Although he was armed like a knight, his physique was far from that of someone who exercised—a middle-aged man with a bulging belly.
Duke Duser was being tightly escorted by knights and soldiers as they marched forward under guidance.
Duke Duser’s forces, totaling about a hundred soldiers, had set out and reached the territory of Schrantz.
“From here on, this is the territory of Count Schrantz! Everyone, stay alert and keep marching!”
The sound of the knight commander echoed, but their expressions were completely relaxed.
“Do you think Schrantz even has the strength to attack us?”
“If they don’t wet themselves out of fear just seeing us, that’ll be a miracle.”
They didn’t seem like people heading to war.
Combined with other families, their forces numbered over 1,000 soldiers.
They couldn’t imagine themselves losing.
And with the promise of great rewards if they performed well, their minds were filled with rosy thoughts.
“My lord, the soldiers’ discipline is too lax. I will correct it.”
The knight commander, Colin, couldn’t bear to see the state of the soldiers and reported this, but…
“Let it be. They’ll tense up once the siege begins. I just hope the acting lord of Schrantz doesn’t surrender before we even fight. That way, our soldiers can earn more merit.”
Seeing this, Colin let out a deep sigh.
From the start, Duke Duser himself was completely relaxed, so expecting the soldiers to maintain discipline was absurd.
‘Even when I suggested sending out scouts, they didn’t listen.’
Despite multiple proposals to send scouts in case of enemy ambushes, they refused.
The reason was that Schrantz was holed up in Rosen’s small lord’s castle, so there was no need to worry.
They even boasted that even if there were an ambush, it wouldn’t cause significant damage.
‘This is tough.’
As both the knight commander and the lord’s advisor, Colin couldn’t help but sigh.
While it was understandable to think that way, the problem was the potential damage from even a small ambush.
These 100 soldiers were nearly all of Duke Duser’s assets.
Except for the minimal forces left to maintain order, this was essentially everything.
The loss of even a single soldier couldn’t be taken lightly.
“I can’t wait to see the acting lord of Schrantz beg for mercy.”
‘Sigh… I miss the previous lord.’
He had never missed the wise former lord so much.
Unaware of Colin’s thoughts, Duke Duser leisurely entered the forest and moved forward for a while.
Then.
Whoosh—!
The sound of something cutting through the air quickly approached.
“Argh!”
Screams erupted as soldiers began to fall.
“What, what’s happening!”
The soldiers panicked as arrows suddenly rained down.
“Enemies! Everyone, stay calm, form ranks, and raise your shields! Protect the lord!”
A knight urgently tried to calm the soldiers, but it was no use.
Despite training for ambushes, the reality of arrows flying and comrades falling right beside them sent them into panic.
They couldn’t even tell where the arrows were coming from, and the fear consumed them.
“Charge!”
At that moment, a young voice rang out, and ten cavalrymen rushed in.
* * *
“Sera, are you in there?”
Rimil had come to the alchemy lab in the lord’s castle where Sera was.
In her hands was a bundle of clothes.
Sera had been holed up in the alchemy lab for days, not even going home.
“Mother, you’re here?”
Even though her mother had arrived, Sera’s gaze remained fixed on the bubbling pot.
Thanks to her role managing the herb garden, Rimil could freely enter the lord’s castle to see her daughter, which was a relief.
‘But…’
Sera’s eyes were bloodshot from her efforts to brew the potion.
With each passing day, she looked more haggard, and Rimil was worried.
“Are you eating on time?”
“Yes, I eat when I’m hungry.”
It was clear she wasn’t eating properly.
“Your skin is dry, and your eyes are bloodshot. Are you sleeping? Why not rest for a bit?”
“This is a task entrusted to me by the young lord. And I’m almost done. I can’t let my guard down until it’s finished.”
It’s not over until it’s over.
Before leaving for the campaign, Ian had given Sera an order.
She must succeed in creating the Half Elixir to save his father.
It was a command befitting the first order he had given her since taking her in as a vassal.
‘Even if I fail, the young lord won’t say anything, but he told me to do my best.’
It sounded less like an order and more like a heartfelt plea.
A plea to save his father.
‘The young lord is my and my mother’s benefactor.’
Without him, she would have been sold as a slave, and her mother might have succumbed to illness.
He didn’t just take her in and teach her to read.
He provided books so she could continue her father’s studies in alchemy and even bought medicine with his own money to treat her mother’s illness.
To Sera, Ian was an irreplaceable benefactor.
Who could ignore such a benefactor’s plea?
‘I will definitely succeed. I must!’
Rimil seemed to sense Sera’s determination and sighed, raising her hands in surrender.
“…If you need my help, just say so.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Feeling her daughter’s resolve, Rimil realized that no words would change her mind.
No parent can win against their child.
* * *
[Duke Duser’s Forces Repelled 1/1 (Completed)]
“What are these?”
“What were they thinking, invading Schrantz?”
“Is this an army or a mob?”
Schrantz’s soldiers looked in disbelief at the nearly forty captured prisoners.
The situation had ended just 30 minutes after the battle began.
No one had expected it to end so quickly.
Moreover, the outcome was completely one-sided.
Of Duke Duser’s 100 soldiers, 36 were captured, 4 were killed, and 7 were injured. The rest had fled.
In contrast, Schrantz suffered no losses.
If anything, the only damage was a single horse grazed by a spear.
The battle ended so quickly because Duke Duser’s forces were far more pathetic than expected.
Aside from the captured prisoners, the remaining sixty enemy soldiers threw down their weapons and fled as soon as the cavalry charge began.
Schrantz’s soldiers were dumbfounded by the sight of the enemy fleeing in terror without even putting up a fight.
Even the Schrantz cavalry, who were ready to fight, were taken aback when Duke Duser’s forces turned their backs and ran.
The original plan was as follows:
Ten cavalry would charge to break the enemy formation.
Then, twenty infantry would rush in to exploit the collapsed formation.
But the remaining infantry didn’t even need to charge.
The enemy’s morale shattered instantly under the cavalry charge, and they fled.
The ease of victory left everyone feeling uneasy.
‘Of course, part of this is thanks to my title.’
The title “Hero of Schrantz,” which reduces enemy morale by 20% when invading Schrantz, likely played a role.
However, given the level of these troops, the outcome wouldn’t have been much different even without the title.
‘Do the soldiers realize?’
That Schrantz is unusually strong?
Or that most territories are like this, or even worse?
Ian had once played as a lord of a territory in a similar or worse state.
He vividly remembered the struggle of trying to improve military capabilities in such a chaotic mess.
‘Well, it’s been two hundred years without war, and proper territorial conflicts have been rare for a long time.’
The Empire had enjoyed peace for over two hundred years.
In fact, it had been more than forty years since lords were last able to wage territorial wars due to the Emperor’s expanding influence.
Even in the rugged north, known for its tough men, it had been over sixty years since the last territorial war.
In contrast, this territory, where even ordinary village girls and old men were as skilled as elite soldiers, was the anomaly.
“Young lord, should we pursue the fleeing enemies?”
At a knight’s suggestion, Ian shook his head.
“Let them run.”
“Huh? Let them escape?”
Under normal circumstances, he would have pursued to expand their gains, but Ian chose not to.
‘I’m afraid our cavalry might get carried away and carve up the fleeing enemies’ backs.’
It was absurd that Ian had to worry about the enemy’s lives.
If they were just invading soldiers from another country, he wouldn’t have hesitated.
But these soldiers would become valuable forces and citizens of Schrantz once the territory was fully reclaimed.
From a future perspective, saving as many as possible was the better choice.
‘If we chase them down and end up slaughtering them, it won’t reflect well on the territory we’ll eventually rule.’
This was enough.
‘Even if there were hundreds more of these guys, they wouldn’t be able to do much to us.’
Given that Duke Duser had brought what he considered elite troops from his own territory, and their level was this low, Ian wasn’t too worried about the rest.
In fact, this incident would likely scare them into staying holed up.
“What? Young lord? Could it be that you are Schrantz’s…?”
“It’s an honour to meet you, Duke Duser. Yes, I am Ian von Schrantz, the eldest son of the Schrantz Count family.”
Duke Duser, along with the captured soldiers and his knights, wore expressions of surprise.
They hadn’t expected the young lord, whom they assumed would be holed up in the lord’s castle, to be here.
No, most were more shocked by something else.
‘Is this the young lord who reportedly defeated over a thousand monsters during the recent uprising?’
‘He’s way too young!’
His youthful appearance, still bearing traces of adolescence, left everyone in awe.
Duke Duser looked at him and asked, “So, what do you plan to do with me now?”
He tried to sound composed, but Ian could easily tell he was anxious.
His eyes darted around, and his legs trembled, betraying his nervousness.
‘His reactions are so honest.’
Seeing his obvious unease, Ian spoke politely, “Duke Duser, you are our prisoner. I give you my word that you will be treated with the dignity befitting a noble and a prisoner. I promise you will not face any discomfort during your stay.”
As Ian made it clear he had no intention of mistreating him, Duke Duser’s expression relaxed.
“Ahem, ahem! Is that so? If you keep your word, once this territorial conflict is over, I’ll speak well of you to the other lords and ensure your rights are respected to some extent.”
“……”
“……”
The atmosphere instantly turned icy.
The faces of Duke Duser’s knights turned pale, while the Scrantz knights’ expressions grew even more hostile.
This was practically a request to be killed.
It was an insult so severe that Ian could have drawn his sword and beheaded him on the spot without anyone objecting.
The speaker himself seemed unaware of his words’ implications, or perhaps he thought he was being considerate.
‘Nea told me this guy was clueless, but is he just a fool?’
Ian looked at him in disbelief but quickly shifted his gaze to his own knights.
They were ready to act on his command.
A single order, and they would cut him down without hesitation.
Duke Duser was infamous in the anti-Schrantz alliance as the epitome of a troll.
Now, Ian understood why.
‘Maybe I should have left him alone.’
They say an incompetent ally is more dangerous than an enemy.
He even considered attacking elsewhere first, as Duke Duser might become a liability.
‘No, we need to deal with them first. They’ll be a headache later.’
Ian’s gaze shifted to Colin, the knight commander captured alongside Duke Duser.
‘That man has exceptional talent for training soldiers.’
Initially, Duke Duser’s forces were incompetent, but once Colin trained them, they would become one of the most formidable armies.
In fact, during Ian’s previous playthrough, Duke Duser’s forces had surprisingly been the most challenging to deal with.
