Chapter 129 The Rude Request
Although in later battles, Friedel didn't assign the Dawn Knight Order members to marginal positions because of this. Instead, he distributed them according to their areas of expertise, even arranging rotating shifts so everyone had a chance to earn military merit. But that woman Candy not only openly disobeyed military orders by attacking first, she also chased after fleeing soldiers into Viller Empire's territory, and now there's been no word from her at all!
Earlier, everyone thought that after Holden went to sign the contract with Saslov, he should be able to bring Candy back. After all, she was his wife and one of the knight commanders, and until she formally left the order, she represented its reputation. However, to everyone's disappointment, Candy still hadn't appeared.
Now most people, including the other three knight commanders, were thinking that if His Majesty the King found out about all this, the entire order might be implicated.
Moreover, although the people Candy took with her weren't many, they were elite troops under her command. If they were truly wiped out, the Dawn Knight Order's combat strength would decline, and who knows if they might be overtaken by the orders behind them.
This Candy was truly a disaster!
Holden could feel everyone's dissatisfaction with Candy, even affecting him personally.
Since Candy was his wife, her mistakes were his mistakes in the eyes of the order.
Holden couldn't sit still any longer.
But now Friedel was away, and the Dawn Knight Order members clearly weren't willing to risk their lives for Candy anymore. The Lion Knights looked at him with deep disgust. With no other choice, he could only turn to Anne for help.
Anne had been training at the practice grounds. Even though the battle was over, she hadn't relaxed, training with the Ivy Knights every day. When Holden heard this, he rushed to find Anne.
"Anne, I want to go to Drogo Mountains."
Anne didn't even look at him. "If you want to go, then go. I'm the commander of the Ivy Knights, not the Dawn Knight Order. Besides, you're the leader, you have the authority to act on your own."
Holden pressed his lips together. "I want you to bring the Ivy Knights with me."
He knew Anne's high military standing meant her proposal to rescue Candy would gain support, allowing Holden to enter Drogo Mountains even without the Dawn Knight Order's help.
Anne glanced at him. "Impossible."
Drogo Mountains - what kind of place was that? Where Holden wanted to go would inevitably pass through the most dangerous areas. She had to be responsible for the soldiers she led. Moreover, most of that area didn't belong to Soth Empire - it was public territory on the continent, which meant that even if they crossed the dangerous zones, they might encounter people from other countries or factions in the flatter areas beyond.
If conflict broke out then, it wouldn't be something she or Holden could handle.
But Holden frowned. "Please, I'm begging you, Anne. I heard what you said last time. From now on, I won't be so presumptuous, thinking you're deliberately trying to get my attention. I won't let Candy provoke you anymore either. But right now everyone in the camp is saying we're about to leave Warlinekza, and Candy is still in Zotfort's hands..."
"I know you hate her, that you think she stole me from you and said hurtful things that made you uncomfortable. But Anne, right now the Dawn Knight Order is unstable because of Candy. They're already questioning me as their leader because of her disappearance. I can't let them continue to doubt me and cause the entire order to collapse from within."
Before Anne could speak, Duncan shot Holden a disgusted look. "Can you hear yourself? One moment you promise not to be presumptuous, the next you're using your own assumptions to guess what Anne's thinking. Is there something wrong with your brain?"
Cynthia nodded too. "Exactly. As a knight order leader, you can't manage your own order, yet you have the nerve to ask Anne for help. If you want to rescue someone, go rescue them yourself. What kind of person drags our people into danger? Making Ivy Knights go to Drogo Mountains - what if they encounter danger? Will you just apologize afterward?"
Samira sneered. "He'd never apologize. He'd probably say the same thing as that Candy - that this is what they should do to save people, ungrateful wretch. And he still expects others to help him? Dream on!"
Holden was already irritated by Anne's refusal, and now hearing her friends speak so rudely, he exploded in anger. "Shut up, you lowly people! I'm not asking you! Close your filthy mouths! Afraid of this, afraid of that, too scared to face death - what are you doing on the battlefield!"
Cynthia laughed mockingly. "Talk about lowly - who can compare to you? Your family depends on your daughter-in-law's dowry, you cling to women when you go out, and in battle you need others to give you a leg up. How does your tiny patch of land produce such a massive ego?"
Holden's eyes bulged with rage. He raised his hand to slap Cynthia's face, but Morris and Duncan were faster. They lunged at him with a kick. The two had always worked well together, and having trained on the battlefield recently, they kicked Holden right to the feet of the Ivy Knights.
Then they pounced on him and kept punching, blow after blow, making Holden scream in pain.
"Damn it, I've been wanting to beat you up for a while now! Who the hell do you think you are? Can't control your own dick, get manipulated by a woman and agree to everything like a spineless fool, and now that you're in this mess you dare come barking at Anne!"
"And you talk about others having no guts - what's your excuse? Your wife's life matters but others' lives don't? Everyone came here for Soth Empire, not to rescue some woman stupid enough to run into enemy hands!"
"Why should we rescue her? If you care so much, go rescue her yourself! Oh right, the Dawn Knight Order won't follow your orders, huh? Why don't you reflect on why that is? Is it that they don't want to rescue her, or that they think she's not worth it?"
Samira looked around. Since she couldn't stab him with her spear, she rushed up and kicked him several times before returning to link arms with Cynthia, watching coldly.
The knights present watched this scene unfold, but not one of them wanted to step forward and stop it.