Chapter 318 - 75: Meeting Count Sriphine Again (2)
Chapter 318: Chapter 75: Meeting Count Sriphine Again (2)
Previously, Robson had ordered Count Sriphine to rush to Ancient Dumu Town to reinforce the line, and the Count had arrived without a moment’s delay.
One might think Count Sriphine was slow, but his pace was what one would expect from a normal army. Not every force was like Robson’s, with Tier-3 soldiers as the minimum standard and Extraordinaries among their ranks.
You have to use the right attitude for the right person. Acting high-and-mighty with everyone just sours relationships.
"Count Sriphine! Ha! I didn’t expect you to get here so quickly!"
Seeing Count Sriphine and his men arrive on horseback, Robson stepped forward with his arms outstretched and a smile.
When Count Sriphine saw Robson personally coming forward to greet him, he was at a loss and looked toward Viscount Max. ’This isn’t how the script was supposed to go,’ he thought. ’Aren’t I supposed to be more humble?’
Viscount Max, however, breathed a sigh of relief. The plan he had prepared was based on the worst-case scenario.
It seemed this Viscount Robson was a reasonable man.
As long as they could reason with him, things would be fine.
Count Sriphine dismounted, also spread his arms, and walked forward with a smile to embrace Robson.
"Count, you are truly worthy of having served under Marshal Grantham, reaching Wayne Mountain in such a short time.
"I remember when Marshal Grantham..."
As soon as the social pleasantries began, the knowledge Robson had gained from the books he read back with the Fengman Clan and Prince Noah started to pay off.
He lavished praise upon Marshal Grantham’s great achievements, many of which were events Count Sriphine had personally participated in.
"Haha, is that so? Viscount, you may not know this, but at that time..."
’How did they just start chatting like that?’ Viscount Max’s eyes widened as he watched the two of them conversing so happily.
Count Sriphine’s inexperience was immediately exposed. Robson was leading the entire conversation.
"Ahem, my Lord Count, I believe we are here to report our battle results. Can we perhaps save these old stories for later?" Viscount Max said helplessly, whispering the advice from behind Count Sriphine.
"And this is?" Robson smiled, looking at Viscount Max, then back to Count Sriphine.
"This is Viscount Max. Viscount, he participated in the Battle of Longroad Keep you mentioned earlier," Count Sriphine introduced.
"Viscount, Max greets you." Viscount Max smiled and extended his hand.
Robson nodded, and they shook hands.
"Viscount Max has a point. You two didn’t come all this way in the middle of the night just for a friendly chat, did you?"
Robson could see which of the two was the harder one to handle. He adopted a strictly business-like attitude toward Viscount Max, his words carrying a hint of reprimand.
However, this small bit of pressure didn’t seem to faze Viscount Max at all.
"Viscount, we came specifically to report our battle results to you. Count Valentino..." Viscount Max took over for Count Sriphine, phrasing it elegantly to show they weren’t there to disturb him but were conducting official business.
"One moment, gentlemen. A friend of mine has arrived," Robson said, hearing a sound behind him.
Just as the two were feeling puzzled, a tall figure could be seen approaching from a distance.
It was none other than Earl Uman.
As soon as Earl Uman arrived, he walked straight to Robson and stood directly behind him.
"My apologies, Viscount. I haven’t been resting well these past two days and accidentally overslept," Earl Uman apologized to Robson as soon as he arrived.
Seeing this, alarm bells went off in Viscount Max’s mind.
’This is no apology!’
Putting aside how arrogant a man Earl Uman usually was, this scene was basically a gathering of all three major powers from beyond the pass.
Earl Uman was, on the surface, the representative of the Northern Faction. This gesture was a clear declaration of his stance, expressing that he, Uman, firmly supported the correct leadership of Viscount Robson.
Viscount Max had previously thought that Earl Uman’s side would only show weakness, but he never expected the Earl to capitulate so completely!
"Earl Uman, you exaggerate. I assume you all know each other? This is Earl Uman.
"He’s quite remarkable. Under the siege of the Beastman Army, he managed to hold out for so many days, which gave me the opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in the battlefield situation," Robson introduced with a smile.
Earl Uman had indeed held out under siege for many days. As for why he was besieged in the first place... well, never mind that part.
"Let’s go inside and talk."
Watching the two of them walk away, Viscount Max sighed.
"My Lord, things have gotten complicated..." Viscount Max lamented.
To be honest, if he didn’t already hold a high position within the Military Merit Faction, Viscount Max would have wanted to switch sides.
There was no helping it. Robson had won from the very start. He had just come from beyond the pass and had already subdued Earl Uman and the Gauss Clan behind him. Now, there was another noble from the Northern Faction in the tent. How were they supposed to compete?
Their only hope now was for Marquis George to make a move.
Surely Marquis George wouldn’t just watch the Gauss Clan bend the knee and defect directly to the Southern Faction, right?
"Sigh... Let’s go and see. From now on, we must make sure our names appear on the battle reports."
...
Once inside the tent, Robson had his Personal Guard bring in food and wine. Then, he turned to Count Sriphine and Viscount Max.
"Gentlemen, you’ve had a tiring journey these past few days.
"I still don’t know—how many Beastmen did you kill along the way?" Robson asked.
Now they were getting to the point. Viscount Max nudged Count Sriphine, who stepped forward and handed a letter to Robson.