Chapter 542: Oh, Oh, Oh, I'm a Captive!

Magion Axel was extremely dissatisfied.

He was a branch member of the Axel family who, during the recent rebellion within the Axel family, had been drawn out of his obscurity. From a down-and-out noble of the former dynasty, he had ascended to become a member of the Royal Knights and now commanded a sizable force, gaining a modest amount of power.

Yet, Magion Axel didn’t enjoy this kind of life.

Take this time, for example: he had been assigned a task—to eliminate the stronghold of Machubi.

The ancient ruins of the Orc Kingdom, Machubi, had reportedly been rebuilt by Duke Charlot Mecklenburg into a thriving trade hub.

Magion had always been a low-ranking noble during the Axel dynasty and never reaped much benefit from his family name. After the Emperor of Bretagne ascended the throne, his life hadn’t improved much, so he bore no grudge against the Bretagne family. After all, it was Prince Redmir Axel, his own younger brother, who had killed the old emperor, not Count Bretagne.

What mattered most to Magion was that he was a devoted reader of Annie Mecklenburg's novels. He was obsessed with the plots of her stories, cherishing nothing more than enjoying a cup of coffee in his small apartment after work while poring over her latest novel—or perhaps playing a round of Taculo Cards with friends.

He couldn’t fathom why the Axel family felt the need to rebel. Sure, the emperor's throne might be alluring, but what did that have to do with him? Did they think the imperial throne would ever fall to someone like Magion Axel?

Leading the Sixth Cavalry Battalion under his command, Magion arrived at Machubi just as twilight fell. As a noble who had lived half his life in obscurity, he had no military experience. He didn’t even bother scouting the enemy’s strength and ordered an immediate attack.

In Magion's view, the sooner Machubi was captured, the sooner he could return to Strasbourg to read novels, which was the real essence of life.

Although the Axel family had regained power, they had originally been royalty and had numerous connections with major houses in Fars. They weren’t ruthless figures like Redmir or Midaphis Axel. Surprisingly, they hadn’t even banned Annie’s bookstore. On the contrary, the legend of Annie Mecklenburg defending her home for her love and Charlot’s triumphant return to reclaim his duchy had only boosted sales of Annie’s novels.

When the battalion of Royal Knights stormed into Machubi, Charlot, who was waiting for his brother-in-law’s forces to arrive, was momentarily stunned. At that time, there were five Saint rank individuals in Machubi: himself, Clair Bretagne, Ebner Soumet, Andreas, and Grandma Saint Karen, who never left Annie’s side.

Charlot hadn’t even included Grandma Karen in his calculations when he set out—he hadn’t planned to send her to the battlefield at all.

As a devoted and selfless tutor, Grandma Karen had already done far more than enough.

Charlot couldn’t bear to let her endure the trials of combat anymore.

Charlot had long noticed the cavalry force from Strasbourg. The authentic Royal Knights had been disbanded by the Emperor of Bretagne, with even their three commanders now serving Charlot. The newly formed Royal Knights were of appallingly low quality. Charlot had assumed this cavalry force would realize the formidable strength of Machubi and retreat of their own accord. He had even planned to devise a method to keep them from leaving to avoid exposing his plans...

He had never expected such recklessness. This cavalry force charged straight into Machubi without even bothering to scout.

After some hesitation, Charlot ordered a temporary retreat, allowing the cavalry force to charge deeper into the fortress.

When Magion and his men entered Machubi, they found traces of life but no people in sight. This led Magion to believe, “Just as I thought, these people fled long ago. Why would they wait here for a detachment from Strasbourg to root them out?”

“This trip has been a complete waste of time.”

“Those foolish nobles, they know nothing of military tactics except tormenting their subordinates...”

Magion shouted, “Advance another 500 meters. If we don’t find anyone, grab whatever looks like evidence, and we’ll report back, claiming Machubi was abandoned.”

Simultaneously, Charlot ordered, “Wait for them to advance another 500 meters, then launch an attack. Let’s first ask if they’re willing to surrender.”

Charlot was intrigued by this commander. After all, finding a commander even more inexperienced than himself was quite rare.

After advancing just over 300 meters, Magion began to double back, nearly causing Charlot to miss the opportunity to strike. Charlot hastily ordered a pursuit, raising a mist to encircle all of Machubi.

The ensuing battle was utterly unremarkable. When four Saint rank individuals took to the skies, Magion immediately fell from his horse and shouted, “I surrender!”

The Royal Knights following Magion were even less prepared for combat than their commander. If Magion had hesitated even a moment longer to surrender, his own subordinates might have captured him. Charlot even noticed a few soldiers attempting to pull Magion down by the tail of his horse.

Shaking his head, Charlot remarked, “I’ve never fought a battle like this!”

He called out loudly, “I am Charlot Mecklenburg!”

Magion was simultaneously shocked and delighted. He exclaimed, “Are you Annie Mecklenburg’s husband? I’m a devoted fan of her work! Her latest novel, The Three Commanders, was absolutely brilliant. But your publishing speed is so slow...”

“Oh, oh, oh, I’m a captive!”

Magion squatted down in frustration. He had even considered asking for an autograph but quickly realized the awkwardness of his situation.

Charlot nearly burst out laughing. It was the first time he’d encountered an enemy on the battlefield who claimed to be a fan and looked like he was asking for a signature.

Clair Bretagne couldn’t help but say, “If you cooperate, I can arrange for Duke Charlot Mecklenburg to send you a signed set of books.”

Magion jumped to his feet and shouted, “No, no, one book is enough!”

“Well, if it’s a complete set, I’ll treat it as a family heirloom!”

“Signed copies of Annie Mecklenburg’s works are unheard of in Strasbourg!”

“This would be...”

“Ah, ah, ah, I’m a captive!”

Even Ebner Soumet couldn’t hold back and said to Charlot, “Quickly take him away, or I won’t be able to stop laughing.”

Charlot swiftly absorbed this cavalry battalion into his forces. After interrogating Magion briefly, a bold idea occurred to him: “What if I have someone disguise themselves as this cavalry battalion and infiltrate Strasbourg? When Antonio arrives, we could coordinate an attack from within and reclaim the capital in one fell swoop.”

“Even though Magion claims to be my reader, I can’t fully trust him with something like this.”

“However, I’m sure Strasbourg must be in complete chaos right now. Even without an insider, I can sneak in.”

After some consideration, Charlot selected a group of highly skilled labyrinth guards to carry out his plan...

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