I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Chapter 180 Kick his ass hard

"Now that the target has been chosen, there's no reason for us to waste any more time polishing that moldy saddle."

Hannah was a decisive and efficient man of action; as soon as Zieg finished speaking, he stood up abruptly.

"I assure you, Your Highness. Give me just one week, and I can get the army of Lathai fully assembled."

"Then I'll bring catapults and siege engines and smash that old dog Borga's gates to pieces!"

Although Lord Davis was old, he showed remarkable decisiveness at this moment.

He nodded, his tone calm and firm: "Talmu Fort is not far from Troski. I can immediately mobilize all the free people and conscripts to cooperate with Latai's army. Although we don't have many cavalry, our archers can make a black rain fall on the walls of Troski."

The two lords exchanged a glance, both seeing in each other a tacit understanding that could only be found on the battlefield.

It felt as if the next second, this hall would transform into a bustling war room, with countless messengers rushing off in all directions.

However, just as this war machine was about to roar into action, a slender hand gently rose in the air.

He made an extremely elegant downward pressing motion.

"Please be patient, gentlemen."

Faced with the two lords' almost overflowing eagerness for war, Sieg simply shook his head.

"I admire your enthusiasm, which is more precious than gold. But if we were to launch a large-scale attack on the armies of Rattay and Talmuburg right now, we would be exposing our backs to Sigismund's pack of hungry wolves."

"Trowski is indeed a nail, but it would be a waste of our time to stick our whole arm into the trap just to pull it out."

"Once our main force is tied down in this fortified city, Sigismund's Hungarian troops will pounce like sharks smelling blood. Then, who will defend Skalice, Rattay, and Talmuburg—these empty castles?"

Hannah was stunned; the surge of passion he felt was instantly cooled by this calm analysis.

He opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but found himself unable to find a reason to refute: "But—if we don't send a large army, how can we possibly take Trostsky? Although von Polgao is a traitor, it must be said that he has managed Trostsky like an iron barrel, easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"It is precisely because it is difficult to attack that we cannot launch a direct assault."

Zieg stood up from his seat and straightened his dark blue velvet hunting suit like a poet about to go on a hike.

"Fortresses are often most easily breached from within. Although von Polgár controls the area, he is not without enemies; there are allies we can win over on that land."

He turned around, looking calmly at the two lords, and uttered a decision that left everyone speechless: "Therefore, a large army is not needed. I will go myself."

"What?!"

This prompted even the most composed Lord Davis to become restless.

"This is absolutely unacceptable! This is absurd!"

Davis's aged face was filled with fear and opposition.

"Your Highness, you are now more than just the Duke of Gehrlitz; you are the banner of the entire Royalist camp! If anything were to happen to you on enemy territory—even a minor scratch—this newly ignited flame of hope would be extinguished instantly! You are gambling with the fate of Bohemia!"

"My God, you must be insane!" Hannah shook his head violently, spitting as he spoke. "Let a duke sneak into the enemy's castle like a thief? If word got out, Sigismund would laugh himself off his horse! No, absolutely not! Even if you tied me up, I wouldn't agree to such a crazy plan!"

Seeing the two lords' intense reactions, Sieg's eyes were tolerant and helpless, as if he were looking at two old butlers who were becoming a bit noisy due to overprotection.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Radji, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

"Let His Highness leave."

Although the voice wasn't loud, it made Hannah and Davis turn their heads at the same time, looking at him as if he were crazy.

"Lord Radji! Have you gone mad too?" Hannah roared, his eyes wide.

"I'm not crazy, I'm perfectly sober."

Radji took a deep breath and turned his gaze to Zig. His eyes were incredibly complex, containing both a sense of helplessness at the collapse of common sense and an almost blind trust.

He witnessed the "miracle" that night.

He had witnessed how three thousand soldiers vanished like snowflakes before Sieg.

It is foolish to try to constrain such a being, who has transcended ordinary understanding, with common sense.

“If it were an ordinary duke, I would naturally lock him in the castle until the war is over,” Raddy’s voice was low and firm. “But the one standing before you—I believe that those stone walls of Trossky cannot stop him.”

At this point, Radjid paused, then changed the subject.

"However, Your Highness."

He looked at Zieg, his tone pleading—a last stand as a subject—"While I believe you are capable enough to make von Polgar regret being born, as a nobleman of royal blood, you cannot truly travel alone like a vagabond. That is neither dignified nor befitting of your status."

"Take Henry with you. The blacksmith's son, though young, has the heart of a lion, and his swordsmanship, under your tutelage, is already quite impressive."

"And there are Matos and Hinek. They were the guards I assigned to you when you first arrived in Skarlitz; they are loyal, reliable, and quick. Take these three with you, even if it's just to lead your horse, hold your stirrups, or wipe the mud off your boots."

"Even the soil is better than you walking alone in this chaotic world."

The air in the hall seemed to freeze for a moment, and then the tense anxiety began to dissipate slowly like the receding tide.

Hannah's flushed face gradually returned to normal. He exhaled heavily from his nostrils, his tiger-like eyes scanning back and forth between Zig and Radji a few times before finally shaking his head helplessly.

"Alright, alright! Since even Lord Raddy thinks you can treat Troski Castle like your own backyard, if I were to stop you, it would make me, Hannah, look like a country bumpkin who's never seen the world."

The lord of Lathai grumbled and plopped back into his chair, the movement causing the chair legs to groan in pain.

Although Lord Davis did not get over it as quickly as Hannah, the worry in his cloudy old eyes had faded considerably.

He knew Radji Kobila well; this man would never joke about the fate of Bohemia.

If even he approves of such a crazy plan, then it can only mean that this Duke in front of him truly possesses some kind of power that mortals cannot comprehend.

"Since that's the case—"

Hannah suddenly turned his head, his sharp eyes fixed on Hans Capone, who was lost in thought, like a hawk.

The young master of Ratai was secretly observing Zig.

Suddenly feeling a piercing gaze, Hans instinctively shrank back.

"Take him along too."

Hannah stretched out a rough, large hand and patted Hans on the shoulder without any politeness, almost making the delicate-skinned nobleman fall face-first onto the table.

"That kid spends all his time partying in the taverns and bathhouses of Rattay, so smelly he'd attract all the bees in town. He needs to go out and smell real blood and horse manure."

"uncle!"

Hans Capon jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his face turning bright red.

"How could you describe someone who is about to inherit a title and land like that—"

"Shut up, boy!" Hannah interrupted him rudely, then turned to Zieg, his tone carrying a solemn air of entrusting a heavy responsibility: "Your Highness, let him go with you. But this is not so that he can enjoy some noble treatment. On this journey, you don't need to treat him as the heir of Rattay, nor do you need to worry about any noble face."

Hannah grinned, revealing a set of teeth, his smile exceptionally magnanimous: "Treat him like a servant who only leads your horse, or a boot-shining handyman. Even if he sleeps in the mud and eats moldy bread, as long as he doesn't die, you can do whatever you want with him. If he dares to complain even once on the road, you can kick his ass hard for me, God is my witness, I won't feel bad at all!"

"This is outright tyranny!"

Hans Capon was still protesting verbally, but there was no real reluctance in his eyes when he looked at Zieg.

On the contrary, beneath that facade of a spoiled rich kid, a burning desire resided in the young man's eyes.

The flames.

The man who caused Sigismund's three thousand troops to flee in disarray overnight, the duke hailed as the creator of a "miracle"—

If I could stay by his side and witness those legendary stories that could be written into chivalric novels, even if I really had to sleep on the mud, it didn't seem so hard to accept.

Hans Capon, though stubborn, didn't sit back down despite his actions, even though it was an adventure that any man would yearn for.

Seeing this, Lord Davis, who had been silently contemplating, slowly spoke up.

"Since Rattay has contributed, Talmuburg naturally cannot lag behind."

Davis turned to the side, his gaze falling on the old knight who stood behind him like a statue.

"Captain Robard." The old man's voice, though aged, carried an undeniable authority. "Select a dozen or so of your most elite cavalrymen, preferably those young men with superb horsemanship and tight-lipped secrets. You will personally lead the team and accompany His Highness the Duke."

He turned to look at Zieg, his eyes filled with sincerity and respect: "Your Highness, Robard is the sharpest sword and the strongest shield of our Tarmu Fortress. Although this old man cannot accompany you on your long journey, with him around, at least he can help you block those hidden arrows shot from the gutter."

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