Volume 5 Chapter 14 Blood New Year Festival
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Riding on the Dragonewt, we arrived a few minutes later above my father-in-law’s castle.
From above, I could see flames rising from the castle, but the gates were shut and the bridge was raised.
”It hasn’t fallen yet.”
”That’s right. But since I can see the flames, it looks like they’ve been breached. According to the information Nikka brought before we left, General Gertroud has completely taken control of Gwain’s direct forces, and the western garrison is deserted.”
”Gertroud… has taken control? Did someone like Kondrad take the position?”
”I haven’t heard anything like that, and if there were such talent, they would have taken them immediately.”
Has Gertroud himself grown stronger…?
But usually, even if they are an elite like Gwain’s personal guard, it’s hard to believe they would fall under Gertroud’s command…
Below us, enemy soldiers who had breached the castle were battling near the gates, trying to lower the bridge.
My father-in-law’s castle also serves as a military training ground, so normally I thought there would be around a thousand stationed there, but I learned from further reports that due to the sudden ambush and the New Year celebration, only about half of the guards were present.
The force ratio was 500 to 2000, nearly 4 to one.
Moreover, in this short time, the surrounding town streets were being barricaded and sealed off by defense units.
The military outside the castle, upon hearing of the sudden change, was being delayed on their way to provide aid.
”What is General Gertroud thinking… If he does this, he won’t escape execution…”
”Kent, it’s already happened. Let’s think later; first, we need to eliminate the enemies near the gates.”
”Yeah, understood. Ludmila, land above the enemies near the gates and let everyone deploy. Dragonewt, intimidate the enemies surrounding the castle.”
”Understood. I will give instructions to the Dragonewt. Lord Blackdagger, may I come along?”
”Yeah, please do.”
The Dragonewt squad led by Ludmila approached the castle gate, hovering and dropping off its members.
Arrows sporadically flew in, but they were deflected by the Dragonewts’ tough scales.
Once all members had descended, the Dragonewts flew off to intimidate the enemies outside the castle.
Ludmila transformed back into her human form to join the assault team.
A back-and-forth battle was unfolding near the castle gate.
It seemed about a hundred had infiltrated the castle, but they had set fires, diverting manpower to extinguish them, leaving the castle gate vulnerable.
”Sir Kent! Thank you for the reinforcements. Mr. Gertroud has hidden his army in Abyss Vena under the pretense of vacation, and has sent in wagons loaded with weapons disguised as food and drink for the New Year’s celebration. It seems he has chosen this moment to rise up. We were completely caught off guard. Even though they were a potential enemy, we never expected the kingdom’s forces to attack each other, and we are struggling.”
The officer who reported the situation to me on the castle wall was a subordinate of my father-in-law and a colleague of Fristoph.
I recognized his face well, as I had often met him when visiting my father-in-law’s castle.
The information they brought was that Gertroud had not acted impulsively, but had meticulously prepared for this uprising.
”I understand the situation. Is my father-in-law safe?”
”Sir Arbalest is safe. He is leading the effort to eliminate the intruders inside the castle. I have informed him of Sir Kent’s arrival, so he should join us here soon.”
”Understood. May I take command near the castle gate?”
I had no intention of disrupting the chain of command, but if we were breached and the bridge was lowered, the enemy would flood in, so I wanted to suppress them quickly.
”Yes, sir, I leave the command to Sir Kent. Feel free to use it as you wish.”
The officer announced loudly that I had become the commander of this place.
Cheers erupted from those engaged in battle.
”Alright, ‘Crimson Bride’ will sweep the enemies, ‘Black Bullet’ team Noemi will support ‘Crimson Bride’, Team Kerstin will guard me, and Team Manon will pick off the soldiers outside the castle. After that, my father-in-law’s army near the castle gate will encircle the enemies and demand their surrender. I won’t say not to kill, but please incapacitate them as much as possible and disarm them.”
After finishing the orders, the members scattered to take their positions.
Team Kerstin remained around me.
I decided to take out Elitzina and aimed for the limbs of the enemies to incapacitate them.
The invading enemy soldiers, referred to as Elite Troops, were nearly on par in combat with the Intermediate-level members of ‘Crimson Bride’, and surprisingly, they fought on despite their injuries, not stopping until their lives were spent.
…What the hell are these guys… beasts?.. Why won’t they surrender…
I felt a chill as I saw an enemy soldier, missing a leg, crawling and biting at another’s ankle.
My fear seemed to spread, and even my allies began to falter against the fearless enemies.
Although the members were accustomed to monster hunting, they weren’t used to killing people, so hesitation was evident.
The officer from earlier, sensing this, began directing troops to deal with the non-surrendering enemies.
”We will handle the enemies who do not surrender after being incapacitated. Lord Blackdagger, please continue to lead.”
”…I’m sorry… Thank you for the help.”
I felt a slight relief from the officer’s words.
Thrown into this battlefield where sweet fantasies of incapacitating without killing would not work, I felt small.
If I didn’t kill, we would be killed.
The mindset I had for slaying monsters vanished like smoke the moment the opponents were human.
Seeing my condition, the officer took it upon himself to play the dirty role.
However, I couldn’t continue to rely on him in this situation.
If I hesitated, the damage to my allies would keep growing.
Several of my wives were already injured, and my father-in-law’s forces had nearly 50 dead near the castle gates.
If we continued fighting in this state, further casualties would be unavoidable.
I was being pushed to make a decision.
I would make one last surrender offer… this would be the final one… if they did not surrender… I would eliminate them!
There was no time to waver.
I decided to regard the enemy soldiers who would not surrender as monsters.
I resolved to set my feelings aside and worry about them later.
”To the enemy soldiers within the castle, throw down your weapons and surrender. No harm will come to those who surrender! I say again! Drop your weapons and surrender! This is the final warning! Any future surrenders will not be acknowledged, so surrender immediately!”
I issued my surrender offer in a loud voice that echoed across the battlefield using my [Loud Voice] Skill.
However, not a single enemy soldier threw down their weapons.
”No one has surrendered… Relay to the soldiers near the castle gates. Annihilate all enemy soldiers present! Surrender will not be accepted. Slay them all!”
With the declaration, a heavy, tingling pain gripped my stomach.
I had just ordered the killing of people.
Right before me, my orders were being carried ou
My heart almost freezes coldly at the sight.
Someone suddenly hugged me.
I felt a pleasant warmth.
”Kent…it’s not Kent’s fault…don’t cry… because everyone knows that Kent is kind.”
It was Kerstin who hugged me.
When I realized it, I was crying.
”Kent! Don’t let the generals cry! Those who point their blades at you will kill them as enemies! You’re doing the obvious things. If you’re my son, wipe away your tears right now!”
A violent flew to me, crying.
The voice was my father-in-law.
He had swords on his 6 arms, and he had wounds all over his bodies, but he looked healthy.
He is believed that he have finished sweeping out the enemies inside the castle and joined the castle gate.
”Father-in-law…!”
I stopped crying.
I think he is a man I can respect more than the dead father in my original world, and it is impossible to show patheticism to Arbalest.
”Everyone, my father-in-law has arrived!”
Cheers erupted from the soldiers fighting at the castle gate as the enemy troops were wiped out.
There were no surrenderers among Gertroud’s soldiers; all of them died in battle.
Immediately, the officers began assessing the damage and cleaning the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the members and my father-in-law climbed up to the castle walls.
”Kent, I thought you would hesitate to take down the enemy, but you made a good decision. If you hadn’t acted, the castle gate would have been breached.”
”If it were monsters, I think it would have been easy to take them down… But killing people feels like it would chill my heart.”
”Well, this is Kent’s true first battle. As your superior, all I can advise is to remember the warmth of a woman’s skin. It’s a woman’s touch that can warm a cold heart. I, too, sought comfort from Acleia when I was young.”
A woman’s skin warms the heart, huh… I wonder if my father-in-law struggled with the same thoughts… But it’s true that being embraced by Kerstin made me feel saved.
”I will keep your advice in mind, Father-in-law. However, there are still enemy troops outside the castle. If the remaining enemies are the same as those inside, further damage will occur.”
”This time, I was truly afraid of Gertroud’s soldiers. They attacked without a word. It was as if they were driven solely by a murderous intent. What did Gertroud do to his troops?”
My father-in-law looked towards the enemy forces positioned outside the castle.
At that moment, damage reports and reconnaissance information from the Dragonewt squad were brought in.
”Sir Arbalest, Sir Kent. We have compiled the damage report. The fire in the castle has been confirmed extinguished. It seems part of the barracks burned down, but it does not hinder combat. The human casualties are 87 dead, 58 seriously injured, and 255 lightly injured. There are 355 personnel capable of fighting within the castle. Sir Kent’s Hunting Group has no dead, no serious injuries, and 11 lightly injured. Emergency treatment is currently being provided by Lady Talia and Lady Lana.”
My Hunting Group was almost unscathed, but that was thanks to my father-in-law’s troops taking the brunt of the damage.
In fact, the number of dead near the castle gate was significantly high, with 53 casualties.
After finishing the report, the officer returned to his post.
Next, Kerstin brought back reconnaissance information from the enemy camp.
”Kent… According to the Dragonewt’s reconnaissance, both the Estfort army and the Abyss Vena army are struggling to eliminate enemies on the main street routes. Furthermore, the Dragonewt squad’s dive attacks have shown no effect, and they are requesting permission to use breath attacks or stone projectiles. Also, it seems some of the Gertroud army has started looting Abyss Vena. They report that they are breaking into some mansions on Noble Street, stealing valuables and women.”
I can’t quite grasp Gertroud’s intentions… With so many troops under complete control, hearing that there are units looting makes it seem like it could only be Gertroud’s orders.
”Hmm, have we lost over 80 men… It’s chilling to think about the enemies outside the castle… And to think they are looting as well… What is Gertroud aiming for… His chance of victory should have vanished the moment he couldn’t defeat me, yet his uprising isn’t out of desperation…”
My father-in-law also looks perplexed, unable to discern Gertroud’s objectives.
According to him, such coups typically involve taking over the government office-dearu castle, holding the Lord hostage, imposing martial law, and demanding the disarmament of the military to transfer authority.
However, this time, Gertroud has failed to secure my father-in-law.
At this point, the success of the coup seemed unlikely.
If there were any chance of success, it would only be if a large-scale reinforcement arrived, but Gwain had no forces to move south at this time after losing to the Black Dragon Dukedom.
And there are no prospects for large-scale reinforcements.
At that moment, there was movement from the enemy forces positioned outside the castle.
Several dozen soldiers approached to a spot just out of arrow range and launched flares.
In the brightly lit area, the figures of a dozen men bound with gags and ropes became visible.
”Notify Margrave Heido Arbalest, and Viscount Kent Blackdagger within the castle. Disarm and surrender immediately. Otherwise, I will kill the residents here. I don’t have a long patience, so it’s better to surrender quickly. By the way, if negotiations drag on, lives will continue to be lost like this.”
The voice belonged to the mastermind, Gertroud.
With a swift motion of his hand, the bound men were executed one by one.
Blood sprayed into the air, pooling on the ground as the water in the moat turned red.
Gertroud’s soldiers cleared away the lifeless bodies and brought out another dozen captives.
”W-What is he thinking? Has he lost his mind? Those he’s killing are nobles from Noble Street! Does he really believe he can rule Abyss Vena after the coup like this…?”
”These are prisoners captured by the raiding force… Gertroud is executing them without hesitation. Damn it, Father-in-law, what should we do? If this continues, even more blood will be spilled.”
”But if we disarm ourselves, it’ll play right into Gertroud’s hands. If he takes us hostage and forces our reinforcements to surrender, he’ll seize both this manor and Abyss Vena without a fight. And if that happens… things could get even worse than this massacre!”
Even as we debated, the noble captives were being executed one after another.
Gertroud then escalated his provocation.
The captured noblewomen, young ladies, and maids were dragged forward by his soldiers.
Their terrified screams echoed all the way to our position on the castle walls.
”Now then, if you refuse to surrender, the men will die… and as for the women—who knows what will happen?”
Gertroud taunted us as he held a blonde noblewoman close, a twisted smirk on his face.
Seeing that, I felt my blood boil.
”Father-in-law, I’ll surrender and create an opening. Use that time to contact our reinforcements and coordinate an ambush. I can’t just stand by and watch this any longer!”
”Kent, wait!”
”Kent, don’t!”
Ignoring the desperate calls of my father-in-law and Milly, I grabbed onto the Dragonewt and had it carry me down to Gertroud.
”Oh? So the only one surrendering is Kent Blackdagger?”
Gertroud cast a glance at the blonde noblewoman beside him, his expression one of amusement.
She was bound by magical restraints, completely immobilized.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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