When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 571 - 549: Even I Was Fooled, Let Alone You!
The sky was shrouded in a thin layer of morning mist, with the ground below a chaotic scene under the gray-blue sky.
Broken shields in the muddy earth and arrows scattered all around spoke of a battlefield that had raged here just days ago.
Amidst this old battlefield, military tents were scattered in an orderly fashion, with their gray coarse cloth tops caked with mud and dust, and several bonfires burning at the camp’s center.
Firewood crackled with crisp sounds in the fire, with faint smoke swirling in the air.
Around were fortifications made of earth walls, and occasionally, fully armed soldiers could be seen standing on sentry posts.
Warhorses were tied to wooden stakes, occasionally snorting, restless, and stamping the muddy ground.
In the morning, mercenaries gathered in twos and threes, yawning around the bonfires, holding rough wooden bowls of soup, their faces weary and pale, with a numbness in their eyes.
Until a series of rapid hoofbeats sounded, they alertedly looked up, gazing in another direction.
Dozens of knights, bearing Lakunio’s banner, appeared at the edge of the camp. The sentinels of Prince Kongdai knew to immediately open the gates to welcome them.
"Master Lakunio, let me." A knight’s page noticed the arrow wound on Lakunio’s thigh and asked, seeking favor.
"Get lost." With a flick of his whip, Lakunio struck the page across the face.
He dismounted and limped toward Prince Kongdai’s tent.
Two days ago, on the day Vine was assassinated out of the city, he had already waged battle with two Imperial Order Knights and Moliat’s vanguard army.
If Prince Kongdai had arrived immediately after the city fell, with reinforcements following from both sides, the skirmish could have escalated into a major battle.
Considering the current balance of power between the two sides and the spread of Vine’s surrender, if luck favored them, a decisive victory could be achieved in one battle.
But Prince Kongdai delayed, and even Moliat’s reinforcements arrived, yet the prince himself was nowhere to be seen.
After holding out for a day, when news of Vine’s assassination following his surrender spread, Moliat decisively retreated with his troops toward High Castle.
Lakunio tried various ways to block him, but Moliat still managed to escape the battlefield.
Now that Prince Kongdai had finally arrived, but could time reverse? Could beans be cooked until tender? It was all to no avail.
Yet the change in the battle situation and the passage of time were not Lakunio’s primary concerns at the moment.
He was most worried about the scheme Vine had exchanged his life for.
The main reason for Prince Kongdai’s long delay was that he had been digging near Sentry Fort for those so-called "evidence."
But to Lakunio, this scheme seemed too clumsy.
As Moliat’s uncle, the least likely person to surrender actually surrendered, which was inherently untrustworthy.
Moreover, how did the nobles’ letters end up in your hands? Why hasn’t there been a single direct piece of evidence?
Lastly, the person who shot him was a nearby farmer.
Who says fleeing soldiers couldn’t buy their way out or cooperate? Why did it have to be the nobles from Hotam County who bought their way out?
The only convincing part was using one’s own life to gain trust; this indeed could deceive people.
But after years of fighting the Blood and Flesh Royal Court, if Lakunio couldn’t see through this, he shouldn’t be the commander of the Border Knight Order.
The helplessness lay in Lakunio knowing Prince Kongdai’s personality too well.
Given his temperament, he was bound to explode; if it weren’t for Moliat posing a major threat, he estimated he would have run back long ago.
His only hope now was for Prince Kongdai to maintain composure and not act impulsively.
Unveiling the curtain of the tent, Lakunio glared: "Charles, why are you two days late?"
"Looking for evidence." Sitting behind the table, Prince Kongdai mumbled with a lamb leg in his mouth, still blankly gazing at the intruding Lakunio, "Don’t worry, their retreat is cut off; they can’t escape."
Seeing Prince Kongdai’s clear but lifeless face, Lakunio sensed something amiss: "What do you think about those Hotam County nobles?"
Prince Kongdai trusted Lakunio quite a bit, softly reassuring, "Don’t blame yourself too much, I know you’ve been fooled by these damned nobles too. Even I was deceived, so how could you not be?"
With his cheeks twitching, Lakunio opened his mouth, suddenly at a loss for words.
But having long been a nursemaid to Prince Kongdai on the battlefield, in such high blood-pressure inducing situations, he merely smiled faintly and let it be.
"Are you planning to let them off?"
"Of course not, I’m just preparing to deal with them after the war is over. This is a crucial moment; a slight punishment will do. I haven’t even killed Gelinon; he’s still imprisoned."
Putting down the greasy lamb leg, Prince Kongdai picked up a cup and poured Lakunio a glass of wine.
This undoubtedly allowed Lakunio to breathe a sigh of relief; over the years, the boy seemed to have matured somewhat.
As he accepted the wine glass, Lakunio took two sips, belatedly looking at Prince Kongdai: "You didn’t do anything rash, did you?"
"Rest assured, I’m not so irrational, but I’m also not someone to be trifled with. We’ll settle this score slowly later; right now, we’re just collecting some interest."
Prince Kongdai chewed on roast chicken, responding unclearly.
Collecting interest?
A bad premonition arose in Lakunio’s heart. He grabbed Prince Kongdai’s sleeve, unexpectedly questioning harshly, "What did you do?"
"I’ve already ordered that evidence of Sangboli and Gelinon conspiring with the enemy and colluding with heretics be submitted to the Church Court. The stationed Imperial Order Knights at Feiliu Castle are to immediately arrest Sangboli and bring him for trial!"
Before Prince Kongdai finished speaking, there was a loud crash.
Staggering back a step, the dizzy Lakunio couldn’t hold the wine glass, which fell heavily to the ground.
Meanwhile, several hundred miles away in Hotam County.
"Open up, Imperial Order!"
"Sangboli, we know what you’ve done!"
In a series of ramming and shouting, a large door was forcibly pried open by dozens of Walking Knights, followed by over thirty Imperial Order Knights riding fine horses streaming out in an orderly manner.
In this luxurious Count’s Court, soldiers clad in chainmail crowded inside. They hacked open door panels with their axes, barging into rooms like Norn Pirates.
"Where are the people? Have they been caught?" The Company Commander of the Imperial Order asked soldiers and knights carrying valuables back and forth.
A priest in a woolen robe squeezed through the soldiers’ arms: "Not found. Only servants and the steward are here, and so are the valuables. But Sangboli, along with his wife and children, are missing."
"Damn it, issue a capture order. Send guards to pursue them along the main road!"
