The Fifth Army's Luck Runs Out

Falling Leaf Town

After a fierce struggle, the battle ended with the Rebel Army's collapse. They had recaptured a large town, yet Knight Chels could not feel happy in the slightest.

It was simply too clean. Not to mention gold and silver treasures—even the granaries had been set ablaze by the Rebel Army.

Had they not reacted quickly enough to snatch back a batch of food that had not yet caught fire, their efforts would have been entirely in vain.

Clearly, the Rebel Army had prepared in advance. Knowing that Falling Leaf Town could not be held, they had moved the supplies ahead of time.

Glancing at the townspeople kneeling to welcome them, Chers was forced to abandon the idea of looting. There was no helping it. The people before him were either old or young; he simply could not bring himself to do it.

Of course, the most important reason was that these people were too poor. There was no profit to be squeezed from them. Even if they were dragged off and sold as slaves, no one would want such goods.

"Commander, the Rebel Army was clearly prepared. What should we do now?"

Baron Mecher asked bitterly.

They had taken such a huge risk to come out looting, only to gain a pile of food. It made it seem as though they were desperately short on provisions.

This was not some barren wilderness in the northwest. As lordly nobles of the Southeast Province, the Kingdom's granary, whose household did not have several storehouses of grain?

To put it bluntly, even if there were no harvest for two or three years, none of them would face famine.

At other times, it would have been one thing, but this time they had risked sneaking out to loot. Taking this pile of food with them would leave them with no mobility at all.

Frowning, Chers said with a grim expression, "We definitely can't take this much food with us. For the Lord of Dawn's sake, we might as well do a good deed and leave it for them.

"It has only been five days since the Battle of Ethel Fortress. Even if the Rebel Army was prepared, they could not have moved all their supplies back to their lair so quickly.

"We will continue to the next stop. If there is nothing there, we will pursue them toward Dadir City. Even if we find nothing, we can still meet up with the grain convoy in time."

Without much hesitation, everyone voiced their agreement. Since they had already come this far, they could not return empty-handed. If they did not loot something to bring back, none of them would feel right about it.

After a brief rest, the Fifth Army set out once more. They came in a hurry and left in a hurry, waving their sleeves without taking so much as a loaf of bread.

Once the noble lords had left, the villagers, freed from restraint, immediately perked up and rushed to join the scramble for food.

An elderly man, starving beyond endurance, grabbed a handful of baked rye and stuffed it into his mouth. Moments later, foam began to spill from his lips.

That was only the beginning. The villagers who had eaten the food collapsed one after another.

"The food is poisoned!"

Perhaps Hudson's luck had run out. Just after he ordered the camp to be set up and the cooking pots lit, he saw Griffon Cavalry circling low above the camp.

Hudson's instincts told him that the Fifth Army's looting expedition had now been exposed.

There was no helping it. Though he had done everything he could to cover for them, they had still left clues behind.

To buy his allies enough time to loot, and to ensure the grain convoy's safety, Hudson had deliberately kept the marching speed down.

They marched every morning and began setting up camp at noon. Half the afternoon was spent on formation drills, while the other half was spent on ideological work. Every day was packed full, leaving no time for anyone to let their imaginations run wild.

Hudson had calculated it all. At their current pace of twenty li per day, they would reach Dadir City in just six days, exactly in time to secure the main force's grain supply.

It had been a perfect arrangement for everyone. Who would have thought Count Pierce would suddenly lose his mind and send a knight to urge the Fifth Army to speed up?

With the commander absent, Hudson had no choice but to receive the visitor himself. Though he had made up what he believed was an airtight excuse, encountering a noble along the way was enough for anyone to know something was wrong.

If nothing unexpected happened, this Griffon Cavalryman before him was the result of that knight going back yesterday to report him.

At a height of less than ten meters, even the worst archer could have put an arrow into him. After hesitating, Hudson ultimately abandoned the thought of killing him to silence him.

Keeping it secret in front of so many people was simply too difficult. The Rebel Army did not have Griffon Cavalry, so no one would believe it had been an accidental injury.

For nobles, deceiving those above while concealing things from those below was merely standard practice. Even if the matter was exposed, the entire Fifth Army would bear responsibility together.

The law did not punish the masses. Even if Count Pierce wanted to enforce military law, he would be unable to carry it through.

The commanders might have clashed bitterly over benefits before, but if Count Pierce truly tried to come down hard on the Fifth Army's nobles, they would immediately turn their weapons against him.

In the world of nobles, there were only advantages and disadvantages, no right or wrong. Lesser nobles relied on great nobles, yet also joined forces to resist them. This was both a political balance and their way of survival.

The same applied further up. Great nobles relied on the Kingdom, yet also joined hands to oppose the king. That too was part of the Kingdom's political balance.

In Hudson's view, every kingdom on the Aslant Continent was like a company, while the nobles and king within it were all shareholders.

The only difference lay in how many shares each held. Fundamentally, everyone was an owner of the company. For the sake of profit, they argued when they should argue and fought when they should fight.

Major shareholders held more shares and thus had greater influence, but the combined shares of the minor shareholders far exceeded those of the major shareholders, enough to veto their decisions.

There might have been differences in status, but fundamentally, they still possessed the right to speak as equals.

Even a king could not execute a noble for no reason. Even if a noble had committed a grave crime, the Noble Council had to determine guilt before he could be put to death.

Of course, that was only what appeared on the surface. As for matters conducted in secret, no one could guarantee anything.

In theory, disobeying military orders on the battlefield could result in immediate execution. In practice, however, things were never so simple.

So long as the offense was not a matter of principle and the person was not especially disliked, a whole crowd of relatives, friends, and old associates would step forward to plead for mercy.

Especially in cases of collective disobedience, so long as it did not lead to catastrophic consequences, major matters would ultimately be reduced to minor ones, and minor ones brushed aside.

Compared with disobeying military orders, killing Count Pierce's Griffon Cavalryman would have far graver consequences. The former was official business; the latter would involve personal grudges.

Watching the Griffon Cavalryman leave, Hudson was already considering how to deal with the aftermath. It was obviously too late to notify his allies to return, and besides, he did not know the looting force's exact destination.

With a helpless sigh, Hudson ultimately decided to stop worrying about it. Whatever happened, happened. In any case, there was nothing he could do now.

Even if Count Pierce held him accountable, it would not have much to do with him. At worst, he had known and failed to report it, which was nothing compared with disobeying military orders.

As for the others, they could only pray for themselves. They were all adults. From the moment they chose to loot, they should have been prepared to be exposed.