The Fall of Rothe

September 30, Year 996 of the God Emperor Calendar. The land from Viscount Rothe's Territory to Gallop Barony was almost entirely flat, with only a small river and sparse trees.

A convoy traveled along the dirt road between the two castles. It was led by Rothe Territory's butler and consisted of six carriages carrying supplies including one ton of grain, fifteen sides of pork, spices, timber, live poultry, and more. These were all items listed by Viscount Rothe a few days ago.

According to the verbal agreement between Viscount Rothe's Territory and the Grey Goose Tribe, once they received these supplies, the Grey Goose Tribe would return north, ending this Barbarian incursion southward.

Several hundred meters behind the convoy, twenty-five Iron Armor Knights followed at a distance. Their leader was Viscount Bob, the former deputy commander of the Bristle-Wolf Knights.

Eight years ago, Bob had gone to the Gallop Plains and encountered the Gray Goose Leader, who had just swallowed up the Salt Mine. Their trade relationship had continued ever since. Bob not only handled the salt business for several viscounties and baronies within the Northwest Count Territory, but had also introduced the Grey Goose Tribe to the Frost-Wolf Family from Dragon Tooth City in the Royal Capital.

That family's business spanned multiple kingdoms and duchies, making it one of the major merchant families of the entire Human Race. There was also that young man from the Blue Dragon Family.

After introducing the two parties to the Grey Goose Tribe, the tribe entered a new stage. Starting in the third year after they met, the number of Black-Scaled Horses the Grey Goose Tribe sold Bob increased every year. Bob knew that if he wanted Gray Goose to provide more horses, he needed to give them more grain.

Thus, Bob's caravans traveled to the Grey Goose Tribe once each spring and autumn. He also sent separate caravans to the Southern Marquis's Territory of the Dragon Kingdom to purchase large quantities of aged grain. These old grains, priced in Copper Coins, were transported to the northernmost plains of the Kingdom and exchanged for Black-Scaled Horses and salt, priced in Gold Coins. This was the Rothe Family's way of doing business.

Of course, grain alone could not possibly offset the price of twenty Warhorses. They also needed to buy Rune Tablets, Magic Crystals, Magic-Sealing Boxes, Magic Pattern lamps, and other magical tools powered by Magic Crystals from the Royal Capital.

The Barbarians had salt mines and Warhorses, but Gold Coins were of little use to them. Moreover, their tents on the Grassland were far less comfortable than the magic-array-filled castles of human nobles. Thus, the Barbarians who obtained vast amounts of cash were eager to exchange their Gold Coins for magical tools that improved their quality of life.

At the same time, because the Mana-Wielders among the Barbarians could not sense the workings of magic, they could not understand even the simplest Rune Board. There was no need to worry about the Barbarians replicating those Rune Boards.

Yet Viscount Bob had never expected the Grey Goose Tribe to grow far more powerful than he had imagined through seven years of continuous trade.

In the first year of business, the Gray Goose Leader handed all the salt in his camps to Viscount Bob and even sold his own mount. This allowed Viscount Bob to gauge the Grey Goose Tribe's strength.

Yet by the second year, when Bob brought Mace Frost-Wolf to the Grey Goose Tribe, Gray Goose had already prepared enough Black-Scaled Horses that the Viscount felt the goods he had brought would not be enough to take all the horses away.

By the third year, Bob needed to sell some Rune Boards and Magic Crystals. After that, Bob was no longer even the Grey Goose Tribe's largest trading partner. Blue Dragon and Frost-Wolf both went to the Grey Goose Tribe for large-scale transactions, while he himself fell behind.

What Bob found even more intolerable was that since before spring, he had heard that other viscounts within the Count Territory had also begun trading back and forth with Gray Goose.

In Bob's eyes, the so-called Grey Goose Tribe was merely an agent he had cultivated on the Gallop Plains. Although the tribe was a major tribe in the southern Gallop Plains, the total number of Barbarian Mana-Wielders in it could not exceed one hundred.

They needed to commit more than fifty people to guard the Salt Mine and station some cavalry at Korniko Pass as sentries. There could not be more than twenty cavalry capable of heading to Gallop Barony.

Bob had entered the plains many times and understood Barbarian habits well. Though Barbarians possessed the physique of Intermediate Knights, that was only a broad concept.

Black-Scaled Horses were indeed fine horses, but even within the various Knight Orders, Black-Scaled Horses required several months of breaking and training before they could be considered qualified Warhorses.

Barbarian tribes could not use combat techniques or Battle Qi in battle. Barbarian cavalry with strong physiques could only charge headlong.

The strength of Human Race Knights lay in how Battle Qi changed their fighting habits, senses, and techniques. Junior Knights who had undergone long-term Battle Qi training could not use Battle Qi techniques on the Gallop Plains, but they could still condense the Battle Qi within their bodies and attach it to their flesh, strengthening themselves enough to fight Barbarians on even terms.

With his extensive battlefield experience, Viscount Bob decided to teach Gray Goose a lesson.

Bob was the most talented and capable viscount since the Gallop Family settled in Rothe Territory. He was a Senior Knight himself and had extensive connections in Dragon Tooth City and Bristle-Wolf City.

After receiving his fief, Bob cultivated connections in Bristle-Wolf City, Dragon Tooth City, and several other cities belonging to Counts and Marquises, while sending caravans onto the Gallop Plains and turning his Rothe Territory into a transit hub for border trade.

With the Gold Coins brought in by trade, Bob selected twelve Junior Knights and five Intermediate Knights from among his former colleagues and classmates in the Knight Order to come to his territory as family knights.

The Knight squadron of twenty-five Knights was now Bob's greatest reliance. With such strength, Bob did not fear the handful of Barbarian cavalry the Grey Goose Tribe could send.

In Bob's eyes, the Gallop Plains were the future birthplace of his family's rise. This Grey Goose Tribe had not only risen through his support, but had even pushed its luck by trying to invade southward and use a grain shortage as an excuse to force him to pay for food.

He had originally intended to throw Gallop Barony to the Barbarians and let them take everyone away. Rothe would then send some Mana-Less people back into the barony, turning Gallop Barony into a territory where the common folk had nominally been preserved but the nobles had been taken captive. Then, as Hark's close relative, Viscount Rothe could place his youngest son there as Baron.

He could arrange for some of his Knight Order to become enfeoffed Knights there. In the future, he could continue doing business with Gray Goose on the Gallop Plains and perhaps even look after the Gallop Family.

Yet, by an unfortunate coincidence, the collateral branch of his family did not know its place and failed to shield the main branch from hardship. The fourth son of the lowly Baron had actually fled with all the Territory Residents.

His liege had listened to one side and stood by watching, keeping the Knight Order holed up in Bristle-Wolf City. Now, Bob could only rely on himself and lead the Knights he had accumulated to drive out these Barbarians.

As the carriages gradually advanced, Rothe Territory's butler could already see Baron Gallop's castle.

Before they had gone much farther, patrolling Barbarian Cavalry approached. After a brief inquiry, the cavalry led the butler and convoy toward the castle.

In the former Baron's room on the second floor of the castle, the Rothe butler met the Gray Goose Leader.

"Have the Viscount's supplies arrived?" the leader asked casually.

"Yes, Lord Gray Goose Leader. My Viscount has sent six carriages of supplies. They are outside the castle. Please inspect them!"

"Good. Let me see." The Gray Goose Leader accepted the list of goods from the butler. "Very good. It matches what we agreed upon!"

"Of course. My Viscount has always kept his word. What about your men?"

"Of course, we will withdraw from here according to our agreement with the Viscount." The leader smiled and called for the Barbarians in the Baron's castle to prepare to depart.

Soon, twenty-five cavalry gathered in the castle. Ten men guarded the six carriages, while the other fifteen split into two groups. Ten rode ahead to clear the way, while five guarded the rear. The group escorted the carriages northward.

On the road from Gallop Territory to the plains, they would pass through a section of Rothe Territory. There was a small grove on the earthen slope by the roadside. Viscount Rothe and his Knight squadron were lying in ambush there.

The Viscount first saw the ten Barbarians walking ahead of the carriages, then the first carriage. By then, all the Knights had mounted. When the third carriage passed, the Viscount led the Knight squadron charging down the slope.

The Barbarians spotted them the moment the Viscount burst from the woods. Without the slightest hesitation, all the Barbarians abandoned the carriages and headed toward Korniko Pass.

Though the Barbarian cavalry wore Leather Armor while the Viscount's Knights wore Iron Armor, the distance between them steadily narrowed.

The first group combat technique members of a Knight Order needed to learn was how to transfer their Battle Qi to their mounts. Thus, south of Cornico Valley, even lightly armored cavalry could not outrun Iron Armor Knights.

The distance kept closing. Bob could already see the rearmost Cavalryman ahead. He gathered all his Battle Qi at the tip of his lance. When the two horses were less than two meters apart, Battle Qi thrust forward along the lance tip. Although the point was still some distance from the Barbarian Cavalryman's back, the Battle Qi had already pierced his body. His thin Leather Armor was torn apart, and he fell at once.

Another slope lay ahead. When entering an uphill stretch, all horses slowed down, but the Knights could use Battle Qi to maintain greater speed. This was especially true of Black-Scaled Horses. Wind School magical elements could gather around their hooves, and the Knights could use Battle Qi to increase the proportion of Wind Elements there and make them flow more smoothly.

In an instant, Bob pierced the second Barbarian. The man did not even have time to cry out before Bob lifted him from his horse. Then came the third, then the fourth Barbarian.

At last, the remaining nineteen Barbarians reached the top of the slope and continued running northeast along its edge.

How could Bob possibly let them go now? Yet just as he focused on unhorsing another Cavalryman, something suddenly struck his helmet.

Bob wore an iron helmet, and his vision had already been narrow. With his eyes fixed on the Barbarian cavalry ahead, he had no idea what was happening on his flank.

Then he heard the other Knights shouting, so he raised his visor.

Around the slope, roughly one hundred and fifty Cavalrymen were circling Bob's Knights.

These Cavalrymen did not stop. Instead, they rode in circles around Bob's Knights.

This was the first time Bob, as Viscount Rothe, had seen so many Barbarian Cavalrymen.

The Knights gathered together. At this moment, Bob knew he had fallen into a trap. Not only him—Hark and Count Bristle-Wolf had been tricked as well.

From the very beginning, Gray Goose had never intended to rob one household and leave. Perhaps Gray Goose had not even failed to rob Landen and the others.

Gray Goose had truly gone mad, bringing such a huge force of Barbarians into the interior of the Dragon Kingdom.

"What, you think having a few Cavalrymen means you can challenge Knights?" Rothe sneered. "Since when did you savages get the illusion that numbers alone could defeat Knights?"

Rothe shouted, and every member of the Knight squadron immediately formed a charging formation. The entire squadron charged in one direction.

With a thunderous boom, the Viscount fell before he could even break through the cavalry. Then the Knights heard a strange whistle, its sound winding and melodious.

As the whistle sounded, the Warhorses beneath the Knights suddenly grew restless. Without their strongest commander and with the Warhorses in turmoil, the remaining Knights' formation quickly broke apart.

Amid roaring shouts, the one hundred and fifty Barbarian Cavalrymen wheeled around and charged into the Knights' formation. Though the Knights could still barely control their Warhorses, they had already lost the will to fight against the numerous Barbarians.

Another thunderous blast rang out. An Intermediate Knight was struck by a bolt of lightning and fell. Then the Barbarian tribe leader rode into another Intermediate Knight. The Knight was dazed by the impact, and his warhorse suddenly bolted. Soon, the Knight was thrown from the saddle and pierced through by the spears of countless Cavalrymen.

The original force of six Intermediate Knights and above was instantly cut in half. How could the remaining Junior Knights and Knight Apprentices have any desire to continue fighting? One after another, they prepared to break out on their own.

As the setting sun sank westward, a Rothe Family Mana-Wielder stood atop a tower of Rothe Castle, futilely gazing toward Korniko Pass. This Mana-Wielder was Viscount Rothe's illegitimate son. The Viscount had originally cared nothing for such a bastard, but at sixteen, the boy had awakened as a Mana-Wielder.

Though he had virtually no potential for advancement, he still added strength to the family. Thus, Viscount Rothe had kept him in the castle to guard it whenever the Viscount led the main force out.

The illegitimate son spotted a group of Knights coming over the northern slope. They rode Black-Scaled Horses and carried the banner of Rothe Territory.

"They're finally back. The Barbarians are gone!" Without giving it much thought, the illegitimate son led the Mana-Less people in the castle to the gate to welcome the Viscount.

As the Knights drew closer, the illegitimate son repeatedly rehearsed in his heart how he would praise the Viscount's bravery and his brothers' strength. Yet, to his surprise, the Knights only paused briefly when they arrived. One of them shouted, "The Viscount is injured. Move aside!"

"Father, you're so brav... What? The Viscount is injured? ...Then move aside, quickly! Let the Viscount enter at once. Don't block the way."

The Knights escorted that Viscount into the castle. In his panic, the illegitimate son quickly led the Mana-Less people after them.

"Father, how are you? Are your injuries serious? Should we go to Bristle-Wolf City and invite a priest?" The illegitimate son stayed close behind the Knights, but as he watched the "Lord Viscount" with his back turned remove his helmet, he suddenly found the figure utterly unfamiliar.

"Fa... Father?"

When the other man turned around, the illegitimate son saw an unfamiliar face. He froze where he stood.