C89: The Road to King (29)

We pursued the enemy, who had completely split up. There were still 30,000 left, but the psychological damage to the Narja Kingdom army was enormous.

[Narja’s Royal Army]

[3rd Army]

[9,200 men]

[Morale: 20]

[Training level: 92]

The Third Army was down to 9,200 men, but morale had completely plummeted.

The most decent part of my troops was the Iron Cavalry. Having encountered the 4th Army, the infantry and archers had suffered considerable damage, but the Iron Cavalry, which had been diverted to Elheat for a surprise attack, had 8,400 men left. And the infantry-centric 3rd Army was not strong enough to compete with my Iron Cavalry.

[Aintorian Iron Cavalry]

[8,400 men]

[Morale: 100]

[Training level: 97]

It was a unit with a morale of 100 points. Furthermore, the military superiority was also overwhelming.

[Narja’s Royal Army, 9,200 men.]

[Aintorian Iron Cavalry 8,400]

[Military Superiority: Narja < Aintorian, 50% increase in attack power.]

[Morale: Narja < Aintorian, 100% increase in attack power.]

The remaining troops of the 3rd Army, which had retreated without being able to enter the castle, began to be pushed back by the Iron Cavalry as their attack power skyrocketed along with the large difference in morale.

[Narja’s Royal Army, 2,300 men.]

[Aintorian Iron Cavalry, 7,900 men.]

The third army retreated in a one-sided manner. The reason why morale dropped to such a low level was probably because of the death of Lamp, one of the Ten Warlords and the commander of the 3rd Army.

The Third Army was destroyed. When this happened, the number of the Narja army that had begun to retreat was less than 20,000.

* * *

“An ancient mana formation, I wouldn’t believe it if I saw it with my own eyes.”

Elheat was still in a state of disbelief now that the battle was over. To my allies, I naturally explained that the mana formation was a power I had discovered in an ancient ruin and that it was the ancestors of the Ancient Kingdom who built it.

“I’m glad it worked properly. Now the Narja army won’t be able to be mobilized until the king returns from the Herald Kingdom.”

No matter how large Narja is, without this 160,000-strong army, they won’t be able to attack me for a while. With that much damage inflicted, I’ll have time and opportunity. But even so, it was impossible here in Aintorian. Narja was right next to me and I was open on all sides.

You never know where the enemy will appear from, east, west, north, south, or southwest. That’s why I’ve moved all my troops to Berthaquin. I’ve also moved all my people and the gold in my castle in the past three months.

The reason why it was not discovered was, of course, the existence of the secret passage. If it were not for the secret passage, I would not have carried out this plan. The secret passage in the ruins guarded by the mountain tribe of Berthaquin led to Lunan.

Berthaquin! It was a blessing in disguise, surrounded by mountains as well as iron. Furthermore, there was an ocean behind it.

Berthaquin itself was small, but I was in a situation where I could own the territory that lay beside it. So my first goal was to build a nation the size of the three territories of the former Kingdom of Bridget.

All of this was possible because it was surrounded by mountains. It was a natural fortress.

I currently have 20,000 troops left. Elheat was with me, of course, and Count Voltaire followed me all the way. He wasn’t someone I particularly wanted to be with, but by chance, he kept following me.

Voltaire wasn’t the only one following me. There were hundreds of thousands of refugees following me. They seemed to think of me as a shield to protect them from Narja.

I opened up the secret passage for these refugees. It would take too long to cross the mountain. It had to be done.

The secret passage was already known to them when all the lords of their territory agreed to the migration. That’s why they were going to move the refugees and tear down the entrance. So that no one could use it. I don’t want Narja to come through there and attack me. The sooner we get rid of my regrets, the better.

* * *

“I have to go there since I’ve left my residence anyway and my house is already occupied by the Kingdom of Narja. If we follow the Lord of Aintorian, he’ll give us some farmland and exempt us from taxes for the time being!”

“What kind of land is that?”

“They say it’s a territory by the sea.”

“I’ve never seen an ocean.”

The refugees were eager to take Erhin’s word that he would guarantee their safety in the Lunan area, which would be in the middle of the battlefield anyway. He said that from now on, Narja and many other countries would fight to get the territory of Lunan. It was hell just thinking about it.

No one wants to be in the middle of a battlefield. Even if it meant abandoning one’s homeland, if a battle broke out, they would live like worms if they stayed behind.

Therefore, it was only natural that they would lean toward who will protect them. In addition to that, Erhin went around addressing the procession of refugees.

“If you follow me now, there will be many uncertainties, but I assure you that your lives will not be in danger! I will provide you with farmland and you will be exempt from taxes for the time being. You may decide to settle there but I will reclaim Lunan’s territory someday, and you may return to your homeland then if you want to! I will do all of that if you believe in me! I will be your shield!”

Rumor led to rumor, and eventually the civilian population of refugees’ favorability to Erhin exceeded 90.

* * *

It wasn’t just the refugees who were excited by my victory. The lords and troops of the territories in the southwestern part of Lunan began to come to me, since they could only surrender to Narja if they remained in Lunan. Since there were no rumors circulating about Kashia being merciful, the lords of southwest Lunan chose me.

Of course, they were different from Voltaire in the sense that they assessed the situation to the fullest extent, since they did not join us before the battle that destroyed the Narja army, but afterwards. Voltaire was afraid, but he didn’t run away and joined my army until the end. He was indecisive, though, so he couldn’t decide whether to run away or fight with me. In any case, I was going to give him more attention than the lords who joined me later. After all, the move to the new territory had been very large and noisy.

After the massive move, I and my main vassals all passed through the secret passageway and arrived right under Berthaquin.

And then, when I stepped into Berthaquin…In front of me, there was really a huge army of 30,000 standing in a row. Not my own tired army, but a very energetic 30,000-strong army.

The people were all nervous, but……. The troops that showed up were not wearing the black military uniforms of the Narja but the blue uniform of Lunan.

“I see you, Your Excellency! We have prepared the various territories as you requested and have come for you!”

The general who had led the 30,000-strong army to greet me dismounted from his horse and knelt in front of me. At the same time, 30,000 troops also knelt in front of me.

This general’s name was Fihatri.

[Delphine Fihatri]

[Age: 24]

[Martial Force: 81]

[Intelligence: 85]

[Command: 89]

He was a person that I had been paying a lot of attention to in my travels to and from Roserun, he was also a young warlord with the ability to lead an army of over 100,000.

At his grand welcome, the lords who followed me were all so frightened that they too fell to their knees.