Chapter Six

“You want me to give you a loan?”

The request from their sworn enemies threw off Percival, the Lord of Solun. It was the very last thing he expected when he woke up that morning.

“Yes, my lord,” answered the emissary. “I speculate with good reason that Eiota’s financial situation has hit a rough patch, considering that you’re desperate enough to seek assistance from us.”

“You are indeed as discerning as they say, my lord. The realm’s current circumstances are far from favorable, to say the least.”

Percival scratched his chin. “Hmm.”

“I appeal to your generous heart, my lord, to consider granting us this much-needed loan.”

Percival felt a surge of catharsis well up inside him.

Haha! Otto de Scuderia, you hopeless fool! No man, living or dead, has yet to match your stupidity! You have come to me of all people out of pure desperation. You must’ve been in really deep water right now. Very well, Otto. I shall grant you this loan.

Percival was aware that Otto had neither the means nor the brains to pay off his debt—he knew what would ensue next. He would possess the legal pretext to demand payment from Otto, and once Eiota succumbed to insolvency, Percival would be able to seize his enemy’s lands without shedding a single drop of blood. Simply put, this exchange offered him the opportunity to annex Eiota without engaging in an expensive war.

“Very well. I shall grant this request.”

The emissary’s face instantly brightened. “I hope my ears aren’t playing tricks on me. Do you truly mean it, Your Lordship?”

“A neighboring realm is in a fix, so how could I stand by and simply watch?”

“A thousand thanks, my lord! A thousand—”

Percival suddenly raised his finger. “That is, on one condition.”

“What is it?” the emissary asked with a nervous tremor in his voice.

“Should you fail to deliver the payment on time, your lord will have to relinquish his claim to his realm. You may borrow as much as you require as long as you accept my stipulation.”

“May the heavens bless His Lordship for his boundless magnanimity.”

The emissary, who was under strict instructions from Otto to get the loan at any cost, agreed without objection.

“Morals be damned. You must ensure he agrees to provide us with a loan. Just make sure that the term length is at least two weeks.”

Because Otto had specifically instructed the emissary before departing Eiota, he promptly accepted Percival’s doom-laden condition. It must be pointed out that the emissary had no faith in Otto.

You’re trying to hasten the fall of your own realm, so let’s get it over with. I’ll be satisfied once I’ve collected my overdue wages. As if I care if Solun annexes Eiota. He was just a messenger following the orders of his lord. Whether it was Otto or Percival, it didn’t really matter. For a subject like him, the lord who showed leniency and paid his wages on time was the one he would gladly serve under.

“The loan term is a hundred days. Within that time, you must repay both the principal and the interest.”

“There won’t be any problems.”

“Then let us draft the contract.”

The emissary bowed gracefully. “Of course, Your Lordship. I have the seal of the Lord of Eiota with me.”

“Impressive. You’ve come well-prepared, haven’t you? Haha!” Percival erupted into laughter before instructing his servants to fetch the appropriate amount of gold bars.

Eiota will soon be mine. In a sense, its people are already mine to look after. It’ll do me no harm to make some early investments to win them over to my side. It appears I will soon accomplish what my forefathers haven’t been able to achieve in the last two centuries.

The very thought of swallowing Eiota whole filled Percival with exhilaration.

* * *

Two days later, chests full of gold bars from Solun had finally arrived.

“My, my. How radiant and beautiful they are.”

Otto’s astounded face was bathed in the golden light of the bars. He was merely an average video game enthusiast from South Korea, so this was the first time he had laid eyes on so many bars of gold in his life.

[Eiota]

Public Sentiment: 41/100 Caution

Provisions: 9/100 Critical

Treasury: 37/100 Caution

Public Order: 37/100 Caution

Thanks to the borrowed money, the realm’s Treasury points surged to thirty-seven, marking a notable thirty-point increase. The financial crisis had been averted for now.

“Camille,” Otto called.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Use these to settle the overdue wages and purchase grain for the people. Spare no expense with the gold. Spend it all if you must.

“As you wish, my lord.”

Camille followed Otto’s order without any objections. The knight wondered if this supper would be the final one for him and his men and whether this would be the last payment he would receive from Otto.

Despite his deep contemplation, he remained unable to decipher his lord’s intentions. With his trust in Otto still uncertain, Camille resigned himself to whatever fate awaited him.

Let’s see... Meanwhile, Otto opened his status window to review the realm’s stats. The injected funds had already begun to make a noticeable impact.

[Eiota]

Public Sentiment: 43/100 Caution

Provisions: 36 /100 Caution

Treasury: 37/100 Critical

Public Order: 47/100 Caution

The money had not only restored the Treasury points to their former state but also simultaneously boosted Public Sentiment, Provisions, and Public Order.

Phew. I’ve managed to extinguish the most pressing fire. Otto exhaled, granting himself a moment of respite.

Following that, a few more days passed.

“What will you do now, my lord?” Camille inquired.

“I said I had a plan, remember?” Otto said with a shrug.

“Perhaps you could share that plan with me.”

“Just wait and see. Three days have passed already. There are only eleven more to go. You’ll get to witness Solun’s downfall soon.”

“What if things don’t play out as you expect them to?”

Otto tilted his head. “Death… For all of us.”

“Is that really what you believe, my lord?” A chilling smile crept onto Camille’s face as his hand, once again, found its way to the hilt of his sword.

Otto chuckled nervously upon seeing his reaction. “Perhaps death will find me… first.”

Intimidated by Camille’s menacing aura, cold sweat soaked Otto’s shirt, and his body quivered with fear. What a scary bastard…

The next day arrived, and Camille sought out Otto to ask him a question again.

“What are you up to now, my lord?”

Otto replied nonchalantly, “Can’t you see, Sir Camille? I’m in the middle of a grape-eating contest with myself on this fine couch. Oh, but it seems they’ve taken their toll on me. I’m feeling rather sleepy. Perhaps I should take a nap.”

Because of his [Drunken Philandering] skill, Otto was constantly battling both hunger and drowsiness. Thus, he often indulged in snacks and lazed about whenever time permitted. As for his libido, well… Perhaps the details of it were best left out.

Camille folded his arms over his chest. “As I recall, you claimed to bring about the fall of Solun.”

“I did,” Otto said with a yawn.

“But here you are, loafing around and munching on grapes.”

“Patience, good knight. There are countless intricacies to this plan that I can’t explain right now.”

Camille pressed his lips in a thin line, looking unimpressed.

“They say patience is a virtue, good man. What’s the rush? Instead of hovering over me, could you fetch me some strawberries from over there?”

Camille raised a brow. “Haven’t you had two plates of grapes already? And yet, you crave more food?”

“Listen, it’s not that I want to eat these things.”

“Then who is the one doing the eating, my lord?”

Otto chuckled and winked. “This child in my belly, of course!”

Camille stood dumbstruck, unsure whether to take his lord seriously or to be worried about him.

“‘Waaah! Waaah! I want strawberries!’” Otto cried in a childlike voice.

“I’ll leave you be, my lord.” Camille about-faced and walked away, suggesting he was too weary to argue.

The following day arrived.

“Are you going to spend another day sprawled out across your couch?” Camille asked confrontationally.

Otto snapped his attention to him, visibly irritated. “Leave me alone, will you? I asked for your patience, didn’t I?”

When the knight’s face darkened, he let out a whine. “I mean, you said you’d help me out! Is it that hard to trust me? Well, then perhaps you can act as the lord of this realm, brother! Take it! I’ll gladly give it to you.”

The fire in Camille’s gaze went away. “Forgive me, my lord.”

As the days passed, the date Otto had promised drew nearer, now only two nights away.

“What is our lord currently up to?”

“I can answer that, Knight Commander,” a knight with a resonant voice responded. “His Lordship is sharing a drink with some merchants visiting our realm.”

“He’s drinking in broad daylight?” Camille’s expression turned sour.

Has he not been able to break his old habits? Just when he was about to let up any remaining hope that Otto had changed, a sound coming from the side stopped him from doing so.

“Knight Commander, this is bad!”

He suddenly received a report.

* * *

“What’s going on?” Camille inquired.

“At this moment…” The ranger answered Camille’s inquiry. Rangers were specialized troops who carried out a variety of missions, such as espionage, reconnaissance, and guerrilla warfare, primarily in mountainous regions. “We’ve received reports of a significant number of undead moving toward our lands along the northern mountain passes.”

Camille’s eyes grew wide. “Significant number of undead?”

“Yes,” the ranger said grimly. “The horde consists mainly of skeleton warriors, with a few skeleton mages. The way they march in formation is almost reminiscent of an actual army. I can only guess they are being controlled by someone.”

“What’s the size of this force?”

“Their numbers are roughly that of a regiment’s.”

A regiment typically signified a force of 1,500 to 2,500 soldiers. Immediately, Camille realized that with such a number of enemies…

We can’t stop them. If this horde descended upon them, it would mean the end of their realm. Eiota lacked the military strength to face such a large and formidable force of undead.

That wasn’t all. The coordinated movements of the skeleton soldiers and mages hinted at someone controlling them. There was a strong possibility that a powerful lich, necromancer, or some sort of high-level undead monster was behind this army. The daunting task of confronting an undead army was already close to impossible, but with a powerful entity at its helm, the prospect of victory seemed almost nonexistent.

“How close are they?” Camille asked urgently. “What’s their current distance from us?”

“They are expected to reach our front gates by tomorrow morning at the latest.”

The enemy was alarmingly close.

“I want all troops to be battle-ready and stationed at their posts.”

“Yes, Knight Commander!”

“As for myself…” Camille stepped past the war table. “I must go and deliver this dire news to our lord.”

* * *

Exiting the war room, Camille set out to find Otto. However, his liege was absent from his usual place of drinking and eating. A servant holding a flagon gave the knight his whereabouts.

“The lord has retired from the table, claiming he was too fatigued to continue. He mentioned retiring for a nap. Perhaps you’ll find him in his bedchamber.”

“Thank you for the information.”

Camille verified this information with a nearby servant before hastening toward the lord’s bedchamber. However, to his surprise, he didn’t find who he was looking for.

When asked, the chamberlain replied, “His Lordship has not returned to his bedchamber, Sir Camille.”

And so Otto’s whereabouts remained a mystery.

“Listen closely, all of you,” Camille ordered. “Find Lord de Scuderia at once. Go with haste!”

“Yes, Knight Commander!”

An hour turned into two, yet there was still no sign of Otto.

With all that booze in his system, maybe he has passed out in some warm corner of the castle. Camille had no choice but to step in and address the crisis in Otto’s absence.

“Inform the realm’s citizens about the situation. They must prepare to evacuate. The knights and soldiers will stay behind to defend our lands. We have to buy time for our families to escape.”

Following Camille’s order, a mandate to evacuate was announced throughout Eiota. Despite the shock of the sudden order, the citizens quickly gathered their belongings and set off to flee upon learning of the approaching undead army.

Under Camille’s leadership, the fifteen hundred-strong force of Eiota’s soldiers prepared themselves for a battle that they assumed might be their last. None of the troops wanted to die in vain, yet hardly any fled, for their families were among the evacuees.

That same night, Camille tried his luck again. “Has there been any news of Lord de Scuderia yet?” he inquired, renewing his search for his lord.

It seemed reasonable to assume that Otto would have sobered up by sundown, but he was still nowhere to be seen.

“Has no one seen our lord today? Have you searched every nook and cranny?”

Right then, a guardsman approached Camille hesitantly. “Erm… Knight Commander? I believe I was the last to catch a glimpse of Lord de Scuderia.”

A glimmer of hope illuminated Camille’s expression. “Is that so? Pray tell, soldier.”

“Well, about that…”

“Yes?”

“Earlier today, the lord mounted his horse and slipped out through the back gate.”

“He left? On horseback? Through the back gate?

“Yes, Commander.”

“Why would he choose the back gate?” Camille mused aloud, his gaze probing for answers.

“I accidentally overheard our lord talking to himself… He said that he had to act fast to survive. I heard every word of it.”

“What else did he say?”

“He said that staying here would only mean death.”

A moment of silence ensued.

“I knew it…” Camille’s face crumpled in dismay, and he covered his eyes with his hand, his weariness palpable. “That…”

“Commander?”

“Bastard…”

“S-Sir?”

“Otto, you goddamn bastard!” Camille’s thunderous shout reverberated angrily through the cold halls of the castle.