The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 211 Times have changed
Eric led Egerton to the commander's tent and followed him inside. He stood aside, watching his uncle and the old earl talk about the past relationship between the two families, their friendship that had lasted for more than ten years, and then they inevitably talked about the current situation.

“Edgar, I didn’t expect Ambrose to come to Lutia before I left… I must remind you that the trust you’ve earned before His Majesty through your tireless efforts to protect Lutia may not be as valuable as the twenty-year-long friendship he has with his brother-in-law and sister-in-law…”

Eric, who was listening in, hadn't expected the old count to be so blunt, which was something he was worried about.

"Does the Marquis of Ambrose have any grievances against me?" Edgar asked.

Egerton shook his head. "I only met him outside Lutia City. I don't know his attitude towards you yet, but I know his style. It's completely different from yours."

"Does the Earl mean that the Marquis of Ambrose is more radical?" Edgar asked again. He had been away from Lutia for a long time and did not know much about these young nobles who had little social interaction.

“When we went to meet him, Ambrose even wanted to wipe out all the demons outside before entering the city,” Eric interjected at this point.

Edgar frowned immediately.

Egerton nodded slightly. "He may not obey your orders. What's more troublesome is that His Majesty will be more inclined to trust him when conflicts arise."

Edgar was silent for a moment, then said, “Then I can only win back His Majesty’s trust with facts.”

There is no other way.

Eric and the Earl of Egerton shared the same view: when radical choices lead to losses, the Emperor will understand that emotional trust and trust in ability should not be categorized together.

“Edgar, I’m sorry, all I can bring are some militiamen, and they still need training.”

“Any support at this moment is invaluable, Count. I am very grateful that you came to Lutia at this time. Where are your soldiers? Let me see.”

"The soldiers I brought are all left in the western part of the city..."

Eric said, "I'll go and bring them over."

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."

Eric smiled, stepped out of the tent, and had just mounted his horse when he suddenly saw someone riding a horse toward him on the main street of the city.

That's the direction of the palace.

He didn't leave; he remained on horseback, watching the man approach, and finally stopped in front of him.

"Your Highness the Saint."

"Are you here to see the Grand Marshal?"

"Yes, His Majesty wishes to see him."

Eric pursed his lips.

Edgar came out of the tent, and the messenger sent by the emperor repeated what he had just said. He mounted his horse and rode back with the messenger.

Eric dismounted again.

“Your Highness…” Earl Egerton was somewhat puzzled by his return.

“Uncle probably won’t have time to inspect the soldiers the Earl brought.” Eric gestured for the old Earl to sit down. “You’ll wait with me.”

Edgar returned about half an hour later. When summoned by the emperor, he only said one sentence: "His Majesty asked me to show Marquis Ambrose around the area."

His complexion had been unhealthy lately, and now it had become even paler, clearly indicating that he had some kind of premonition.

Eric lifted the curtain and glanced outside. "Where are the Ambroses?"

“He has some things to say to His Majesty, and he will be here shortly,” Edgar said.

“If the emperor really changes commanders at the last minute, then he’s gone mad.” Eric didn’t mince words in front of Earl Egerton. “The Utu dynasty has indeed come to an end.”

"..."

Edgar, unusually, did not refute his words. After remaining silent for half a minute, he said, "Perhaps we are just too pessimistic... regarding His Majesty's choice and Marquis Ambrose's ability."

“We must consider the worst-case scenario in order to prepare in advance,” Eric said.

Edgar took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Let him come and see for himself first,” he decided, glancing at his nephew. “If he really is that incompetent, then we’ll proceed with your ‘preparations.’”

"..."

Eric exchanged a glance with his uncle and nodded without changing his expression.

His idea of ​​preparing for the worst-case scenario was to flee south as quickly as possible with the available manpower after the fall of Lutia, especially the forces that originally belonged to their Dante County.

But judging from Edgar's words, it seems he wants him to find an opportunity to assassinate Ambrose, then regain control of the military and continue to defend Lutia...

Eric was unsure whether to call his uncle heartless or to say that he was the one who truly cared about the empire.

The Earl of Egerton, who had been silent since Edgar's return, let out a soft sigh.

"For a greater goal, someone must make a sacrifice."

The silence in the commander's tent continued until Ambrose arrived.

“Duke Edgar, your commander’s tent is far too simple. I’m afraid those winged messengers in the sky have to observe it for several minutes before they dare to be sure before they land.”

As soon as Ambrose entered the tent, he looked around, making no attempt to hide his disdain. "Aren't there many empty noble mansions nearby? Anyway, their cowardly owners have already run away, so it's not unreasonable to temporarily requisition them."

Edgar sat calmly in his commander's seat, having already made a decision. "That would waste the time soldiers would spend reporting in and out."

"It won't be long, Duke Edgar."

Ambrose shrugged. "Alright, I was planning to take a good look around here, but it seems unnecessary. Just take me to the camp and the city walls. I need to understand the current situation in Lutia and what went wrong."

Eric sneered and turned to leave.

"—Saintess, you don't seem to agree with what I said?" Ambrose called out to him.

Eric turned and glanced at him. "I didn't hear what you just said."

"..."

"The church has other things to do, so there's no need to send it."

He stepped out of the tent, but his voice still drifted in.

"Times have really changed. Even the envoy sent by the Demon King has to call me 'Your Highness, Holy Maiden,' and a marquis from the countryside dares not kneel before me..."

Ambrose's face immediately darkened, but he didn't dare to lash out. Edgar spoke up at this moment, "Then let's go to the military camp now, Marquis Ambrose..."

Leaving the tent, Eric mounted his horse and glanced at the cavalrymen Ambrose had brought. They were tall and strong, well-equipped, and their fighting ability should be considerable.

These elite cavalry units can only be truly effective when in the hands of someone who knows how to command them...

Back in the somewhat deserted cathedral, Eric found that there were quite a few more letters on his desk.

It was already three or four o'clock in the afternoon. Golden light slanted into the not-so-large room through the window, illuminating a corner of the desk.

Eric stared at the dazzling corner for a while, then picked up the letters and began to read them one by one.

When I put it down again, there was another figure at the door of the study.

Before he even noticed her, Eric smelled her scent—a strong, pungent smell of blood.

"You went to help out at the wounded camp?"

"Yes." Elise stood at the door without coming in.

"How's the situation over there?" Eric asked.

Elise stared blankly. "...Not good."

Eric looked at her. "Come in."

Elise took a step forward, then stopped. "I'll go change my clothes first."

“No need,” Eric called to her. “Come here.”

Elise walked over, Eric glanced outside, and took her hand.

"I'm used to this smell."

She didn't say anything, but moved closer and leaned her body against him.

After looking at her for a while, Eric continued to look through the letters.

After a moment, Elise spoke up: "Your Highness seems to have returned very early today."

“I’m free for now.” Eric tossed the letter he had just finished reading onto the table and picked up the next one. “I’ll probably be able to relax for a while.”

Elise looked over. "What happened?"

"A group of reinforcements has arrived. The nobleman leading them is the emperor's brother-in-law and brother-in-law. He may replace my uncle and become the new Grand Marshal."

Elise thought for a moment, "Will the impact be significant?"

Eric nodded, then shook his head. "It's not clear yet, but young people tend to be impulsive..."

"He's younger than His Highness?" Elise asked in surprise.

“…I’m comparing myself to my uncle.” Eric glanced at her and continued, “The problem is, Lutia doesn’t have much capital left for him to take risks.”

Elise placed her hand on his shoulder. "Does Your Highness intend to refuse to obey his orders?" "We'll see."

Eric leaned back and looked up at her. "If it's a normal order, I might listen to it. But if it's to send me to my death, like leading knights to charge into the demon camp, why should I listen to him? Even if he's the emperor, he has no right to order me around."

He and his knights were not part of the Imperial Army's organization.

What Elise saw and heard at the wounded camp during the day inevitably made her feel negative, and she was now even more worried.

"Hasn't Duke Edgar already done a very good job? Why change him?"

"Because the emperor didn't know."

"……what?"

"The Emperor doesn't know that the current situation of retreating into the city is the best result that Uncle has managed to salvage and maintain... What I mean is that the Emperor has never truly understood the difficulty of holding Lutia."

Eric leaned back in his chair and looked at her. "In the Emperor's eyes, the demon army was a towering mountain he dared not look up at. He only knew they were terrifying, but he didn't know exactly how terrifying they were. He dared not understand."

Elise sighed deeply.

"If the person is really replaced, can Lutia still hold on?"

Eric raised his hand, she placed it on his, he pulled it to his face and kissed it gently.

"When that time comes, I will find a way to get you out of the city first."

“…I don’t need protection, I can stay by Your Highness’s side.”

“I need you to protect them,” Eric said, looking at her.

Elise frowned.

Eric smiled again. "It's not that time yet. The emperor's brother-in-law may not be that bad, and the emperor himself may not necessarily have to replace him."

She remained silent and nodded.

"Help me look through these letters, I can't keep up."

Elise sat down next to him, took a small stack of letters, and began to read them.

Before dusk, another seven or eight letters arrived one after another.

Eric had no idea where all these nobles from all over the continent had come from, writing to him with greetings and wanting to know everything about Lutia, but they wouldn't say a word about anything useful, such as supporting troops or supplies.

"Your Highness!"

Iris suddenly raised her voice and handed him the letter in her hand, "It's a letter from Princess Natalia!"

"..."

Eric paused for a moment before taking the letter. "Has Your Highness finally found a place with people?"

Elise could tell he was visibly relieved, probably because he had finally received news that Natalia was still alive.

He opened the letter and began to read it, his expression changing several times, sometimes frowning and sometimes relaxing. After finishing the letter, he leaned back, his face showing a genuine relaxation that was rarely seen recently.

"The main female character on the login screen is finally returning to her loyal Lutia..."

“Your Highness?” Elise looked at him.

"When Natalia returned, her path was blocked by the demons, so she bypassed hundreds of miles of mountains and went straight to Grandia. That's amazing!"

Eric handed her the letter, then got up and walked around the desk twice.

"Although she got lost and encountered some dangers along the way, which delayed her a lot of time, she successfully persuaded Memphis, the governor of Grandia, after arriving in Kieran City. He is now leading a large army to Lutia!"

After reading the letter, Elise felt much more relaxed. "With this, Lutia will surely be able to hold out."

"Yes."

Eric tapped his palm. "Give me the letter, I'm going to see the Emperor. As long as Lutia can hold on during this time, it won't be long before the demon army outside is driven away."

“Her Highness the Princess should not have forgotten to write to the Emperor,” Elise said, but she still handed him the letter.

"That's true... I'll take it with me."

Eric took the letter and left, riding straight to the palace.

Upon meeting the emperor, he learned that the latter had indeed received Natalia's letter and was just as excited as he was.

Natalia is alive!

"I told you long ago, Your Majesty, Princess Natalia will definitely not fall into the hands of the demons."

“Yes, yes, that’s wonderful. She also brought Memphis and his army…” The emperor shed tears again. “I should have believed her sooner. And Memphis, I have forgiven him now.”

Eric, ignoring his speechlessness, almost explicitly stated, "Your Majesty, we cannot afford to be complacent until Her Highness the Princess returns to Lutia with her army. Maintaining the current situation will allow Lutia to be relieved of its siege."

“That’s right, the Holy Maiden is right.” The Emperor nodded repeatedly. “As long as we protect Lutia, Natalia will come to save me!”

It was dusk when Eric left the palace. He went straight to the commander's tent and found that Edgar was not there, nor were the two leaders of the reinforcements who had just arrived. They were probably still on the other side of the city wall familiarizing themselves with the situation.

He hadn't checked the situation at the city wall yet, so he rushed over before sunset.

The demons' offensive on the main battlefield still relied primarily on long-range catapult bombardment, supplemented by continuous harassment by infantry. Although the situation on the east city wall was not critical, it was never peaceful.

dong dong dong-

A shower of pebbles was blocked by the shield cast by the mages, but some unlucky souls were still standing too far back and were hit on the head by a flying stone, bleeding profusely.

"Drag it over here!"

Eric hid behind the shield and had the fallen soldier carried to his side for emergency treatment.

"His life has been saved for now."

As soon as the rain of gravel stopped, Eric had him carried off the city wall to the wounded camp for further treatment.

"Eric."

Edgar, along with Ambrose and Egerton, walked over from the other side of the city wall. "You came to see me?"

“Princess Natalia has sent a letter; she is leading the army of Memphis back to Lutia from Gradia,” Eric said.

Edgar stopped abruptly, staring intently at him. "...Really?"

The letter, originally intended for the emperor, came in handy at this moment. Edgar took the letter, read it twice, and his right arm, which was supporting him on the city wall, trembled uncontrollably.

"That's great...that's great."

Just as he was about to return the letter to Eric, Ambrose snatched it away and quickly scanned it.

After reading the letter, he was also a little excited, "It seems I've come at just the right time!"

As long as he doesn't cause trouble in important matters, Eric is too lazy to bother with him. He takes the letter back and says, "It will probably take another ten days for the army from Kilan to reach Lutia. As long as we stabilize the situation, we can break through the demon blockade and turn defense into offense once the army arrives."

"That's right!"

Ambrose raised his sword high, gazing at the demon army's positions outside the city, his face full of pride, as if the Grandia army had already arrived, and that he himself had brought them.

"Glory belongs to His Majesty the Emperor, victory belongs to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Edgar breathed a sigh of relief, Egerton remained calm and composed, while Eric rolled his eyes to the other side and ignored everyone.

"I must go and share this good news with His Majesty the Emperor!"

After Ambrose finished speaking, he went down from the city wall.

Edgar looked at his nephew: "His Majesty is still unaware of this?"

“I understand. I went to see His Majesty first, and then came here,” Eric said. “I just didn’t want to listen to his nagging anymore.”

Edgar smiled, a smile rarely seen these days, and exchanged a glance with Egerton beside him, patting each other on the shoulder and arm.

"I never expected the situation to reverse so drastically in just one day."

"I finally don't have to worry about this old body dying here anymore..."

The last rays of the setting sun shone on their relieved faces, a deep, blood-red hue. Eric looked westward, watching the sun completely sink below the horizon.

However, the next morning, when Eric arrived at the commander's tent, the first news he heard was that the emperor had appointed Ambrose as the new military commander of Lutia.

"His Majesty's intention is to let Ambrose take over first, familiarize himself with military affairs, and prepare for the subsequent counterattack... Ambrose claims that he is better at offensive operations."

Edgar had by then become the vice-captain, and "I was still in charge of Lutia's defense."

"Won't he do something reckless?" Eric asked worriedly.

"Hope not."

On his third day as Grand Marshal, Ambrose led his knights in a surprise attack on the demon camp outside the south gate and returned victorious.

On the fifth day, Ambrose led his knights and part of the garrison out of the western city to wipe out the demons blocking the upper reaches of the moat. With fewer than twenty casualties, he achieved a great victory, annihilating three demon camps. The emperor commended him, calling him the most skilled Lutia military commander in nearly three hundred years.
On the afternoon of the sixth day, Ambrose led more than 70% of the city's garrison in another surprise attack on the demon camp outside the south city to pick up another reinforcement army coming from Kogano. The attack was a great defeat, and the reinforcement army was almost annihilated.

On the seventh day, the demon army launched a full-scale attack on Lutia.

(End of this chapter)