The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 85

Chapter 12: Submersion – The Throwing Bastard

Raven Forest.

Lush trees stretched out in all directions.

The green canopy, thick enough to obscure the sky, billowed and swayed, occasionally swallowing the blue sky from view.

Even in broad daylight, the surroundings were dim, as if dusk had already settled, and the obstructed view induced a sense of claustrophobia.

The occasional caw of a crow incessantly amplified the lurking fear in the depths of human consciousness.

Aiden, the captain of Liang’s guard.

Currently also serving as the vice-commander of the Guardian Forces, his life had recently been turned upside down.

The city hall, which had always been swayed by the Merchant Guild. Mayor Yuron, who suddenly seemed like a different person. The guard, whose budget was slashed, becoming a laughingstock.

Aiden, who had taken pride in protecting the free city of Liang, felt his life was fading away meaninglessly.

However, a noble from a nearby territory visited and completely changed the city.

Within a week of setting foot in the city, he took down Guildmaster Haman, whom they hadn’t even dared to dream of touching.

He raided the Blood Moon black market and eradicated the slave system that had been plaguing the city.

He even defeated Greed, a Twilight executive disguised as the mayor, in a fierce battle and rescued the real Mayor Yuron, who was like family to him.

To Aiden, regardless of the public’s opinion of Baron Henon Lloyd, he was a benefactor whom he could trust and follow.

However, even Aiden had doubts and skepticism about this advance into Raven Forest.

Currently, Liang had barely survived the ancient cursed monster and was constantly at odds with the Merchant Guild in the aftermath.

The reason for sending the newly formed Guardian Forces, numbering three thousand, to Baron Lloyd was purely to repay the favor he had done for them.

But what if the Guardian Forces were attacked by elves during the Raven Forest expedition and were destroyed?

The merchants would all rise up and denounce Mayor Yuron for making the wrong decision, and the establishment of the Guardian Forces, organized for the sake of public authority and Liang’s defense, would be rendered meaningless.

Liang’s dispatch of the Guardian Forces had so many issues at stake.

Did Baron Lloyd really know how the political situation in eastern Arnia was unfolding?

Did he really have a plan to walk into the Raven Forest, where the forest race, the elves, were lurking?

As he fidgeted with anxiety, Mercenary Captain Rakan suddenly appeared and spoke to him.

“You seem very anxious.”

Aiden, feeling as though his inner thoughts had been exposed, sighed deeply and replied.

“You’ve seen right through me. You’re right, Captain Rakan. I don’t distrust Baron Lloyd, but generally speaking, it’s rare to march a large army into the forest without a solid plan.”

Mercenary Captain Rakan simply smiled at Aiden’s words. Aiden questioned his strangely relaxed attitude.

“You seem at peace, Captain Rakan. Did you guys perhaps devise a different plan without me knowing?”

“Haha! How could that be? I, too, jumped into the forest trusting only in my lord, just like you, Captain Aiden.”

“If that’s the case, then you must feel the same way as I do. The Blue Hawk Mercenary Company is your everything, isn’t it? I wonder what you’ll do if you’re annihilated here.”

Rakan, hearing Aiden’s words, put his hands behind his back and looked at the distant sky.

“I’m human too, so how could I not be anxious? But I clearly witnessed it during the territorial war surrounding Albus Castle.”

“Witnessed what?”

“A miracle.”

He paused for a moment and continued.

“Really, no one expected anything from him. Does that even make sense? One side was leading thousands of troops, and the other side had only three people.”

“I’ve heard bits and pieces about the territorial war, but…”

“Hearing about it isn’t the same as experiencing it. At the time, my lord didn’t even have a title. He had the honor of being discharged from the north, but he was still labeled as a bastard and a good-for-nothing.”

Rakan’s eyes were filled with trust as he spoke about Henon.

“You should have seen it. He rode in alone and shouted to open the castle gates. With just that one sentence, Albus Castle, which was like an iron fortress, crumbled.”

“Indeed.”

“So, I’m thinking like this. Which is more difficult, this Raven Forest advance or the fall of Albus Castle?”

“Are you saying that the fall of Albus Castle was more difficult?”

“That’s right. My lord, who conquered Albus Castle, will easily overcome this obstacle. He must have prepared countermeasures in advance. That’s the mindset I had when I entered the forest.”

Afterward, Aiden spoke with Zion and Campbell as well. As Baron Lloyd’s exclusive maid and knight, they were even more extreme than Rakan. They nodded, saying they would jump into the fire with Henon.

‘Am I lacking faith?’

Perhaps it was because he had known Baron Lloyd for a shorter time than Zion, Campbell, and Rakan. Even so, he didn’t want to continue feeling this uneasy. In the end, he couldn’t bear it and went to Henon to confess honestly.

“Oh dear. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t been able to pay attention to that. I apologize.”

Baron Lloyd scratched the back of his head with a good-natured smile. Aiden felt relieved at that expression. However, Aiden’s peace of mind was shattered by Henon’s next words.

“I don’t have any countermeasures. I plan to rely on my gut feeling to navigate the Raven Forest until we reach Twin Tail Valley at the end.”

Aiden’s vision went dark. Henon, seeing Aiden’s expression, grinned and suggested.

“You’ve come at a good time. I was getting bored, so let’s play some Pitch-Pot. I recently learned about it, and it’s quite fun.”

Aiden was already feeling uneasy, and now he was suddenly being asked to play a game he had never heard of. Aiden tried to refuse, waving his hands.

“It’s alright. Maybe next time…”

“Let’s play together. This is an order.”

A strange green light flashed in his eyes.

A suffocating pressure.

Aiden was dumbfounded.

What kind of commander uses his authority to play with his adjutant?

“If you insist that much, I have no choice. Please tell me what Pitch-Pot is.”

“It’s simple. Originally, it’s a game where you throw sticks into a pot, but I’d like to change the rules slightly.”

“In what way?”

“Instead of a pot, I’ll set targets for you. The first one to hit the target with a spear gets 1 point. Once you hit a target, that’s it. Then I’ll set another target.”

The rules were simple, so Aiden understood immediately.

“Alright. Who goes first?”

“I’ll go first.”

Henon pointed to an oak tree two hundred paces away.

“See the thickest branch? Let’s try to hit that.”

“The target is more specific than I thought.”

“Of course. It’s a game, so it can’t be too easy, can it?”

Henon put a lot of strength into the arm holding the spear. His biceps became firm, and his veins bulged. As if to prove that he was an Expert-level master, he even infused mana to ensure stability.

“I’m throwing.”

Whoosh!

The spear shot out like a ray of light. Air swirled and was sucked in along its trajectory. Perhaps because it was filled with mana, it sounded like a firecracker exploding.

The spear, gliding with an emerald glow, accurately hit the oak branch that was its target. A thick branch the size of a human torso snapped off. The branch fell with a roar.

Thud!

Eventually, it fell to the ground.

“Amazing. A direct hit.”

Aiden outwardly gave a perfunctory compliment, but inwardly he thought it was only natural.

An Expert-level master should be able to perform at that level with various weapons besides a sword.

Even Aiden, who was also an Expert-level master, could do it easily with a little concentration.

“!!!”

However, it didn’t take long for Aiden’s eyes, which had been consistently indifferent, to widen in shock.

The thick oak branch.

It had caused a strong impact on the ground as it fell.

Cracks formed around the point of impact, and then the entire ground collapsed!

There were many sharpened bamboo spears stuck in the sunken ground.

Surprisingly, it was a trap that the elves had set up in advance.

Henon, seeing Aiden’s gaping mouth, made a V-sign with his fingers and gave a faint smile.

“1:0. The next target is the third branch of the yellow ginkgo tree, one hundred paces to the northwest.”

Right.

It must be a coincidence.

He was lucky enough to hit the trap with a random throw.

Aiden’s spear flew.

And accurately hit the target.

Then, a large boulder hanging from the end of the branch fell under the force of gravity.

Crash!!!

There was a loud noise.

It was a rock cleverly hidden in the dense forest, and if they had passed by without knowing, they would have been crushed to death. The throwing spear had revealed the second trap.

“You’re very skilled for a beginner. 1:1. The next target is more difficult. A small gray pebble, one hundred and fifty paces to the southeast.”

The spear that flew hit the pebble directly.

At the same time, a hunting trap popped out at the point of impact and bit down on the spearhead.

That was the beginning.

The spears were thrown in succession, and each time a trap was removed.

Aiden, dumbfounded, simply gaped and threw the spear at the location Henon told him, as if possessed by a ghost.

Crack! Bang!

The Pitch-Pot game, which had continued for a while, finally ended after the last spear completely cut through what appeared to be a sturdy net.

“50 to 50. It’s a tie. I didn’t know you had such a talent for Pitch-Pot, Captain Aiden.”

“Lord, what on earth is going on?”

“What do you mean? We played a game and tied. It’s a simple principle, isn’t it?”

Baron Lloyd maintained a nonchalant attitude, but Aiden couldn’t laugh and react comfortably.

The hundred traps they had destroyed were all located on the advance route, and each one was a dangerous trap.

What would have happened if they had stepped on them without removing them?

The army of six thousand would have been cut in half, and even then, it would have been overflowing with wounded soldiers.

The morale of the unit, which had suffered serious losses before even engaging in proper combat, would have plummeted.

‘The more I see, the more amazing he is.’

I think I know why everyone from Mercenary Captain Rakan to Zion and Campbell has such unwavering faith in Baron Lloyd.

With this person, you always feel safe and can always win.

He was a remarkable hero with the ability to find solutions and overcome crises, no matter how impossible the situation seemed.

“How did you know about the traps?”

“Well, that’s not important. What we need to focus on now is that we have a tie. We need to decide the winner for sure.”

Henon picked up the spear again.

“I understand your intentions, Lord. Do we really have to decide a winner?”

“Of course, we do.”

It had already gained momentum.

I have to play along.

Aiden also grabbed a spear.

“Where’s the next target?”

“…”

Baron Lloyd paused for a moment and stared intently at something. Just in case, Aiden also focused his eyesight, but he couldn’t see anything.

“What are you looking at?”

“One thousand paces to the northeast. The fifth branch of the zelkova [a type of Asian tree] tree. An elf ambusher.”

A chill ran down his spine. Then, the wind rushed into his ears, and the spear was fired with a strong spin. The spear, filled with mana, quickly disappeared from sight.

And…

“Kkyaaaaaa!!!”

A scream was heard in the distance.

There really was someone over there.

“51:50”

Aiden looked at Henon.

He already had the next spear in his hand.

What is the limit of this person?

What kind of bizarre search skill does he have to be able to detect the location of the enemy so far away and even disarm the traps?

Above all, the tremendous strength and mana power to accurately throw a spear over such a long distance is simply admirable.

Now Aiden realized.

The most useless worry in the world is worrying about Baron Lloyd.

He, too, was gradually being infected by the strong confidence that Henon exuded.

“Now that it’s come to this, I can’t lose. Just tell me. I’ll definitely win.”

“Good.”

The Pitch-Pot game continued late into the night.

Henon won by a single point.

* * *

Raven Forest depths.

Amelia, who had only been thinking about how to deal with the approaching foolish human army by ambushing them here, was currently speechless.

Her army had made many preparations for today.

The elves, who had lived in the forest all their lives, were excellent at hunting, so archery, as well as traps and ambushes, were highly developed.

There were some skilled foresters among the humans, but they were like children compared to the elves.

Therefore, Amelia was excited to show the approaching human army what hell was like.

That was until the traps were destroyed by the spear thrown by the enemy commander, Henon.

“Huh?”

At first, she thought it was just luck.

A spear thrown by chance must have hit the trap.

However, as the spears that followed neutralized the traps one by one, a drop of cold sweat ran down her spine.

“Amelia, what do we do?”

The panicked elf subordinates were the same.

They urged Amelia to make a decision.

“It doesn’t matter. Even without traps, the elves are the strongest in the forest. Hide and harass them with arrows. Reduce the enemy’s numbers by more than 30% before Twin Tail Valley appears.”

“Understood.”

That’s right.

Traps are a secondary means, not the main weapon.

There was a slight variable, but she still thought it was okay.

And Amelia’s last hope vanished at the same time as the elf scout at the very front was hit by a spear.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

It wasn’t an arrow, but a spear.

Several of the warriors who were hit by the long spear died without making a sound.

Breaking tree branches and making them fall headfirst from high places, hitting rocks and having the broken pieces pierce their hearts, or directly piercing through their bodies and becoming one.

With such precise sniping, it could only be explained that the opponent was openly watching them.

“No way! How on earth?”

“Kkyaaaaaa!!”

“Kkeuk!”

Even amidst the chaos, the number of allied casualties increased rapidly. At this rate, they would be annihilated. Amelia bit her lip until it bled.

“…Retreat. To Twin Tail Valley.”

The terrain there would make it easier to defeat the human army.

Despite her attempts to comfort herself, Amelia, who had been properly defeated this time, already had a sense of unease blooming.

And the thought that the person she was trying to assassinate might be more dangerous than she had expected slowly crept in.