Quit being a knight and become a mercenary

76 – Carrie grabbed the retired baron by the collar (2)

The baron snorted after hearing that.

“Are you saying that we should now believe the words of the war merchants who are following us around and trying to rip us off?”

Definitely, war merchants are Shylock-like people who sell goods at exorbitant prices up to 10 times the normal market price in the name of hazard pay.

So, not only noble nobles but also mercenaries disliked war merchants. Of course, there is no one who would like them.

‘If you receive intelligence that a large army of 5,000 is approaching, at least pretend to be on guard.’

Please refrain from showing your personal feelings in public, especially in front of information that could cause great damage to the military you command.

When the Baron stepped forward like this, some of the knights below criticized my words.

“How can you be swayed by the words of a mere military merchant and spread such useless information! “Isn’t this a needless waste of the Baron’s time?”

“I am so proud that we have conquered this small fortress this time! “On the topic of a platoon leader…”

“Do you believe the war merchant’s words and object to the operation?”

They say only worse things are gathered below the level of evil, are these bastards sane now?

Why do you give a reprimand to a mercenary platoon leader who followed through on a ridiculous order to attack a fortress with 250 men stationed with only 500 men?

I and my mercenary team will endure what happens if we stick knives to their necks.

‘If I touch other guys by mistake, I’ll get stabbed, right?’

As I was looking so dumbfounded, a knight under the baron pointed at me and looked surprised.

“Ah, Baron Pappenheim. This is the boy mercenary who defeated Schwafen. “He is Martin Mayer, who other lords tried to recruit because he was skilled in swordsmanship and resourceful.”

Baron Pappenheim twitched his eyebrows when he heard those words.

“Hmm… Is this really true?”

I bowed my head in the affirmative.

“Yes, there was a time when we had a fight with Lord Schwafen over my woman, Karin.”

The Baron made a spitting voice and gestured to his men to change his mood.

Then he smiled softly and showed his kindness towards me.

“I wasn’t there at the time, so I couldn’t personally advise you to be appointed to our family, but I was impressed by the story of how you fought honorably to protect your woman.”

The duel I fought was a spectacle watched by the nobles of the Rhine-Palatinate Empire who had nothing to do after the war.

The reason for the duel was to protect my woman, and from anyone’s perspective, it was a human victory that I fought to the end and turned the tables even though I was in a difficult situation.

I tried my best to make the story perfectly suited to the tastes of the nobles…

‘I can’t believe it has spread widely among the Rhine-Palatinate nobles over the past year.’

Dalton also agreed.

“It was our mercenary unit that captured the Seriz fortress this time, but it was Martin who planned the strategy used to capture the fortress and played the most important role. So, how about you listen to my story, Baron? “He is the kind of guy who will never say nonsense.”

The Baron thought for a moment while making a spitting voice, then nodded and said.

“No matter how much of a mercenary you are, if you don’t have exceptional abilities, it will be difficult for you to be active at that young age. “I will evaluate that and your accomplishments in taking over this fortress and give you a chance to speak.”

The characteristic of people called shooting stars in the military is that they know the soldiers as if they were slaves during the Joseon Dynasty.

What the f*ck is going on in your head that makes you ignore me so much because I’m a mercenary?

Even then, look at that expression, the one corner of his mouth is shrugging while he looks at me with deep eyes.

‘Do you think he is a generous king of a certain country?’

I would like to argue that it would be okay if you were a baron, but if I did that, my career as a mercenary would be ruined.

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth, completely controlling my emotions.

“Thank you, Baron, for listening to a mercenary like me. And of course, I am not saying this just based on the words of one war merchant.”

“Is there any other basis? If a large army of 5,000 people was coming here like you said, our scouting party would have reported it to me in advance. According to the scout leader under my command, he couldn’t find any traces of a large army approaching.”

I handed the Baron a piece of paper with information I had obtained while wandering around the surrounding villages before coming here.

“No matter how competent a scout leader is, if the distance from the enemy extends by more than two days on foot, you won’t be able to discover a large army, right?”

Other knights and mercenaries nodded at my words.

“It’s best for the scouts to prevent us from being suddenly ambushed and to let us know the size of the enemy in front of us.”

“There are limits to carrying out reconnaissance to places that are too far away.”

“If you scout for more than three days, the scouting party will die, and you will most likely end up not being able to find important information.”

When it comes to reconnaissance, we usually ride horses, but we also have to walk back and forth around the unit we belong to, a distance of about two days on foot.

As you search for roads where people travel, or even mountains or forests where people don’t travel, there are limits.

The Baron agreed to what I said, as if to prove that even though he was a low-level person, he had at least some common sense.

“That is correct. That’s why I’m rather curious. “How on earth can we know that a large army of more than 5,000 people is coming?”

I raised the corners of my mouth and spoke confidently.

“Just in case, I disguised myself as a merchant and asked the village chiefs of the villages along their route to buy food and sell it to Marseille, so I could sell grain, cattle, and sheep. However, the village chiefs around here only responded, ‘It is difficult to sell even a little food because there are people who have already purchased food.'”

The other knights nodded with an expression of understanding, but our Baron…

He brought his eyebrows together in the shape of a figure and made a deep voice.

“I don’t know what that means so much.”

It is truly a sight that brings out a sigh in my heart.

A baron doesn’t even know basic military common sense. Isn’t this because the damn aristocracy is hereditary?

Even an incompetent person can inherit a title if his father is a nobleman, which is why disasters like this happen.

“Baron, wouldn’t it be difficult to provide food for 5,000 soldiers solely through military merchants? So, in order to feed the soldiers, we will have to requisition food from surrounding villages on the passing route, so we will have no choice but to prepare in advance.”

“That is correct.”

“So, I thought that if I used this, I could at least figure out whether the enemy was coming this way or not.”

The Baron listened to me and nodded his head.

Furthermore, the other knights whispered in voices so low that only my ears could hear them.

“I can’t believe our Baron listens to the words of a mercenary platoon leader.”

“Does the sun rise in the west?”

“This is Martin of the Whitebeard mercenaries…”

If it were any other time, I would have been happy to feel like I was being recognized by the Baron’s vassals.

After listening to the story being told, I honestly feel really bad.

‘Not only does he have a poor understanding of the military, but just listening to that story, it seems like he doesn’t even listen to what others say.’

Seeing an incompetent person mumbling like that just because he listened to a mercenary, I feel anxious and anxious that the road ahead will not be very smooth.

Still, I see that his bravado is extremely strong, so if I point out this point, I will be able to guide the operation in any way I want.

“Baron, may I say something further?”

“Allowed.”

“First of all, this Seriz fortress cannot accommodate as many as 2,000 people. So, even if 2,000 people fight here, they will be defeated unconditionally because they cannot manage their troops properly.”

As we spoke of unconditional defeat, our Baron blushed and became angry, unlike before.

“If you ask me if I’m coming, you’re being harsh!” How dare you say defeat in front of me, and that too unconditionally! “I will never forgive you!”

As if the Baron wanted to prove that he was a low-class person, he didn’t listen until the end and grabbed me by the collar even when I proposed a strategy with his permission.

Dalton’s expression hardened for a moment, but even in that state, I smiled and answered.

“Baron, if 250 people enter, the castle will be full. Even now, except for the lord’s regular soldiers, everyone is staying outdoors. But can we stop 5,000 soldiers here?”

Some other articles also agreed with that statement.

“Baron, you are not wrong.”

“Let’s listen to the end. “Isn’t it you, Baron, who said you would listen to the strategy?”

“Please show generosity.”

Seeing how good the knights were at appeasing the baron, it was obvious that the inside of this family was truly a mess.

From noble mtl dot com

“So, it is impossible to stop the enemy using this fortress as a base. If you lose, won’t the Baron’s reputation also fall to the ground? “It may be presumptuous for me, as a mere mercenary, to worry about the Baron’s honor, but…”

The Baron paused for a moment at the word ‘honor.’

“However, there is a high possibility that the enemy is letting down his guard, believing that we are only 2,000 strong. And the Montmartre guys who pass by here happen to pass by a place called Pastek Hill… This is a great place for an ambush.”

“…… Okay, so?”

When I heard that, I carefully rubbed my hands together and spoke with the feeling of an office worker flattering the CEO of a business partner.

‘If we can’t convince this bastard, our mercenary team is also dead.’

Therefore, I desperately had to somehow convince the Baron.

“I haven’t heard much about the Baron, but I see you giving a mercenary like him an opportunity to speak like this. It is believed that he has not been able to spread his wings because he has not had the opportunity, but shouldn’t he now exercise his abilities and take his first step toward becoming a prestigious nobleman of the Rhine Palatinate Empire?”

The knights around the Baron sighed when they saw my flattery, but they did not stop me.

I guess it’s because they think my strategy is much better than locking themselves in this fortress with 250 people and protecting the castle.

“The enemy will not notice our surprise attack. So please order us to prepare to surprise the enemy. If we were to annihilate the 5,000-strong army here, wouldn’t His Majesty also view Baron Pappenheim very favorably?”

At those words, the Baron nodded his head and said, as if there was nothing he could do.

“I can’t help it. Then, I will discuss this with the mercenary leaders and knights here. “Now, you can go back to your seats.”

“Yes, Baron.”

And on this day, the surprise operation I proposed was passed.

The reason was very simple, as I said, it was impossible for this small fortress to stop a large army of 5,000 soldiers coming.

Moreover, stepping down from here could have been an act of rebellion and could have sparked a firestorm among the Baron Pappenheim family and the entire mercenary force here.