Chapter 455: Trouble Inside the Walls

The lords fell silent at the staggering story. They’d probably assumed I had crossed the border to plunder Basel’s wealth under the pretext of retaliation, never suspecting that a massive conspiracy was lurking behind it all.

"In one last attempt to turn things around, he fought a battle on the outskirts of Basel, but I won that one too. It must feel like a nightmare to the Count of Basel, don’t you think?"

"Did you hold off on pursuing our liege so you could clip his wings first?"

"That’s half of it. The other half was to capture you regional lords and tell you the truth."

In truth, I’d let him go on purpose because I had my eye on his Gale Plunderer trait, but I couldn’t exactly tell them that. Still, the explanation I gave was enough to convince the captured lords.

Baron Landschaft was furious.

"If this is true, then isn’t the Count of Basel the real traitor?! If his grand strategy had succeeded, an independent Basel would have joined the Swiss Confederation, and all of us regional families would have been purged by Zurich! You think they’d leave us alone after we sided with the anti-Zurich faction?!"

"Apart from the Lightning Knight’s family, none of us would have had any guarantee of a future."

When even the Lord of Hagenhausen, who had been snarling at Baron Landschaft, admitted as much, the Lord of Wischelbach agreed as well. Handendorf of Birsfelden, who had never been told about this grand strategy, was deeply bewildered.

"Sir Heindel, Sir Helixen. This is no time for us to be fighting among ourselves."

"Hmm, that’s certainly true. To think the Count of Basel was harboring such intentions."

"So that’s why he provoked Rosenheim."

But weren’t they taking my word a little too easily? I’d figured they wouldn’t buy it until I produced solid evidence, yet the four lords didn’t even question my one-sided claims.

So I asked them why, and got an unexpected answer.

They said that since I hadn’t massacred their people and had only plundered in moderation, I was trustworthy enough. Releasing all the soldiers who had surrendered had also earned me high marks.

If anything, I was the one left dumbfounded.

"Well, how about that. I thought persuading you would be difficult."

"The Baron of Rosenheim is every bit as just as his reputation says. If I were in your shoes, Baron, I’d have been so enraged by the Count of Basel’s grand strategy that I’d have burned everything in Basel to the ground. You are a truly generous and merciful man. That’s why we can trust you."

"I don’t like agreeing with the Lord of Hagenhausen, but I support you too, Baron."

The Lord of Hagenhausen and Baron Landschaft, who fought like cats and dogs, both declared their support, and the Lord of Wischelbach, who had been weighing things carefully, eventually came around to supporting me as well.

All that remained was Handendorf, the Lord of Birsfelden.

"I cannot betray my liege."

"Hmph, spoken like a dog wagging its tail for the Count of Basel. I didn’t expect anything from you anyway."

"If I could somehow persuade our liege to cut ties with the Swiss Confederation...."

"You think that’s possible? The Count of Basel is our enemy now!"

"...."

From that day on, Hagenhausen, Wischelbach, and Landschaft turned completely against the Count of Basel. Birsfelden alone refused to the very end to betray his liege, and so Handendorf remained a prisoner.

The three lords were released from captivity right away.

The same went for the knights under them.

Seventeen captured knights were set free. Rather than go through the hassle of squeezing ransoms out of them, it was better to simply let them go and build goodwill. From now on, they’d be even more eager to move against the count than I was.

[Great knight, O Charging Wolf, lead us on!]

[With Henningsmantel waving, we’ll march on with roses in our arms!]

[We are the great Streit! The glorious Streit!]

[O knight! Beloved knight! Onward, Streit!]

"So those are the Rotmantel Streits I’ve heard so much about?"

"Those red mantles sure stand out. Quite a flashy army."

"The clergy will hate it, but it’s a good way to boost morale."

When I crossed back into Basel with two companies from Hissen and the Gale Knights, the lords watched with great interest as the Streit companies that had beaten the Swiss mercenaries marched past.

"Such flawless drill, even on the march. These must be the elite troops the Baron of Rosenheim is so proud of."

"They’re not quite on the level of the Gale Knights, but the discipline of that gunner corps is fearsome too."

The Gale Knights had become both a legend and a nightmare in Basel. The lords found it especially hard to believe what Baron Landschaft had witnessed firsthand: the defeat of the Count of Basel’s heavy cavalry.

But they’d find out soon enough.

That the absurd victory had been real.

"Basel Castle is in sight."

"Hmm, not even any scouts. Have they just holed up in the castle?"

On the advance to Basel, not a single enemy unit had shown up on my Commander Scouter. That meant they had shut themselves inside the castle, shaken by their defeat, but were they really not making any preparations at all?

With no force left that could threaten Hissen, I could leave the village empty without worry, so August had come out with me for the first time in a while. Now he spoke up.

"The Swiss Confederation may have sent reinforcements."

"Then it’ll come to all-out war, but we’ll win."

"As long as you’re here, my lord, I’m not afraid either."

Like August, I was confident. I wasn’t afraid of a war with the Swiss Confederation. What I had truly feared was becoming their pretext for war. Now there would be no more fighting over who had the just cause.

First, I sent Ted to urge them to surrender. I had intended to go myself, but August’s face hardened and he objected. He worried about my safety far more than I did.

The Count of Basel was nowhere to be seen on the walls.

Ted exchanged a few words with the gatekeeper and came back.

"The gatekeeper says surrender is out of the question."

"I figured. But where’s the Count of Basel?"

"He wouldn’t tell me, but if you ask me, they seem scared."

"Hmm, scared?"

I waited a long while, but the Count of Basel never showed himself. As the sun slowly sank, I had no choice but to pull back a short distance from Basel Castle and make camp.

With no cannons and no siege equipment, I had no intention of launching a siege and absorbing the losses. I had come here to negotiate an end to the war with the Count of Basel.

Camping here was a way of pressuring him: Basel could no longer keep the war going, so he’d better come to the table. While Barosi and Herto scouted Basel Castle, Oscar and Gustav finished setting up camp.

The Lord of Wischelbach seemed worried.

"I’m not sure this is the right thing to do."

"Don’t waver, Sir Heindel. Who betrayed whom first? Siding with Zurich might fall within the bounds of an alliance, but planning something this outrageous without even consulting us is a clear breach of contract! We are nobles of the Duchy of Beren, not the Swiss Confederation!"

"Sigh, you’re right. We can’t very well put ourselves under the Swiss Confederation."

The Lord of Wischelbach let out a deep sigh and conceded Baron Landschaft’s point. After the Handendorf family of Birsfelden, the Heindel family had been the Brist family’s biggest supporter.

Turning against the Brist family now must have been a hard decision. I’d reeled in a bigger catch than I ever expected, and now I had a chance to extend my influence into Basel. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

Back from scouting, Barosi reported to me.

"My lord, something seems off."

"What’s off?"

"The Basel Castle garrison seems to be keeping a closer eye on the inside of the castle than on us."

"The enemy has set up camp right under their noses, and they’re more worried about the inside?"

That was definitely strange. From a defender’s standpoint, the obvious move was to focus on watching us, but Barosi said that even when his reconnaissance unit got right up close, the garrison didn’t so much as fire a warning shot.

Hmm. For now, I decided to spend the night recovering from the march. The next morning, just as the cold winter wind was slipping between the tents and setting us shivering, the soldiers began bustling about.

"My lord! Something’s happened at Basel Castle!"

"Hm? Something’s happened? What is it?"

Then, at the sight before my eyes, I was left speechless.