Chapter 11-1
Upon receiving Otto’s orders, Camille immediately assembled the troops.
“Hear, everyone! Our lord wishes to pacify the region, which has been ravaged by an evil undead lord and his army!”
Camille did a good job of glorifying (?) and packaging (?) Otto’s intentions to the soldiers of the Iota estate.
He couldn’t just say, “From now on, we’re going to devour the other fiefs!” as Otto had stated.
“So we’ll go to the ravaged lands of Sorun, Lassen, and Orth to save the people in trouble! Do you understand?”
“‘Yessir!”
The soldiers of Iota responded to Camille’s rousing speech with a resounding yes.
Right now, the men of Iota were at their highest level of morale ever in recent years.
The great victory in the battle at Nazrak’s Sanctuary a few days ago had given them a much-needed morale boost.
“And our lord will be joining us on this expedition, so we’ll have to demonstrate that we’re not ashamed to be an army of the Iota estate!”The soldiers were surprised to hear that Otto was going on another expedition.
“Our lord’? Again?”
“It hasn’t been long since he was rescued from being lost ….”
“Have you all forgotten? In the last battle, the Lord drew the attention of the undead monsters to you, and you did quite well, It’s all Thanks to him, I would say.”
“He risked his life to get to the bottom of the evil undead lord, gathering information and even fighting.”
Before long, the soldiers’ perception of Otto had changed.
His changed persona had slowly begun to win their hearts.
Of course, he still had a long way to go to win their complete loyalty.
‘They’re not the same.’
Camille noticed the change, too.
‘A month ago, they were a bunch of losers… but since their lord has changed, so have our soldiers, right down to their eyes.’
As he thought of this, a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
Camille loves this place, Iota, more than anyone.
It was only natural that he should be pleased with these positive changes.
He was also glad to see Otto, whom he considered his brother, becoming a better person.
***
Lota’s army had captured Sorun in the blink of an eye.
No battle was fought.
Iota’s army was 1,000 Strong Men.
In comparison, Sorun had less than 100 men.
Their armies had been completely wiped out in the battle against the undead army, leaving them too weak to maintain even basic security.
As a result, Otto was able to capture Sorun without shedding a drop of blood.
The lord of Sorun, Percival, was stripped of his lordship and forced to stand before Otto.
Only a few days ago, he had lent Otto money and hoped to seize Iota with it.
“Is this the first time we’ve met face to face?”
Otto asked Percival from his throne.
“…….”
Percival clenched his jaw and remained silent.
He hadn’t expected to have his entire estate taken away from him by Otto, whom he’d always thought of as a fool, and his pride was too wounded to speak.
“You must be in a bad mood.”
“…….”
“Well, I suppose you have every reason to be.”
Otto understood Percival’s feelings, and gave him a very lenient disposition.
“I’m not going to kill you, but leave this place with your family, and I’ll give you enough money to cover your travelling expenses and settle down in a new place.”
“Leave…?”
Percival echoed, exhilarated.
“You want me to leave… my estate, me, the lord?”
“Not anymore.”
Otto cut him off.
“It’s my estate now.”
“Otto, you…!”
“Oh, come on.”
“If your land hadn’t been invaded by an undead army, I wouldn’t have lost it to you. I just got lucky with my contribution to the topic….”
“Lucky indeed.”
Otto cut off Percival’s words with a stern voice.
“Or was it intentional?”
“What, what…?”
“Why do you think I borrowed money from you, knowing I was going to get myself in trouble?”
“……?”
“Maybe I borrowed it so I wouldn’t have to pay it back in the first place?”
“Seriously, you… you expected all that, now?”
Percival’s face grew pale.
“What you believe is up to you. Choose. Leave quietly, or die.”
“…….”
“My Iota and your Sorun have been feuding for two hundred years. You’re lucky I don’t execute you.”
Given the animosity between the two estates, Otto should have executed Percival.
But he didn’t, because of public opinion.
If he executed Percival without charges, the people of Sorun would rebel against him, and his reputation would suffer.
It was better for Otto to spare Percival’s life if he was to rule over the lords of Sorun in the future.
“What will you do?”
“…I will leave.”
Percival trembled as he lowered his head.
“Thank you… for your mercy.”
“Very wise.”
And just like that, Otto was in control of the Sorun estate.
A long-standing feud had been settled once and for all.
“You really worked hard.”
Camille said as he approached Otto.
“Even our late father would be pleased.”
“I think so, too.”
Otto nodded.
“Then let’s go straight to the Lassane estate.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Otto immediately left the Sorun estate and headed for the Lassen estate.