Bzzt! Bzzzt!
A powerful current of electricity burst out of Duke Taranis’ body.
“Aaack!”
“Hiiiik!”
“Argh!”
The electric currents were so powerful that everyone else in the communication room was severely injured upon getting electrocuted.
“Siegfried... You son of a bitch...!” Duke Taranis growled as he could not contain his anger.
The desertion of two generals was a massive blow to Duke Taranis. Morale would inevitably plummet, and rumors of what he had done were going to spread all over the camps.
Would anyone still fight for him once they found out that he had decided to hide the fact that the enemy was holding their family members hostage?
The answer was obvious.
It was highly unlikely that anyone would still serve him. After all, he was basically treating them as sacrificial pawns to achieve his ambition; it did not matter whether it was their family members or them—his loyal retainers; he was prepared to throw them away if he had to do so.
Thus, Duke Taranis’ loyal retainers started trembling in fear, which soon created cracks in their faction.
Duke Taranis had ended up making a critical error this time. A failed rebellion was going to result in the execution of everyone involved in it, which was the reason most traitors would fight tooth and nail to win. If he had come clean to his retainers and explained the current situation, then they might have willingly given up their wife and kids to help him achieve his grand ambition, just like what Count Oslo had decided to do.
“Damn it...”
The absence of the commander and vice commander meant launching an all-out offensive at the Horn Territory was no longer feasible.
Why?
Because no one would command the troops!
A hole left behind by a commander and vice commander wasn't something they could easily fill. Their stars weren't for decorative purposes—no, they were a reminder that those individuals weren't consumable pieces on the battlefield like the average foot soldiers.
In other words, the all-out invasion of Horn Territory was going to be postponed until they found a replacement commander and vice commander.
“M-My lord!”
Another report came in...
“Three of our feudal lords in our rear have capitulated and have sworn loyalty to King Allen!” n(0)vel(b)(j)(n)was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
“W-What?!”
“In addition... The public’s sentiment has also started swaying against us!”
“The public’s sentiment is swaying against us?”
“A song depicting you as an... immoral son has started to become popular among the populace.”
“...!”
“We need to come up with a plan, my lord!”
Duke Taranis staggered and barely kept himself upright after hearing the bad reports. He grimaced, grabbed his head, and said, “Call Count Oslo. We must come up with a solution.”
‘Damn it...’
He had an ominous sense of foreboding, and he felt like he had stepped into a sinking sandpit. The war was going so well for him, but it was slowly becoming more and more complicated.
‘Siegfried van Proa... Is it that guy’s doing?’ Duke Taranis gnashed his teeth while recalling the smug, arrogant young mercenary’s face.
***
“Eh? Is someone cursing at me? Why are my ears so itchy?” Siegfried grumbled while picking his ear with his pinky finger.
“Kyuu! There’s probably more than a carriage full of people cursing you right now, owner punk!”
“What did you say?!”
“I just told you the truth! Kyu!”
Hamchi snapped back. Then, he smirked and added, “You have no idea? If we line up everyone wanting to get back at you, the line will circle one hundred times around the training grounds!”
“R-Really?”
“Yes! Kyu! So use this instead of your finger!” Hamchi exclaimed and threw a spoon at him.
“Thanks, Hamc—Hey! How the hell am I supposed to pick my ear with this?! This is a damn spoon!”
“Kyu? Hamchi has no problem using that!”
“That’s because your ears are freakin’ huge, you crazy bastard!”
“Kyuu?”
“Argh!” Siegfried raised his fist and raged as if he was about to give Hamchi a knuckle sandwich.
“King Siegfried van Proa.”
His sandwich preparation was interrupted by Duke Undertaker.
“Thank you very much for your hard work. Most of the high-ranking officials who sided with the rebels have defected to our faction thanks to Your Majesty’s efforts.”
“Really? How many?”
“I believe around seven or eight out of ten have defected, and the commander and vice commander of the army attacking our rear are among them.”
“Oh! Then, they can’t launch an all-out offensive anymore?”
“Precisely, Your Majesty!”
“Haha! It went exactly according to plan! They’re probably lost right now,” Siegfried said with a smirk.
“It will take at least a week before the newly appointed commander and vice commander can prepare their army for an all-out offensive. Not only that, three feudal lords have also defected to our side, so we can use their territories as our bases of operation to hit them hard.”
“That’s excellent news. I guess all that’s left is to shake them up real good.”
“Yes! Hope is finally within reach, Your Majesty.”
“That’s great.”
“But Your Majesty...”
“Yes?”
“What was that song? The lyrics smearing Duke Taranis is one thing, but the song is really nice and catchy.”
“Ah, that one? That was composed and written by Gringore,” Siegfried replied.
“By Gringore, you mean... Ah! Do you mean the King of Singers, Gringore?!”
“As expected, you know him, too.”
“Of course! He is the greatest singer on the continent, regarded as a once-in-a-generation genius! Ah, now that I think about it, he is a citizen of Your Majesty’s kingdom!”
“Yes, he is,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. He was slightly saddened that his scribe was more famous than him, the king, but he also felt proud at the same time.
‘Yeah, Gringore is a real patriot. He can be annoying at times, but he has contributed a lot to our kingdom’s prestige. Not to mention, he has been bringing in tons of foreign currency for us. Hmm... Should I promote him?’ Siegfried walked away while pondering how to reward Gringore for his successful tour.
“Where are you going, Your Majesty?” Duke Undertaker asked.
“To meet the feudal lords who have defected,” Siegfried nonchalantly replied.
“Pardon me?”
“I’m going to wreak havoc from now on, so please bolster our defenses even further.”
“But those feudal lords do not have that many troops, and the few they have are not that well-trained too.”
“Don’t worry, I can make them strong.”
“...!”
“Ah, I’m not bragging or anything. It’s just that I can turn a ragtag bunch into a proper army as long as I’m with them.”
He was telling the truth. His debuff fields were capable of turning a powerful army into a ragtag bunch and a ragtag bunch of allies into a powerful army.
"I'm going now, then," Siegfried said and left the capital.
***
The second war content, the Kyiv Civil War, progressed far slower than what the Adventurers thought, and it was to the point the whole war content started to become boring.
This war relied on strategy, skirmishes, and guerilla warfare rather than fierce all-out fighting, which meant the Adventurers were left sitting around and scratching their thighs while waiting for something to do.
Meanwhile, Siegfried was busier than anyone else on the battlefield. He brought the army of the bats—no, the army of the feudal lords, who had defected to the Royal Faction to wreak havoc in the rear of the Rebel Faction.
Every single battle he had fought resulted in his landslide victory, and his name alone struck fear into the hearts of the Rebel Forces.
The Rebel Faction was stuck between a rock and a hard place, as their rear was getting decimated while they couldn't gain any ground in the front lines due to their enemies hunkering down and focusing solely on defending.
Their only hope was their army in the southern region, but that army was incapacitated right now due to its commander and vice commander defecting to the enemy.
To add insult to injury, they were unable to send more troops to the rear, as they had to increase security around their key military facilities in case the enemy launched another round of subterfuge.
In other words, they were knee-deep in shit.
The only thing they could do right now was toughen it out until the new commander and vice commander in the south had finished their preparation to launch an all-out invasion on the Horn Territory and conquer it.
Of course, Siegfried knew this better than anyone, which was the reason he caused as much chaos as he possibly could at the enemy’s rear. His actions were getting on Duke Taranis’ nerves, but the duke's anger finally exploded when Siegfried conquered the Montegro Fortress.
“Siegfried! I’m going to tear you limb for limb, sever your head, and drink your blood from your skull in three days!” Duke Taranis raged.
The Montegro Fortress was the Rebel Faction’s most important strategic location at their rear, and the effect of it falling into the Royal Faction’s hands was similar to the Horn Territory falling into their hands.
The fortress was a natural fortress that was extremely easy to defend and was connected to roads leading directly to the heart of the Rebel Faction’s camp.
“I’ll deal with it personally.”
In the end, Duke Taranis decided to eliminate Siegfried with his own two hands.
Siegfried already knew what the duke was planning, so he called Taycan to his side.
“Why?” Taycan asked.
“Taranis is coming,” Siegfried replied.
“Taranis? Is he going personally?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you know that?”
“Argh!” Siegfried was annoyed by the continuous questions.
‘Tsk...! He’s a natural-born fighter, yet his brain is like that of a newborn's!’
Of course, it wasn't really strange, as Taycan had decided to embark on the martial path from a young age and had been dedicated to his training since then. In other words, it wasn't strange that he wasn't as fast of a thinker as Siegfried. Actually, he was bound to fall short compared to Siegfried when it came to using his brain, as Siegfried had gone through all sorts of hardships in life to reach his current heights.
“Hey, aren’t you going to come and settle whatever keeps messing with your rear?”
“I-Is that how it is?”
“...”
“Anyway, so you’re confident Taranis is going to show up?”
“Yeah, he’s going to bring a small group of elites and ambush us at night. Well, that’s what I’d do if I wanted to put an end to this as quickly as possible. This fortress is near-impregnable even if he brought an army, so that’s what he’s definitely going to do.”
“That sounds very convincing!”
“It’s now... four in the afternoon,” Siegfried muttered as he checked the clock. Then, he added, “I think he should be here around one or two past midnight.”
“You even know what time he’s coming...?”
“That’s the best time for a night raid.”
“I see!”
“Now, what do you think we should do?”
“Huh? Well, of course...” Taycan was about to reply, but then he started pondering. God knows why he had to ponder, but he seemed to have found the answer shortly as he replied, “Lay traps and wait?”
“Bingo,” Siegfried said with a nod. Then, he explained, “Duke Taranis is their leader, but he's also my enemy, as well as you and your master's nemesis. This is a golden opportunity for us to kill him.”
“Huh? Your enemy?”
“There’s something like that, and it’s called none of your business,” Siegfried said with a shrug.
He did not feel the need to explain his quest, Master’s Regret, to Taycan.
“Anyway, this is our chance to end this war without further casualties,” he added.
This was the Rebel Faction’s biggest weakness. They were going to lose the moment Duke Taranis was killed or captured by the Royal Faction.
They could have simply replaced him with someone else if this were a normal war, but this war was waged under the justification of Duke Taranis, who was of royal descent, punishing the traitors for deceiving his nephew, King Allen.
“You’re right! It’s over once we kill Taranis!” Taycan exclaimed.
Siegfried’s eyes suddenly looked very dangerous as he said, “Yes, that’s why we have to dig a proper trap for him. We don’t have much time, so we need to start preparing right now.”
“What do I have to do?”
“First...” Siegfried explained his plan to Taycan.
***
That evening, Duke Taranis stationed two thousand five hundred soldiers in a forest three kilometers away from the Montegro Fortress.
“Commence and all-out attack the moment you see a green flare from the fortress,” he commanded.
“Yes, my lord!”
His plan was to infiltrate the fortress with a small group of elites and open the gates for his army to come in.
“Move out,” Duke Taranis said as marched with fifty elite knights and five hundred elite soldiers behind him. Their destination was none other than the Montegro Fortress, illuminated by moonlight in the distance.
Bzzt! Bzzzt!
A powerful current of electricity burst out of Duke Taranis’ body.
“Aaack!”
“Hiiiik!”
“Argh!”
The electric currents were so powerful that everyone else in the communication room was severely injured upon getting electrocuted.
“Siegfried... You son of a bitch...!” Duke Taranis growled as he could not contain his anger.
The desertion of two generals was a massive blow to Duke Taranis. Morale would inevitably plummet, and rumors of what he had done were going to spread all over the camps.
Would anyone still fight for him once they found out that he had decided to hide the fact that the enemy was holding their family members hostage?
The answer was obvious.
It was highly unlikely that anyone would still serve him. After all, he was basically treating them as sacrificial pawns to achieve his ambition; it did not matter whether it was their family members or them—his loyal retainers; he was prepared to throw them away if he had to do so.
Thus, Duke Taranis’ loyal retainers started trembling in fear, which soon created cracks in their faction.
Duke Taranis had ended up making a critical error this time. A failed rebellion was going to result in the execution of everyone involved in it, which was the reason most traitors would fight tooth and nail to win. If he had come clean to his retainers and explained the current situation, then they might have willingly given up their wife and kids to help him achieve his grand ambition, just like what Count Oslo had decided to do.
“Damn it...”
The absence of the commander and vice commander meant launching an all-out offensive at the Horn Territory was no longer feasible.
Why?
Because no one would command the troops!
A hole left behind by a commander and vice commander wasn't something they could easily fill. Their stars weren't for decorative purposes—no, they were a reminder that those individuals weren't consumable pieces on the battlefield like the average foot soldiers.
In other words, the all-out invasion of Horn Territory was going to be postponed until they found a replacement commander and vice commander.
“M-My lord!”
Another report came in...
“Three of our feudal lords in our rear have capitulated and have sworn loyalty to King Allen!” n(0)vel(b)(j)(n)was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
“W-What?!”
“In addition... The public’s sentiment has also started swaying against us!”
“The public’s sentiment is swaying against us?”
“A song depicting you as an... immoral son has started to become popular among the populace.”
“...!”
“We need to come up with a plan, my lord!”
Duke Taranis staggered and barely kept himself upright after hearing the bad reports. He grimaced, grabbed his head, and said, “Call Count Oslo. We must come up with a solution.”
‘Damn it...’
He had an ominous sense of foreboding, and he felt like he had stepped into a sinking sandpit. The war was going so well for him, but it was slowly becoming more and more complicated.
‘Siegfried van Proa... Is it that guy’s doing?’ Duke Taranis gnashed his teeth while recalling the smug, arrogant young mercenary’s face.
***
“Eh? Is someone cursing at me? Why are my ears so itchy?” Siegfried grumbled while picking his ear with his pinky finger.
“Kyuu! There’s probably more than a carriage full of people cursing you right now, owner punk!”
“What did you say?!”
“I just told you the truth! Kyu!”
Hamchi snapped back. Then, he smirked and added, “You have no idea? If we line up everyone wanting to get back at you, the line will circle one hundred times around the training grounds!”
“R-Really?”
“Yes! Kyu! So use this instead of your finger!” Hamchi exclaimed and threw a spoon at him.
“Thanks, Hamc—Hey! How the hell am I supposed to pick my ear with this?! This is a damn spoon!”
“Kyu? Hamchi has no problem using that!”
“That’s because your ears are freakin’ huge, you crazy bastard!”
“Kyuu?”
“Argh!” Siegfried raised his fist and raged as if he was about to give Hamchi a knuckle sandwich.
“King Siegfried van Proa.”
His sandwich preparation was interrupted by Duke Undertaker.
“Thank you very much for your hard work. Most of the high-ranking officials who sided with the rebels have defected to our faction thanks to Your Majesty’s efforts.”
“Really? How many?”
“I believe around seven or eight out of ten have defected, and the commander and vice commander of the army attacking our rear are among them.”
“Oh! Then, they can’t launch an all-out offensive anymore?”
“Precisely, Your Majesty!”
“Haha! It went exactly according to plan! They’re probably lost right now,” Siegfried said with a smirk.
“It will take at least a week before the newly appointed commander and vice commander can prepare their army for an all-out offensive. Not only that, three feudal lords have also defected to our side, so we can use their territories as our bases of operation to hit them hard.”
“That’s excellent news. I guess all that’s left is to shake them up real good.”
“Yes! Hope is finally within reach, Your Majesty.”
“That’s great.”
“But Your Majesty...”
“Yes?”
“What was that song? The lyrics smearing Duke Taranis is one thing, but the song is really nice and catchy.”
“Ah, that one? That was composed and written by Gringore,” Siegfried replied.
“By Gringore, you mean... Ah! Do you mean the King of Singers, Gringore?!”
“As expected, you know him, too.”
“Of course! He is the greatest singer on the continent, regarded as a once-in-a-generation genius! Ah, now that I think about it, he is a citizen of Your Majesty’s kingdom!”
“Yes, he is,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. He was slightly saddened that his scribe was more famous than him, the king, but he also felt proud at the same time.
‘Yeah, Gringore is a real patriot. He can be annoying at times, but he has contributed a lot to our kingdom’s prestige. Not to mention, he has been bringing in tons of foreign currency for us. Hmm... Should I promote him?’ Siegfried walked away while pondering how to reward Gringore for his successful tour.
“Where are you going, Your Majesty?” Duke Undertaker asked.
“To meet the feudal lords who have defected,” Siegfried nonchalantly replied.
“Pardon me?”
“I’m going to wreak havoc from now on, so please bolster our defenses even further.”
“But those feudal lords do not have that many troops, and the few they have are not that well-trained too.”
“Don’t worry, I can make them strong.”
“...!”
“Ah, I’m not bragging or anything. It’s just that I can turn a ragtag bunch into a proper army as long as I’m with them.”
He was telling the truth. His debuff fields were capable of turning a powerful army into a ragtag bunch and a ragtag bunch of allies into a powerful army.
"I'm going now, then," Siegfried said and left the capital.
***
The second war content, the Kyiv Civil War, progressed far slower than what the Adventurers thought, and it was to the point the whole war content started to become boring.
This war relied on strategy, skirmishes, and guerilla warfare rather than fierce all-out fighting, which meant the Adventurers were left sitting around and scratching their thighs while waiting for something to do.
Meanwhile, Siegfried was busier than anyone else on the battlefield. He brought the army of the bats—no, the army of the feudal lords, who had defected to the Royal Faction to wreak havoc in the rear of the Rebel Faction.
Every single battle he had fought resulted in his landslide victory, and his name alone struck fear into the hearts of the Rebel Forces.
The Rebel Faction was stuck between a rock and a hard place, as their rear was getting decimated while they couldn't gain any ground in the front lines due to their enemies hunkering down and focusing solely on defending.
Their only hope was their army in the southern region, but that army was incapacitated right now due to its commander and vice commander defecting to the enemy.
To add insult to injury, they were unable to send more troops to the rear, as they had to increase security around their key military facilities in case the enemy launched another round of subterfuge.
In other words, they were knee-deep in shit.
The only thing they could do right now was toughen it out until the new commander and vice commander in the south had finished their preparation to launch an all-out invasion on the Horn Territory and conquer it.
Of course, Siegfried knew this better than anyone, which was the reason he caused as much chaos as he possibly could at the enemy’s rear. His actions were getting on Duke Taranis’ nerves, but the duke's anger finally exploded when Siegfried conquered the Montegro Fortress.
“Siegfried! I’m going to tear you limb for limb, sever your head, and drink your blood from your skull in three days!” Duke Taranis raged.
The Montegro Fortress was the Rebel Faction’s most important strategic location at their rear, and the effect of it falling into the Royal Faction’s hands was similar to the Horn Territory falling into their hands.
The fortress was a natural fortress that was extremely easy to defend and was connected to roads leading directly to the heart of the Rebel Faction’s camp.
“I’ll deal with it personally.”
In the end, Duke Taranis decided to eliminate Siegfried with his own two hands.
Siegfried already knew what the duke was planning, so he called Taycan to his side.
“Why?” Taycan asked.
“Taranis is coming,” Siegfried replied.
“Taranis? Is he going personally?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you know that?”
“Argh!” Siegfried was annoyed by the continuous questions.
‘Tsk...! He’s a natural-born fighter, yet his brain is like that of a newborn's!’
Of course, it wasn't really strange, as Taycan had decided to embark on the martial path from a young age and had been dedicated to his training since then. In other words, it wasn't strange that he wasn't as fast of a thinker as Siegfried. Actually, he was bound to fall short compared to Siegfried when it came to using his brain, as Siegfried had gone through all sorts of hardships in life to reach his current heights.
“Hey, aren’t you going to come and settle whatever keeps messing with your rear?”
“I-Is that how it is?”
“...”
“Anyway, so you’re confident Taranis is going to show up?”
“Yeah, he’s going to bring a small group of elites and ambush us at night. Well, that’s what I’d do if I wanted to put an end to this as quickly as possible. This fortress is near-impregnable even if he brought an army, so that’s what he’s definitely going to do.”
“That sounds very convincing!”
“It’s now... four in the afternoon,” Siegfried muttered as he checked the clock. Then, he added, “I think he should be here around one or two past midnight.”
“You even know what time he’s coming...?”
“That’s the best time for a night raid.”
“I see!”
“Now, what do you think we should do?”
“Huh? Well, of course...” Taycan was about to reply, but then he started pondering. God knows why he had to ponder, but he seemed to have found the answer shortly as he replied, “Lay traps and wait?”
“Bingo,” Siegfried said with a nod. Then, he explained, “Duke Taranis is their leader, but he's also my enemy, as well as you and your master's nemesis. This is a golden opportunity for us to kill him.”
“Huh? Your enemy?”
“There’s something like that, and it’s called none of your business,” Siegfried said with a shrug.
He did not feel the need to explain his quest, Master’s Regret, to Taycan.
“Anyway, this is our chance to end this war without further casualties,” he added.
This was the Rebel Faction’s biggest weakness. They were going to lose the moment Duke Taranis was killed or captured by the Royal Faction.
They could have simply replaced him with someone else if this were a normal war, but this war was waged under the justification of Duke Taranis, who was of royal descent, punishing the traitors for deceiving his nephew, King Allen.
“You’re right! It’s over once we kill Taranis!” Taycan exclaimed.
Siegfried’s eyes suddenly looked very dangerous as he said, “Yes, that’s why we have to dig a proper trap for him. We don’t have much time, so we need to start preparing right now.”
“What do I have to do?”
“First...” Siegfried explained his plan to Taycan.
***
That evening, Duke Taranis stationed two thousand five hundred soldiers in a forest three kilometers away from the Montegro Fortress.
“Commence and all-out attack the moment you see a green flare from the fortress,” he commanded.
“Yes, my lord!”
His plan was to infiltrate the fortress with a small group of elites and open the gates for his army to come in.
“Move out,” Duke Taranis said as marched with fifty elite knights and five hundred elite soldiers behind him. Their destination was none other than the Montegro Fortress, illuminated by moonlight in the distance.
