novelraw Chapter 136 : Chapter 136
Chapter 136 : Chapter 136
Chapter : 136
It was not just the marching speed that was fast.
“Baaaaa! Lord! The Holy See has decided to cooperate actively. Meh-heh-heh! I used my influence. Mehr!”
The news from the Holy See was also very fast. Bishop Marco, whom I had sent immediately after receiving a confession from my stepmother Juana, had already returned with a reply from the Holy See.
The content was that excommunication due to heresy was authorized.
With this, all preparations were complete before laying siege to Count Bozen's castle.
“Was there no other word from Cardinal Adriano?”
“Baaaa. He just said he trusts you. Lord!”
Trusts me….
It was a bit burdensome to think about what kind of price that insidious Cardinal Adriano might demand again.
“Ah! Lord. Baaaa. There is some slightly strange news. Mehrer.”
“News?”
“That is correct. Mehr!”
As he said that, the goat beastman Bishop Marco blinked his characteristic rectangular eyes and looked around.
“Baaaa. The Holy See is in a state of unrest. Lord. They say the Order of the Holy Temple Knights rooted in the Elang Kingdom and the Holy See are in a power struggle. Mehr.”
“??”
What kind of nonsense is this?
Why would the Holy See and the Order of the Holy Temple Knights have a power struggle?
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I frowned.
‘The Pope’s condition must be critical.’
As the Pope was bedridden, Cardinal Adriano, his closest aide, had been exercising power.
However, if the Pope suddenly died and the conclave to elect a new Pope was convened, Cardinal Adriano would lose all that power.
Cardinal Adriano had too many enemies to challenge for the papacy, so if a new Pope was elected, Cardinal Adriano would be left out in the cold.
‘Should I find the next generation’s power holder and support them…?’
Such a thought suddenly occurred to me.
However, in my memories of playing [Pangea Universalise], Cardinal Adriano was not a man who crumbled easily. It was a bit strange that a power struggle was already happening in the Holy See, but the time of the Pope's death was also after the Great Famine.
‘There is still too little information. It will be difficult to make a move easily. And I am cautious about intervening in this board.’
Even if I knew the main flow, there was a lot of risk in making decisions without knowing the detailed internal circumstances.
My intelligence network was still limited to local areas of the Elang Kingdom and some surrounding countries.
It seemed better to observe the situation for now rather than moving hastily.
After all, with complex problems, usually if you stay still, you at least get halfway.
“Mwah? Lord?”
“Ah, no. I just had something to think about for a moment. Thank you very much for the information. Bishop Marco. As expected, there is no one like you.”
“Meh-heh-heh-heh. Why do you say such things. Lord. Between us. Baaaa.”
Then Bishop Marco twisted his body, not knowing what to do with himself at my praise.
Hmm, he was a friend whom I truly envied because he was still the same somewhere.
This goat beastman.
* * *
At this lightning-fast maneuver, Count Bozen's territory was turned upside down.
Even if it was a neighboring domain, it was still a county in name. And there were castles of feudal vassals under his command everywhere.
I thought they would buy at least a month of time….
Just three days.
It was the time it took for the army of 5,000 led by the Margrave of Bellua to reach the center of Count Bozen's territory.
“B, big trouble!”
“No, what on earth were those bastards who swore loyalty doing to neglect things like this?”
“I hear that the Holy See has ex, excommunicated you, Count.”
“Excommunication? Excommunicating me? No, I was the one who took the lead in the southern heretic subjugation, so what would I be lacking to join hands with heretic bastards!”
Count Bozen, who heard the whole story, jumped up and down in a rage.
All the vassals under his command sweated profusely and did their best to calm Count Bozen down.
Had the situation not already occurred?
Getting angry like this would change nothing. It was a more correct judgment to decide how to stop the Margrave of Bellua's army in this time.
And Count Bozen also knew this well.
“Phew…. It can’t be helped. Yes, if my vicious sister turned her back, the Holy See would have had no choice but to believe it.”
Eventually, Count Bozen sighed and flopped down onto his chair.
“How many soldiers have been mobilized now?”
“Hmm…. Approximately 400 men. Your Excellency.”
“What? 400 men?”
Count Bozen, who received the report, shouted as if dumbfounded.
Where did all those many soldiers go, and are there only 400 left?
Still, he thought that if he scraped up the soldiers in the territory, there would be at least over 1,000.
“Only a tiny fraction responded to the call. The rest of the bastards said they would watch and see. Lord.”
“Even the mercenary bastards have turned their backs. They are reluctant to be hired.”
“…….”
Count Bozen was devastated by the continuing words. He felt like he finally understood what it meant that the tide had turned.
“How about negotiating instead? Lord.”
“That is correct. Considering the merit established in the southern heretic subjugation, the Holy See will not dare to drive you as a heretic. Please request mediation from the Holy See.”
“Ahem! What are you saying? The Holy See has already joined hands with the Margrave of Bellua!”
Those greedy bastards are talking trash just because they have mouths. One of Count Bozen's few loyal vassals shouted. However, the only thing that returned was a bitter sneer.
“You are the one who doesn't know. Surrender…. No, negotiation must be done before the siege begins! Even the feudal vassals and mercenaries have turned their backs, so how can we hold out by ourselves!”
“What? Surrender? Just because you have a mouth…!”
“Do not nitpick at my words! We are finished now! The difference in military strength is over ten times!”
“That is right! We must look at reality now. We cannot stop the Margrave of Bellua with this number of soldiers.”
Watching them bickering with each other, Count Bozen's head throbbed on its own.
However, this was the truth.
A reality he could not deny no matter how much he wanted to.
His vision became dim with misery.
“Lord! Make a decision quickly!”
“You must not follow their words. Resistance is the only answer. We have plenty of food and the castle is sturdy, so we can hold out for a long time!”
Moreover, the vassals kept shouting urgently, telling him to decide quickly.
Count Bozen felt nausea rising from deep inside.
Ah…. I hate being here.
He could not endure it anymore.
-SLIDE.
In the end, what Count Bozen chose was escape. It was indeed escapism.
“Uh, uh…? Where are you going, Lord?”
“You must not go back into your room now! Make a decision quickly!”
Count Bozen, who rose from his seat, immediately secluded himself, leaving the murmuring vassals behind.
It was the downfall of a mere ordinary man who pursued the extraordinary while chasing ambition.
* * *
“It’s amazing.”
Lupei Castle, the capital of Count Bozen's territory, was very sturdy. As expected of a mining city whose main products were high-quality iron ore and smelted ingots, it was located on a rugged ridge at the edge of the Arhen Mountains.
“There is a rumor that this castle was built using dwarves during the time of the ancient empire.”
“Eu-hut-hut. That is not a rumor. Human magician! It is a tradition passed down on our side as well.”
“Oh…. Is that so?”
Indeed, somehow the walls were hard and high, and the slope was not very steep, but it was at a level that could not be ignored.
The fortunate thing was that there was no moat dug?
Of course, this was just a small comfort I found.
‘It could easily have been a difficult fight.’
If the feudal vassals under Count Bozen had joined, the siege would have faced tremendous difficulties.
‘The discrepancy with my play experience is too great. How did I conquer it easily?’
Thinking that, I frowned.
Whenever I played [Pangea Universalise] in the past, Count Bozen's castle was often easily conquered.
So I didn't think much of it, assuming it would be the same this time, but what was this?
Seeing it in person, the game and reality were indeed different.
I never imagined it would be such a rugged and solid castle.
‘Well, but even so, it doesn’t matter.’
At most, the number of troops in that castle is estimated to be only about 400.
With this number of troops, no matter how rugged it is, it was meaningless.
Besides.
“Euhahaha. Please trust me this time as well. Your Excellency! I will show you something tremendous again.”
I had the dwarf engineering corps that had been active since the last southern heretic subjugation. They had further raised the level of their technicians through cooperation with the Canton Confederation this time.
“Since many skilled crafters have joined, we will make it in a jiffy.”
The engineering captain thumped his chest and shouted to me. Then, a memory of the past suddenly occurred to me. The dwarves' terrible naming sense.
“Surely you guys. You aren't planning to attach my name to it again, are you? I told you last time, but absolutely do not think of attaching it.”
“Huh? Ah, you mean ‘The Wrath of the Margrave of Bellua’? Ahem. Of course not. Didn't we change the name to ‘God’s Wrath’ last time as well?”
“Hmmmm…. Is that sooo?”
“Th, that is correct! Your Excellency! Isn't that so? You guys?”
“Uh…. Yes. That is right.”
At the dwarf engineering captain’s banter, the surrounding dwarves nodded with somewhat reluctant expressions.
“Hmm, then that is a relief.”
It seemed a bit strange, but since they said so, I had no choice but to believe them.
I nodded and left the spot. Wouldn't staying here just get in the way of their work?
However.
“Hmm…. Shouldn't we tell the truth?”
“I know. Wasn't it ‘The Iron Mace of the Sacred Guardian of Bellua’ this time?”
“Damn it. Well, if we get caught, the captain will take responsibility. Let’s just work quickly. It’s tight to finish by the promised time.”
As expected, one had to listen to the dwarves' words properly until the end.
* * *
Not long after, the trebuchet was completed. Indeed, as they said there was technological progress, the production speed was very fast. Moreover, the range and the weight of the projectile it could launch had also increased.
They said they maximized the center of gravity shift of the counterweight to increase its firepower, but….
“…….”
“…….”
The crowd fell into silence upon seeing this magnificent trebuchet.
It was because they were gauging my mood as I kept my mouth shut without saying a word after hearing the dwarf engineering captain's words.
Of course, Magician Agpiel, who didn't care about such things at all, was laughing loudly.
“Eu-heh-heh-heh. What a truly interesting name! ‘The Iron Mace of the Sacred Guardian of Bellua’!”
“Stop teasing. Magician Agpiel….”
“Ahem, teasing? I am serious.”
“Groan….”
Better to die than suffer.
These rotten dwarves? I warned them early on because I thought they would do this!
“Th, Your Excellency? I did not use Your Excellency’s honorable name, however….”
“Yes! That’s right. You didn’t use it. You just used a title. In my opinion, it is a very stylish name.”
“Eu-hut-hut. Is it not? As expected, the Magician has an eye for things!”
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like a compliment, but our dwarf engineering captain was apparently of the same cloth as Bishop Marco.
But what could I do?
The name had already been announced to all the vassals. I rubbed my temples as my head throbbed on its own.
“Groan…. Can you fire immediately?”
“Of course! We can fire right now. How shall we prepare? Your Excellency?”
The name was a bit embarrassing, but still, ‘The Iron Mace of the Sacred Guardian of Bellua’…. As I felt last time, I just couldn't resist firing it.
What would it be like if this massive thing took full force and shot a boulder? Wouldn't even those thick-looking walls crumble down?
I nodded as I imagined it.
“Good. Let us try firing immediately.”
An object with a demonic nature that stimulates this primal desire for destruction!
As expected, it was irresistible.
And a moment later.
-CRASHHH!
-RUMBLE.
Heaven and earth resounded.