Poor Noble Nord’s Adventure

57. Misfortune

There are seven knight orders in the Hamil Kingdom. Four knight orders are stationed to the east, west, south, and north, each named after their respective directions. The Hamil Kingdom Knight Order, the kingdom’s most powerful force, and the Royal Guard, which protects the royal family, are also among them. And then there is the Iron Dragon Knight Order, the strongest in the kingdom, which achieved glorious feats in a war that took place about a decade ago. One corner of this, the Eastern Knight Order in charge of guarding the eastern region of the kingdom, had been on a continuous decline since its victory in the decisive battle against its long-time enemy, the Lemuria Kingdom, which bordered the eastern part of the kingdom about ten years ago.

The reason for this is simple: after winning the war, the Eastern Knight Order had no more work to do. Before the war, the Hamil Kingdom and the Lemuria Kingdom had roughly equal national power. Therefore, while there were some increases or decreases as a result of skirmishes, the two countries had a border along the Eastern Mountain Range, a natural barrier. However, everything changed in the previous war. Thanks to the active efforts of the Iron Dragon Knight Order, which had been established not long before, the Hamil Kingdom succeeded in defeating many high-ranking officials, including the King of Lemuria, and achieved a great victory.

Furthermore, as the Hamil Kingdom continued its relentless pursuit, the Lemuria army suffered one defeat after another. In the end, the Lemuria Kingdom lost nearly half of its territory and eventually retreated to the east side of the Siena River, the great river that flows through the easternmost part of the current Hamil Kingdom, finally ending the war with the Hamil Kingdom. After the war, the kingdom’s territory expanded greatly, and new noble lords with roots in the eastern region were born, centered on young nobles who had made achievements. However, the result was that this led to a decline in the proficiency of the Eastern Knight Order.

Before the war, the Eastern Knight Order was mainly composed of nobles who owned land around the Eastern Mountain Range. There were many mines producing high-quality ore in the Eastern Mountain Range, and there were often disputes with the Lemuria Kingdom over these mines. Since the outcome of the war greatly affected the management of their territories, the morale of the nobles who participated in the Eastern Knight Order at that time was very high. However, after the end of the war, the threat from enemy countries decreased for the nobles around the Eastern Mountain Range, to the point of being non-existent, as the territory in the eastern region expanded significantly. Moreover, the idea that it was inefficient for nobles with territories west of the mountains to be in the Eastern Knight Order, which was responsible for guarding the border far to the east, and that they should instead be incorporated into the Hamil Kingdom Knight Order to prepare for the still-threatening Loire Kingdom in the west, became widespread among the western nobles and the nobles of the capital.

This idea was also shared by the upper echelums of the kingdom at that time, and it was decided to reorganize the Eastern Knight Order in stages as soon as the governance of the newly acquired territories stabilized. Fortunately or unfortunately, the defeated Lemuria Kingdom was too busy defending the remaining territory to have the spare capacity to reclaim territory from the Hamil Kingdom. Therefore, the war that the Hamil Kingdom side had anticipated, aimed at reclaiming lost territory, did not occur, and the new eastern region has enjoyed a peaceful time ever since. The Eastern Knight Order was also reorganized as originally planned. This was because the nobles who had acquired new territories were able to devote themselves to managing their territories without worry, as no war had broken out. The new noble lords worked hard to win the hearts of their people, and when the governance of the territories stabilized, soldiers to form the Eastern Knight Order were supplied. And so, a knight order with absolutely no combat experience was formed.

Many of the nobles who acquired territory in the new eastern region were young nobles who had achieved feats in the war. Most of them had joined the knight order and had made achievements through their personal martial prowess. They were so-called “plain knights,” who commanded only a few men at most and had only experience commanding small units. Those who had experience commanding large units were rare. Therefore, they did not have the experience of a “unit commander,” which is required of a noble lord who needs to gather soldiers from their territory and operate them as a unit.

Therefore, the newly formed knight order was, frankly speaking, a rabble after the old noble lords of the eastern region near the Eastern Mountain Range, who had rich combat experience, were removed in the reorganization. And fortunately or unfortunately, this problem did not become apparent because the Lemuria Kingdom did not have the capacity to start a war… and since then, there had been no war, so the Eastern Knight Order had never gained any experience in collective combat.

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(I hear they are conducting exercise after exercise in an attempt to regain their proficiency…)

That training was also one of my concerns.

The Alba Territory belongs to a region called the old eastern region, but due to its location, it remains under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Knight Order even after the reorganization. Therefore, Johan knew exactly where the base of the Eastern Knight Order was. The closest base of the Eastern Knight Order to Alba Village was Balam Fortress. It was a castle located on the east side of the Eastern Mountain Range, and from Alba Village, it was located to the southeast.

(Even if I go directly, it would take almost a day for a fast horse.)

However, even if a message is sent in that amount of time, if the knight order is out on an exercise, it would take even more time to call them back. Moreover, Johan, who also had little combat experience, did not know how skilled that knight order was.

(If the request for help from the Eastern Knight Order is in vain, the only remaining hope is the capital.)

The distance from Alba Village to the capital is much farther than to Balam Fortress. However, if Newt could move faster than a fast horse, the number of days required would be greatly reduced.

(Even if he can’t fly as far as an adult wyvern yet…!)

Johan stared into Newt’s eyes and tied the letter around his neck.

“I’ve entrusted everything to you…”

The fate of the Alba Territory was entrusted to a green-scaled wyvern child.