Master of the brave.

Elz, the territorial capital of Earl of Elsted, is a city with a population of about 10,000.

Today, however, the population within the city walls had swelled more than double.

In the first place, this population of 10,000 Ertz is the number of citizens living inside the high exterior walls of Ertz, not including those living outside the city walls. There are a lot of people outside the city walls of Ertz who make settlements and live their lives.

At the foot of Majil, for example, there are several miners forming settlements, and there are large numbers of people who cut out trees for wood and fuel from the town's workshop. Naturally, those carrying excavated ore and felled timber also built houses and connected ships along the River Rooms flowing out of the Magil. It is also a village of peasants growing wheat, vegetables and livestock within a short walk of Ertz.

Those who lived outside such city walls had taken refuge inside the city walls before the army of Neumann, the second prince of the Lemursil Empire, approached.

Lloyds, lord of Earl of Elsted territory, who had assumed this state of affairs, accepted all the neighbors fleeing into the city walls before closing the gates of the city walls.

Supplies such as food, fuel and weapons for war have been procured for a long time, and we have as much stockpiles as we can cage for the other three months, even if we accept all the refugees. In addition, many citizens had been sacrificed because of the fever that struck their territory a few years ago, and there were quite a few vacant houses. I assigned it to the elderly and women and children who had taken refuge there.

The men are ready for battle.

Those who make hunting their business were given bows and arrows. From day to day, they shoot beasts deep into the woods, shooting better than bad soldiers. Those who cannot handle bows are engaged in strenuous work, such as transporting large quantities of iron and wood brought from Magil to a blacksmith workshop. And the elderly climbed up to the famous building of the city, and took the role of watchman.

Those who strangely live in Elsted territory are trying to play their assigned roles in a calm manner, even though the army will be pushing over the town's population.

"It's a big deal, isn't it?"

Alfred, Prince of the Lemursil Empire, only remembered praise and awe for how Eltz was doing.

You can't have no fear of them and the imminent army.

Still, the only reason the town remains under control is because of their full confidence in their lord, Lloyds.

The fever that once struck the area of Ersted territory and the murders caused by irregular weather conditions. In the realm many people suffered from life, from disease, and a great many died. To save any such inhabitants at all, Lloyds let go of even the house laying, took huge debts, picked up expensive special effects and food and distributed them to the inhabitants free of charge.

The people had not forgotten their thanks.

"My Earl of Elsted's debt will swell again."

"I'm sorry about that. You're going to have a hard time."

"What, originally, I have a debt in my house that I can't repay even if I hang it up to my grandson's generation. With a little more money now, it won't change that much."

When Alfred says so, Lloyds rocks his plentiful belly and laughs.

"Well, if this is all a mountain of debt, you can't throw out any of the merchants you invest on the way. If we are to cut off our homes now, we will have thrown the enormous amount of money that we have invested against our territory into a ditch. If you don't want to waste those money, it's in your interest not to abandon us and continue to support us."

"Didn't you even think they'd consign to set up a new lord?

"I guess that won't happen. As His Highness knows, my people and I have a good relationship."

Ertz, temporarily devastated by an epidemic, but nearby the Magil River boasts an abundance of water in a quality iron minefield. And there were woods stretching along the river, and it was one of the richest lands in the Lemursil Empire.

And if you look at the state of the town as Lloyds put it, the relationship between the Lord's Earl of Elsted and the people of the Territory builds a good one. Cutting off its lord, Lloyds, gives bad feelings to the people who live in the town.

In order not to waste the large sums lent, it is better to have a beneficial relationship with the Earl of Elsted family. It was Lloyds's thought to make the investors think so.

"It would be more convenient for the land to be stable and governed in order to recover the funds it serves."

"But this time, the Elsted realm is at the heart of the war, right?

"Yeah. So the merchants won't stop laughing, will they? In the dawn of His Royal Highness's victory in this battle, I will undoubtedly occupy an important place under His Royal Highness's administration, having played a central role under His Highness's command."

"So there's no harm in selling your favors while you're at it. But it doesn't mean we can win, does it? Neumann, with Central Knights leader Wells on his side, unfortunately has an advantage in numbers over our army. Besides, the army besieging Ertz is not the main enemy."

"Your Highness. None of the merchants are fools. They know. How many battles I have once dived through. Comparable to Lady Leticia, one of the wings of General Zaunas Ten Thousand Horsemen, who once gave his name to the Allies against the Demon Continent as the hero of the Empire, will make a great battle for His Highness tonight to show it."

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

Prince Neumann's army, which besieged the town of Ertz, is roughly 30,000.

It consists of General Welt, Marquis of Klefdorf, Commander of the Central Knights of the Lemursil Empire, and soldiers sent by the lords who belong to the Klefdorf Marquis and have possession in the south.

Viscount Clegman's army also participated in the formation of its Prince Neumann army. The knight's name, who leads a total of more than three hundred soldiers, is Karl Reynham.

Carl, who had a background in joining the Allied Coalition Army against the Continent of Demons as a mercenary, was a strong warring man who defeated several demons and raised his martial name.

Karl became a knight after the dissolution of the Alliance against the Demonic Continent, taken by ministers from Viscount Clegman, who heard his martial name. And the Viscount entrusted him with the command of the reinforcements to be sent this time to Prince Neumann.

Carl had vowed to do great martial arts in this civil unrest to meet the grace that Viscount Clegman had picked up as a knight and his thick trust. For this reason, when the placement of Viscount Clegman's leadership in the Ertz siege was placed on the outer edge facing the woods, not in the heart of the battlefield, he was hitting the knights of his colleagues with dissatisfaction.

"Are you going to take all the handles with you at Kleifdorf weather's leading valves? The Little Territories' marches seem to think only of it as a headcount."

It's been quite a few days since we sieged Ertz, but no matter how long we wait, we don't give orders for a total attack.

As a matter of fact, the main unit of the Central Knights, the main unit of the Prince Neumann Army, has gone to control of the imperial capital Shimrug and the second city of Clenado, and is hardly dispatched to the Ertz offensive strategy. In the meantime, many of the commanders of the Central Knights, who were turned to the Ertz strategy, had been consolidated with the prodigal younger brothers of the grand aristocracy with little practical experience of taking that position beside the Kleifdorf Bundestag.

This is also in the context of the fact that many of the knights and soldiers with extensive experience in action were punished during General Zaunas' coup last year, and the Central Knights fell into a serious shortage of personnel, but anyway, they also had more than two days to place an army that would besiege the town of Ertz, and that's what they usually bought the laughter of warlords who had come in action against bandits and other things like Karl and others.

The commanders of the Lords' Army of the Lords of the Little Territories, removed from the military conference sponsored by the Kleifdorf climate, had gathered alone to hold the military conference. It is a place where warlords in the same position talk to each other about stupidity, so to speak, because a military council cannot determine the overall policy of the army.

"Ertz's army is far inferior in number to ours. If you spend any time with your widow opponents, even if you win, you'll be a laugher for future generations!

When Carl said so, he sipped off the barley poured into the big cup and pounded it vigorously on the tabletop.

If you accumulate plenty of mustaches that plug into old age and white things start to mix, and Carl, the big man with sharp eyes, yells and stares, you may lose your mind if that's all you care about, little one. But the dozen men who were gathered on this occasion were each commanders who led the marches of each small territory. There were no mercenary origins like Karl, but they themselves here had plenty of experience in the fight against demons, as they had sent many knights and soldiers from the weak nobles to the former Alliance against the Demons.

Rather, they even had the pride that they were more elite than the Central Knights, considered the main force of the Lemursil Imperial Army.

Because it was them, no one has the audacity to lose their mind in Carl's fury.

On the contrary, there were successive voices in tune with Carl's opinion.

"It also involves the morale of the soldiers, who don't seem to attack forever in front of their enemies. The great guys don't know how much effort it takes to restore a fallen morale."

"What is also happening with regard to replenishment? Each of us has his own food unit, but we do not envisage a prolonged march. The villages are stuffy shells, even as they are collected from nearby villages. It is only a crowd of Uzbekistan, such as an army that cannot be supplied. Nonetheless, the people up there don't give us any information about the supply plan or the operation. Can't this inspire the morale of the soldiers?"

Carl and the others, it is this issue of replenishment that is particularly troubling the heads of the Horsemen.

The queens belonging to this Kleifdorf valley did not send forth soldiers under the life of Alexei, Emperor of the Lemursil Empire. He did not join the Imperial Regular Army, but sent private soldiers in response to Prince Neumann. For this reason, the cost of war was self-financing.

The costs of gratuities, food, armaments, horses and their horse feed, as well as luggage, paid to the knights of their own territory, to the soldiers, were considerable, but here we had to march in order to celebrate the memory of Prince Neumann and the faction's head, Cliffdorf Weather, and these were unavoidable expenses.

But I can't get supplies from the heavy units of the Imperial Central Knights because I'm not a regular army.

So many of the Horsemen planned to levy supplies from the villages in Ersted territory.

I didn't even remember some glitch in looting supplies from the same imperial subjects, the inhabitants of Elsted territory, just because the lord, Count Elsted, rebelled.

But if we had proceeded with the army into Ersted territory, all villages and towns, as well as people, had disappeared with one livestock, and all the grains stored, preserved food, livestock feed and even luggage cars that seemed to be available for use with the requisition had disappeared.

As well as the craftsman's workshop in the town, the rice store has set fire to it, and all the fuel has been taken away.

It was seen that Count Elsted had previously assumed this situation and had also informed the inhabitants.

"I had heard that a person named Count Elsted was a badly rumored figure, but he cannot be seen as a very rumored figure to see how quickly the inhabitants acted in a state of emergency in a controlled manner. It doesn't look like he's the one who can be caught off guard."

"And even though we have some land exploration here in the Empire, the land exploration is far inferior to that of the Elsted people. The good of the land is in their favor over the number. That's why there was a difference in numbers, and we should have multiplied our total offense with high morale and now momentum. There is also information that Lyon has responded to the enemy's request. Give Count Elsted more time and our advantage will be overshadowed!

But where Carl and the others have created a sense of crisis, they have no authority to move the battlefield.

Everyone in this room remembered their voidness, and all they had to do was drink and say stupid things about each other.

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

Unlike the whole town, the darkness in the woods is deep.

Though the moon shining in the night sky had cast a cold, blue light on the earth, that light in turn had made the shadows of the trees darker, causing creepy thoughts on the soldiers in the camp.

Only a few years after the demon king was destroyed by the 'brave' Leticia.

Night forest is inherently the realm of the beasts. Demons are still trekking, and we don't know when a vicious demon will show up out of the darkness. It may also be impossible for many of the soldiers standing at the sentry to stand by the bonfire and try to stay as close to the darkness as possible.

Karl was walking to a place where Viscount Clegman's leadership was in formation when a distressed drinking party was dissolved in the name of the military council.

The overwhelming army of Prince Neumann over the number is cooking more fire than is necessary as a demonstration to the army of Prince Alfred caged in Eltz. There was food insecurity, but only fuel could be afforded because of the abundance of forests near Ertz.

The road is bright and unobstructed, even if it is a foothold intoxicated by alcohol thanks to it.

Sometimes, I hear cheers and laughter from within the line.

(You're a little too loose in morale. This is bullshit!

Carl thought so as he walked past the soldiers who were also betting on cigarettes.

As one of the commanders, I also thought I should be careful, but the soldier was a soldier of another army, so I didn't put it in my mouth, I just stuck it in my face.

It is an act of transcendence for Carl to speak out against the soldiers of the other ranks, and if the army to which the soldiers belong belonged belonged to the ranks of the rulers of the Great Powers, it might cause some inconvenience to the master of Carl, Viscount Clegman.

That's what I feared.

However, when I returned to Viscount Clegman's position, if my men were doing the same thing, I was thinking of severely punishing them.

At that time.

"Excuse me. Are you Carl Thousand Horsemen who will keep Sir Clegman's army?

Speaking to Carl was as much a man as a little over thirty. He was a brilliant man characterized by lean finesse, and a smile was floating about whether his mouth showed a friendly attitude.

"I don't know. What about you?

"I am His Excellency Baron Mordo's subordinate, Cairn Hundred Horsemen. He had just joined the formation in response to the thirty horsemen of the Baron Mordo's Knights, Prince Neumann. His Excellency Karl Thousand Horsemen, who bombarded his martial name with the Empire Corps of the Alliance against the Devil, would like to say hello when he hears that he is on your side."

"Baron Mordo... that's a long way to go again"

There was a little time left after I said Baron Territory because Carl had never heard of the place name Baron Mordo Territory.

There are countless houses of imperial aristocracy, and it is not surprising that there is a Baron house that Carl does not know.

Still, you can't possibly say that you don't know a nobleman named Baron Mordo or anything like that, and Carl made Cairn work a hundred riders.

I deduced from afar that, even though Carl did not destroy all the noble houses, I knew exactly what the neighbors were from my own territory. There was also a preliminary downward examination of the southern periphery of the battlefield Earl of Elsted and the Klefdorf Marquis.

The result is that Viscount Clegman's territory has possession in the south, close to the west, so he inferred that Baron Mordo's territory has possession in the north or east.

And was Carl guessing, Kailn Hundred Riders nodded slightly seeping fatigue in his face.

"I am thrilled to hear your Excellency say such hard work"

Called His Excellency, Carl was relieved to forget his dissatisfaction with the high nobles until earlier.

"As a matter of fact, wine production has flourished in my realm, if it's convenient for you to stay with me."

"Oh, the wine. But..."

Sometimes you see soldiers who are interested in gambling earlier and feel disciplined. If you, the commander, drink in the line, you can no longer blame your men for doing the same.

"Then what about in our line?

Seeing Carl, who was often bitter, Kayln suggested that he should have guessed his mind.

"It is in the woods that our Baron Territory is forming a formation. Thanks for the late arrival, no good places are available."

It is not uncommon that a small number of troops in the late arrivals are finally building their positions in places opened up in the woods.

Good places for setting up squares in front of the surrounding town, along the streets, along the river, etc. are buried more and more from first come, first served.

Of course, there would still be a suitable place for the camp in the rear, but that would take a while to rush when the battle starts. That's likely going to be a missed opportunity to get a handle on the battlefield and stop in the eyes of Prince Neumann and hence Marquis Cliffdorf.

As a result, there are few marquises forming in the woods that are otherwise unsuitable for camp.

"In fact, we have a voice in the warlords of several other Hordes. If you're in the woods, you don't have to worry about the eyes of all the annoying grand aristocrats or your men. How about that?

"Hmm... but I'm the only one who drinks."

"Your Excellency's men are invited, then."

"My men, too?

As a matter of fact, this wine was brought to my lord more than a souvenir to the history of the great nobility. I've had several barrels towed in my luggage truck, but when I brought it to a souvenir to greet one of the others earlier, they ate the front door to see if I could drink alcohol made by such a country nobleman. It was brought as a souvenir at the behest of my lord, so we didn't dispose of it on our own, and we were in trouble. But if I behaved at a feast to deepen friendship with the chief ministers of the people everywhere, including His Excellency, I would also have an excuse for my lord. Instead, if you drink it, I'll help. "

"Ha ha, I see. Surely you can't take something brought to the souvenirs back after the war if they pay you in advance."

"Yeah, I was really having trouble handling it. In fact, it is true that I have spoken to His Excellency and, of course, that His Excellency was a well-known samurai and wanted to say hello, but at last we have also disposed of this wine… as soon as we wish we could make use of it in friendship"

"Ha, I understood the predicament of a hundred riders. Fine, then dispose of the troubles. Let us take care of it."

When Carl gathered together those among his men who were knights, he was guided, under the guidance of Cairn Hundred Horsemen, into their ranks that they were in the woods.

Before Carl arrived, several warlords from another clan had already been invited to drink wine with him. Some of them had earlier participated in military discussions.

"We are always the only ones swung by the impossibility of the nobility"

"Absolutely right. This is how we always get our asses stuffed."

"Well, if it's these butt plushes, you're welcome."

If one says with a cup lined with wine, those gathered on the spot will laugh more and more.

In fact, the wine was quite superior and delicious.

It may not be enough for a grand aristocrat, but nevertheless the wine was beyond the reach of the curls, who were only in knighthood.

"Come on, go ahead. There are still large quantities of wine. Don't hesitate to drink more."

In fact, Baron Mordo's position was away from that of the other realms, and no one had to worry about complaining about the tyranny of the great nobles being asked.

The more ill you say above, the more the liquor moves on.

Again on the battlefield, the fact that they had an overwhelming force compared to the enemy army at Eltz was alarming to their hearts.

The liquor proceeded so well that the feast was exuberant.

Many of the participants got drunk and lost their identity.

And the next morning.

There was no sign of Carl Thousand Horsemen and his captains in the position of Viscount Clegman.

It's not just Viscount Clegman territory.

The warlords of the Hordes, who were called to the feast of Baron Mordo, did not return to the line.

The soldiers rushed after the whereabouts to the commanders, who would not return at noon, but could not find a clear place to be.

No one knew where Baron Mordo's position was.

But the soldiers of each Horsemen's army never told the generals led by Prince Neumann that their commander had disappeared.

Because he feared that the scandal of the Commander going missing would be disposed of.

And this affects the war situation of Prince Neumann's army greatly.

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

"If this goes well, you're going to clap it out."

"It is only if the people of the country have the result that the Hordes sent their troops with us first in their desire for hands-on. And it's because of the factionalism of the great aristocracy that characterizes this country."

To his men's words, a man who had named himself Cairn Hundred Horsemen of Baron Mordo's territory - Kelvin said so and smiled ironically.

"Even if we make contact by pretending to be allies, the same words and customs are spoken. Even uniforms are similar. And there are many times when the nobles of the small territories don't know each other's faces. If you do, you can fight like this."

Kelvin had taken more than three hundred of his men and was lurking in the woods spreading outside of Ertz.

The men are the hands of a bright Eltz Adventurer Guild in the geography of this neighborhood and a selection of adventurers who have accompanied them from Simurgh. They also had extensive field experience and were extraordinarily superior to the soldiers in battle in the few in the woods.

When the Kelvins named the ministers of some lower aristocracy in the north, who were real and had spoken in advance as collaborators, they invited the famous warlords to the feast, supposedly, and behaved with alcohol and cooking. And when he was drunk enough, he predicted that he would meet him, and he drugged him to sleep, and abducted him.

"But why are you bothering to put me to sleep? It would be easier if you poisoned him instead of sleeping pills and killed him."

"They're also imperial people again. And it's a hand-worked effort that has made achievements against the Allied Forces of the Continent of Demons, pirate crusades everywhere, and more. Losing someone like that in such a crappy battle would be a lot of human damage, wouldn't it? The loss of competent personnel will only please Petersia, who is hidden in the shadows of this civil unrest."

"But wouldn't it be a disaster to keep you alive later?

"If we triumph, the nobility of the small territories they serve will swear to us obedience. Because they are only attached to Lord Cliffdorf, who now looks mighty, in search of peace of mind in their own territory. And if I plan to return the interest to myself..."

Kelvin cut words there and looked back at the adventurers who were temporarily subordinate.

"Then I don't mind that. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Eyes peering through thinly open eyelids host a giraffe of dangerous light, with the ends of the mouth slightly distorted into the shape of a grin.

The adventurer who saw it tasted a zooming sensation on his spine. Then, returning to his companions, he praised Kelvin in front of his fellow adventurers.

"That Captain Kelvin guy, he's not a jerk. If I do this job, I'll meet him once in a while in battle madness. Most of the time, those guys don't live long, and just because they're combat freaks doesn't mean they'll stand up. In fact, I've never been a combat freak I've ever met, and I never thought I'd lose. But that Kelvin guy is different. It even comes with the talent of a sword, to the personality that prefers to fight. I'm not afraid of my own death on top of that. Oh, you call that a kind of monster."

Five days after the disappearance of Captain Karl Thousand, and in the meantime, there were several units whose commanders had disappeared unwittingly, but the matter never leaked from the missing troops to an outsider.

In the meantime, Crown Prince Alfred's Army and Prince Neumann's Army finally enter their first battle at Eltz.

With all the walls of the town, Prince Neumann's army, which boasts several times more troops on the number, was seen as an overwhelming advantage, but the result ended in a way where Prince Neumann's side suffered painful damage and retreated.

Prince Neumann's army caused enormous damage to enemy troops that suddenly emerged from the woods in the form of devoured and torn flanks.

The exterior of Prince Neumann's army, facing the forest side, was under the responsibility of a mixed army composed of the Lower Territorial Horsemen.

But the warlords in the rank of Commander of the Mixed Army were missing, so they couldn't take control, and were ravaged by the troops of more than 300 adventurers led by Kelvin Thousand.

The troops of Kelvin and his adventurers retreated into the woods without suffering any damaging damage, just leaving a few wounded.

Furious about the matter, Kleifdorf Marquis Welt gave an order to pursue the Kelvins immediately, but it was the Marquis of the Little Territories who actually executed the order.

Naturally, without a commander, they couldn't possibly be able to act in a controlled manner on Loch, and Kelvin and his men continued to lurk slowly in the lead of adventurers from Eltz with land prospects.

And until the commanders of the Lower Lords' Army discovered that they were actually missing, Kelvin led the adventurers to attack the rear Prince Neumann Army's Heavy Forces.

And he succeeded in inflicting tremendous damage on Prince Neumann's army, which he believed was an overwhelming advantage over numbers.