Fun Territory Defense of the Easy-Going Lord - Chapter 85
[Another Viewpoint] Astonishment of the Marquis
[Scudetto Raided]
When I received the news, what came to mind was the usual harassment of the Jiernetta Kingdom.
If we fight them properly, we will be disadvantaged. I had that thought, but the Kingdom of Scuderia, which was steadily gaining strength, was an eyesore.
Then, let’s repeat the skirmish every year and make them devote their strength to defense.
That is the reason for the Jiernetta Kingdom’s actions.
However, they still prepare enough troops to attack the citadel every time. Besides, if the citadel is surrounded, there will be a problem of food.
It can’t be helped. We will go out with only the First Knights and the Magician Corps. Also, send messengers to the neighboring lords to dispatch troops.”
The silhouette of the steward opened his mouth.
“There is a village near Scudetto that is ruled by your son Van…”
“Are you a fool, you? It is not a village where you can send troops. In fact, it’s probably barely able to eat at all.”
Silhouette replies with a difficult expression on her face.
“However, a peddler who came from the capital the other day told me that Van-sama has received a baronetcy for slaying dragons…”
At these words, I let out a deep sigh.
This man, who succeeded Espada as chief butler, certainly understands the role of a butler and can carry it out.
However, since he does not have the same knowledge and experience as Espada, he lacks depth.
“Nonsense. Think for yourself a little. How much value are rumors and word of mouth? If you had slain a juvenile dragon or a sub-dragon, you would have been the first to bring a report of it to my marquis. But there is no such report.”
“Well, that’s true, but Van-sama is no ordinary child. He has done things that ordinary people can’t even imagine…”
“Shut up. Shut up and get ready quickly.”
When I interrupted her words and said so, Silhouette nodded with a difficult expression and left the room.
For a long time, such words were often heard from those who performed duties in the museum.
[Van is a genius, no doubt.]
The phrase was seemingly common among the maids.
I was curious to pay attention to him because I had taken those words at face value, but from my point of view, he just seemed to be a child with a good memory for things.
In fact, although Espada and Dee had carefully educated her, she had not achieved much better results than the other children.
If I couldn’t produce any results, then everyone else must have sensed a latent ability that I couldn’t see.
I thought so, but the results of my aptitude for magic were the worst I had ever seen.
The disappointment was so great because I had high expectations, and I felt my feelings rapidly cool down.
“What is this new hero of dragon slaying? What could a child do in that small village to slay a dragon? Even with Espada and Dee, it’s impossible by any means.”
Sniffling, I looked out the window.
The city’s main street stretched north. Along that road, Van had traveled to an unnamed village.
I don’t know why he is adored, but many maids and soldiers volunteered to accompany Van on his departure, but he rejected them, saying that he could not waste manpower on ruling a frontier that was certain to fail.
Therefore, when I heard that Van had achieved success and had even been knighted, the first thing that came to mind was Count Ferdinand’s scheming.
The lands that had taken the form of territory from the Count. The Count might be trying to sell his favor to Van by lending him a hand and regain his territory. That is what he thought.
But he immediately denied it. It would be a roundabout and unnecessary risk. It was not a move that the Count, who was wary of me, would make.
I quickly decided that, and erased Van from my mind.
“…Nonsense. But once we get rid of the army of the Jiernetta Kingdom, I’ll drop by and take a look.”
If I could develop the village in any way, I might even consider helping out a bit.
***
We arrived at the largest town near Scudetto, gathered the knights and mercenaries from the neighboring towns, and set out for Scudetto on a single journey.
Having fought on similar routes many times, it took only about three weeks to reach Scudetto.
We were fast horses by all reports, and it would have been the fastest time we had ever made it to Scudetto.
However, part of Scudetto’s walls had already been destroyed, and the city was surrounded by the enemy.
“Nonsense…the solid walls of Scudetto…”
Just as he muttered this unintentionally, something small and black fell from the sky onto the ramparts.
Immediately after, the earth shook with flames and black smoke rose.
“From the sky, what kind of magic…!?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know! There are countless wyverns in the sky, but I don’t think it’s a magician…?”
The captain answered my question, confused.
Then, Stradare, the dark blue-haired man next to me, narrowed his eyes sharply.
“It seems that the castle walls received a fatal impact from the current attack. Collapse will be imminent. There is no doubt that the attack just now was done in such a way as to drop something from the wyvern. I think it would be effective to destroy it while it is still in the air with your fire magic, or to keep it constantly moving on the ground to repel the enemy soldiers on the ground.”
I nodded shallowly at his advice.
“I understand. But the destruction of that object by mages is highly dangerous. On the other hand, aiming at it from an angle from below is too far away. The same goes for hitting the wyvern itself.”
“Then, I’ll retreat the soldiers on the ground.”
“Mm.”
Stradare replied, and quickly took command and began to deploy his troops.
I smile quietly at his back as he moves without hesitation. He is a dependable man. The resourceful Stradare is truly the right man to lead our Order.
“Watch out for attacks from wyverns! Keep your feet on the ground and move quickly!”
With brief instructions, Stradare led his men to their horses.
The enemy did not have a formation, but if they charged straight at us, they would be surrounded from both sides. To prevent this, we must also spread out to the left and right, and head for the half of the fortress city in a shape that would envelop it.
However, as long as we were aware of this, we could simply drive away the opponents who were heading for the city walls as usual.
In other words, it is the wyverns that we should be most conscious of.
With this in mind, I watched the situation from the temporary main camp, but the war situation was not as I had expected.
From various locations, shocks and earth tremors were felt through the atmosphere, and our soldiers were being blown away.
I thought it was a new kind of magic, but there was no atmosphere like that. However, it was a situation that could not be ignored.
“Have the soldiers in front of you split to the left and right. I’ll get out.”
“…! Get away…! Immediately!”
The young soldier chief replied to my words and started his horse.
A moment later, the message was passed on to the soldiers, leaving a gaping hole in the front. All that remained were the soldiers of the Jiernetta Kingdom, who were looking at me against the ramparts.
After confirming this, I chanted.
“Flare.”
With those words, I cast a spell.
The baskets made of fire dragon skin and mithril were engulfed in flames and wriggled like living creatures.
The flames then gained momentum as they roared and flared, heading toward the soldiers of the Jiernetta Kingdom.
A belt of flames licking the ground consumed the living and the dead, creating more than a hundred human-shaped cinders that crashed against the city walls. The band of flames that lost its target burned the sides of the walls as if in a fury, creating a scene that resembled a wall of flames.
The enemy soldiers who were close to me stopped moving in fear at my blow, and only my knights, who had been expecting it, swung their swords without a pause.
In the blink of an eye, the battle situation changed, and my Knights pursued the fleeing enemy soldiers and retook half of Scudetto’s perimeter.
Will we be able to manage with this?
Just as I thought so, I saw something black pouring down from the sky.
“This is not good.”
Immediately after I muttered this, the earth rumbled in various places, shaking the formation of my knighthood, which spread out on both sides.
“…This battle doesn’t seem to be going as well as before.”
Mouthing this with a sigh, I began chanting my magic.