Turka Region.
The captain, who had arrived with 1,000 reinforcements and several officers, stared from a distance.
Armand knights stood guard along the border, their formation unbroken.
Scattered across the field were the bodies of Turka soldiers, torn apart by the overwhelming firepower that had rained down from above.
Shit...
That dumb assistant really went for an all-out attack, just as I predicted, huh?
Just because Armand only had 200 soldiers and we had over 10,000, he thought numbers were everything.
Hmm... Now...
How should I make that dead assistant take the full blame?
I know I can use the excuse that I was requesting reinforcements from the general.
And I was clever enough to bring these officers with me. So they can be my "witnesses."
He glanced around.
I really hope thereās one or two soldiers still alive to help me get out of this mess easily.
If some managed to run, that means I have an "alibi" to escape blame.
They can speak for me since I clearly gave the order "not to attack."
"C... Captain..." The officerās eyes widened as they got a little closer, seeing the pieces of bodies scattered across the field, blasted apart by the attack from the sky.
"What?"
"Did... did Armand do this?"
"I donāt know. I clearly gave my last command before I went to the base to request more reinforcements. And my assistant was the one taking charge. I said not to attack those Armand soldiers before I arrived. Clearly, my assistant was dumb."
The officers looked at their broken new cannons, shattered and twisted from the aerial assault.
"H... how are we going to explain this... to Lord Turka?" another officer asked.
"Donāt ask me. I didnāt command them to attack." The captain grumbled.
"But... Captain... Lord Turka is going to be furious." The officer stammered.
The captain glanced around and noticed the half-buried body of his assistant in the distance.
He smirked, dropped his sword to the ground, and kept walking toward the body.
"C... Captain!! The Armand soldiers are going to kill you!!"
"Donāt follow! Iām going to gather evidence. If Armand kills me, you all retreat!" The captain glanced over his shoulder with a serious face. After turning away, he smirked darkly. He kept walking, step by step.
Youāre all fools. Armand soldiers wonāt attack unless attacked first. Theyāre clearly disciplined. Now this is my chance to get out of this.
He arrived at the dead assistantās body, reached inside his own coat, and subtly slipped a folded, sealed letter into the assistantās uniform, pretending to search for something.
He then took out "something" from the dead assistantās body and lifted it up high so the officers could see it from a distance.
One of them shouted, "What is it, Captain!?"
"I donāt know! I havenāt opened it yet!" The captain shouted back, then turned and walking briskly back toward them, the "evidence" held firmly in his hand.
He arrived and handed the letter to the officer leader.
"I found this letter on the assistantās body. Perhaps it will help us understand what happened here."
The officer leader took the letter and opened it. He began reading, and his eyes widened in shock.
The captain narrowed his eyes, looking up at the leader on horseback, pretending to be concerned. "What does it say?"
"This letter was signed by the General... He mentions to ignore your order."
"Haaah!? The General said that!?" the captain shouted in "shock," gritting his jaw. "That fool of a general! Look what heās done! If they had followed my order not to attack, none of this would have happened! Lord Turka wouldnāt have lost a single soldier, let alone all our new weapons!"
The leader nodded gravely. "We need to report this to Lord Turka immediately. Captain, you take the lead here and bring our remaining soldiers back to our border wall. I will ride to Lord Turkaās estate now."
The captain knelt on the ground, placing his fist over his chest. "If... if the General truly gave such an order... then he betrayed not just me, but every soldier who died here today. He betrayed Lord Turkaās trust."
"Donāt worry, Captain. Iām sure whoever is responsible for this will face punishment." The leader turned his horse and signaled to the other officers. "Letās head back to Lord Turka!"
"Yes, sir!"
The captain waited for the officer to be gone. Then, he slowly stood with a calm and serious face, turning to face all his soldiers.
"Everyone, retreat to our border wall!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The captain turned once again and looked at the scattered, broken limbs of the dead soldiers, pretending to be overcome with grief.
While some of the soldiers waited for him at his back, heads bowed.
The captain smirked.
Now... the general will be in the gallows or beheaded for betraying Lord Turka~
That old fool treated me like trash! Now heāll get whatās coming to him!
And soon... the generalās seat will be empty. And since Iām second in line...
Ah~ If this goes smoothly, not only will I get the generalās position, but also the dead assistantās beautiful young wife~
I know Lord Turka will punish her family too.
But if I... vouch for her innocence, if I step in and claim she knew nothing... sheāll be safe. For a "cost," of course. Sheāll owe me her life. And a woman in debt is a woman in my grasp.
He turned back to his men, his expression once again the picture of somber leadership.
"Letās move out. We have reports to make and the fallen to honor."
And since I will be the one who saves her...
She canāt refuse me. Sheāll be in my debt.
I canāt wait to make her scream in pleasure and make her forget that dead, dumb assistant.
Iāll give her a comfortable life as my mistress~
She wonāt have a choice. Her familyās honor, her safety, all of it will depend on my goodwill.
Iāll let her cry for her dead husband. Soon, sheāll realize she has no one else to rely on. In Turka, the wife of a traitor is seen as tainted by association, a burden to her kin, a stain on their name. No family would shelter her, no friend would risk association.
Sheāll learn that her comfort, her security, even her next meal depend on me. She wonāt have any choice but to let me come to her bed, to let her spread her legs so I can take her.
Soon, after she tastes it, after she have no one to depend on, she wonāt just surrender, sheāll learn to please, to anticipate, to crave my approval. And when she does, sheāll be truly mine.
He turned back toward the retreating column of soldiers, his face a mask of grim resolve, but inside, his mind was already weaving the threads of his next conquest.
Since she played hard to get before, fucking her will be the the sweetest reward Iāve ever earned, second only to the generalās position itself~
( End Of Chapter )