Chapter 1419 - 763: The Righteous Momentum

Chapter 1419: Chapter 763: The Righteous Momentum

Indeed, everyone realized that within the entire territory, apart from the Lord, no nobility was granted, not even a fief knight.

This complete form of autocracy, with only that Lord as the noble, was greatly envied by the Baron, yet it did not conform to the noble enfeoffment system passed down through centuries within the Empire.

Moreover, that Lord was not even born of noble lineage, which gave the Earl, who considered themselves as having a stable noble heritage, an inexplicable sense of superiority.

The Baron, having risen during the chaos of those years, albeit not as esteemed as the Earl, was still a notable figure, and he sharply noticed one thing from the intelligence gathered.

He believed that Lord controlled those armies through personal prowess and noble status, and since he too was a noble, and even more generous than that Lord.

Thus, he intended to seize the opportunity to incite the leaders of those armies by tempting them with enfeoffment of lands, believing they couldn’t resist the offer.

After all, they’re all empty promises, just words, using Lance’s lands for fictitious enfeoffments.

Then, they could attack and eliminate that Lord, annex Hamlet, and grant the lands to themselves!

With this idea in mind, he dared to engage Hamlet’s army in battle.

Since the decision was made, it required execution by someone.

Informing the knights would naturally be handled by others below, but the question was, who would negotiate with Hamlet?

"I’ll go!"

"Let me handle this."

Surprisingly, those bureaucratic confidants showed no fear and even appeared enthusiastic.

Because negotiations between nobles adhered to certain rules, there was little fear of mishaps, and at most they could pay for ransom if things went wrong. Moreover, if they succeeded in persuading one or two leaders, the merit would be substantial, and they might earn enfeoffment themselves and become nobles.

"This task will be entrusted to you two."

The Baron was already prepared in his mind and pointed out the two.

Soon, a carriage was driven swiftly towards the city outskirts at night...

Throughout the day, Hamlet’s army was marching, engaging in warfare, and then continuing their march.

The remaining time was spent dealing with post-battle matters, and although the battles went smoothly, there were still casualties caused by various reasons.

For instance, the knight who ambushed them, charged with a lance leading his men into their ranks, was knocked off his horse and drew his longsword to fight. Although he was quickly dealt with, some were still wounded in the process.

Not to mention the injuries caused by crossbows, highlighting the dangers of battles, even with their superior equipment and numbers, it was still crucial to assess the situation accurately, underestimating the enemy was tantamount to courting death.

Fortunately, professional military surgeons were among the troops; skilled in surgeries and equipped with various miraculous potions, they could save anyone who wasn’t instantly killed.

However, rest was necessary, compounded by the day’s exertions, so they paused, set up camp, and recuperated.

The night passed peacefully, with scouts and sentries stationed outside not spotting any unusual activity.

As dawn broke and the bugle sounded, the camp started stirring, forgoing morning drills, yet everyone instinctively began maintaining their weapons or carrying out their duties as per regulations.

Barton and the commanders were organizing the collated information, continuing to study the next steps in their plan.

"So, should we take the initiative to attack next, or lure them out of the city to eliminate their troops?"

"I think we should take the initiative to attack; reallocating their forces for defense will certainly weaken their position."

"We spent a lot of ammunition yesterday; replenishing it will take some time."

As the discussion went on, Laura was on the sidelines, mostly focused on watching a hawk shred a mouse into strips for breakfast, not participating in the dialogue, her role was solely to execute the Lord’s commands and report to the Lord.

Her presence was due to her knowledge of some covert informants in various places, potentially accessing more information, and assisting in coordinating the informants’ roles in upcoming actions.

The unsaid reason for her presence was to represent the Lord’s supervision over them.

Even though Lance did not require this, Laura’s background naturally inclines her to take up this role.

While they discussed, a soldier reported intercepting a carriage with individuals claiming to be emissaries from the Baron requesting a talk.

"Oh! It seems their reaction is quite swift."

"After such intense fighting yesterday, they must have realized by now."

"But should we meet them or not?"

With this said, everyone momentarily paused their banter and looked towards Barton, the main commander.

"Bring them in," Barton promptly decided without hesitation, gesturing with a smile, "I’m interested in what they have to say."

Soon after, the two emissaries were brought in, albeit with sour expressions likely from being searched previously, feeling humiliated, as they held certain significance beside the Baron and were unaccustomed to such treatment.

Yet, in this setting, they dared not speak out, suppressing their frustration despite the urge to lash out.

Barton was unconcerned about these emissaries being disguised assassins attempting a decapitation strike; with Reynard and Balistan, two legendary figures present, along with silent and observant Laura.

The other commanders, including Barton himself, were seasoned warriors, and as for these two? In a fight, who would overpower whom was uncertain.

The two came bearing tasks, each side gauging the other, yet they were unsure who exactly was the Lord of Hamlet as everyone around the round table portrayed no clear hierarchy.