NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: Civil War Period - The Marquis of Lafayette (2)
Translated by – Mara Sov
༺ Civil War Period – The Marquis of Lafayette (2) ༻
A quiet village surrounded by a verdant forest.
The warm sunlight graced the village, creating a peaceful and beautiful landscape.
Or, it should have been.
All of sudden, a hundred soldiers led by Knights appeared in the village, throwing the whole region into chaos.
Although the village had a local militia, they were powerless men with rusty equipment, used to deal with only wild animals, not a contingent of soldiers, and as such, they were utterly useless in front of the enemy.
“Run! We need to run!”
“Please! We did nothing wrong! Spare us!”
The invading soldiers mixed with those who were trying to get their families to safety, while some simply begged for mercy, further increasing the savage chaos.
“By the noble decree of Count Milbeau! We shall confiscate all your possessions!”
“Anyone caught hiding their belongings and valuables will have their entire family killed!”
Amid this chaos, a grizzled old man, the village chief, knelt before the Knights as he begged.
“My lords, have mercy, please, have mercy on us–Ugh!”
But before he could even finish his words, he was kicked to the ground by a soldier.
“Who do you think you are talking to? You filthy creature!”
“Ahhh, Ugh!”
The two Knights who were leading the troops watched with indifference as the old man was trampled by the soldiers while talking among themselves.
“It seems lady luck is on our side today, Sir Casselle. This village appears to be untouched.”
“Hahaha, Indeed Sir Huey, the count will be most pleased.”
The Knights of the Francia Kingdom, known as the land of the honorable warriors, were rejoicing in anticipation of the result of their plunder.
To the village’s chief despair, despite his attempts to plead for a peaceful result, those men had no intention of showing mercy or negotiating from the start.
Their Lord, Count Milbeau was a member of the Second Prince’s faction, and this village belonged to the territory of the Marquis of Lafayette, who was a key member of the First Prince’s faction.
Therefore, it didn’t matter to them how many villagers died or how impoverished they would become.
No, It would actually be better if the enemy’s land were laid to waste.
The tragic screams filling the village were nothing of note to those soldiers, as things like these were now part of their day-to-day lives.
Major cities or castles have strong defenses and soldiers who will defend them, but villages and settlements like these were not the case.
Because of the civil war, most nobles’ funds were running dry, so it was far more preferable for them to plunder those funds from the enemy villages than to go through the trouble of defending them.
So, the First Prince’s faction would plunder the Second Prince’s territories, and the Second Prince’s faction would plunder the territories of the First Prince’s faction, and so on throughout the whole kingdom.
Little did those Knights know, there was a secret army hiding in the forest, watching them ravage this land.
—-
“Those bastards……”
I silently raised my hand to calm the infuriated Gaston.
We didn’t make it in time.
Still, this was the best we could do, as we rushed here with only the light cavalry.
The enemy was about a hundred men strong, with two Knights, while we only had ten cavalrymen.
Looking at my troops, who all had anxious expressions on their faces, I continued to relay my instructions to Gaston.
“On my signal, lead the cavalry and charge at the enemy forces.”
“Charge at them?”
“Yes. Right now they are too busy looting the village to keep their guards up. If the cavalry charges at them, you should be able to break their formation and cohesion.”
“But they have 2 Knights……”
“I’ll handle them.”
Gaston looked ready to pretest my orders, but before he could I continued.
“We’re far outnumbered since we only brought our light cavalry. Do you really think I would order my man to charge without having a plan?”
“……Understood, My Lord.”
Gaston, who seemed to have accepted my reasoning, went to instruct the men as I grabbed my bow and knocked an arrow on the string.
While it’s enough to infuse your mana into the sword just once, and simply maintain it, I have to do it every time I shoot an arrow.
Most Knights tend to focus their mana on protecting themselves during battle, because of this, the bow has come to be regarded as a foot soldier’s weapon……
However, because of this focus on preserving mana, no Knight would protect themselves with mana when not in battle.
Feeling the strain in my muscles from the tightly drawn bow, I started to infuse my mana into the arrow.
My target was one of the Knights who was busy watching the village being plundered and clearly didn’t expect to be ambushed.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Gaston and the men watching me, ready to charge at my signal.
Soon, the enhanced arrow flew as I released the string—.
And pierced the Knight’s armor sinking deep into his back.
The Knight next to him yelled in surprise as I watched my target bend and eventually fall from his horse. It was somewhat amusing.
“Charge.”
“Men! Charge!!”
“Woooooooh!”
Gaston took the lead, charging forward as the cavalryman followed him out of the forest.
I quickly knocked another arrow on my bow.
“It’s an ambush!”
“Shit, fuck, Rally the troops! Shit, rally now!”
As they scrambled to their feet, I spotted a soldier yelling at the top of his lungs trying to get the troops under control.
That guy must be the sergeant, right?
“You idiots, don’t retreat now! Form ranks! Raise your spears—Gah!”
The outcome was decided the moment the sergeant was struck down in the chest by my arrow.
In the distance, an unlucky soldier screamed when he was kicked by a charging horse. When he tried to get up and strike our men, he was slit in two by Gaston’s sword.
At this moment, I drove my horse out of the forest.
The enemy Knight who was in a state of confusion as his partner lay wasted on the floor and our cavalry managed to overwhelm their forces, looked at me.
On my chest was engraved our proud coat of arms — The crest of Lafayette.
The Marquis of Lafayette, the ‘Blue Knight’, the strongest Knight in the kingdom, is famous for his unique blue armor, and since he would never use a lowly weapon as the bow, he must have known right away that I was his son.
The enemy soldiers were brutalized by our cavalry and my Knight without even managing to form their ranks.
If this guy returned to his Lord while losing his troops and a fellow Knight in a simple mission to raid a small village……
Sure enough, the Knight started charging at me with a sword drawn as I knocked another arrow on my bow.
A smirk naturally formed at the corners of my mouth.
Since there was no way to rescue his desperate troops in time, he must have thought that if he captured or killed me, then he would be able to salvage his situation.
Knights are supposed to charge and meet their enemies head-on without fear, so using a bow was the same as admitting their lack of bravery and skill.
That was the common opinion on this matter.
I released the string, letting the arrow fly towards him.
“Ha!”
Even if he was an incompetent Knight, he still managed to cut the enhanced arrow in two with his sword as he continued to charge at me.
“I am Sir Peter De Casselle, Knight of the noble Count Milbeau! I challenge you to an honorable duel!”
Oh, I’m so scared.
I immediately turned my horse and rode in the opposite direction as he chased after me, screaming at the top of his lungs.
“An honorable Knight never turns his back to his enemy and runs! Know your shame!”
This guy is committed……
“Hah! Hah! Hah!”
Since I was deliberately riding the horse at a moderate pace, Knight Casselle soon caught up with his horse.
A little more, just a little.
“Die!”
As soon as I saw the bluish glow of his raised sword, I drew the dagger strapped on my waist and threw it at his horse.
“Neigh—-!”
“Ugh!”
The horse, with a dagger stuck in its leg, stumbled and fell, as the Knight rolled a good distance on the ground.
That was a typical weakness of Knights, as they concentrated too much mana for an attack while forgoing the protection of their mounts.
Reining my horse to a halt, I jumped to the ground and pointed my sword at the Knight’s neck who was squirming in pain on the ground, trying to reach for his sword.
He looked at me with trembling eyes as he yelled in frustration.
“Wh-What is this despicable act in an honorable Duel!”
I don’t know why, but I couldn’t stop the smirk from forming on my mouth.
“Did I accept the duel in the first place?”
The Knight’s face turned red with anger.
“Damn you! Had we fought fair and square I would have won! There is no victory for those who use such dirty tricks! You don’t know the honor of a Knight–!”
Ah, so noisy.
When I hit his head with the hilt of my sword, the Knight’s eyes rolled behind his head without even making a cry.
“A plunderer like you has no right to say things about honor.”
The battle was all but over as I put the unconscious Knight Cossellia…..Or was it Cancellio? On the horse and rode to the village.
“Haaaaa!”
“Ugh, Ughaaaak!”
Following the shouts, I could see Gaston swinging his greatsword as the enemy soldiers were sent flying through the air.
“Hah, Surrender….We Surrender!”
“Just don’t kill us!”
With that, the few remaining soldiers dropped their weapons and surrendered.
“Sir Gaston, what are our casualties?”
“Just one soldier has suffered a minor injury, My lord.”
I smiled at this news.
This……
There were 100 of them and 10 of us.
Even though we had the element of surprise, they were crushed without fanfare.
“Excellent work, Sir Gaston.”
Gaston respectfully bowed his head to me.
He must have been in the thick of the fight, smashing enemy soldiers left and right, and yet he didn’t seem particularly tired.
“You also did well, Young Master.”
Gaston looked at the Knight who was first shot with an arrow and fell from his horse that had been captured, and also the one hanging on my horse……
What was his name anyway…Ah, was it Cumcellia?
In any case, after looking at both the captured Knights, Gaston bowed his head to me again.
At first, he must have been doubtful, so perhaps I’ve gained some of his trust with this.
“Take good care of them on our way back. We need to get a ransom for those two.”
“Yes, sir!”
Walking into the village, I was greeted by the sight of corpses of villagers and enemy soldiers alike.
I rushed here as fast as I could, but the damage this village suffered was far from small.
As I stood there, looking at this disaster, the villagers who had been hiding during the fight, or who had run away, came before me and knelt.
“I am the acting Marquis Pierre de Lafayette. Are you the village chief?”
When I asked, one man nodded as he replied.
“It’s an honor to meet you, My Lord. I’m the son of the village chief. I’m sorry, but my father……”
“……I understand you don’t need to say it.”
“How can this lowly village repay you for your grace in saving us……?”
The man bowing before me was indeed grateful, but at the same time, his voice was tinged with anxiety.
Perhaps, the residents of those enemy territories I’ve plundered also had these faces.
Sigh-.
“And what is your name?”
“John Miller, My Lord.”
“Very well, Miller. From now on, you’re this village chief. I’ll exempt this village from paying the tax until the winter. Also, I’ll be sending an inspector; report the damage to him, and we’ll assist you enough so this village can get through the winter.”
Miller, the new village chief as well as the other villagers all had surprised looks on their faces.
In this damned Kingdom that has been plagued by the civil war for years, it was now considered normal to squeeze the common populace as much as possible.
“Thank you, My Lord! Thank you!”
“May God’s blessings rain upon the Merciful Lord!”
I held up my hand to them and smiled, trying to appear as benevolent as possible.
Back then, I would have been proud of myself.
But now, I could see that even though there was a faint gleam of hope in their eyes, they were still glassed from years of despair and sadness.
This mercy I’ve given to them, as the Acting Marquis, is nothing but a trifle.
While I protect one village, ten would be razed to the ground, and there’s nothing I can do to change this.
Turning my head, I could see the Knights and the other prisoners being taken care of by Gaston.
Count Milbeau.
The Count himself should be fighting on the northern front for the Second Prince.
So, those troops must have come here in order to replenish some of their territory’s expenses.
But instead of gaining their loot, the Knights and soldiers were crushed and were now in need of ransom, so whoever is the poor sod managing the County would be having bad days in the future.
“Well, let’s get to it then.”
TL Note: Well our first battle is here!
And mama is delivering on the promises!
But bruh it took me 30 minutes to realize the MC was making jokes about the Knight’s name, I keep trying to make sense while translating the slightly different names lmao……
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