Chapter 29: 029 Marquis Charles_l
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On the seventh day after Colin awoke, the Dark Cavalry finally set off again.
However, the speed of the army’s advance was slow.
So slow that they didn’t look like an elite cavalry at all.
This marching speed was quite suitable for Colin, considering his wounds were not completely healed yet.
Raymon had somehow found a flat trolley, put some thatched straw on it as a buffer, and when Colin lay on it, it felt quite comfortable.
The spring sunlight was warm and cozy, making one feel drowsy.
Even Colin, a vampire who didn’t like sunlight, slowly began to doze off after a while of lying in the sun.
Despite being in the midst of the Northerners’ most elite army, Colin still managed to exude a lazy holiday vibe.
Vera was not nearby.
After all, she was the adopted daughter of the Northern Duke. Even if she had some feelings for Colin, she wouldn’t stick around him all the time.
Otherwise, wouldn’t she end up being a lapdog?
If anyone was going to be the lapdog, it should be Colin taking the initiative.
After all, Vera’s status was far more noble than Colin’s.
But looking at Colin’s demeanor, he clearly had no plans to strike while the iron was hot.
When it comes to attracting girls, one should be half warm, half cold.
This was the painful lesson Colin had learned from his failed courtship in his previous life.
Thus, the army leisurely headed north.
As they neared the Mirror Lake camp, they encountered more and more defeated soldiers.
Marquis Garcia welcomed all of them, gathering them and arranging them as auxiliary forces in the rear of the main army.
From these defeated soldiers, Colin slowly learned more details about Marquis Charles’s defeat.
The war had actually started last year.
In early May of last year, under the leadership of Troll Crown Prince Gumbick Warkin, an army of 300,000 trolls gathered at the border, ready to invade the south.
On the Northern side, it was Marquis Charles who led an army of 200,000 to confront them.
Of these 200,000 troops, 100 ,ooo belonged to the legitimated troops of the St. Hilde family – the Golden Lion Legion, and the other 100,000 were the private armies of various northern lords.
For example, Colin’s father – Baron Angler, had personally led 3,000 soldiers to the frontline after receiving orders from the Duke St. Hilde.
Though they were outnumbered, the humans did not lose momentum.
After all, for the past few decades, the North Territory had hardly ever lost in wars against the trolls.
Especially the commander of the Troll army, Crown Prince Gumbick, was someone Marquis Garcia had beaten down in various ways in the past.
Under these circumstances, the Northerners inevitably took things lightly.
But most people didn’t realize, or refused to admit, that Marquis Garcia and his Dark Cavalry were the key to winning these wars.
Now that this “guarantee of victory” had disappeared, could Marquis Charles alone shoulder the burden of defending the border?
Clearly, things didn’t go as the Northerners had expected.
Since the initial standoff, Marquis Charles appeared to be struggling.
In the minor skirmishes between the two sides, Marquis Charles was left in a state of disarray, barely coping.
At this point, the Troll commander, Crown Prince Gumbick, had already ascertained the weaknesses of the duke’s son, realizing that Marquis Charles’s ability to command in battle was nowhere near that of the other marquis.
So, the trolls gradually increased their offensive, and last winter they broke through the defensive line set up by the North Territory, storming in.
Marquis Charles kept retreating until he reached the vicinity of Mirror Lake.
There, he issued an emergency call-to-arms, placing the random soldiers that were called up into the Mirror Lake camp as bait, while he and the main army ambushed nearby.
Then, when the trolls attacked the Mirror Lake camp, Marquis Charles led his army from behind in a surprise attack.
Unfortunately, he still failed.
Besides the two fatal mistakes previously analyzed by Colin, there was another critical reason for Marquis Charles’ severe defeat—he was seen through by the trolls!
Whether Prince Gambick was truly prophetic, he discovered the traces of
Marquis Charles’ large army, or someone had leaked military secrets…
In any case, when the trolls attacked Mirror Lake’s main camp, they didn’t launch an all-out attack. Instead, they had placed their main forces to the rear, waiting for Marquis Charles to walk into their trap.
Therefore, Marquis Charles suffered another disastrous defeat.
The massive army of two hundred thousand virtually vanished in this series of defeats.
Even Marquis Charles himself is now being hunted by the trolls, his whereabouts unknown.
Oh, no.
The whereabouts of Marquis Charles were soon found out.
Thirteen days after the Dark Cavalry left Ben Liu River to the North, they met a large defeated army head-on.
This defeated army had about five thousand men, and leading these men was, in fact, Marquis Charles.
Behind them, an army of over eight thousand trolls was in pursuit.
However, when this pursuing force saw the flag of the Dark Cavalry from afar, they decisively turned around and gave up the pursuit. They didn’t even dare to launch a probing attack.
Marquis Charles was finally saved.
Yet his miserable fate had just begun.
When Colin learned that Marquis Charles was in this defeated army, he also left the car and prepared to go see the commotion.
Colin surely despised Marquis Charles.
First of all, his cheap old father’s death was largely due to this guy’s command error.
This also led to his own previous death and the subsequent assassination of Knights Carter.
Moreover, after he escaped from Grey Castle Town, he was dragged to the Mirror Lake’s main camp as bait due to Marquis Charles’ urgent summons, followed by a series of pursuits and near-death experiences…
So, when Colin saw the disgraceful state Marquis Charles was in, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy at his misfortune.
“Uncle… ”
At this moment, Marquis Charles was half-kneeling in front of Marquis Garcia, his expression gloomy.
Although both were marquises, their significance differed as much as heaven and earth.
What’s more, this series of disasters entirely knocked Marquis Charles off his pedestal.
And it further emphasized Marquis Garcia’s importance.
“You really screwed up!” Marquis Garcia didn’t ask Charles to get up, his face filled with icy cold emotions.
“Uncle, I, I underestimated the situation…”
“Slap!”
Right in front of everyone’s eyes, Marquis Garcia directly smacked Charles to the ground with his whip as he tried to make an excuse.
The whole place fell silent.
Some, out of fear, looked away and dared not continue watching.
Although Marquis Garcia was Marquis Charles’ elder, after all, he was the first in line to inherit the duke’s title, the future lord of the North Territory!
And he was humiliated this way, in public, being whipped…
“How dare you?! Besides being incompetent, do you have any other excuses?”
Upon hearing these words, Charles trembled all over, rolling and crawling at the feet of Marquis Garcia, shouting aloud:
“Uncle, I was wrong! I was wrong…
I’ve failed the St. Hilde family, the fallen warriors, the citizens of the North Territory. Wuuuh…”
The dignified marquis, the future lord of the North Territory, just cried like this — in public..