I Inherited a Beautiful Wife and a Territory - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Inheriting a Beautiful Wife and Estate Episode 038

38. Hidden Card

There was something disappointing for Cliff.

The fact that the war wouldn’t take place within his domain.

‘If a war had broken out in the domain, Kyuung could have charged like a tank.’

Kyuung had shown overwhelming strength against the Serpents.

With that Kyuung, he could have won small-scale battles single-handedly. But even without that Kyuung, it would be fine.

Growl.

The black wolves.

Among them, the one with the largest build.

Cliff reached out his hand and stroked its body. Despite leaving no hide when dead, while alive it had such warm and fluffy fur.

These too were the military strength he was counting on in this battle.

‘But they probably expect this much too.’

The Shadow Wolves weren’t exactly a hidden card either.

If anything, his hidden card was Leticia. And if his guess was correct, the opposing side would probably come with one or two hidden cards as well.

They wouldn’t choose a great war without having any.

“If I’ve thought that far, then I should do my best as well.”

Cliff closed his eyes.

As always, the Quest given by the status window was shining for the domain’s big event.

【Repel the Foreign Invasion】

Content: Before the domain’s internal problems could be smoothly resolved, external enemies targeting the domain have appeared.

Fight the foreign enemies, achieve victory, and prove who the true owner of the domain is.

Conditions

-Victory in domain war

Rewards

-Domain Experience 100

-Lord Experience 100

-Military Category Level Up

-Diplomacy Category Level Up

-Lord Stat Dignity +1

This was definitely a big event.

As if the status window acknowledged this too, the rewards were more generous than usual.

Soldiers were merely filling up numbers.

In a battle of this scale, what truly mattered was high-level military strength like knights. This wasn’t just Cliff’s thinking, but Baron Ballard’s as well.

“We must also consider the Shadow Wolves. Regular soldiers will probably have difficulty dealing with Shadow Wolves.”

“There are only about three of them anyway, right? And even if there are more, they’re just large wolves. Rather… that guy Bellman was keeping is more bothersome…”

Shadow Wolves.

They were certainly threatening enemies. But while ordinary people might struggle, they fell short of knight-level forces who could handle supernatural abilities.

Teobaldt too, if not for Cliff’s order not to kill, would have easily killed all 10 of them back then.

“Those wolves… would be difficult for us to handle, wouldn’t they?”

“I suppose we’d have to see it that way.”

“Hmm. I wish I knew the secret of how they tamed them. Well, never mind. If we can’t tame and use them anyway, just kill them all this time.”

“I shall do so.”

At Adolf’s reliable answer, Baron Ballard showed a pleased expression.

Then he made a sinister expression.

“Baron Ellemis’s daughter seemed to have decent looks, taking after her mother. Should I have taken her instead of giving her to my son?”

“…If you change your words now, Viscount Gordon won’t stand for it.”

“Hmm. If I had known a domain war would break out anyway, I wouldn’t have made such unnecessary arrangements. Actually, I needed the domain more than that daughter-in-law.”

Still, he had gained justification by using Priscilla as pretext.

However, Baron Ballard had also sensed something from Viscount Gordon’s attitude.

‘Even without such justification, he seemed to want me and Baron Ellemis to fight.’

Viscount Gordon who seemed to be trying to incite conflict between them.

Probably the Duke’s house was behind it.

However, Baron Ballard didn’t think the Duke himself was the mastermind.

‘A bastard who keeps showing himself becomes an eyesore.’

Whether it was Cliff’s half-siblings or the Duke’s concubines didn’t matter to Baron Ballard.

What was immediately important to him was winning this war.

“…Have the knights from the Platice family arrived?”

“They’re already nearby. They will appear at the battle site on time for the day of war.”

“Hehe. It was good that I sent Rowi to establish connections. Still, give them a hint. Since there’s a slim possibility, tell them they shouldn’t kill Baron Ellemis if possible.”

This war was instigated by the Duke’s house’s lackeys.

Also, the Duke was unlikely to be deeply involved in the bastard’s death. But since he bore no grudge, he had no intention of killing Cliff through war.

‘Though if he loses his beautiful wife and domain, living would be no different from being dead. Hehehe.’

The day of the great battle would truly be an interesting day.

Soon, three knights sent by the Platice family arrived at the Ballard house.

“Our lord told us to fight for the Ballard family’s victory.”

“Haha. Three knights coming… I should express gratitude to Count Platice. Also, I will never forget the hard work of you gentlemen who came all this way.”

Once a domain war breaks out, it’s already an all-out war for the domain.

Diplomacy and hiring mercenaries were also included in that.

It wasn’t uncommon for allied houses to send knights before a domain war. In that sense, this war was disadvantageous to Cliff from the start.

‘Hehe. There’s no domain that would send knights to a guy who just came here and was stuck in the mountains.’

But the Ballard family was different.

Baron Ballard had lived here since childhood and had been interacting with neighboring domains. Among them were cases like Baron Ellemis where they became bitter enemies, but there were also cases like Count Platice where they maintained decent relations.

Baron Ballard had started this war from the beginning, trusting in Count Platice’s assistance.

“But… are you certain there are no problems?”

A senior among the Count’s knights asked Baron Ballard with a serious face.

The opponent was someone who had entered Ellemis Domain riding the Duke’s carriage.

It was true that antagonizing him felt burdensome.

The more one possessed, the more one might seem free to act, but there were also aspects that made one shrink back. Someone of Count Platice’s level felt more pressure from the central authority’s disapproval than Baron Ballard did.

Even now, at the reconfirming words, Baron Ballard nodded.

“Don’t worry. After all, you three are participating in this war as mercenaries I hired, aren’t you? There will be nothing that could harm Count Platice, so you can rest assured.”

In other words, even after victory, they would receive nothing beyond the agreed payment.

But the three knights nodded.

“Then we will trust only Baron Ballard.”

“Haha. Of course.”

Leaving behind the heartily laughing Baron Ballard, the senior knight spoke with gleaming eyes.

“Let me say again that the Platice family has no connection to this war.”

“Of course. The Ballard family will take all responsibility.”

“You must also keep your promise to give each of us 100 gold coins.”

A hefty price of 300 gold coins total.

It wasn’t a small amount.

Baron Ballard also thought this was regrettable. But here he had to give a definite answer.

“Of course. I shall do so.”

“Then please tell us our role.”

“My son will serve as the commander of this great battle. You just need to protect him.”

The Count’s knights’ eyes gleamed.

“We don’t have to go to the front lines?”

“…The Count’s knights shouldn’t be harmed in our fight. Above all, the commander this time is my very son. I requested you gentlemen from the Count for his safety.”

Baron Ballard answered the senior knight’s doubts.

Of course, he had some other thoughts in mind as well.

‘The enemies will probably target our commander first.’

Baron Ballard anticipated the enemy’s strategy.

Probably a tactic where they engage the main force in battle, then have an enemy detachment riding Shadow Wolves exploit the opening created.

These three knights would be able to handle the situation even under those circumstances.

‘We’ll induce the opponent’s attack first.’

The day of the great battle arrived.

Both sides faced off on the plains belonging to the Ballard Barony.

The opposing commander was Lord Cliff. The estate’s soldiers surrounded him densely.

And there was someone with a slender build whose face was hidden by a hood.

‘Who is that person?’

It was somewhat unsettling.

Still, victory would tilt toward their side. Viscount Gordon and a man approached Baron Ballard who had been watching.

“Are your preparations complete, Lord Ballard?”

“Of course. We will definitely win this war.”

“Hmm. If I’m not mistaken, it seems some strong fighters I haven’t seen before have joined the Ballard family’s ranks.”

“I hired those with excellent skills in preparation for war.”

Baron Ballard answered with a confident voice.

The Count’s three knights were skilled enough to warrant his confidence. Baron Ballard’s gaze now turned behind Viscount Gordon.

Viscount Gordon introduced him.

“This is Sir Anton, who will observe this battle on behalf of Baron Ellemis.”

“Hmm. He has an unfamiliar face… Well, that’s fine. Baron Ellemis will personally command as the general?”

“That’s what he said.”

Baron Ballard quietly exchanged nods with Anton.

He watched the standoff between both armies with a calm face. Neither side launched an attack from the beginning.

However, this standoff soon changed.

‘As expected, that bastard is making his move.’

Teobaldt.

The Slave Knight that Bellman had brought along.

He had heard about him several times. Adolf was most wary of him.

While he could handle several Shadow Wolves, Teobaldt was someone Adolf found difficult to predict victory against.

And.

‘I also anticipated that bastard would target our commander in his attack.’

That’s why he had asked the Count’s knights.

If the Count’s knights could just hold back Teobaldt, or better yet, if Teobaldt died at the hands of the Count’s knights, the tide of victory would turn to their side.

“War belongs to God, so He will grant us victory today! Do not fear. We will surely win…!”

How much effect would the blessing have?

Still, even before the start, the soldiers’ faces were already solemn and resolute. Their determination was visible.

In contrast, Baron Ballard’s army had greater numbers but lacked such spirit.

‘They must have been dragged out.’

Those would be conscripts, not regular troops.

In cold terms, expendable.

Without them having to act, if the Shadow Wolf stepped forward and threatened, they would surely crumble. But the problem was the knights mixed among them.

Here, which side had more and stronger knights would determine victory or defeat. Thinking of this, Cliff felt regret.

‘I need to hurry and learn magic or something…’

He still didn’t possess any magic.

So he used a skill instead of magic.

“Domain Declaration.”

There was something he learned from using the skill.

Outside his estate, his skills became weaker.

But that was still fine. The power within his estate had been excessive to begin with.

And anyway, while the mana consumption would increase, if he poured in mana, he could display abilities similar to those within his estate.

Thus Cliff’s domain expanded.

The domain grew large enough to encompass both armies.

Within it, Cliff observed those around the enemy commander.

‘As expected.’

The opponent had hired external knights.

And they seemed to have read their tactics as well. They were only solidifying their defense, showing no intention of advancing.

They were probably waiting for the moment when their side would strike the enemy commander.

‘The wolves would disrupt the army, and Teobaldt would take the enemy commander’s head in the chaos.’

This was Plan A.

The enemies anticipated this and devised their strategy. Having external knights protect the commander meant they intended to face Teobaldt.

Cliff spoke.

“Teobaldt.”

“Yes.”

“We’re going with Plan B.”

The war had begun.

After seeing the enemy camp remaining still, he finished analyzing their strategy.

Cliff commanded the operation.

At those words, Teobaldt’s eyes gleamed with a chilling light.

“I will follow my lord’s command.”

His sword was drawn.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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