The Biography of Albrecht - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Translator: Nezu

Editor: Daed

***

Albrecht and Randolph led the way, with a wagon and the men of the village—no—soldiers in tow. They were heading north. Though Albrecht didn’t have a map nor did he know the geography of this area, he knew the way to the main garrison after seeing it on his way from the city of Roybeck to Penbacht.

He thought of bypassing where the army of King Leopold was, hoping that the mobile city was still where he last saw it so he could see Otto and Adelmar.

Though the mornings and nights were cold, the spirit of winter had definitely receded now.

“Hey, can you still wear your armor?”

“It’s a little stuffy, but I can still wear it.”

“We’re still a long way from our destination. There will be merchants in the garrison so you’ll be able to look for armor that fits you.”

“Alright.”

It had been a while since Albrecht last used his helmet. His shield was fastened to his back and his two swords were on one side of his waist while the axe was on the other.

Randolph scraped off the outer layer and family crest on Ludwig’s shield, and hung it on his back. He dumped Michael’s sword and instead carried two lances he received from Albrecht.

“By the way, what’s the name of your village?”

“What? Uh…”

It had no name. It was just a place where they decided to settle down after fleeing from Penbacht. It was a little difficult to still call it ‘Penbacht’.

Albrecht looked back at the leader and asked, “What’s the name of our village?”

The squad leader carrying Ludwig’s sword, who was listening to their conversation, answered, “How about calling it Wittenheim since the lake’s called Wittenheim?”

Albrecht answered with a smile, “Then from now on, we’re calling it Wittenheim.”

The soldiers, who were slightly tired from walking, smiled at once.

Their schedule had been divided into three parts. They walked for half of the day, rested and ate for a quarter of the day, and walked again for the rest of the day, advancing towards the North.

They needed to move faster in order to bypass King Leopold’s army and meet up with the little king’s army. Albrecht predicted that a battle would occur in March once the weather turned warm, but it was still a wild guess.

Their efforts would be wasted though once the war happens and the other side ends up winning. It would lead to a very awkward and difficult situation.

On the fourth day of their journey, they encountered a passing merchant and asked him for directions.

“Excuse me. Do you know where the little king’s army is stationed?”

“’Little king’? Ah, do you mean the young King Conrad?”

He must have the same name as his late father. If so, then what the refugee told me before was right.

The refugee family had told him that King Conrad and King Leopold were fighting. Later, Adelmar told him that a war broke out after King Conrad’s death, so he had thought that the refugee family only got the story half-right. However, with this information, it seemed that it was actually completely correct. Though, it was unknown whether they really knew it or not.

There was no reason why he was called the ‘Little King’. People often referred to him as such and so it just became his nickname.

Albrecht and the Wittenheim men called him ‘the little king’ since they didn’t know his name, but he was indeed called ‘the little king’.

“Yes.”

“It would take you a day to travel from here. If you go west, you’ll reach the main road. Follow the main road to the north. Then you’ll see the Little King’s soldiers guarding the base.”

“Thank you.”

Albrecht was just about to go when the merchant asked him.

“Are you perhaps… going to join the Little King’s army?”

“We are, why?”

The merchant thought that they came from a far away village so they hadn’t heard the news yet. Since he was going to share some information, he decided to hold out his hand.

Albrecht, knowing what it meant, gave him a few silver coins. A few copper coins were enough but he knew that the merchant wouldn’t leave out a single detail if he gave him more.

As expected, the merchant spoke with a grin.

“Actually, the Little King is almost as good as losing. King Leopold confidently declared that if he wins the war, he would take all the lands of his enemies and give them to the lords who joined him in the war. On the other hand, the Little King… is little, right?”

Certainly, he ascended to the throne, but he was still young. Furthermore, his power and authority over his vassals were weak. According to the merchant, many of the Little King’s vassals were actually working for King Leopold.

“His side did have a little bit of hope when the Little King’s distant relative, Great Lord Sigmund, decided to join him. However, King Leopold now has an army of nearly a thousand, whereas the Little King is said to only have about six hundred. Isn’t he bound to lose then?”

The Great Lord Sigmund was said to be above many lords and was almost considered a king. However, he never claimed to be a king, so Albrecht wasn’t interested in him.

According to the merchant, the Little King would probably have surrendered by now if the Great Lord Sigmund hadn’t  joined him. The Great Lord led 300 men—half of the Little King’s army.

“I see. However, we have already decided to join the war with the Little King. Still, thank you for telling us. We’ll be on our way now.”

From a merchant’s standpoint, their decision was incomprehensible. But what could he do? The merchant said his goodbye as well and left.

“Good luck.”

Albrecht didn’t think too much of what the merchant said, but Randolph and the rest of the soldiers who followed him had worried expressions when they heard the merchant’s words.

They followed the merchant’s advice to look for the main road. They walked for a day, camped overnight, then headed north again in the morning. Soon, they saw a few armed men in the distance. When they spotted Albrecht, one climbed a horse and approached them. It was a knight.

“I am Adalbert, a knight of King Conrad’s army. Please state your identity.”

“I am Albrecht von Hoenkaltern, leading an army from Wittenheim to join the war.”

“Albrecht from Kaltern! Are you that Albrecht, the Knight King who killed Michael in a duel?”

“I did kill Michael. In Roybeck, people did call me the King of Knights.”

The knight, Adalbert, seemed surprised and couldn’t stop himself from speaking quickly.

“Pardon me. I have to go and notify the leaders first so forgive me for not being able to guide you for now.”

The knight then proceeded to ride north of the garrison. On his way, he told the other soldiers to let the group pass through. Albrecht actually felt good since he rarely heard the title ‘Vertical Mangler’ these days.

However, Randolph and the Wittenheim soldiers were confused.

“Master, why did he call you ‘Knight King’? And say that you killed Michael?”

“I don’t like to brag about myself. Go ask the people inside the garrison.”

Randolph and the soldiers of Wittenheim knew that Albrecht was a remarkable man since they had already seen his skills with their own eyes. Yet they had never thought that he would be so famous in the world outside their village.

No matter how great he was, they still treated him normally. However, now they looked at him differently once they realized that he was famous to the people outside.

This world reacted differently to people’s fame since paper was scarce and recordkeeping was poor. As information was mainly passed through word of mouth, it was incredible for a person to have a big reputation.

Famous mercenaries or warriors were almost as famous as mythical heroes. Over time, they would become legends. Albrecht was already on the road to becoming a legend.

***

The garrison could be seen from a distance. It was located in an area slightly higher than its surroundings. Since there were 600 soldiers, it seemed that there were almost 3,000 people inside it, including the families of the soldiers and merchants who followed them.

Albrecht speculated that if this was ever recorded in history on Earth, this number might have been mistaken as the number of soldiers that had been mobilized. For example, it might be recorded that the Little King’s army of 3000 fought against King Leopold’s army of 5000.

The garrison was actually a mobile city. People ate, slept, and lived there. If the war continued for a long time, babies born here would be part of the army as well.

Albrecht was overwhelmed by this. He experienced a culture shock, thinking of more possibilities in this mobile city. It left a deep impression on him, and he didn’t know whether it was good or bad.

Knights and nobles were seen standing in front of the garrison. Otto and Adelmar were standing in front of them. Otto’s face was expressionless yet his eyes alone expressed that he was happy. On the other hand, Adelmar’s expression was enough to express how happy he was.

“Sir Albrecht!”

He rode his horse forward and stopped near Albrecht to give him a hug. Albrecht awkwardly hugged him back.

Why is this guy acting like this?

Despite his thoughts, Albrecht was actually pleased as well.

“Thank you so much for coming! Sir Albrecht, you have no idea how big of a help you would be to us!”

Albrecht thought that his reputation, however great it was, was being overestimated. It might have been that their small numbers made them depressed and the participation of such a famous knight boosted their morale. A high morale on the battlefield was very helpful whereas low morale courted disaster.

They needed a source of hope to convince themselves of victory. Albrecht’s appearance was probably the hope that they needed.

“Anyway, this man over here is…?”

“He’s Randolph. My squire.”

Randolph bowed slightly. Adelmar also looked at the Wittenheim army behind Albrecht.

“They are soldiers from Wittenheim. It’s the place where I stayed. They came here to help. I actually would like to meet King Conrad to ask him for a favor.”

Adelmar was a bit surprised after hearing Albrecht’s words.

“O-of course. Since you came here to fight for the king, you’re welcome to see him.”

Albrecht rode his horse alongside Adelmar, followed by Randolph and the rest of the soldiers.

“So glad to see you!”

As they approached Otto, Otto immediately hugged him as well.

Why is this old man acting like this too?

It was fine when Adelmar acted like this, but Albrecht thought that it was a bit too much that the old man acted like this as well. However, he was happy. A smile naturally formed on his face.

Albrecht walked side by side with Otto and Adelmar towards the garrison, where the knights and other nobles greeted him and stared at him, treating him like a celebrity.

He was a man who sliced a fully armed knight in half vertically. He won against a hundred men in the city of Roybeck. He was the one who killed the invincible knight, Michael, in a duel.

Albrecht had no idea how much they revered him.

At the end of the crowd of nobles and knights, a man was waiting in front of his horse. Behind him were men mounted on their horses carrying flags symbolizing their families.

***