Novel All
Chapter 520
Chapter 520
Chapter 520: The Authority to Command
The Duke's army was buzzing with a small victory.
The dragon knight, who seemed to be a figure of despair, was suppressed, and the enemy's reinforcements were trampled by a separate squad of the Duke's army.
Whether there were casualties or not didn't matter.
What they saw brought positivity to the soldiers.
"Ah, they're getting carried away. That's why I dislike guys who can't see the situation in a war. Simple. We're going to win in the end anyway."
"And yet you're so arrogant despite failing your mission?"
The walls of the fortress.
There, Seig and I were observing the state of the Duke's army.
Seig's task was to defeat the master leading the enemy's separate squad.
That should have determined the outcome of this battle.
My prediction that the female knight who was probably escorting Marcel would come out was correct.
However, I had misread the female knight's strength.
"I didn't fail! I just let her go because it seemed like she had business elsewhere! Anyway, if it wasn't for the galloping horse, I would have won easily!!"
Seig flailed his arms and legs, making excuses.
His incessant excuses probably stemmed from his frustration.
From what I heard, the enemy's female knight was stronger than Seig.
I don't usually misread the opponent's power, but it seems that my focus was on Marcel and I made a stupid mistake.
"Well, it's my fault for sending you alone. Don't worry about it."
"Hey! That's the most hurtful thing you can say!"
"It's not a consolation. I thought you wouldn't die and come back, so thanks to you, I didn't have to feel guilty. I appreciate it."
"Well, thanks a lot."
Seig looked away in a bad mood.
With a wry smile at Seig, I turned my eyes to the enemy's lines.
The morale was excellent.
Impressive. They chose to boost morale immediately upon takeover and executed it flawlessly.
With this, the Duke's army's first battle mistake is wiped clean.
You could say it's back to square one.
But what happens when you go back to the beginning?
"The nobles will get noisy."
It's unfortunate for Marcel, but when the soldiers think, "We can do this!"
The annoying nobles watching from the rear think, "We can do this even more!"
The Duke didn't approve of the intervention from the kingdom.
He just borrowed Marcel's hand out of necessity.
If they sense a hint of victory, they will immediately intervene.
Marcel will probably be busy dealing with that.
In the meantime, I asked Captain Lars to do me a favor.
I hope it goes well.
Marcel, who was summoned by Duke Pastore, was meeting with the main nobles in the tent.
"As expected of Ambassador Marcel. The command was excellent."
"Do you already feel victorious? Let me make it clear, if the Duke takes command, we'll lose."
Without listening to the conversation, Marcel opened his mouth.
It was clear that they were going to give various reasons to take command themselves.
"Wha-what did you say!?"
"People have their strengths and weaknesses. The Duke is not suited for battle. You should quit."
"I have read many books on military tactics!"
"Reading and understanding are different. And understanding and executing are also different. The standard measure for the first battle is to leave a hold in the fortress and annihilate the external reinforcements. If you use a trick, you would attack where they sortie from the fortress and take the fortress. Anyhow, a fortress attack is unthinkable. The point of focus is unthinkable. It could be said you lack a sense of strategy."
Marcel said without hesitation.
He couldn't let Duke Pastore take command here.
"You...! There's a limit to rudeness!"
"I don't mind being rude. It seems you have forgotten, but we are in an equal position. We joined forces because we bring each other benefits. Isn't that right? But what about you? You couldn't even crush the opposing forces yourself, and you came crying to me. You seem to hate the kingdom's intervention, but if we withdraw our hand here, it won't be just that, right?"
"How arrogant! It should be the kingdom that will have trouble if we become enemies!"
"Until now, yes. While you've been wasting a golden opportunity, I've made minimum preparations. It would be best if you become the public king and do as we say, but I don't mind even if you lose and die."
"Wh-what did you say...!?"
"I don't waste time like you do."
"N-no, that's a lie! It can't be!"
"You were afraid of defectors from the navy while you were controlling the capital, so you made all the ships anchor, didn't you? I took the opportunity to tamper with the ships. It's impossible to disable all the ships, but if half of them stop working, our objective will be achieved."
The naval admiral had sided with the Duke, but there were also Empire loyalists in the navy.
To prevent them from moving the ships and leaving the capital, the Duke brought all the crew members ashore.
During that time, Marcel had his eye on the empty ships.
"What kind of thing is this!? We're supposed to be allies!?"
"If we're allies, let's be treated like allies. You failed, I succeeded. So I'll take command of this battle. It's a simple story, isn't it?"
"This army is my army!"
"Yes, it is. So I don't mind if you forcibly take command. But if you do, we will withdraw. We have no intention of boarding a sinking ship."
"Such..."
"In most cases, if you have twice the power, you should win. But if the commander is a fool, even a winnable battle becomes unwinnable. And the opponent is Prince Arnold. I don't mind risking my life, but you can't win against him under the Duke."
Marcel's words silenced the Duke.
The other nobles also said nothing.
They had vaguely realized that they could not win with Duke Pastore.
"Do you say that I will fall behind a dried-up prince!?"
"Is there still a fool who underestimates that prince? Listen, based on facts alone, the Duke has already fallen behind. He has greatly lowered morale from the first battle. That's why he came crying to me. Isn't that right?"
"I, I am!"
"Yeah, okay. I don't want to hear it. I think this is a waste of time, but for the Duke who can't realize the genius of Prince Arnold, and so that the nobles here don't become like the Duke. Let me simply teach you the greatness of the prince."
With that, Marcel raised a finger.
There were many things to point out,, but he gave up because he thought they wouldn't understand even if he said several.
"The point where Prince Arnold excels is 'reading the situation'. Whether it's the battle situation, the political situation, or the public sentiment... he can read the opponent's movements terrifyingly well. That's why he could take the back of the well-known General Prince Gordon and the Dragon Prince, and was able to eliminate the corrupt nobles in the provinces in just one year. Because he can read, he can accurately strike the next move. For example, this battle. He should have read that I was going to boost morale."
"He read it but couldn't prevent it!"
"Can't you shut up and listen to people's stories? Duke. Listen, deliberately being at a disadvantage is also a strategy. What do you think happens when our morale rises? You misinterpret it as a winning battle and drag me down. When that happens, his eyes will inevitably turn to you guys. That's the target."
When Marcel said that, the Griffin Lion Knight descended next to the tent.
"I report! There was a small group near the camp! It seems they were trying to infiltrate!"
"Did they escape?"
"Yes! What will you do?"
"Leave them be. They won't be caught anyway."
Were they planning to burn the provisions, or were they planning to disguise themselves as soldiers and cause different interference?
Either way, they were prevented.
This was also because the vigilance had been strengthened.
"Just in case, I mobilized all my guards for vigilance. While you guys are rejoicing in the winning battle, Prince Arnold is chuckling. Can you win with this?"
"It's a coincidence! Or is it something the ambassador set up!?"
"If it's a coincidence or a setup, how good it would be. If you want to believe that, go ahead. Until the moment you die, you think everything is a coincidence."
With that, Marcel turned on his heel.
The nobles, who sensed he was leaving, all called out to Marcel at once.
"Please wait! Ambassador Marcel!"
"We would like to leave the command to Ambassador Marcel here!"
"Please save us!"
Marcel's biggest concern was that the army did not move as he thought.
The main body of this army was Duke Pastore's soldiers, but the nobles present here were also sending out considerable soldiers.
If he gets the support of the nobles, he can get the command. The Duke cannot ignore their intentions.
If they side with the other party, the difference in military strength will gradually narrow.
"I'd love to take command, but what does the Duke say?"
"Duke Pastore! Please let the ambassador take care of it!"
"The ambassador's advice has been accurate so far!"
"Please!"
"Please!"
The entreaty from the nobles.
Receiving that, the Duke grudgingly announced, as if spitting it out.
"I leave the command to the ambassador! Is that okay!?"
With that, Duke Pastore left the tent.
In the tent where the troublemaker had left, Marcel clapped his hands.
"Now, let's have a military council."
TL's Notes
Sorry for the delay, I had to give my cats a shower.... Also had a nice scare when I opened novelupdates and saw all the links to my TLs missing (I wasn't logged in)
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