Chapter 40
The knights left quietly. Since it was not a glorious expedition, there were no military ceremonies or grand parades.
In a message from the capital, they were told to go south without stopping at the Imperial Palace. The situation on the battlefield seemed more urgent than expected.
Their journey south was long.
The distribution of supplies was smooth and the lords welcomed them wherever they went, but it was not easy to traverse the vast imperial territory. Moreover, they were in no mood to receive hospitality, as they had just lost their master and comrades.
Mortheon refused all banquets, and demanded only beds and food.
The knights traveled in silence.
Frequent messengers brought only serious news.
The assassins slaughtered the Grand Duke and his knights who attacked them in the middle of the night, but they still did not know who they were or how they had not been discovered.
Since it was previously unknown that such forces existed in the Southern Kingdom, the battlefield was in chaos.
Who are these mercenaries? Secret squad? "
It doesn't matter. What matters is how they killed so many knights in one night."
Leonard and Carls spoke quietly. The three of them lagged behind the pack, guarding the rear.
Victor said.
“The leadership makes various assumptions. They said they must have sprayed powerful sleeping incense, they must have been knights with brutal skills, or they must have been wizards from the Eastern Kingdom.”
Leonard frowned.
“Witches? Does such a thing really exist?”
“There may be. But even in the Eastern Kingdoms, it is rare.”
“This is all nonsense. It must be sleep incense or something.”
Leonard clicked his tongue.
Karls responded immediately.
“I think witches are more reasonable.”
“Why?”
“There is no smell in the world that can make a person sleep deeply.”
He said firmly.
It was a sharp tone.
“It is ridiculous to say that these knights remained asleep even after hearing the clash of swords.”
The two agreed quietly. They were Morte Knights, and they knew how skilled their companions were. It was not easy for any of them to be killed by the assassins.
The three spoke quietly. If under normal circumstances, they would have had a lot of fun on this trip, but after seeing the consequences of war, they were not the same as before. The death of family and colleagues still weighs on the hearts of the young knights.
Leonard asked.
“How far should we go now?”
“About two days.”
"Okay"...
They were already completely in the south.
The trees were wider and the lakes a clear emerald colour.
As Carls said, it was beautiful, but neither Leonard nor Victor, who had never been to the south before, enjoyed the scenery to the fullest.
The battlefield was quickly approaching.
After a month-long march, they finally reached the southern tip of the continent.
***
The battlefield was in chaos.
The Empire's army was thrown into disarray when several commanders, including the Grand Duke of Morte, were wounded or killed. Morale had already been weakened by the protracted war.
In the midst of this, they were even more distracted because they were planning to launch an attack on the main island of the Southern Kingdom.
As soon as Morthion heard their plan, he and Victor went to the Empire's headquarters.
That day, Victor felt the limits of his patience.
… “I understand what you mean, Your Highness. It’s not that easy.”
“Is it really that difficult to plan a strategy around the navy?”
Mortheon asked as calmly as possible.
The Chief of Staff of a Southern Noble Family responded with a touch of his mustache.
“The main focus of our army is the cavalry. Our navy is also strong, but what's the point if our cavalry can't participate? That's why we thought about it for a few days and then planned Operation Landlocked.”
“But the Southern Kingdom is an island. Even if our knights don’t land, if we continuously wage a naval war against them and isolate them, we can make them surrender. There is no need to send a supply ship for the landing knights...”
“No, then what about our honor?”
Another man intervened. The Knight Commander of a Northern Noble House raised his voice.
“We have come together to protect this country. What kind of disgrace would it be if you returned home without drawing a sword,” he added.
“Now is not the time to wonder whether it is disgraceful or not.”
“Well, in my opinion, the Grand Duke is very weak.”
Victor interjected.
“You have no respect. Do you know who you are talking to?”
All gazes turned to the young master for a moment.
Victor clenched his jaw and looked at them.
All their words were nonsense.
There was a more efficient way to end the war, but they came up with an unreasonable plan just for the sake of honor. They also described people who dared to point out the absurdity of their process. It was hard to believe that these people were the knights and soldiers representing the empire.
Morthion stopped him with a fierce expression.
... “Stop. I'm sorry, sir. I apologize for disrespecting my brother.”
"It's okay. You two are still young."
The Knight Commander replied in a sarcastic voice.
Victor wanted to cut out the knight's tongue, but he clenched his fists and retreated.
Morthion stood quietly.
“Okay. This is Master’s opinion. As long as we are part of the army, the Morty Knights will follow the will of the leadership.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Morthion left the meeting without hesitation.
Victor stared at them intensely before following his brother.
***
The camp was noisy. Soldiers were moving back and forth, carrying weapons and food.
As soon as they moved away from the tent, Victor spat.
“How dare he say such a thing to you, brother?”
“It's okay, it's less painful than ignoring it.”
Morthion laughed bitterly.
“I thought we were going to be kicked out of the leadership position because we failed.”
"to fail ?"
“We lost both our Knight Commander and the Knights in one day. They look down on the Morte Knights a bit.”
Victor's stomach turned.
The Morte's reputation was only upheld thanks to their powerful knights.
Although the estate of Morte was home to the Grand Duchy, not much was known about it because it was far from the capital and not socially involved. Therefore, once their knights were defeated, they were ignored. Mortheon spoke as if he read his brother's thoughts.
“We are able to fight.”
“…”
“Do you want revenge?”
Victor stared at Mortheon calmly.
His older brother was not one to talk about revenge. Teach him that the knight is merciful and forgives others. But this time, it was different. Morthion was granting him vengeance.
Victor answered in a calm voice.
"Yes".
“In support we do it revenge.”
***
The day of the operation soon dawned.
The so-called “Southern Kingdom Landing Operation” was so simple that it was ignorant.
After their navy fought against the Southern Navy and broke through their defenses, the army split into groups and sailed to the mainland. After they captured a city, they would use it as a base, and advance together inland.
Most of the soldiers protested that they would be stationed on a hot tropical island where distributing supplies would be difficult, but there was nothing they could do. The leadership was tenacious and focused on getting the ball rolling.
The first battle began early in the morning.
While their naval forces were bombarding the south, the Morte Knights prepared to launch.
Heavy iron armor, spears, and horses were useless on the wet shore. Instead, they wore leather armor and tied their swords around their waist. They also brought mint ointment for sunburns and rain ponchos.
The Southern Kingdom's navy, which could not withstand the continuous attack of the Imperial Navy, retreated.
The knights quickly divided into groups and sailed towards the mainland.
“Damn, what the hell is this?”
Karls, leaning on the edge of the boat, cursed.
“If I had known this would happen, I would have stayed in the South and become a pirate.”
“It is not a knight to complain about orders, Charles Denion.”
Leonard scolded him.
This was the first time in his life that he suffered from seasickness. Carls asked horrified.
“How can you look like this in this situation?”
“I was only talking about the duties of a knight.”
“If it were me, I wouldn't give such a stupid order.”
Victor sympathized with him inside, but he couldn't say it. If he, the next Knight Commander, complained, morale would drop even further.
Victor tried to think about the upcoming battles, but it was not easy. The screams and sound of the waves were constant, and their incomprehensible plan disturbed him greatly.
He wondered if he would be able to fight properly at this rate.
But Mortheon, as always, was calm. He shouted, looking out his little window.
“Our destination is approaching! Prepare for landing.”
Upon hearing this, the knights held their swords firmly and prepared to draw them.
***
The landing wasn't too difficult. The civilians had already fled, and the remaining army fled in confusion as soon as they saw the knights.
Morthion cried several times.
“Don't kill those who don't want to fight! If they surrender, avoid them!”
“Why?”
Victor had a twisted idea.
Even though he talked about revenge, Morthion didn't seem to want it.
But regardless, he followed his brother's orders.
Because the master's orders were absolute.
Victor controlled his force, causing minor casualties to the enemy, then allowing them to escape.
The knights set up a base and sent word to command.
The response came back quickly.
It seemed that there were not many troops that landed without any difficulties. They said that there was a ship that was hit by a cannon ball and sank.
The Morte Knights clicked their tongues, but were unable to stop the process that had already been set in motion.
In extreme heat, they chew endlessly on dried jerky.
It was the beginning of a long war.
• End of chapter •
To be continued •••
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