How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 207: ๐Œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‚๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ (1)



Chapter 207: ๐Œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‚๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ (1)

โ€œWhere are you going, Adviko-gong?โ€

As Adviko stood up from his seat to request an audience with Johan, the knights looked at him with puzzlement, as if finding it odd.

They were suspicious that Adviko might try to escape.

While others escaping might not be a big deal to Johan, it was a major issue for the knights present there.

Having surrendered to Johan, turning a blind eye if Adviko escaped would be a dishonorable act.

โ€œTo see the count.โ€

โ€œAh. I thought. . .โ€

โ€œ. . . . . .โ€

Seeing the Empire knights chatter away with their wine glasses in hand, as if it were someone elseโ€™s business, Adviko spat in disgust. Worthless allies they were, in this world where no one can be trusted.

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

โ€œUh. . .what did you just say?โ€

Johan looked at Adviko in confusion. He had come to talk about paying compensation, but his counterpart brought up a completely unexpected topic.

โ€œI pledge my loyalty to you, Your Excellency Count!โ€

โ€œStand up. Itโ€™s too generous an offer to accept easily.โ€

Johan wondered why Adviko was acting this way.

Could he be trying to pay less compensation?

He fought fiercely on the side of the Order, but that was only to help the Order and not lose the Orderโ€™s friendly influence to John. John did not think at all about taking the city of Mairene.

โ€˜๐˜๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฆ.โ€™

As a fiefdom grew larger, it tended to try to break away from its original feudal lord. When it was at the town level it would remain quiet, but as its scale grew larger and larger, becoming a city, the council members and powerful families inside would stand up and struggle for freedom.

There were various methods. They could bribe the feudal lord with money, hire mercenaries to declare independence, or borrow the power of other nobles, and so on. . .

Because of this, it wasnโ€™t easy to subjugate a city that had already obtained its freedom. The people inside would resist that much more fiercely.

For now, Johan was also leaving the cities within his personal territory alone, only collecting taxes from them. He didnโ€™t want to face rebellions all over like the Emperor.

But suddenly pledging loyalty was quite a burden.

However, Adviko did not back down. It was like he had already climbed onto a galloping horse. Somehow Johan had to persuade him.

โ€œWithout Your Excellency Countโ€™s help, my life is as good as forfeit. I beg you, please help me!โ€

Adviko explained his situation. Considering his various rivals in the city, if he returned he would be assassinated or driven out within a year, so he asked Johan to come with an army together with other nobles and stay.

โ€œAs far as I know, didnโ€™t you join hands with the Emperor? Joining hands with me is tantamount to joining hands with the Order. Will you be able to handle the consequences?โ€

โ€œIt would be many times better than doing nothing! If I just go back, I will hand over the nobles on the Empireโ€™s side to you. I will show you a loyalty that I would not hesitate to offer even my own children as tributes.โ€

โ€˜๐˜ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ. ๐˜๐˜ฆโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด.โ€™

Johan clicked his tongue at the reckless behavior of the city noble.

After losing a war he had led, borrowing armies from enemy nobles to return to the city, then suppressing dissatisfied opponents and selling out former allies. . .

It was something Johan could never do even if his back was against the wall. Unless he was planning to take his assets and flee. . .

โ€˜๐˜๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜บ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ?โ€™

Rather than abandon what he had and run away, stubbornly sticking it out to the end even if things got complicated and he died. . .His mindset was completely different from Johanโ€™s.

โ€œWe could have the Orderโ€™s bishop certify and record the conversation we just had in writing?โ€

Somehow Johanโ€™s tone had changed. It was an attitude like addressing a subordinate, but Adviko didnโ€™t seem to mind at all as he replied.

โ€œOf course. If that is what it takes, what objection could I have?โ€

โ€œ. . .Very well! Iโ€™ll give it a shot. But the other nobles will have to agree as well.โ€

Johan had no intention at all of leading an army to the city of Mairene alone.

If he did that, even with Advikoโ€™s help he would have to shoulder the resentment of the city residents alone.

And If he led an army there in this setting, he would have to bring along other feudal lords and Order figures.

The armies of Count Yeats and the Order had completely different meanings.

โ€œI trust in Your Excellency Count alone!โ€

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

โ€œDid the story turn out like that?โ€

โ€œWere you expecting it?โ€

โ€œEven though I have the nickname of a prophet, I couldnโ€™t have known that much. I just said it because Iโ€™ve seen those city leaders die off one after another. They may be called the cityโ€™s masters, but sometimes they seem less valuable than a fly.โ€

The cityโ€™s representative, elected after fierce political strife, wields power that most feudal lords wouldnโ€™t dare to, but dies just as easily. As soon as he makes one mistake, his political enemies behind his back swing their swords.

โ€œBut do you think he will be loyal?โ€

โ€œIโ€™m not trusting his loyalty, Iโ€™m trusting his self-interest.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s a good attitude.โ€

Suetlg smiled faintly. He was about to say that you canโ€™t trust someone like Adviko, but Johan already seemed to know.

Fortunately, the guy had nowhere to betray them to. He was driven into a corner, so if they threw him a rope, he would grab it and cling on for dear life.

โ€œAnd Iโ€™m not expecting much.โ€

At its foundation were the ransom and compensation. On top of that, eliminating the emperor factionโ€™s influence in the city. That was all Johan wanted.

It would be bad news if a city close to the Empire joined hands with the emperor.

Johan had no plans to aggressively pursue revenge beyond the Empire, even though he held a grudge. He was too realistic to take such an uncertain gamble based on resentment alone.

But the other side would be different. The territories Johan currently held used to belong to the emperor or emperor-faction feudal lords, so as soon as the Empire stabilized, they would immediately send troops down.

โ€˜๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต, ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ. . .โ€™

โ€œWouldnโ€™t it be good in many ways if the city pledged its loyalty?โ€

โ€œOf course it would be good if they did, but do things in the world go so smoothly? I heard Mairene Free City has more than 10,000. . .โ€

โ€œWhatโ€™s 10,000. It must have over 20,000, no, 30,000.โ€

โ€œYes. Anyway, itโ€™s that kind of city. And a city that gained its freedom several generations ago. Itโ€™s not a place that would welcome an outsider leading an army.โ€

โ€œ. . .Donโ€™t tell me youโ€™re waiting for other nobles because of that?!โ€

Suetlg asked in surprise.

Considering they didnโ€™t have that many soldiers and Adviko was there, it seemed like they could depart at any time, so why were they waiting. . .

โ€œYes. I canโ€™t go alone and tarnish my name for nothing.โ€

โ€œUh. . .โ€

Suetlg was genuinely impressed by the patience of this young count. The knights from the Empire were distracted by Johanโ€™s might, but this countโ€™s true mettle lay within.

Compared to nobles who couldnโ€™t control their temper and made mistakes over and over, his patience shone even brighter.

โ€œMy dear. An Empire knight says he wants to learn a thing or two from you, would it be okay to duel him?โ€

โ€œ. . . . . .โ€

โ€œ. . . . . .โ€

Johan and Suetlg looked at Iselia with awkward expressions.

While such duels were common custom between knights, it was an absurd notion to Suetlg the wizard and Johan the knight merely in appearance.

What if the opponent, who they needed to claim compensation from, died? Or what if Iselia got hurt?

โ€œNo.โ€

โ€œOh. I understand. . .โ€

Iseliaโ€™s shoulders drooped as she turned away. Suetlg jabbed Johan in the side.

โ€œGo comfort her.โ€

โ€œ. . .Do you want me to ask her to duel?โ€

โ€œNo! Honestly. . . is fighting all there is to comfort someone? Isnโ€™t there something else she likes?โ€

โ€œBut Iselia is an elf, Sir Suetlg.โ€

โ€œ. . .At least gift her a sword or something.โ€

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

โ€œTo the city? I agree!โ€

The nobles who came after receiving the messengerโ€™s contact were delighted with Johanโ€™s words.

Before they could even feel disappointed at the news that the young Count had captured prisoners, they heard words that pleased their ears.

Leading an army to the city folks and showing them a lesson. More than the compensation, they felt the pleasure of showing the greedy, arrogant city folks a lesson. It was an opportunity to enjoy the legitimate honor and treatment as the victor of the battle.

โ€œI will join you, Your Excellency Count.โ€

โ€œIf they close the gates and resist, I will be the first to climb over the walls!โ€

โ€œNo, this is not the place for that.โ€

Seeing the misunderstanding nobles, Johan put on the brakes. They were not going there to plunder, just to sit until the city paid compensation.

โ€œDonโ€™t worry, Your Excellency Count. If the greedy pigs of the city keep their promise, we too will act with honor.โ€

It was rare for reassuring words to be so unconvincing. Johan gave up on saying anything.

โ€˜๐˜–๐˜ฉ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ. ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜บ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ.โ€™

Fortunately, the nobles agreed more readily than expected. They responded immediately as if they had expected it.

โ€œI thought youโ€™d hesitate more.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s because itโ€™s a matter of honor.โ€

Iselia had another short sword tucked into her belt, a less than balanced choice, but Johan wasnโ€™t going to say anything if she liked it.

โ€œWhat honor?โ€

โ€œItโ€™s not just about defeating the enemy. Itโ€™s about raising your family crest on the enemyโ€™s base. Clearly two different things.โ€

โ€œI see.โ€

Johan was about to say itโ€™s the same whether you win or lose, why obsess over such formalities, but he stopped when he saw Iseliaโ€™s expression.

Clearly not an expression that could be persuaded.

Iselia continued excitedly,

โ€œWe must prepare to raise your crest first when we arrive at the city.โ€

โ€œMy crest? Is that necessary?โ€

โ€œIf not your crest, whose cowardโ€™s crest would we raise!?โ€

Iselia exclaimed as if it was absurd. Being the first to raise the flag on the castle wall was an important right. It showed who was the master of this army, and who contributed the most to capturing the castle.

Although he didnโ€™t directly occupy the city himself, based on his accomplishments in battle the honor rightly belonged to Johan.

โ€˜๐˜๐˜ง ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด.โ€™

In a situation where he had brought several nobles to share the resentment, he didnโ€™t want to take it all himself.

โ€œIselia, God teaches us to be humble.โ€

โ€œNo, my dear. Some people donโ€™t need to be humble. You donโ€™t need to be humble.โ€

โ€œ. . . . . .โ€

Do elf nobles get separate religious education?

โ€œDidnโ€™t they teach you not to be arrogant?โ€

โ€œThey did. . . but isnโ€™t that a natural right, not arrogance?โ€

Johan decided to explain it a different way.

โ€œIselia, look here, thereโ€™s one arrow.โ€

โ€œI see it, my dear.โ€

โ€œWith just one, itโ€™s easy to break. But three bound together?โ€

โ€œMy dear, surely you could still break them easily?โ€

โ€œ. . .I made a useless analogy. My mistake. I just want to consider the nobles here. They didnโ€™t accomplish much in battle or even capture the fleeing prisoners, itโ€™s understandable if they feel dissatisfied, right?โ€

โ€œOh, I understand, my dear. Among the knights I trained with, some had no ability at all yet were full of complaints. Is it the same with them?โ€

โ€œ. . .I didnโ€™t necessarily mean that. Donโ€™t say that to them.โ€

Iselia wasnโ€™t stupid just because she was an elf. Understanding Johan wanted to accommodate the nobles, she caught on quickly even as she regretted it.

โ€˜๐˜•๐˜ฐ ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บโ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ต. ๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜–๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต.โ€™

โ”๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ฐ๐ž ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐œ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ, ๐ฆ๐š๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ž ๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ฌ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐ซ๐๐ž๐ซโ€™๐ฌ ๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐š๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฐ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ?

โ”๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ž๐ฑ๐œ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ฒ. . . ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ž๐ฑ๐œ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ฒโ€™๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ž!

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

The huge city was surrounded by forests, rivers and mountain ranges. The civilized form amidst nature that was still undeveloped showed an heterogeneous majesty.

โ€œItโ€™s been a while since I last saw the Dwarf Mountains.โ€

Suetlg murmured involuntarily. The long Dwarf Mountains separating the Holy Empire and the Peninsula. He had seen its figure from afar many times, but this time he was seeing it from the completely opposite direction.

โ€œWhy are there so many mercenaries going towards the mountains?โ€

โ€œYouโ€™ve got good eyes. Theyโ€™re probably hired by those going into the mountains.โ€

The mountains contained treasures worth risking your life to hire mercenaries and go inside.

CH386(COMPLETED) - How to Live as a Wandering Knight


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