I'm not a lord

Chapter 207 Killing Lynn, Regardless of the Means
That evening, the Duke of the Marsh, who was in the military camp outside the city, also received bad news from the west.

Because Lynn imposed a tight blockade on the city on the very day he occupied Three Rivers, the Duke's confidants planted within the city were unable to send messages.

When the defeated army under Earl Blackwood fled back to Turbulent County, the local county magistrate realized that something was wrong and immediately sought a way to report the news to the front line.

Therefore, the Duke received the news even slightly later than Amber Harbor.

If possible, Lothair would rather never receive this letter in his entire life.

The battle in the western suburbs of Three Rivers not only allowed Lynn to completely occupy Three Rivers and the surrounding area, but also caused Lothair to lose Count Blackwood, a close friend and capable lieutenant.

When Lothair was away leading troops, his wife took charge of the Marsh Duchy.

His brother-in-law was his wife's strongest supporter.

Whether it was suppressing the refugee rebellion last year or rushing to the aid of Sanhe City this year, it was Count Blackwood who led the troops.

Since most of the elite troops had accompanied the Duke of the Swamp on his eastern expedition, the three hundred cavalrymen under the Earl of Blackwood were the only reliable mobile force within the duchy.

His death and the annihilation of three hundred cavalrymen will only worsen the already depleted military strength of the Marsh Duchy.

In the military camp, the Duke's eldest son, László, scratched his cheek in frustration, his tone anxious:
"Father, we must cover this up. If the palace cavalry find out, the entire army could descend into chaos!"

László didn't even have time to grieve for his uncle's death.

Sanhe City was almost the only way out for the entire army; if word got out, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The families of the court cavalry all lived around Golden Deer Fortress, and upon learning that their supply lines had been cut off, they must have been longing for home.

Moreover, with the recent arrival of the rainy season and the setbacks in the siege, the morale of the troops has become unstable.

If another major upheaval occurs in the military, it could even escalate into a terrifying mutiny.

Duke Lothair of the Marsh sat in a chair with his arms crossed, shaking his head and sighing softly:
“Covering it up is pointless. Do you think covering your ears will stop the bronze bells of Amber Harbor Cathedral from ringing out?”

Amber Harbor must have received the news much earlier than we have. All they need to do is send a few loud-voiced men out of town on horseback to shout a few words, and everyone will know what happened in Three Rivers.

Lothair also didn't have time to grieve for his brother-in-law's death in battle.

After reading the urgent report from Tuanliu County, he repeatedly clenched his fist until his arm turned red, telling himself that he must calm down.

Now he carries the fate of countless people on his shoulders, including himself and his eldest son László, as well as the tens of thousands of soldiers under his command.

If he panics over this 'minor' setback, he will inevitably drag everyone around him down to hell.

While rejecting his eldest son's proposal, Lothair also began to calmly and rapidly consider countermeasures.

Although the situation has deteriorated rapidly, it is far from being beyond repair.

According to Lothair's original plan, he should have captured Amber Harbor before the rainy season and then be crowned king.

But he never expected that the city was far more resilient than he had imagined, and that the illegitimate king was not a useless piece of trash; he would personally stand on the city wall every day to boost morale.

After more than two months of siege warfare, Lothair's total casualties have reached nearly 10,000.

Although the dead were mostly insignificant ragtag troops, mainly recruited from peasants, refugees, thieves, bandits, and bankrupt nobles.

The most elite palace cavalry suffered fewer than two hundred casualties, with just over three thousand remaining.

These soldiers are the core strength of the Marsh Duke.

The number of casualties was too high, and most of the ragtag troops had completely lost their fighting spirit.

Their original intention was to follow the Duke of the Marsh into the city and make a fortune.

In the end, she didn't find a single gold shield, but lost her life.

The morale of the court cavalry and the noble armies that came to join them gradually declined.

With the fall of Sanhe City in the rear, this siege, which was destined to be fruitless, has become a pointless exercise; continuing the fight would only exhaust morale.

After a moment's thought, the Duke of the Swamp made up his mind and suddenly stood up from his chair: "We must retreat."

"Retreat? Father, how can we retreat?" László was shocked and thought he had misheard.

There was little hope in this siege.

But if the withdrawal is announced, the losses will be enormous.

In László's view, if his father led the army to retreat, they would lose most of the gains they had made in the past four months.

Four months ago, Lothair led his army to a great victory over King Maurice north of Coron, and then massacred the city of Coron, which refused to surrender.

From then on, everything went smoothly.

Cities along the way surrendered at the mere sight of them, nobles from various regions voluntarily submitted, and bandits and thieves flocked to their aid.

They fought their way to Amber Harbor with almost no resistance.

Retreat from Amber Harbor would mean the failure of this siege.

The many autonomous cities that surrendered to the Duke of the Swamp would instantly change sides, most of the nobles from the Crown Territory who came to surrender with their own provisions would inevitably flee, and the ragtag army that was willing to serve as cannon fodder with dreams of getting rich would also scatter in all directions.

It's like everything has returned to its starting point.

If the Duke of the Swamp wants to assemble another army of 20,000 to 30,000 men, who knows when that will be.

For László, what he lost was the hope of becoming the first in line to the throne and the new Duke of the Marsh.

Even after his father led his army to retreat, he remained the heir to the dukedom.

The huge psychological gap caused by the shattering of his hopes was hard for him to accept.

Lothair walked up to his eldest son and gently patted him on the shoulder:

"Don't worry about the results we've achieved so far. We haven't taken Amber Harbor or seized the Crown of the North. These so-called armies, territories, and cities don't really belong to us."

Lothair was now remarkably calm, believing he had made the best possible choice.

The long rainy season, lasting more than a month, is an absolute nightmare for the attacking side.

The rain isn't too heavy yet, and no major infectious diseases have broken out in the military camp.

However, if they continue to be stationed outside the city, the soldiers' chances of getting sick will increase exponentially as the humidity in the military camp rises.

Lothair didn't even want to imagine what would happen if an infectious disease broke out.

Those who died now were just ragtag cannon fodder; later, it would be his most elite palace cavalry who would die, in droves.

At that point, he might not even be able to become a duke, let alone a king.

In fact, Lothair had already considered withdrawing his troops at the very beginning of the rainy season.

The reason he didn't withdraw was simply because he still held certain hopes for the saltworks families within the city.

If the Saltworks family could gain control of a city gate, even for just half an hour, it would be enough for Lothair to turn the tide.

Unfortunately, the Saltworks family has accomplished nothing in the past two months, and even regular communication has been interrupted, so it is highly likely that they have been taken down by the city council.

The devastating news from Three Rivers shattered all of Lothair's illusions, solidifying his resolve to retreat. "As long as the court cavalry remain healthy and loyal, we can reclaim everything we've lost sooner or later. Go, give me the order to retreat; we can escape under the cover of night."

At Lothair's command, rumors instantly spread throughout the military camp.

Even the lowest-ranking refugees, after spending two months in the military camp, knew what retreat meant.

Doesn't this signify the failure of the siege?
Making a fortune in the city was clearly out of the question.

What about the sacrifices everyone made over the past two months?
Some say that the Duke himself fell seriously ill due to the unsuccessful siege, and therefore had to retreat.

Some say it was because the Duke's wife, who was left behind to guard the rear, died, and the Duke had to return to Golden Locker Castle to take control of the situation.

Amidst the various opinions, some people began to secretly leave the military camp, heading north, south, or west.

A very small number of nobles even led their subordinates directly east to seek refuge in Amber Harbor.

The demeanor displayed by the illegitimate son Maurice over the past two months has convinced some nobles that the fate of the Urenis family is not yet over.

Just as Morris thought, these fence-sitters really do side with whoever wins.

The Duke of the Marsh did not stop those who were leaving; it was better for them to leave than to stay and cause trouble in the military camp.

Moreover, these people with weak wills are prone to turning a retreat into a rout, which could also endanger his most valuable court cavalry.

When some people leave, others will stay.

For example, Earl of Coldwind and other local nobles who were among the first to pledge allegiance to the Duke, as well as Arno, the mercenary representative and leader of the Power Mercenary Group.

They were essentially tied to the Duke of the Marsh, and even if they jumped ship, they would have difficulty getting on someone else's ship. They might as well stay and see how the situation developed.

Duke Lothair of the Marsh personally received the group in his military tent and showed them an urgent letter from the rear.

Adversity sees the truth.

Lothair has achieved too many victories in the past, and a large number of new allies have gathered around him.

Now that he has encountered his first setback since raising an army, he can take this opportunity to reorganize his troops and consolidate his power.

After reading the urgent message, the group finally understood the reason for the retreat.

Earl of Coldwind was filled with regret. He had advised the Duke of Swamp to deal with Lynn first, and then slowly deal with the bastard Maurice.

Now things are really messed up. Lynn has gained momentum and even occupied the waterway hub of Three Rivers, blocking the Duke of the Swamp's retreat route.

To be able to capture the city of Sanhe and almost completely annihilate Count Blackwood's three hundred cavalrymen, Lynn's forces must number at least one or two thousand.

It is now extremely difficult to eliminate him.

Earl of Cold Wind regretted not having advised the Duke more.

Just last winter, Lynn had just occupied White River Territory and Shallow Beach Territory. Sending a thousand elite cavalry would have been more than enough to deal with him.

Lothair saw Earl Coldwind's regret and smiled as he comforted him, "This is not your fault. It was my decision to launch a full-scale attack on Amber Harbor, and I will take full responsibility for it."

The worse the situation, the more Lothair needs to appear composed in order to reassure the troops.

This tactic worked; the restless camp instantly calmed down considerably.

Lothair then announced the evacuation plan and arranged the order of evacuation for each unit.

Basically, the nobles and mercenary groups walked at the front, while he himself led the court cavalry to the rear.

The Duke of the Marsh personally brought up the rear, a move that was very popular.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. The discipline of their soldiers was far inferior to that of the palace cavalry. If they were to cover the rear, the retreat would truly turn into a rout.

After the meeting, the Duke of the Swamp specially kept Count Coldwind and Arno, the leader of the Power Mercenary Group, behind.

Over the past year, the two have fully demonstrated their loyalty.

Earl of Coldwind was the first of the great nobles of the Crown Territory to pledge allegiance, and even sent his second son to White Bear Territory as a hostage, but unfortunately he died at the hands of Lynn.

During the siege, his task was to protect the supply lines and oversee the transport of provisions and supplies from the rear.

Earl of Coldwind successfully completed his mission, repelling harassing forces from Amber Harbor on multiple occasions and ensuring the logistical supply of the entire army.

Arnault has two tasks.

First, he led a portion of the cannon fodder troops to launch a strong attack on the city walls;
Secondly, he commanded the mercenaries within the group to plunder money and provisions from various places, which were then used to supply the army.

During the year-long war, Arno led his mercenary group from the westernmost edge of the Crown Territory all the way to the easternmost edge, offending the local nobles and peasants.

He robbed indiscriminately, friend or foe alike; he would seize any grain he could find, leaving a trail of locusts in his wake.

Therefore, there was almost no possibility of Arno jumping ship. Without the protection of the Duke of the Marshland, he would have died at the hands of the local nobles sooner or later.

Besides, he was hoping that the Duke of the Marshland would be crowned queen and make him a count, which would allow him to clear his name and find a territory to settle his men.

Looking at the two loyal dogs, Lothair slowly said, "I'm giving you a task. Use any method you like, as long as Lynn is dead."

With Lothair's current forces, turning around and launching a full-scale attack on Mikawa City is certainly an option, but there is really no need for it.

If he wastes too much time and manpower at the gates of Three Rivers, how can he possibly contend for the Crown of the North?

Therefore, it is necessary to resort to dirty tricks.

Moreover, power struggles can't be judged by their dirtiness.

Whoever becomes the ultimate winner will naturally have high-ranking priests to bail him out of Bianjing.

When they attacked Riverbend Fortress, the Duke of Marsh bribed the Earl of Riverbend's cook to poison the royal gatekeeper.

That's how they captured that fortified fortress without lifting a finger.

Now, the Duke of the Swamp is resorting to his old tricks again, wanting to use some means to get rid of Lynn.

Emerging powers like Baihe Territory, lacking substantial foundations, will disintegrate instantly once their leader dies.

Earl of Coldwind has a blood feud with Lynn for killing his son, and his forces are not weak either; he is both wealthy and well-manned.

Arno, as the leader of a mercenary group, had extensive connections; his former base was in Three Rivers City.

Therefore, these two are the best candidates to carry out the mission.

"Success is of course the best, but failure is not your responsibility. Just go for it."

The Duke of the Marshland also absolved the two of their responsibilities in advance.

After all, assassinations don't have a high success rate; failure is the norm.

After giving the orders to the two men, the Duke wrote several personal letters and ordered messengers to deliver them to various places.

One of the letters will be sent to Mirror Iron Territory.

Three Rivers City is not the Duke of the Marsh's only way out; if all else fails, he can detour through Mirror Iron Territory back to Golden Deer Castle.

(End of this chapter)