The Blood Knight’s Villains

My Villains Chapter 362

61. The Art of War (4)

Prince Ulkar’s visit to the castle ended happily thanks to the fact that the dragon knights were repulsed without much damage.

The cavalry, which returned today, was disbanded because it needed time to recover from travel, but Ulkar was an exception. He summoned his chief officer, Harold, and the actual commanders of each army—General McNeill of Antrum, Sir Ecbert of Arbyden, and Sir Dale Rashid of Odenlock.

“…are you going to have another meeting?”

“of course. Since I was away for nearly ten days, I have a lot of things to do.”

“No, Your Highness.”

Madaz Rao, a middle-aged sorceress wearing a black robe and monocle, stopped the prince with the determination of an expert.

“Today, I must have my prosthetic hand repaired.”

Ulkar raised one eyebrow and held up a silver prosthetic arm.

“…Your prosthetic arm? I thought I had been given a present.”

“Are you messing around with the presents you gave me? I can’t stand this ignorance and neglect any longer. I have the right to interfere with Your Highness’ personal affairs as much as the proportion of your left forearm and hand in your body.”

“Where is such a law?”

“It belongs to the Lao family.”

The Rao family in the Baden region is a prestigious family that is called one of the three major magic schools in the kingdom, along with La Palais Palace of Tirin Mel of the Royal City Dawning Council.

Madaz Rao is a wizard whose older brother is the head of a prestigious family. Even if he is not good at combat, he is known as a master among masters when it comes to making golems and artifacts.

Madaz has a bit of an eccentric personality, but his skills are clear, and he is serving without any cost – except for the experience of testing the silver prosthetic arm, which is a masterpiece of his life. Thanks to that, even when he made a fool of himself, Ulkar only put on a puzzled expression.

“I can’t. Now take it and fix it

.”

“You know, don’t say anything else. It’s about harmonizing with Your Highness’s body, so you’re saying just take off the prosthetic arm?”

Ulkar looked back at his entourage with eyes begging for help.

“Follow Master Madaz’s recommendation, Your Highness. Receiving a report is important, but will you only do things to take care of yourself?”

Sir Gisela actively agreed with Sir Liam’s advice, and Sir Ankir only giggled. Master Lee Mond and Master Epos seemed to not want to argue with Madaz, so they kept talking about each other, and before long, the prince’s side turned to me.

what do you say

When I silently shrugged my shoulders, Madaz said with a proud face.

“It seems everyone agrees, Your Highness.”

“…I’ll check while I’m getting Harold’s treatment, so I’ll summarize the report-” ”

You mean to show the Rao family’s vision to outsiders?”

“That’s”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not your majesty, but your grandfather, His Majesty King Admiral, has no right to make such a request even if he returns alive.”

In the end, Ulkar was almost taken by Madaz and headed for the castle.

Seeing the prince walking with a dark expression surrounded by Sir Gisela and his own soldiers, I asked Sir Ankir.

“What are you doing that makes His Highness hate you so much?”

“I don’t know, but that maintenance seems pretty itchy and stingy.”

“…You say you’re like that because you don’t like that?”

Are you an elementary school student going to the dentist?

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to seek treatment?”

“therapy? Oh, you mean the severed arm?”

“yes.”

“That is difficult.”

He scratched his beard with a bitter expression.

“It’s already been more than half a year since the creeping dragon ate Your Highness’ arm. Now, to try regeneration, you’ll need to bring in a high-ranking priest who is good at healing among the archbishops?”

Among the priests under the prince’s command, the highest level is the old priest, Gospatrick. Although his holy power was great, he was at most the level of a bishop, so he couldn’t make his severed arm sprout.

There was also Princess Theodora, but she was a style that was equally good at both combat and healing and exorcism, so she only looked at her healing ability, but she was similar to or inferior to Gospatrick.

“But it’s fortunate that after the maintenance is over, you’ll fall asleep even if you’re exhausted. I must pray that your dream seat will be comfortable today.”

“…A dream seat? Are you having a nightmare?”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

He watched Ulkar’s back and nodded.

“I heard that you have nightmares almost every day for a couple of months.”

“What is your dream?”

“Well, I didn’t say it exactly. It must be quite frustrating since you can’t go to the priest because your dream is troubled.”

w……o uh”

—

whatever.

The evil boss who likes to work, Ulkar, has been eliminated by the dentist, so now my multiplier is free.

Like a walled city on the border, High Castle has three more castles besides the tall and thick double walls. High Castle and Axode Andal-Viren are those. The fortress ‘High Castle’ with the same name as the city is a historic structure that has been in place even before the other two fortresses and double walls were built. In other words, this inner side is the original high castle.

This old structure in the form of a typical keep is located in the very center of the city and, as its name suggests, has a magnificent castle tower that is over 10 meters high, so you can see the surroundings clearly.

Originally, it was a major defense base for the border guards and knights, and now it has become the core of defense because it is the residence of Ulkar princes and lords.

‘Axod’ is an inner castle that serves as a permanent residence, and is also called ‘Country Castle’ because it is the residence of the Margrave and the Axodbrook family for generations.

Thanks to this, it is the largest of the three castles and has a beautiful courtyard. In addition, the black roof tiles were placed on top of a square three-story granite building, giving a beautiful yet solid impression.

Even now that Ulkar’s army has entered, the Marquis Landry and his family are staying, and major merchants and artisans will be accommodated when a full-scale siege takes place.

‘Andal-Biren’ is the smallest of the three fortresses, but it is the place where people come and go the most. This is because it is where the only cathedral in the city is located.

Six or seven hanging curtains engraved with crosses and sun lanterns were hung on the white stone wall, and the pointed spire soared up, so even a quick glance could tell that it was a sacred space.

All the clergy who could not intervene in the war between the Kwangmyeong Christians are staying here, and hundreds of serfs and day laborers who are too poor to leave the city are being accommodated.

It is not much different now, but when the battle begins in earnest, this place will be operated as a relief center. It plays the role of constantly treating injured warriors and returning them to the battlefield.

I wonder if this is enough to intervene in the war, but no matter what I think, the residents of High Castle still believe that ‘Andal-Biren’ is a sacred place.

Ah, the place where Princess Theodora and the paladins originally stayed was right here.

It was very unusual for the Paladins of Calandari to eat and sleep in the church of the El Ganore Church. But at present, the highest-ranking priest in the city was Father Gospatrick, the military chaplain of Ulkar. And to a wandering priest who turned 70 this year, it didn’t seem that important to be of a different denomination or something.

“…Still, all the paladins have left, so why are you going back there?” At my question, Theodora nodded with a puzzled face.

“I think so. It is the principle set by the maternal uncle that all priests stay at the cathedral of Andal-Viren.”

“That’s what I was talking about during the battle, and for now, let’s go to the quarters my party has reserved. I heard that the space in the cathedral is too small because of the refugees, so you can’t put your precious body on the cold floor, can you?”

“…But as a priest, how can I find a comfortable place for my body?”

“The Princess is a Paladin of Calandari, but she is also my colleague.” I smiled mischievously and persuaded her.

“If you really want to go, I won’t stop you. However, please know that I won’t be able to sleep properly because I’m worried about the princess.”

W Uh ”

“Now that you’ve heard this, you won’t feel uncomfortable going to church, right?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Then, as a cleric, it would be better to be by my side, where I feel a little uncomfortable but my body is comfortable than Andal-Biren, who is uncomfortable both physically and mentally. They said they found a lodging close to Andal-Biren anyway, so if you feel uncomfortable, move on then.”

She smiled incredulously and glared at me.

“A pure sophist and a deterrent, Kyeong-eun.”

“I know. Come on, let’s go.”

Theodora panicked and grabbed the saddle handle as she quickly grabbed the reins of Brightmere and pulled.

“Oh no-”

“What are you doing? Eson Umberta lead the way.”

“Sir Phoenix!”

Theodora let out a deliberately angry voice, but made no attempt to regain the reins.

Among the three castles, the place where I should have stayed is High Castle.

what a normal thing I’m a knight of Ulkar, and Ulkar will stay in High Castle. Other knights and wizards are also planning to make their lodgings there.

But there was a problem, the fact that I had more than 50 military family members with me.

In the end, I was able to head to the lodgings that Utequai, Heila, and others had arranged in advance, with a good excuse to be in command.

‘The Rose Garden’.

It was the name of the inn where the party stayed. Contrary to its cheesy name, it was the most expensive and luxurious accommodation in the city.

The inn was a two-story building that looked like two reporters joined together. Light red tiles were placed on the roof, and a red brick wall was also placed around it. The thatched stable was spacious and clean, and there were antique wooden awnings over the entrance and windows.

“…you don’t have to tell me who chose the lodging.”

Eson, who has guided us this far, answered with a smile.

“Looks like you liked it. To the point of buying it whole.”

“…You bought it whole? here?”

“yes. The original owner, a nobleman, was about to evacuate, so he bought it cheaply. Well, the cut price was a lot of money, but from the lady’s point of view, it must be a bargain.”

“Well, that would be it.”

When I entered the front yard of the inn, well over thirty people were waiting for me. Half of them were unexpected people.

“Nyx!”

Oh, of course I expected that there would be Atalanta.

As soon as she found me, she rushed over and jumped as if stepping on the air and landed on the bicorn.

“I missed you.”

“Hey wait. Lower it a bit-” I frowned, but Atalanta finally let me go after kissing me.

“This is Maximiago and Anenso. These are the people who help me.”

Upon her introduction, two men and women dressed in nude people greeted her in a very polite manner.

“It is an honor to meet Nari, a renowned knight. This is Maxia from Zaladub.”

“May the care of the Supreme Father be with you. It is called Rejun’s Anenso.”

They were a large middle-aged man and a stooped old woman, respectively, the chiefs of a clan that Atalanta had recently brought in.

Standing behind them were the captains of the newly formed nude elite warrior corps, ‘Hareskis’.

One of them was Argos, Atalanta’s henchman, with a familiar face, and the other two were strangers. Judging by the slight differences in the bands around the arms and the ring decorations on the clothes, it seems that they were selected from the Zaladub and Rejun clans, respectively.

“…what are you doing to bring me here?”

At my whisper, Atalanta smiled bitterly.

“Other than this, when will I put my eyes on Nari, the knight of the silver prince.”

“what?”

Upon hearing the story, it is said that only a few leaders, including Atalanta, are here, and the eight hundred nude soldiers she led are stationed between the inner and outer walls of High Castle.

“why not?”

“There are so many people who hate our people.”

“who? lords?”

“As well as the lords, the residents here are especially severe.”

“Anyway, you didn’t bring people into the city to fight the enemy like that?”

Come to think of it, many commanders didn’t even mention the 800 Nudein soldiers when they counted the number of troops. Since we are in an overwhelmingly outnumbered situation, one cat’s hand would be a pity

. I used it to my heart’s content at Port Oduenne, and now I’m back with a cold meal like this.”

“no way. The prince is not the kind of person to do that.”

“I don’t know, maybe he doesn’t want to pay for what he promised us. Well, maybe I just forgot… but anyway, I’ll have to face it myself.”

Ulkar is one of the most outstanding commanders in the kingdom, even on the continent. Could such a nobleman have forgotten about 800 troops?

I hope it can’t be

I scratched my eyebrows for a moment, then reassured Atalanta.

“Let me ask you one question.”

” you?”

“huh. The prince is not stingy when it comes to awarding prizes or paying the price to his allies. When I was a mercenary with nothing, I was awarded a knighthood and a manor for making a contribution.”

“…I hope that fairness does not discriminate between ethnicities.”

As she spoke with a sigh, she soon opened her eyes and smiled. And it was to put an arm around my neck.

“It still feels good.”

“what?”

“I feel like you are on my side.”

“You are talking nonsense. There are a lot of people, so can you let me go?”

After kissing again, familiar faces appeared beside Atalanta, who retreated.

“……uh?” A warrior with a solid body despite not being too tall for a woman, and an archer with short black hair on a slender body.

“long time no see. no It’s been a while. Do I have to say ‘I’m done?’

“Grania Arnal.”

They were mercenaries who had been together in South Harbor. Besides Grania and Arnal, Grania’s younger brother Farel and the not-so-reliable combat nun Olga were also with them.

“Yes, I heard that you are here. Did you come to find me too?” “Of course you have to come. An old comrade.”

It is said that Grania, who led her own mercenary corps, became a direct subordinate of Prince Ulkar in recognition of his contribution to protecting Port Oduenne. From a mere wandering mercenary, he became the prince’s personal soldier, so if he was successful in his own way, he would be successful.

The situation where former comrades-in-arms used respectful words was a little uncomfortable, but I didn’t bother.

Leading by the ponytail Fritz, dirty-tempered subordinates such as crossbowman Gidon heavy swordsman Umberta burnt Donnel iron glove Taggart are glaring at the situation. If he recklessly spoke short words, Grania’s side might end up suffering.

I wanted to talk more with them, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t Utequai standing on the edge of the yard that caught his attention, but the girl hiding behind him.

“…wasn’t it okay?”

“hmm. There was something to be angry about.”

Utequai crossed his arms and shook his head.

“…Tell you later. Let’s start with an introduction.”

The girl was hiding between Utequai’s log-like waist and a large direwolf, peeking out her eyes. Unlike the usual fear or wariness in her gaze toward me, her big eyes seemed to contain only curiosity, excluding a little shyness.

“…Are you IOP baseball?”

When I bent down and asked, the girl was startled and hid behind Utequai’s back.

…another soul shaman.

All the heroic characters I’ve met so far have unique personalities.