Roan and the pursuit troop stayed in the Hartford Castle.
He first opened up the treasury and looked after the castle’s residents who suffered from Kallum Rinse, Lukan Diez, and the KaLu Allied Army and the nearby area’s citizens.
Together with that, he did not spare expenses materially and morally for the soldiers who had fallen or become injured from the endlessly continued battle.
Of course, Roan did not merely focus on the aftermath cleanup.
He separately ordered one of his soldiers to send a message to Swift, who was moving together with the main army and dispatched him to the Diez Kingdom.
With Lukan Diez as a hostage, he planned to neutralize the march of the Diez Kingdom Army’s reinforcement.
“Has it gone well, sir?”
Austin who had joined up later asked in a worried voice.
Roan slowly nodded his head.
“Since Lukan wasn’t a simple prince but a crowned prince nominated to be the next king, even the Diez Kingdom won’t be able to move easily.”
The instant his words finished, Semi and Harrison cut in.
“But Lukan has a two year younger half-brother, sir.”
“He may instead disgrace Lukan at this chance and try to become the crowned prince himself.”
Austin nodded his head.
“Then the hostage plan wouldn’t have any big meaning, sir.”
Everyone made worried expressions. However, Roan at least was still making a calm and cool smile.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Since Swift will take good care of it himself.”
Though he did say so, there actually was a separate point he counted on.
In the last life, Roan had heard a rumour about Lukan Diez’s younger brother, Robin Diez.
Robin’s mother was a maidservant in the palace and had passed on the moment she birthed him.
Because his birth was lowly and had not one decent faction, from a young age he couldn’t avoid being branded as the outcast.
Perhaps because of that, his character became ill-tempered and base the older and older he became.
Lukan being unofficially chosen as the crowned prince from a relatively young age too was because of his competitor Robin being a mess.
‘From the Diez Kingdom’s position, they would want to retrieve Lukan at any cost.’
Of course, Robin who was only boiling with ambition although deprived of acting independently.
But.
‘There is no need to worry since I also told Swift to take care of Robin’s side.’
Roan planned to divide the Diez Royal Family through this chance.
A plan to put down the latent enemy kingdom from early on.
‘If Robin grasps his position on his own and backs down, that too is good in its own way.’
Either way, it meant that Lukan hostage plan would succeed.
The problem was.
‘Clay.’
The remaining enemy to Roan and the Lancpehil Fief Regiment was only the North Rinse Kingdom with Clay at the head.
‘First, we must finish the fief regiment’s reorganization.’
Currently, the number of soldiers the Lancephil Fief Regiment could utilize did not quite reach thirty thousand.
It was because fallen and injured arose from the repeated battles and they had separately stationed defence forces and detached troops at the border and major outposts.
Furthermore, they had to leave behind another defence force at the border zone with the Diez Kingdom in the case of an unexpected event.
‘If so, the number of movable soldiers would fall down to twenty thousand.’
The situation was not a good one.
‘According to Agens, Tenebra Troop, and Evishun, the current North Rinse Kingdom Army is approximately more than fifty thousand strong.’
It was a number including the soldiers of the original Duke Webster House, the soldiers of the nobles who followed the Duke House, the druids Clay gathered, and the mercenaries who Clay had drawn together through his superb administrative abilities.
‘If he were to perhaps order forced conscription……’
The number of soldiers could increase by more than twice.
However, the real problem was not the forced conscription.
‘The Estia Imperial Army lead by Mills Voisa and the Byron Kingdom Army is eagerly watching for a chance.’
If they were to possibly ally with Clay, then Roan and the Lancephil Fief Regiment had to face alone three powerful armies.
Roan moved his right hand to his waist.
A hard command baton was felt through the tip of his fingers.
‘Grand Commander’s Command Baton.’
For now, he planned to send out the mobilization order to the entire kingdom with the Grand Commander title.
A plan to gather the nobles who at least had wholly maintained their forces.
‘That wouldn’t even quite be twenty thousand even so, but……’
The Rinse Kingdom’s nobles were at a state where they had spent most of their fief regiments from the fierce throne succession war and the repeated strifes in the dark.
For such reason, Roan too had fought Kallum and Lukan with only the Lancephil Fief Regiment.
But even so, he couldn’t order forced conscription directed at the kingdom’s ordinary citizens either.
‘It’s realistically impossible.’
Already the kingdom’s citizens were at a plight where each and every day was difficult and painful.
A degree where the majority of the farmers had missed the harvest season.
He couldn’t carefreely conscript them to the battlefield when the weather was slowly turning cold.
Roan deeply breathed in.
His right hand covered his left chest.
A hard object was felt through the tip of his fingers.
‘Do I have to use this……’
A contemplating look as he couldn’t easily make his decision.
At that moment.
“My lord. The agents have arrived.”
Chris spoke up with not quite a good expression.
Roan blew away the complicated thoughts within his head and nodded his head.
Soon, five slim-bodied agents showed up.
“The situation?”
Roan asked shortly.
Everyone’s eyes and ears turned towards the agents.
“It is as expected, sir. The Holy Palace’s order has come down.”
A quietly sunken voice.
The faces of the Count Lancephil House’s retainers including Austin stiffly solidified.
The agent exhaled a long sigh and added on.
“The North Rinse Kingdom has joined hands with the Estia Empire.”
The report they absolutely did not wish to hear.
Roan nodded his head with his mouth closed.
It wasn’t a good situation, but they couldn’t simply despair even so.
‘It will be well if the bastard bites the bait.’
He grasped the Grand Commander’s Command Baton and jumped up from his seat.
“I will leave the southern region including the Hartford Castle here to Semi.”
“Yes, sir!”
Semi quickly saluted and lowered his head.
A fierce light circled on Roan’s eyes.
A very short silence.
Gulp.
Everyone dryly gulped.
“The rest head north.”
The quiet but powerful voice pierced into the ears. Finally, the northern expedition order had fallen.
*****
< Grand Commander Count Roan Lancephil has calmed the kingdom’s South! >
< Kallum Rinse and Lukan Diez’s KaLu Allied Army became annihilated! >
< Kallum has died from the stone threw by the citizens of the kingdom! >
< The kingdom’s South has regained peace! >
The entire Rinse Kingdom shook.
The people cheered towards Roan and the Count Lancephil House who had flipped the disadvantageous war situation and won a complete victory.
Especially, they were greatly moved at the sight of the legion and the troops opening up their great wealth at each region and looking after the citizens’ well-being, unlike other royalties and nobles.
Thanks to that, numerous region’s residents played out unusual scenes of praying daily hoping for Roan and the Lancephil Fief Regiment to visit, or possibly come and stay even for a moment.
Such trust and support for Roan made the hearts and spirits of a few young nobles and children of prestigious houses boil.
They, to add in their small strengths at the least, joined Roan’s camp.
People had begun to gather not due to the Grand Commander’s Command Baton and emblem but by looking at Roan’s character.
In the middle of that, a shocking rumour swept the entire kingdom.
< North Rinse Kingdom has joined hands with the Estia Empire! >
The forces that had been aiming their swords at each other and fiercely fighting until now had abruptly combined their strengths.
The two forces called themselves the Rinse Liberation Army and began to march southward towards the capital, Miller.
In response, the Lancpehil Fief Regiment’s defence force and the Rinse Kingdom Northern Regional Corps resisted and fought but a great gap was shown in numbers and abilities.
In the end, the kingdom’s North was swept up in horrid chaos of war.
The people once again watched their homeland being trampled by a foreign power and shed heated tears.
At that very moment, as if understanding the citizens’ enraged hearts, one rumour was heard like a wind.
< The Grand Commander Roan Lancephil has begun his northern expedition! >
Roan who had calmed the kingdom’s South had fully begun his northward march.
The citizens feverishly cheered at the action of Roan who once again headed towards a battlefield without even properly stopping for a rest.
Especially the residents of the kingdom’s North praised Roan as a hero and shed tears of joy.
On the other hand, the headquarter of the Rinse Liberation Army was overflowing with a panicked look at Roan’s faster than expected northern march.
“Will we be fine like this, sir?”
“We still haven’t even suppressed the Northern Regional Army, sir.”
The commander of the Liberation Army and the one who aid Mills, Baron Rose Sanders, and Baron Irvine Haess murmured with stiffly hardened expressions.
The two people were both nobles from the Rinse Kingdom like Mills.
At that moment.
“There is nothing to worry of, sirs.”
Clay who was sitting on the opposite side faintly smiled and waved his hand.
His expression and manner were very leisurely and relaxed.
He looked at the map spread open on a table and spoke in a quiet voice as if to whisper.
“The Lancephil Fief Regiment’s northward march rather has a sense of being late.”
“Late…… sir?”
Rose awkwardly smiled and added honorifics a moment afterwards.
Originally, Clay was a bottom rank administrator of druid background.
He wasn’t a man whom he, who was the kingdom’s noble, should be speaking up towards.
However, Clay of now was the proxy of the North Rinse King and the commander in chief.
Furthermore, he managed Rinse Liberation Army’s seats of chief commander together with Mills Voisa.
‘Damn it.’
A curse pushed up but he couldn’t address him disrespectfully.
That was not only Rose’s problem.
The Liberation Army, especially the noble commanders who followed Mills did not like Clay.
‘Foolish things.’
Clay discerned the many noble commanders’ hearts.
‘That’s why you bastards can’t do it.’
A sneer inwardly rose up.
Now was not the time to judge a person by the person’s background characteristic.
‘The important thing is the ability. Ability.’
If possible, he wanted to audibly snort at the least.
However, he effortfully did not betray it and pointed at the map with a tip of his finger.
“If it was me, I would have ordered Viscount Potter from the start to capture the Lochi Castle that was the logistics base and completely surround and annihilated the KaLu Allied Army. If so, they would have been able to finish the battle at least about ten days faster.”
A confident voice.
All of them nodded their heads with expressions saying ‘I see’ as if they comprehended his words.
At that moment, Mills who was staying quiet exhaled a short sigh.
“What Roan Lancephil have wanted must not have been such a victory. He must have wanted to leave Kallum’s judgement directly on the kingdom’s citizens. It is to earn the reason for a kingdom’s noble to pull out a sword against royalty and the pretext for having no choice but to cut off the royalty’s head.”
Those words were correct.
The most important thing to Roan who was not of a prestigious noble house background was justification.
A justification to minimize nobles’ opposition and earn the support of the kingdom’s citizens.
“For that very reason, Roan Lancephil must have meticulously set up his plan and continuously drove Kallum Rinse and Lukan Diez into a corner.”
At those words, Clay slowly shook his head. “
That very thing is Roan Lancephil’s problem, sir.
He excessively emphasizes process.” A bitter smile hanged on his mouth.
“The important thing is the result.I understand the noble thought of making a good world, but he overly emphasizes the process that it takes too long a time to earn the result.”
Clay widely opened his arms.
“Look, sirs. I who was a mere administrator of the Count Lancephil House has already built a kingdom.”
They were arrogant and impudent words.
“We shed some blood in the process, but we ultimately settled down like this.”
The smile hanging on his mouth turned even deeper.
“I too wish to make a world good to live in. We cannot help but shed blood if we want to make a world good to live in. We cannot hesitate that.”
Roan and Clay.
The two people dreamed of a world good to live in, and both tried to make a world good to live in.
But compared to Clay who only emphasized result, Roan also thought important of the process.
At the least, Roan thought that a process everyone could accept was needed.
Someone dying for no reason but for someone else’s happiness was much too irrational a thing.
Clay deeply breathed in.
“Please watch carefully. Of Roan Lancephil and me, of who between the two makes first the good world to live in.”
A bold expression and voice.
Mills quietly stared at such Clay.
‘He is excessively confident.’
Of course, it was also true that he had abilities great enough to be so.
However, Mills couldn’t erase the somehow uneasy feeling.
‘It is given that a nation pressed and raised with strength cannot go on for long.’
The Rinse Liberation Army drew soldiers together with forced conscription, but in Roan Lancephil’s case, the people gathered naturally.
That was Roan and Clay’s difference.
‘Is this something I who drew in even the Imperial Army shouldn’t be saying……?’
Mills bitterly smiled and shook his head.
At that moment.
“They have arrived, sir.”
A well-mannered voice was heard from outside the headquarter.
Clay who was glancing through the commanders with a confident expression brightly smiled.
“Usher them in.”
A slightly elated voice.
Numerous commanders including Mills looked at Clay with puzzled expressions.
They had not heard that there would be a guest.
In that time, the tightly closed entrance opened and two young warriors appeared.
Clay, with light steps, stood at their side and then formed an odd smile.
Mills asked with a puzzled expression in everyone’s stead.
“Chief Commander Clay. Who are these men?”
At those words, Clay faintly smiled and answered.
“These are gentlemen from the Byron Kingdom and the Istel Kingdom.”
*****
Agens, Tenebra Troop, and Evishun’s agents rapidly moved.
They wore stiffly hardened expressions but the tips of their mouths very slightly went up.
Looks of forcibly holding in a laugh.
They quickly kneeled down on one knee and lowered their heads.
“Sir, he has bitten the bait.”
A short report.
“Hook him.”
Following it, a short order fell.
“Huu.”
The person making a long sigh together with a faint smile.
The one who gave the short order was Roan Lancephil.
< Northern Expedition > End.
