Chapter 80

These days, Albe Corsini's mood was uneasy.

After the war began, Albe was assigned the duty of defending the city as the commander-in-chief of the city guard.

It was an honorable task, but right now he didn't feel that way at all.

The lack of any news from Leon Gryph, who had set out leading the mercenary company, the fact that the Signori Family, whom he secretly considered a rival, had quietly withdrawn to supply duties, and the fact that the cornered Mayor Rapacio was making no moves all felt ominous.

“Father, what are you so worried about? Isn't it a good thing that Leon Gryph, who was a thorn in your side, is out of sight?”

“It's the current quietness that makes me anxious.”

Replying to his eldest son's question, Albe furrowed his brow.

An omen always appears before an event occurs.

Like when a hero is born, five-colored clouds appear in the sky.

Or like a dog jumping out of a mural to warn of a disaster.

But after the war broke out, daily life in Fasa had not changed much.

Only the prices had risen murderously, but people's lives continued.

(The citizens did riot in protest, but Albe ignored it.)

It was precisely that point that bothered Albe.

But it seemed Albe was the only one who felt it was strange.

Never mind his immature eldest son, even other people were like that.

“Anything unusual?”

“Nothing at all, Captain.”

“If anything happens, report immediately.”

Feeling uneasy, Albe patrolled the city walls and inspected his subordinates much more than the regulations required.

And every time Albe began his inspection, the soldiers would grumble just loud enough for him to hear.

“Our captain is not very bold. To personally take care of such trivial matters.”

“If I had known this, I would have moved to the mercenary company like Kinesh. It's just hard work here, and it doesn't pay.”

Then Albe would ignore it and move on as if he hadn't heard.

Those lowly commoners probably wouldn't understand what their noble self was worried about anyway.

Returning to his office after the patrol, Albe clutched his forehead.

With so much to worry about, his head was throbbing.

A subordinate came to him to report.

“Lord Corsini, a naval detachment fleet has just requested permission to set sail.”

“The navy? It must be just their regular patrol time. Do I have to receive a report for every single thing like that?”

“You told me to report if anything unusual happens.”

“What an idiot. Can't you even distinguish between what needs to be reported and what doesn't?”

Albe spewed all sorts of curses at the fact that he had such a stupid subordinate.

The subordinate who had been rebuked went out with an embarrassed face.

A moment later, a group of naval ships could be seen heading out to sea beyond his office window.

Albe felt a bitter emotion watching them.

That navy was not directly under the city guard, but belonged to the mercenary company.

They were things that didn't even exist in Fasa a few months ago.

At that fact, Albe felt a sense of emptiness and deprivation at the same time.

At first, Albe had looked down on Leon as a swindler of uncertain origin.

But Leon, as if to refute those words, had expanded his power in the blink of an eye.

It was at a speed that made Albe, an established power in Fasa, feel threatened and wary.

Still, he wanted to prevent a conflict from breaking out within the city, so he had even extended a hand first.

But this fellow named Leon, his nose was so high in the air that he simply ignored it.

Since then, Albe had been constantly in a bad mood.

‘Should I have offered to intercept the Urdino Ducal Army myself instead?’

‘No, no. Duke Cavaldi is famous for being an excellent soldier, so it would be difficult for me to win.’

‘I wish Leon Gryph would just drop dead over there.’

‘But why is there no news from this guy? Shouldn't there be some talk about whether he won or lost by now? The supplies must have been cut off too.’

The reason Albe knew nothing was because Selvi had blocked all information coming into Fasa.

Of course, Albe didn't even know that fact.

It was while Albe was lost in thought.

Suddenly, the emergency bell on the city wall rang out.

Dong─ Dong─ Dong─.

It was the alarm signaling a state of emergency.

The last time that bell had rung was recently, when Leon Gryph appeared in Fasa.

Feeling that something was amiss, Albe rushed up to the city wall.

“What is it?”

“Look at the sea over there!”

Beyond the horizon, a fleet of ships was approaching the city.

There were so many ships that it looked as if they were filling the sea.

“Affiliation? Have you confirmed? It's not our fleet that just set sail, is it?”

“No, sir! We've confirmed the flags. It's Pescara and Messina.”

“What! How did they?”

“I don't know!”

“What is the navy doing! Send out the navy to intercept them!”

“That's impossible!”

“What? Are you disobeying orders?”

“That's not it, the navy went out for a regular patrol earlier. There is no fleet left in the city.”

“What?”

“Didn't you grant permission, my lord!”

Albe's face went blank.

Thinking back, it was indeed so.

He was the one who had granted permission for them to set sail.

Faced with the imminent crisis, Albe felt the world go dark before his eyes.

While Albe hesitated, unable to do anything.

At last, the Messina-Pescara fleet brought the flames of war and descended upon Fasa.

***

I stayed near Fasa with Theo and observed the city.

Though I had confidently returned to Fasa, I had no intention of recklessly storming the city and killing Albe.

There's always an order to things.

If you don't follow the order, you'll only cause unnecessary problems.

But it was surprising how thorough the city's defenses were.

“Their posture is quite stern. It seems Albe pays a lot of attention to this kind of thing.”

“He must have pushed his subordinates really hard.”

“Tsk, then he should have at least taken care of our supplies.”

To exaggerate a bit how stingy Albe had been, I almost starved to death on the way back to Fasa.

There were many Urdino prisoners, but fundamentally, it was because Albe had not sent enough supplies.

If it weren't for the food carts we seized from Urdino, it would have been a real disaster.

I send my thanks once again to Cavaldi, who must be wallowing in regret in prison by now.

“Speaking of which, Theo. Give me some more sausage.”

“You've already taken it all.”

Theo looked at me with wary eyes, but I already knew where Theo had hidden the Urdino sausage.

“There, I know you've hidden it in your front pocket.”

“Aaat, anything but that! That's the last of it.”

“Hand it over.”

In the end, Theo had to watch the sausage enter my mouth with the expression of someone who had lost their country.

After finishing my supplies, I smiled with satisfaction.

It's always best to get supplies from others.

It didn't matter if Selvi looked at me with a pathetic expression.

“What is it?”

“A report, Captain. The coalition's fleet has reached the vicinity of Fasa.”

“Really? They're much later than expected. Those slowpokes. I almost starved to death waiting.”

“Pig.”

“What was that?”

When I glared at him, Theo pretended not to know.

I need to become strong enough to beat that guy up someday.

But I'll probably die of old age before that happens.

Anyway.

“The fleet currently stationed in Fasa?”

“As planned, Captain Leandro is in charge. What should we do?”

“Of course, we have to sneak them out. They're our people, and it's the latest warship. It's too precious to lose here.”

It was a warship that had been ordered from the Fasa state shipyard to subdue Tospol after the mercenary company was founded.

But the subjugation of Tospol had ended before the ship was completed, and it had only recently been finished and delivered.

I can't just let something I haven't even ridden yet be destroyed.

“Tell them to get out by giving some appropriate reason, like maritime reconnaissance or receiving a distress call.”

“Understood. But if the resistance is weak, won't the coalition navy find it suspicious?”

“They might have in the past, but they probably don't have the mind for it now. You don't have to worry. Didn't Yoken already burn Messina?”

“According to the reports that have come in, he did it quite spectacularly.”

As if to prove he was a pirate, the pirate fleet led by Yoken had ravaged Messina more than ordered.

It was said that the flames of the city were visible from afar, so that says it all.

By now, the commanders of the Messina fleet must be in a state where normal thinking is impossible.

Anyone who has been pressured by their superiors over performance issues will understand these words.

Urdino and Messina were burned, and one of them even had its duke captured, yet the navy has done nothing all this time?

The problem is not just that their careers in public office will end with this war; they could actually die.

So, for their own self-preservation, they can't help but feel the pressure to do something.

They will undoubtedly come out aggressively, without any regard for what happens to their subordinate forces.

“I'm curious to see if Albe can really fend off the offensive.”

“But did the Signori Family agree to this?”

“Don't worry. It's all been agreed upon. The Signori Family will receive appropriate compensation for this damage.”

The negotiations had already been concluded behind the scenes.

In exchange for turning a blind eye to the elimination of Albe, the Signori Family would take half of the Corsini Family's assets.

The other half?

Of course, it's mine.

Since it was a matter of eliminating a rival in the city, Matriarch Costanza didn't oppose it much.

Rather, she seemed to want it.

Selvi silently nodded and disappeared towards Fasa.

A while later, as if they had succeeded in deceiving Albe, the fleet guarding Fasa left the port, and in its place, the Messina-Pescara coalition navy descended.

The bells tolled in Fasa, and it was a complete mess.

“It's starting now.”

Time to become a national hero.

It's a pity that a beautiful city is burning, and it's a pity that I always have to prepare for betrayal.

But Albe, you were too greedy.

If you hadn't been so greedy, we could have gotten along well.

I gave the order.

“It's time to save the city.”

The commanders reacted immediately.

“Eleonor's unit, wake up!”

“Rhom's unit, saddle the horses!”

“You lazybones, get up!”

I listened to the shouts coming from all directions and descended the hill.

The elite soldiers, tempered by many battles, formed their ranks in an instant and moved towards Fasa as soon as they were ready.

I moved at the forefront with Theo.

The chaos at the pier had spread to the gate.

The troops guarding the gate were at a loss, just pacing back and forth.

With no orders coming down and the city under attack, it was enough to drive them mad.

Just then, when I appeared leading my troops, cheers erupted from all sides.

“Lord Gryph? Isn't it Lord Gryph?”

“That's right, I have returned.”

“Shouldn't you be at the front lines? How are you here?”

“Is that important right now? The city is under attack.”

“Ah, no, sir. Open the gate at once!”

Reminded of the urgency of the situation, the commander of the guard, having come to his senses, immediately had the gate opened.

Thanks to that, the mercenary company crossed the gate without any resistance.

I gave instructions to the officers following behind me.

“Sir Eleonor, with me to the city hall. Rhom, to the pier to support our allies, and Selvi, eliminate Corsini's allies.”

“Understood. Captain.”

“Move immediately.”

The troops scattered in all directions.

There was no resistance on the way to the city hall either.

In fact, the same thing was repeated at the city hall.

“Lord Gryph?! How are you here?”

“Everyone, evacuate to the north gate. We will protect this place.”

“But the mayor is still upstairs.”

“Don't worry about that. We will escort him.”

“Understood. May fortune be with you.”

I evacuated the confused employees and went up to the mayor's office.

Mayor Rapacio, even with the enemy at his doorstep, was busy packing his valuables and didn't even know what was happening until our eyes met.

A lump of gold fell from his hand with a thud.

“Lord Gryph, how did you get here?”

“Don't worry. I have come. Fasa is safe now.”

“In-indeed! I was only trusting in you, Lord Gryph! The incompetent Albe Corsini is an idiot who can't even protect a single city.”

“Why would such a person betray me, I wonder?”

At my words, Mayor Rapacio's face became that of a man hanging from a cliff.

So he knew he had a lot of karma, did he?

“No, why are you bringing that up now. Lord Gryph. You should be fulfilling your duty and taking responsibility for Fasa's safety, right?!”

“I never said the mayor would be safe.”

“Don't tell me you're doing this because of what happened back then? Wasn't that matter already over?”

“No. If you were really on our side, you would have sent at least one letter explaining the situation with the supply cutoff. But you did nothing.”

“Lord Gryph! Please! Didn't I help you create the mercenary company?”

Mayor Rapacio appealed to my emotions, but my resolve did not waver.

I'm not talking about the grudge from starving.

If it were manageable, I would have just kept him as a scarecrow and used him, but this man's speed of betrayal was at the speed of light.

It's my judgment that since humans are made that way, he can't be fixed, nor can he just be used.

“I will send Albe Corsini to your side soon enough. Go ahead and save him a seat.”

“N-no!”

“Take care of him.”

Theo stepped forward with the axe that had been certified by Duke Cavaldi of Urdino.

Now, a Mayor Rapacio certification mark would be added to it.

Thud!

A blood-curdling sound echoed once, and then everything became silent.

Thus, former Mayor Rapacio passed away without even leaving a will.

It's truly regrettable.

If he had acted wisely, we could have maintained a good relationship.

To think he had to act like a bat.

At that moment, Selvi whispered in my ear.

“Captain, Albe is on his way to the city hall.”

“Really? Perfect timing. Then… I should give him a surprise.”

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