Chapter 383: Chapter 131: Reprimand

The conflict on the battlefield did not last long.

Viscount Elton was reluctant to sacrifice his army, but he knew this was no time for sentimentality.

The results of this approach were clear: the Beastmen had focused their main force on the human army, largely ignoring the fleeing nobles.

Viscount Elton led the human nobles in a wide loop, returning to the road they had come from.

Just as they returned to the original road, they ran head-on into one of his own Honorary Knights, who was also one of his Officers.

"What’s the situation? How many men do we have left?" Viscount Elton asked, looking at the blood-soaked Officer.

The Officer was physically and mentally exhausted. Upon seeing his Viscount, he could no longer hold it together. The big, tough man was on the verge of tears.

"My lord, those Beastmen are too strong. They hit us so hard I couldn’t even organize the troops."

"Wim and I split up when we ran, but I don’t know what happened to him..."

"Dammit! You’re a grown man, what are you crying for?"

"We Franks have always been forged in hardship!"

Viscount Elton looked at the army before him—fewer than two hundred men, it seemed—and then at his subordinate, who was on the verge of breaking down.

Although his heart felt like it was being torn to shreds, he knew this was not the time to vent his emotions.

The army needed a backbone. Even if Count Sriphine sent reinforcements, they had to stay alive until that day came.

Sure enough, after hearing Viscount Elton’s words, the expressions of the surrounding nobles and common officers alike regained some composure.

’Since Viscount Elton dares to speak like this, he must have a plan for the current situation.’

"For the Empire! For His Highness! Charge!"

"For the Empire!"

Viscount Elton and his men had only paused for a moment when, in the distance, the Beastman Soldiers charged at them again.

Viscount Elton’s expression soured.

"We need to leave. Now."

...

Viscount Elton, who had set out in the morning, was chased back to Vidom City by the Beastmen before nightfall.

Back in Vidom City, the crowd of Vidom Nobles was silent.

While fleeing the Beastmen’s pursuit, they only had to think about how to survive.

But now that they had truly escaped the Beastmen, they had much more to consider.

To be honest, with the situation as it was, they had thoroughly disgraced themselves. Those Beastmen were a defeated army, routed from Sri County by Robson!

Regardless of the Beastmen’s actual strength, the fact was they had been driven out by someone else. This indirectly proved that their Vidom County was a cut below the neighboring Sri County.

Putting aside the issue of pride, the practical problems were even more worrying.

The entire Vidom County was now practically swarming with Beastmen. The day they could retake their lands seemed impossibly far off.

The investments the Vidom Nobles had previously made were surely turned to dust in this war.

The military faction’s resources were not deep. After being overrun by the Beastmen like this, there was no telling when they would ever recover.

Even Vidom City, Vidom’s last human stronghold, was now under the threat of the Beastman Soldiers’ blades...

Meanwhile, even though Viscount Elton was known for seeing the bigger picture, he was in no mood to console the nobles of Vidom County. After all, they bore an undeniable responsibility for how the situation had developed.

For Viscount Elton, the interests of his own territory were clearly more important than the morale of the Vidom Nobles.

The first thing Viscount Elton did upon returning to his territory was to quickly evacuate the nearby populace into the city, consolidate all his military forces, and prepare to receive the routed human soldiers who would be straggling back.

However, instead of routed human soldiers, it was the main Beastman army that arrived.

Viscount Elton went to the outskirts and saw the Beastman Soldiers from afar. He was so frightened that he hurried back into the city, only to find a group of Vidom Nobles surrounding someone.

"Make way, make way! The Viscount is here! The Viscount is here!"

"The Viscount is here!"

Viscount Elton’s Knights pushed forward to clear a path. Seeing Elton approach, the previously furious and arrogant Vidom Nobles all blushed with shame and voluntarily made way for him.

Viscount Elton walked forward and saw, in the middle of the crowd, a human noble dressed in magnificent clothes.

"Thum! What’s the news? When will the Earl’s reinforcements arrive?!" Viscount Elton cried out as he looked at the noble before him.

Viscount Elton was quite familiar with the man before him. He was an Officer under Count Sriphine, and Viscount Elton had some past dealings with him.

’I had only just sent the message, and a reply has already arrived today. The military faction truly is one of the few efficient branches in the Frank system.’

Just then, Thum glanced around awkwardly, coughed twice, and handed a letter to Viscount Elton.

"Ahem! Uh, Elton, this is a handwritten order from the Earl."

"As for the contents, well, I don’t know them. You all can take a look. I’ll be taking my leave now." Thum said, looking awkwardly at Viscount Elton.

As one of Count Sriphine’s confidants, although Thum didn’t know the exact contents of the order, based on his own speculation and Count Sriphine’s instructions, he had a pretty good idea.

After arriving in Vidom City, some of the Vidom County nobles had recognized Thum and told him everything that had recently happened in the county.

Thum immediately made a judgment call: even if he knew something, he had to pretend he didn’t. Not only that, he had to get on his horse and get out of there fast.

Otherwise, if he waited until Elton finished reading the letter and, in a fit of rage, decided to uphold justice by getting rid of a kinsman—namely, him—things would get ugly.

"Aren’t you staying for a bit? There are quite a few Beastmen out there. Do you need me to send some Soldiers to escort you?" Viscount Elton asked Thum, confused. Thum’s eagerness to leave even made him wonder if he had been inhospitable in some way.

"No, no need! I have urgent business to attend to, so I’ll be off. See you around, haha." Thum didn’t dare linger for a moment longer, terrified that if he was too slow, the furious Vidom Nobles would chop him into mincemeat.

Watching Thum, who had arrived and departed in such a hurry, Viscount Elton was rather baffled.

However, he didn’t dwell on it.

After all, nobles of the military faction were constantly in a state of war. On the front lines, they were always either fighting or on their way to a fight. A state like Thum’s was quite common.

Of course, that thought didn’t last long.

When Viscount Elton opened the envelope from Thum and read it carefully, he finally understood why Thum had run off so quickly.

Viscount Elton was in such disbelief that he smoothed out the letter and read it again and again. Still unable to believe it, he checked the signature. It was, indeed, from Count Sriphine.

"AH! Sriphine! You’ve gone too far!"

After reading the entire letter, Viscount Elton’s face flushed crimson as blood rushed to his head. He crumpled the letter in his hand and threw it to the ground.

The surrounding Vidom Nobles watched Viscount Elton’s actions, looking at each other in confusion.

Viscount Elton was, after all, known for his good temper. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to cause such a fuss earlier.

’What on earth could make Viscount Elton this angry?’

"My Lord Viscount? What is written in it?"

"My lord, when exactly are the Earl’s reinforcements arriving?"

Although Viscount Elton’s appearance frightened them, the Vidom County nobles’ concern for their own territories outweighed that fear.

Immediately, someone braved Viscount Elton’s fury and voiced their question.

"Reinforcements?!" Viscount Elton’s eyes widened as he glared at the person who had asked, his voice laced with fire.

"Reinforcements! Ha! Your crimes have just been compounded! Just wait to be judged by Lord Sriphine!" Viscount Elton actually laughed, a laugh born of pure rage.

The surrounding nobles were baffled, until one of them boldly picked up the crumpled ball of paper from the ground.

"What? We’re the ones at fault?!"

"Count Sriphine... this can’t be right, can it?"

After reading the entire letter, they instantly understood why Viscount Elton had been so furious.

The letter made no mention of dispatching troops at all. Instead, it repeatedly blamed Viscount Elton for his incompetence, for letting the goblins escape into other nobles’ territories, and for causing "not insignificant trouble" for Sriphine himself.

Even from an outsider’s perspective, it was clear that Count Sriphine intended to stand by and do nothing, even trying to pin the blame on Viscount Elton. For Viscount Elton, the subject of the blame, it was even more infuriating.

Now, the noble lords of Vidom County were truly panicked.

The Beastmen were right at their doorstep, reinforcements were nowhere in sight, and if things went wrong, they might lose their very lives here.

"My lord, then... what should we do now?" the nobles asked, all turning to look at Viscount Elton.

When people feel helpless, they tend to follow the herd.

At this, Viscount Elton looked at the crowd and smiled.

"Fine! Since Sriphine’s castle does not welcome the nobles of Vidom, we shall naturally seek patronage elsewhere!"

"I intend to go east and ask Viscount Robertson for aid. I’m sure you all know of his reputation. He was the one who single-handedly turned the tide of battle beyond the pass."

"As is tradition, we shall vote on it. Who is in favor, and who is opposed?!" Viscount Elton scanned the crowd, his voice sharp and questioning.

"Sriphine cannot protect us! He no longer has the right to lead Vidom County! I am in favor!"

The emotions of the Vidom County nobles had already been stirred up. Their concept of factional loyalty was never that strong to begin with. Now, seeing their leader turn into a defector, they all raised their hands in approval.

"Good. Wim, you... No, never mind. I’ll go myself!"

"I will take a few Cavalry and ride out of the city tonight to ask for help. From now on, Wim is in command of Vidom City!" Viscount Elton said, pointing to a young, stocky noble.

"As long as I stand, the city stands!" Wim immediately saluted Viscount Elton.

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