I'm not a lord

Chapter 299 Lynn's plan succeeds, the show begins

Ever since his escape back to Golden Deer Castle, László seems to be perpetually angry.

But there's nothing that can be done about it; almost nothing goes as planned.
He was constantly attacked by Lynn while away from home, and his sphere of influence shrank again and again. He lost Turbulent County and Oak County one after another, and even his most important Golden Deer County was threatened.

He was constantly suppressed by his mother Anna, and although he had the title of Duke of the Marshland, he had no real power. The main power in the territory was firmly held in his mother's hands.

Not to mention those manors, castles, and municipalities that surrendered at the drop of a hat.

These forces, which should have been loyal to the Duke, betrayed him without hesitation and pledged allegiance to their new master, Lynn.

After each outburst of anger, László would always deeply miss his deceased father, Lothair.

Everyone in this world will betray him, but his father always thinks only of his son and tries every means to send him back to his relatively safe home before a life-or-death battle.

Unfortunately, his father Lothair's head still hangs on the west gate of Amber Harbor, but he has no way to collect his father's remains.

After getting angry and thinking about her father, life still had to go on.

Laszlo quickly found Anna feeding the horses in the stable.

"Mother, we must send troops now. Even Hafen City has surrendered. If we don't send troops now, more wavering forces will side with Lynn, and then the entire Swamp Territory will cease to exist!"

The reason László insisted on sending troops was precisely because he feared a situation like that of Hafen.

Now that his nightmare has come true, he really can't sit still anymore.

If his mother told him to continue to endure it, then he would have no choice but to explode along with her.

Even at the risk of a rift between mother and son, László has no choice but to send troops this time.

Anna did not object as usual. She bent down to add the last spoonful of feed to the manger, then stood up and gently stroked the brown warhorse's mane, her voice filled with deep weariness: "I have fed your warhorse. Go, do as you wish."

The defection of Hafen became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

For decades, this municipality has been remarkably loyal to Golden Lockerburg, not only paying its taxes on time every year, but also having its mayor visit Golden Lockerburg regularly.

Whenever the Marshland Territory engages in military conflict with the other two duchies, Hafen City will proactively send crossbowmen to assist.

This seemingly loyal city betrayed the enemy without ever being attacked, which saddened Anna greatly.

Even Hafen City has surrendered; one can only imagine what will happen to the autonomous cities that are not as loyal as Hafen City to begin with.

Golden Deer Fortress's control and prestige over its various forces have undoubtedly fallen to their lowest point in recent decades.

This was even under the premise that the previous three dukes had carried out a large-scale centralization movement. If it were in the past, it would probably have fallen apart like the Valley Territory in the south long ago.

Therefore, Golden Deer Fortress has no choice but to send troops this time. If it drags on any longer, even the morale of the palace cavalry inside the castle may waver.

"Mother, I'll go make preparations right away!" Upon hearing that troops could be dispatched, László was greatly encouraged and immediately set off to return to the castle to pack his belongings.

"and many more."

But Anna reached out and called to him.

"Is there anything else Mother wants to say?" László could only stop in his tracks with a sense of helplessness.

He thought he could finally lead his troops into battle alone, defeat the renowned Lynn, and reach a new peak in his life.

But Anna's next words almost drove him to a mental breakdown: "This time I will go to war with you and defeat the powerful enemy together."

It took László a while to recover. He was shocked and somewhat helpless, his voice filled with a deep sense of powerlessness: "Mother, you...you must be joking, right? It must be like this, how could you come with me to war? Aren't you going to abandon Golden Deer Castle?"

“Golden Deer Fortress? If your army suffers a crushing defeat, what point is there in defending Golden Deer Fortress? Of course I will go to war with you. If we don’t completely crush Lynn, our entire family will cease to exist.”

Anna's reasoning was impeccable.

While Golden Deer Castle is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, a castle requires manpower to defend it. A castle that is not even fully covered by its walls has little defensive value.

Laszlo will inevitably take all of Golden Deer Castle's elite troops with him on this expedition. If they are defeated, the entire Marshland will be wiped out. What is the point of caring about a mere Golden Deer Castle?

Anna wanted to accompany her son on the expedition because she feared that her impetuous son would fall into Lynn's trap, underestimate the enemy, and advance recklessly, ultimately leading to a complete defeat.

László panicked upon hearing this and tried to persuade her, "But Mother, you are already..."

But before he could finish speaking, Anna interrupted him directly: "Do you think I'm too old to ride a warhorse?"

The tall, middle-aged woman stood with her hands on her hips, exuding an astonishing aura. "My son, if you're not convinced, we can go into the dueling arena right now and have a match!"

Back in the day, Anna was one of the best among her peers, and she even went to the battlefield with her father.

Despite bearing children and managing the territory for Lothair over the years, he still finds time to hone his martial arts skills, and every autumn he even leads a team on long hunts in the forest.

Of course, time has undoubtedly left countless marks on Anna; wrinkles have appeared on her face, her waistline has continued to widen, and excess fat has grown on her thighs.

How could Corlaso dare to meet his mother in the dueling arena? He could only sigh and say, "Never mind, I'll leave everything to my mother's arrangements."

The army at Golden Deer Castle was already prepared for war, and three days later, László and Anna led their troops out to war together.

The army has a total strength of over 10,000, including about 2,000 court cavalry, about 1,000 autonomous civilian militia, a considerable number of noble troops, and the rest of the infantry recruited and trained last winter.

The most elite force was undoubtedly the two thousand palace cavalry. Their loyalty and combat experience were beyond question, and they were well-equipped, making them the core fighting force of the entire army.

The fighting strength of the autonomous city militia and the noble army was not much different. Under the influence of the centralized policies of successive marsh dukes, the autonomous cities and nobles in the territory could not retain many troops, and their fighting strength was inferior to that during the period of fiefdom.

As for the infantry, more than half of them had the worst combat capabilities and fighting spirit.

They were still serfs in terms of status, their wages were not high, and their weapons and equipment were relatively simple. Most of the lower-ranking soldiers were only issued two leather armors and a spear. In terms of combat power, they were only slightly better than ordinary conscripts.

Golden Deer Fortress certainly had ways to train infantry, but time was too tight and supplies couldn't be supplied in time.

The Swamp Territory has no large iron mines, and most of its iron ingots must be purchased from the Mirror Iron Territory.

However, since last autumn, Mirror Ironlands has stopped supplying iron ingots to Golden Deer Castle.

As for Three Rivers, which acted as a middleman, it was already Lynn's territory and there was no way it would sell ironware to Golden Deer Fortress.

Even if the supply of iron ingots were sufficient, Golden Deer Fortress would not have enough production capacity in the short term to meet the armor needs of 6,000 new recruits.

The best blacksmiths were required to prioritize serving the cavalry, forging new plate armor from the southern border for them. In fact, László didn't expect this newly formed infantry to be very effective in combat.

He mainly relied on two thousand court cavalry and one thousand noble cavalry, and equipped the court cavalry with all the hundreds of sets of plate armor that had been hastily made.

In the flat, swampy heartland, highly mobile and impactful cavalry are the key to victory.

Infantry, well, they're just there to make up the numbers and serve as cannon fodder.

Since László officially launched his campaign, the skies over the swamp territory have remained clear, as if even the heavens were on his side.

Soon, he led his army to a ducal palace in southern Golden Deer County, less than a day's journey from Oak County, which was occupied by Lynn.

But just as he was about to continue south to deal with the enemy and traitors, Anna issued new orders.

"The entire army will rest temporarily around this palace. No unit may leave the camp without my order!"

At Anna's command, the nearly 10,000-strong army quickly set up camp and remained idle for three consecutive days.

The palace was not only a place for the duke to renovate, but also a granary shared by several nearby manors, storing a large amount of grain and fodder year-round, which was enough to supply the army.

The soldiers below were still able to hold back, since the food was plentiful and they could even get a little alcohol occasionally.

Clásztof could no longer contain himself. He stormed into the palace's dining room and yelled at Anna, who was enjoying a sumptuous dinner:
“Mother, are we going to continue to wait and see here? It’s said that a municipality in the western Canyon County has secretly sided with Lynn. If this continues, we will lose the entire Canyon County!”

Laszlo couldn't help but be anxious; the easy defection of Hafen City was like a domino effect.

Those forces that remained loyal to Golden Deer Castle saw that even Hafen had surrendered, so why shouldn't we?
What is the essential difference between pledging allegiance to the Duke of the Marshland and pledging allegiance to the Earl of White River?
In any case, Earl Shirakawa would not allow his troops to plunder, and even promised to preserve certain autonomy for the local autonomous cities and manors.

This Earl of White River possesses new weapons from hell; conquering castles and cities is as easy as eating bread for him. To oppose him is to fall into hell.

Moreover, Golden Deer Castle never sent reinforcements, and the new Duke László was like a dead man, living in Golden Deer Castle, which was like a coffin. How could the forces below him be convinced?

Since that's the case, why not simply pledge allegiance to the great Earl of Shirakawa!

Anna calmly cut the lamb chops with her knife and fork, while scolding her son, "Look at you, getting impatient again! The armies of the municipalities and noble territories are not yet fully assembled; we need to give them some time."

Furthermore, I have ordered the fleet to blockade the port of Hafen, which serves as a lesson for Hafen and a warning to other autonomous cities.

I also sent a large number of cavalry to raid Turbulent County. If Lynn's army does not receive enough food supplies, he will have no choice but to retreat.

In addition, Otto of Amber Harbor should have already begun his operation, and a large number of Southern troops will soon surround Three Rivers City, at which point our opportunity will naturally arise.

Now, what we need to do is rely on the palace and the surrounding castles to build a new defensive line to prevent Lynn from launching a full-scale attack on Golden Deer County.

Anna's decision to halt her advance at the palace stemmed not only from fear of defeat and waiting for an opportunity, but also from another underlying reason.

That is to make other factions in the territory feel that they are under the protection of Golden Deer.

In any case, Golden Deer Fortress did send troops, although not all of them for various reasons. But at least they blocked Lynn's route to continue north and put some pressure on the enemy. This could be considered a kind of 'existential fleet'.

Anna forcefully suppressed Laszlo's intention to continue south, and while waiting for an opportunity at the palace, she sent a large number of light cavalry into Oakshire to gather military intelligence.

She needed to keep track of Lynn's movements at all times.

Lynn's side had naturally received news of Golden Deer Fort's deployment of troops.

"This Anna is a woman, yet she personally led troops into battle. She truly has extraordinary courage."

While presenting the military intelligence, Victor couldn't help but boast a little.

The North admires warriors, and it is equally commendable for a woman to lead an army into battle.

Lynn, having reviewed the military intelligence, chuckled and said, "They had some courage, but not much. Once they reached the palace, they stopped and became like tortoises."

Lynn saw right through Anna's true intentions.

To remain a tortoise even at this point is simply waiting for him to retreat on his own initiative.

Victor glanced at the military intelligence report and replied, "She's waiting for us to retreat or make a mistake first. With Golden Deer Fortress's current strength, Anna won't easily engage in a decisive battle with our army."

Lynn stood up, looked at the map, and after a moment's thought, gave the order: "Then proceed according to the previous plan. The soldiers have been resting outside Hafen for more than a week, and it's time for them to stretch their legs."

Under pressure from all sides, Anna, the old tortoise, finally decided to peek out from Golden Deer Castle.

Lynn, of course, wouldn't let her back down so easily.

Soon, the army stationed north of Hafen began dismantling its camps, while the civilian laborers accompanying the army transported military supplies eastward ahead of time, making it appear as if they were about to flee.

In addition to his core army, Lynn brought more than 3,000 civilian laborers with him on this expedition to guard the provisions and supplies and take care of the soldiers' daily lives.

As the laborers left the military camp with their heavy wagons, the rumors that Victor had planted beforehand began to spread rapidly throughout Oakshire.

In a small tavern in Hafen, a middle-aged patron whispered mysteriously, "Have you heard? Otto's army is almost at Three Rivers City!"

Another drinker immediately exclaimed, "So fast? It's only April! If they've already arrived in Sanhe City, wouldn't that mean they launched their attack in March? Those greedy and shameless people from the South!"

Another drinker said worriedly, "Is now the time to talk about the people of the South? Let's talk about our city of Harfen instead. Once Lynn's army retreats, Anna and Laszlo will surely arrive soon. What will the city council do then? What will we do?"

"What else can we do? Surrender again?"

"Forget it, forget it, I can't reason with you."

The news originated in the tavern, quickly spread throughout the city, and reached Anna and Laszlo within two days.

"Lynn is really retreating?" Anna still found it hard to believe after reading the intelligence.

The timing is a bit off; the journey from Amber Harbor to Three Rivers is long, and it passes through the territories of many small and medium-sized nobles in the royal domain.

Logically speaking, if the Southern Army of Amber Harbor set out in April, it would take until May to reach Three Rivers City.

But it's only mid-April now. If we take away the time it took for the news to travel from Three Rivers to Oakshire, it means that the Southern Army might have set out as early as the beginning of March, which is somewhat contrary to the usual practice of warfare.

But then she remembered that Lynn had also suddenly sent troops in early March, catching her off guard.

In the struggle for precious territory and population, it seems quite normal to defy common sense.

(End of this chapter)