Masked Knight - Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Long Distance Raid
 

“Your Excellency, do you mean...” Fedol’s eyes flashed. He exchanged glances with Ferara and
they both saw that the other was also surprised.
Just then, the duke took them into the woods for a discussion. However, the duke was extremely
direct and arrived at his main topic of ‘money' quickly. Although money was indispensable in
official businesses, the duke was too direct and 'stretched out his hand' without any warning.
Both of them did not know that Rody was an impostor. Although Rody had lived the life of a
noble for a few months, it was not enough to learn how to speak in a roundabout way especially
when engaging in shady businesses.
Ferara was surprised but he also felt relieved. He was no longer afraid that Rody would not
receive money. Rather, he was afraid that he had nowhere to disburse his money. Ferara
immediately smiled and said, “I know that the war in the Northwest has caused many to feel
nervous. My army is also lacking supplies. However, I am willing to sell off my property to raise
military funds so, Your Excellency need not worry!”
Fedol also nodded immediately but his face showed a pained expression. He then said,
“Although my family’s finances are currently not good, for the military I am willing to
donate...” After that, Fedol stopped for a moment to count before continuing loudly, “10,000
gold coins.”
Hearing those words, Rody furrowed his eyebrows. Ferara was also feeling angry and mentally
cursed Fedol.
Since the Duke is the one who started talking about money, he must have known about the
embezzlement of the military fund. Yet, that idiot, Fedol, still values his money so much. That
good-for-nothing!
Sure enough, the young duke was silent for a while before he slowly said, “Very good, Your
Excellency Fedol! You are very generous! 10,000 gold coins!” He paused for a moment before he
coldly continued, “Before the siege, Watt Fortress was reported to have 15,000 soldiers. During
the siege, the one who went up the walls to fight was Reuben and his main army. Your soldiers
only helped with public security! Now that the battle is over, how many soldiers are there in
Watt Fortress? Watt Fortress is a first-class fortress! By the Imperial order, there should have
been 4,000 bundles of arrows in reserve! However, from what I heard from General Reuben, it
seems that there were not that many arrows! On top of that, the Imperial Order states that the
walls of all first-class fortresses must be 12 meters high. However, when I entered the city, I
wondered to myself. Why are the walls so short? It seems like they are less than 10 meters
high.”
Rody spoke extremely slowly. Fedol listened fearfully as he turned ghastly pale. When he heard
the last sentence, he instinctively tried to defend himself and said, “What do you mean less than
10 meters high? It is obviously 10 meters high!” The moment he uttered those words, he
realized he had messed things up. He immediately started to tremble in fear.

Ferara who was watching him cursed the bungling oaf endlessly in his heart. He made up his
mind to replace that useless bungling oaf if he managed to survive the ordeal.
Ferara’s face immediately changed. He no longer smiled as he looked at Rody and gritted his
teeth. “Since Your Excellency has already explained himself, I will not say any more
unnecessary things! Fedol and I are willing to contribute 100,000 gold coins for the military
expenditure! I hope Your Excellency will be pleased!”
Rody sighed and then he smiled and said, “I thank you two for your loyalty to the nation!”
After the conversation, they returned to the dinner celebration. Rody also stopped acting. He
put to use the etiquette lessons he learned in the Imperial Capital. He walked and laughed
gracefully as a young noble. Exactly what would be expected from an influential noble family.
Everyone enjoyed themselves to the fullest. Although there were some who felt that the duke’s
attitude was different and strange, they assumed it was natural for someone from one of the
most powerful families in the Imperial Capital to be arrogant.
Rody was a little drunk. His bodyguards had already gone back. Rody was snickering with Andy
in his mind all the way back.
“Andy, thanks for your help earlier. I did not expect there to be so much trouble dealing with
them.”
Andy replied in disdain, “You better be satisfied that I helped you earn 100,000 gold coins today.
There were so many weaknesses in your speech just now. That fat guy almost saw the flaws.”
Rody laughed. “I have never understood these things. Thank you for secretly telling me what to
say and what to do. There were a lot of times I did not know what to say and could only show
them a fierce face to scare them. If it was not for your guidance, I am afraid I might have been
exposed.”
Andy snickered, “Boy, what do you think about casually earning 100,000 gold coins over
dinner?”
Rody was silent for a moment before he lightly replied, “Nauseating!”
Andy coldly said, “This is the temptation of power and position. Right now, you are just not
used to it. Whatever it is, the first step is already successful. The rest is up to you. I can help you
with planning but when it comes to the execution, I cannot do anything.”
Reuenthal was at Redwood Base and had sent out scouts to discreetly inquire about the
situation at Watt Fortress. For a few days, he only found cavalrymen guarding craftsmen to
strengthen the defense. Even the trees in a few groves were cut down and wood was carted back
to the city. The craftsmen were busy reinforcing the walls. Within two days, the fortress was
surrounded by cheval de frise, an anti-personnel barrier in the form of a wooden frame covered
with long wooden spikes. The barriers were placed all around the fortress walls.
After that, cavalrymen were dispatched to the surrounding villages to buy provisions. The
nearby civilians were also escorted to the city. Without any doubt, it was a preparation to
defend.
Reuenthal had secretly dispatched two cavalries to harass them but the Duke of the Tulip
Family seemed to be extremely powerful. The ‘Lightning God’s Whip’ was on standby and
engaged Reuenthal’s cavalries. In the end, Reuenthal’s cavalries were defeated.

Reuenthal laughed bitterly in his heart as he observed the situation. A secret report from his
spy in the Imperial Capital told him that the reinforcements, the Central Cavalry, only had
20,000 soldiers. Although the Duke of the Tulip Family moved very quickly and had managed to
launch a surprise attack before Reuenthal obtained the intelligence, Reuenthal noted that the
military strength of his opponent was smaller than his own. Even if the Empire wanted to
mobilize the Southern Legion, the Empire would still need another 2 months.
On the other hand, his earlier request to the Great Moon Kingdom for a cavalry of 100,000
would arrive within two days. Reuenthal came to a decision that he had to reduce the enemy’s
strength even if he would suffer huge losses. Although siege battle was a headache for him, he
had an unlimited supply of soldiers. If it was a fight of attrition, he was 90% sure that he would
win.
The only thing that made Reuenthal furious was the people of the Roland Continent who were
just resting in his barracks. The special envoy of the Roland Continent could not be seen at all.
Before the war, he had promised a large number of sorcerers as reinforcements but the promise
was not kept. Instead, there were 10,000 cavalrymen and all of them refused to go out and fight.
The cavalrymen claimed that they were only under orders to protect the special envoy and
would not join in the battles. That made Reuenthal extremely angry but he could not say
anything.
The 10,000 remaining Central Cavalry soldiers and the 2,000 Imperial Guards led by
Commander Gordon finally arrived at Watt Fortress. Everyday, Rody would convene with Sieg,
Gordon and those involved at the garrison to discuss military matters. He did not meet with the
other commanders, or discuss other official matters or visit the barracks.
Everyone felt that the young Duke of the Tulip Family was an eccentric person. According to a
few soldiers in the garrison, the duke usually liked to hide in his own room and talked to
himself. Apparently, it was as if the young duke was arguing with someone.
After Reuenthal had restrained himself for two days, the Great Moon Kingdom’s
reinforcements of 100,000 arrived at Redwood Base. Reuenthal who had ordered his army to
prepare themselves for the past two days suddenly gave the order to launch a second attack on
Watt Fortress.
Reuenthal left 50,000 cavalrymen behind to guard Redwood Base. He then led the other
200,000 men in a majestic march formation stretching over 5 li. Reuenthal knew that he was
unable to conduct a surprise attack so he openly set out for this attack. Since he had suffered
badly the last time, he scattered his scouts wide to acquire information as a precaution in case
of a surprise attack by the enemy.
That day when he arrived at the fortress, the previously open barren land outside the walls was
now covered with barriers. Reuenthal gritted his teeth when he saw the wooden spikes on the
barriers, the tall reinforced walls plus the rolling logs and stones on the walls.
How many soldiers must I sacrifice to capture Watt Fortress?
Reuenthal started his preparation. He ordered 2,000 suicide soldiers to dismantle the cheval de
frise. On the first day, those 2,000 soldiers were either killed or seriously injured. From the
walls, arrows fell like rain towards the cheval de frise which was within range. The demolition
of each barrier would cost the lives of two or three soldiers. Reuenthal had given the order for
the archers to return fire but the enemy's magicians blocked the arrows.

After two full days, more than half of the fortifications were removed. However, Reuenthal had
already lost more than 6,000 soldiers and could only stomp his feet in anger.
Reuenthal had 200,000 soldiers. Although the size of his army was much bigger than his
enemy’s, the daily consumption of provisions was also enormous. The Great Moon Kingdom
was originally located in the grasslands but it was not a suitable location to grow grains. They
had to spend two years to accumulate enough provisions for this invasion. As a result,
Reuenthal who was feeling anxious could only order his soldiers to charge forward regardless
of the losses.
Unfortunately, thousands of his soldiers were shot dead by arrows before they could even
approach the walls of the city. The arrows used were merely wooden arrows. However, the
arrows had amazing power when they were shot by thousands of archers. Their shields may
have been big but those who were trying to dismantle the fortifications could not always hold
up their shields.
Reuenthal sat on his horse as he looked at the Tulip Family’s banner from afar and felt
extremely agitated. Reuenthal grew up in the grasslands but he was an ambitious guy. When he
was young, he would sneak into the Empire alone and secretly learn the art of war of the
Radiant Empire. Naturally, he had a particularly profound impression of the Tulip Family. He
had always treated the Tulip Family as the imaginary future enemy. Now that he was actually
fighting the Tulip Family, he felt depressed.
Seeing another 1,000 of his soldiers die after being shot by arrows, he immediately roared
loudly for the next 1,000 soldiers to move up.
At that moment, a cavalryman approached from behind. The cavalryman of the Great Moon
Kingdom was covered in blood. He held a red ox bone which was the symbol for urgency.
He quickly rushed to the front of Reuenthal. After that, he jumped down from his horse and
staggered. The horse behind him had used the last of its strength. It neighed sorrowfully before
it fell dead on the ground. The cavalier held the red ox bone over his head and sobbed.
“Your Highness, the Radiant Empire’s Central Cavalry had split into two groups and attacked
us! Within two days, they rode over 1,000 li and wiped out our 17 tribes! They... they are about to
attack the Dragon Plateau1! His Majesty has ordered you to go back to aid them!”
Reuenthal shouted loudly, “What? How many people do they have? What banner are they
flying!”
The bloodsoaked cavalryman gasped for breath and said, “Number of soldiers unknown... They
fly the... Tulip Family’s banner!”
Reuenthal's vision suddenly turned black for a moment. His trembled and almost fell off his
horse. A few of his trusted subordinates quickly stepped forward and supported him. Reuenthal
felt both frightened and furious. He was known for his skills in conducting raids and did not
expect his enemy to attack his own home.
He quickly regained his composure, sitting on his horse, while the surrounding soldiers looked
at him. He slowly calmed himself down and asked, “How did they get behind us? What about the
garrison at Redwood Base? Did they not discover them as well?”
That cavalryman breathed heavily and was terrified but he managed to continue, “They must
have made a detour. All the scouts they encountered were killed! There were no survivors! That

is why they were only discovered after they have crossed the borders! They continued without
stopping. They did not take any prisoners and killed everyone so...”
Reuenthal became furious and shouted, "What about the defenders at Redwood Base? I left
50,000 cavaliers there! Since there is news, why did they not send anyone to pursue?"
“They already dispatched soldiers but the news came too late! The enemy had already rushed
into the grasslands!”
Reuenthal took a deep breath and calmed down. After that, he asked again, “What about the
cavalrymen from Roland? What are they doing?”
“The special envoy from Roland said they were duty bound to help and pursued along with our
soldiers!”
“Oh?” Reuenthal did not expect that answer. He closed his eyes and contemplated for a moment.
After that, he opened his eyes and ordered 10,000 cavalrymen to guard the rear while the rest of
the army immediately retreated. He personally led 30,000 cavalrymen and rushed to the aid of
the Great Moon Kingdom.
At the same time, in the Northwest near the Great Moon Kingdom grassland, a cavalry in full
body armor and lances in their hands rode quickly. They had just found several large horseshoe
prints. After counting the number of prints, they estimated that their opponents only had about
10,000 soldiers. The team leader immediately gave the order for a full speed chase.s
Riding in front on top of a red horse, was the special envoy of the Roland Continent. He was still
in his black robe and wearing a black veil. Riding his horse quickly, his mind was set on the
secret orders given to him by the eagle the night before.
“At all costs, kill the Duke of the Tulip Family!”
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1 龙台金帐(lóng tái jīn zhàng ): 龙台 is 'dragon plateau' and 金帐 is 'Golden Horde'. The Golden
Horde, in real life, was an ancient Mongolian kingdom. As 龙台金帐 is obviously a place name, I
have chosen to use 'Dragon Plateau' because the full name 'Dragon Plateau Golden Horde' is too
long. Another reason is, in the chinese text龙台金帐 sounds beautiful, but in english the literal
translation 'Dragon Plateau Golden Horde' is kind of clumsy.