N-M #265 - You're too human to be here.
#265 - You're too human to be here.
Bernardo came from a commoner family and followed his father in studying law and mathematics.
Perhaps inheriting the blood of his true knight father, he had been very interested in military affairs since he was a child.
He spent all his salary on buying every military book available on the market, and even worked as an accountant in a mercenary army for three years.
It wasn't until his adoptive father died and the old matriarch of the Alcor family came to his door that he learned he was actually a noble's illegitimate son.
After that, Bernardo stayed by the old lady's side, helping her handle family affairs, managing everything in an orderly manner.
Although the old lady sent him to Count Enrico's side, nominally to help Enrico manage the grain and fodder, she also hoped Enrico would provide military advice.
However, Count Enrico was much more stubborn than Bernardo had imagined, making wrong decisions at every turn.
But even if he made all the right decisions, he wouldn't dare say he could definitely defeat these black-clad troops if he were to personally lead the battle.
To put it bluntly, they were simply outmatched.
He had never seen such an army, capable of withstanding the charge of squires without collapsing, capable of maintaining speed under the archers' rain of arrows, and capable of launching a counter-charge against transcendent knights with their spears.
If he were the commander, he was afraid he would only turn this crushing defeat into a minor one.
In the small area between the hills and lakes, nearly thirty bodies of transcendent knights lay scattered on the blood-soaked grass.
Almost every one of them had been a single-game kill king on the southern battlefield, wearing ancestral armor that no one had been able to break for thousands of years.
But now, their eyes were wide with fear, their bowels and bladders emptied, their faces pale and狰狞, their bodies emitting a stench of death, dying more like commoners than commoners themselves.
When Bernardo and the remaining knights gathered, he counted the numbers and found that only 55 of the original 100 transcendent knights remained, with 45 killed or "missing."
Of the 200 squires who launched the charge, only a little over 100 returned, but only 90 or so gathered.
As for the defeated and demoralized infantry, only a little over 300 were able to return to their lord's side.
The rest of the infantry and squires were either killed, fled in fear, or were likely captured.
Riding his horse on the hillside, the setting sun was like blood, flowing in the cold stream.
The blood reflected in the stream shone on the armor of this defeated army, their faces covered in dirt and ash, no longer with the high spirits they had when they set out in the morning.
Bernardo couldn't help but compare them to that ruthless and cruel army, and sighed deeply.
Would such an army have achieved the same results against the Edict Knights of the Edict Legion?
Shaking his head, Bernardo quickly dismissed this rebellious thought.
"Bernardo, Count Enrico requests that you take the roster back and report."
Entering the dirty and messy tent, whether he had forgotten or was putting on a show, Count Enrico still hadn't taken off his dusty armor.
Sitting on a small stool with disheveled hair, he stared blankly at the burning brazier in front of him.
He still didn't understand how these peasant rebels, without even forming a square and heavy Dunghill formation, had defeated them with just a horizontal line a hundred meters wide?
What a joke!
What exactly were those whistling things? The wind of demons?
Each time a gust of wind blew, several knights would fall.
During the rout just now, they were first ambushed by the 2nd Guard Legion hidden in the woods, leaving behind five or six knight corpses.
Later, they were ambushed by cuirassier arquebusiers who appeared out of nowhere, losing three to five knight corpses.
Count Enrico fled in panic, and it was Bernardo who grabbed his reins and forcibly led the army into this safe area.
At this moment, several prestigious knights sat numbly in the tent, awkwardly looking at Bernardo as he entered.
"How is it?" Enrico's tired voice echoed in the tent, "Let's discuss it."
The response to Enrico was the lowered heads of the knights.
"What do you think of the battle that just happened, Arianco?" Count Enrico directly named him.
"Lord Count, I think there must be demons at work," Arianco said confidently, "We are all the most elite knights, and we would involuntarily flee the battlefield. This is impossible. The only explanation is that demons are at work."
"I know it's demons, but what exactly is that demon wind?" As if remembering something, Count Enrico asked Arianco, "Nicolás once encountered them, why didn't he mention the demon wind?"
"Maybe he was mistaken, it's not necessarily his fault."
"Maybe he was bewitched by vampire spies. These Thousand Valleys people are all descendants of vampires."
"Although Nicolás falsely reported military intelligence, he is dead after all. It's not good to insult the glory of the dead."
"...Okay." Listening to the knights' chattering, Count Enrico said in a resigned manner, "Then let's say there are vampire spies..."
"Lord Count!" Having endured until now, Bernardo couldn't hold back any longer, "I must remind you that their strength should not be underestimated. Nicolás's concealment led to our failure before. What if we conceal it again and cause the failure of Jeanne d'Arc Fortress?"
"The Edict Knights of the Edict Legion will be defeated by farmers? Are you kidding me?" Arianco immediately stood up to refute, and the other knights echoed him.
"Mind your status, lawyer!"
"We all wear armor and carry knight swords, but you wear linen clothes. I don't think you're qualified to attend this meeting!"
"A bastard with no father, is this something you can interrupt?"
"Someone, throw him out!"
"Lord Count." At this critical moment, Bernardo couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.
The fact that these black-clad troops were able to come here meant that all the areas near Mayo Town had fallen. Now that they had suffered a crushing defeat, given the enemy's marching speed, they might launch a surprise attack on Jeanne d'Arc Fortress any day now.
Continuing to conceal the truth would only make the disaster worse and worse.
Even a clay figure has three parts of anger. After being treated rudely by the knights continuously, Bernardo really couldn't suppress it:
"If you want to conceal it, please allow me to leave first and report back to the family residence and the old lady."
As soon as he said it, Bernardo regretted it. This sentence could definitely be said, but definitely not at this time, and even more so not in front of everyone.
Sure enough, as soon as he said it, the entire tent fell silent. They were surprised that this commoner dared to threaten them, but they had to admit that this threat was quite threatening.
If Bernardo casually said a few words in front of the old lady, their good image of many years would be gone.
Although he was a servant at this moment, he represented the old lady's will and dignity.
Should they yield to this servant?
No, knights would rather die than submit!
As for Bernardo, he understood that things had come to this point, and he had definitely been resented by the knights.
Since there was no way to end well, he might as well take advantage of the situation to finalize the decision.
In the cold atmosphere, the two sides were deadlocked, with only the sound of Count Enrico's sweat dripping from his forehead.
Thank goodness, a burst of gunfire broke the awkward and eerie silence. Arianco was the first to say, "Enemy attack!"
Count Enrico immediately stood up, "This matter will be discussed later."
The knights and counts quickly rushed out of the tent and began to prepare to flee. Yes, they were being mind-controlled by demons and fleeing involuntarily.
They would definitely have to go to the church to exorcise the demons and do another baptism when they got back.
Standing alone in the tent, Bernardo turned around with a wry smile and ran towards the stables.
On the hillside outside the camp, fifty cuirassiers stood still on their horses, firing continuously at the tents.
When the transcendent knights went to chase them, they would quickly ride away.
They even took off their breastplates and other baggage, making them much faster than the transcendent knights.
If too many transcendent knights chased them, they would scatter and run away, using their speed advantage to shake off the pursuers.
If too few chased, they would lure the knights towards Jeanne, asking the Holy Maiden Crown to collect heads.
If the transcendent knights didn't move, these arquebusiers would beat gongs, drums, blow horns, and sing songs, occasionally firing lead and stone bullets into the tents.
The only way was to change the place of encampment while the transcendent knights were chasing and entangled.
Bernardo thought he was careful enough, he had almost erased all traces, but he was still caught repeatedly.
How did they find the camp?
Walking into the stables, Bernardo put away his luggage and supplies, inserted the map, stroked the horse's mane, and closed his eyes in pain.
Standing still for a second, he shook off all the messy thoughts, exhaled, and prepared to mount the horse.
With his hand on the saddle, Bernardo blinked. The corner of his eye caught a dark shadow. He turned slightly to see who it was.
But he saw a thick wooden stick getting bigger and bigger in his field of vision.
Bernardo saw the sky falling on the other side, and heard the voice of Arianco's personal servant in his ear.
"My master told me to tell you that the dignity of a knight would rather die than submit. The master doesn't want to dirty his hands, so he asked me to do it."
"Also, I have to advise you, a servant should look like a servant. You look too much like a person, it's not suitable here."
The wooden stick broke through the air, and Bernardo lost consciousness.