Hero without Blood or Tear

It was prudent to check up on my agents to ensure that nothing was going wrong .  After communicating with them, using the crystal b.a.l.l.s, several of them came running to receive me .

“My lord!  You are here in our humble abode in person!”

“I stopped by to see someone I know .  Lead me to your base . ”

“Yes sir!”

One of them took the Philly’s reins and others escorted me as we walked .  I rode leisurely while surrounded by the vampires .

“This must be the place . ”

The vampires said that they were hiding here while renting the place .   As the vampires naturally possess the power of charm, it wasn’t all that impossible to a.s.sume that they were probably cheating the villagers using their powers .

“My lord!  Welcome!”

There was a war room like ambience once he entered the building .  Although it has not been too long since they were dispatched, there appeared papers and doc.u.ments all over the place, indicating that they had been working hard .  The walls were plastered with maps, timetables and reference materials .

“This is what we have so far, identified as the devil king’s military units .  We’ve been constructing this using recon missions that are based on the intel from the mercenaries . ”

“Oh, this is really a great work . ”

Since the vampires are stealthy, the prepared materials had details which human spies would have had great difficulty in finding out .  It was, certainly, the right decision to employ the vampires, as I am able to see the full deployment of Pajemut’s forces .

“Something’s not quite right here…the placement of their camps?  There are holes in their coverage . ”

“We also thought that was suspicious, so we checked them several times, but this map is correct . ”

I had a strange feeling while looking over the material prepared by the vampires .  Pajemut’s camp locations was not optimal in terms of protecting the occupied territory .

“Yet, they didn’t appear to be traps either… Why are they are placed near the headquarters?”

“We also have the same question . ”

“I’m not sure, but we ought to be able to use it .  This map .  Be sure to complete it . ”

“Yes sir!”

This was an opportunity .  If it was possible to put together a military force from somewhere, now would be the best time to obliterate Pajemut .

The initial plan was to leave the empire’s southwest region alone as it would be a quiet period .  However, seeing the enemy, exposing a vulnerable point, changed everything .

Is there anywhere from which a military force can be put together?

Although the Walpurga Sisters Society numbered about a hundred, they really weren’t a military force .

Bavaria is too far from Pfalz .

Because putting together a mercenary unit would take a while, there was a high probability that the enemy would adjust their positions during that time .

Although an opportunity had presented itself right now, there wasn’t a good option .  There had to be some way .  The crystal ball rang as I was deep in my  thoughts .

“Hm?”

A call came in from Heidelberg, the capitol city of the Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg .

“Pappenheim .  Has something happened?  This is not your scheduled report . ”

“My lord!  My apologies!  But, I am contacting you to report an unusual occurrence!”

Pappenheim was very excited, unlike his normal character .

“What’s going on?”

“They ran off!”

“Ran off?”

“What are you talking about?”  I asked strangely, somehow instinctively feeling the roll of the dice in my head . Pappenheim’s reply was beyond my imagination .

“Philip’s remaining va.s.sals, who were in the city, have taken the Golden Bull and ran off!”

“What?”

I was dumbfounded by that .

What?  The Golden Bull?

The Golden Bull was a letter, comprising of 31 pages, with the Emperor’s golden seal .  This doc.u.ment has more meaning than being simply a royal letter .

Why?

It was simple .  The royal letter proclaims the sacred right of the prince elects to  ‘elect the emperor’ .  The authority of the prince elects to vote in the election of the  emperor is contained in that Golden Bull .

Every one of the seven prince elects in the empire has one .  The symbolic meaning of a Golden Bull held by a prince elect was the same as their royal seal, so it was very important .

It’s not that a king is not a king, just because he did not have his royal seal, but it can damage his reputation .  The Golden Bull was similar .  If one was to lose his right to elect the emperor, by misplacing the Golden Bull, it would certainly be highly embarra.s.sing .

This was especially true for Friedrich who pushed out his nephew in an attempt to rise to the status of a prince elect .  It was already damaged for having fought within the family, but to lose the Golden Bull on top of that would add to the embarra.s.sment .

It was obvious how the empire would ridicule him .  Furthermore, as there is no Golden Bull, it was highly possible that the emperor would delay naming him as a prince elect, or demand something of great value in return for handing down a replacement Golden Bull .

In other words, Philip’s remnant minions have unloaded a final parting shot to Friedrich .  I, was so excited with this unexpected report that I yelled out in thunderous voice .

“Where did they run off to!”

“It is certain that they ran off towards southeast . ”

“That is not enough!”

Impatiently, I brought the crystal ball up to my eyes and stared at it .

“There is some unsubstantiated information though… . ”

“There is no time to delay .  Speak now!”

According to Pappenheim, he has been in contacts, from several days ago, with a servant of Sir Marda, who is a Philip’s minion .  Based on that servant’s story, his master was preparing a journey, probably to Salzburg .

“Salzburg!”

Translations by AsianHobbyist Website .

“It’s not for sure .  However, if he had run off to the southeast direction, he will come to Salzburg for sure . ”

“When did the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds run off?”

“It has been less than three hours .  Having obtained that information, Friedrich is now readying a manhunt . ”

“I see!  Get back to me when new information is available . ”

When I put down the crystal ball, all the vampires around me were looking at me .  I stood up quickly and shouted .

“Arm your swords!  We will catch them!”

The vampires swarmed around as they armed themselves .

“Quickly!  Friedrich’s troops will soon catch up to them!  We have to catch them before they do!”

“Yes sir!  My lord!”

My hands shook with excitement .  A twisted smile remained on my face .  A euphoric story line was being developed in my mind .

Philip is in my hands .

On top of that, a Golden Bull will be mine as well .

Then, to whom does the land of Pfalz belong?

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