The Biography of Albrecht - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Translator: Nezu

Editor: Daed

***

Albrecht was forced to turn his horse around. As he looked over the battlefield, he saw about hundred bodies sprawled across the ground in the right flank and center section. Most of them were the bodies of their enemies. When their enemies had retreated, they had run after them to cause a large number of casualties. However, after the horn for retreating was heard, they had no choice but to stop.

Now was the right time to break the enemy’s left flank formation and have their right flank push through the enemy’s center. If they stayed a little longer, they would be able to give their enemy an unrecoverable blow.

So why the heck was the retreat horn sounded? Albrecht was seething in rage.

Nevertheless, they had claimed victory for their first battle as the little king’s army was the one that remained standing on the battlefield. Their trumpet’s call didn’t actually mean that they should retreat; rather, it meant to tell them to stop chasing after the enemies.

The soldiers looked at Albrecht who returned to them with both admiration and fear. But out of nowhere, a soldier shouted.

“Knight King!”

Then several soldiers joined in, and soon all the soldiers followed.

“Knight King! Knight King!”

Albrecht, hearing his title ‘Knight King’ being called, strode towards Sigmund confidently, with one hand on the hilt of his axe and the other on the axe’s head. The knights followed him.

As he walked towards Sigmund to ask him why the horn sounded, he saw their left flank. He was taken aback. Their left flank was as messed up as the enemy’s left flank.

“Randolph, take our knights back to the garrison. Get some rest. I’m going to check our left flank.”

“Yes, Master.”

He rode his horse in a hurry, passed through the center, and saw Sigmund and his vassals looking at him.

The usually relaxed Sigmund stared at him in disbelief, while his vassals watched Albrecht with awe, fear, and vigilance as if he was some kind of monster.

A large number of people gathered on the rear of the left flank. After alighting from Schwarz, Albrecht approached them and the people around him gave way.

Otto was lying on the ground with blood dripping from his mouth. Adelmar supported him with tears in his eyes. Otto’s armor was stripped off him and severe stab wounds from spears were all over his body. A doctor was administering first aid with a cloth and bandages, but his wounds didn’t look good.

Albrecht bent his knees and looked at him. Otto turned his head with difficulty and looked at Albrecht, straining himself to speak.

“W-what a shame. Cough.”

Albrecht looked at Otto without a word then at the doctor. The doctor shook his head. Otto spoke with a forced smile.

“Heh. S-still, I’m fortunate enough… to die… on the battlefield. Cough.”

Albrecht remained silent. What was there for him to say? Otto spoke again, squeezing out the last of his strength.

“Can I… leave the little king… in your hands?”

As Otto finished speaking, the surrounding vassals looked at Albrecht’s mouth. Right now, Albrecht’s answer could change the political direction.

Various thoughts flashed through Albrecht’s head in an instant. The image of the immature little king, the mother of the king who sheltered him, the capable Sigmund, and Otto, now dying before his eyes.

Albrecht’s mouth moved absentmindedly.

“I’m sorry.”

Unexpectedly, Otto smiled.

“You could at least lie… while I’m still alive. Cough.”

Otto breathed his last. His head turned towards the sky. His eyes looked at the sky, lifeless. Adelmar choked back tears and several of Otto’s vassals shed tears.

Albrecht stood up in a daze and staggered back to the garrison. Were he and Otto friends? Did he have to swear to him? Should he have promised him? He didn’t think so.

It was a different feeling from the guilt he felt for leaving Diego because of his inadequacies. Suddenly, he remembered the first time he met Otto, and how he sympathized with him as he shared his vow to Eric.

Albrecht was drawn to good-natured or innocent people who acted ahead of their times. Otto was one of them.

Without realizing it, he soon entered the premises of their garrison. People flocked to him, chanting ‘Knight King! Knight King!’.

His body was covered in blood, and blood was dripping from his axe. He headed to his tent in that condition when Randolph approached him. He, too, was almost completely covered in blood.

“Master, what’s the matter?”

Albrecht only shook his head.

“You should wash off the blood first. I’ll get you some water.”

Albrecht nodded without a word.

Randolph was convinced that something was wrong with his Master. He came up to the latter and silently took his axe. When Albrecht entered the tent, he helped him take off his armor. He soaked a towel and wiped off the blood from Albrecht’s face and body.

Albrecht suddenly looked at Randolph. Then he began to hear the noises from outside clearly.

With a slight smile, he said, “It’s gross so knock it off. Get out. I’ll do it myself.”

Randolph felt a bit relieved when he saw his Master smiling. He smiled before he left the tent, saying, “Master, if we win this war, please tell me your age.”

Albrecht was left speechless for a moment but he certainly felt a bit better.

“Haha, fine.”

When Randolph left, Albrecht felt bitter again. He was only here to fight for the Wittenheim people. That was all he needed to focus on. Anything other than that was none of his business. He tried to repeat those thoughts over and over.

The next day, Albrecht attended a meeting. This time, he sat directly in front of Sigmund. A person without a territory was in charge of the right flank yet no one among the lords complained even when they were a rank higher than him.

Adelmar was nominated as the new commander of the left flank but as he wasn’t able to cope emotionally, one of Sigmund’s vassals was assigned instead.

The meeting was about the reorganization of the remaining troops. There were about 60 casualties. Most of them were from the left flank. Four of Albrecht’s knights were killed and two were wounded. Most of them appeared to have suffered from the first collision.

The number of people in the left and right flank were adjusted. Although troops were usually deployed to the right flank, after seeing Albrecht’s prowess, Sigmund thought that it was unnecessary to send troops to the right flank in addition to its knights. Albrecht agreed.

Then came the discussion about the knight with plate armor. Sigmund spoke.

“The man with the plate armor is Manfred von Vanhenheim. The head of Vanhenheim, the renowned warrior family.”

Vanhenheim. That family again. I’m so sick and tired of them.

From Michael to Ludwig, and now Manfred. Albrecht thought about how he had become particularly involved with them since he came to the Central Region.

“Where in the world did he get that plate armor?”

“I don’t know either. Even the spies were unaware of this. Maybe they brought it over and wore it on the day of the battle.”

Albrecht heard from one of his knights that one plate armor was as valuable as a piece of land. However, in reality, it was worth more than that. It was because no matter how much they wanted to get one, they couldn’t. The expression that plate armor was ‘worth a piece of land’ came from the old days when the king of Veles traded for it with a piece of land.

Rumor had it that dwarves didn’t make things to receive money in return. They only made special items for the friends that they have acknowledged.

There are only a few plate armors in the entire Northern Continent and they are all nearly invincible against spears, an equipment that a knight could dream of.

“Send me to the left. I don’t care if that knight has plate armor, I’ll destroy it.”

Albrecht spoke with a gleam in his eyes but Sigmund shook his head.

“I recognize your strength. No, actually it was way beyond my expectations. But if we’re stalled, we’ll lose. We’re still outnumbered. Continue to take charge of the right flank.”

Though Albrecht thought that he was strong enough to defeat the knight, Sigmund’s decision as the commander-in-chief was indisputable. They wouldn’t be able to win a battle of attrition. He could only feel that it was a pity in his heart.

After the meeting, Albrecht headed towards the soldiers’ barracks with Randolph. Along the way, he saw prisoners inside the civilians’ tents.

Although this was an era where there were no human rights, it was still quite awful to see them. Several prisoners were almost naked and wore tortured devices tied to their necks and wrists. To prevent them from escaping, chains were tied around their ankles attached to posts. They all crouched down with their heads down.

Filth and spoiled food were smeared on their faces and bodies. No place on their body was clean. It was obvious that they had been beaten a lot.

Albrecht reached his hand out to Randolph and took his axe. He broke the torture devices and cut the chains. They were already exhausted but they still looked at Albrecht with weak-looking eyes.

People flocked around him and watched what Albrecht was planning to do. At that moment, a soldier rushed through the crowd and spoke.

“Commander… what…”

The soldier responsible for the prisoners didn’t know what to make of the situation. However, Albrecht didn’t seek understanding.

“We have fought bravely on the battlefield but it’s another thing to bully those who can no longer resist. This is dishonorable. Bring some clothes that they could wear right away.”

Whether the soldier understood or not, it didn’t matter. Who was the one who made the order, and who would dare disobey? He quickly ran to get some clothes.

Albrecht said to a woman who was among the onlookers, “Please bring a bowl of water.”

The woman went to a nearby tent and returned with a bowl of water from a drinking bucket. Albrecht took it and handed it to a prisoner.

The prisoner took it with shaky hands and looked back-and-forth at the bowl and Albrecht.

“You can drink it.”

The prisoner took a sip. Then he handed it to the prisoner next to him, who gulped it all down. Albrecht asked for another bowl and let the other prisoners drink water.

Soon, the soldier came back and handed over the clothes to Albrecht. Albrecht gave them to the prisoners.

“Get dressed. You will be released. I’ll take you outside the garrison.”

The people gathered around them and continued to watch. They didn’t understand Albrecht’s actions but they felt an inexplicable feeling inside their hearts.

Albrecht guided the prisoners out of the garrison. The soldiers guarding the entrance had no choice but to let them go with confused expressions. After the first battle, Albrecht became an untouchable presence to the soldiers and knights.

When they passed by the entrance of the garrison and saw the battlefield, they saw that most of the dead bodies were naked. The soldiers had already taken all the equipment.

“Now go wherever you want to go. It’s your choice to go back to King Leopold to fight us again or to return to your homeland and live with your families. Go. You’ve done enough.”

The prisoners didn’t understand their situation at all but they shed tears at the overwhelming feeling they felt. They couldn’t say anything back to Albrecht and only bowed down to express their gratitude. Soon, they left.

***