EFB Chapter 577 A Little Thorn in My Heart
Chapter 577 A Little Thorn in My Heart
Chapter 577 A Little Thorn in My Heart
“Great, now I’m at odds with Charlie again.”
Before leaving, Julius took one last look at his new wand in his room.
A thin layer of gold thread is wrapped around the black elderberry handle. This amount of gold, lighter than a feather, can slightly amplify his magic, but any more than that is beyond his control. Only the highest-ranking Golden Crown Wizard King can wield this supreme metal at will.
Clayton leaned against the wall with the help of the Builder: "Just pretend you have a grudge against him. If I said we went to take his head for the bounty, should we share the bounty with Franklin afterwards?"
"In my opinion, you really should apologize to me."
“I’m not like him. Charlie was Franklin’s target from the start. If I ask Franklin for help, then relatively speaking, I’m also his helper. He doesn’t lose out.”
"This—is relativity," Clayton Bello said.
Julius had never heard of such a theory before. He looked at his employer suspiciously, convinced that this was something the man had just made up, and that he had done this more than once.
They returned to the first floor to meet up with Franklin and Angel, and then set off together to search for Charlie.
The group rode along the road, and Sir Franklin, holding the reins, frequently glanced at Clayton. Although he was focused on solving the case, his attention was diverted considerably when he was traveling with Clayton.
“Mr. Bellow, after our last meeting, I remembered your former identity. Please forgive me, you have changed a lot. And I remembered your nickname instead of your name, so I didn’t recognize you completely at the time. But to be honest, I have heard quite a lot about you.”
Franklin smiled, but his attitude was not one of worship.
Beside them, the wizard and the dwarf sitting behind Franklin both pricked up their ears to listen, equally curious about Clayton.
“I suspect it’s not a good thing,” Clayton said from horseback. He wasn’t riding Alexandra, but a fully tamed horse that, while no smaller than the others’ mounts, looked rather small on him.
"No, it's all praise, and someone I know has a very high opinion of you."
Clayton's reaction was strange.
"I don't really believe he's either a nobleman or..."
Franklin did not answer whether the person he knew was a nobleman or not, but continued, "He was impressed by the tactics you often used in the War of Loren."
"It's probably because my previous cavalry officers weren't very good at using their brains."
To Julius's surprise, when Franklin began to praise Clayton, the increasingly arrogant fellow did not take the opportunity to become complacent, but instead tried his best to make himself appear insignificant.
"What tactics?" he interrupted to ask.
"It's just a very ordinary tactic," Clayton said modestly, though his tone was somewhat impatient.
Franklin explained it to the wizard in great detail. "In localized skirmishes, leave a contingent of heavy cavalry in the rear, while sending the majority of light cavalry in a dense line to feign a charge from a distance, luring the Towton cavalry out. Once they make contact, turn and retreat quickly, regrouping with the heavy cavalry. The remaining light cavalry lie in ambush around the battlefield where the two sides first clashed, joining the battle only when the Towton cavalry begin pursuing the main force of the light cavalry, attacking the Towtons from behind as they chase their comrades."
"To defend against attacks from the rear, the Tauntons would leave some men to engage the enemy from the rear. Once their frontline forces no longer had a numerical advantage, the main force of our light cavalry would spread out in a line to the flanks, exposing the heavy cavalry hidden behind them to charge at them. At the same time, the light cavalry line would change into a column to encircle the enemy formation, maintaining distance while attacking the enemy's rear with grapeshot at an angle."
"Of course, there are also the coordinated tactics of artillery and cavalry, but that's too long to explain."
Although Franklin said that, judging from his appearance, he would be more than willing to answer if someone pressed him for an answer.
However, this information is enough for Julius and Angel to change their opinion of Clayton—he is no longer just an ordinary duelist.
“These tactics are nothing special; they are simply ancient tactics and cannot be used against knights,” Clayton Bello insisted, refusing to accept praise.
“It’s alright, there aren’t many knights in Taunton. Brilliant tactics are not rare, but those who can actually execute them are even fewer.” Franklin insisted on praising him. “Your ability to accomplish this shows that you have strict discipline, your soldiers are of high quality, capable of executing tactics, and that they are willing to obey you.”
Clayton remained silent, seemingly acquiescing to his statement.
"However, there is one thing I don't understand. I heard that you have a title of 'Blue Blood Guardian', but I don't know how you got it."
"Hmph, Mr. Franklin, you certainly know how to pick a topic."
"If this topic makes you uncomfortable, then I apologize."
Franklin smiled as he adjusted the reins. Even though he was preoccupied with conversation and reminiscing, he remained very steady on his horse and never bumped into anything, demonstrating that his riding skills were not as mediocre as he claimed.
"I bring it up because I consider it an honor."
Clayton corrected him: "It's not an honor, it's a label."
Who put the label on?
“Those who tried to get something out of me.” Clayton’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he recalled the past, and he felt a pang of hunger. “My tactics were conservative; I preferred to keep more people alive rather than achieve a spectacular victory. The longer soldiers lived, the easier it was for them to accumulate experience and merit.”
“Those impoverished nobles like to come to me because of the system and the consensus of the upper class. As long as they stay in the ranks, we have to ‘pay taxes’ to them.”
"No matter how much they actually did, as long as they participated in the mission, they were considered a 'decisive contributor' and a major factor in the mission's success. The efforts of others were attributed to them, so they were promoted faster than anyone else."
"Six noble sons used my troops as a springboard to return to the court, which is why people gave me the title of 'Blue Blood Guardian'."
"But you were the one who devised the mission, so that doesn't diminish your contribution, does it?" Franklin asked curiously.
“This has nothing to do with my promotion, but that doesn’t mean it has no impact,” Clayton replied. “The salaries of the Knights and the Cavalry are not the same, which is why you don’t understand this.” “The Kingdom of Dorne invests a huge amount of military funds every year, but the vast majority of it is used to upgrade equipment, and the soldiers’ salaries are very meager.”
“In the past, our king issued privateering licenses to pirates who were affiliated with him, allowing them to plunder enemy merchant ships to fund his army. Now our king still expects to give soldiers the opportunity to legally plunder in order to make up for their insufficient salaries.”
"To be honest, I don't like this, so I forbid my men from robbing locals."
"Originally, everyone lived a relatively peaceful life in poverty. Although they were poor, they acted with integrity and at least had some honor. But after these nobles joined the army, they were able to share in the credit of others, endure a period of hardship, and then be promoted and transferred to other units that were allowed to plunder. It was a case of both honor and money. So it became as if the entire army was living in poverty just to support those impoverished nobles."
"Ah, no need to say more, I already understand." Franklin sighed and shook his head.
Soldiers can share hardships, but there are conditions.
Light cavalrymen almost entirely relied on plunder for a living, while hussars were synonymous with a life of luxury. If it were an ordinary officer, the soldiers would mutini in no time if he proposed to prohibit plunder. It was quite an achievement that Clayton Bello was able to persuade them to agree.
Faced with such an unavoidable personnel arrangement, even if the soldiers still obey his orders, he would probably feel uneasy.
This explains why he later applied for a long-term mission of raiding behind enemy lines, launching attacks everywhere, constantly robbing the logistics and caravans of the Tautonians, and earning the nickname "Wandering Whip." He really needed to find a way for his soldiers to make money in order to maintain the morale of the troops.
"This military reform failed to correct the system of preferential treatment for nobles, and the quality of noble officers is uneven. Sooner or later, another military reform will be needed."
The noble lineage of the Knights is different from that of non-Knights, so Franklin would not oppose Clayton because of his own noble position.
“We have given too many privileges to the nobles. What kind of nobles are they if they can’t even fulfill their military obligations?”
Julius has fewer taboos and can speak freely.
“I don’t think it can be changed.” Angel shook his head, flicking his beard back and forth, his tone full of distrust: “No one can abolish the privileges of the nobility, because everyone wants to be a nobleman.”
“That’s true,” Clayton agreed with the dwarf.
The dwarf woman pondered again: "If that Book of Earth fell into the hands of an ordinary person and became symbiotic with his soul, would he be granted a hereditary noble title by the Queen?"
“No,” Franklin said. “Hereditary nobles must possess the secrets, without exception. Passing down the seeds of the secrets is an important duty of nobles. However, non-hereditary noble titles can be specially granted. Of course, I still hope to recover the Book of the Land as much as possible and not let it fall into the hands of commoners, as that would cause great unrest.”
"What if it falls into the hands of a nobleman?"
“I will do my best to get it back, but things will become more complicated. My law enforcement authority does not allow me to impose punishments on nobles other than imprisonment, unless they have secret connections with traitors.”
At this point, Franklin couldn't help but glance at the minaret in the distance.
"The best outcome would be for us to get the book from Charlie this time, and then the book would be permanently sealed away."
"You guys aren't even considering using it?" Julius raised an eyebrow.
Franklin gave him a brief look before quickly turning his head away—the green hair was really unbearable for the knight. He had never heard of humans having green hair, but if it was just a young person's attempt to be different, there was no green hair dye available on the market.
There are green dyes, but none that can be applied to the head for a long time without fading and keep one healthy.
Clayton Bello's younger brother is no ordinary person either.
"Light and darkness have been so close since birth. If it can be placed on the right path by a benevolent hand today, it will surely be used by an evil hand in the future. So it is better to seal it away from the beginning. Anyway, life went on as usual before it existed."
"If you don't do anything unnecessary, you won't make mistakes. What a high-minded bureaucrat," Julius thought. He turned to look at Clayton's reaction and saw the man with a furrowed brow.
"Did someone trigger the alarm?" he asked.
The werewolf nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Let's go back and talk about it. Let's resolve this matter first."
They are still on their way to capture Charlie.
Mrs. Kleber spent a long time monitoring the drunkard Charlie, and she also knew the locations of many of Charlie's safe houses.
Charlie was a very vigilant guy, but he didn't realize that someone could be so devoted.
The people responsible for monitoring him were renting long-term apartments right next to his house, and there was more than one of them. Their presence was no longer just noise in the environment, but an integral part of it. Ordinary investigation methods were ineffective in this situation.
Mrs. Clyber was actually always capable of dealing with Charles. Although Charles worked for the nobility, if her husband were willing to use his connections, even if he couldn't kill him, he could still force him back to a life on the run.
But this brought the matter to the forefront.
It's quite a scandal that a noblewoman's enemy is a commoner, and she doesn't want this to affect her social life.
So she could only keep sending people to monitor him while hesitating, letting the hatred fester until Charlie lost his protector and had a sum of money in hand. Only then did she break through her psychological taboo and secretly hire an assassin to deal with this old enemy.
Clayton Bello didn't know how to evaluate the lady's way of dealing with people, but her efforts certainly made things easier for them at the moment.
They noticed something amiss when they checked the second address on the list.