The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 158
The contents of
Episode 158’s arbitration plan were roughly as follows.
-Win or defeat has already been decided, so stop fighting further.
-The royal family will recognize that the winner, Viscount Raoul, is the rightful lord of the Bates-Frannois-Russine estate.
-Free all the captured barons, set compensation for casualties of Viscount Raoul under royal mediation, and then finish the territory war.
What is the meaning of overturning the royal family’s guarantee when trading territory and now acknowledging it again?
And military supplies mobilized by village residents who evacuated due to this incident, hired mercenaries, and military supplies.
How much did it cost to end up only receiving compensation for casualties?
I was almost curious about the brain structure of the people who proposed these ridiculous demands as mediation without even mentioning the barons’ ransom.
So Raoul asked.
“Do you know who proposed this intervention? “If you don’t know, you don’t have to answer.”
It wasn’t a question I asked to get an answer to, anyway.
I’m just saying this out of absurdity.
But isn’t this observer speaking in a very confident voice?
“Consider it an honor. This is an intervention plan given by the 3rd Prince, the future of the kingdom, after hearing the news of Yeongjijeon himself! “What a merciful and peaceful offer!”
‘How dare a single Viscount ignore the mediation proposed by the Third Prince himself?’
The corners of the observer’s mouth rose slightly at the thought of giving a blow to the scandalous Viscount who started a territorial war without waiting for him to arrive.
But he had no idea what kind of person Raoul was.
“Right. “That’s how it happened.”
Raoul nodded, stood up from his seat and shouted.
“The break ends here. “We have to arrive at the lord’s castle before the sun sets, so hurry up your march!”
“Yes Master.”
The commanders left the barracks and Raoul also re-equipped the weapons he had released.
The observer, completely alienated, stood blankly, blinking, and then shouted.
“What are you doing!”
“huh? “Have you left yet?”
“I asked what you are doing now!”
“What are you doing? We’re going to end the war. Oh, maybe I should take this back?”
Raoul tossed the mediation scroll that was rolling around on the strategy table at the observer.
“I was thinking of keeping it as a souvenir, but if you need it, you can take it.”
Clutter.
The observer secretly heard the sound of biting.
“dare! Do you think you can get away with this?”
The moment he points his finger and shouts at Raoul.
Tingling.
‘Whoops…!’
The observer’s breath was taken away by the murderous energy unleashed by the knights remaining in the barracks.
Sreuk.
As his guard knights put their hands on the hilts of their swords.
“If you pull that out, you will all die.”
Josh, who had entered the barracks as a cavalry commander, frowned and warned.
Not only did Baron Babble dare to play with his tongue at the heavenly Master, but these guys, barely even experts, even tried to take out their weapons, so the heat reached all the way to the top of my head.
The escort knights, who were no match for them in terms of strength or skill to begin with, shed cold sweat and quietly put down their hands.
“What shall we do Master?”
“…Stop it. Still, I am a person who works for the country, but if I treat him carelessly, will he be used? Everyone, hurry up and prepare for deployment.”
Only then did the bloody energy that had been hovering around the barracks slowly dissipate.
“Heoheok heoheok.”
However, the observer was already on the verge of fainting and was barely able to catch his breath with the support of the escort knights.
Raoul said coldly as he picked up the scroll that the observer had dropped.
“Let’s reject this arbitration proposal. Anyway, there is a ‘law’ that the lord decides whether to accept arbitration or not. “Let’s go now.”
At Raoul’s order to congratulate the guests, the observer glanced at him as if to leave him alone and then turned around.
“Oh, and I’m sorry, but I’ll keep this scroll for you. “I think it will be a very meaningful souvenir.”
I had no intention of returning it in the first place.
Presenting this as an arbitration plan was an act that would incur the indignation of not only Raoul but all local lords.
No matter how unfavorable the content was, it was no different from a threat to openly follow the royal family’s words.
‘If that happens, he’ll be a good ally.’
This arbitration plan, which contained the personal signatures of the three princes, might soon see the light of day again.
In this way, the royal observer was kicked out of Raoul’s camp without any results, and Raoul’s army was able to reach the castle fortress without much resistance.
* * *
“hmm. Are you really planning on resisting?”
When Raoul muttered to himself while looking at the tightly closed gate, the gate opened slightly and a messenger with a white flag came out.
“I want to negotiate!”
The Barony of Brocks appears to have been ruled by his son in place of the captured Baron.
Since the observers and guards entered the Baron’s Castle ahead of Raoul’s army, they must have been aware of Raoul’s intentions.
widely.
Raoul put down the scroll and asked.
“So, if you release the Baron and hand over the troops, are you saying that you will hand over the ransom and part of the territory?”
The ransom price listed was a reasonable level, but the territory they were willing to give up was 1/20th of the baronage and was practically abandoned.
“That’s right. “The temporary lord hopes for a peaceful solution.”
Raoul chuckled.
“There are many people looking for peace these days. If that’s going to be the case, we shouldn’t have started the Territory War in the first place. “What if I refuse?”
The messenger stiffened his expression and answered in a slightly trembling voice.
“In that case, we will have to overcome the walls guarded by the 5,000 soldiers of Brox Castle who have made a desperate determination!”
“hmm. “A soldier with a desperate resolve?”
Raoul turned his head and looked at the top of the castle wall.
There were not many soldiers wearing proper armor, and at first glance, older men who looked to be over 50 and children who looked like they had just become adults were lined up on the castle wall holding a wooden spear.
“It seems like the temporary castle lord is a bit young, so he can’t understand the situation. Go back and tell him that we can talk face to face later. “I don’t think it will take long.”
“Oh no, wait a minute…”
“Didn’t the Viscount tell you to go back!”
The messenger was dragged out by the soldiers.
Raoul clicked his tongue and said to Dalton.
“Has the peace lasted too long? “It seems like the lords have no real sense of what war is like.”
“Well, it’s worth it since you’ve been playing soldiers under the royal family’s watch. “They don’t seem to realize that times are changing.”
“Everyone will find out in a few days. “Ah, war is not a child’s game.”
And through these barons, he had to inform the surrounding lords of what would happen if they attacked him with a clumsy mind.
‘Useless territory warfare is no longer a requirement. ‘I’ll be busy preparing for the next event.’
Raoul, who saw the messenger entering the castle gate looking shabby, gave an order.
“Surround the castle so no one can escape, and have armor users open the castle gate.”
There were more than 20 armor users in attendance.
It was obvious that even calling it a siege would result in an embarrassing outcome.
“Go!”
And the results were not at all different from what was expected.
The armor users who activated their power armor slowly headed towards the castle wall as if they were taking a walk.
Arrows rained down non-stop, but they really didn’t pose any threat.
The armor users, who climbed up the castle wall as if they were rock climbing, neutralized only two knights and immediately opened the castle gate, completely ignoring the soldiers.
Doo doo doo.
And the tedious siege ended with the knights and cavalry entering the castle and heading to the lord’s palace.
* * *
After imprisoning the lord’s family and taking control of the castle, Raoul sat in the lord’s office and exchanged video communications with other units.
Reports came in one after another that five other baronial castles had also been captured without difficulty.
Three places obediently opened their gates and surrendered, and in two places, news was delivered that the lord’s family was caught while running away with jewelry.
“What will you do now, Master?”
Philip and other unit commanders looked curious.
This is because they also heard about the observer dispatched by the royal family.
“All baronies will be merged as planned. Arrest all the lord’s family and resistance forces, escort them to Calypse Castle, and pacify the villages and fortresses in each territory.”
But Raoul did not waver.
He did not break any laws and had no intention of worrying about the royal family.
The three princes seemed to be running wild as if they were already kings, but no one could know what would happen next.
“Yes, Master!”
As Raoul regained his balance, his subordinates also responded with relieved expressions.
“But what do you plan to do with the prisoners? If the territory is annexed, ransom cannot be received. Shall we make them do collaborators?”
It was common for soldiers who were abandoned by their lords to pay the ransom to be slaves or to have them pay their debts through collaborators.
But Raoul shook his head.
“I’m sure everyone has looked around Yeongju Castle, right? “How many young men did you see in the castle?”
“Now that I think about it, there were hardly any. “Most of the people who were forcibly mobilized to the castle walls were middle-aged and old.”
“It seems like the barons conscripted all the young people and sent them into this territory war. But what do you think will happen to the territory’s economy if you make them collaborators? All conscripts are liberated and sent back to their hometowns, and among the soldiers, only volunteers are accepted and transferred to the friendly army after training. Soldiers who wish to retire, please do so.”
“Yes, Master.”
What was important in Connect was people rather than land.
There is already a lot of undeveloped land on this large continent due to a lack of population, but the Gate incident has caused the population to decline further.
That was the reason why Raoul fought a territory war and tried to save ordinary soldiers as much as possible.
Is there any need to harm those who are supposed to be Raoul’s people and work anyway?
‘If there had been a head-on collision and the conscripts had been wiped out, it would have taken a year to restore the territory.’
I couldn’t help but feel my heart sink.
In order to run the territory in the future, more ordinary people who would engage in economic activities were needed rather than soldiers.
In any case, ‘players’ to replace soldiers will continue to pour in, and power inflation will become increasingly serious.
This meant that raising soldiers clumsily would not be of any help.
“What do you plan to do, Barons?”
“Of course…”
Everyone’s attention was focused.
“You have to shake off everything you don’t have, squeeze it out, and then release it. I would like to deal with everything, but if it gets to that point, it will be hard for me to handle it.”
Unless there were special circumstances, it was forbidden for a noble to kill another noble without the king’s permission.
If he had been killed during a battle for territory, it would have been difficult to execute him if he had been taken prisoner.
‘Because they’re not worth killing anyway.’
The words of the baron, who lost his fiefdom, property, and subordinates, are miserable.
They say they have a sponsor, but that is only when they are useful. Who would help someone who has run away like this?
All that was left for them was to struggle, mobilizing their connections or anything else to somehow protect their nobility.
If you presumptuously hold a grudge against Raoul and try to plot something again.
‘At that time, you really just have to do it without anyone knowing.’
Interest in them would have waned a few months after the territory war ended, so it would not be too late to deal with them slowly.
No, to be honest, I was hoping that the barons who had released me would come at me again and ask for money.
That’s right too.
“Send the recovered power armor to the workshop immediately. “How many are there?”
“There are ten armor users. “There are 2 things that are in good condition, 7 things that can be repaired, and 1 thing that has been completely destroyed.”
Perhaps because Philip subdued the enemy with his neat skills, the harvest was quite good.
On the other hand, Jake, who hit him ignorantly, had 5 piercings, with several being destroyed due to penetration, so the number was 7.
There are about 40 pieces of power armor collected from Raoul’s battlefield, so in total, more than 60 pieces of power armor were acquired on this battlefield.
“Hey, it’s sweet! If you break it a few more times like this, I will arm them all.”
“Jake, if you had broken it a little less, it could have happened sooner.”
“Captain A, why are you doing that again? People come first! There is a famous saying like that, right? “You said you had no choice but to end the battle without any damage?”
“Tsk, tsk. I already heard everything through reports. “When we meet at Calips this time, I will give you special training, so make sure you prepare well.”
“Miss, why is it only me…”
Jake grumbled, and everyone laughed.
After successfully completing the battle and obtaining ample loot, everyone seemed to have relaxed a bit.
“Finish the cleanup as quickly as possible and join us at the main headquarters. There is still one big mountain left to deal with.”
“Yes, Master!”
Raoul’s expression hardened as he looked toward the main house.
I was curious what kind of expression he would make when he received the results of the Battle of Territory.
‘I will not forgive you for running away.’
The time to punish the family traitor was approaching.
(Continued in the next part)