Chapter 12

Upon receiving Otto's order, Camille immediately gathered the troops.

"Everyone, listen up! Lord Otto wishes to stabilize this region, which has been devastated by the evil Undead Overlord and his army!"

Camille delivered Otto's intentions to the soldiers of Iota Manor, embellishing and packaging them well.

After all, he couldn't say, "From now on, we're going to gobble up other manors one by one!"

"That's why we will go to the ravaged Solon Manor, Lassen Manor, and Ort Manor to save the people who are in dire straits! Understand?"

"Yes!"

The soldiers of Iota Manor responded with a loud voice to Camille's speech.

The soldiers of Iota Manor were now in the highest morale they had been in recent years.

After all, they had achieved a great victory in the battle at Nazrak's sanctuary a few days ago, which had raised their morale that had been at rock bottom.

"And Lord Otto will also join us on this expedition! Therefore, we must show a performance that does not disgrace the army of Iota Manor!"

The soldiers were surprised to hear that Otto would participate in the expedition again.

"Lord Otto? Again?"

"I thought he had only been rescued from being in trouble a short while ago…."

"Have you all forgotten? Didn't Lord Otto draw the attention of the Undead monsters in the last battle? Lord Otto also played a significant role. Yes, that's right."

"He even went down to the Undead Overlord's lair at the risk of his life to gather information and even participated in the battle."

The soldiers' perception of Otto had changed significantly.

Otto's changed attitude had gradually begun to move the soldiers' hearts.

Of course, there was still a long way to go to gain their complete loyalty.

'He has changed.'

Camille also noticed this change.

'Just a month ago, they looked like a bunch of defeated soldiers… After Lord Otto changed, our soldiers changed too. Even their eyes are different.'

A smile unconsciously appeared on Camille's face as he thought this.

Camille loved Iota Manor more than anyone else.

It was only natural that he would be pleased with such positive changes.

He was also happy about Otto's reform, whom he regarded like a younger brother.

* * *

The army of Iota Manor occupied Solon Manor in the blink of an eye.

No battle took place.

Iota Manor had 1,000 troops.

In contrast, Solon Manor had fewer than 100 troops.

Due to the complete annihilation of their army in the battle against the Undead, their military strength had weakened to the point where they could not even maintain basic law and order.

As a result, Otto successfully occupied Solon Manor without spilling a single drop of blood.

And the lord of Solon Manor, Percival, was stripped of his title and stood before Otto.

"Is this the first time we're meeting face to face?"

Otto, seated on the throne, casually spoke to Percival.

"……"

Percival remained silent, his lips tightly sealed.

He was too humiliated to have his entire manor taken by Otto, whom he had previously considered a pushover.

"You must be feeling pretty bad."

"……"

"Well, I can understand that."

Otto understood Percival's feelings and gave him a very lenient sentence.

"I won't kill you, so leave with your family. I'll provide you with the funds needed for your journey and to settle in a new place."

"Leave…?"

Percival responded, sounding incredulous.

"Leave my manor…? Me, the lord?"

"Not anymore."

Otto said firmly.

"It's my manor now."

"Otto, you scoundrel…!"

"Come on."

"If I hadn't been attacked by the Undead army, I wouldn't have lost my manor to a scoundrel like you. You just got lucky…."

"Was it really just luck?"

Otto cut off Percival's words with a cold voice.

"Or was it intentional?"

"What, what…?"

"Why do you think I borrowed money from you, knowing it would put me in a bind?"

"……?"

"Maybe I borrowed it knowing I didn't have to pay it back?"

"Y-You can't mean… You predicted all of this? Now?"

Percival's face turned pale.

"Think what you want. Choose. Leave quietly, or die."

"……"

"Remember, Iota and Solon have been at odds for 200 years. You should consider yourself lucky that I'm not executing you."

Considering the deep-seated animosity between the two manors, Otto should have executed Percival.

But he didn't, for the sake of the people.

If he had executed Percival without mercy, the people of Solon Manor would have rebelled, and his popularity would have plummeted.

As someone who had to govern the people of Solon Manor in the future, it was better for Otto to spare Percival's life.

"What will you do?"

"…I'll leave."

Percival bowed his head.

"Thank you for your mercy."

"You made the right choice."

That's how Otto took control of Solon Manor.

He had successfully resolved the long-standing enmity.

"Thank you for all your hard work."

Camille approached Otto and said.

"Your late father would be pleased."

"I think so too."

Otto nodded.

"Then let's head to Lassen Manor."

"Yes, my lord."

Otto immediately left Solon Manor and headed for Lassen Manor.

* * *

The occupation of Lassen Manor was even easier.

The lord had died in battle, and the army had been completely annihilated, leaving the manor in a state of anarchy.

However, Ort Manor was different.

Ort Manor still had 500 troops and a living lord.

And the lord of Ort Manor, Condor, was not an easy opponent.

He was a skilled swordsman, a man of great intellect and ambition.

'He's a tough opponent. Even Camille finds him difficult to handle.'

While Otto was thinking about Condor.

"Ort Manor has closed its gates."

Camille, who had been on reconnaissance, reported.

"Seems like they're determined to resist…."

"No."

Otto shook his head.

"By tomorrow morning, they'll probably raise the white flag and open the gates."

"What do you mean?"

"Does Condor not know that they'll be overrun no matter how hard they resist? With such a significant difference in troop numbers?"

"That's true, but…."

"Condor is an ambitious man. He's capable and has the trust of the people in this region."

"That's true."

"So he won't give up his manor easily."

"But there's no way for him to resist, right?"

"He'll try various tactics."

Otto smiled.

"Leading his army into the mountains to wage guerrilla warfare, inciting a rebellion with the help of the people, or setting traps and waiting."

"Should we reconsider the occupation of Ort Manor?"

"It's a wise suggestion."

Otto agreed with Camille's opinion.

"But, once we start, we have to finish. Condor is an excellent lord. If we don't deal with him now, he'll be a threat to us later."

Although Condor was not a playable character, he was not someone to be underestimated.

If left unchecked, the scenario where Iota Manor would be destroyed by Ort Manor under Condor's leadership was not uncommon.

"Let's go in. To catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger's den, right?"

Saying this, Otto led his troops toward Ort Manor.

"Let's go~."

* * *

The next morning.

As Otto had predicted, a white flag was raised over the gates of Ort Manor.

"Lord Otto's prediction was correct. Lord Condor left the manor last night with his troops."

"Is that so? Then let's go."

Otto said to Camille, who seemed to be in a huff, and rode toward Ort Manor.

Occupying Ort Manor was very easy.

There was no resistance, and everyone was very cooperative with Iota Manor's army.

'Dangerous.'

Camille felt uneasy instead.

'Everyone is overly cooperative. It feels like we've entered the heart of the enemy.'

But nothing unusual happened until evening.

"A banquet has been prepared for the new lord. Our officials have prepared it, so please attend."

"Should I?"

Otto was invited to a dinner by the officials of Ort Manor and attended the banquet.

Camille and the Iota Manor's royal guard also attended.

"Make sure all our knights attend. Tell them to come fully armed, in full armor. Have the soldiers on standby."

"Full armor?"

"Seems like there will be a fight."

"Understood."

That evening.

"The lord is here."

Otto attended the banquet and was treated with great respect.

"I am Michael. I handle administrative duties here in Ort Manor."

A middle-aged man introduced himself as Michael and greeted Otto.

"By the way… you all came in full armor."

"Yes, well. It turned out that way. Hahaha."

Otto scratched the back of his helmet and joked.

"This is my knight captain, Camille. He's very suspicious. He insisted that we wear armor."

At that moment.

Snap!

A vein popped on Camille's forehead.

'When did I ever say that! Yes!?!'

Camille shuddered with anger at Otto's portrayal of him as a paranoid person.

After all, it was Otto who had insisted on wearing armor.

"It's a knight's duty, isn't it?"

Michael smiled.

"Isn't it all for the lord's safety?"

"Too much of anything is a problem. Where can you use someone who is so suspicious and fearful? He's not very broad-minded."

"Hahaha…."

"He's always interfering and nagging, which is very annoying."

Otto openly criticized Camille, who was right next to him.

He was deliberately badmouthing him for everyone to hear.

Shudder…!!!

Camille was furious at Otto's behavior but held back, exercising patience.

The banquet, which began with Camille's badmouthing.

"What do you think about Lord Condor leaving?"

"It's his decision, so there's nothing we can do. The manor has been devastated."

"That's true."

"With a new lord here, we can only serve him."

Otto enjoyed the banquet, chatting with Michael.

Then,

"But no matter how I think about it, Lord Condor seems to have acted cowardly."

Otto's words brought a chill to the banquet hall.

The eyes of the officials, servants, and maids of Ort Manor all turned to Otto.

"Why do you think so?"

Michael, instead, smiled and asked Otto.

"He doesn't want to surrender and hand over the manor. If he fights, he'll lose. So he's pretending to abandon the manor and is looking for an opportunity, isn't he?"

"Is that so?"

"If he was going to leave, he would have surrendered cleanly and handed over the lordship."

Otto said this, took a sip of wine, and looked at Michael.

"When people make desperate moves, they become ugly. He should know when to give up cleanly."

"Ugly… ugly…."

Michael repeated Otto's words, pondering them.

"Give up cleanly, Condor?"

Otto said to Michael.