The Third Son of a Medieval Knight Family Chapter 114 - Aftermath

War never flows according to a commander’s intentions. On the contrary, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there exists no war that flows entirely under control.

However, at least in this battle, things should have been different. The tribal traditional sorcery used by Yugrichi bound all the warriors following him as one, allowed them to receive orders efficiently, and bestowed the power to imprint terrible fear upon their opponents.

Against ordinary enemies, this would have been a tremendous advantage. The sight of terrifying enemies moving as one in accordance with the sound of bells and the movement of fluttering flags, even in the most chaotic battlefield, would have been sufficient to inflict nightmares upon their opponents.

However, the misfortune for Yugrichi was that Viktor was far more… insane than he had anticipated.

Though he had been sufficiently wary of his reputation and accomplishments, no one would normally think that someone would charge into the midst of thousands of cavalry with just a handful of knights. Moreover, into a place where the White Deer’s aura, which induced vomiting and fear just from looking at it, was intensely concentrated. Of course, the fact that Viktor was unaffected by that aura itself was also a variable Yugrichi hadn’t anticipated.

As a result, the Grand Chief who had been confident of perfect control from the highest level down to the lowest fell victim to the very saying he couldn’t overcome and died.

And if he could have observed how these steppes flowed even after he died for some reason, he would have beaten his chest in lamentation.

Everything was turning out opposite to the plan he had devised.

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“…Haha, I still can’t believe it.”

The man shook his head with a face still dazed.

Though considerable time had passed since achieving an unbelievable great victory, he still had no sense of reality. Just one battle! However, in that single battle where both sides had staked their destinies, everything had been decided.

No, to be precise, it was probably only the expeditionary force that had truly staked everything. If they had been defeated again, given the special circumstances where conflicts had been patched up with miracles and a bit of coercion, they would have scattered in all directions.

What would have followed would have been a repetition of the past future where the entire principality was ravaged. However, the barbarians weren’t quite to that extent.

Unlike those who had gathered desperately like patching together rags, the burden of defeat itself was much lighter for them. After all, since they were all cavalry, they could simply flee if things went badly.

In such a case, the expeditionary force wouldn’t have been able to easily pursue them. They had been harshly defeated by the barbarians’ false retreat tactics and deception tactics more than once or twice. So it was also true that they had faced the expeditionary force with relatively light hearts.

Even if they had fought normally, it would have been so, but for those swept up in an inexplicable elation from the Grand Chief’s secret technique, there was nothing but the desire to ravage and trample the weak.

And their relatively light resolve was shattered to pieces. Yugrichi fell too quickly. And the impact was enormous.

The aftermath brought by the failure of sorcery is proportional to the scale and power of that sorcery. The Grand Chief’s finest warriors had to endure that side effect with only their bare bodies without even a chance to escape, and in the midst of battle, this was fatal.

And thus, the battle came to an end with disappointing swiftness. The result was a great victory for the expeditionary force. A perfect victory that no one could deny, having killed or captured all those countless warriors without leaving a single one. It was truly an unprecedented event that could not be achieved without God’s miracle.

However, unlike the mercenaries, lower commanders, and priests who were unconditionally rejoicing, there were those who couldn’t simply smile.

“…That we won so greatly in the holy war is naturally something to be grateful for, and I too am personally very pleased… but now we cannot help but think about politics.”

“I agree. What is Sir Viktor doing, they say?”

“He’s said to be busy with aftermath duties. It seems he won’t have time to invite us for now. Well, honestly, it’s something I don’t quite understand myself…”

“No, rather it’s a good thing. Did you hear that he raised his voice with the Count regarding the treatment of prisoners? Sir Viktor is particularly interested in converting barbarians, but that’s understandable since he’s such a faithful knight… we should look beyond that.”

Those gathered were nobles from the capital.

Anti-Count faction nobles who had followed the now-dead Sir Vasilev. Under the pretext of miracles and holy war, they too had no choice but to participate in battle, but now the war was over. What remained was rewarding merit and defeating remnants to claim land. And they had absolutely no intention of just watching the Count’s solo performance.

“Why should the Count take all that fame? All he did was sit quietly in his seat and nod his head! Everyone knows that it was the Count’s incompetence that nearly ruined the expedition in the first place!”

“It’s unjust that he gained the achievement of being the first commander among the principality’s people to completely annihilate barbarians. Wasn’t everything actually accomplished by Sir Viktor?”

“That’s right. Speaking of which, wasn’t it Sir Viktor who received the Church’s recognition and was granted a flag, not anyone else. The real commander of the holy war is Sir Viktor, not the Count who did nothing!”

Of course, saying the Count truly did nothing was close to fabrication. If the Count hadn’t thrown himself into it, exhausting almost all his wealth, that many troops couldn’t have gathered in the first place.

However, they intentionally excluded such facts. If left alone like this, the Count would become the most powerful Grand Prince in the principality’s history.

The achievement of completely pulverizing the barbarians who had been the principality’s lifelong troublemakers and stabilizing the frontier, plus the Count’s already vast territories, combined with the newly claimed empty lands from this time – what would follow was unimaginable.

And the nobles from the capital all wished with one heart and mind that the next Grand Prince would not gain tremendous power. And the countermeasure of those present on site was simple.

“All this merit should go to the one who deserves to enjoy it!”

“Greatest honors to Sir Viktor who completed the holy war!”

“The one whose name should be elevated is not the Count but Sir Viktor!”

Diminishing the Count’s achievements and highlighting the name of his rival.

Since everyone in the expeditionary force knew well of Viktor’s merits, it was an easy task. Thus, the expeditionary force that had barely achieved victory over the barbarians began to face turmoil once again.

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Of course, Viktor didn’t know what was happening in the rear and wasn’t interested for the moment. He was incredibly busy right now.

“Sir, Sir! It’s dangerous! We’ll do it!”

“If I leave it to you fellows, it looks like it’ll collapse completely. Could you move aside?”

“Oh my, Sir, please!”

Viktor lifted a cart full of loot and casually moved it to the side. He had stepped in after watching the mercenaries struggle to fix a broken wheel.

“There’s still much aftermath to handle, so don’t worry about it and everyone do your own tasks.”

“…Yes!”

The mercenaries withdrew, bowing their heads respectfully with faces full of awe. For those who usually acted somewhat roughly unless they were their direct employers, this was an excessively respectful attitude.

Like people facing a king or lord rather than a mere knight! It wasn’t just the mercenaries. Regardless of status, Viktor was receiving the most honorable treatment in this place.

That was natural since he was the great knight who had won the battle where evil demons descended and greatly helped complete the holy war.

At least those who fought alongside him on this battlefield were treating Viktor almost like a saint. Until recently, he had quite a headache from people secretly approaching to touch the hem of his clothes.

The monastic knights made such a fuss and glared at anyone who approached as if guarding a bishop, so things had calmed down since then. In any case, such a person was helping even with tasks that mercenaries would do without any hesitation, so he couldn’t help but be respected.

Vino, who had been watching Viktor with emotion from one side, approached and opened his mouth.

“Indeed… Sir is truly a knight sent by God for certain! If the nobles of the principality could learn even half of half of that faithfulness and humility, there would be no regrets.”

“Sir Vino. Have you been wronged by nobles? And I’m sorry, but I’m not as faithful a person as you think.”

“…That very attitude! Ah, faith is not something to display but simply to shine! To advance from the lowest place without boasting! This Vino is truly honored to be with Sir!”

‘Here we go again.’

Viktor turned his head with an expression of being fed up.

Vino and other Church officials had been like this whenever they saw Viktor ever since they realized that he had not only defeated enemies but also repelled what they called ‘the schemes of evil demons.’

And praise becomes burdensome when excessive. Strictly speaking, Viktor wasn’t even affiliated with the Church, yet their treating him as if he were their bishop or someone even higher was incredibly uncomfortable.

Viktor let whatever Vino babbled go in one ear and out the other while continuing his work. It was a battle of such enormous scale that it would be recorded in history.

Naturally, the cleanup required tremendous effort. And above all else, disposing of corpses had to be the top priority. There were issues of epidemic prevention and proper treatment of allies, but the most important reason was different.

‘I never thought that not disposing of corpses would really cause big trouble, not speaking religiously.’

According to Anton, if corpse disposal was neglected during war, not only would monsters attracted to them swarm, but impure things harboring negative energy would often be born.

For Viktor, it was merely fascinating, but he didn’t voice it.

‘A world where you can’t rest easy even in death since corpses sometimes come back to life.’

For him, who had now accumulated considerable experience, it was no longer surprising. Viktor, who had been an ignorant country knight who knew nothing, had become a veteran who experienced things most people couldn’t even imagine through participating in the expedition.

That’s when it happened.

“…Anyway, brother. To return to the beginning, be careful of your back.”

“…?”

As Viktor looked at Vino with bewilderment at his incomprehensible words, he continued with an even more serious expression.

“You asked if I’d been wronged by nobles. That question needs some scope adjustment. There are plenty of those who harbor greed in their hearts, regardless of status.”

“Hmm…”

“Keep this in mind. So to speak, Sir… you are a great commander who succeeded in reclaiming the Holy Land. So to speak. And bugs always swarm to glorious positions, and it’s difficult to deal with those who covet the fruits Sir has achieved using only the power of pure faith.”

Like someone who had experienced something, Vino concluded with a cold voice.

“Sir has no need to be troubled at all. Humans grow through the past. If difficult matters arise, please definitely tell me. I… no, the Church has all preparations ready to protect Sir.”

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Carrying Vino’s warning, Viktor moved locations.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about the area Vino had cautioned him about, but there were aspects he newly realized.

‘For him to speak to that extent, something must be happening behind the scenes.’

However, he had no intention of being careless.

He now knew well that sometimes political strife was more troublesome than winning difficult battles.

But he wasn’t afraid. Viktor was no longer an ordinary knight.

‘I won’t be shaken by anyone. These are rights earned by shedding blood and fighting.’

And he had always been… someone who definitely had to receive what should be received.

Viktor looked at the person before him who was watching his surroundings with a face that seemed calm yet fearful.

“Brother, calm down. If you answer honestly according to what you know, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“…Tumen, you’ve really changed a lot.”

“Position makes the person. Those are Lord Viktor’s words. Doesn’t it have a nice ring to it?”

Of course, Tumen was still officially just Viktor’s slave, so he hadn’t risen to any great position, but Viktor had no intention of interfering with his showing off in front of his brother. Face was sometimes important enough to override everything else.

“I, I see… Tumen, I am already defeated in war. But I still find it difficult to completely believe your words. Do you really mean that knight views this war as a tribal conflict?”

“Hmm, wouldn’t it be faster to ask directly?”

“…What? No, that’s absurd…”

“It’s not absurd. Achar, do you have questions for me?”

“…Gasp!!”

Only then realizing that the knight before him was the man himself, Achar’s complexion turned pale. He was so young that he had simply thought he was a subordinate sent to monitor him, but it was actually him.

“I’m, I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine. You couldn’t have known my face anyway. Rather, I also have many things I want to ask, so may I question you first?”

There was no option to refuse. As Achar, still pale, quickly nodded, Viktor slowly opened his mouth.

“Tell me what you know about that sorcery the Grand Chief used. Why did he suddenly disappear?”