Bab 266: [Chapter 266] The Battle of Illopium Gorge
"Who's there!"
A castle mostly empty and eerie, with most of its people gone.
The guard on patrol stopped in the hallway, alert and questioning. But no one answered him.
To be honest, no one would be able to answer him from that point forward. Because the next moment, the guard fell, spraying blood from his neck.
Shhh. A shadow in black clothes descended beside the guard's body. The shadow extinguished the candles lit throughout the hallway in an instant.
Before the war, Tipeon's castle, like the castles of other great nobles, would have had two guards patrolling in pairs. Even then, they wouldn't have been able to survive against "Silver Moon," one of the most outstanding shadows, but at least their task would have been more difficult than it was now.
However, Tipeon, who had been stripped of his troops to the limit by the Grand Duke from the start of the war, was no longer capable of defending his own castle. Not from external enemies, and not even from the people he ruled.
After the soldiers left, Tipeon's castle was attacked by the remaining people, and he had to give up all the wealth he had accumulated. After losing everything, from his new gold-threaded cloak to the carved wood decorations on his ancestral bed, the Earl barely managed to eat, but no one pitied him. No one helped him.
How could they help? All the surrounding nobles, having seen Tipeon's fate, were trembling, fearing that it would be their turn next. They had even stopped collecting taxes for the Imperial Family.
The real instigators of the rebellion distributed the food they had taken from the Earl's castle to other people, and they dismantled and sold the luxury goods. The Morie Trading Company bought those luxury goods at a reasonable price and brought in food from other regions to supply it cheaply. Food prices were skyrocketing due to the war, but the help of the McKinnon Trading Company and the Redan people, their powerful partners, had achieved something akin to a miracle. Naturally, more and more people turned their backs on the Earl's family.
The four shadows ran through the Earl's castle, which lacked both people and candles, without a care. And as the deep night passed and dawn slowly broke, Tipeon was found dead, his body cold.
***
Illopium Gorge, almost the only entrance and exit to Maindeland, was crowded as usual.
Countless merchants and goods passed through the checkpoint at the entrance of the gorge. The long line on the narrow road meant that the progress was as slow as a snail, but the atmosphere was bright. They knew they were on the winning side.
"I heard Earl Tipeon passed away?"
One merchant asked his colleague casually while waiting for inspection. His colleague nodded impassively.
"So I heard. They've raised the mourning flag."
"Is that rumor true? That it was retaliation for betraying the Imperial Family..."
The last sentence was spoken softly, so that no one else could hear. His colleague frowned and waved his hand.
"Shhh, don't say that anywhere. You'll get in trouble."
Around here, the state of the Imperial Family was nothing more than a laughing matter. But even so, civilians had to be careful. You never knew who among these many people might be an Imperial spy. Especially merchants, who had their hands in the south as well, had to be careful with their words if they didn't want to lose money.
The merchant stopped talking at his colleague's words. He stood on tiptoe to get a sense of when his turn would come, and then...
Kugugung. The ground trembled slightly.
"Is it an earthquake?"
"What's going on?"
Those who knew that a major earthquake had devastated a city in this area last season were terrified, and those who didn't know much about it were also surprised and looked around. At that moment, a red flag waved three times from the cliffs on either side of the checkpoint.
Those who were not careful enough to shut their mouths at the same time they understood the meaning shouted in surprise.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Chaos spread quickly. Civilians scrambled to grab their belongings and get out of line. The guards at the checkpoint stood up and blew their whistles. Whee! Whee! Whee! Eeek! The echo reverberated through the narrow gorge.
A moment later, even those who were not positioned on the cliffs could see the enemy. There were about a hundred cavalrymen, clad in light armor and wielding long lances.
Such a small number of lancers was not the right kind of troop to send against this kind of terrain, which was easy to defend. And...
'What are they going to do by attacking here?'
The merchant, having been warned by his colleague earlier, recalled what he had been about to say. The Grand Duchess, who had seized the Imperial Family, was wielding her power indiscriminately, retaliating against those who did not obey her. Even before being besieged by the Maindeland army, the Imperial Family had already lost all the nobles who could have been pillars and was sinking.
So wouldn't the Grand Duchess have something to believe in? Or could this be happening?
Could the Imperial Family be putting their faith in those soldiers? If they break through here, it might definitely give the Imperial Family a chance to breathe. Unlike at the beginning of the war, there are more civilians than soldiers here now. But with those numbers, could they even reach White Swan Castle...?
'No, they don't need to break through.'
The merchant felt a chill down his spine. How much supplies were there in this area? Maindeland was a vast land, so it had been able to produce its own food, but now, with most of the people who should have been farming going to war, they had to buy some of their necessities from outside. On top of that, some of the supplies used on the front lines were bought in bulk from Maindeland and sent to the rear.
In other words, the Imperial army could simply trample this area thoroughly, preventing merchants from coming and going for a while, and that would deal a blow to Maindeland.
Why hadn't they carried out such a simple military operation to strike the enemy until now?
'They couldn't! This area has been under the control of the Maindeland army for a long time!'
If they had the ability to send cavalry across enemy territory to the heart of their land in the middle of a war, who would lose?
At that moment, the merchant's colleague muttered with a dark face.
"The Earl's knights...?"
Only then did the merchant realize that the cavalry might not have come all the way here "across enemy territory." Yes, there were still knights in the areas occupied by the Maindeland army. A hundred cavalrymen like that wouldn't all be left in the Earl's castle, but if they were gathered from the various subordinate lords in the area...
'But is that possible?'
It's said that the lords under the Earl's rule are very cautious these days, fearing rebellion!
Kugung. Kugugung. The ground shook like an earthquake every time the enemy's hooves hit the ground simultaneously. People screamed and tried to get inside the cliff any way they could. This meant that they were effectively hindering the Maindeland guards who were trying to get out of the cliff.
Kung, kung, kung, kung. The merchant's heartbeat and the enemy's hooves were getting in sync. He was at a loss, feeling like his heart was going to jump out of his mouth, when he felt another tremor from a different direction.
Kugung, kugung, kugugung. If the enemy was coming from the south, the new tremor was coming from the west, along the mountain range. And before long, another cavalry, dressed in the colors of the Maindeland army, appeared and blocked the civilians' path.
If the enemy was about a hundred, this side was at least three times that number! It was clear at a glance that they were even better armed. The civilians were relieved and cheered, and the Maindeland commander shouted loudly.
"First Squad, draw your bows! Show those fools what happens when they dare to touch Maindeland's friends!"
Paaaat. Some of the Maindeland army loaded arrows onto their bows and drew them to the limit. The enemy hesitated.
"Fire!"
Ssseeeesh! A refreshing sound from the tips of their toes, and destructive arrows flew. The enemy, who had been charging at full speed, barely managed to slow down, but that was all. Many enemies fell dead, and other horses stumbled over the bodies of their fallen comrades.
It was clear, to the point of being disheartening, which side had the upper hand.
"Second Squad, charge behind me! Let's go!"
The middle-aged commander, with a face more excited than anyone else here, raised his lance. And he charged towards the enemy. Around that time, the civilians, having recovered from their panic, made way for the Maindeland Illopium Gorge guards to come out from the direction of the gorge.
Once the Illopium Gorge guards emerged, the civilians slowly resumed their passage, leaving behind the enemy being slaughtered. The merchant greeted the young couple who had come to be right behind him, with a hearty smile.
"Well, that's a relief, isn't it?"
The couple was dressed in the kind of attire that a slightly wealthy commoner would wear for a trip, neither too good nor too bad. But the merchant's sharp eyes did not miss the natural elegance of the wife and her white skin, which was undoubtedly well-maintained.
'A wealthy family's young lady married a man from a less affluent family, I see.'
The wife, with round green eyes, smiled softly, as if asking why, when she noticed his gaze lingering on her for a moment too long. The husband, with an ordinary appearance, stood between his wife and the merchant.
"I'm sorry. I was being rude."
The merchant apologized, realizing that he had been staring at the other man's wife too intently. The husband nodded vaguely.
The merchant cut off his interest in the couple and began discussing with his colleague "what to do if something like this happens again." Finally freed from the spotlight, the wife whispered to her husband.
"Where did all those knights come from?"
Her husband, Talprin, answered Diane.
"They're a mix of those scraped together from the subordinate lords throughout the Earl's territory, and a few sent by the Imperial Family."
"That's pretty reckless."
People were dying right behind them. They had passed through the battlefield on their way here, so they weren't too shocked now, but Talprin coughed and explained to Diane, who was slightly dejected.
"This is probably why they killed the Earl. To scare the subordinate lords who are hiding their soldiers as much as possible to protect themselves."
"Those soldiers are all going to die now."
"How would the lords know about that? If they can have someone else's neck on the chopping block instead of their own, they should do it. They're just livestock that pay taxes, not even human beings."
Diane, who had never thought of the people of the territory in that way, looked shocked. Talprin saw her face and quickly tried to salvage his words.
"No, the people of the Earl's territory are a bit like that. Maindeland isn't like that. I know the McKinnon Earldom isn't like that either."
"Oh, no. I've seen people who treat their servants like that too."
All sorts of people came to the academy. Some of them would mock Diane for being close to the servants, saying, "You can't hide your low blood." Diane thought those kids were the ones who were strange.
Talprin clicked his tongue inwardly. He wouldn't have even attempted such a clumsy salvage in front of anyone else. But when she made that surprised expression, he kept... kept...
"Anyway, they wouldn't have sent those guys knowing they were going to lose, just for the sake of it. They must have something else in mind."
"What is it?"
"I have a rough idea."
Talprin's eyes suddenly turned back to the Maindeland army, which was still fighting. Hilbrin probably used the secret passage connecting Maindeland to the outside. The reason he was able to time it right was probably because Nerys, upon hearing the news of Tipeon's death, had kept an ear out for any outside developments, just in case.
Thanks to that, the people here were alive. But because of this incident, the fact that the secret passage was on the west side of Illopium Gorge was exposed.
'The Lady wouldn't let people die just to hide that direction.'
Still, it was a problem. It was unsettling. Talprin frowned and whispered to Diane.
"We should go up quickly."
"Oh, yes! Let's go."
Even after Joyce joined Maindeland, Diane and Talprin continued their journey to Maindeland, hiding their identities. It was because if her appearance became public, the McKinnon Earl and Countess would have a reason to be punished for secretly taking their daughter away. Joyce had also persuaded them that they needed to escape in advance, in case something happened.
'This trip will be over soon.'
Diane thought that secretly, stealing glances at Talprin. He had been acting strangely awkward towards Diane ever since he met Joyce.
'It's because my brother keeps calling her "baby."'
Even though she thought it was a bit off-putting, she honestly had nothing to say... Talprin, seeing Diane reflecting on her own situation, said to her, as if for everyone to hear.
"Let's go, my lady. The line is moving."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone