A day and a half had passed since the successful breakout, and Robson had already covered nearly two-thirds of the distance.
If he hadn't been worried about being overtaken by Beastmen Cavalry while his troops were exhausted from a forced march, he might have been able to see the Siriel Defense Line by now.
Along the way, there had been no major incidents, aside from Knight Ed frequently staring blankly at corpses.
After all, the truly powerful Beastmen races were mostly intelligent.
You couldn't tell just by looking at them standing together, but once they started marching, it was immediately clear who the elite soldiers were and who were just a disorganized mob.
The other Barons were lucky if their troops hadn't scattered completely. Most of them lost more men to desertion and getting lost than to battle.
In contrast, Robson's forces were disciplined and well-organized. They did not look like a force to be trifled with.
No one was a fool; they all knew to pick the weakest target.
As for Knight Ed, a man couldn't live under his family's protection forever.
Robson didn't disturb Ed, only hoping his friend could pull through it soon.
The internal politics of the Deriman Family were unusually complex; Ed still had a long road ahead of him.
"Report! Report! Sir, enemies spotted ahead!"
"Oh?"
Robson raised an eyebrow at the scout's report.
His journey had been far too smooth, so much so that he was beginning to wonder if the Beastmen had taken any action at all.
If Robson's peers knew what he was thinking, they would probably cough up blood in anger.
Aside from a few major figures, very few of the others who had retreated separately were having an easy time.
Along the way, the Beastmen had continuously dispatched Centaurs and Thunder Eagle Knights to pursue and intercept them.
Centaurs were much faster than humans in the mountains. And with Thunder Eagle Knights acting as searchlights from the sky, the Centaurs could strike with pinpoint accuracy.
The screeching of the Thunderhawks had become a lingering nightmare for many nobles.
"Where? Take me to them," Robson commanded.
Thanks to Count Offman's self-sacrifice, the breakout had been incredibly smooth; they had practically slipped right past the Beastmen forces.
This had allowed Robson to preserve his Tier Two Soldiers until now.
Robson's original plan had been to ambush some Beastmen during the retreat and upgrade all his Tier Two Soldiers to tier three.
Unfortunately, throughout this entire journey, he hadn't seen so much as a wild animal, let alone any Beastmen.
'If I don't hurry and upgrade my troops now, there won't be many opportunities for training once we reach the Siriel Defense Line...'
Robson followed the scout to the shore of a lake. There, several hundred Centaurs were drinking and washing. A group of humans was tied up by the water's edge, including a few nobles.
He even recognized a few faces among them. 'Aren't those the people who left with Viscount Leo?'
When everyone had split up to escape, Robson had taken a specific look at Viscount Leo.
To be precise, he had been looking at Viscount Leo's iron armor. 'That stuff is high quality,' he thought. 'Too bad it slows you down so much, or I'd want some myself...'
Robson drew in a sharp breath.
'Viscount Leo's forces are nearly as strong as mine. How could they have been defeated by this mob of Centaurs?'
"Ro... Robson?"
A voice came from behind him, as if trying to confirm his identity.
Robson turned to see a man in noble attire, his face grimy and his hair a mess, standing behind him.
"Viscount Leo?"
...
"And that's what happened," Viscount Leo said, all his previous sharpness gone, his head hanging in dejection.
Just as Robson had suspected, Viscount Leo's iron-armored troops had severely hampered their marching speed.
His forces had been considered elite back in Sunset Fortress. Though not as large as Robson's army, they were still numerous.
The problem was, everyone knew that Viscount Leo was leading an elite force.
Viscount Leo was an established, powerful noble, renowned throughout Sunset Fortress for his superb Swordsmanship and his elite army.
So when the time came to flee, all sorts of riffraff flocked to Viscount Leo, seeking his protection.
Viscount Leo had a proud streak. Even though he knew it would be a disadvantage, he couldn't bring himself to turn them away, so he tacitly allowed them to follow.
Viscount Leo's pace was already slow. After adding a bunch of dead weight, their speed could only be described as a crawl.
In the end, they were overtaken by a troop of elite Centaurs.
Even then, Viscount Leo might have had a chance to fight back. But the lesser nobles who had been following him simply bailed, shattering the morale of Leo's army as they fled.
If not for the protection of his Extraordinary Cavalry, Viscount Leo might already have fallen on the battlefield.
"So, you're planning to rescue your Clan Knights all by yourself, my lord?" Robson asked, puzzled.
'People are complicated,' Robson mused. 'It's hard to call Viscount Leo a responsible noble. I've bought military rations from him before, and his disdain for the lesser nobility was known throughout the fortress.'
'But then, he'd unconditionally protect those same nobles, and now here he is, trying to rescue his men alone.'
Viscount Leo nodded, his hand tightening around the hilt of his Knight's Sword, his expression somewhat chagrined.
He had mocked Robson during the meeting Count Offman had called. Now, they met again with him in this sorry state, having lost all his clan's soldiers.
Viscount Leo wanted to ask Robson for help, but the words wouldn't come.
Robson saw all of this, of course. 'Viscount Leo is a typical case of being too proud for his own good,' he thought. 'He's not actually a bad person.'
'At least, I could never bring myself to unconditionally serve a bunch of dead weight,' Robson reflected. 'The only reason I took in Baron Oli was because his group was small, so even if they were a burden, it would be a limited one.'
"Viscount, I believe your current situation might call for a little help," Robson said.
'Viscount Leo cares about his pride, but I'm a pragmatist. I've cultivated this thick skin for a reason.'
Though Robson said nothing, he had been coveting that iron armor for a long time. 'Now someone's delivering it to me for free, and all I have to do is get it to safety. How could I possibly refuse? It would be a crime against nature!'
'So what if he snubbed me at the meeting?' As someone from the internet age, Robson felt that such insults had zero impact.
Besides, there was no conflict when they divided the spoils from Sunset Fortress later. In the world of nobles, mortal enemies one moment could become allies the next, let alone a minor disagreement like theirs.
As for Viscount Leo, his eyes lit up. He truly hadn't expected Robson to proactively offer his help.
Putting himself in Robson's shoes, if someone had publicly insulted him, the most he could do in this situation was not kick a man while he was down. That alone would have been a sign of Leo's great character.
"This... thank you, Robson. Truly. I said some things I shouldn't have before. I now recognize that you are a true gentleman, a noble of high character."
Viscount Leo was so emotional he could barely speak clearly. He had been tailing this group of Centaurs since the previous night, constantly searching for an opportunity to rescue his Knights.
Unfortunately, he was only at the Silver tier. Fighting one against a hundred was a stretch, to say nothing of the fact that the enemy also had a Silver-rank Extraordinary among them.
"I have nothing to offer you as payment right now," Viscount Leo said, his gaze firm, "but I swear an oath to the Lord of Dawn! Your kindness will be repaid many times over."
Viscount Leo's oath took Robson by surprise. An oath sworn to the Lord of Dawn was one of the most sacred a human could make.
"It is my duty as a fellow noble. However, about that armor and those supplies you brought with you, Viscount..." Robson prompted. That was the real prize; earning Viscount Leo's favor was just an unexpected bonus.
"Rest assured, Sir Robson. All spoils of war will naturally belong to you," Viscount Leo promised.
These were standard terms, so Viscount Leo had no objections.
Robson nodded, gazing at the several hundred Centaurs still relaxing by the lake...
The Centaurs had no idea they were already a meal waiting to be served.