144 – Battle of the Abe River (2)
Baron Linz von Maurer, owner of the Barony of Maurer, slammed the desk.
“What the f*ck! “Whether it’s white beard or white dog hair, where on earth are those bastards from?!”
The angry voice could be heard not only by the soldiers guarding outside their tent, but also by the surrounding barracks.
Since Baron Maurer’s head was half-turned, there was no time to worry about that.
I was tasked with dealing with 3,000 exhausted enemies from the siege at Villa Hora Castle, where over 1,000 defenders were stationed.
He thought that all he had to do was march a little quickly, join the castle’s defenders with the 4,000 troops led by Viscount Grunwald, and then launch a pincer attack on the enemy and crush them…
‘I can’t believe we were attacked during a march!’
“Ugh, sh*t! As the head of the Baron Maurer family, you make such a foolish mistake! “To be attacked in broad daylight with your eyes open!”
The Baron tried to control his anger by picking up everything he could find on his desk and throwing it on the floor, as well as kicking the cot.
The more he thought about it, the more intense his fever became, and his face and entire body became red, reminiscent of a huge blush.
In the meantime, a document containing the results of tonight’s roll call caught his eye.
After seeing that, the Baron’s legs naturally relaxed and he sat down, reciting what was written there without any hesitation.
“150 Dead, 50 seriously injured, including 8 knights, 2 mercenary captains, and 10 mercenary executives. In addition, it is expected that the morale of the army will be severely depressed, which will have a significant impact on the battle.”
Because of a single unexpected attack, as many as 150 soldiers were killed, and including the seriously injured who could not fight on the battlefield, a whopping 10% of the troops were lost.
At this level, the loss of troops was equivalent to that of a considerable war, or rather a fairly intense battle.
‘This kind of disaster happened even before the battle…’
Baron Maurer found this situation so absurd that he burst out laughing this time.
“That evil bastard named Martin Mayer of the Whitebeard mercenaries. “Well, the mercenary admitted that he was a coward like Seungnyang, and then he got away?”
The Baron felt his blood pressure rise and the back of his neck stiffen.
“It’s not enough to catch him, rip his limbs off, and kill him!”
For about 30 minutes, the Baron spewed out all kinds of complaints and anger, and ended up praying in his heart that Martin Mayer would become a eunuch and die.
A knight carefully entered the baron’s tent.
After seeing the dizzying scene inside the tent, he wondered if he should tell the baron about his concerns, but…
‘The Baron is out of his mind right now, so there’s no need to mess with the beehive, right…?’
“Baron Maurer, the mercenary leaders have all gathered in the command barracks. “I’m waiting for you, Baron. What will you do?”
To those words, Baron Maurer washed his face with water from the wash bowl placed in the corner and responded.
“I need to change into new clothes, so tell me to wait 10 minutes.”
**
Exactly ten minutes later, the Baron entered the command barracks.
Inside, the baron’s knights, including senior knights, were grumbling with serious expressions on their faces.
“I don’t know how good the relationship between Baron Custer and my family is that we have to go through all this trouble to save him.”
“Chief Knight Miller, if Baron Custer is defeated, our territory will be in danger…”
“Knowing that, I have no choice but to endure this hardship and fight.”
Mercenary captains who were hired for money also began to grumble.
“Ha, f*ck. “This is very dangerous…”
When Baron Maurer saw that, he had to hold back the anger that he had managed to calm down again, so he took a deep breath and looked back at them.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
After waiting for everyone to be polite, the Baron sighed and spoke.
“Well, the situation is not good. Since war has to be fought, I will convey our future policy. “Our Maurer unit will continue to advance like this and support Baron Custer at Villa Hora Castle.”
Baron Maurer gritted his teeth and clenched his fists to show his displeasure.
The atmosphere became so heavy that not only the knights but also the mercenary captains were unable to say anything…
A mercenary leader sitting in the corner hesitated and spoke cautiously.
“Baron, I am truly sorry to say this. “The morale of the soldiers dropped a lot because the Whitebeard mercenaries attacked us.”
Since he was speaking without permission to speak, the Baron could have cut him off, but Maurer did not and instead nodded his head.
It was an expression of the intention that it was okay to continue talking.
“Isn’t it a situation where you never know when they might come out again, whether it’s in the forest or somewhere else? “It’s too dangerous, so you should either slow down your advance a little and conduct a thorough search of the surrounding area…”
Baron Maurer frowned upon hearing that.
The knights under the Baron thought as they looked at the Baron’s expression.
‘That bastard will break soon.’
“Or, I think it would be better to change the route and take a safer route. “Isn’t our mission to get to Villa Hora Castle intact and support them?”
When the Baron heard those words, he sighed and patted the shoulder of the mercenary leader who said those words.
The knights were somewhat surprised to see that.
‘That bastard escaped being criticized?’
This was possible because Baron Maurer was a person who was able to distinguish between public and private matters as thoroughly as he did in war.
‘I came up with a plan, and I don’t like what they say, but it’s true…’
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The Baron smiled at the mercenary leader.
“Your suggestion is valid. “I would like to do that, but I cannot adopt that suggestion.”
“Why on earth is that so?”
Maurer gave the mercenary commanders a copy of the order he received from his superior, Count Mauritz, and then responded.
“According to the military order issued by Count Mauritz, it is written, ‘Arrive at Villa Hora Castle within the next six days and destroy Viscount Canossa’s army.’ “If you slow down your march or take a safe route, you will not be able to complete the order.”
“But if we continue to advance like this, there is a high probability that we will be attacked by the enemy again…”
This was something that even the Baron knew.
If we continue to move forward like this, we may be surprised at any moment and suffer great losses again, and in extreme cases, we may suffer ‘damage close to annihilation’ before we reach Villa Hora Castle.
In order to prevent such a situation, I was well aware of the alternative of taking time to take a safer route or slowing down the march and keeping a close watch on the surrounding area.
‘But if you don’t follow orders…’
“It’s not that I don’t know that either. However, this is Count Mauritz’s order.”
“But this is so unreasonable. “If this continues, we could all die…”
The Baron, who had maintained his rationality and composure until now by providing reasonable explanations, felt his neck being pulled as he got angry.
I suffered a huge amount of damage due to an attack by a strange mercenary group called the Whitebeard Mercenaries, and I think I’m going crazy because of the crazy orders given by Count Mauritz.
‘A mercenary leader keeps talking back to me?’
The Baron grabbed the mercenary leader’s shoulder, shook it, and spoke while spitting.
“Look, this is Count Mauritz’s order, and we cannot object to it!”
Baron Maurer continued to speak as if venting his anger.
“If I disobey my superior’s orders on the battlefield, my territory may be confiscated and my head may be cut off. “You are now mercenaries employed by the Rhine-Palatinate Empire.”
The other mercenaries also nodded at those words.
“When you signed a contract as mercenaries, didn’t you also swear to obey the orders of His Majesty the Emperor of the Rhine-Palatinate Empire and His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief? So, if you don’t follow the ‘order,’ your mercenary leaders, like me, may be killed, even if the other executives in the mercenary army don’t know.”
Baron Maurer said this and thought while biting his lip.
‘High-ranking nobles will definitely cut off my head if I disobey their orders.’
The reason was very simple.
Since a civil war is about to break out, it is much more advantageous to get rid of at least one ‘baron’ who could threaten you.
If you’re lucky, you might be able to get Baron Maurer for yourself.
“So there is only one option for us. A quick trip to Villa Hora Castle.”
Even the knights sighed and nodded at those words.
In particular, the mercenary leader who had raised objections to the Baron was staring into space with an expression as if his soul had gone out.
“During the march, we will strengthen our guard as much as possible, and if we come across a nearby forest or mountain that could lead to an ambush, we will conduct a very thorough search. In addition, we will increase the number of soldiers deployed for reconnaissance to three times the current number. “Do you have any objections?”
Everyone couldn’t help but nod their heads at those words…
A few days later, they became even more desperate, and even though they increased the number of security personnel several times, because of ‘Martin’s Operation’…
The scouting party could not find a single enemy, so their morale fell even further.