How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives

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【Episode 13】

The place Carlisle pointed to was essentially the capital of the barbarians.

Karaholum.

The great city of the barbarians living beyond the border.

It was the stronghold of the [Barbar] tribe, barbarians beyond the border.

Moreover, Karaholum was famous as an impregnable fortress that had never once fallen throughout history.

Carlisle’s suggestion to attack such a place could only sound like saying he would annihilate the entire army.

However, Grand Duke Guntram didn’t think so.

“Why… did you think that?”

“Because it’s empty.”

Carlisle replied as if asking whether that was even a question.

“Empty, you say.”

Grand Duke Guntram mulled over Carlisle’s words.

As Carlisle said, Karaholum was practically empty right now.

Currently, the barbarians were gradually advancing their forces, preparing for the coming war.

As such, many troops were deployed at the front, and it was true that almost no forces were stationed in Karaholum.

“It may be empty, but how do you infiltrate large-scale forces into the heart of enemy territory?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Didn’t you have some clever method in mind?”

“I don’t.”

“Right, of course.”

Grand Duke Guntram nodded with an expression that said ‘that’s just like you.’

Regretting that he had even slightly expected something…

“Couldn’t we go over those mountains?”

Carlisle pointed to the mountainous terrain on the map and muttered to himself as if for Grand Duke Guntram to hear.

The Sazdor Mountain Range.

Being a mountain range composed of peaks thousands of meters high, it was clearly an area where the difficulty of marching would be beyond imagination.

“Do you want to kill all our allied forces?”

“Huh?”

“Sigh.”

Grand Duke Guntram closed his eyes tightly as if tired.

Huh?

How treacherous was the Sazdor Mountain Range, and how could leading large-scale forces over it be a reasonable suggestion?

‘As he says, it would only cause damage to our allies. Maybe it would be better not to enlist him at all.’

Incompetent allies were more frightening than enemies.

A commander with poor judgment like Carlisle would be perfect for driving allied forces into a death trap.

“The Sazdor Mountain Range is a place where large-scale forces have never moved throughout history.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s too treacherous…”

“Have you tried it though?”

“Do you have to drink everything to be satisfied, whether it’s poison or a potion?”

“It could be a potion… I’m sorry.”

Carlisle immediately apologized upon seeing Grand Duke Guntram’s expression.

‘He doesn’t seem to understand. Well, it’s not time yet.’

In fact, that strategy hadn’t come from Carlisle’s own mind.

‘The Great Advance. Grand Duke Guntram’s greatest life achievement.’

The time was 5 years before the scenario of the game [Overlord] began.

That is, 5 years from now.

Grand Duke Guntram made the bold decision to lead large-scale forces over the Sazdor Mountain Range, and ultimately achieved the great accomplishment of devastating Karaholum, the heart of the barbarians.

By mentioning that grand plan first, Carlisle hoped the Great Advance would happen sooner.

Why?

Because the longer the war with the barbarians dragged on, the weaker House Sigmund’s power would become.

Because House Sigmund needed to remain strong to guarantee his safety and comfortable life.

Since he had come to live as Carlisle van Sigmund, whether he liked it or not, it would be better in many ways for House Sigmund to remain strong.

‘If I say it outright, I’ll be treated like a madman, so I need to hint at it subtly.’

Thinking this, Carlisle said,

“Have you requested support from the royal court?”

“I was planning to.”

“That’s good. Use this incident as an excuse to extort plenty of reinforcements from those Loren Family bastards.”

“They’ll make excuses.”

“Then request mediation from the royal court.”

“From the royal court…?”

“The royal court knows everything, so how can they make excuses?”

“Of course, that’s true.”

Grand Duke Guntram nodded.

In Nurburg Kingdom, there was the following saying:

– The eyes and ears of the royal court exist everywhere. Even in your heart.

The reason such a saying came about was thanks to the lineage of Nurburg Kingdom’s royal family.

* * *

Long ago.

A man made a contract with an ancient dragon and obtained prophetic ability.

Although he became blind as the price, he established a dynasty based on his prophetic ability.

This was the story of the so-called [Blind King], the first monarch who founded Nurburg Kingdom.

And this was by no means a myth or legend.

In the [Parnassus Family], descendants of the Blind King and the royal house, children who inherited prophetic ability were born generation after generation, and they became kings who ruled Nurburg Kingdom.

Therefore, the remaining 12 families that supported Nurburg Kingdom respected the royal house while also fearing them.

Why?

Because the royal house had been manipulating the 12 families from behind the scenes using prophetic ability.

The rise and fall of the 12 families was nothing more than being played according to the royal house’s will.

The royal house’s arrangements and various political machinations using prophetic ability were beyond what the 12 families could dare imagine, and all they could do was offer their loyalty.

Practically speaking, within Nurburg Kingdom’s territory, the royal house’s power was no different from an omnipotent god.

However…

‘Prophetic ability my ass. They’re nothing but fraudsters.’

As far as Carlisle knew, the royal family member with prophetic ability had already ended with the Former King who passed away long ago.

The current king, who would be lying on his sickbed by now, as well as Prince [Gordon], the crown prince and one of the main characters in the game, also did not possess prophetic ability.

They were simply using powerful intelligence networks and psychological warfare to bluff as if they possessed prophetic ability.

How did Carlisle know this? Because he had seen the prologue of the game [Overlord].

The game [Overlord] began with the revelation that the royal court’s prophetic ability had disappeared, creating tension among the 13 families including the royal house.

In other words, Carlisle was the only person who knew the secret that the royal house had lost its prophetic ability.

“I’ll try requesting mediation from the royal house as you suggest. Though I’m not sure if it will work.”

“Yes.”

Carlisle thought ‘got it’ to himself.

‘The royal house won’t let this slide quietly.’

In Carlisle’s opinion, the greatest beneficiary of this incident was none other than the royal family.

Due to the nature of Nurburg Kingdom as a united kingdom, it had a structure where thirteen families cooperated and kept each other in check, centered around the royal family.

Therefore, the reinforcements sent to war against the barbarians were also provided by each of the thirteen families contributing a portion of their forces.

Carlisle thought the royal family would use this incident as an excuse to extract a massive amount of troops from the Loren Family.

‘In return, the royal family will reduce their own forces by the amount they extract from the Loren Family. From the royal family’s perspective, they need to preserve their strength.’

Since they had lost their prophetic ability, the royal family would inevitably take a self-preserving approach.

They would be desperate to weaken the military strength of the remaining twelve families, so it was practically a foregone conclusion that the Loren Family would suffer losses.

Grand Duke Guntram, who was unaware of the royal family’s circumstances, seemed half-convinced…

* * *

“Did you have a good trip?”

“No.”

Carlisle shook his head at Maranello’s question.

“I only came back with losses.”

“What do you mean by losses…”

“They told me to earn my keep.”

“Hehe.”

Maranello let out a hollow laugh.

“His Grace the Grand Duke wants you to enlist?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you are almost twenty-four, young master. It’s time to fulfill your responsibilities and duties as a member of House Sigmund.”

“Can’t I just enjoy the privileges without the responsibilities?”

“Please don’t say such things. The reason you can live in luxury is all thanks to the achievements your ancestors built…”

“Ah, enough.”

Carlisle waved his hand dismissively as if he didn’t want to hear it.

‘Other families just enjoy their privileges, so why is this family so particular?’

Thinking this, Carlisle said to Maranello.

“Teach me some swordsmanship starting tomorrow.”

“Pardon…?”

“I’m about to be thrown into a battlefield, so I can’t just go empty-handed. I don’t want to die at the hands of those barbarians.”

The forward border region was essentially at war 365 days a year.

Though it wasn’t large-scale total warfare, it was a battlefield where large and small skirmishes with the barbarians occurred constantly.

Serving in such a place was practically the same as jumping into a war zone.

“You’ve made a wise decision, young master.”

Maranello smiled brightly.

“This old man may be rusty, but I’ll teach you with all my heart and sincerity.”

“Rusty, my foot.”

Carlisle snorted.

“What you were secretly swinging at dawn wasn’t that feather duster, was it?”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Hehe.”

Maranello subtly hid the feather duster he was holding behind his back.

“Anyway, please help me starting tomorrow.”

“Yes, young master.”

“Sigh.”

Carlisle sank into the sofa and looked up at the ceiling.

Since he had possessed the body of a grand ducal family’s scoundrel, he thought he’d live a comfortable life just enjoying the sweet life forever, but now he was about to swing heavy blades around.

‘Is this guy even capable of becoming strong?’

Carlisle thought it would have been better if he had possessed someone incredibly strong from the beginning, then he wouldn’t need to make any effort…

But he couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.

If he was going to continue living in this world, he’d need to have at least minimal combat ability.

The next day.

Clang! Claaang!

“Hup! Hup hup!”

Despite the early morning hour, the public training ground of House Sigmund was incredibly heated.

The knights were devoted to training – conditioning their bodies, checking their postures, and sparring with colleagues.

The fervor of the training ground cooled somewhat due to the visit of an unexpected and unwelcome guest that no one had anticipated.

“Hm?”

“I must have drunk too much yesterday. I’m seeing things.”

“What, what’s this.”

When Carlisle entered the training ground, question marks appeared above the heads of those who were training.

Who would have thought they’d live to see that damn scoundrel crawl out to the training ground?

‘What wind is blowing now?’

‘Ugh. I should finish training quickly today.’

‘They say it’s bad luck to see blood in the morning.’

Many knights quietly slipped away at Carlisle’s appearance.

If they lingered around Carlisle for no reason, they’d get hit by a blind sword and end up with sword marks on their bodies, bleeding profusely.

If they were really unlucky, they might even lose limbs.

Regardless, Carlisle paid no attention to the surrounding gazes and took a position in a corner of the training ground.

“Since it’s been a long time since you’ve trained, please use this, young master.”

Maranello handed Carlisle a wooden sword.

Since it was also Carlisle’s first time holding a sword, he accepted the wooden sword without complaint.

Having never attended a kendo academy or anything like that in his previous life, even the wooden sword felt very unfamiliar.

[Sigmund Family Training Wooden Sword]