I'm not a lord

Chapter 278 The River Bend Incident

Inside Amber Harbor, Otto III's confidants were joyfully preparing for his coronation, and the local citizens were equally excited, for they had finally received a powerful protector.

When news of the victory arrived from Cologne, Otto's prestige in Amber Harbor soared to an unprecedented height.

Previously, the Duke of the Marsh had besieged Amber Harbor twice, bringing endless disasters to the city's citizens. After the war, almost every household held a funeral, and countless new graves were added to the cemetery outside the city.

The citizens of Amber Harbor didn't care about the so-called 'nation' at all, or rather, people at that time didn't have the concept of 'nation' in their minds.

If you talk to them about the so-called glory of the North, they'll just find it laughable and think you're out of your mind.

For the citizens of Amber Harbor, Otto III's revenge and promise to protect the city's autonomy were enough to win their heartfelt support for this new king from the South.

Moreover, Otto has indeed kept his promise since landing in the North. He not only did not allow his soldiers to plunder the city, but also did not interfere excessively with the city council's resolutions. He even squeezed out precious food to relieve the city's refugees.

These actions earned him even more points in his impression.

Therefore, when news of Otto's impending coronation spread, the city's citizens took to the streets, expressing their support for the new king through parades and songs.

While Amber Harbor was filled with jubilation, River Bend Castle, where the Duke of the Marsh resided, was shrouded in gloom and despair.

Of the more than 10,000 troops that went out to war, only more than 4,000 returned, and most of the lost troops were noble cavalry from the Crown Territory.

Today, the Duke of the Marsh has only five or six hundred court cavalrymen, more than three thousand miscellaneous troops, plus a few nobles who escaped from the battlefield.

Lothair's hands trembled as he tallied up the remaining troops at River Bend.

Since his debut, when has he ever fought such a shabby battle?
Fortunately, the harsh winter in the North helped him, preventing Otto from pursuing him to the end; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to protect even his meager possessions.

Otto's decision to withdraw his troops gave Lothair a chance to catch his breath.

With the roads blocked by heavy snow, he can at least rest until February of the following year.

Of course, this also gave time for 'conspiracy' and 'internal strife' to fester.

If this war had not taken place in winter, Otto would most likely have pursued the enemy to the bitter end, and the Southern Army would have become a steel rolling pin, relentlessly chasing and crushing the remnants of Lothair's army.

External pressure could further compress this defeated army.

After all, Otto is an outsider, while Lothair is a local who is more familiar with the terrain and climate, making it relatively easier for him to shake off the pursuit.

During the tense escape and battle, the restless elements in the army will temporarily subside.

Lothair then had the opportunity to reorganize and transform the army, proactively eliminating the old, weak, sick, and disabled, leaving behind a small number of elite troops, and rebuilding his prestige within the army.

But now that Otto has stopped pursuing, this 'lump of dough' has remained in River Bend.

Within this snow-covered castle, something unsettling is rapidly brewing.

Late at night, in a tent at the mercenary group's base outside the castle, leader Arno was discussing a way out with several of his trusted underlings.

What do you think we should do next?

Although Arnault was the one asking the question, he already had a plan in mind.

The reason I asked my trusted subordinates this question was mainly to gauge their opinion.

Before undertaking any major task, it is essential to first do a good job in united front work. If people's hearts are not united, even hosting a banquet will be difficult, let alone accomplishing anything significant.

The group of henchmen looked at each other, but eventually their gazes all fell on Arnault.

The strongest of the henchmen pounded his chest, his face showing a resolute expression of wanting to offer his heart: "Boss, whatever you say, we'll do. Give the order!"

These people have all been with Arnault for many years; they are by no means political idiots who only have muscles in their heads.

The atmosphere at River Bend is quite delicate now; they can all sense a dangerous undercurrent.

"Very well, I plan to take you to join Otto."

Arnaud didn't mince words and bluntly stated his plan.

The Duke of the Swamp is clearly in a precarious situation, and given the fickle nature of mercenaries, they will naturally consider switching sides.

They have no fixed master, so they feel no guilt about betraying others.

As for why he chose to join Otto, the reason is simple: Arno was originally a down-on-his-luck nobleman from the southern border.

What is this called? This is called a wanderer returning home.

As a mercenary leader from the South, it makes perfect sense for me to betray my employer from the North and join the new king from the South, right?
Of course, Arno could also choose to side with Count Lynn of the White River or Count Vasa of the Mirror Iron.

However, he had always disliked Lynn and looked down on Vassar, so he rejected them all.

No sooner had Arnaud finished speaking than one of his underlings asked doubtfully, "Join Otto? But weren't we fighting him just a few days ago? Would he really accept us?"

It's true that Arno is from the South, but most of his men are from the North, so it's normal for him to have reservations about Otto from the South.

“Otto is an extremely ambitious man. I guarantee that he would accept Lothair even if he came to him for help before he achieves his ambitions.”

Arno had been involved in the power struggles for many years, and had worked in both the North and South, so he was very familiar with the nature of these power-wielding beings.

Immediately, one of the underlings who had received the news in advance declared, "Since you say so, boss, we are willing to follow you."

Soon, the underlings reached an agreement.

For them, it doesn't matter who they follow, as long as they can make money.

Moreover, they all knew in their hearts that the disastrous defeat north of Koren City began with the rout of the left-wing ragtag army.

The fact that the Duke of the Swamp is not settling scores with them now does not mean that the matter is over.

If following the old master makes you vulnerable to being purged, why not just run away?
Arno then said, "When visiting guests, we can't go empty-handed; we have to bring Otto a very substantial gift."

One of the underlings asked at the opportune moment, "A gift? What gift?"

Arno revealed a sinister smile: "Of course, it's Lothair's head and this River Bend Fortress!"

Apart from the two underlings who knew beforehand, the rest looked terrified. One of the underlings even asked tremblingly, "Big brother, are you planning to kill the Duke of the Swamp?"

They didn't feel too bad about going with Otto to join him; they had wanted to run away for a long time anyway.

But getting them to kill Duke Lothair of the Marshland would be very difficult.

Who is Lothair? One of the three dukes of the North, renowned for his martial prowess from a young age, and always protected by elite court cavalry. A person's name is like a tree's shadow.

For mercenaries from the North to harden their hearts and kill a Northern duke is a difficult hurdle to overcome, even just in terms of their mental fortitude.

Furthermore, Lothair has always been wary of mercenaries.

During the retreat, Lothair and the court cavalry led the way, ostensibly to clear the path.

The mercenaries could only cover his retreat.

Upon returning to River Bend Fortress, his court cavalry were stationed inside the city, while the mercenaries could only be stationed outside.

To kill him, we would first have to storm River Bend Fortress, a task that would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens.

Arno glared at him and snapped, "What are you afraid of? Lothair is indeed a duke, and he is indeed very strong, but he is also a human being. Once you cut off his head, are you afraid that his headless corpse will jump up and kill you?"

Arno then looked around at his underlings and said urgently, "I've received word that Lothair is trying to kill me and all of you! If he gets rid of us, he can control the Power Mercenary Group and other mercenary bandits."

What he lacks most right now is an army! And only by killing us can he give the nobles of the North an explanation. You haven't forgotten, have you? It was because of your weakness on the battlefield that Lothair suffered such a crushing defeat at Coron!

Has Arnault received the message?
of course not.

Indeed, his mercenary group was expanding rapidly, recruiting many new members under the name of the Duke of the Swamp, and its strength quickly swelled to two or three thousand men.

But Arno wasn't strong enough to plant spies around Lothair.

All of this is nothing but his speculation and fabrication, a classic example of such rumors in history.

By fabricating a powerful, imaginary enemy who is sharpening his knives, one can easily unite the forces around them.

One of the underlings awkwardly rubbed his hands and replied, "Boss, the defeat is really not our fault. Otto's army was too strong, and we simply couldn't withstand it."

You really can't blame the mercenaries for this. How could a hastily assembled ragtag army withstand an attack from an equal number of noble cavalry?
Being able to hold out for two hours is truly worthy of the Duke of the Marsh.

Arno glared at his underling again, his expression one of exasperation: "It's not me who's blaming you, it's Lothair who's blaming you! With his vengeful nature, do you think he'll let you off the hook?"

The underlings all fell silent. They were genuinely afraid of the Duke of the Swamps' retribution, and, as Arno had said, the probability of that happening was quite high.

Arnaud took in everyone's expressions and continued to encourage them:
“If we don’t kill him, we won’t be able to leave River Bend Castle safely. As soon as we leave, his court cavalry will come after us. In this weather, how many people can escape the cavalry’s pursuit? Our only way to survive is to kill him, take over River Bend Castle, and then send someone to contact Otto to take over the castle!”

Killing him wouldn't be difficult. He only has five or six hundred soldiers with him now, and his strongest thousand palace cavalry have all returned to Golden Deer Castle with his eldest son. Moreover, I can contact some nobles within the castle. With a pincer attack from both inside and outside, we're sure to succeed!"

Most of the nobles in the North are tough. Back when Lynn conquered White River Territory, Baron Red Creek dared to lead his cavalry to charge his infantry formation.

The so-called courage and honor are ingrained in the genes of the Northern nobles.

To defend these traditional virtues, they could charge without hesitation, even if the enemy's spear formations were in front of them.

Hey, the old nobles of the North are all about charging in headfirst, about being brave and fearless.

Even if Count Coldwind were to freeze or starve to death in prison, he would never bow down to Otto.

But not everyone is tough; it's normal for one or two out of ten people to be soft-hearted.

Arno's decision to kill the Duke of the Marshland was naturally prompted by a nobleman residing in the castle who contacted him.

In that crushing defeat, a small number of nobles broke through the encirclement and escaped.

The power of the Southern Knights instilled fear in them, and they began to consider joining Otto's side.

They didn't even contact Otto beforehand, but instead naively believed that handing over Lothair's head and River Bend Castle would secure the integrity of their family's territory.

Arno and the Power Mercenary Group were the outside helpers and henchmen hired by these nobles.

Of course, Arnault also has his own ambitions and pursuits.

The Duke of the Marshland had only given him an empty count title before the war, which greatly displeased him.

He longed for Otto to grant him a real territory, and for that he was willing to betray him.

Therefore, Arnaud and some local nobles hit it off and got what they wanted.

After his persuasion and encouragement, the core members of the mercenary group were all convinced.

"Brother, let's do it! Kill Lothair!"

"Very good. Go back and secretly gather your men, be ready to act at any time!"

Then, Arno pulled out a dagger, and everyone present used it to prick their index fingers and smear their blood on the blade.

This is a method of secret oath-taking on the continent of Dievas, symbolizing a 'promise of blood ties'.

Just as Arnaud was preparing to fight Lothair, Lothair was also eyeing Arnaud's head.

Lothair summoned a few of his trusted men inside the castle and addressed them:

"From now until February, we have an opportunity to reorganize our army. I plan to recruit all the mercenaries and bandits outside the city and put them through rigorous training. This way, we will still have a chance to win."

Lothair actually wanted to escape back to Golden Deer Castle in one go, but the snow was falling too fast, so he could only temporarily stay at River Bend Castle.

He believed he was far from being at his wit's end. As long as he could make good use of this time to integrate the thousands of mercenaries and bandits, he would still have a chance to struggle next year.

Moreover, the other powers in the North would not stand idly by and watch Otto completely seize the Crown Territory.

If handled properly, he might even receive a large number of reinforcements from inland forces, and could very well have another decisive battle with Otto.

A trusted general suggested, "Sir, why not just eliminate Arno and the other mercenary leaders? It would be much easier to incorporate them into our ranks."

Lothair picked up the wine glass on the table and nodded slightly: "That's what I think. Arno was originally a down-on-his-luck nobleman who fled from the South to the North. I even suspect that he deliberately lost to Otto's right wing in order to help Otto conquer the North."

Influenced by the defeat, Lothair and Arnaud had long been mired in mutual distrust, each believing the other had a reason to kill them.

The solution to end this internal distrust is simple: have a classic internal struggle.

Another trusted general frowned and said, "My lord, Arno is very cautious. He has always refused to live in the castle, claiming it is to appease the restless mercenaries."

Lothair took a sip of mulled wine, a faint smile appearing on his lips: "I'm hosting a banquet at the castle tomorrow night. Tomorrow morning, you'll deliver an invitation to Arno and tell him that he has distinguished himself in battle, and I will formally bestow upon him a count's estate at the banquet."

(End of this chapter)