31 Meeting Count Bastion Again
"Incompetent fool! Get out of my sight!" Count Bastion yelled, chasing out the Aron Army officers from his working chamber.
These officers could only grit their teeth in indignation as they scampered out of the room, mumbling curses under their breaths as they walked away.
The Count had been in a very bad mood for the past few days, and had chosen to once again take his anger out on them this time.
Having been his subordinates for many long years, how would they not know of his infamous temper?
Out of experience, none of them bothered to reason with him, simply because he was never reasonable in these situations.
All they could do was to obediently take the scolding and leave at the first opportunity.
Even after his officers left, Count Bastion had yet to calm down.
His eyes scanned across the room, and his gaze finally fell upon the maid who was clearing up the mess on the coffee table.
He looked at the young maid from head to toe, lascivious thoughts stirring within him and threatening to take over his mind.
Just as he stood up and was about to walk over, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"What is it?" Count Bastion shouted out in irritation.
"The expedition army had returned!" the guard replied from outside.
Upon hearing that reply, Count Bastion immediately lost all interest in the maid.
What would come had finally come.
Ever since he heard of King Roland's crushing victory over the goblins a week ago, Count Bastion had not spent a single moment with a peace of mind.
Immediately after King Roland had marched the expedition army out towards Dragontail Valley, Count Bastion had gathered the lesser nobles and influential merchants in his fief for a sumptuous feast.
During which, he had repeatedly made snide and sarcastic remarks at the foolishness of the new king for going ahead with the plan.
Of course, he made sure to phrase it in such a way that anyone who heard it could not incriminate him for it.
With that, he had hoped to both strike at the King's reputation as well as garner support for when he took action in the future to seize power.
His military officers had repeatedly advised him against doing exactly what King Roland did, but who knew that when the latter went ahead with the plan, it would actually work miraculously well!
Count Bastion felt utterly embarrassed by this result!
Instead of striking at King Roland's reputation and boosting his own, he had now succeeded in doing the exact opposite!
So who could blame him for taking out his anger on the officers of the Aron Army?
They deserved it for their incompetence!
But now, he was the one who had to put on a smile and receive the returning Royal Army.
He adjusted his expression a little in front of his mirror, and then promptly left the room to welcome the return of his guests.
It had already been more than a week since the battle was concluded, and the news of the expedition army's successful subjugation of the goblin horde had already started to spread.
Being the only main city in the region, Waterfall City was the first to receive this news of victory.
Not just the commoners, but even other nobles were astonished to find that the expedition army had managed to resolve the situation within such a short time!
This was especially highlighted by the fact that the Aron Army had been completely helpless before the great obstacle known as Dragontail Valley.
As the news spread, words were exaggerated, and the events that occurred that day during the battle eventually found themselves transformed in completely different manners.
However, one thing stayed the same no matter what version of the story it was.
And that was the fact that this battle, which would later be referred to by everyone as the famous Battle of Dragontail Valley, had been won with zero deaths incurred on the side of the expedition army!
Such was the might of the Royal Army!
When the expedition army re-entered Waterfall City, the streets were packed with people who had turned up to welcome them in spite of the light rain.
It was to the extent that the Aron Army had to dispatch soldiers to maintain order and hold back the overenthusiastic crowd!
Loud cheers erupted from the crowds as the expedition army marched past, causing the Royal Army soldiers to subconsciously push out their chests in pride.
This welcome for their return to Waterfall City was completely different from the first time they arrived.
Now you know how good we are!
This was how it should have been from the start!
At that moment, these soldiers truly felt that it was a blessing for them to have chosen to join the Royal Army!
The Aron Army soldiers by the road, however, had grim expressions on their faces.
While they were busy holding back the crowd, some of the commoners had even cursed them for their incompetence due to failing to accomplish what the expedition army easily managed to do.
It was not even their fault!
The City Lord was the one who made the final decisions after all!
However, the soldiers could only grit their teeth in frustration and carry on with their jobs.
King Roland calmly stayed within his horse carriage as the expedition army marched through the streets, choosing to hide behind a thin cloth that acted as the curtain of the carriage window.
He was definitely heartened by the warm welcome, but this was not sufficient to set his mind at ease.
After settling the external issue, he now had to face the internal one!
He had won the battle with an overwhelming advantage, but that was a lucky victory that resulted from a string of coincidences.
Unless…he shamelessly claimed credit for Erin's genius diversion of the floodwaters!
If he could claim that he had planned right from the start to flush out the goblins from their settlement in Dragontail Valley, then it would satisfy his goal of accomplishing a strategically brilliant victory on the battlefield!
Well, Erin did seem to have wanted to let him claim credit for the plan, so she probably would not mind if he did so, would she?
Roland was honestly unsure about that.
After all, Erin seemed to have pretty bad mood swings.
What if she suddenly decided to hold this against him in the future?
Roland dared not imagine having a genius like Erin as an enemy.
It would be nothing but a disaster!
Looks like he would have to sit down with Erin and properly talk about this matter when he returned to the capital!
Seeing how the soldiers were relishing in the moment of being celebrated, Alexander tactfully ordered for the march to slow down, deliberately prolonging the time spent while they made their way back to the Aron Army facility.
This was something that the crowds enjoyed, that the soldiers of the Royal Army enjoyed, but the soldiers of the Aron Army were depressed because of that!
In actual fact, most of the Aron Army soldiers were also pleased that the expedition army had taken care of the goblin problem.
They too had family and friends in the region, and for every additional day that the goblins remained rampant, it was an additional day that these people close to them would be exposed to danger.
However, the crowds right now were directly cussing them out for not having done what the expedition army had accomplished!
The expedition only arrived less than a month ago, yet they accomplished something that the Aron Army was unable to despite having been here from the start, so it naturally reflected badly on the local soldiers.
Inside the hearts of many of these soldiers from the Aron Army, they were cursing along with the crowds.
Cursing the pathetic decision making abilities of the upper echelons within the Aron Army.
Cursing the fact that they just had to be unlucky enough to be on duty today to face the merciless crowds.
Cursing the fact that they did not join the Royal Army instead, or else they could be the ones who were being cheered on right now!
It took longer than necessary, but the crowds finally cleared after the expedition army entered the Aron Army facility.
Seeing the soldiers' triumphant return was more or less a confirmation of the rumours that the goblins had been successfully subjugated, so the crowds simply went on and continued their celebrations elsewhere.
An official announcement would probably be made in a few days' time, but it would just be a symbolic gesture by then.
"Greetings to Your Majesty!" Count Bastion bowed with a wide smile on his face when Roland entered the main hall.
"Rise," Roland gave a quick wave of his hand before making his way to the main seat at the far end of the hall.
Other high ranked officers of the Royal Army also entered behind Roland to take up the seats in the hall, while the rest of the seats were filled by members of the Aron Family.
"Your humble servant congratulates Your Majesty on the successfully subjugation of the goblins!" Count Bastion exclaimed after he took his seat as well. "I have specially instructed the chefs to prepare a huge celebratory feast tonight!"
"That is a thoughtful arrangement. I appreciate it," Roland nodded.
Even if he did not particularly enjoy banquets or lavish parties, Roland knew that this was something that the soldiers of the expedition army would appreciate.
Thus, he chose to accept this gesture from the Count.
"I heard that the expedition army suffered no deaths at all from the clash against the goblins! That is an accomplishment that far exceeds the capabilities of even the greatest commander!" Count Bastion was generous with his praises.
This was a way for him to confirm the details within the reports that he had received from his sources.
If it was the truth, then the king would only see it as a harmless compliment.
If it was not, then he had at least set the stage for the king to deny the accomplishment without suffering any embarrassment.
However, Count Bastion was bound to be disappointed by the reply.
"That is indeed the case, but we got lucky in the sense that things just happened to work out well this time. It is not a feat that can be replicated anywhere else," Roland smiled.
So it was the truth!
Count Bastion had expected as much, so he was not too surprised. However, the important thing was what came next.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva in a rare show of nervousness before opening his mouth once again.
"Your Majesty is truly humble! Especially since I heard that the goblin horde was led by three Goblin Kings this time round! No amount of luck would have been sufficient to overcome those odds if not for Your Majesty's great commanding prowess and the Royal Army's overwhelming superiority!"
In the reports that he had received, it not only detailed that the expedition army did not incur any deaths, but also that the opposition side had been under the command of three different Goblin Kings!
The first part was already exaggerated enough, but it could be barely possible with lady luck shining on the side of the expedition army.
However, the second part was something that Count Bastion refused to accept!
What was a Goblin King?
It was an entity that could threaten the foundations of a kingdom if left unchecked!
Three of them?
And no deaths resulted from the battle?
What a joke!
If that were truly the case, then what hopes were there for his plan to seize power in a coup?
Even the veteran commander Marquis Berghis and the entirety of the powerful Tonquello Army combined might risk crumbling before the might of a Goblin King, much less the expedition army that did not even comprise of the entirety of the Royal Army!
Not just him, but the rest of the Aron Family present also perked up their ears, not wanting to miss the King's reply.
"As I mentioned, we truly got lucky and our plans coincidentally fell in place. Otherwise, we would definitely have had trouble dealing with such an enemy," Roland answered.
The rest of the officers from the Royal Army nodded in agreement, but there was complete silence from the other half of the main hall.
Count Bastion had been watching everyone's expressions carefully since the start, and with how naturally everyone just started nodding, there was probably nothing false about the King's reply!
The expedition army truly took down a goblin horde led by three Goblin Kings, and incurred no deaths while doing so?
What kind of military prowess was necessary to accomplish such a feat?!
Were the soldiers of the Royal Army really this much stronger?
Were the commanders of the Royal Army really this much wiser?
Thinking about all the arrangements that he had made before today in order to lay the foundations to his seizing of power in the future, Count Bastion's body froze up.
With such a crazy display of strength, who would still dare to go against the current Royal Family?
In fact, now he might even have to worry about whether anyone would sell him out in fear of being implicated by his actions!
Count Bastion might have always been careful not to be labelled as directly standing against the Royal Family, but in this world, the strong needed no evidence to judge the weak!
Count Bastion felt his mind go blank, and the last thing he remembered was people calling out his name anxiously before his vision turned dark.
