Merchant Noble is out (1/4 chapters for today)
Provocation
(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)
At the front lines of the battle with the Kali Kingdom, there was still no movement. The forts and strongholds of Kali were firmly adhering to King Rudolf’s strict orders, keeping their doors tightly closed and preparing for a siege. However, the provocations from the mercenary group had continued for weeks. At this point, the patience of the Kali side was nearing its limit.
Today as well, dozens of mercenaries came to the front of the Kali fort. As usual, they brought barrels of alcohol and shields to block arrows, starting a drunken party right in front of the Kali soldiers.
“Hey, come on out already! We come to play every day!” (Mercenary)
“You cowardly bunch! Are you afraid of a bunch of drunks?” (Mercenary)
The drunken insults echoed against the fort.
“Damn it!” (Talis)
Talis, who was in charge of the front-line fort, slammed his armor against the ground in anger. Its one thing if it happened for a day, but being subjected to this kind of abuse night after night was driving him insane.
“Every day, you come here to hurl insults!!” (Soldier)
“Talis-sama, let’s sortie! The soldiers’ anger is reaching its peak.” (Soldier)
“But, we have received orders from King Rudolf to ‘never sortie’.” (Talis)
“However…” (Soldier)
The repeated orders to stand by were not acceptable to the subordinates. For Talis, it was difficult to suppress not only his own anger but also that of his men. If they kept suppressing it, there was a fear that their anger toward Laplace would turn toward them.
“If the king is weak, then even the soldiers will be weak!” (Soldier)
“If you’re frustrated, come out! I’ll fight you half-naked!” (Mercenary)
The drunken mercenaries continued to provoke further. Some even started dancing naked.
“I can’t take it anymore! Talis-sama, I’ll sortie by myself.” (Soldier)
“Have you forgotten the king’s orders?” (Talis)
The anger of the Kali soldiers reached its peak. Talis tried to calm the soldiers, but with the ‘standby order from the king’, he could no longer stop them.
“If we continue to be ridiculed like this, it will affect the morale of the entire army. We just need to kill those drunks loitering over there.” (Soldier)
“But…” (Talis)
“Please punish me. In return, let me sortie!” (Soldier)
The subordinates pleaded one after another.
“Is it true that your king has only just begun to sprout hair?” (Mercenary)
The mercenaries’ voices flew toward the hesitating Talis. They completely looked down on the Kali soldiers, who were not retaliating. Talis’ patience had also reached its limit.
“Fine. We will sortie with the entire army. And after we kill those disrespectful fools, we will return immediately. Understood?” (Talis)
“Yes!” (Soldiers)
Though he had received orders from King Rudolf to ‘never sortie’, after being provoked for such a long time, not to attack would affect the morale of the entire army. They would only sortie for a short time, to show the mercenaries, who thought they could take it easy, a lesson.
*Creeeak*
Finally, the gates of the fort opened, and the Kali army surged forth.
“All forces, charge!” (Talis)
“Waaaaaah!”
“They’ve come out!” (Mercenary)
“Run!” (Mercenary)
The mercenaries, who had never expected the soldiers would come out, were startled and panicked. Stumbling from the alcohol, they all began to flee towards a nearby hill. However, the mounted soldiers of Kali easily caught up with the fleeing mercenaries.
“You’ve said all that! Here’s your payback!” (Talis)
“Gyaaaa!” (Mercenary)
With a spear filled with the anger of weeks, the Kali army struck down the mercenaries one after another.
“Ugh!” (Talis)
Talis, who was excitedly chasing the fleeing mercenaries, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. Looking, he saw an arrow deeply lodged there, soaked in blood.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With the loud sound of drums, thousands of Laplace soldiers appeared from behind the mountains. At the same time, thousands of arrows rained down upon the Kali army.
“Guaaaah!” (Soldier)
This time, the screams of the Kali soldiers echoed. Arrows struck the Kali soldiers who had been chasing the mercenaries one after another, sending them tumbling from their horses.
“Talis-sama! We are being ambushed!!” (Soldier)
Talis, who had lost his composure in anger, turned pale.
They had been lured out perfectly. What was supposed to be just a brief sortie had turned into an ambush.
“This is bad! Retreat immediately!!” (Talis)
He hastily issued the order to retreat. Bathed in countless arrows, the number of the Kali army diminished rapidly as they returned to the fort.
“We’re back! Open up!” (Talis)
When he called out to the fort, instead of the gates opening, countless arrows came flying.
“Ugh!” (Soldier)
“Ah!” (Soldier)
Soldiers struck by arrows fell one after another.
“How foolish…” (Talis)
Upon closer inspection, he saw the flag of the Kali Kingdom tossed aside, and the flag of the Laplace Kingdom proudly fluttering in its place. Taking advantage of their sortie, the fort had been occupied by a detachment of Laplace.
“Because I did not heed the king’s words… I’ve been played…” (Talis)
Talis retreated with a pale face.
—
TLN: The raw says the main character for this chapter is タリオ (Talio), but at one point, the author uses タリス (Talis). After checking two chapters ahead, I’ve confirmed, it’s Talis, rather than Talio.
(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)
Please consider supporting Bayabusco Translation @
bayabuscotranslation 