Chapter 1:
A New Job
~Governing and Control~
AMID THE FAINT LIGHT THAT HINTED DAWN MIGHT break at any moment, the bandits ran frantically, chased by smoke. I had no reason to hold back against them, so I ordered a redoubling of our assault.
“No need for recklessness, but as long as you have a weapon firmly in hand, give them no quarter!”
“Yessir!”
The first thing I did once reaching Anheim was to carry out some military movements away from the convoy. There was nothing we could do until trade with other regions had stabilized, and I wanted to test the strength of the cavaliers and foot soldiers that had been left under my command.
Sir Holzdeppe, a knight representing the military force under command of the deputy count, took charge of a renewed attack. Meanwhile, I took up the rear with my spear, stabbing into the throng of bandits. Our enemies were great in number, but we had the advantage of surprise, and they now lacked strength to offer any organized resistance.
Usually, I’d be fine with just watching, but this was a chance to prove my mettle in the eyes of my subordinates. I couldn’t just bark orders from the back and leave all the work to someone else. So I put my spear to work at the front lines, even as I took stock of the bigger picture.
There was a vast difference in strength between our knights and these bandits. In the medieval ages of my old world, during what was called The Jacquerie—a peasant rebellion, by the way—forty knights killed seven thousand in a single night and only lost one man in a quite remarkable story. For one, if we divide seven thousand by forty, that means each knight took out seven-hundred-and-fifteen peasants. Neutralizing that many immobile targets would be one thing, but the timing just doesn’t add up if that’s moving targets we’re talking about. The numbers had to be exaggerated, and there had to be many that fell like dominoes or got crowd crushed running around in all that confusion.
“Lord Werner! Some of the enemies are trying to escape!”
“Which way are they headed?”
“It appears to be the basin to our left.”
The kingdom had placed thirty cavaliers and sixty foot soldiers under my command. Neurath was leading twenty foot soldiers into battle to my right, and Schünzel was lying in wait with twenty mercenaries in the spot we predicted our enemies would try retreating to. The shipment from the capital was back on the roads, under the careful watch of Frenssen, various civil officials assigned to the deputy count, five soldiers on horse and ten on foot, and half of the mercenaries under Goecke. Even with our forces split up this way, we had the strength of arms to take out these bandits.
“Yaaaah!” One of the bandits, probably driven to desperation, rushed toward me.
“I don’t think so!” I deflected his attack with the tip of my spear before cutting through his torso. These guys were slower than Gargoyles and weaker than Alligator Warriors. We’d have to really let our guard down to lose against such riffraff. Or so I figured—the greatest enemy, after all, was carelessness.
I was raring for another target, but looking at the battlefield, it seemed like my moment had ended.
“That was brilliant, Lord Werner.”
“It’s only thanks to our intel.”
This wasn’t a show of humility; it was just the plain truth. Still, Sir Holzdeppe’s expression seemed to say, “I accept you as the lord I serve,” and I guess all’s well that ends well.