I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 114

Lion and Hunter (4)

* * *

“The trail ends here. I think we might find something if we get a little closer.”

I put down the branch I was holding.

The forest was dense with trees.

Oak, beech, and ash.

The thick canopy of branches and leaves made it hard to see far ahead.

“I’ll send out more scouts.”

Marshall said, dismounting from his horse.

“If we’re lucky, we’ll find them right away. If we’re not…”

“We’ll only know after they’ve attacked the village,” I said.

Two days after leaving young Henry’s camp, we were chasing the mercenary band sent by Geoffrey.

“Are you really sure the mercenaries will attack the village?” Marshall asked.

“Even if Duke Geoffrey is trying to sabotage the peace agreement, burning down Henry’s village seems extreme.”

“Didn’t they already try to discredit you? With those accusations of adultery?” I countered.

I had warned young Henry what Geoffrey’s strategy would be.

First, falsely accuse William Marshall of adultery with the Queen – something that happened in the original historical timeline.

The next likely step was a false flag operation [an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party].

Using his mercenaries to make it look like Richard attacked young Henry’s village.

‘That way, the war will be sure to continue,’ I thought.

Saying he disbanded the mercenaries was probably a lie to send them somewhere else.

The mercenary group continued to march south even after leaving the camp.

“His Majesty wouldn’t have believed such nonsense, whether you said it or not,” Marshall insisted.

“We’ll see,” I replied with a smile.

In the original history, young Henry eventually drove Marshall out.

William Marshall only returned after living as a wandering knight for several years.

But things were different now.

Marshall pretended to be driven out and joined me in chasing the mercenary band.

He couldn’t help but believe me since everything I predicted was coming true.

“How about we go back and formally raise this issue? If we can’t find the mercenaries, we won’t be able to do anything,” Marshall suggested.

“We’ll need solid evidence for that. There’s no better evidence than Geoffrey’s mercenaries caught in the act of attacking the village,” I said, shaking my head.

To stop the war, we had to expose Geoffrey’s actions to everyone.

To do that, we needed undeniable proof, just like when we exposed the Knights Templar.

“Then we need to find them quickly. Soon, they’ll realize you’re not at the camp.”

“We have to trust Aigre.”

I left the camp with only a few knights.

By now, Aigre would be wearing my helmet and armor, impersonating me.

It wouldn’t last long, though.

If he kept wearing the helmet, they would eventually become suspicious.

“It won’t be easy to strike the mercenaries when they attack the village,” Marshall said.

“We don’t have enough knights either. I can’t think of a good plan.”

“If only we had some bait to lure them…”

I looked around.

“For now, let’s focus on finding them. We can think about how to fight later.”

The traces of the mercenary band were faint.

Almost imperceptible even when I focused my intuition to the maximum.

“If we don’t find them in time, there will only be ashes left. They’ll burn the village and leave immediately.”

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe we’ve tracked them this far,” Marshall said with a faint smile.

“You’re very good at finding traces.”

“Let’s just say it’s a hunter’s instinct.”

That’s what intuition is like.

It’s quite useful when chasing something unseen.

As I was maximizing my intuition, I felt something: tension, excitement.

Hundreds of figures were approaching us.

Without even thinking, I waved my fist in the air.

“Everyone, prepare for the enemy!”

“Raise your weapons!”

The Jerusalem knights raised their swords and shields with practiced ease.

The horses neighed and reared up.

Marshall’s men were also momentarily startled before raising their weapons.

“What’s wrong, Lord Baldwin?”

“Someone is coming. At least two hundred, it seems,” I said, putting on my helmet.

Were they the mercenaries we were chasing?

It was possible they noticed we were tracking them and were launching a preemptive attack.

The grass rustled, and the sound of metal scraping against trees could be heard.

The knights all turned their heads towards the sound.

A cool air brushed against my skin.

Now I could sense the enemy even without intuition.

“There are many bandits in the forests around here, especially since the war started,” William said, mounting his horse.

“Usually, they travel in groups of dozens, but two hundred is too many for bandits.”

“It’s too late to leave the forest now,” I said, looking back.

Together, my knights and Marshall’s numbered about seventy.

On the plains, that was an overwhelming force, but in this narrow forest, the horses couldn’t maneuver properly.

Even with armor, it wouldn’t be easy to fight dismounted.

‘They’ll collapse from exhaustion in a few dozen minutes,’ I thought.

Even chainmail, not plate armor, was too heavy to wear and fight in for long periods.

Silence fell.

The sound of the undergrowth being disturbed continued.

The sound gradually grew closer, and startled birds flew up one by one.

And then the enemy appeared.

Clubs and hand axes.

Bows and grappling hooks.

Sturdy men revealed themselves.

They stopped in front of us, separated by a few trees.

Were they mercenaries?

Their equipment seemed too poor to be mercenaries.

But mercenaries didn’t necessarily have unified equipment in the first place.

You could become a mercenary with just a scythe or a rusty sword.

“Who are you?! Identify yourselves!” Marshall shouted, charging forward a few steps with his spear.

Startled by his momentum, the enemies hesitated and stepped back.

The knights all stared ahead, waiting for orders.

Just one word, and they would charge at the enemy.

“If you don’t identify yourselves immediately, we will consider you enemies!”

“This humble one greets the noble Sir William Marshall.”

A man stepped forward.

He looked to be in his early to mid-40s, with a sturdy build and a long mustache.

He seemed more charismatic than the others.

He must be the leader.

The man held a longbow in his hand.

“Do you know me?” Marshall asked him.

“I once served as an archer under young Henry. That was a few years ago, before the war and the plague.”

I walked forward.

I had a rough idea of who they were.

“You’re a band of brigands, aren’t you?”

These were people familiar with these mountains.

If they were mercenaries, they wouldn’t have been able to break through the undergrowth and approach so quickly.

“We are not a band of brigands who plunder villages,” the man said, his eyes blazing.

I could feel anger radiating from him.

Not brigands?

Hundreds of armed men living in the mountains looked suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

“We are merely survivors. Over the past few years, countless villages have burned down due to the ongoing plague and war. Countless…” The man paused for a moment.

“Children and people have lost their lives. On top of that, we had to pay taxes for the war. So we couldn’t stand it anymore and fled to this forest.”

His explanation continued.

They were definitely not ordinary brigands.

They gathered and sold fruits and herbs, hunted, and even had orchards.

“And we collected small tolls from passing merchants. We have never recklessly taken anyone’s life.”

“But this forest is still the property of the English royal family and His Majesty the King,” Marshall pointed out, still clutching his spear.

“No matter how pitiful your circumstances may be, arbitrarily occupying this sacred forest and robbing merchants is a crime. There’s no room for excuses.”

The slightly relaxed atmosphere became tense again.

Both the knights and the men raised their weapons and glared at each other.

“Sir Marshall, we don’t have time to fight here right now,” I said, stepping forward. Turning to the man, I asked, “What is your name?”

“I am called Kang, Your Grace.”

“Kang? That’s an unusual name.”

“It’s named after my hometown, Caen [a city in Normandy, France]. I’m using it instead of my old name.”

He said.

I felt an indescribable bitterness.

He seemed to have a story.

Everything the man said was true.

The plague and the war had driven people to flee to the forest with their families to survive.

The reason they hadn’t been suppressed yet was probably thanks to the war; the authorities wouldn’t have had the resources to send a suppression force to this forest.

Once the war ended, they were destined to be suppressed someday.

“I am Baldwin of the Royal Family of Jerusalem. I have come to stop the war that is taking place here.”

Hearing my words, Kang lowered his head.

“I greet the noble one who has come from the glorious holy city of Jerusalem.”

The men behind him awkwardly lowered their heads.

“I have heard many stories about you, Lord Baldwin. I heard that the Jerusalem army rescued villages attacked by mercenaries.”

“The stories you have heard are all true,” I said, shaking my head.

“But that’s not what’s important right now. Those living in this forest must have seen the mercenary band. A mercenary band passed through this forest last night or this morning. I think you would have seen them.”

“A group did pass through this forest this morning,” Kang said, pointing to one side of the forest with his finger.

“They turned west and went out that way.”

“I see. There’s one more thing I’m curious about,” I said, looking at him.

I didn’t expect him to lie with such a calm face.

“Why are you lying to me?”

“…”

Kang looked at me with a surprised expression.

He knelt before me.

“I would never dare to be disrespectful to Your Grace. I was merely testing the truth and falsehood of the stories about you…”

“So you wanted to test me. The situation is urgent, so let’s just move on,” I said with a smile.

“So, which way did they really go?”

“That way,” he said, pointing towards the east of the forest.

I nodded.

If it was this morning, we could catch up soon.

I looked at the men.

Better equipment than I thought, and their will to fight wasn’t bad either.

“Would you like to be forgiven for your sins?”

“Yes? What do you mean by being forgiven for our sins…”

“It wouldn’t be a bad offer for you,” I said with a smile.

At that moment, an idea flashed through my mind like lightning: the best bait to lure the mercenaries.

“Ah, and do you happen to have any money?”

* * *

Young Henry’s camp

“Does anyone suspect that the mercenaries have left?”

“Not yet. Even if they do, they won’t be able to say it out loud,” Bertrand said, biting into a chicken leg and looking at Geoffrey.

“Now that even that great Marshall has been kicked out, who would dare to speak out of turn?”

“Things are going too well. I can’t help but be worried no matter how I think about it,” Geoffrey said.

“Marshall has been watching over my brother since he was a kid. He even knighted him. Not an English king or a French king, but a mere knight,” he added.

“But he got rid of Marshall so easily.”

“You must know since you’re married, Duke Geoffrey,” Bertrand said with a burst of laughter, juice dripping onto his clothes.

“There’s nothing more frightening than another man having your wife. It’s like a rotten egg that you can’t forget. Isn’t that what all the popular poems are about? Women secretly sleep with priests and make new lovers while their husbands are away on the Crusades.”

“Well, what could be more frightening than not being able to leave behind your own bloodline?” Geoffrey said with a smile.

“They’re struggling to leave behind this cursed bloodline.”

“Cursed bloodline? Where could there be blood more noble than the blood flowing through your veins, Duke Geoffrey?”

“Spare me the flattery, Bertrand. Our family’s blood is cursed,” he growled.

“Our bloodline cannot love each other. Brothers are born to fight brothers, sons are born to fight fathers, and wives are born to fight husbands.”

“Wives and husbands don’t seem to be of the same bloodline.”

“Eventually, they’re the same bloodline,” Geoffrey said with a burst of laughter.

“My beloved mother divorced the King of France on the pretext of consanguinity [being descended from the same ancestor]. But isn’t my father closer in blood to my mother?”

“If His Holiness the Pope has permitted it, then it cannot be consanguinity.”

“Yes, it won’t be consanguinity until His Holiness recognizes it.”

Silence fell.

Geoffrey spoke again.

“Make sure you’re ready to move as soon as the news of the attack comes. We can’t give my brother a chance to come to his senses.”

“Of course, Your Grace,” Bertrand said.

“Many nobles have already turned to your side. With Marshall gone, there will be no one to stop you now.”

“Yes, that’s right. And remember this, Bertrand,” Geoffrey said, striding over and standing in front of Bertrand.

“You and I are in the same boat. If you have any foolish thoughts… You’ll have to write poetry with a severed tongue.”