184 – Move the Emperor (1)
The next day, the Count of Dion’s army, to which I belonged, started marching early in the morning, arrived at Casa Castle, and immediately surrounded it.
In normal cases, as soon as a castle is surrounded, a vassal under the earl’s direct command goes out and advises surrender, and from then on, they start making catapults and ladders to be used in siege warfare, but…
“Captain Martin, it’s time to head out.”
After hearing those words, I stretched and relaxed my body, and then tightly held the scroll in his left hand.
The Otto guy next to me chuckled when he saw me.
“Wow, no matter how great the captain’s achievements were, I never thought he would even entrust the captain with a recommendation to surrender on behalf of the count. “Isn’t this an honor that can be proud of for generations to come?”
Normally, this role is performed by nobles, but in my case, it is a special exception because my public service is so great.
So, it’s something worth bragging about, but the problem is that our mercenaries will make fun of me endlessly at the bar about this.
‘Sir Martin Mayer has read a document urging the poor bastards of Casa Castle to surrender.’
‘If you do not surrender, the mace of Deus will severely punish you!’
‘Sir Martin Mayer advised surrender in a thunderous voice, and the enemies surrendered of their own accord.’
It’s obvious that these words will be used mercilessly, but…
“As long as you guys don’t make fun of me, it will be an honor for my family to pass on. Honestly, entrusting me with this kind of surrender recommendation is a sign of being a trustworthy vassal. A mercenary leader replaces that? “There is no glory like this.”
When the nobles who want to make a contract with me check whether they can trust the ‘Whitebeard Mercenaries’, it is such an amazing thing that some people think that they can trust them just by looking at this fact.
If this matter becomes famous, my price will naturally rise accordingly.
‘He’s just a temporary salaried worker, but when he’s on my side, they say he’s a more trustworthy mercenary than a key vassal. How can I put up with that?’
“I guess so. “Please come back.”
For performance, I have to at least roll in the manure field… I changed my clothes.
The armor was the same, but the cloak, decorative sword, and even the clothes worn by the horse, which was not normally ridden, were decorated as extravagantly as possible using gold thread.
The clothes I’m wearing now, the decorative sword, and the clothes the horse wears will probably cost the price of a sword made with half of mithril.
1,000 Gold coins for a sword that cannot be used and a horse that has no other purpose other than being used as a ride by a commander or messenger.
If you convert it into Korean money, it costs close to 1 billion, which is crazy.
“It’s a problem because if you become a noble, you have to risk your life for real bravado.”
There is a saying that the second most common reason for the decline of nobles is that they borrow money to live extravagantly for the prestige of the family and then go bankrupt because they cannot repay it.
I can’t believe you’re so sincere even when you’re bragging.
Standing on the castle wall, I could see only about 20 soldiers in the castle, which was supposed to have had 1,000 soldiers stationed there, as all the defenders were either dead or taken prisoner.
The rest are all serfs and women in the castle, armed with cheap armor and flimsy weapons.
This is almost nothing more than a ritual for bravado.
‘If we had just sent a new mercenary unit and advised them to die if they didn’t surrender, the gate would have been opened.’
“I, Count de Campaneille von Dion, speak on behalf of His Majesty, the great and holy Emperor of Montmartre. Open the gates and surrender. If you do not surrender, we will kill all your men and sell your women into slavery.”
If there were nobles or regular soldiers here, they would have tried to resist by screaming with great force from the castle walls.
Right now, there is no one in this castle who could become their central axis, and no one had the guts to refute what I said.
“But if you surrender, Count Dion will spare your lives. So I hope you make the right choice. “This offer is only valid until this afternoon, for the next two hours to be exact, so think about it carefully.”
For those without guts, threatening to kill them immediately if they don’t listen to me is very effective.
Because humans are creatures that can think about other things and say that they can do it all tomorrow, even if there are only two days left until the deadline for submitting a university assignment.
Even in this extreme situation, there might be someone who thinks differently and tries to f*ck us.
If things go wrong because of that one guy who thinks differently, thousands of civilians in there could be killed.
‘Furthermore, the strategy I proposed also faded.’
So, it is more effective this time not to give them as much leeway as possible.
“Are you really going to save me?”
In this world, selling men as galley slaves and selling women as s*x slaves is as common as eating, just as people say they will save their lives and are immediately stabbed in the back as soon as the gates are opened.
So, the guys in that castle are probably saying that too.
It’s not a problem I can decide on my own, so I secretly asked another high-ranking person next to me.
“I think we have nothing to gain by killing the villagers over there. What do you think?”
He spoke in a tone that seemed to be half-recommendation to someone higher up, but he did not express any dissatisfaction with me, the number one contributor to this fishing operation.
In fact, he smiled and answered quite willingly.
“Count Dion said all you have to do is open the castle gate.”
“Yes, I understand.”
With this, those guys will definitely open the castle gate.
“Count Dion said he would guarantee your lives. So open the gate right now.”
There was no answer to those words, but instead the gate opened.
I was letting my guard down because I thought all I had to do was recommend surrender…
I think it was a little more complicated than I thought.
“Then I will just leave.”
“Go in, and after you take over the castle and organize your troops, you go straight to Count Dion. He said the Count had something to ask you, the man who devised this fishing operation.”
Hearing those words, I bowed my head in respect and walked away.
As I retreated, I clicked my tongue in my heart at the count who was trying to order me to do something else even after taking over the castle.
It’s all public, and it’s all about money, but shouldn’t I take a break?
**
A few hours after Count Dion took over the castle, I went straight to Count Dion’s office.
I would like to have beer and meat with the mercenaries, but my employer told me to come at that time, so what can I do?
“It came sooner than I expected.”
“The Count has called, so we must move as quickly as possible.”
“That attitude is really good. “I wouldn’t wish for all the mercenaries these days to be half as good as you.”
I don’t know what you’re saying such horrible things.
If that happens, as the quality of the mercenaries improves, the relative value of me and our mercenaries will go down a lot, if not infinitely.
Won’t it become increasingly difficult to achieve my ambitions?
“That’s too much praise. So, why did you call me?”
Count Dion chuckled as he pointed to a large pile of documents.
“We have to come up with a plan for future operations. “Whether we set out for Ramasana in a week or go back along our previous marching route, we need to decide on a rough policy.”
If you want to move in a week, you must prepare a plan in advance for how you will move in a week.
“Count, which one do you like better?”
The Count twitched his shoulders and laughed.
“A strategy that can make me a margrave is enough.”
There is only one rank difference between a count and a margrave, but in terms of company, the difference in authority and power is that of the managing director of a large corporation affiliate and the president of an affiliate.
So, high-ranking nobles risk their lives if they have a chance to win the prize…
It seems that Count Dion has also turned his attention to the opportunity I have presented before him.
Well, to be honest, during the time we got here, we actually succeeded in conquering six castles without a single siege.
From Noble mtl dot com
Among the armies with similar command and forces, including Count Dion, we would have achieved our goal the fastest.
So, you might think that if you get a little ahead of this, you can get the title of ‘margrave’.
I happen to have a pretty good plan.
It’s not a big deal, but it’s a strategy that will make the Emperor feel proud of Count Dion.
“There is an operation at hand. Would you like to hear it?”
Count Dion answered seriously.
“Honestly, a mercenary unit of only 500 people is too small for you. Isn’t this an opportunity to become a mercenary leader who leads an army of over 1,000 soldiers? So, hurry up and present it.”
“Send a letter to His Majesty in the rear and ask him to come here personally. That alone is enough.”