I Became a Level -99 Vicious Lord

Chapter 78

“Give me everything I want… Do you know what I want?”

“Family freedom. Your daughter. And the ability to run this land and improve it, even if only in a small way.”

“Hmph!”

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“You are not ambitious. If you were, you’d have rebelled years ago. You’re just fed up with the king’s ungrateful, backhanded treatment of you. You’ve had enough of being treated like a slave in the name of loyalty. Don’t you think so?”

“Honestly… yes.”

“If all goes well, I’ll grant this land independence as a duchy and arrange a peace treaty with the Kongurat.”

“What about the Kingdom of Magritte?”

Helmut asked, and when Otto smiled instead of answering, he understood at once.

“Lota’s going to have a field day with this.”

“Exactly.”

“Does the Kingdom of Lota have the power to do that?”

“We’ll see, we either have the power or we don’t.”

“Hmm.”

“It won’t take you long to make up your mind, you’re not a fool. Then, let’s do this.”

Otto pointed to the setting sun in the distance.

“By the time that sun is completely over the mountains, make your decision, give me your answer.”

“Understood.”

“In the meantime, I’d appreciate it if you could show me a place to rest. I’m tired from all the riding.”

“As you wish.”

Helmut led Otto into the parlor and served him hot tea and dessert.

“If there’s anything else you need, just ask, and I’ll take my leave….”

After the servant left.

“Ugh.”

Otto buried himself in his chair as soon as the tension left him.

“I almost peed myself… ugh… gross….”

Otto shuddered as he remembered being surrounded by Helmut’s men earlier.

He had the nerve to show up alone and without arms, but it was only a bluff to impress Helmut.

If Helmut had lost his temper, it was obvious what would have happened to Otto.

To a certain extent, Otto had thrown down the gauntlet.

‘This is why you always have to have a failsafe,’ Otto thought, ‘and Helmut’s lucky he didn’t. He almost lost his life today. Phew.

Otto secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he patted his chest, knowing that no matter how strong he had become, he would never be able to survive in the middle of enemy territory.

But he wasn’t done being relieved yet.

“What if I refuse the offer, then I’m dead?

There was a 99.9% chance that Helmut would make a rational decision.

But the world doesn’t work 100% rationally and logically.

In the unlikely event of a 0.1 percent chance that Helmut declines the offer…

“Huh?!”

Otto shuddered, imagining for a moment his skull impaled on a metal skewer and dangling over the city walls.

‘No, of course not, that’s impossible, Helmut loves his daughter, and besides, how could he refuse my offer at this point?’

Otto forced himself to think positively.

* * *

An hour later.

Otto was called back to Helmut’s side.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and my choice is….”

At that moment.

Boom!

Otto swallowed hard and tensed up, afraid that Helmut would reject his offer.

“I accept your offer.”

Otto’s legs momentarily gave way, and he nearly fell to the ground, but he managed to pull himself together and smile lazily.

“That’s a wise decision, sir, and I’ll make sure you never regret it.”

“I hope so.”

“You will.”

“So, what do you want me to do from here on out?”

“Well.”

Otto thought about Helmut’s question for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“First of all.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’ll start by killing the Kerrates warriors stationed here.”

“What, what?!”

Helmut was taken aback by Otto’s first demand.

Currently, Helmut’s forces included 2,500 Kerrates warriors and 2,500 horses.

They were about to enter the capital of the Magritte Kingdom.

“You mean kill them all, all 2,500 of them?”

“Then we’ll fight them together? With Magritte’s army on the way?”

“Well, that’s….”

It was a foregone conclusion that the warriors of the Kerrates tribe would come out in force if the Magritte Kingdom came in.

The moment it became known that their surprise rebellion had failed, they would return to Haver Prairie.

Why?

Because there would be no point in shedding blood in an unsuccessful rebellion.

“I’m not suggesting we kill them here. Are you insane? You want to commit such carnage? There’s something to be said for getting dirty.”

“Well, then what do you suggest we do?”

“Let them die on their own.”

“Let them die of their own accord?”

“Watch this.”

Otto pointed to the map and explained his plan to Helmut.

* * *

That night.

“Let’s go, brave warriors of the Kerrates!”

The Kerrates cavalry, numbering ten thousand strong, left Helmut’s territory and marched westward to the capital of the Magritte Kingdom.

“You advance, and I will follow and surround the capital.

The commander of the Kerrates cavalry remembered Helmut’s orders and moved his cavalry without question.

A few hours later.

“……!”

The Kerrates commander found himself facing a massive Magritte Kingdom army.

The problem was the terrain.

The terrain was mountainous, not grassy or plain, and the cavalry’s mobility and combat capabilities were completely lost.

In other words, they’re not cavalry, but rather foot soldiers.

In such a situation, they were faced with the main body of the Magritte Kingdom’s army of 50,000 men?

“Huh, retreat! retreat! Everyone retreat! Come on, come on!!!”

The Kerrates commander ordered the retreat in a near scream, but it was too late.

“Smash them all!”

“Slay the barbarians!”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The Magritte Kingdom troops, who had already learned the location and movements of the Kerrates cavalry through their scouts, charged from all directions like a swarm of fierce bees.

The battle was fierce.

The battle lasted for five hours, and ended with the annihilation of the Kerrates’ 2,500 horsemen.

The Magritte army was not without casualties, of course.

As warlike and ferocious as the nomads of the Khabar Steppes are, the Magritte army took its share of casualties.

Even with a full-scale siege, they still suffered a whopping 5,000 casualties.

Meanwhile,

“Kill them all! Don’t let a single one of them live!”

Helmut’s army attacked a supply convoy that was following the main body of Magritte’s army.

They hoped to cut off Magritte’s supply while the Kerrates cavalry bought them time.

“Move everyone! We must move fast! We’re running out of time!”

Helmut succeeded in getting the Magritte army’s food, medical supplies, water, and other supplies back to his territory.

By sacrificing 2,500 Kerrates cavalrymen, he cut off the Magritte army’s supplies and looted their war materials.

* * *

“What do we do now?”

Helmut asked Otto upon their return.

“We’ve received reports that the Magritte forces have suffered some damage in the fighting earlier, and we’ve managed to cut off their supply lines and loot war supplies.”

“Well done.”

“It is not enough. The armies of the Magritte Kingdom are still standing, and we have not merely bought them a few hours.”

“Of course not.”

Otto did not deny Helmut’s words.

“Not enough to disrupt the main force, I admit.”

“What is your next move?”

“To hold out.”

“It won’t be easy, the difference in numbers is staggering. You realize that my army, if you scratch the surface, is a mere eight thousand men, while the enemy has fifty thousand. They say they’ve suffered losses in this battle, but they’ll soon be back to fifty thousand with additional reinforcements.”

“That’s true, but it doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“What do you mean, it won’t matter?”

“Shall we walk a bit and talk about it?”

Helmut was puzzled by Otto’s out-of-the-blue suggestion, but he agreed to walk with him for now.

He thought he might have something he wanted to talk about in private…..

“Marquis Helmut.”

“Speak.”

“Why is the House of Valdemar so good with siege defense?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The House of Valdemar has never lost a siege since it took root in these lands long ago, even under the most unfavorable of circumstances.”

“That’s true… but isn’t that because our family has ruled with a military focus?”

“Is that true?”

“……?”

“Is it really military might that has always allowed you to prevail against the warriors of the Haver Prairie? I don’t think so.”

Otto cut in.

“It’s one of the basics of tactics that defense is many times easier than offense, but historically, House Valdemar has a one hundred percent siege victory rate. A hundred years ago, they defeated an army of a hundred thousand nomadic warriors with less than five thousand men.”

“You mean my great-great-grandfather, who was a Marquis back then….”

“No.”

Otto shook his head and pointed to the city walls.

“House Valdemar’s mysterious siege victory rate is all thanks to this.”

“The walls… you mean?”

“You can’t see the forest for the trees.”

“Isn’t it the other way around?”

Helmut was dumbfounded.

Although there are sayings that one sees only trees without looking at the forest, or only sees fingers when pointing at the moon, this was the first time anyone said the opposite.

“See?”

Otto said, tapping one of the many bricks that made up the castle wall that was unusually green.

“This brick here is a tree, and the wall is a forest.”

“What do you mean, it’s green because it’s got moss on it, but isn’t it a normal brick?”

“You really don’t know anything, do you?”

“No, I’m just making a pun with me….”

“Let’s see.”

Otto poured mana into the greenish brick.

Swoosh!

A faint glow emanated from the brick, and an intricate, geometric magic circle emerged.

“What is this?”

Helmut exclaimed.

What he thought was just an ordinary brick with a little moss on it had turned into a magic circle….

“What in the world is this brick….”

“About two hundred and fifty years ago.”

Otto spoke of a long time ago.

“Construction had just begun to build this castle, and its owner was… Kieri de Valdemar, is that right? The first to wear the surname Valdemar, your ancestor. The progenitor of the House of Valdemar.”

“Exactly.”

“A shaman… a shaman from the meadows of Haver who was favored by Kieri de Valdemar at that time? He blessed these bricks with an ancient spell that would make this castle an impregnable fortress.”

“……!”

“Marquis’s Resolve. An ancient, enchanted, holy artifact.”

Helmut was the game’s main character, the Lord of the 100, so there had to be a holy artifact available in the main scenario.

What looked like a mossy brick was actually Helmut’s holy relic.

** ** **

TL/N:

Steppes
*Large, flat, grassy plain with few or no trees

*Dominated by short, drought-resistant grasses and shrubs

*Supports a variety of wildlife adapted to arid conditions

Prairie
*Grassland ecosystem characterized by tall grasses and herbs

*Characterized by tall grasses and a diverse herbaceous flora

*Provides habitat for diverse grassland species