Kapitel 13: The Neighbours who turned a blind eye
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
Chapter 13: The Neighbors Who Turn a Blind Eye
"All of you, get in formation!" It was Sergeant Bryce who reacted first while everyone else was stunned. "You, gather all the platoons from the camp."
The training of the past half month paid off as the soldiers swiftly formed up in their usual formations, tightly gripping their weapons.
Bryce then assigned two people and ordered, "Escort Lord Earl back to the castle."
This command snapped the dazed Paul back to reality.
He loudly refused, "No, I'm staying here."
Bryce didn't have time to persuade him, focusing all attention on the small boat on the lake that seemed to belong to pirates.
The boat on the lake gradually slowed down, eventually stopping at a considerable distance from the shore, apparently wary of the defenses on the island and hesitating to strike.
Thus, both sides entered a stalemate, tension spreading through the ranks like a suffocating cloud.
After what seemed like an eternity, Bryce suddenly raised his shield in front of Paul, and then they heard a "whoosh"—under the moonlight, they saw an arrow embedded in the ground not far ahead, with a piece of white cloth tied to it.
Following this, the small boats on the water slowly retreated into the distance.
Once all suspicious boats had dispersed, Bryce loudly commanded, "Go and fetch that arrow."
...
"This is outrageous!!!" The Earl viciously slammed the torn scrap of paper with tiny writing onto the table.
Now it was certain: the earlier suspicious boats were indeed pirates. They likely intended to raid the town, but seeing people on guard, they shot an arrow with a letter attached.
The letter read: "Young Grayman, you'd better be sensible. Our brothers are a bit tight on funds lately, and the poor folks by the sea ain't got much money. So, we're here to collect some drinking money from you. Considering you just lost your old man and your territory's in the middle of nowhere, we ain't asking for much. But we need about ten thousand coins or so. If you can't manage that, a few thousand will do. Pigs, cows, sheep—it's up to your generosity. But if our brothers ain't satisfied, you won't have peaceful days ahead. You've got a week; we'll come to collect. The initial offer is more than fair. Recently, we've captured a member of the Horn Bay Alliance..."
The letter likely wasn't finished due to space constraints, signed by "The Great and Wise, The Brave and Handsome, and all the various ways to describe the Great Lord of the Seas—Quik I."
After everyone had passed around the letter, they looked at each other for a moment. Captain Bryce stood up again and volunteered, "Our troops are trained well enough now. They line up properly, well-fed and strong, much better than last time we dealt with pirates. It's time they saw some action."
Other officers present nodded in agreement.
Manager Ford countered, "I think we should be more cautious. How about negotiating with them first? If we can lower their demands, we could temporarily send them away."
Paul, displeased with the idea of negotiations and strapped for cash after recent military exercises, added, "Have all the requests for reinforcements been answered?" Suddenly, he remembered this detail.
Upon hearing this, Manager Ford looked embarrassed. He instructed someone to fetch a thick stack of parchment and placed it in front of Paul. "Please read these yourself, my lord."
Paul picked up one letter, "Dear Nephew Paul, my condolences on your father's passing. However, with the rebels causing trouble, I must remain at my post. I regret not being able to come personally to offer condolences..." The musty scent of last century lingered, full of formal aristocratic language and rhetoric, avoiding directly answering whether they would help or not. He glanced through it and tossed it aside.
Then he picked up another, "To the young heir of the Grayman family, if you agree to become my vassal and swear allegiance to me, dealing with mere pirates will be a trivial matter..." This was outright extortion. He discarded it.
Next, he picked up another, "Paul, my young friend, why worry about mere pirates? Once they've squeezed enough money from the commoners, they'll leave. Let them be, and focus on defending the town..." This guy must have also traveled through time, Paul thought, and tossed it away.
Then another, "Grayman, your actions are inappropriate. As a pacifist, I advise you to open the gates and tell the pirates, 'Bring your destruction, we'll let you kill half our people and still won't surrender'..." It seemed every world had its advocates of total annihilation. He discarded it.
Finally, he picked up one more, "My dear little brother Paul, it's not that I don't want to help you, but recently a royal representative has forced me to conscript all my soldiers..." With a teasing glance at Hansel, he discarded it.
"These guys, none of them are willing to lend a hand," Paul muttered after scanning through a pile of useless papers. Finally understanding why Manager Ford advocated for negotiating with the pirates.
After some deliberation, he eventually agreed with the officers' request and decided to go to war with the pirates.
...
"Earl, gentlemen, our first task is to track the movements of the pirates, so we need the cavalry to spread out for reconnaissance, focusing on both sides of the Wes River..."
"The pirates just arrived here; they couldn't have gone far in one night..."
"Bring back the two platoons from the new recruits training camp..."
"We need to leave a portion of the internal defense forces and one infantry platoon in Alden Town..."
The group gathered around a medieval-style map with disproportionate proportions, discussing the battle plan together.
After finalizing the plan, they reinforced patrols and vigilance. Everyone then went back to rest.
After a night of preparations, the pirates' unexpected "divine assistance" confirmed that Alden's territory indeed found it inconvenient to send out troops. This silenced Hansel, who would have to stay here for a long time; without dealing with these bold pirates who attacked the Lord's residence, he couldn't expect peace.
Upon waking, he received a report that traces of the pirates had been found; they hadn't gone far and were likely planning to raid a nearby village without defenses.
(End of the chapter)
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein