The Biography of Albrecht - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Translator: Nezu

Editor: Daed

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“S-sir Knight. You could have called me…”

The man seemed to be the infantry captain, and he seemed to be in panic. Though the proper hierarchical system was yet to be applied in this era, there was already a concept of veterans and rookies.

The soldiers’ military formation wasn’t as perfect as the phalanx formation from Greece or Rome. Instead, it was arranged by forming three to four rows with 12 people.

A platoon of 12 men was under the command of a squad leader. Squad leaders were under the command of an infantry captain, who were under the command of the nobles. In battle, it was their job to yell out whether the soldiers should advance, charge, or retreat according to the commander-in-chief’s command.

Infantry commanders or squad leaders weren’t appointed by the people above; they were chosen by the men they led.

Though a noble or a knight could interfere and have them replaced, it hardly ever happened, and to do so would instead lead to their demise.

Since lives were at stake, soldiers unexpectedly chose people to be their leaders in a reasonable manner.

Albrecht answered with a grin, “I didn’t come here for anything. I’m just looking around. Let’s go eat breakfast if everyone hasn’t eaten yet.”

Albrecht planned to have breakfast with the soldiers before leaving. This time, the infantry captain panicked even more, because their meals weren’t exactly palatable to the nobles.

When they reached the area where the meals were served, there were already soldiers in line for food. Albrecht grabbed a wooden bowl and lined up behind them.

The infantry captain was at a loss for words. If he invited Albrecht to go to the front and get their meals served first, he would see their terrible meal. However, that didn’t mean that he should let a knight wait in line behind the soldiers.

Albrecht looked at him and smiled, “You don’t have to be so restless. I’m fine.”

The soldiers were all over the place watching Albrecht. If they had phones, they would have already taken pictures of him.

Soon it was Albrecht’s turn to get the soup. He saw the hand of the soldier in charge of distributing the meal shake. Then a hard bread was given to him and that was it. A bowl of soup and hard bread.

As the infantry captain had feared, their meal was indeed terrible. The soup was even dark blue, making one wonder what was inside it. There was even hair. The bread was also a bit moldy.

Albrecht couldn’t control his reaction. His face turned stiff. He deliberately chose to go to where the soldiers were gathered to eat with them, to eat like them. However, the infantry captain handed him a spoon with his two hands. It seemed like the one he used himself.

“Thanks. I’ll use it well.”

The other infantry captains also came over to eat with him. The soldiers gathered around them and watched Albrecht eat. They watched his every move with curiosity.

What kind of person was this man with the title ‘King of Knights’? Did he really fight and win against a hundred people? How good a fighter was he that he even managed to kill Michael, the invincible knight, in a duel? How strong was he that he could split a man in half vertically?

Amid the admiring gazes of the soldiers, Albrecht immediately regretted his actions after sipping one scoop of the soup.

I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.

However, there was no going back now. He squeezed out his strength, trying to control his facial expression. Randolph, next to him, was already retching. He quickly gave up eating the soup but Albrecht couldn’t.

He silently fished out the hair in the soup and shook the mold off the bread. This was his first time having such a hard time while eating.

It even seemed more mentally straining than when he fought in the city of Roybeck. He barely managed to finish it when the infantry captain beside him asked him, “Would you like another bowl?”

His mind shouted ‘no way’ but his head had already nodded. The infantry captain smiled, baring his yellow teeth, and gave him another bowl.

Albrecht’s strong body struggled to hold the bowl, his hand trembling.

At that moment, one of the soldiers shouted.

“Guess even the King of Knights has a tough time eating garbage!”

“Wahahaha!”

Roaring laughter filled the room. Albrecht shouted in reply.

“This is harder than dealing with a hundred mercenaries! You guys are heroes for eating shit like this every day!”

Albrecht wasn’t offended by  the soldier’s bold words and even replied briskly. The soldiers quickly warmed up to him.

“We’re no heroes! That infantry captain in front of you can’t even sleep without holding three prostitutes a day!” An infantry captain shouted.

“Which rascal said that!”

“Wahahaha!”

The laughter became louder this time.

The soldiers, who had completely loosened up, uttered all kinds of indecent remarks. Albrecht laughed with them as well. The soldiers became happy when the famous knight treated them cordially.

On modern Earth, it was common for politicians or generals to eat with the soldiers. However, this world was especially observant of their social standing.

Rather than putting on a show to gain their loyalty, Albrecht thought that he shouldn’t treat them any differently since they were going to fight alongside him.

Though they looked almost like gangsters and seemed like they didn’t care, they were still the ones who were going to risk their lives to fight for the king. They deserved to get at least some respect.

The soldiers clamored for a long while until Albrecht heard a voice.

“Sir Albrecht!”

It was Adelmar.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m having breakfast.”

Adelmar stared at him with a dubious expression, wondering why he was doing this. He pulled his coat over his nose, frowning at the sight of the infamous ‘garbage porridge’.

“Don’t tell me that you ate that…?”

“I did. Want a bowl too, Sir Adelmar?”

Adelmar shook his head, “No thanks. Anyway, let’s go to the command post. We’re going to have a meeting.”

Albrecht stood up and turned to the soldiers.

“It was nice to meet you all. I’ll come again and eat with you guys.”

Though he wanted to avoid eating the garbage porridge again, he wanted to come visit them again. He decided to eat with them once a day. I’ll probably get used to it the more I eat it.

Following Adelmar, Albrecht and Randolph headed for the command post. The trip to the command post was different than when they had first arrived. A map was placed on a large table, as well as chess pieces indicating the troops.

It looks a bit like something.

Unexpectedly, the map showed that King Leopold’s base was not far from where they were.

Sigmund sat at one end of the table with lords who held quite a reputation—including Otto—sitting on both sides. Behind them stood what looked like adjutants. Albrecht took a seat at the other end of the table.

They showed no objection to the fact that it was unconventional for a non-lord to participate in the meeting. Albrecht let Randolph in and let him stand behind him.

When the last person they were waiting for finally sat down, Sigmund looked at him and spoke.

“Sir Albrecht, I heard that you killed a hundred mercenaries by yourself. Is that true?”

To question one’s reputation was an insult to the person concerned. The lords were slightly taken aback.

“Why don’t you see it for yourself?”

Sigmund smiled slightly.

“I’m just asking. But since I’ve heard of your achievements many times now, it probably is true.”

Sigmund readjusted his expression and looked at the map.

“King Leopold’s army is advancing surprisingly fast. According to the intelligence, he believes that the reputation of Sir Albrecht is true and has already heard that Sir Albrecht has joined us. He’s determined to prevent more war veterans from joining us before the battle starts.”

The lords listened to Sigmund with solemn expressions. Albrecht thought that Sigmund was certainly a great man. To use the word ‘intelligence’ meant that he recognized the importance of intelligence warfare. In a world where there were no proper educational institutions, let alone military academies, having such an insight meant that his abilities were outstanding.

Sigmund stole a glance at Albrecht and asked again, “In Sir Albrecht’s opinion, can we win?”

Albrecht had no choice but to admit Sigmund’s competence. Unlike earlier, he lowered his eyes and looked at him calmly.

“We can.”

“Why? Because you’re a good fighter?”

Albrecht recalled what he told Otto yesterday, that King Leopold might be having the same kind of internal problems as they have.

“All that aside, it’s because they’re disorganized.”

Sigmund asked him again, this time with a gleam in his eyes.

“What do you mean they’re ‘disorganized’?”

“King Leopold’s army of a thousand men was gathered because of his declaration. Each and every one of them are only thinking about their own interests. Virtually anybody and everybody has decided to join their army. With that kind of mindset, they’re only thinking of the gains after the war—which means that they have no solidarity, and they probably wouldn’t fight hard to the point of risking their lives.”

Sigmund fell quiet for a moment and simply stared at Albrecht with his elbows leaning on the arm of his chair and his chin slightly tilted up.

“So, what’s the best course of action to take?”

“It’s true that their number is an advantage over us for now. They are going to want to wrap it quickly because they’re hoping to get their rewards. They’ll come at us even if we don’t make a move. Hence, we must gather our troops in front of our garrison and bring this war to an end. We’re in a slightly advantageous position since the terrain here is slightly higher than its surroundings. Not to mention that our soldiers will fight tooth and nail for the sake of their families. We can triumph over our enemies by beating their shallow morale.”

The lords’ faces brightened a little as if they had just seen some hope. Otto looked at him with eyes that seemed to say that he was seeing Albrecht in a new light.

Sigmund stared at Albrecht for a long time in silence. Then he gently stroked his beard.

“Sir Albrecht. Take over command on the right flank.”

“Gr-great Lord,” one of the lords said in bewilderment.

In this era, the right flank was usually commanded by the commander-in-chief. It was also where the main knights were placed. The center was headed by the most reliable person, commonly referred to as the ‘king’s left arm’. The ‘king’s right arm’ referred to the commander-in-chief’s adjutant.

The so-called center and the left flank played the role of the anvil while the right flank played the hammer.

The bewildered lord seemed to be one of Sigmund’s vassals. Sigmund continued, not caring about the words of his lackey.

“I’ll take charge of the center. Then I’ll leave the left flank to Lord Otto.”

Though Sigmund was still the commander-in-chief, it seemed like Albrecht was the commander-in-chief instead and Sigmund was like his left arm.

The surrounding lords were more surprised with this unconventional personnel arrangement than the person himself. Will he take it? Does he have any ulterior motives?

Sigmund looked at the panic-stricken lords and said, “What are you so surprised about? It’s true that we’re low in numbers. The commander of the right flank should have the most offensive power. Usually that important position is given to the commander-in-chief, but I should give it to another person if he’s more suitable for it. With Sir Albrecht’s military arts and insight, he’s perfectly suited to take command of the right flank. We’ll lose the same anyway if our plans fail, even if I take the right flank.”

In fact, everything that Albrecht shared was already within his expectations. However, he thought that it wasn’t enough. No matter how shallow the morale of the enemy was, they needed a solid attack. They needed to be aggressive to break it down, which was why he was eyeing Albrecht.

If he had simply believed in his courage, Sigmund wouldn’t have given Albrecht the right flank. However, after hearing Albrecht’s words, though he wasn’t sure, he could tell that they could win.

He was bold and decisive. Albrecht felt a different kind of trembling from the one he had felt during his duel with Michael. Sigmund made a decisive move after knowing he could win.

Michael risked his own life, but Sigmund was responsible for many lives. This included everything that he owned.

Albrecht’s mind unconsciously focused on Sigmund.