The prison was bleak.
It was built underground and barely lit by candlelight.
It was the kind of place where if you were locked up for too long, you might really suffer from psychosis.
"Hey, let go of ! Sir! Oh, my lord! How could you do this to ! My lord!"
I ignored Burke, who was fussing over being thrown in jail, and headed for my forr commander.
The prison warden, perhaps nervous at the prospect of a military commander being locked up, led in with robotic movents.
"Here, this is where Baron...Haddin is being held!"
The warden straightens his back and raises his voice.
"All right, now shut up and open the prison door."
At my words, the warden hurriedly covered his mouth with his hands.
He opened the prison door and stepped back.
When I entered the prison, I saw a man leaning against the wall looking exhausted.
"Your....?"
I imdiately used [Check Information].
As my life depended on tomorrow's battle, I checked the information with a sincere heart.
______________________________________
[rja Haddin]
[Age: 45]
[Martial Force: 60]
[Intelligence: 57]
[Command: 70]
[Affiliation: No current affiliation]
[Loyalty: 75]
______________________________________
Heh.
Well, this is not so bad.
Perhaps it was because I had seen Burke Gordon's ability values, but when I saw these numbers, I felt as if my eyes had been purified.
The average strength of a soldier is around 30 to 40.
Although 60 was not a huge number, I was relieved to know that there were decent people who could lead the army in the declining Aquitania.
It's rare to find soone with A-level abilities in this ga, and S-level abilities are extrely scarce.
Besides, what was important anyway was the command value.
What is needed imdiately is a commander to lead the ragtag troops, and with a command of 70, he was perfect.
"Sir! What brings you all the way out here to.....?"
"Baron Haddin. Have you ever been to war?"
I interrupted him.
I don't have ti to try to convince him to join now.
So, it would be faster to appoint him under the authority of the lord.
It would be enough for to survive tomorrow's war to get my hands on this person completely.
And his loyalty stat was still crazy high even after being dismissed and imprisoned he still was loyal to this place.
"War? Of course. Twenty years ago, there were frequent battles of all sizes, and I was in the military at the ti...."
I see.
It's true that he's 45 years old now, so 20 years ago, he was 25 years old.
Even though he was a nobleman, it was natural in a sense, since lower nobles often served in the military.
"Very well, Baron Haddin. I am now releasing you and reinstating you as commander of the Aquitania Provincial Army!"
"What...? My Lord, my Lord! Is that true?"
"The first thing you must do upon your return is to summon all Aquitania's provincial forces, except for the border guards, and those needed to garrison the towns and city of our territory."
I ordered Haddin, who only blinked at , as if he had stopped thinking in surprise, and I walked out of the prison.
The lord's orders are absolute.
In a society of status, the difference in status is absolute.
I'm a low-ranking nobleman, a Viscount, and any attempt to upstage or rebel against will result in being hunted as a criminal throughout the kingdom.
It is not an exaggeration to say that there is no one who can resist the lord.
So, I must use my authority and notoriety to devise a strategy to survive.
******
A copper-skinned man throws down a soldier.
"Co on, next! Next!"
The man threw down the soldiers one after another. The faces of the soldiers were distorted.
"Captain, let's not do this anymore. Why is it always us doing the training that no one else does?..."
"What? Don't talk nonsense, co and get !"
Bente, the captain of a ten-man squadron, bent his index finger in a cooing motion to signal to the pleading soldier.
His face is smiling, but the soldier he's looking at seems as if he's about to start crying.
Imdiately, Bente puts his arm around the soldier's neck and strangles him.
"Ugh, ugh....Captain, I surrender...I surrender...."
"I told you not to say that word."
"Why are we always...training while everyone else is relaxing?"
"Don't be silly. We'll train on our own. It's training ti, right? Am I wrong?"
"You're right, but...."
When Bente questioned him, the soldier showed his tearful face again and Bente then smiled at him.
The soldiers had no choice but to confront Bente one by one and then they were thrown down.
All of Bente's n were more or less indebted to him.
In addition, they usually looked up to Bente as if he were their own big brother, so the soldiers went through the training even though they were complaining.
"I don't know anything about gambling or drinking. I'm training because I'm a soldier, and a soldier is supposed to be defending the territory, but every day I go into the city and take money from the sa people under the guise of a nobleman's order. Look, that's why we're training during the day and have a drink at night, that's how we're going to live! That's what life is all about! Hey, you guys! What are you looking at when people are talking?"
The soldiers opened their eyes wide, shook their heads, and pointed into the distance.
"Hey, isn't that Lieutenant Garne?"
"What, you want to get punched? I won't be fooled by your lies."
"It's true...."
Finally, Bente turned to look in the direction the soldiers were pointing.
There was his imdiate superior, Lieutenant Garne, walking toward him.
The two of them were on the worst of terms, as Bente was unhappy with everything, including his training policies.
"What can I do for you?"
"Assemble. That's enough playti for now, let's get moving."
Bente's head tilted as he tried to think of what kind of damage he could do today.
"What? I can't believe they're going to assemble at training ti. This is why our soldiers are so weak and can't fight properly. The other day...."
"Shut up. The previous commander, Baron Haddin, has been reinstated, and all troops in the territory have been ordered to assemble in front of the south gate. Now get moving!"
Lieutenant Garne, who was always proud of his white skin without coming out of the barracks, shouted that, interrupting Bente.
Bente turned his attention back to the soldiers.
"What does he an? Forr commander? Does anyone know anything about this?"
The soldiers who had been spotted could only stare at each other.
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