Chapter 65.2

“You made three mistakes.”

“Wh-what…?”

Doom’s icy glare locked onto Allen.

“First. You say they committed treason, yet somehow you’re still alive. Curious, isn’t it?”

“……!?”

“Second. You claim they disobeyed orders by taking orc loot? Did you really think you could spin that nonsense in front of me? If you had half the courage you’re showing now, maybe you wouldn’t have been beaten to a pulp.”

The cost of maintaining a special-grade warhorse was astronomical, even if the Imperial family subsidized part of it.

Because of this, knights and cavalry were always on the lookout for side earnings.

They weren’t alone in this practice.

Manning the Great Ragoit Wall required a massive military force, and no matter how wealthy the Empire was, it wasn’t possible to pay every soldier and knight a comfortable wage.

Knowing this, even the Dark Grand Duke Doom turned a blind eye to the “necessary” side hustles of his soldiers and knights.

But only to a certain extent.

“And third. The Mercenary Queen Carpe and the Red Wolves are our equals. You’ve been stationed here long enough to know that, haven’t you?”

“……!?”

Watching the idiotic look on Allen’s face filled Doom with the urge to kill him on the spot.

‘Unbelievable.’

Losing the special-grade warhorses was already frustrating.

Getting humiliated by mercenaries was also annoying.

But what truly enraged Doom was something else entirely.

“Where is the report of Carpe and the Red Wolves’ return?”

Doom ignored Allen and directed his question to his lieutenant.

“W-we haven’t received any reports from the gates… There’s been no sighting of the Red Wolves at any of the fortress gates.”

The lieutenant, sensing the growing rage of his lord, apologized profusely, his face filled with dread.

A cold, creeping anxiety slithered into Doom’s heart.

Cawww.

At that moment, a white homing pigeon flew toward him and perched on his arm.

Doom retrieved the letter from its ankle.

His face remained blank as he read the message.

But the energy radiating from his body told a very different story.

Hummmm…

The sheer pressure emanating from Doom was palpable.

“Eeeek…!”

Tremble tremble tremble.

Everyone around him — knights, soldiers, officers — trembled uncontrollably.

“Do you know what this is?”

Doom waved the letter in his hand.

“It’s a report. The magic corps on-site used divination magic to see exactly what happened. They wrote down everything you did.”

His cold, cutting words landed like daggers on the crowd.

Doom slowly turned toward Allen, the root of all this chaos.

“You had the audacity to stand before me… and lie.”

Grab!

“Keurgh!”

With one swift motion, Doom grabbed Allen by the throat.

His massive 2-meter frame lifted Allen clean off the ground.

“Ack! Gahk!”

Allen’s legs kicked desperately as he dangled in the air like a man at the gallows.

“A so-called senior knight in name only.”

“Gghhk…! Sp-spare me… D-Duke…!”

Despite being a senior knight, Allen’s resistance was utterly futile.

“You caused a massive loss to the Empire.”

“Gghhk…! I-I’ll… I’ll… reimburse the horses… with my family’s fortune…!”

“Horses?”

Doom’s eyes widened with disgusted disbelief.

“You still don’t understand.”

Squeeze.

“Gkkh… kkaak…!”

Despite his crushing grip, Allen’s life clung on like a cockroach.

“Do you know how much effort it took to bring Carpe here? Do you have any idea?”

He spoke each word slowly, making sure everyone heard him.

“Carpe and the Red Wolves were originally stationed in the Western and Southern fronts, battling the Kingdoms. I had to beg her to come here. I had to endure that witch Marchioness Havana’s endless insults and sabotage.”

Cough! Gasp!

Allen’s face turned a shade of purple as his air supply was cut off.

“You can’t recruit someone like Carpe with money alone.”

“Respect and sincerity. Those are the only things that can move her.”

Everyone around him fell deathly silent.

“And it’s not just about her. Do you realize how much influence she has over the entire mercenary network?”

“One single recommendation from her can alter the entire flow of mercenary recruitment. Especially Northern mercenaries — who make up 30% of all mercenaries on the continent — will never work for us.”

“!!!”

Only now did Allen’s subordinates realize the gravity of the situation.

“This was my greatest fear when I stationed Carpe here. Unlike the Western and Southern fronts, where she’s well-known, the Eastern Wastelands don’t respect her as they should.”

“……”

Finally, Allen’s body went limp, his lifeless eyes staring into nothing.

“I warned you. I warned you, but you just had to ruin it.”

Thud!

Doom flung Allen’s body aside like a ragdoll.

Silence.

“This is my fault. It’s my fault for not training you properly. It’s my fault for letting a background-backed fool like him climb the ranks.”

No one dared to speak.

“The Mongar Orc main force is approaching. Unlike the scouts you’ve been fighting, these are real warriors.”

His gaze locked onto the cavalry and knights who had joined Allen in his little scheme.

“I will give you horses. Not special-grade warhorses, of course. Just ordinary horses.”

“You will ride them and find Carpe and the Red Wolves. Then, you will bring them back.”

Doom’s cold, precise words carried the weight of a death sentence.

“Humbly. Respectfully. With. Absolute. Deference.”

“I will give you exactly 15 days.”

He raised his hand, and two senior officers stepped forward.

“Albert, Ren.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

“Accompany them. If they fail to complete the mission within 15 days…”

His eyes narrowed.

“Kill them on the spot.”

“Understood!”

The knights who had joined Allen’s scheme visibly paled.

Their fate was clear.

If they succeeded, they might live.

If they failed, they’d die on the spot.

Doom wasn’t giving them a chance to survive.

He was giving them a chance to die with dignity.

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