Chapter 78

Amukan returned, and as Kyros stepped onto the battlefield, the tide of war turned 180 degrees.

The cavalry of the Kerait tribe, which had been winning battle after battle, would often be utterly defeated and wiped out whenever they encountered the cavalry of the Konyirat tribe.

As a result, the Kerait tribe lost most of the territories they had occupied in just three days, suffering defeat in as many as 14 battles.

The key to this was Kyros' outstanding performance.

Kyros, whenever he joined the battle, would command the Konyirat warriors and crush the enemies indiscriminately.

Kyros' personal combat skills were undoubtedly powerful, but what was even more terrifying was his <command ability>.

Immediately after the 14th battle.

"Brother."

Amukan approached Kyros with a look of admiration.

"Why are you looking at me with such a burdensome gaze? Gulp, gulp!"

Kyros, sitting on the bodies of the dead Kerait warriors and drinking mare's milk, replied.

"I was born a nomad in the Havr steppe and have been riding horses since I was very young."

"So?"

"After my coming-of-age ceremony, I fought on horseback for nearly 20 years."

"What do you want to say?"

"How can you fight so well?"

Amukan was genuinely curious.

It was truly shocking that Kyros, a continental person, had a deeper understanding of cavalry tactics and could command the cavalry better than the steppe warriors, who had been riding horses from a young age until their death.

From the perspective of a people who lived on horseback, it was a matter of great pride.

"Ha, ha, ha."

Kyros laughed as if it were a trivial matter.

"Didn't you know what experience is?"

"Um…?"

"Let me see… I, the master, probably started wielding a sword when I was around thirteen."

"Ah, yes."

Amukan was not particularly surprised.

Nomads of the Havr steppe usually carry a sharp dagger by the time they are ten.

"At thirteen, I left home and worked as a lowly laborer in a small mercenary group. I started fighting in real battles around fifteen and died at sixty-five… so I've been rolling in battlefields for about 40 years. Ha, ha, ha. Is there anything I can't do? I've spent my whole life on horseback and in battlefields."

"…"

"Was I around thirty-two? At that time, I fought against nomad warriors like you. The chieftain's name was… Batu, wasn't it? He was a very strong man. Of course, he eventually knelt to my power. Ha, ha, ha!"

"Um… Brother?"

"What is it?"

"You're lying a bit, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Batu is not a common name. In this steppe, only one person can bear that name. The ancestor of our Konyirat tribe, who roamed the steppe 450 years ago."

Amukan sighed deeply.

"But, to be honest, you're younger than me, right? No matter how much I respect you as my brother, this is not right. Such lies…."

"Hey."

Kyros interrupted Amukan and pulled him.

"Come here for a moment."

"Um…?"

"Follow me."

Amukan followed Kyros into the tent called a <ger> without much thought.

"Put this in your mouth."

Kyros handed Amukan a piece of cloth.

"What do you mean by this all of a sudden?"

"If you scream when I beat you, your subordinates will think something is wrong, won't they?"

"Um…?"

"Are you daring to call me a liar?"

"Brother, that's not what I meant… Ouch!"

Amukan screamed and fell to the ground.

"Given the situation, I'll save your face, but I can't let this go."

Immediately, Kyros' brutal beating began to rain down on Amukan.

* * *

Meanwhile, Helmut, who was preparing to attack the Margrave Kingdom with the Kerait tribe's cavalry, was greatly alarmed by an unexpected situation.

His daughter, Ellis, had been kidnapped not by his subordinates but by a third party, and this had prompted the Margrave Kingdom's army to start moving, which was the worst possible scenario for Helmut.

Originally, Helmut's plan was to advance on the capital as soon as the rescue operation for his daughter began, to end the coup as quickly as possible.

However, someone had beaten him to it, and the Margrave Kingdom's army had started moving first, rendering the surprise rebellion impossible.

The core of this plan was that the rescue operation and the rebellion would happen simultaneously, but that had now become impossible.

"Sir, the king's messenger demands our surrender. If we don't, he says he will exterminate not only you but everyone in our territory."

"Damn it…!!!"

Helmut, cornered, gnashed his teeth.

He was in a desperate situation.

If he surrendered, he would die.

If he fought the Margrave Kingdom's army, he would die.

Even if he had the support of the Kerait tribe, the Margrave Kingdom's army was not an easy opponent.

Given that the rebellion itself was a very unlikely success without a surprise attack, it was not an exaggeration to say that there was no chance of winning now that the plan had gone awry.

This was a worst-case scenario where he would die either way.

"Could it be… the king's scheme?"

Helmut thought that this incident might be a plot by the Margrave king.

A scheme to stage a kidnapping of Ellis, frame Helmut, and use it as a pretext to destroy the Valdemar family.

"Sir, what should we do? If the Kerait tribe's cavalry learns of this…."

"It must be kept secret. Even if the king's army reaches the city gates."

If this fact became known, the alliance between Helmut and the Kerait tribe would break.

Then Helmut would have to face the Margrave tribe and the kingdom's army alone, and in such a situation, it would be better to take his own life.

"What a shameless bastard… Our family has served your family like dogs for generations… and you disgrace my daughter and our family with such a dirty scheme…."

At that moment.

"Sir!"

A messenger rushed in and knelt before Helmut.

"A man named Otto de Scuderiya requests an audience with you."

"Otto de Scuderiya…? I don't know that name. Does anyone know him?"

Of course, it would be strange if someone knew Otto's name.

"Why does he want to see me?"

"Yes, sir. He says… he has Miss Ellis with him."

"What? Bring him in immediately!"

Helmut was surprised by the unexpected appearance of Otto but decided to meet him because he claimed to have his daughter.

* * *

"What?"

Helmut was speechless.

"Are you saying you are the one who kidnapped my daughter?"

"Yes."

"How dare you!"

Helmut roared and leaped from his throne.

Swish!

The knights around him drew their swords and pointed them at Otto.

Sharp, gleaming swords.

"How dare you not only kidnap my daughter but also come to me so brazenly? Your nerve is beyond the limit. Do you think you can leave here with all your limbs intact?"

"Of course, I will leave here intact."

Otto smiled coldly.

"If you touch me, your daughter won't be safe."

"Does such a threat work on me? I am not a fool. You are surely sent by the king…."

At that moment.

"Hahaha!"

Otto burst into laughter.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Everyone was taken aback by Otto's sudden outburst and lost their words.

"Ha, ha, ha… The king sent me. Ha, ha… The king… staged a plot… Ha… People are too… smart… Ha, ha, ha… It's… ridiculous… Ha, ha…."

"Are you mocking me?"

"N-no… Ha… It's just too funny… Ha, ha, ha…."

"…?"

"Your reasoning is sound… Ha, ha… If the king was that smart… Ha, ha… He wouldn't have treated the most loyal of loyalists… worse than a dog, would he? Ha, ha, ha!"

Helmut, initially furious at being mocked, regained his composure upon hearing Otto's words.

'That's true. That ungrateful bastard couldn't have orchestrated such a high-level plot.'

The current Margrave king was very greedy and suspicious, but he was not a cunning person.

To be cunning, one must have a certain level of intelligence, and he was not that kind of person.

"Then… why did you kidnap my daughter?"

"To make you point your sword in a different direction."

"What do you mean?"

"You made the wrong choice. If you wanted to form an alliance, it should have been with the Konyirat tribe, not the Kerait tribe."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I am in an alliance with the Konyirat tribe. Your alliance with the Kerait tribe cost us our trade routes, and in the process, the caravans we work with suffered tremendous losses. As a result, we suffered significant economic damage… Oh, my."

Otto clicked his tongue.

"The damage was so severe that it's hard to calculate."

"Who are you, exactly?"

"The Kingdom of Iota."

"The Kingdom of Iota…?"

Helmut thought for a moment and asked those around him.

"Does anyone know Iota?"

But no one stepped forward to say they knew Iota.

This was because the current Kingdom of Iota was an unknown nation that no one recognized.

"Excuse me, but… where is the Kingdom of Iota located?"

As a result.

Drip!

A tear formed in the corner of Otto's eye.

* * *

After explaining the Kingdom of Iota to Helmut for a long time, Otto was finally able to continue the conversation.

"Since it's so far away, I couldn't keep an eye on it. So… you are the king of the Kingdom of Iota?"

"I've told you several times, yes."

Otto answered curtly.

"Is that so. I understand."

Helmut, now addressing Otto with formal speech, as he was royalty.

"My alliance with the Kerait tribe caused you great damage, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes."

"So you kidnapped my daughter?"

"If you ally with the Kerait tribe and destroy the Margrave Kingdom and the Konyirat tribe, I will never regain our trade routes, and my revenge will be impossible."

"Revenge?"

"We need to avenge the lives of our merchants, workers, and mercenaries killed by the Kerait tribe warriors."

"That can be negotiated…."

"I don't accept blood money. Blood for blood. I want lives in return."

"What do you plan to do?"

"I want to destroy the Kerait tribe. I will kill all those involved in the massacre. If they run, I will chase them to the ends of the earth and kill them."

"Um."

"I need to set an example. What happens if you touch the Kingdom of Iota or the Ego Caravan."

Helmut