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Chapter 5: Rogue Lords (5)

Last chapter for today, there will be a notice later with the schedule for all my projects.

The prison was bleak. It was built underground and barely lit by candlelight. It was the kind of place where if you were locked up for too long, you might really suffer from psychosis.

“Hey, let go of me! Sir! Oh, my lord! How could you do this to me! My lord!”

I ignored Gordon, who was fussing over being thrown in jail, and headed for my former commander. The prison warden, perhaps nervous at the prospect of a military commander being locked up, led me in with robotic movements.

“Here, this is where Baron……Haddin is being held!”

The warden straightens his back and raises his voice.

All right, now shut up and open the prison door.”

At my words, the warden hurriedly covered his mouth with his hands. He opened the prison door and stepped back. When I entered the prison, I saw a man leaning against the wall looking exhausted.

“Your….?”

I immediately used [Check Information]. As my life depended on tomorrow’s battle, I checked the information with a sincere heart.

[Merja Haddin]

[Age: 45]

[Martial Force: 60]

[Intelligence: 57]

[Command: 70]

[Affiliation: No current affiliation]

[People’s Spirit: 75]

Heh. Well, this is not so bad. Perhaps it was because I had seen Burke Gordon’s ability values, but when I saw these numbers, I felt as if my eyes had been purified.

The average strength of a soldier is around 30 to 40. Although 60 was not a huge number, I was relieved to know that there were decent people who could lead the army in the declining Aintorian.

It’s rare to find someone with A-level abilities in this game, and S-level abilities are extremely scarce. Besides, what was important anyway was the command value. What is needed immediately is a commander to lead the ragtag troops, and with a command of 70, he was perfect.

“Sir! What brings you all the way out here to…..?”

“Baron Haddin. Have you ever been to war?”

I interrupted him. I don’t have time to try to convince him to join me now. So, it would be faster to appoint him under the authority of the lord. It would be enough for me to survive tomorrow’s war to get my hands on this person completely.

“War? Of course. Twenty years ago, there were frequent battles of all sizes, and I was in the military at the time…….”

I see. It’s true that he’s 45 years old now, so 20 years ago, he was 25 years old. Even though he was a nobleman, it was natural in a sense, since lower nobles often served in the military.

“Very well, Baron Haddin. I am now reinstating you as commander of the Aintorian Territorial Army!”

“What……? My Lord, my Lord! Is that true?”

“The first thing you must do upon your return is to summon all Aintorian forces, except for the border guards, to the south gate of the castle.”

I ordered Haddin, who only blinked at me, as if he had stopped thinking in surprise, and I walked out of the prison. The lord’s orders are absolute.

In a society of status, the difference in status is absolute. I’m a high-ranking nobleman, a count, and any attempt to upstage or rebel against me will result in me being hunted as a criminal throughout the kingdom.

It is not an exaggeration to say that there is no one who can resist the lord. So, I must use my authority and notoriety to devise a strategy to survive.

******

A copper-skinned man throws down a soldier.

“Come on, next! Next!”

The man threw down the soldiers one after another. The faces of the soldiers were distorted.

“Captain, let’s not do this anymore. Why is it always us doing the training that no one else does?……”

“What? Don’t talk nonsense, come and get me!”

Bente, the captain of a ten-man squadron, bent his index finger in a cooing motion to signal to the pleading soldier. His face is smiling, but the soldier he’s looking at seems as if he’s about to start crying. Immediately, Bente puts his arm around the soldier’s neck and strangles him.

“Ugh, ugh…….Captain, I surrender……I surrender…….”

“I told you not to say that word.”

Why are we always……training while everyone else is relaxing?”

“Don’t be silly. We’ll train on our own. It’s training time, right? Am I wrong?”

“You’re right, but….”

When Bente questioned him, the soldier showed his tearful face again and Bente then smiled at him. The soldiers had no choice but to confront Bente one by one and then they were thrown down.

All of Bente’s men were more or less indebted to him. In addition, they usually looked up to Bente as if he were their own brother, so the soldiers went through the training even though they were complaining.

“I don’t know anything about gambling or drinking. I’m training because I’m a soldier, and a soldier is supposed to be defending the territory, but every day I go into the city and take money from the same people under the guise of a nobleman’s order. Look, that’s why we’re training during the day and have a drink at night, that’s how we’re going to live! That’s what life is all about! Hey, you guys! What are you looking at when people are talking?”

The soldiers opened their eyes wide, shook their heads, and pointed into the distance.

“Hey, isn’t that Lieutenant Garne?”

“What, you want to get punched? I won’t be fooled by your lies.”

“It’s true…….”

Finally, Bente turned to look in the direction the soldiers were pointing. There was his immediate superior, Lieutenant Garne, walking toward him. The two of them were on the worst of terms, as Bente was unhappy with everything, including his training policies.

“What can I do for you?”

“Assemble. That’s enough playtime for now, let’s get moving.”

Bente’s head tilted as he tried to think of what kind of damage he could do today.

“What? I can’t believe they’re going to assemble at training time. This is why our soldiers are so weak and can’t fight properly. The other day…….”

“Shut up. The previous commander, Baron Haddin, has been reinstated, and all troops in the territory have been ordered to assemble in front of the south gate. Now get moving!”

Lieutenant Garne, who was always proud of his white skin without coming out of the barracks, shouted that, interrupting Bente.

Bente turned his attention back to the soldiers.

“What does he mean? Former commander? Does anyone know anything about this?”

The soldiers who had been spotted could only stare at each other.