Chapter 76 : Chapter 76

Chapter 76. The Gambler of House Medici

Runestone City, the stone fortress in the southern part of the Western Frontier, slightly smaller in scale than Lucerne City,

now flew the banner of House Medici, entwined with serpents and gold coins.

There were few pedestrians on the streets, and traces of battle could be seen everywhere.

Soldiers were clearing broken stone and debris from the roads, and the atmosphere was grim and tense.

Inside the lord’s hall, the thick stone walls shut out the clamor beyond.

Sabda sat at the head of the long council table.

Seated below him on either side were the core members of the family, led by the Gold-Tier Knight Calvin Medici,

as well as his trusted generals, Luke, Ragnar, Casso, and the others.

...

A few days earlier, outside Runestone City.

The night wind wailed as it swept dust across the wasteland.

On the city walls, the silhouettes of the exhausted defenders could just barely be seen.

Out on the wilderness beyond the city, Sabda Medici reined in his warhorse.

His soft and handsome face was covered in frost.

Behind him stood four hundred silent soldiers, heavy with killing intent.

Some were battered remnants he had brought out of Shadow Vale, men who had survived the bloody fighting of the beast tide.

Others were well-equipped elites sent by the family as reinforcements.

Even more striking was the knight beside him, standing like an iron tower—Calvin Medici.

The battle aura of the Gold Tier flowed faintly around him like invisible flame, radiating an oppressive pressure.

He was Sabda’s uncle, and the true pillar of this entire operation.

Runestone City had also suffered heavy losses under the impact of the beast tide. Its defenders were likewise exhausted, and morale was low.

Sabda had decided to stake his territory on one desperate gamble.

But even a trapped beast would fight to the death. A direct assault would inevitably come at a tremendous cost.

Sabda’s gaze swept toward Calvin at his side. The latter gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Luke! Casso!”

“Yes, Young Master!” Luke and another officer with a vicious gaze, Casso, stepped forward at once.

“Take two hundred men,” Sabda said, pointing toward the eastern wall of Runestone City.

“Assault it. Make it look fierce. But... you are allowed only to lose, not to win!

Draw them out. Understood?”

“Understood!”

Very soon, thunderous cries of battle tore apart the stillness of the night.

The two hundred soldiers led by Luke and Casso surged toward the eastern wall like a burst dam.

Arrows rained toward the battlements, and crude ladders were thrown up against the walls.

The soldiers climbed with red eyes, while shouts, screams, and the clash of weapons instantly filled the air.

“Enemy attack!!”

The defenders on the wall were indeed stunned by the sudden ferocity of the assault. After a brief moment of chaos, they began a frantic counterattack.

Rolling logs and stones crashed down, and scalding oil was poured from above. The attacking soldiers fell like wheat before the scythe.

The battle was brutally intense, and Luke’s and Casso’s men rapidly took losses.

“Hold the line! Hold it!” Luke roared himself hoarse beneath the wall, but the assault visibly began to weaken.

Fear appeared on the soldiers’ faces, and they started retreating in panic.

Their formation quickly dissolved into disorder, and some even began throwing away their armor and weapons.

“Trash! Useless trash!”

A triumphant and contemptuous roar came from atop the wall, from a burly officer of the former Ussos Federation.

“With only this much skill, you dare attack a city? Brothers, with me—charge out!

Slaughter these bastards! Leave none alive!”

With a grating creak that set the teeth on edge, the heavy city gates suddenly swung open.

The defenders, full of pent-up fury, charged out behind that Ussos officer

like tigers released from a cage.

They meant to beat the drowning dogs to death and wipe out this force that had dared offend them.

“Retreat! Hurry, retreat!” Luke and Casso shouted in terror.

They fled with the surviving soldiers in utter disarray, as though they had been frightened out of their wits.

The defenders pursued even more fiercely, completely leaving the cover of the walls behind as they drove deep into the wilderness.

And the moment they had chased several hundred meters, their formation stretched out, fully exposed in the open—

“Woooo—!” A low horn blast, deep and piercing, suddenly rang out!

“BOOM!!!”

A terrifying pressure, vast as a mountain, erupted from the darkness at the flank.

Calvin Medici leaped out from behind an ambush mound like a golden god of war.

The massive two-handed sword in his hands tore through the air with a shrill howl

and came crashing down upon the Ussos officer at the very front.

The officer’s triumphant expression instantly became boundless terror and despair.

He did not even have time to raise his shield.

SPLAT!

The greatsword cleaved through him without the slightest resistance.

Man and armor alike—and even the warhorse beneath him—were instantly torn into a rain of blood by the violent golden battle aura.

“Kill—!!!” A heaven-shaking roar rose from every direction!

Sabda personally led the other two hundred men, fresh troops brimming with killing intent,

and like two sharp blades, they drove out from their ambush points and plunged into the flanks of the defenders, who had fallen into utter chaos and panic after their commander’s instant death.

It was a massacre.

A meticulously planned slaughter by encirclement.

Having lost command, and faced with a Gold-Tier Knight and fresh troops attacking from both sides, the defenders were lambs awaiting slaughter.

Their resistance collapsed with astonishing speed. Crying and screaming, the soldiers scattered and fled, only to be mercilessly hunted down and cut apart.

The battle ended quickly.

Left upon the wilderness were several hundred corpses from the defending force,

along with the new masters of Runestone City, who had likewise paid the price of several dozen dead and wounded.

...

Luke was the first to rise, breaking the silence in the chamber.

“My lord! The small number of defenders still remaining in the city have already been completely purged!

Those who resisted to the end were executed without exception! As for the commoners inside the city...

After we distributed some of the grain we seized, they have mostly settled down. There has been no major unrest for the time being.”

Sabda gave a faint nod.

“Runestone City, together with our original territory and its population of fifteen hundred, will be the foundation upon which we establish ourselves in the Western Frontier.

They must be settled properly and watched closely. Nothing can be allowed to go wrong.

Luke, you will take charge of this matter. Ragnar will assist you.”

“Yes, my lord!” Luke and Ragnar answered in unison.

Ragnar immediately rose next. “My lord, the preliminary inventory of the spoils has been completed.

From the storehouse of the city lord’s manor and the residences of the officers, we seized one thousand two hundred and twenty gold coins.

In addition, the grain reserves in the city granary are still fairly sufficient. The grain we captured,

combined with part of what we brought from Shadow Vale and the jerky made from the beasts we killed during the beast tide,

will be enough to support the current soldiers and civilians for nearly three months. For now, there is no need to worry about food.”

“Good!”

“That’s excellent!”

At the news that there was enough food, the tense atmosphere in the hall relaxed, and smiles of relief appeared on the faces of the generals.

In the barren Western Frontier, nothing stabilized hearts more effectively than food.

Even the gloom on Sabda’s face finally gave way to a trace of genuine satisfaction.

He turned toward the Gold-Tier Knight Calvin Medici and spoke with rare respect and gratitude.

“Uncle, we were only able to take Runestone City and turn the tide because you steadied the situation at the critical moment.

I will remember this merit in my heart.”

A slight warmth appeared on Calvin Medici’s stern and rigid face as he gave a faint nod.

“It was my duty.

You did well, Sabda. Decisive, ruthless, and bold.

You did not disappoint His Grace’s expectations.”

That affirmation dispelled the last shadow in Sabda’s heart, the one born from their enormous casualties.

Just then, Casso suddenly sprang to his feet, his voice urgent and tinged with fanatic fervor.

“My lord! Lord Calvin fought with divine valor, and our morale is soaring!

Why not strike while the iron is hot and immediately march against that damned Eli Black’s lair—the Obsidian Territory!

According to the earlier reports from our scouts, that wretched place has only a ring of low wooden palisades around it, and it must have suffered under the attacks of those beast whelps as well.

With Lord Calvin’s Gold-Tier strength, together with the elites we have now,

we can surely crush the Obsidian Territory in one blow and wash away our humiliation!”

His proposal landed like a massive stone thrown into still water, and several hot-blooded generals immediately voiced their agreement.

“That’s right! Strike now!”

“Destroy that arrogant white-haired brat!”

Yet the instant Casso finished speaking, Ragnar rose at once.

“I object! Casso, victory has gone to your head!”

His gaze swept across those generals who had echoed the proposal, then fell upon Sabda’s face.

“My lord! We have only just passed through a great battle. Shadow Vale suffered severe losses, and Runestone City was taken through what was effectively a hard-fought assault. We lost nearly a hundred soldiers.

The men are already exhausted and urgently need rest.

Runestone City has only just been taken. The people have not truly submitted yet.

Its defenses must be rebuilt, supplies must be consolidated, and there are a thousand matters awaiting attention.

To launch a distant campaign at a time like this, against an Eli whose true strength we do not fully understand—that is far too reckless!

If our rear becomes unstable, or if we meet unexpectedly stubborn resistance, the consequences will be unimaginable! I ask you to reconsider, my lord!”

The hall fell silent once again, and all eyes turned toward Sabda.

The smile faded from Sabda’s face as his eyes moved between the two men.

He was silent for several seconds before finally speaking in a slow voice. “Ragnar is right.

What we need right now is to recuperate and consolidate our foundation.

If we strike out blindly, we will only bury the hard-won position we have just gained.”

He looked at Casso. “We will proceed as Ragnar advised. Casso, rein in that impatience of yours.”

Casso’s face flushed red. He shot Ragnar a resentful glare

before lowering his head unwillingly and responding in a muffled voice, “Yes... my lord.”

Sabda rose to his feet. A smile of total control returned to his face, and he clapped his hands.

“Enough! You have all worked hard.

Tonight, a victory banquet has been prepared here in the lord’s hall for everyone!

There will be plenty of wine and roasted meat! Let us drink to Runestone City’s victory!”

“Long live the baron!”

“Cheers!”

The hall instantly erupted into deafening cheers.

The exhaustion on the generals’ faces was swept away by excitement, and for the moment, all disputes were cast to the back of their minds.

...

Beneath the same night sky, inside the study of the lord’s keep in the valley of the Obsidian Territory,

candlelight flickered, illuminating Eli’s focused profile.

He had just finished reading the letters from Griffin of Easton Territory and Emilia of Frost Territory.

The letters gave a detailed report on the reconstruction efforts after their return to their lands.

They had organized the people to repair the houses and crude defenses damaged by the beast tide, reclaimed new land, made use of the experience they had learned from the Obsidian Territory to strengthen administration, and at the same time expressed gratitude for Eli’s support and confidence in their future development.

Eli gave a slight nod, approval showing in his eyes.

He picked up a feather pen and swiftly began writing replies on the parchment spread before him.

In the letters, he affirmed their efforts and offered suggestions for the next phase of development.

They were to prioritize securing food production, make use of local resources to develop unique industries,

strengthen militia training for self-defense, and seek aid from the Obsidian Territory at once if difficulties arose...

Just as he was about to write Hans of Clive Territory a similar reply as well—

Whoosh!

With a soft sound, the only source of light on the desk,

that candle, already burned halfway down, suddenly went out.

Darkness instantly swallowed the entire study.

Eli was momentarily stunned and lifted his head.

In the darkness, Aila stood gracefully beside the desk.

Moonlight streamed through the window, outlining her slender and gentle figure.

Her violet eyes glimmered in the dark, carrying a trace of teasing, but more than that, a kind of tenderness.

“It’s very late,” Aila said softly. “You should rest.”

Eli smiled helplessly. “All right. I’ll listen to you.”

Aila’s lips curved with satisfaction. She reached out and gently took hold of Eli’s wrist.

With a firmness that allowed no refusal, she tugged him away from the desk and led him toward the bedroom.

Eli followed obediently, though the curve of his lips held a trace of wry amusement.

“Damn that Old John...”