C79: The Road to King (19)

***

Castle Voltaire.

To the southwest of Lunan is Aintorian. The territory on the way from Lunan Castle to Aintorian was none other than Voltaire.

The situation was such that the war had not yet reached Voltaire Castle. The territory in the north was already in the hands of Narja, and many of the lords of the neighboring castles had fled, but the lords of Voltaire had kept their gates tightly closed.

The reason for this was simple: he had declared his intention to defend this territory while drinking with his vassals, and it had become a disaster. If he had been an unprincipled man, he would have been able to pretend that such a thing never happened, but Voltaire was extremely indecisive. He could not say that he wanted to run away in front of his vassals, who were moved by his love for the country.

“As you said, my lord, even if it means dying, we will die here. Death on the run is too miserable!”

His words included a sneer at the king who had died a miserable death while on the run. Of course, every time his vassals made such comments without knowing how he felt, it drove him crazy.

“That’s true…….”

Without alcohol in his system, Voltaire is just a small man.

“Rumors are spreading that His Majesty was caught and beheaded while on the run. It seems that many refugees have seen the scene, and the people are already in turmoil.”

Many of the refugees who fled Lunan Castle passed through Voltaire Castle. Needless to say, rumors naturally spread.

Fran is far from being a commander who commits massacres. He was not particularly likely to mess with civilians. Well, there was no great connection between that and the evacuation of Lunan’s people. Many of them were worried that they might be enslaved if they became Narja’s citizens. It is normal to want to live in your home country.

“It’s all right for the lords to flee. Don’t stop them. We cannot stop those who flee for fear of Narja.”

Voltaire had ordered this in order to leave some room for escape.

“Yes, sir!”

The more he did so, the more the vassals responded with fighting spirit. That’s when it happened. Dust began to rise from the distance, and soon cavalry was seen coming towards the castle of Voltaire.

”Sir! The enemy!”

A retainer shouted in surprise.

Voltaire sighed inwardly in astonishment. He had been seriously considering whether or not to flee, but now he could only assume that he would die fighting. What is the point of having vassals who do not propose to flee, but instead have the will to fight?

You useless bastards! He thought inwardly.

“Close all the gates now! Hurry!”

“I’ll protect you with my life!  Close the gates now! We will defend this land with our own hands!”

What are you talking about? Go ahead and argue that it’s better to run away now. No matter how indecisive Voltaire was, his life still came first.

There’s no need to protect his pride until this last moment. That’s right. What does it matter if he defended his pride? Voltaire made a firm decision in his mind and said.

“This is it.”

“Sir……!”

“They’re charging at us at such a terrifying rate, we’d better……run.”

“If we close the gates, we’ll have a definite advantage against cavalry! Wouldn’t it be more dangerous to go out there?”

“Well……that’s true! I’m not asking you to run away, you bastard. If I wanted to, I would have run away by now. I’ll stop them. All right, come on!”

“That’s……! Sir!”

“What is it now?”

It was then that the vassal turned his head. For they could see the colors of the military uniforms as the cavalry moved forward.

“It’s blue! It’s blue!”

“What’s blue?”

“It’s a blue uniform. They’re on our side!”

“What’s our side? Why are they heading this way?”

Voltaire shook his head. However, from what he saw, he was sure that it was a blue uniform. However, the reported situation on the front line was that they were losing battle after battle. There was no way the cavalry could come to support them.

“Well, that’s it!”

“What is it, sir?”

It’s a distraction. Narja’s army is trying to deceive us by wearing Lunan’s uniform. Do not open the gate. Do not open the gate!”

“Oh, I see. That’s a good possibility.”

The vassals nodded in agreement at Voltaire’s words. The gates of the castle were re-closed, and they were ready for battle.

“Get the archers ready now, we’re going to smash those Narja bastards who are trying to cheat us!”

And so the vassals finished preparing for the rain of arrows.

“But……if they’re really on our side……?”

“Huh?”

Voltaire’s indecision broke out again.

“It’s……”

“I could be an irresponsible lord who killed his allies!”

The vassals looked at each other at Voltaire’s words.

“So, what do we do now……?”

“Stand by for now. Let’s see what happens first.”

“Archers, stand by!”

At Voltaire’s words, the castle fell silent. Finally, the cavalry arrived in front of the castle gate. It was the Iron Cavalry wearing military uniforms with the Aintorian coat of arms engraved on them. At the front of the cavalry, which had stopped in front of the castle gate, stood Zint and Elheat.

“Who are you? Who do you belong to?”

Voltaire’s vassal asked from the top of the castle gate.

“Count Voltaire? It’s been a long time. My name is Elheat. Open the gate, please!”

“My God! Lord Elheat! It’s His Excellency!”

Voltaire immediately noticed Elheat and shouted.

“Open the gate now! Thank God!”

He let out a sigh of relief. The count had no idea how Elheat got here but he would follow him. Thinking he had a good excuse, Voltaire jumped down from the castle gate to greet Elheat.

“Zint, are you sure that Count Erhin asked you to meet him here?”

Zint nodded in response to Elheat’s question. It was pretty rude, but then again, that’s what Elheat was to Zint.”

Elheat’s didn’t mind, of course. It didn’t matter what he did as long as he was truly loyal. Elheat was also a man who did not care about such things.

“He told me to wait here, that’s all. He told me to wait, so I’ll wait here even if I die!”

Elheat rather laughed at that sight. Of course, it was because he liked Zint.

“Your Excellency!”

Needless to say, Voltaire rushed in, and from that moment on, the actual commander of Voltaire Castle was Elheat.

***

Lunan was definitely headed for destruction and the king was dead.

If he had chosen to fight a desperate battle at Lunan Castle, the outcome might have been different. If they struggled until Erhin returned from Roserun, the situation of the war might have been different.

Of course, he was not that kind of king, so Erhin had expected him to die on the run. Thanks to this, Fran got Lunan Castle and I got a reason. The battlefield became a place where I could think only of my own interests while resenting the destruction of Lunan.

As soon as I confirmed the king’s situation at Lunan Castle, I rushed to the barrier.

After confirming that Zint and Elheat were together, I then headed to Voltaire Castle, giving myself two days to get there. In any case, I was supposed to be in Roserun. The King of Lunan had instructed me to go to Roserun.

It is important to note that although I left a little early, I actually went to Roserun, because I need to be seen as the one who tried to save Lunan but could not.

If I become the lord who refused to save Lunan from danger, it will be me who will be blamed, not the king who ran away. That’s why I had to go to Roserun.

I will take advantage of everything available to me to achieve unification! The people’s mind is important for unification, so it was only natural to win it, even if it meant using cowardly methods. And so, two days later, I arrived at Voltaire’s territory.

[Castle Voltaire]

[People’s spirit: 60]

[Voltaire’s Territorial Army: 3000]

[Infantry: 2,500, Archers: 500]

[Training: 30]

[Morale: 30]

[Reinforcements]

[Aintorian Iron Cavalry: 9330]

[Troops: Cavalry]

The Territorial Army is 3,000 men. Quite a few, but it’s a reasonable number. This is not a border territory. It would be strange to have more troops. The information that the system gave me to check was not much different from what I had expected.

The gates of Voltaire Castle were low. It was not a castle that focused on defense. It was because it was neither a border, nor a royal capital, or a major barrier.

It was not a place that could be used as a strategic point. The reason for sending Zint and Elheat here was solely for the sake of the people. Voltaire is a territory located in the northern part of Lunan and on the way to Aintorian from the royal capital of Lunan.

As such, it was also a territory that many refugees passed through. I needed to do something here to attract their attention. To create a rumor in my favor.

“Who the hell are you?”

A man who looked like a vassal of Voltaire shouted at me as I appeared alone and stood in front of the castle gate. The gates were tightly closed and I could see the procession of refugees everywhere. A castle is meant to protect only the center of a city. So just because the gates are closed doesn’t mean that the refugees can’t escape to the southwest.

He seemed to have realized that the armor I was wearing belonged to Lunan, as he did not attack me. As I tried to reveal my identity, the gates suddenly opened. A man jumps out from behind the open gate. It was the same warlord who had questioned me at the gate earlier.

“Oh, my God! Are you Count Aintorian Erhin?”

He exclaimed with a rather nervous look on his face.