Fun Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord (Novel) - Chapter 88 - The Marquis and the King

Chapter 88 – The Marquis and the King

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Though there had been no pursuit, deep fatigue showed clearly on the citizens’ faces.

The nearby town was not all that far away, only about a week’s journey by wagon, but in the end it had taken us two full weeks to reach it.

With that much time, the fortress city was surely already functioning completely as a base for the Kingdom of Yerinetta.

The roads could not be called well maintained, but with a Yerinetta base at their back, the frequency and quality of their supplies and reinforcements had no doubt improved drastically.

By contrast, our side had been driven into a crisis. We would have to borrow strength from the Royal Capital Knight Order, the Border Knight Order, and the nearby high-ranking nobles, and move to retake the fortress city.

But even if we gathered a considerable number of troops, taking the fortress city would likely take years.

“Reorganize the knight order. The commander of the Border Knight Order died in battle, yes? Have the vice commander compile the number of dead and wounded and our future troop strength. And supplies as well. Arrange them immediately.”

When I gave those orders, my men ran off. The moment I reached the town, I had begun preparations at once.

The losses in soldiers and equipment were slight, but morale had fallen heavily.

That unknown weapon had been the problem. Soldiers who had lost comrades without understanding what had happened would naturally be gripped by fear.

But there had been someone who opposed the enemy using that unknown weapon.

“At that time, the one who assisted our retreat… could it really have been…”

Just as I muttered that, the town entrance was filled by the arrival of numerous knights. At their head was Mulsia in white armor.

“Father!”

Mulsia, who by my order had gathered troops from elsewhere, had finally reached this town.

“You’re late. What were you doing?”

When I said that with anger in my voice, Mulsia stiffened and straightened his back.

“Y-yes, sir! I am very sorry! I wanted to gather as many soldiers as possible, so I sent messengers in all directions to assemble them! To avoid delay, I divided them into a first army and a second army and came this far, but…”

At that excuse, helpless rage welled up within me.

“You fool…! Everything you do is slow! An ordinary man learns one thing and understands one thing. A man with a good memory learns one thing and stores up two or three more pieces of knowledge besides. But you, only after learning ten things do you finally grasp one!”

“I-I am sorry! I-I am aware that I am slow to learn, but…”

“If you know you are slow, then think sooner and move sooner than others, fool!”

When I roared, Mulsia shrank back, cowed. I valued his usual efforts, but this weakness of spirit and dullness of mind were unforgivable.

As I glared at Mulsia in exasperation, another group of soldiers came into view from the town entrance. It was a force led mainly by cavalry.

“Jalpa Bull Ati Fertio, Marquis. A man of your stature should not speak so. The young man is shrinking before you.”

At that voice, I turned and dropped to one knee at once.

“Your Majesty, forgive me for offending your ears…”

It was the unmistakable voice of my one and only liege. As I felt the rage and irritation that had had nowhere to go vanish in an instant, I bowed my head deeply.

The sound of gravel being trodden on came close, and then a voice descended from above me.

“Marquis, rise. Explain the situation. How goes the war?”

At those words, I felt my face twist.

But I had to answer.

“…The fortress city, Scudetto, has fallen. However, we will retake it without fail. I am making preparations for that even now…”

“…I understand the situation. Tell me the details. By the time you arrived, had it already fallen?”

The slight irritation in that voice sent cold sweat running down my back.

“By the time I arrived, Scudetto was on the verge of falling due to a mysterious attack using wyverns. With the city completely surrounded and holding out in a siege, I attacked from the west, where the highway lay, and cut through one side of the encirclement. However, when the enemy threw mysterious spherical weapons, a number of my knights were blown away.”

“…What? Magical tools?”

“I do not know. However, their versatility was high, and there was almost no warning. Merely by throwing them, sparks would fly, and the instant one struck something, a violent sound and explosion would occur. We were hit by that attack while falling back, and then the wyverns above us began raining down those spherical weapons as well.”

When I explained that, I heard a low groan.

That brief silence made me feel like a criminal awaiting execution.

As I felt my mouth drying up and drew shallow, long breaths, His Majesty finally spoke.

“…Very well. So you retreated, then? What were the losses?”

His Majesty was calm. I realized then how unnaturally stiff my shoulders and back had become, and some of the strength left my body.

“The losses of my own knight order were light, but of the Border Knight Order stationed at Scudetto, three-tenths were killed in battle. Another two-tenths suffered serious wounds. Because we were not pursued during the final retreat, almost no citizens were killed or wounded during the evacuation.”

“…You were not pursued?”

A skeptical voice rang out.

That meant he might be suspecting me of colluding with the Kingdom of Yerinetta.

The moment that thought struck me, cold sweat again ran down my spine.

“Yes. This is an uncertain report, but when we began our retreat, we were aided by some unknown party from the south, where there is another highway. I do not know what happened. However, though I sensed no magic, I saw wyverns falling one after another in the blink of an eye. The enemy judged that to be a threat and turned their attention away from us and toward that unknown party…”

As I said that, I ground my teeth.

What a report steeped in humiliation. Rather than cut down the backs of my knight order and the Border Knight Order, they had judged that destroying the third party wielding mysterious weapons took priority.

If you let an enemy escape, next time they come with twice the soldiers. That is why any true threat must be crushed while you still hold the advantage.

And yet Yerinetta had prioritized that unknown third party over me.

That fact made my guts boil.

“…Nine times out of ten, it was Baron Van. But he should not yet have been able to prepare that many soldiers. I only hope he escaped without fighting.”

At that remark from His Majesty, I involuntarily raised my face.

“V-Van…!?”

The voice had come from behind. It was Mulsia.

At Mulsia’s shocked words, His Majesty slightly relaxed the lines between his brows and gave a shallow nod.

“Surely even rumors have reached the marquis territory by now. The boy Van Nei Fertio developed a frontier village and accomplished the subjugation of a dragon. In recognition of that merit, he has been granted a title at a remarkably young age.”

His Majesty said that with satisfaction.

At those words, Mulsia’s eyes widened in shock, and then he smiled with tears in them.

I wanted to rebuke him as a fool, but this was not the time.

“Your Majesty. Forgive my presumption, but by what means could Van have achieved the merit of dragon subjugation? That child can use none of the Four Elemental Magics, and his followers number only a few. Frankly speaking, I can only think that someone else intervened.”

When I stated my thoughts, His Majesty’s eyes narrowed. Then a voice clearly filled with anger fell upon me from above.

“…Marquis. Are you saying that I am lying? Or that I have been deceived by this ‘someone else’? That I, of all people, have fallen for such a petty scheme? Did I seem so shallow to you?”

At that, I lowered my head deeply and apologized.

“M-my apologies. That was not my intent…”

As I bowed my head, Van’s face on the day he departed floated into my mind.

That child truly subjugated a dragon?

But how on earth…?