Chapter 3: The Civil War Era - The Duchy of Lafayette (2)
A tranquil village, enveloped by a lush forest.
The village, bathed in warm sunlight, presented a picturesque and peaceful
beauty.
Or so it should have been.
Suddenly, the appearance of a hundred soldiers led by knights transformed the
village into a scene of utter chaos.
The village had its own militia, but they were poorly armed, merely with a few
shabby spears. Intimidated by the imposing knights and their vastly superior
numbers, the militia quickly lost their will to fight and failed to mount any
real resistance.
"Run! Run for your lives!"
"Please, spare us!"
Panic ensued as villagers scrambled to evacuate their families, while those
unable to flee begged for mercy, only to be engulfed in chaos as the soldiers
stormed in, shouting barbarically.
"By the order of the noble Count Mirbo! We are here to confiscate your grain
and money!"
"Any who try to hide it and are caught will have their entire families
executed!"
In the midst of the turmoil, an elderly village chief rushed out, desperately
approaching the knights, groveling for mercy.
"My lord, please, I beg of you for mercy—ugh!"
Before he could reach them, a soldier kicked him down, sending him sprawling
to the ground.
"Do you know who this is, you lowly creature, daring to approach so brazenly!"
"Ugh, ugh!"
The two knights leading the troops watched indifferently as the old man was
trampled under the soldiers' feet, conversing among themselves.
"We're in luck, Sir Kazel. Seems like this village is yet untouched."
"Hahaha, Count Mirbo will be pleased, Sir Hui."
The knights of the Kingdom of Francia, supposedly a land of honorable knights,
reveled in the anticipation of their plunder.
Sadly for the village chief, who had hoped to appease them with offerings and
avoid looting, these men had no intention of showing mercy or negotiating from
the start.
The village belonged to the territory of Duke Lafayette, a supporter of the
First Prince, while the soldiers served Count Mirbo, an ally of the Second
Prince.
So, to these marauders, the death or dire plight of the village residents
mattered not at all.
In fact, the more devastated the rival lord's territory, the better.
The village, filled with screams, was a tragedy to its inhabitants, but to
these invaders, it was no more than a common, familiar sight, just another
day.
Major cities and castles are well-defended and their inhabitants resist, but
it's difficult to pay the same attention to every small village in a lordship.
With the lengthy civil war draining their finances, both the royal and noble
houses naturally preferred the simpler solution of plundering their opponent's
villages to bolster their own resources, rather than going to the trouble of
defending such small settlements.
Thus, the First Prince's faction looted the Second Prince's territories and
vice versa, a practice rampant throughout the kingdom.
Unbeknownst to the knights leisurely enjoying their pillage, there was a force
secretly watching them from the woods.
***
"Those barbaric scoundrels..."
Quietly, I raised my hand to calm the infuriated Gaston.
We hadn't arrived exactly on time.
Still, considering we had only mustered the cavalry on short notice, this was
as prompt as we could manage.
Though both sides had only two knights each, the enemy numbered about a
hundred, while we had merely ten cavalrymen.
I glanced at my nervous cavalry, then instructed Gaston.
"Gaston, on my signal, lead the cavalry to strike their forces."
"Their forces?"
"Yes, their forces. They're too busy looting to keep guard. With you leading
the charge, we can crush them instantly."
"But there are two knights among them...."
"I'll handle them."
Gaston seemed hesitant, but before he could protest, I quickly added,
"We've only got cavalry, significantly outnumbered. If I told them to charge
in this situation, would they do it?"
"...Understood, Young Duke."
With that, Gaston understood and moved to instruct the cavalry, while I
unslung my bow and nocked an arrow, ready for what was to come.
Once magic is infused into a sword, it only needs to be maintained, but with
arrows, magic must be injected with each shot.
Most knights, accustomed to using magic for self-protection in battle, regard
bows as weapons fit only for common soldiers...
However, no knight would waste mana on self-protection when not in combat.
Feeling the strain in my arm from the taut bowstring, I infused the arrow with
magic and aimed at one of the knights, who was obliviously enjoying the
looting of the village.
A quick glance revealed Gaston and the cavalry ready to burst from the forest,
their eyes on me.
As soon as the magic-filled arrow left the bowstring, curving through the air,
it pierced the knight's armor and lodged deep in his back.
The sight of the startled adjacent knight and the arrow-struck knight
floundering before falling off his horse was almost comical.
"Charge!"
"Begin the assault!"
"Waaa!"
With Gaston leading, the cavalry spurred their horses out of the forest.
I quickly nocked another arrow.
"Damn it, it's an ambush!"
"Damn! Rally, rally! Immediately!"
In the chaos of the surprise attack, I spotted a soldier trying to shout
orders, likely a sergeant.
Is he the one in charge?
"Hold your ground, you fools! Form ranks! Spears—ugh!"
As the sergeant, attempting to organize a response, fell with an arrow in his
chest, the tide of battle was clearly turned.
In the distance, an unlucky soldier at the front was kicked into the air by
the charging cavalry, screaming as he flew, followed by a panicked soldier
attempting to thrust his spear, only to be cleaved in two, spear and all, by
Gaston's sword.
I too charged out of the forest on my horse.
Seeing his fellow knight downed and the cavalry suddenly emerging from the
woods, the remaining knight looked disoriented and then turned towards me.
Proudly emblazoned on my chest was the crest of the House of Duke Lafayette.
Known as the kingdom's strongest, the 'Blue Knight' Duke Lafayette is famous
for his distinctive blue armor and would never use a bow, so they must have
recognized me as a deputy lord at a glance.
Caught off-guard without proper formation, the enemy soldiers, already in
disarray, faced the assault of our knights and cavalry.
Losing a fellow knight and troops on a mere village raiding mission would
surely bring disgrace upon that knight's lord...
As expected, the knight drew his sword and charged towards me, and I nocked
another arrow.
A smirk formed on my lips.
He probably thought capturing a lone, seemingly cowardly deputy lord like me
would compensate for the loss of his troops, considering knights pride
themselves on brave charges and scorn efficient but 'cowardly' weapons like
bows.
That's the common perception, after all.
I pulled out an arrow, nocked it, and let it fly.
"Ha!"
True to a knight's pride, my opponent split my magically charged arrow with
his sword and continued his fierce charge.
"I am Sir Peter de Kazel, a knight of the noble Count Mirbo! I challenge you
to an honorable duel!"
Oh, how terrifying.
As I turned my horse to flee in the opposite direction, he roared and pursued.
"A knight fleeing from battle, shame on you!"
He seemed quite thrilled.
"Ha! Yah! Ha!"
I deliberately slowed my horse just enough, and the knight named Kazel, full
of zeal, quickly caught up.
Just a bit more.
"Now die, deputy lord!"
As the knight, almost upon me, raised his sword glowing faintly blue, I drew a
dagger from my waist and threw it directly at him.
-Hee-hee-hee!
"Argh!"
His horse, hit in the leg with the dagger, stumbled and fell, throwing the
knight to the ground where he rolled for a while.
Typical of a rear-guard knight. Focused on attacking, he neglected to protect
his horse.
I stopped my horse and dismounted, approaching the knight writhing in pain,
who was belatedly trying to reach for his sword. I pressed my blade against
his neck.
With trembling eyes, he looked up at me and cried out in frustration.
"What is this dishonorable act in a fair duel?"
I couldn't help but wonder. My lips twisted into a wry smile.
"Did I ever accept your challenge?"
The knight's face immediately flushed red with rage.
"Damn it! If it had been a fair fight, I would have won! Winning through
despicable means and not knowing the honor of a knight—!"
Ah, so noisy.
Annoyed, I smacked him on the head with the hilt of my sword, and he collapsed
without even a scream.
"A looter talking about a knight's honor can go to hell."
After loading the unconscious knight, Kazel or whatever his name was, onto my
horse, I headed back to the village, where the battle was nearly over.
"Haaah!"
"Aaah!"
With a shout, Gaston swung his greatsword, sending soldiers flying through the
air in a flailing spectacle.
"We surrender, surrender!"
"Please, just spare our lives!"
With that, the remaining enemy soldiers dropped their weapons and declared
their surrender.
"Sir Gaston, any casualties?"
"One minor injury, Young Duke. No others."
I chuckled at Gaston's report.
Well, well....
They had nearly a hundred men, and we only had ten.
Even though it was a surprise attack during their looting, what a splendid
victory.
"Well done, Sir Gaston."
Gaston bowed respectfully in response.
He must have been leading the charge against the enemy, yet Gaston didn't seem
too worn out.
"You also performed admirably, Young Duke."
Gaston looked at the knight I had initially brought down with an arrow, then
at the one I had carried on my horse...
Was his name Kazel, perhaps?
Anyway, Gaston gave a respectful nod after seeing the two unconscious knights.
He must have been skeptical at first, but perhaps this earned me some degree
of his trust.
"Take good care of them on our return. We need to secure their ransom."
"Yes, Young Duke!"
As I stepped into the village, the sight of the villagers and the bodies of
enemy soldiers lay bare before me.
Despite rushing here with only knights and cavalry, the damage was
significant.
Shaking my head at the devastation, the villagers who had been hiding inside
their homes during the battle, or those who had fled and returned, now knelt
before me.
"I am Pierre de Lafayette, the Young Duke. Are you the village chief?"
I asked the man prostrating at the front, and he bowed his head in response.
"It's an honor to meet you, my lord. I am the son of the village chief. I
apologize, but my father is..."
"No need to say more. I understand."
"How can we, humble as we are, ever repay your grace for saving us..."
The man bowing before me expressed gratitude, but his face was filled with
sorrow and worry.
Likely, the faces of the people in the enemy territories I had raided before
must have looked similar.
I sighed involuntarily.
"Your name?"
"John Miller, Young Duke."
"Alright, Miller. From now on, you're the village chief. This village will be
exempt from taxes until winter. I'll send an inspector; report the damages to
them, and we'll provide enough aid to get you through the winter."
John Miller, suddenly the new village chief, and the gathered villagers all
wore surprised faces and bowed deeply in gratitude.
In this damned kingdom, embroiled in civil war for years, it's common to
squeeze every last resource from even the smallest villages without a second
thought.
"Thank you, thank you, Young Duke!"
"May God bless the merciful lord!"
I raised my hand to them and smiled as kindly as I could.
In the past, such gratitude would have filled me with immense pride.
But now, I realize that even if there's a glimmer of hope on their faces, the
despair and sorrow remain.
The mercy I show as an acting lord is but a trivial gesture.
While I protect one village, ten others are burning elsewhere in the kingdom.
Such acts alone cannot bring about real change.
I turned my head to look at Gaston, who was taking care of the captured
knights and prisoners.
They mentioned they were from Count Mirbo's domain.
The count himself is fighting in the northern front as part of the Second
Prince's faction.
So, these men must have been sent to extract funds for the military, only to
end up worse off, with both their knights and soldiers destroyed. Whoever is
managing the count's lands now will be in quite a panic.
"Well, let's see what we can reel in."
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