Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 421: -169- Interesting "bandit soldiers

Chapter 421: -169- Interesting "bandit soldiers

"So, what you mean to say is, the army that was sent days ago to pursue the escapees from Violet Duchy not only failed to complete the mission but also let someone attack the war prisoner camp?"

Inside the Count Mansion, Charlotte sat on the lord’s seat, looking at the noble officer responsible for chasing the escaping soldiers, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Facing her gaze, the noble officer looked embarrassed and quickly bowed his head to admit guilt:

"Count, this is my negligence. I misjudged the trouble level of the bandit soldiers from Violet..."

"But rest assured, our war prisoner camp is tightly guarded. Although it was stealthily attacked, it did not cause much loss."

Charlotte shook her head:

"Being attacked is already disgraceful, those were just some routed soldiers from the North Port Battle."

Saying this, she paused:

"And, when you say it did not cause much loss, it means... still, some losses were incurred? Did we lose anything?"

The noble officer swallowed a gulp, carefully saying:

"There were... about two to three hundred Isaac prisoners who escaped amidst the chaos."

Charlotte: ...

"Have they been captured again?"

She asked, frowning.

The noble’s expression became even more embarrassed:

"No... no..."

Charlotte’s frown deepened:

"Oh? Not only did you fail to thoroughly clean up the scattered routed soldiers, but you also couldn’t capture the escaping prisoners?"

Facing the young girl’s intense gaze, the noble officer swallowed hard and hurriedly explained:

"Count... it’s not like we didn’t try, but those bandit soldiers are too cunning..."

Charlotte: ...

Damn, this sounds so familiar. Where have I heard this before?

"Wasn’t it about capturing prisoners? How did it shift to the routed soldiers of Violet? Could it be, you mean to say those routed soldiers from Violet assembled the Isaac escapees?"

Charlotte frowned and said.

However, after speaking, she saw the noble officer’s expression become even more awkward, and he did not rebut.

Charlotte: ...

She was stunned:

"So, they really were assembled by the routed soldiers of Violet?"

The noble dared not answer directly and carefully said:

"While we were tracking the routed soldiers, we also discovered traces of those Isaac Cavalry. They... they seemed to have merged."

Charlotte: ...

"Don’t these routed soldiers know that we and Violet have already negotiated peace?"

She asked, frowning.

After speaking, without waiting for the noble to respond, she shook her head and muttered to herself:

"No, the news of the war’s victory is well known throughout the duchy, even the drunkards in the taverns know that we have signed a peace treaty with Violet. These men who attacked the towns couldn’t possibly be unaware..."

The noble officer nodded:

"They definitely know. To dispel their resistance, we even specifically shouted to them during the pursuit, but for some reason, it not only failed to make them surrender but seemed to have the opposite effect."

"Not only that, they have contacts with quite a few troublesome villagers. Their information channels are definitely not blocked..."

Charlotte, listening, felt something was off:

"Wait... so you’re saying, there are quite a few subjects in the territory helping them?"

The noble officer sighed:

"That’s right, these routed soldiers are quite cunning, unlike what I initially thought. They are very adept at using the villagers’ hatred for nobles, targeting only the disliked nobles and merchants in their raids, yet never looting the troublesome villagers."

"Not only that, after looting money and material, they take only half and distribute the rest to the local troublemakers, which results in those villagers being willing to cover their tracks and tip them off..."

"The biggest reason we have still not been able to completely eradicate them is that they always manage to know our movements in advance and evacuate before we successfully surround them."

Charlotte: ...

Why does this feel increasingly familiar the more I listen?!

"Those nobles and merchants who were attacked, what became of them in the end?"

Charlotte asked again.

The noble hesitated for a moment before saying,

"Most were released after paying the ransom, and a few were killed by those unruly subjects."

Charlotte was stunned,

"Killed by the subjects?"

"Yes, they tied up those nobles and handed them over to the villagers for execution, and those nobles were then killed by the unruly people!" the noble officer said angrily.

Charlotte:

"Those nobles who were killed were notorious fellows, weren’t they?" She paused and suddenly said.

The noble officer instinctively wanted to deny it, but facing Charlotte’s gaze that seemed to penetrate the heart, he eventually hesitated and confessed honestly,

"They... their reputations, might indeed not be so... um... not so good..."

Hearing his words, Charlotte’s expression turned peculiar:

"So, it seems these rogue soldiers are actually cleaning up the Castel estate for me."

The noble officer’s expression changed slightly, and he hastened to say,

"Count, please don’t think like that! These deserters, wherever they go, plunder or destroy all the military supplies stored by the local noble families and even incite subjects to confront their lords!"

"They... they are undermining our rule!"

Charlotte looked at him,

"If the rule of Castel is shaken because of this, then it can only mean that Castel indeed lacks popular support and needs to be reorganized."

The noble officer opened his mouth, then stopped himself.

Charlotte stroked her chin, a hint of interest emerging on her face:

"These rogue soldiers are quite interesting..."

"To achieve this much, there must be a leader among them, and certainly a talented one!"

Saying this, she looked at the noble officer, feeling somewhat interested in recruiting the leader of these Violet rogue soldiers:

"Do you know who is uniting these rogue soldiers? Have you had a chance to speak with them?"

Upon hearing Charlotte’s words, the noble officer was taken aback for a moment and shook his head awkwardly:

"For now... we don’t know."

"These rogue soldiers are highly organized, and we haven’t been able to capture any prisoners, so we aren’t clear about who is commanding them..."

"As for talking... we would like to, but they are deeply hostile to us of Castel, leaving us no opportunity."

"However, the leader must be a destitute noble from Violet, as the civilians who have seen these rogue soldiers say they’ve heard them addressing their commander as ’Lord’ or ’Baron’..."

Hearing the officer’s words, Charlotte’s heart skipped a beat:

"Baron...?"

At that moment, she inadvertently thought of Baron Betel of Violet Duchy who remained unaccounted for since the North Port Battle, and who had been reassigned to her by the Violet Duchy...

"Could it be that coincidental?"

Charlotte murmured to herself.

After thinking it over, Charlotte commanded:

"Issue my order; within three days, I want to know the name of this ’Baron’ behind the rogue soldiers."

...

Charlotte quickly issued the command to investigate the identity of the commander of the rogue soldiers.

With a direct order from the lord, the nobles’ efficiency improved. Furthermore, as these rogue soldiers had become increasingly active in the Castel rear recently, the difficulty of concealing their movements also grew.

Merely two days later, information about the opposing commander was finally obtained by Castel.

"Guillaume de Betel Willett?"

Looking at the name presented to her, Charlotte blinked slightly.

Clicking her tongue, she chuckled:

"It really is Betel, and from the Willett family no less, no wonder he refuses to talk with Castel..."

Saying this, she pondered for a moment and then said to the maid Sherry who was serving nearby,

"Sherry, go call Agnes over; she has new work to do."