Last night’s victory without a single casualty was an extremely encouraging result.
The battle had ended so quickly, and the soldiers had not been forced into any prolonged, exhausting struggle, so everyone was still full of energy.
It would have been a shame to waste the breathing room that gave them.
“I wonder if this will actually work.”
“Lord Karl ordered it. There must be a reason.”
Following Karl’s orders—or, more precisely, Catherine’s plan—they were constructing a small Barbican immediately south of Axe Sound Village.
Even the Imperial soldiers had been put to work building it, and since most of the people in Axe Sound Village were experienced woodcutters or carpenters, the palisade went up considerably faster than expected.
With the remaining time, they even dug out the ground around the palisades.
That was because the gnolls had tried to climb over them last night by piling up corpses.
“You must pay particular attention to wherever the enemy concentrates its attack.”
Catherine followed Karl around, teaching him one thing after another.
“Since the relatively small Barbican lies to the south, the gnolls attacking from the west will naturally spread into a long line running north to south. Furthermore, gnolls do not possess enough intelligence to maintain proper ranks, so they will continue forcing their way forward. That means we should be able to kill the gnolls pushed into the narrow space between the two palisades with relative ease.”
Karl himself had seen gnolls wedged helplessly between carriages during the battle on the first day.
They only had to force the creatures into a narrow space like that and stab them to death with spears.
“Once enough corpses accumulate, they will eventually form a wall connecting the two palisades. With the gnolls already stretched out from north to south, that wall will block their path, giving the eastern rear more breathing room. Depending on the situation, we may even be able to open the eastern gate and launch a cavalry charge.”
Karl could not help admiring Catherine’s explanation.
No matter how hard he thought about it, he doubted he could devise such an efficient tactic in an instant and foresee its consequences as clearly as Catherine could.
“What do you think of Sir Corbin?”
After walking around to encourage the soldiers, Karl entered a building to rest and quietly asked Catherine.
“I am not certain what you mean.”
Rather than answering immediately, Catherine cautiously asked what Karl was getting at.
“Do you think he might prove useful later?”
“In martial skill, command, tactics, strategy, and character, he falls short of what I would even call a knight. I do not believe he will be useful.”
Catherine judged Corbin with cold decisiveness.
A common-born knight from a rural territory, and one considered expendable enough to be used as a disposable pawn.
That was all.
Corbin possessed no particular value.
“…I see.”
Karl was disappointed.
But deep down, he had expected as much.
It was not merely because Karl was comparing him to Catherine.
Some things were simply obvious at a glance.
‘It would be stranger if people like Catherine or Bilford happened to be lying around in a place like this.’
Karl thought of the talented individuals Aingir would acquire in the original story, but it would be difficult to make contact with any of them immediately.
And even if he could, there was little reason to believe they would follow Karl when he possessed next to nothing.
“How long do you think it will take before Bilford can truly become useful as a knight?”
Catherine answered Karl’s question at once.
“As far as martial skill is concerned, Bilford has already trained sufficiently. He merely lacks strength and stamina because he is still young and his body has not finished developing. As for tactics, strategy, and the rest, he still has much to learn. It will take at least another two years before he can truly serve as a capable knight.”
“……”
Two years was far too late.
As Karl rubbed his forehead in frustration, Catherine glanced at him with an uncharacteristic trace of hesitation.
She looked as though she wanted to say something, but after a long pause, she ultimately closed her mouth.
House Mold, Catherine’s family, might have fallen into decline, but it still possessed the history and traditions accumulated over generations as a knightly house.
For Karl as he was now, it could become a considerable source of strength.
But Catherine was not yet certain whether she should stake the fate of her family on Karl.
“Lord Karl, the messenger from Hilpin Castle has returned.”
While Karl and Catherine were lost in thought, a soldier’s voice sounded from outside.
“I will hear his report immediately.”
Karl went outside at once.
Catherine followed him, quietly clenching her fist.
She already knew that Karl was an excellent lord possessing both ability and character.
But that alone was not enough for her to wager the fate of her family upon him.
He was still too weak.
“Haah, haah… whew!”
A soldier covered in dust approached Karl, panting heavily.
He had left for Hilpin Castle yesterday morning, so all he knew about Karl was that he was a young and sickly prince.
As a result, he could not quite hide the distrust flickering through his exhausted eyes as he looked at Karl’s small, gaunt figure.
“You have worked hard. But why are you so late?”
Karl first acknowledged the man’s efforts without overdoing it, then immediately came to the point.
The soldier swallowed between ragged breaths before answering.
“Fighting broke out at Hilpin Castle, so I was delayed while waiting to see how the situation developed.”
“…Fighting?”
Karl narrowed his eyes at the unexpected answer.
“The nobles conspired together and started a rebellion. Lord Maldin was killed in battle.”
“……What…?”
“Lord Fardin has now suppressed the rebellion and is dealing with the aftermath. He gave his word that reinforcements would be sent as soon as possible, by tomorrow at noon at the latest.”
With that alone, Karl understood the situation instantly.
‘Fardin killed Maldin and the other nobles when they tried to flee with the silver and supplies!’
Karl remembered the man who had sat alone in grim silence while everyone else laughed and drank at the banquet.
‘If Harmon was behind it, he did well.’
That was all Karl thought even about Harmon, who had apparently driven a son to kill his own father.
Filial impiety, parricide, or whatever else one wished to call it—Karl could not have cared less whether Maldin and the nobles who had brought matters to this state and then tried to flee lived or died.
What mattered was that Fardin would send reinforcements.
And once the gnolls were exterminated, before Karl returned to Himmeln, he could use Fardin’s rebellion and parricide as leverage to establish influence over this land.
This was a place so rich in silver that even gnolls were carrying silver axes.
The immense wealth that poured from this territory would become a powerful asset for Karl.
“How many reinforcements do you expect?”
“He said he would send everyone except the minimum force required to defend the castle. But there will not be that many soldiers.”
“Good. I understand. Thanks to your efforts, I have received valuable news. Go inside and rest.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
The soldier hesitated, seemingly flustered by Karl’s praise, before bowing awkwardly and backing away.
“Have you informed Sir Corbin?”
“Not yet.”
The soldier answered Karl’s question.
He was not one of the Imperial soldiers Karl had brought with him.
He was a Hilpin soldier under Corbin’s command.
Yet the messenger had been brought to Karl first rather than Corbin.
“……Inform Sir Corbin as well.”
“Yes, Lord Karl.”
Karl had not even formally secured command authority, yet the soldier had ignored Corbin and reported directly to him.
Karl found the admiration and expectation being directed toward him both burdensome and bewildering.
Before long, word spread that reinforcements would arrive by tomorrow, and Axe Sound Village filled with cheers.
There was another piece of good news.
Bilford was back on his feet.
“I apologize for being unable to participate in yesterday’s battle.”
“There is no need. We won without much difficulty. Your recovery is more important than that.”
“Lord Karl…….”
Bilford looked deeply moved by Karl’s words, yet at the same time, somehow a little disappointed.
He was grateful that Karl cared about him, but it also sounded as though his absence had not mattered at all, which left him strangely hurt.
He knew it was a childish complaint.
He could not help it.
“Bilford, I think it is still too soon for you to fight.”
“I-I am fine!”
When Catherine narrowed her eyes and pressed him, Bilford stammered in alarm before answering loudly.
Bilford had not completely recovered yet.
But that did not mean he was incapable of fighting.
“Do not push yourself too hard. Reinforcements are expected from Hilpin Castle tomorrow, so preserve your strength and focus on recovering until then.”
Karl spoke firmly.
“Once the reinforcements arrive, I intend to advance into the forest as soon as possible. When that happens, will I not need you to distinguish yourself, Bilford?”
“…Yes! Lord Karl!”
Bilford answered energetically.
Inside a forest, it was difficult to maintain the ranks and formations that gave humans their greatest advantage when fighting monsters.
Thus, in difficult terrain such as a forest, a single elite fighter became more valuable than a large number of ordinary soldiers.
Knights were especially valuable.
During the remaining time, Karl learned how to handle both a sword and spear from Catherine.
Though awkwardly, he also learned how to swing them from horseback.
Proper mounted combat required formidable core strength, so even swinging the weapons a few times left him exhausted.
Still, what mattered was that he had learned the motions at least once.
Because once Karl learned something a single time, he possessed enough talent to reproduce it.
The Barbican was completed before sunset, and the forces were reorganized as well.
Everything was falling neatly into place as they prepared for nightfall.
Until now, the gnolls had always attacked after sunset.
They were nocturnal creatures, so it was only natural.
“G-Gnolls! The gnolls are attacking!”
Thus, even though Catherine and Corbin had warned everyone to remain alert, an attack while the sun was still up caught them completely off guard.
“Prepare for battle!”
“That is impossible! Sunset is still a long way off!”
“Move! Hurry!”
BARK! BARK BARK!
AOOOOO!
The panicked soldiers scrambled up onto the palisade.
The moment the gnolls saw them, the creatures that had until then been creeping forward silently while pressed low to the ground sprang upright and broke into a full sprint.
The gnolls had approached silently and launched a surprise attack.
Crude though it was, it was undeniably a sound ‘tactical decision.’
“Lord Karl!”
Karl, already exhausted from training with Catherine, froze in place, his eyes widening as a dreadful chill swept through him.
Catherine seized him and pulled him along.
The strong hand gripping his arm shocked Karl back to his senses.
He filled his lungs and shouted.
“Do not panic! All our preparations are already complete!”
At Karl’s cry, the soldiers who had been floundering in confusion came to their senses and began moving according to their orders.
Yet ironically, Karl himself was more shaken than anyone.
Now he was certain.
Something in this forest was commanding the gnolls.
Catherine, who had been pulling Karl along, looked confused when he suddenly stopped dead.
She did not believe Karl had simply become frightened.
By now, she had already developed faith in this small and sickly prince.
But when she saw his face, Catherine could not help feeling a profound flash of disappointment.
Karl was deathly pale, his eyelashes trembling.
He looked unmistakably like a terrified child.
Karl stood frozen as he frantically looked around, worrying his lip between his teeth while his eyes darted back and forth.
Then his gaze turned toward the afternoon sun.
The sun hung above the forest to the west.
It was still bright, but if the battle dragged on, night would fall.
Worse, the sun was already descending behind the gnolls advancing from the west, making it difficult to see.
This was unquestionably an ambush launched according to tactical judgment.
“Abandon the Barbican! Abandon the Barbican!”
A bone-deep chill and dreadful fear snapped Karl fully awake, and he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Lord Karl!”
Catherine called out in confusion, but Karl was already certain.
“Abandon the Barbican and fight as we did last night! Move!”
Karl tore his arm free from Catherine’s grip and sprinted toward the western palisade.
Catherine followed him up, unable to conceal her bewilderment.
The Imperial soldiers, their finest troops, had already been divided into two groups according to the original plan.
One group was to defend the western palisade of Axe Sound Village, just as before.
The other was supposed to defend the Barbican.
But at Karl’s command, the soldiers who had been heading toward the Barbican were hurriedly turning back.
It was already too late.
They had no choice but to abandon the Barbican.
The moment Karl reached the palisade, he pushed between the broad backs of the Imperial soldiers and peered outside.
For the briefest moment, his gaze wandered frantically.
Then he turned to Catherine, who had followed him, and spoke with certainty.
“Sir Catherine, something is commanding the gnolls.”
“…Gnolls do follow the orders of their pack leaders, but that cannot truly be called command.”
Catherine’s response was reasonable.
Gnolls possessed too little intelligence to exercise military command.
That was common knowledge, and it was also the firm conclusion reached by countless scholars after years of study.
Karl lacked much of this world’s common knowledge.
But even if he had known every accepted fact about gnolls, he would still have reached the same conclusion.
Because of Han Changin’s memories.
‘If you behave according to common sense in a situation like this, you die!’
Of all the things possessed by Han Changin, a modern man who had lived surrounded by countless stories, the greatest advantage available to Karl now was his knowledge of the original novel.
The second greatest was the rich imagination of a modern person.
Karl knew there was no such thing as ‘absolutely.’
Gnolls would ‘absolutely’ never attack during the day.
Gnolls would ‘absolutely’ never make tactical decisions.
Gnolls would ‘absolutely’ never increase endlessly in number.
Gnolls could ‘absolutely’ never remain healthy while starving.
So many ‘absolutes’ had already been shattered.
For Karl, who possessed Han Changin’s knowledge, it was impossible to assume that the gnolls would ‘absolutely’ never be commanded.
“Sir Catherine! Look carefully with your own eyes! The gnolls have already attacked using tactical behavior!”
Even at Karl’s forceful declaration, Catherine remained confused.
As a knight, Catherine had studied Monsterology.
She had also learned strategies and tactics specifically designed for fighting monsters.
Yet Karl, the sickly Fourth Prince who had spent nearly his entire life confined to his bedroom, was now declaring that everything she had learned and built upon throughout her life was ‘wrong.’
Because she still lacked complete confidence in Karl, Catherine could not help hesitating.
To her eyes, Karl looked as though terror had driven him mad.
When Catherine continued to waver, Karl saw the gnolls already closing in and had no choice but to make a decision.
He grabbed the front of Catherine’s Plate Breastplate with his small hand and pulled hard as he shouted.
“Sir Catherine! That is an order! Move now! Will you wait until the gnolls slaughter every soldier before you act?!”
A ‘knight’ was doubting the words of her ‘lord’ and refusing to move.
Karl reminded Catherine that the relationship between them, almost like that of teacher and student, had existed only because Karl had permitted it.
Karl was the Fourth Prince and Catherine’s lord.
Catherine was the daughter of a fallen house without any political power and a knight in Karl’s service.
The ‘lord’ had issued an order.
The ‘knight’ would obey.
Even if Karl had made a mistake, it was already too late to reverse course.
And because it was her lord’s command, Catherine was now obligated as a knight to direct the battle under the assumption that a commander controlling the gnolls truly existed.
Freed by Karl’s order from the need to wrestle with conflicting thoughts, Catherine returned at once to being the cold, decisive knight she had always been.
“You men, head for the northern palisade immediately!”
Catherine redistributed the Imperial soldiers who had been concentrated along the western palisade, spreading them evenly around the defenses.
If the gnolls attempted a thorough encirclement, this would raise the overall quality of the forces stationed along every section of the palisade.
She even improvised a reserve force in case any section was breached.
“What are you doing?!”
Corbin came running over in a panic, demanding an explanation as the situation diverged completely from their original plan.
“From this moment onward, Lord Karl holds full command. Sir Corbin, attend to your own duty.”
As though she had never shown Corbin even the slightest respect as a fellow knight, Catherine crushed his protest with a single sentence.
Then she shoved the stunned Corbin aside with such overwhelming strength that he could not even voice another complaint.
In truth, the issue of command authority should have been settled the moment Karl first arrived here.
But Karl had lacked the time and composure to think that far ahead, so under normal circumstances, Catherine should have handled it herself.
She had postponed doing so because she lacked confidence.
Now, at last, she had resolved it.
“Bilford! Take command of the northern palisade!”
“Yes! Sir Catherine!”
Bilford, who had barely managed to don his armor before rushing outside, immediately headed for the northern palisade upon receiving Catherine’s order.
Corbin still looked deeply dissatisfied, but he did not argue further.
Instead, he began encouraging the soldiers and climbed onto the eastern palisade.
The south was comparatively secure.
Even if the palisade built today could no longer function as a Barbican, it was still enough to impede the gnolls’ movements.
Meanwhile, the western palisade was already under attack.
Because the Imperial soldiers had been spread throughout the defenses, the Hilpin soldiers and conscripts there were struggling to hold the gnolls back with repeated spear thrusts.
A small number of Imperial soldiers remained among them, but there were too few to massacre the gnolls as one-sidedly as they had the previous night.
Catherine personally took up a spear, killing the gnolls attacking the palisade while assessing the battle.
‘It is true! Crude though it may be, they are unquestionably moving under someone’s command!’
Catherine shuddered and gritted her teeth.
Once she accepted Karl’s premise and looked again, everything became painfully clear.
Instead of mindlessly charging the western palisade as before, the gnolls had spread outward and were surrounding the village.
Their encirclement on the eastern side was not especially tight, and they had committed forces evenly to the south despite the difficulty of attacking there.
The quality of their command was certainly crude.
But what mattered was that there was command at all.
‘If we had sent troops to the Barbican, we would never have been able to defend the village.’
Axe Sound Village might have been small, but it was still a village.
Even with a hundred men, defending every section of palisade was difficult.
If they had committed soldiers to the Barbican as well, some part of the village would inevitably have been left almost completely exposed.
Had Karl not issued that command while looking as though he were terrified—or perhaps possessed by something—the village would have fallen to the divided gnoll attack before the Barbican could ever perform its intended function.
‘Can he see the future? Has some demon taken hold of him? Or could it truly be that Düren is watching over him?’
Catherine felt a chill as she contemplated the strange existence that was Karl.