Chapter 140: Could It Be That I'm Drunk?

"Count Fario truly has a remarkable tolerance for wine!"

As they drank freely, the hall once again echoed with the praises and cheers of the minor nobles!

"Hahaha!" Fario naturally laughed heartily once more.

"Report!"

Just then, a knight hurriedly arrived, interrupting Count Fario's merriment.

This was Fario's own guard knight, even though he had handed over the outer perimeter to the Storm Legion.

But how could Fario possibly trust that young man completely?

"What is it?" Fario frowned.

The knight knew he had disturbed His Lordship's joy and immediately bowed his head. "My lord, it is Baron Gervas of the Storm Fief; he wishes to see Commander Brick!"

"What does he want to see Commander Brick for at this hour? Didn't I order him to lead the guard duty?" Fario still thought Gervas wanted to complain to Brick.

Brick glanced at Fario and asked the knight, "Did Baron Gervas say what he needs to see me about?"

"My lord, Commander Brick, Baron Gervas seemed to say he has battle results to report; he said nothing else, only instructing me to come and deliver the message!"

"Battle results? What battle results at this time? Could it be some unlucky barbarian got lost in the forest during the day and was caught by him?" Fario sneered disdainfully.

Commander Brick pondered for a moment. "Count Fario, let Baron Gervas come here; this is the rule!"

Brick's words seemed like a suggestion, yet they carried an undeniable tone.

He could allow Fario to target a minor noble, but when it came to rules concerning the safety of the grand army, they must be followed.

After all, making things difficult for a minor noble would have no impact on him.

But matters concerning the safety of the grand army concern Commander Brick's very life and livelihood!

Count Fario understood this principle clearly and certainly had to give Brick face. "Then let him come. I want to see exactly what these battle results are; don't tell me he's just making an excuse to join the banquet because he smelled the roasted meat!"

Soon, Gervas arrived at the banquet scene.

The scene was indeed filled with fine wine and delicious food, truly delightful.

Of course, compared to the fragrant rainbow-winged swan meat stored in his storage space, Gervas naturally looked down on all these delicacies.

Under everyone's gaze, Gervas walked to the open space in front of Fario and Brick.

"Baron Gervas, I heard you have battle results to report to me?" Brick asked.

"Yes, Commander Brick. During tonight's night watch, a western barbarian squad attempted to ambush Black Shell Village. My subordinates discovered them in advance, and I led my men to annihilate this entire group of western barbarians!"

Huh!

"A western barbarian squad attempting a night raid? Is that true or false?"

"Yes, why didn't we hear any sound of battle? Could it be that there were too few people?"

"That shouldn't be; even if the numbers were small, as long as there were more than three or five people, in the silent Black Shell Village, the cries of battle would be easily noticed!"

The minor nobles immediately began to discuss in a clamor.

After all, if there truly had been a barbarian night raid, it wouldn't just vanish without a trace.

Pfft!

Fario, who had been watching coldly from the side, couldn't help but snort in derision.

"Baron Gervas, did you hear the nobles' discussion? Are you perhaps here to falsely report military intelligence?"

"If there truly were cries of battle, even if we couldn't hear them amidst the noise of our banquet, wouldn't our outer guard knights have heard them?"

Gervas glanced at Fario and said with a smile, "Count Fario, I never said I discovered the enemy near Black Shell Village."

"These western barbarians were discovered at Songshan, five li away from Black Shell Village, so it is normal that we couldn't hear anything here!"

Songshan, five li away?

Everyone looked at each other in silence. Fario frowned. "Weren't you on guard duty in the village? How could you discover an enemy five li away? Very well, even if you could discover an enemy five li away, where are the heads?"

"You wouldn't have just killed a few slaves from your own squad and then passed them off as enemies, would you?"

Gervas had long anticipated Fario's interference and faced the questioning with a calm expression.

Smiling, he looked back at Commander Brick. "Commander Brick, I have brought back the enemy heads!"

"I also intend to register the merit in front of all the nobles, so that later, when the nobles haven't seen them, they won't doubt the authenticity of my merit."

Seeing Gervas so composed, Brick believed half of Gervas's words.

Why only half?

Because Gervas's battle results were likely genuine.

But the origin of the battle results...

Gervas claimed these enemies came to attack Black Shell Village, but Brick did not believe it.

After all, if they truly came to attack the left wing of the grand army, there would have to be at least several hundred people to start with; was this something Gervas could deal with?

So, the truth might be as Count Fario had sneered earlier: a few barbarians, chased into the jungle by the grand army and lost, happened to be discovered by Gervas's men and then killed to obtain battle results.

Of course, whether the enemies came to raid or not is not important.

As long as the heads are real, Brick is willing to help Gervas register them.

"Baron Gervas, then bring the enemy heads up. I will have the scribe register them in front of all the barons!"

"Bring them here?" Gervas swept his gaze across the open space filled with tables and chairs.

Commander Brick was stunned. "What? Can't we register them here? Baron Gervas?"

"Exactly. This time I have brought back two hundred enemy heads! If I bring them here, I'm afraid your excellencies' tables and chairs will first need to be cleared away!"

Huh!

"What did I hear? Two hundred enemy heads? Oh my god, could it be that I am drunk and heard wrong?"

"Friend, I also heard two hundred heads. I think it definitely isn't that we are drunk, but rather that Baron Gervas misspoke; he must have meant to say two!"

"Indeed, today Black Shell Village had only three hundred western barbarians in total, with only one hundred twenty or thirty escaping. Even if Baron Gervas was lucky enough to find a few lost barbarians, it shouldn't be so absurd that the number exceeds the number of escaping barbarians!"

As Gervas's words fell, the minor nobles instantly erupted into chaos.

Of course, everyone's first reaction was that Gervas had made a mistake.

After all, even if Gervas truly dared to kill the slaves he brought and pass them off as enemies.

But he had only four hundred subordinates in total; if you killed half of them, wouldn't the lie be exposed immediately?

Yet who would have thought that upon hearing the murmurs, Gervas continued with a smile: "Gentlemen, you heard correctly, and I have not misspoken. It is two hundred enemy heads, right now at the village entrance!"

"Uh..."

At this, the entire hall fell silent; the minor nobles stared blankly at Gervas, with only the bonfire in the center of the clearing crackling and popping in the night breeze.

"Baron Gervas, are you truly certain?" Commander Brick frowned, his gaze toward Gervas filled with doubt.

"I am certain!" Gervas nodded seriously.

"Haha, then we truly must go take a look! Two hundred barbarian heads? Does he think he brought two hundred titled knights as subordinates to the battle?"

Before Brick could respond, Fario suddenly stood up, his words brimming with mockery.

He naturally did not believe Gervas's words either.

He had witnessed the daytime battle with his own eyes; although the battle indeed resulted in over a hundred western savages escaping due to the nobles' mistake.

But the nobles' error was merely their usual tactic of letting cannon fodder exhaust the western savages first to reduce casualties among the elite, which allowed the savages to find an opportunity to break through into the forest.

But this absolutely did not mean the barbarians' escape was luck.

Because at that time, two thousand serfs had already surrounded them completely.

Yet the savages still carved a bloody path through, demonstrating the savages' ferocity.

And how many people did Gervas have?

Four hundred!

Even if all four hundred were armored guards, it would still be impossible to achieve the result of four hundred encircling and annihilating two hundred savages.

Moreover, Gervas's manpower was well known to him; the majority of them were serf soldiers!