Count Sebastian sighed, his expression grave. "The situation is not optimistic. The Half-Beastmen's attacks are growing fiercer, and our losses have been devastating.
About half a month after you left, Baltahan's Third Legion was attacked by the Half-Beastmen. Their army numbered in the tens of thousands, and they were all fully armored Warriors.
The Third Legion lost many of its elite soldiers. The King was furious. He knew the Legion Commander of the Third was a victim of circumstance, so he ordered the other six Legions to mobilize at once. We must force the Half-Beastmen to spread their forces thin."
Henry understood everything after hearing this. 'No wonder the Half-Beastmen we encountered were so weak,' he thought. 'The truly elite Warriors have all gone north, leaving behind only their ordinary garrisons.'
'The Half-Beastmen probably never imagined a small group of humans would be audacious enough to venture so deep into unknown territory, huh?'
Boman flashed a wide, goofy grin and laughed. "Looks like we were really lucky, huh? We managed to avoid the main Half-Beastman army."
Glen asked, "So, all those down-and-out, exiled nobles and bands of Mercenaries… did you send them out to distract the Half-Beastmen?"
"Of course. They showed up uninvited, so I sent them out to muddy the waters."
"By the way, Count, we also found a large number of parchments. Are there any scholars who study Half-Beastman writing?"
Count Sebastian ecstatically took the stack of parchments from Glen. "Your reward will be even greater, I guarantee it! Even if these turn out to be nothing but smutty novels."
Everyone burst into laughter, even though the joke wasn't particularly funny.
"Alright then. Summon all the nobles at once. I'm calling a meeting."
Henry and his men had no objections and followed Count Sebastian into the meeting room to wait.
Soon, they saw a large group of stern-faced officers in assorted armor enter and take seats at the back of the room.
Every one of them wore a solemn expression. They knew what it meant for Count Sebastian to call a meeting today… The war was about to begin in earnest!
A little while later, nobles dressed in imperial robes began to arrive. The first thing they noticed was Henry and the other three Knights.
'Damn, these guys are the real deal!' The news that Henry's group of four had returned alive—and with a great deal of loot—had already spread throughout the camp.
The contrast was crushing.
With the "shining example" of failure set by Baron Nurulan and the others, Henry's reputation was, by contrast, elevated to an even higher level.
When others fail where you succeed, it proves you're the real deal.
"You're… not dead?"
Baron Nurulan, entering after them, stared at Boman's group as if he'd seen a ghost. His expression was so comical he could have been a clown.
"Oh? Did my lord Baron wish for us to die at the hands of the Half-Beastmen? How heartbreaking."
Boman was very familiar with Baron Nurulan's personality. Being the Baron's rival in love, he knew exactly what to say to provoke him.
"Hmph! You just got lucky."
Boman shrugged. "Of course we're lucky. We're students of the Academy, after all. We have the Headmaster's blessing!"
"You!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Count Sebastian slapped the table, walked to its head, and gestured for everyone to be seated. The room instantly fell silent as they took their places.
"Gentlemen, we are facing a grim situation," Count Sebastian began, getting straight to the point.
"The Half-Beastmen are closing in on the border. They are numerous, powerful, and utterly bloodthirsty. The King is enraged by what happened to the Third Legion, and we must take decisive action in response."
Baron Nurulan, in no mood for the Count's preamble, cut in. "Then what is your plan, Legion Commander?"
"We will take the offensive. We will push deep into Half-Beastman territory, find their weaknesses, and strike."
Baron Nurulan was deeply dissatisfied with Count Sebastian's answer. 'That's just empty talk!' he thought.
"Of course we need to find their weaknesses and attack! But we have no idea where the weaknesses in their army's deployments are!
On this last 'hunt,' we lost over four hundred men! Viscount Ivar Roningen's forces were completely wiped out by the Half-Beastmen!
Are we supposed to march to our deaths on your command? Besides, your proposed mission hardly sounds 'decisive' at all."
Count Sebastian snorted, his voice booming with anger. "Baron Nurulan! You failed in your mission, and yet you dare to defy me!"
A court noble might rank lower than an Independent Noble with sovereign power, but on the battlefield, the Legion Commander's word was law!
Baron Nurulan took a deep breath. He rose resentfully, offered the Count a perfunctory bow of apology, and continued, "Legion Commander, I have no intention of defying you. You are the commander here. Even a Duke would have to follow your orders on this field.
However, I cannot accept such an unreasonable order. Are you sending me to my death?"
At this, Glen shot to his feet, fixing Nurulan with a glare. "Baron, I suggest you shut your mouth. Your failure is due to your own incompetence, not a flaw in the Legion Commander's orders.
Why do you think we succeeded? We burned an entire Half-Beastman settlement to the ground and killed over two hundred of them.
The pile of their skulls would stand taller than the grain in your fief's granary!
Knight Henry himself killed a Centaur and three Minotaurs! Why couldn't you manage that?!"
Hearing this, the others in the room began to murmur amongst themselves. The jarring buzz of their discussion made Baron Nurulan's expression turn foul.
Henry sighed in resignation. 'Clique politics, they're everywhere,' he thought. 'I had no intention of provoking Nurulan, but because of Boman, he thinks I'm on his side.'
'And now Glen is dragging me into this without so much as a word, clearly thinking that since we're all from the Academy, we're all on the same team.'
'Sigh… why are nobles always such a pain?'
"Oh, is that so? How powerful you all must be!" Nurulan sneered. "If Knight Henry is so incredible, why did he lose to the second son of Count John of Odoche in the tournament?"
The other nobles subtly edged away from Baron Nurulan, looking at him as if he were an idiot.
They figured Glen wasn't lying—you couldn't fake a pile of Half-Beastman heads. Henry had to be the real deal.
'Why would you provoke such a fearsome Knight?'
Henry let out a short, sharp laugh. He strode over and slapped Nurulan across the face. "Nurulan," he said, his voice deadly serious, "you are insulting my honor as a noble! You are questioning my strength! You are provoking the Bro Clan, ennobled by our great King!"
Stunned by the hard slap, Nurulan raised a fist to retaliate, only for Henry to kick him to the ground.
It was a kick with twenty-one points of strength behind it. How could he possibly block that?
Nurulan scrambled to his feet, clutching his face, and shrieked hysterically, "I challenge you, and Boman, to a duel! A duel to the death!"
Boman: Huh? Me?