"What's going on? Slow down." Robson frowned, walking over to Ed's side.
Knight Ed leaned on a wooden post, gasping for a few breaths before speaking.
"A trap! Those shameless Gnolls!" Knight Ed cursed.
"They used Noah Viscount as bait to lure my father there. I never thought those Gnolls would actually have a Magic Array set up by the river! It's a 6th-rank Water Dragon Entwining Array!" said Knight Ed.
"My father fell for their trick. Now they're all trapped by the Lai River. Robson, what do we do now?" Knight Ed asked anxiously.
A 6th-rank Array! Robson was inwardly shocked.
In this world, even Magic Scrolls were treated like treasures, to say nothing of Mages.
Casting a Magic Array required at least three Mages, not to mention this was a 6th-rank Array!
Hearing this, Robson paced back and forth.
'Just a trip back home, and all my teammates get wiped out? What now?'
It would be a lie to say Robson didn't feel a little resentful, but he also knew this was no time for complaints.
A 6th-rank Water Dragon Entwining Array! That was enough to trap the 7th-rank Gold Count Offman. They were all probably trapped in it...
'What now? Run?'
'Of course not. Others might not realize it, but for someone like me, Robson, with no powerful backing and unremarkable strength, desertion would mean certain retribution...'
"Does anyone else know this news?" Robson asked.
"Yes. The messenger didn't hide it. Everyone's in a panic now. I went to them earlier, but they all gave me excuses... What do we do?" Knight Ed was still at a complete loss.
Ed had rarely faced any hardship growing up; his father and his family had always been there to shield him.
"Robson, in this entire camp, I only trust you. You're the only one who has a chance to save my father. If you can do this, after the war is over, I will ennoble you on behalf of the Deriman Family," Knight Ed promised.
To Knight Ed, probably no one in the world was more important than his father. His relationship with Count Offman was a textbook example of a loving father and a devoted son.
"Quiet down first and let me think," Robson couldn't help but snap. Ed was a good man in every way, except that he couldn't stay calm in a crisis.
Robson took a deep breath, hastily gathering all the information he knew.
'The more critical the moment, the calmer I have to be.'
'Should I save Count Offman?'
In truth, Robson felt he didn't even need to consider such questions. They could barely protect themselves as it was. After all, Count Offman had taken the vast majority of their Extraordinary forces with him. What he should be worried about now was what to do if those Gnolls attacked...
"Ed, go and invite all the officers and Transcendent nobles over. Remember, when you invite them, do it in the name of the heir to the Deriman Family, son of Count Offman," Robson instructed.
"Okay." Though Ed didn't understand, he still trusted his brother-in-arms.
Actually, Robson's words were not hard to understand.
First, by invoking the Deriman Family name, anyone who stayed would earn a favor from them. Exchanging favors for support was very common in the world of nobility.
There was also a deeper meaning. By having Ed invite these people as the heir, it was an implicit signal that Count Offman was taking responsibility for this failure. From now on, the entire incident was due to Count Offman's mistake and had nothing to do with anyone else.
These hints and gestures of goodwill were a reassurance. Only then would everyone feel at ease to follow you.
Though Ed didn't understand all this, he understood that it could save his father's life, and that was enough. Compared to his father's life, nothing else mattered.
Just as Robson had guessed, once Ed used a different title, those noble officers all came forward to plead their case. They claimed they had merely been flustered before but had now come to their senses, and they hoped Ed would lead them to carve out a bloody path.
Ed brought everyone to Robson's tent.
Robson's tent was suddenly packed with people. Dozens of Transcendent nobles gathered together, all discussing the current perilous situation.
"Retreating is the best option right now. The proper course of action is to go back and ask Earl Leiman to bring the Knight Order to rescue Lord Offman."
"Rilan Knight is absolutely right. Is this situation something we can control? Our only choice is to ask Earl Leiman for help."
"But... before..." Ed was rather dumbfounded. When he had gone to invite them, they had all acted so righteously, as if at any moment they would unhesitatingly charge into battle shouting "For His Majesty the King!"
But now that they were in the tent, how come they were all talking about retreating again?
'If they retreat, will his father even survive?'
Robson looked at Ed with some disappointment. 'The kid still has a lot to learn.'
This scene was a classic example of hiking up the price on the spot.
Although everyone had a duty to rescue their commanding officer, that didn't stop them from trying to cash in on the opportunity.
SLAM!
A loud noise echoed through the tent.
"Enough!"
His own friend couldn't handle it, so Robson had no choice but to stand up, slam the table, and roar.
"What are you all thinking? Count Offman is the commander of the Fifth Legion, and before he left, he gave me a military order! He ordered us to hold this position. Are you all planning to defy a military order?"
After Robson finished speaking, the crowd, which had been chattering just a moment ago, fell silent.
Everyone looked at each other, speechless.
In the Frank Kingdom, a military order was absolute.
As soon as those words were spoken, the situation changed instantly.
True or not, there was a military order now, and that meant holding their ground!
If they dared to retreat, once Count Offman returned, he would surely punish them for desertion.
And even if Count Offman didn't make it back, the Deriman Family would definitely use this military order to cause trouble for them.
No one wanted to offend an Earl Clan.
"Easy for you to say. Whose orders are we supposed to follow now? Who can even control the current situation?"
Soon, another questioning voice rose from the crowd.
Robson breathed a long sigh of relief inwardly. As long as the nobles started discussing the problem seriously, it meant the issue was already half-solved.
'The only questions left are who takes responsibility and who takes the lead?'
"Before my father left, he told me to look after matters in the army. I will manage the troops now," Ed said, stepping forward at the right moment.
"Since we have the Earl's military order, I believe we should fulfill our duty."
"That's right. The Fifth Legion has no cowards who run."
Everyone surely knew this order was fake. How could there be such a coincidence in the world? Could Count Offman have possibly predicted his own capture?
But it didn't matter. As long as someone was in charge, that was all that mattered.
"As for what to do, I already have a plan in mind. But I'd still like to ask, Sir Robson, you speak first," Knight Ed said, looking at Robson.
Robson knew Ed probably didn't have any real ideas, so he stepped forward.
"I believe we can neither attack nor retreat. What we should do now is tie down this Gnoll tribe, and then quickly request reinforcements from Sunset Fortress," Robson advised.
Robson spoke after some consideration. First, they definitely couldn't win a direct fight. With their Extraordinary forces all gone, how could they possibly fight?
They couldn't retreat either. Setting aside his friendship with Knight Ed and his debt to the Deriman Family, he had no one backing him. If he dared to desert, he would surely face a military tribunal.
So, what they—or rather, what he, Lord Robson—could do was just one thing: Defend!
That's right. Defend.
The Water Dragon Entwining Array could only trap people; it couldn't move them. As long as Robson and the others held firm, there was a way.
"Very good. Sir Robson's thoughts coincide with my own. So what should we do next?" Ed said without the slightest bit of modesty.
Robson didn't have time to dwell on that. He pointed behind him.
"We retreat to that mountain—now, immediately, at once. All water and food are to be handed over for centralized rationing. After that, we wait for reinforcements from the fortress," Robson said.
Retreating to the mountain to make a stand was, naturally, to make it easier to tie down the Gnolls.
Although there was no water on the mountain, a matter like this had to be considered based on the actual situation.
Right now, their mission was to stall for time. Given the distance from here to the fortress, reinforcements should arrive in half a day at the least, and a day at the most.
In other words, they only needed to hold out for about a day or so. The need for water was therefore not that urgent.
"Report! Report! A large number of Gnolls have been spotted up ahead!"