Chapter 5: The Civil War Era - Damien de Mirbo (2)
At the designated location, a messenger was already waiting.
“The troops from the Mirbo County have entered the territory of the Duke, Young Duke.”
“Good, you’ve done well. Sir Gaston, give the soldiers some time to rest.”
“Yes, sir!”
We exited the Duke's territory and headed east, then circled south, and finally arrived in the west.
It was a relief that our frenzied march was not in vain; otherwise, I would have been heavily criticized.
I erased my suspicions about Baron Dumont from my mind.
Considering the Mirbo's second son became the lord's deputy only after the civil war broke out, the likelihood of him colluding with the Baron was slim, although it was possible, given that the Duke's territory, practically under the Baron's control before my regression, was almost defenseless against plunder.
I felt sorry for the Baron, but seeing them move exactly as we intended, I suspected that the informant was probably one of the servants in the Duke's residence.
That was tolerable. Spies don't just get uncovered by merely attempting to find them, and knowing their existence can be advantageous like this.
As I rode up the hill, the view opened up, revealing the vast forest of the Duke's western territory and the road weaving through it.
As I quietly observed the verdant scenery, Gaston rode up beside me.
“Young Duke, are you sure about this? The Count of Aquitaine is a valuable ally, and any significant harm to them could be detrimental…”
Unlike the First Prince's faction, which was politically aligned, the Aquitaine Count's family was the sole and precious ally of the Lafayette Duke's family.
They managed a huge trade guild, owning one of the kingdom's most significant ports in their domain, and the alliance was formed through a political betrothal.
Instead of leading their troops directly into the civil war, the Aquitaine Count's family supported the Duke's territory as allies by providing funds and necessary materials.
Since this is a place where such exchanges have been taking place since the beginning, it is a very suitable bait to draw out Mirbo’s second son with less suspicion.
“There's no need to worry, Sir. I've already communicated separately with them.”
In case a member of their family got caught up in any misfortune, I had already sent a message to the Count's family, asking them to increase their guard slightly but not to send any important personages.
I promised to share the gains if this operation was successful, considering the risks involved.
Gaston nodded at my words and replied.
“I see. I was concerned, considering they are the family of our future Duchess.”
Gaston, always worried about everything…
My fiancée.
She was a good person.
Although our engagement, like most among the nobility, wasn’t based on love, I believed that if she became my wife, we could navigate our future together successfully.
The sensation of having both the vaguely remembered face from my 28-year-old memory and her still vividly etched image in my mind coexist is quite peculiar.
"The future Duchess..." I murmured softly, but Gaston merely glanced at me and said nothing more.
I never had the chance to welcome her as my wife.
Whether it was because of the civil war or some other reason, our marriage was continuously postponed. Eventually, she passed away due to illness.
Even after that, the trade between our territories continued, but the Aquitaine Count's family, having broken the marriage alliance, remained neutral in the civil war.
...I hope such a thing doesn't happen this time.
"Young Duke."
My reverie was interrupted by Gaston's call.
"They've arrived."
I could see the trading procession of the Aquitaine Count's family following the road.
But...
I narrowed my eyes involuntarily.
Despite my direct request for substantial escort in the letter, the protective force for the caravan seemed almost too small compared to the goods they were transporting.
Were they shirking the danger onto me, choosing to protect themselves instead?
A sigh escaped me, but I knew what had to be done.
"Let's move."
"Yes, sir!"
***
"The trading group of the Aquitaine Count's family, my lord!"
"Finally."
Damien de Mirbo, the second son of Count Mirbo, partly thrilled, responded to the scout's report.
It was an opportunity too precious to miss, but not without its anxieties, so he had prepared thoroughly.
Worried that the caravan might have already passed, Damien suddenly stood up and shouted, "Begin the attack! First division, advance!"
Shortly after, under Damien's command, the troops ambushed the caravan moving along the road.
"For the glory of Count Mirbo!"
"Charge!"
With Knight Hugh leading the charge, sword drawn, and the rest of the more than 100 soldiers emerging from the forest, the caravan was thrown into disarray.
"Wha-what...!"
"Form up! Protect the carriages!"
The Aquitaine soldiers, barely 30 in number, tried to form a line under their captain's orders, but it was futile.
"Shoot!"
The archers, following the sergeant's command, unleashed a volley of arrows on the Aquitaine soldiers.
“Ahh!”
“Ugh…!”
Screams and groans filled the air.
The meager armor of the regular soldiers could not protect them from the arrows.
In an instant, several fell, but the soldiers of Aquitaine still managed to lift their matchlocks and pull the triggers.
The lit fuse touched the gunpowder, detonating with a sound reminiscent of popping corn.
“Ugh!”
A few unlucky Mirbo soldiers fell victim to it, but-
“How futile!”
The bullets from the matchlocks couldn’t penetrate the knights, who charged forward, shielded by their magic-infused armor.
“Spearmen, to the front!”
“Haah!”
“Out of the way, you scums!”
At the captain's urgent shout, the spearmen stepped forward, but their spears were effortlessly sliced by Knight Hugh’s sword as he charged into them.
“Eeek!”
“Hmph, as expected from a lowly merchant family, using such city-bred weapons.”
Damien sneered at the sight of the terrified men struggling to reload their matchlocks behind the spearmen.
Then, suddenly, soldiers burst out from the opposite side of the road amidst loud shouts.
“Charge!”
“My Lord! It’s the crest of the Lafayette family!”
Almost simultaneously with Hugh’s frantic cry, arrows rained down on the soldiers who were charging at the Aquitaine forces.
Grinding his teeth at the screams of his men, Damien cursed.
“Damn it, how dare he mock me!”
Staring at the fluttering flag bearing the roaring lion of his family, Damien shouted as if spitting out venom.
“Second division, forward!”
“Yes, sir!”
Mirbo's soldiers, who had been pushing back the outnumbered Aquitaine forces, hesitated as Lafayette's forces joined the fray. But, regaining their composure with the addition of another 100 men upon Damien's order, they resumed their assault.
“Push them back!”
“Charge!”
As the battle raged, soldiers from both sides thrust and pushed with their spears, jostling for advantage.
“Fuck, die!”
“Ow, ow! I've been stabbed in the stomach!”
Amidst the cacophony of screams and curses, Knight Hugh stood a short distance away from an opposing knight, nervously swallowing.
Damien watched the scene, hands sweaty as arrows flew back and forth, causing continuous losses on both sides.
Though the fight seemed evenly matched, his forces held a slight advantage. If he could maintain this standoff, victory would be his!
In the midst of the battlefield's clamor, Damien perked up at the sound of approaching horse hooves and exclaimed with glee.
“Sir Kazel, take the third division and hold off the enemy to the west!”
“As you command!”
As his reserve forces, held back until the last moment, were forming up in the western woods, enemy cavalry burst out, only to reel back in shock upon seeing the spearmen.
“What the—”
“Attack!”
Sir Kazel led the charge on horseback, sword in hand, followed by his cavalry. The enemy horsemen, caught off guard, began to flee in disarray.
“Haha, hahaha!”
Damien couldn't help but laugh.
It was an opportunity too good to miss, but the situation was so perfectly aligned that he had borrowed troops from neighboring lords, bringing every possible force to bear.
That young duke must have grossly underestimated him.
He had set an ambush, striking at the army's flank when they were distracted by the cavalry raid. Wasn't this the exact tactic his knights had used?
A surprise attack in the forest, where cavalry could hardly charge, could easily be thwarted with a reserve force.
That foolish young duke thought he had ensnared him in a trap, but in reality, it was he who had fallen into Damien's!
However, Damien's exhilaration was short-lived.
“My Lord!”
Snapped back to reality by the sergeant's urgent cry, Damien noticed a group of cavalry charging ferociously along the road from the east, led by a knight in armor bearing the Lafayette Duke's crest.
“Block them! Block them now!”
Damien cried out in desperation, but with all three units already deployed, his frantic commands only added to the chaos and panic.
“Push forward!”
At the main front, where soldiers were locked in a standoff, thrusting spears at each other, Gaston burst in shouting, followed by the soldiers of the Lafayette Duke's domain. The futile efforts to defend the flanks were swept aside amidst the melee.
“No, this can’t be!”
But the enemy cavalry didn't halt their charge.
“Aaah!”
Mirbo’s soldiers, already grappling with the forces of Aquitaine and Lafayette, began to falter under the sudden assault of the charging knights and cavalry from behind.
“Kazel, where is Sir Kazel! Stop them at once!”
“I apologize, my Lord! In pursuing the cavalry...!”
The knight who had chased after the fleeing horsemen was nowhere to be seen amidst the noise of battle.
“What fools...!”
As Damien fumed in anger, his forces, having allowed the enemy's charge from behind, started to collapse like dominoes.
“Aah, please, save us!”
“Run!”
Witnessing this scene, flames seemed to spark in Damien's eyes.
'All the time and effort I've put into securing this position as acting lord, and to be thwarted by someone who has nothing to boast of but the luck of being an only son!'
With his army crumbling, the battle was already lost.
The moment he realized there was only one way to turn this situation around, Damien was already spurring his horse into a gallop.
At this point, capturing the young duke was his only hope.
Gripping his sword so tightly his hand hurt, Damien shouted towards the young duke.
"Lafayette's young duke! I, Damien de Mirbo, the second son of Count Mirbo, challenge you to a duel!"
The young duke glanced in his direction and began riding towards him.
To Damien, losing to a commoner was a noble's disgrace.
His knight might have been defeated, but it was only by a despicable trick. With careful combat, he could surely win!
Damien, protecting himself and his horse with magic, swung his sword at the young duke.
He nearly fell off his horse when his blade met the young duke's, which seemed to draw all its power from magic.
“Ugh?”
Barely managing to keep his balance, he was immediately faced with another sword strike.
“Just a moment!”
Barely managing to parry two more strikes in his dazed state, Damien was unseated by a third blow before he could even regain his balance.
Falling off his horse and still stunned, Damien only snapped back to reality when a sword was pointed at his neck.
His words came out as a trembling, incredulous question.
“How, How did...?”
The shame of being defeated by a mere commoner.
As if understanding his unfinished sentence, the young duke smiled slyly and spoke.
“It seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding, my lord.”
Dazed, Damien followed the direction of the young duke's nod-
“Hyaaah!”
“Aaah!”
He was speechless as he witnessed Sir Kazel, who had returned late to the fray, being knocked down alongside Gaston's battle cry.
“It's not that I'm weak, but that they are extraordinary.”
He could think no more.
“Hm, hm. Although it's a bit late, welcome to the Lafayette Duke's domain, Lord Damien de Mirbo. I trust the ransom prepared is sufficient?”
Hearing these words, Damien fainted on the spot.
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