Chapter 623:The Standoff
Chapter 623: 623:The Standoff
The surrounding soldiers instinctively became quieter.Even the sounds of movement nearby seemed to lessen.
Everyone could clearly feel that the atmosphere between the two men had suddenly become much colder than before.
And from the looks of it...
This conversation was not going to end pleasantly.
His words echoed loudly across the military camp and immediately caused a noticeable stir among the surrounding soldiers and nobles, because Marquise Shatad had not bothered lowering his voice at all and had instead spoken loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear clearly.
Many nobles who had been busy with their own matters slowly turned toward the commotion.
Several officers also looked over curiously.
Even some soldiers stopped what they were doing and glanced in their direction.
After all, neither Ethan nor Shatad were insignificant figures.
Any disagreement between two powerful nobles naturally attracted attention.
Ethan was already in a terrible mood.
The journey back had shown him enough unpleasant sights.
The sight of countless civilians being chained like livestock had already irritated him.And now someone was openly mocking him in front of everyone.
The look in Ethan’s eyes gradually became colder.
Meanwhile, Shatad’s expression also turned ugly after hearing Ethan’s reply.
The smile on his face slowly faded.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Tell you how to do your job?" Shatad repeated while letting out a short laugh.
"You think too highly of yourself."
He slowly looked toward the prisoners behind Ethan.
"I am simply pointing out facts."
His tone carried obvious mockery.
"Other nobles returned with thousands."
"Some returned with entire villages."
"And you come back with this?"
Shatad spread his hand casually.
"It hardly looks impressive."
The surrounding nobles quietly listened.
Several frowned.Others simply watched without speaking.
Ethan stared at him calmly.
"Unlike some people, I was sent to eliminate enemy remnants."
"I completed my task."
Shatad snorted.
"Completed?"
"By bringing back this little?"
His gaze swept across Ethan’s troops.
"Perhaps you spent too much time sightseeing."
A few soldiers from the Order of Eternal Blade immediately became unhappy after hearing those words.
Several hands instinctively moved toward weapon hilts.The atmosphere instantly became heavier.
Randall’s face darkened.
Noel also frowned.
Ethan slowly straightened his posture atop his horse.
"And perhaps," Ethan replied calmly.
"You spend too much time counting prisoners instead of fighting enemies."
Several nearby nobles immediately coughed.
A few soldiers even lowered their heads to hide their expressions.
Shatad’s face visibly darkened.
"What did you say?"
His voice became colder.
Ethan did not back down.
"You heard me."
For a brief moment the atmosphere became extremely tense.
Neither noble looked willing to retreat.
The soldiers behind both sides also became visibly alert.
Just when things looked ready to escalate further—
"Enough!"
A powerful voice suddenly echoed throughout the camp.
Everyone immediately turned.
Several nobles had already begun moving toward the two groups.Among them stood Duke Osantra.
The elderly Duke’s expression looked extremely displeased.
His sharp gaze swept across both Ethan and Shatad.
"This is an army barracks!" Duke Osantra shouted angrily.
"We are here to fight enemies, not ourselves!"
His voice carried enough authority to immediately silence many of the surrounding people.
The Duke stepped forward.
"If either of you have so much energy to waste, then go spend it killing enemy soldiers."
His eyes narrowed.
"Both of you stop it and step back."
The surrounding nobles quickly moved between the two groups.
Several began speaking to calm the situation.
"Enough."
"This is not the place."
"We already have enough enemies."
"There is no need for this."
The tense atmosphere gradually eased.
Ethan remained silent for a moment.
Then he simply nodded.
"I understand, Duke."
Without arguing further, he pulled lightly on the reins of his horse.
The animal turned around immediately.
Ethan had no interest in wasting more time here.Not with the current state of the war and not with everything else happening around them.
As Ethan began moving away, the knights of the Order of Eternal Blade quickly followed behind him.
Meanwhile, Shatad remained where he was.
His expression looked ugly.He stared at Ethan’s departing figure and let out a dissatisfied grunt.
"Hmph."
But even he knew this was not the time to continue.
The military camp slowly returned to normal.
Yet many nobles secretly remembered the confrontation they had just witnessed.
Because everyone could tell that the conflict between Marquise Ethan Blanks and Marquise Shatad was far from over.
......
Back inside the tent, several dissatisfied voices immediately erupted as everyone recalled the confrontation that had just happened outside, and the somewhat tense atmosphere that had followed them all the way back from the camp entrance continued lingering heavily throughout the tent.
Noel threw himself onto a chair while crossing his arms tightly over his chest, and a deep frown formed on his face as he replayed the entire encounter inside his head.
"Now what’s up with this guy?" he cursed while shaking his head in annoyance.
"I don’t remember provoking him."
Randall looked equally confused as he knitted his brows tightly and rubbed his chin while carefully trying to remember if they had ever crossed paths with the man before.
"More than that, who is that fucker?" he asked with an annoyed expression while looking around at everyone present.
"He suddenly appears out of nowhere and immediately starts mocking us as if we owe him something."
Several others inside the tent shared similar thoughts, and quiet discussions immediately broke out among the officers and knights present.
After all, none of them understood where Shatad’s hostility was coming from, and from the way he had acted earlier, it clearly did not look like a simple disagreement that had happened recently.
Ethan remained silent for a moment while carefully thinking about everything that had happened outside, and then he suddenly reached into his storage ring before pulling out a thick strip of documents that contained information regarding the Empire’s nobles, their territories, family affiliations, political connections, military strength, and various details that had been gathered over the years.
There were simply too many nobles throughout the Empire for anyone to remember properly, and honestly speaking, Ethan had never bothered wasting his time memorizing information about people he considered unimportant.