Chapter 170 - Battle (2)

Fortunately, the Shonan army managed to arrive in Thern before sunset and set up their camp.

While the soldiers were getting set up, Henry decided to scout out the lay of the land with Eisen and the thousand-man commanders.

“Let’s go, Jade.”

- Neighhh!

Ever since he had learnt Teleportation, Henry didn’t need Jade as much as before because he mostly relied on Teleportation as a method of travel. Naturally, Jade got really excited at the fact that he could assist his master once more.

Eisen rode forward and looked around. “Is there a need for reconnaissance? We won’t be able to use tactics like ambush or raids anyway.”

“Nevertheless, surveying the battlefield before engaging in battle is a fundamental practice, isn't it?”

“You’re right. The thousand-man commanders should examine the battlefield thoroughly.”

Eisen definitely did have a point. In the case of a Fief War between nobles, strategies such as night ambushes and raids couldn't be used as it was an honorable battle. Therefore, scouting out the lay of the land to find strategic advantages was practically meaningless.

Nevertheless, the reason Henry still insisted on surveying the area was that the rules of the honorable battle didn’t apply to himself. Henry intended to deal with both Eisen and Alfred at once, regardless of the battle agreement.

There was a clear difference between scoping out the battlefield during the day and doing it at night. Thus, Henry decided to thoroughly inspect the battlefield as much as possible before the sun went down.

Near the end of the reconnaissance, Henry could understand why this location had been picked for the battle. The Thern region was on the border between the Shonan region and the Etherwether region. There were large forests, plains, and other types of terrain, making it a perfect place for a battle.

‘There’s a plain between the borders of the two territories, a gorge on the left, and highland on the right. Since this is what the land looks like, the troops will definitely be divided into three teams.’

Within the central plain, a landscape that offered no tactical advantages, close combat was inevitable. Consequently, it was anticipated that a substantial number of troops from both sides would gather here.

‘Then all that’s left is the gorge and the highland.’

The gorge was narrow and the highland was mountainous.

Given that the objective in a Fief War was to make the enemy surrender, these two places had to be guarded.

If the enemy took over these areas, the Shonan army battling on the plain would be caught from the rear. If this were to happen, they would be completely surrounded and consequently lose the battle instantly. The same applied to the Etherwether army.

Therefore, the battle in the central plain was crucial, but it was also important to how well both the gorge and highland were defended.

Upon completing the scouting of the battlefield, the commanders returned to their camp. Afterward, meat and alcohol were served to lift the soldiers' fighting spirit, as this was likely the last supper for some of them.

Of course, the alcohol was served sparingly. Even though it was possible that this was their last meal, they still had to fight tomorrow, and no one wanted to die stupidly because of a hangover.

That was how they spent the night. Most of the soldiers from both sides went to sleep, except for the minimum number of soldiers that were on night watch. However, in spite of the alcohol, the number of soldiers who fell into a deep sleep was small, as they were all nervous about tomorrow’s battle.

* * *

“You’re here.”

As the sun rose, the commanders of each army showed up as scheduled.

The meeting point was at the center of the plain.

They were not accompanied by soldiers; instead, the advisers and thousand-man commanders followed the head of each family.

Wearing his brass-colored Lelbert, Eisen arrived first and glared at Alfred as the latter slowly approached.

However, Alfred wasn’t the type of person to get intimidated by Eisen’s glower. He was wearing his unique spiritualist armor and had his own advisors behind him.

The first to speak was Marquis Alfred.

“Oh look, you actually showed up!”

“You’re one to talk! Tell me that when you’re not late.”

“Tsk tsk, it’s always the lower ranks that arrive first and wait for their superiors. I guess being a count for such a long time has left you with some habits.”

“W-what…?”

Alfred’s comments had struck a nerve. He seemed to have regained his composure after a long time.

Henry squinted at the commanders behind Alfred.

‘Waled?’

Henry almost burst into laughter because Waled Etherwether, whose arm had been cut off by Hector, was standing proudly among the commanders behind Alfred.

‘Are they really that short of talented people in the Etherwether family?’

It was strange.

Henry had heard that Waled was struggling to perform even his everyday tasks due to the psychological trauma of losing his arm. How could Alfred place his son as a commander in an important event like the Fief War?

Of course, just because Waled had lost his arm didn’t mean that his spirit contracts had been nullified, nor that his spiritual skill had weakened. However, the Etherwether family had many more talented individuals than the Shonan family, so there was no reason to make Waled their commander, as his mental state was unstable.

Not understanding why, Henry clicked his tongue.

‘Well, I guess it’s a good thing for now.’

Even in the midst of this, Waled clearly wanted to hide his missing arm. While everyone was sporting a full uniform, he was the only one covered in a large cape instead.

‘This must have been ordered by Alfred. Where is Syred… As expected, he’s not participating, is he?’

Henry had always thought Alfred was a heartless father. However, precisely because of that, it was odd that Syred was missing.

‘Now matter the urgency of the situation, I guess a crippled son is better than a druggie.’

Henry chose not to dwell on this inconsistency, especially since those who weren’t involved in this Fief War would certainly not regret it. In any case, Henry didn’t care if Syred was left out of this war, given how much information Henry had squeezed out of him.

Soon, the ugly quarrel of the two Marquises came to an end and an oath ceremony was held in order to promise an honorable battle of the Fief War.

Alfred started, as he was the one who had requested the battle.

“I, Alfred Etherwether, the head of the Etherewether family, declare to engage in an honorable and fair battle that will not bring shame to His Majesty, the emperor, or the imperial nobles.”

“I, Eisen Shonan, the head of the Shonan family, declare to engage in an honorable and fair battle that will not bring shame to His Majesty, the emperor, or the imperial nobles.”

The two of them made the oath before the emperor’s battle permit.

After the oath ceremony, both of them pulled out a gentleman’s agreement for a fair battle.

The contents of the agreement were relatively simple.

- The opponent’s supplies cannot be touched.

- When the sun goes down, all battles are stopped and the fight is postponed to the next day.

- A defeated opponent is not to be mocked, but granted an honorable death.

- After the battle is over, there will be no complaints regarding the result, and the outcome will be accepted the way it is.

The two vowed to abide by the agreement once again, thus marking the end of all the troublesome protocols.

All that was left was for them to release their anger through battle. In any case, the more they killed, the greater their advantage, given that the victory conditions mandated complete annihilation to compel the opponent's surrender.

This was the best way to get revenge.

Alfred laughed after everything was finished and said, “I guess this is the end of the Shonan family line.”

“What?”

“What, am I wrong? Even at this age, you don’t even have a child of your own, do you?”

“What did you just say?”

“Hahaha, maybe the rumor is true. Are you actually impotent?”

“Shut up!”

Clank!

Alfred rattled Eisen with ease.

As a result, Eisen couldn't hold back his anger and aggressively pulled out his weapon, Bleakin.

“Look at you getting all worked up… You should at least have a good weapon, wouldn’t you agree? But calm down, we still have some time before the battle starts.”

Alfred's sarcasm intensified as his provocations continued to play an effect on Eisen.

Eisen was about to swing his ax, but he had to hold back because of the gentleman’s agreement.

Alfred’s gaze then shifted toward Henry, who was behind Eisen, and threw a light jab.

“You didn’t run away either.”

However, Henry didn’t respond, nor was there any change in his expression. Instead, he just answered with a slight nod.

‘What an arrogant guy. Let’s see if you’ll still act like this once the battle is over.’

‘What a joke.’

They were getting on each other's nerves.

Having his pride hurt, Alfred shouted, “Let’s go! I feel like I’m going to be crippled like some other people if I stay here any longer!”

Seeing that he couldn’t get under Henry’s skin, Alfred shifted his attention back to Eisen to get back at them. When Alfred’s silhouette disappeared off into the distance, Eisen swung his Bleakin toward the ground, unable to contain his anger.

“You fucking bastard!”

Thud!

The plains now sported a massive crater, as if left by an explosion—a clear sign of Eisen’s rage.

‘Is he really infertile?’

Seeing that Eisen got extremely worked up, it seemed that Alfred wasn’t completely wrong; otherwise, Eisen wouldn’t have gotten this upset.

In addition, if Eisen died during this battle, he had no children or wife to succeed him, just like Alfred said.

‘Now that I think about it, he is very strange.’

The more Henry thought about it, the weirder Eisen was.

Usually, it was common for people to adopt at least one son to succeed them, but for some reason, Eisen had never done so.

There were also many rumors that Eisen was a womanizer. Even the day prior, he had had a woman come into his bedroom.

Considering these rumors, it was surprising that he didn’t have a child of his own.

‘Well… I guess it’s none of my business anyway.’

It didn’t matter to Henry if Eisen was infertile or castrated because both Alfred and Eisen were destined to die during this battle.

“Shall we start making our way back, Marquis?” asked Henry.

“Ha, Alfred, you bastard! Motherfucker…! I’d rather not have children than raise them like him…!”

Eisen seemed to be enraged.

It certainly was sad to have no children to brag about at his age, especially since he was a member of high society.

Henry quickly calmed Eisen’s rage, and they returned to their camp.

The battle was scheduled for when the sun rose to its highest. In other words, there was not a lot of time left before the battle.

“Then we’ll begin the strategic meeting.”

Their strategy had already been set the moment he had checked the terrain. Therefore, as soon as Henry returned to their camp, he gathered Eisen and the thousand-man commanders to explain their plan.

“...You really want to do it that way?”

“That’s right. The first battle will be meant to grasp the opponent’s strategy anyway.”

By the end of his explanation, Eisen and the thousand-man commanders had no choice but to stare at Henry with their jaws dropped.