, but this was an important role. They couldn’t rely on the conscripted soldiers for it.
“Damn it, I’ll do it. And Lalo! Vajorn! Giggs! Come on out, you bastards!” shouted Donovan.
He called out those who were essentially his underlings.
“Damn it, why me? This is a bit too much.”
They were grumbling.
“He said he’s going to pay us a lot. Shut your mouth.”
“Even if we do get paid a lot, there are things you should and shouldn’t do. Fuck.”
Someone had to do this. The mercenaries that Donovan nominated cursed and swore but didn’t reject it. Urich and Sven volunteered themselves. If they stepped away after being nominated, they would lose face.
“We have to go inside here? Damn it. I never thought I would roll around in a shit bucket in my life.”
“Your life is already a bucket of shit anyways, keke.”
Earl Molando and his army steadily prepared the defensive line. The fences densely protected the front, and the archers’ watchtower was constructed as well.
Two more days passed, and a scout who had been placed far in the front returned.
“Earl Degelton’s army is approaching.”
Earl Molando received the report and smiled bitterly.
“Now, we start the defensive battle.”
Earl Molando’s army was already crushed by the opponent’s reputation before they even faced them. There were no morale-filled shouts. Only anxiety filled the air.