Chapter 40: Go to the rear!?

Count Anderson and his staff had gathered all the major figures of the north for a meeting after a long time.

“You must have heard about the situation by now.”

“Of course. They say the scale is thousands. Is that true?”

Technically, the highest-ranking person in this place was Eurius. He pretended to be surprised and answered the Count’s question.

“That’s right. It seems like the biggest war in the north since the empire was founded is likely to happen.”

And then the Count cautiously asked him his true intention.

“The barbarians of the north are not easy enemies to deal with when they unite. What do you want to do, Your Highness?”

This implied a lot of things.

The biggest reason why Eurius came to this far north was of course to build up his merit. But if it turned into a large-scale war, it was different.

It was too much of a burden to make someone as important as the first prince run at the front line of war.

‘If we wait until the support from the central knight order arrives, it won’t be too late to join His Highness.’

Of course, the Count thought that he would never accept this, considering his actions and personality so far.

‘His Highness cares a lot about the people and is a righteous person. How can I persuade him?’

“Hmm…”

The Count waited for an answer nervously as Eurius seemed to think deeply.

‘Please just hold on for a month. Just a month…’

That would be enough time for the support troops from the capital to arrive.

The Count also cared a lot about Eurius, so he made this suggestion.

“I want to give you enough merit. But I can’t face His Majesty if you get hurt or die by jumping in at the most dangerous time.”

That was also because of his loyalty to the imperial family.

“Hmm!”

Eurius let out a groan and replied.

“I know that you made that suggestion because you care about me. Actually, I want to go to the front line right now.”

The Duke and his staff felt their hearts sink.

“Your Highness, please…”

“But!”

Eurius shook his head as if he had no choice.

“I don’t think it’s right to make you and your staff uncomfortable because of my situation. My father who sent me here wouldn’t want that either.”

“…!?”

“For now, I’ll follow your advice and wait in the rear. But if there’s something I can do, you have to let me know?”

The Count and his staff were amazed by the unexpected reaction.

‘As expected, His Highness is not an ordinary person.’

‘It’s not easy to suppress his young blood at that age. He’s compromising for us…’

In fact, it was hard to arrange efficient personnel when they had to worry about protecting the emperor at the front line.

Eurius was an excellent commander, but he was also like a king in chess who couldn’t be injured or killed.

Using troops before securing enough safety could be a poison to the allies.

That was an assumption made because they didn’t know Eurius’s power, but he understood that well enough and accepted the Count’s suggestion.

‘Anyway, Nuada is unlikely to show up at the front line for a while. It’s not bad to watch the situation.’

‘As expected, His Highness is worthy of His Majesty’s favor.’

The Duke looked at Eurius like his own son for a moment and told him the task he wanted him to do in the rear.

“There is actually a task I would like to ask you to do in the rear, Your Highness.”

“What is it? It’s perfect timing.”

Eurius smiled brightly and jumped in.

“If you go along the side road behind the Valdes Fortress, you will see the Grime Castle. You must know that.”

“You want me to defend the rear from the side road.”

Eurius understood right away.

Grime Castle was a small castle that guarded the only side road leading to the rear of the fortress, besides the entrance of the northern mountain range near Valdes Fortress.

“That’s right. I don’t think the barbarians will use any tactics like disrupting the rear, but I’m worried because of their scale.”

The Count said this but he actually thought that guarding the rear was also one of the important tasks.

It’s one of the requirements of a good commander to think of even the slightest possibility.

“I will give you most of the knights who escorted you. I will also give you some soldiers, so please defend it firmly.”

“Of course, thank you for entrusting me with this task.”

‘Phew, thank goodness.’

“Then I will decide on the troops to send to the front line.”

The Count started to arrange the next troop formation with a relieved mood after solving the biggest problem.

He didn’t think there would be any big trouble on the front line where he was guarding with his superhuman power, but the important thing was to reduce the damage.

The request for reinforcements from the Count and the report of a large-scale invasion arrived at the capital almost at the same time.

The second matter was so urgent that they used a fast messenger who came without resting.

“The movement of the north is not good. We need support troops.”

And two days later, another messenger arrived.

“The large-scale invasion of the barbarians has begun. They are estimated to be over thousands!”

The emperor summoned all his ministers to discuss this issue.

“Shouldn’t we bring His Highness back?”

“His Highness Eurius is a capable person!”

This was a heated debate among even the pro-emperor ministers.

“Enough!”

But the emperor made a decision.

“Eurius will stay in the north as he is. I heard he is taking on a support mission in the rear. He has his own power, so nothing big will happen.”

No minister dared to argue with such a firm decision by the emperor.

“Then we will move on to the agenda of sending knights and troops.”

During the meeting, the emperor had no change in his expression, but he was secretly watching Grand Duke Wilhelm’s reaction.

‘Eurius went up to the north and soon after a big war broke out in the north? The timing is too perfect.’

Grand Duke Wilhelm also knew that and smiled triumphantly.

‘Now it’s too late to find out.

In fact, this gathering of the northern barbarians had a close connection with him.

Finally, the Grand Duke also mobilized his own forces to start a full-scale operation to interfere with Eurius.

‘No matter how barbaric they are, if they get my help, it’s not impossible to shake the empire for a while!’

At this moment, the Grand Duke’s confident eyes were directed at the distant northern mountain range.

…

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the northern mountain range, countless tribes were gathering under the banner of the chieftain.

“The Red Feather Tribe has joined us.”

“The Beating Heart Tribe has arrived.”

“The Black Warrior Tribe also wants to join the chieftain.”

“Hmm.”

The man sitting on a large chair made of animal skins was receiving the report with a pleased expression.

The chieftain who could gather several tribes!

It was a word that couldn’t be more pleasant.

He turned his eyes to the side and opened his mouth.

“What do you think? Is this enough to face the foreigners at the foot of the mountain?”

“It’s far from enough.”

But a cold voice denied his words.

The owner of the voice looked like an immigrant, but he only wore similar clothes. His behavior and speech clearly showed that he was not an immigrant.

“We can help you more if you want. But it’s not time yet.”

His firm words made the man sitting on the chair complain.

“I don’t think there are many tribes left to gather nearby. I’ve never regretted listening to you guys.”

The man’s name was Gundar.

He was just a chief of one of the largest tribes in the area until a year ago, but he became a chieftain who was called by many tribes after these foreigners helped him.

“I heard that there are still many unknown strong ones deep in the mountain range?”

Gundar sighed.

“Those guys are usually satisfied with their situation and it’s not easy to gather them.”

He was able to expand his power so quickly because of these foreigners’ help, but also because the tribes near the mountain range facing Valdes Fortress felt a crisis after seeing the empire’s northern development.

But there were still many tribes inside the mountain range who didn’t hear much news and were watching the situation calmly.

“Actually, I have something to consult with you about that.”

“What is it?”

“Actually, I was able to attract some of those tribes. But they’re causing trouble instead.”

“…!?”

Gundar started explaining.

“Those who live deep in the mountain range are usually small in number but have many excellent warriors.”

That’s right. 

In fact, raiding means that they can’t secure enough food by hunting or livestock, which means that their overall level is not high.

But there are also many powerful monsters and beasts living deep in the mountain range. The tribes trained there are small in number but their warriors are outstanding.

“There’s a young chief who joined us from there and he’s causing trouble.”

Gundar recalled.

“This is nothing but suicide!”

A young man who looked like he was in his thirties came up to him angrily.

“I came here as a representative of six tribes.”

The tribes he listed were all small in number but had many warriors. And they were also tribes that he hadn’t heard much about.

“I thought they were just riffraffs who came together to cause trouble…”

Surprisingly, that brat named Nuada easily crushed several of his warriors with his bare hands.

“Why do you have to gather all the tribes and fight a frontal war?”

The tribes living deep in the mountain range didn’t want any conflict as long as their territory was protected.

But because Gundar wanted to fight a large-scale frontal war, they were also affected by his anger.

“The foreigners living on the plain have countless numbers. Do you have any plans?”

Gundar had nothing to say to that question. It was purely his personal ambition.

“If you help us with our work, we will make you the loser of the north.”

Everything started after these foreigners came to him a year ago.

Gundar was also an outstanding warrior as a chief, but there were many of them who were not much inferior to him.

And they also provided him with the tactics that his tribe lacked, so his Storm Cart Tribe rose to the largest power in the mountain range.

“That’s a problem.”

‘As expected, these stupid barbarians can’t even unite even if I give them a chance.’

The foreigner, no, one of the officers of the knight order that the Grand Duke secretly raised, Dmitri, smiled quietly.

“That’s why I chose you.”

He explained in detail to Gundar, who was not very bright.

“They are elite, aren’t they? Then they can act separately, right?”

“Act separately?”

Gundar didn’t understand.

“You have to use them in a different direction if they don’t want to be placed in front, right? Send them across the mountain range to the back of the fortress.”

“Ah!”

Gundar slapped his knee.

“Then I can attack the enemy’s back, and get rid of those who cause trouble among the allies. It’s perfect.”

‘This level of strategy is also hard for him to understand. How funny. Well, that’s why I chose him.