Conditions
Enjoy the fourth release of the week!
In the end, the second highness insisted that he follow Lorist to the war zone.
"Your Highness," Lorist said, "even though House Kenmays and House Shazin are our allies, they are still considered nobles of the Iblia kingdom. Given the hostile situation between them and the Andinaq kingdom, I am rather worried for your safety. I think it's best if you don't head to the frontlines."
The second highness patted on Lorist's shoulder with a smile.
"No worries. With Brother Locke around, I don't have to worry for my safety. As for Baron Shazin and Count Kenmays, since they're your allies, I believe they wouldn't be interested in a kingdom's former monarch like me. Also, I'm only going there to take a look, not to meddle in military affairs. I believe I will be treated well as a fellow knight there to observe the tide of war."
And so, Lorist had no choice but to bring the second highness along.
Four days later, Lorist and company crossed the floating bridge that stretched across Metropoulos River and arrived at the borders of the Madras duchy.
The Northlands's army was situated not far from the river's crossing point. After destroying the enemy fortifications and routing their troops, Count Kenmays and Baron Shazin ordered their troops to a mound nearby instead of having them press their attack into the duchy. They set up camp where Baron Silas' castle once stood. The baron had been hung some years earlier. The troops fortified their camp so heavily that it seemed they intended to stay there for quite a while.
Lorist had received a letter from Count Kenmays five days ago, stating that the army wouldn't press their assault and instead cooped up at the castle ruins atop the mound. As Lorist predicted, the Madras duchy's nobles' private forces, as well as the duchy's main force, seemed to have run completely amok, savagely attacking the allied army's camp. Those hectic times lasted for more than ten days until the Madras forces lost more than five thousand men from their assaults. They finally halted their attacks and sent a messenger to the enemy's camp.
"Locke, your plan to stand our ground instead of attack truly is marvelous! Hennard himself said if we had continued to advance, we would've been attacked by the private armies and the duchy's main force. It would no doubt have multiplied our casualties. All we had to do was occupy this area and defend it to crush their counterattack attempts without breaking a sweat! Umm, who is he?"
When Count Kenmays saw Lorist, he began to boast about how effective the latter's strategy had been, until he saw the smiling second highness whose eyes were gleaming with excitement.
Lorist briefly introduced the two, causing Kenmays to act rather awkward, given that he was a noble of the Iblia kingdom and the king of the enemy kingdom was right in front of him. However, the second highness was only a former king and had also come as a fellow knight to observe the battles, so Kenmays didn't intend to do anything about his presence.
The second highness, on the other hand, acted very amiably to the count, first praising the Kenmays house for running the largest construction guilds back during the time of the empire, expressing what a shame he thought it was for them to have pledged allegiance to the Iblia kingdom, as well as mention how much he admired the count's talent. In just ten minutes, the second highness and Kenmays were already close to the point they decked shoulders like long lost brothers and chatted happily without end.
When they arrived at the tent, Shazin Hennard had also just returned. After Lorist introduced the second highness to the baron, the second highness expressed his friendly and familiar attitude once more. However, Shazin didn't really trust the display and maintained a formal and polite demeanor.
The reason Lorist had to rush over was that of the matter of the messenger. At first, Kenmays only demanded the trade routes through the duchy be restored and for the allowance of crossing through Metropoulos River with low taxes for merchant convoys. He didn't think the messenger would return quickly after being sent back with an agreement to all of the count's requests. Since it had already been achieved, there would no longer be a reason for their troops to stay. In essence, they would have to withdraw their forces once more and the war would end.
Not knowing what he should do, the count wrote to Lorist while he tried to delay the duchy as best he could. After hearing about the count's explanation, Lorist laughed.
"Don't care about them. We just have to mind our own business. For now, we must make sure this camp has enough resources to winter here. If you have time on your hands, sweep some of the local nobles' castles or demand they pay a tribute for the war. Only attack them if they don't comply."
"What if their messenger comes to object to our actions?" asked Kenmays.
"Simple. Who was the cause of this war in the first place? It's none other than the arrow outposts situated at the duchy's defensive line that not only forbade passage through the river but also sunk two of Hennard's fishing boats. We must have the duchy pay for their mistakes as well as make up our military expenses. Just make ridiculous demands, if they want to bargain or negotiate, make sure to drag them on for as long as possible. All we have to do is maintain the status quo until winter is over. We must also have the duke himself sign on our agreement and not some nobody who claims to be able to accept the conditions on behalf of the duchy. Only then will we withdraw our forces."
Kenmays was overjoyed to the point that he slapped his thigh.
"That's right! Spending so much time in this military encampment has rusted my mind. I didn't even think of such a simple solution and felt a little odd when I thought about how easy it was to defeat the duchy. The moment I heard their agreement to our conditions, I thought we had lucked out, but I almost ended up tricked by them. I can almost be sure the duchy's folks won't acknowledge the agreement after we withdraw our forces and deploy their troops at the bank of the river once more."
"All we have to do if that's the case is launch another attack," said Hennard confidently.
"Locke, if the duchy accepts the rest of our conditions, what do we do?" asked Kenmays after some thought.
"Then we have no choice. If Duke Madras is willing to pay such a price, we will have to withdraw. However, we can use the excuse of not trusting them to request for a plot of land near the riverbank to garrison a division of troops two reasons. The first is to protect the bridge and the second is to ensure safe passage for the merchant convoys from The Northlands," replied Lorist.
"Very well, we'll do just that. I'll tell the messenger that when he comes again. If they are able to abide by our conditions and show the duchy's sincerity, we will agree to end the war."
Originally, the second highness only intended to watch their discussion with a smile. However, he felt something was off the more he listened to the point he couldn't resist his urge to speak.
"Apologies for interrupting, Brother Locke, Count Kenmays, may I ask you the reason for this war?"
"Oh, Your Highness, it all started like this. Duke Madras sealed off the crossing point at the river and even sunk two of House Shazin's fishing boats. This attack was made in retaliation for the duchy's acts. If Duke Madras agrees to no longer seal off the river and reopen the trade routes, allowing our merchant convoys to conduct business within the duchy, we will end the war," answered Kenmays politely.
"Does that mean you're not willing to conquer the duchy and make it your own dominion? That would achieve your goals as well, won't it?" asked the second highness curiously.
Kenmays rolled his eyes and looked at the second highness like he would an idiot.
"Your Highness, it's not that we don't want to occupy the duchy, the price we have to pay for it is far too high. Even though we are able to pull it off, our goal is first and foremost the reopening of trade. Why would we bother with conquering the duchy? We'd have to invest much more resources to develop the place as well if we do, and we're not stupid enough to. As long as Duke Madras agrees to our conditions, it won't hurt to end the war."
The second highness looked disappointed because he thought the reason the Nortons and their allies attacked the duchy was to exterminate it instead of just giving it a small poke to re-establish trade. He had thought that he could use the chaos that would result from the war to recruit the refugees into his new Whitelion Legion so he could travel through the duchy to reclaim his throne. His dreams were shattered without any mercy at all.
Seeing the second highness's disheartened look, Lorist tried to resist his urge to smile. He had already known the true goal of the second highness for making this trip. While Lorist had his own plans for occupying the duchy, he wouldn't let the second highness take advantage of it.
"Alright, let's get something to eat. Also, Hennard, please see that His Highness is settled down and rested. We have traveled for quite a number of days, so let's rest after our meal and leave any talking to tomorrow."
Even though it was wartime, with the spoiled and indulgent Kenmays around, the ad hoc banquet was as plentiful as ever. However, the second highness appeared rather down for the most part and didn't have much of an appetite. It didn't take long for him to leave for the room Hennard had prepared with the excuse of feeling a little tipsy.
"Why did you bring him along? It was so awkward for me just now," complained Kenmays.
"I didn't have a choice either," Lorist shrugged, "He insisted on following, and I can't just refuse my senior noble without good reason. Since he's no longer the king, there's nothing wrong with him coming here as a noble knight."
"Didn't he disappear for quite a while? Why has he showed himself all of a sudden? Since you were already a free noble, it must feel quite bad for your senior noble to pop up again all of a sudden," said Hennard.
Lorist breathed a long sigh and told them about how the second highness managed to escape his predicament, as well as what he requested of the Norton house.
"Hahahaha!" Kenmays and Hennard both laughed upon hearing how the second highness wasn't able to recruit soldiers at the Norton dominion.
"You know, Locke, don't you think that ex-king of yours is rather useful? You can use him and his name to send your troops to reclaim his kingdom. You can then install him as a puppet ruler. He can jump to your will whilst you pull the strings from the shadows," said Hennard with a flash of inspiration.
Kenmays didn't hesitate to put a damper on the thought.
"Forget it, I'm sure you know of the ambitions that man has. He's always wanted to be the emperor that reunites the empire. Controlling him is out of the question. What a mastermind requires is a cowardly dog, not a wolf king that'll take a bite out of him at the first opportunity.
"Just look at how he treats Lorist. Not only did he use him while he called him Brother Locke, he's actually rather guarded and fearful of House Norton's might. Now he got himself into this pool of trouble, he still wants to rebuild his army and rely on himself to reclaim the throne instead of letting Locke do the honors and agreeing to the terms of his house. That alone should be enough to show how hard it is to control someone like him."
"I sent someone to have Ovidis hide his catapults before I came; the second highness won't learn of our secret weapon. Make sure you order your subordinates to not leak it either. It's fine if the second highness wants to see anything else. Since we're not in conflict at present, the frontlines are rather peaceful. I'm sure they won't be able to hold on for a few more days. It'll be much easier for us when they leave. All we have to do now is follow our original plan," said Lorist as he stood up and concluded the banquet.
Lorist didn't feel like going to rest after a full meal. Since it was still the afternoon, he had Els bring him two fishing rods from Kenmays's tent. He had just tasted some fresh whitefish from Metropoulos River during the banquet and Kenmays didn't fail to boast about his fishing skills. Hennard, on the other hand, said hatefully that when he was busy beating away the duchy's forces, Kenmays was fishing. However, there was naught Hennard could do but complain, given how his favorite woman was the count's cousin.
After three hours of fishing, they got many different types of catch, all apart from whitefish. Seeing that it was getting late, Lorist and Els rowed their fishing boat back to shore and returned to their camp.
The ruined castle on the mound had already been restored halfway. It was the center of operations for the army as well as Hennard and Kenmays' temporary residence. It was arranged for Lorist to stay in a building not far from the main castle. He ordered a couple of guards to deal with the catch as he climbed the stairs to his room for a bath.
After Lorist entered the tub, a guard outside reported that Kenmays had come over, probably to invite Lorist for dinner. Lorist didn't mind and let Kenmays into the room. Since they were both men, there wasn't anything to be shy about.
Unexpectedly, Kenmays's first words were.
"Your king got me to chat with him for the whole afternoon. Do you know what he's up to?"
Surprised, Lorist asked, "What?"
"He promised to grant many of my wishes and drew a huge picture of what I would receive if I agreed to pledge allegiance to him," Kenmays laughed, "He said he would elevate me to the status of a duke and give our house a whole province."
"Do you trust his word?" asked Lorist, laughing.
Kenmays shook his head.
"Not really, but I can't say I'm not moved by his words."
"Why?"
"Locke, House Norton is a military-based noble house; it has centuries of history in the Krissen Empire. We are not. House Kenmays only used to be the largest construction guild during the days of the empire. We practically paid the second prince for our noble title, and that guy's a traitor to the empire. Now that he's dead, Iblia's future is on a precipice of uncertainty. If the kingdom is exterminated, nobody will be willing to acknowledge our peerage. The Andinaq royal family, on the other hand, has the legacy of the Krissen Empire. That, is what the second highness symbolizes."
Pledging Allegiance
Here's the fifth chapter of the week! See you guys next week and have a happy new year!
Of The Northlands' four houses, the Nortons were the strongest in terms of might, the Kenmayses second, the Felims third, and the Shazins last. And in terms of how established a house was, in terms of legacy and inheritance, the name of the Roaring Raging Bear was well known across the former empire. The Felims were known as the House of the Pegasus. Next was House Shazin. While they used to be a vassal of the Duke of The Northlands and being only a small baron house, they had a three-generation heritage stretching back a century.
House Kenmays, on the other hand, was relatively new. They had emerged from a mercantile background just a couple of decades ago. It wasn't easy for them to gain the acknowledgment of the other nobles, especially not so given that their house had only for two half-generations. Kenmays was moved by the second highness' words for these reasons. House Kenmays had been in existence for far too short a time and the second prince, who was the one that had given the house their peerage, was a traitor who had already been put to death. Iblia was also on the brink of extinction, it was fated to be a short-lived dynasty. The moment the kingdom was wiped off the map, who knew if there would still be anyone that acknowledged the Kenmays name.
The second highness had adeptly noticed this weakness and was confident he could bring them under his grasp, as he put forward an opportunity that would make them legitimate landed nobles. Kenmays knew if the second highness rebuilt his army and swept across the empire, his house would have to face extermination. Demotion of rank was not even up for negotiation. The best he could do was to give out the wealth his house had gathered over the years in exchange for their lives. They would at best return to being commoners, and not even the wealthy commoners they had been previously.
The second highness may only be a former king at present who didn't even have soldiers to his name, with his throne occupied by his own niece, but he was still the rightful bearer of Krissen Empire's legacy. If House Kenmays pledged allegiance to the second highness, they would be able to receive the acknowledgement of the other landed nobles and the count would truly be accepted as a peer of the realm.
"Did you agree to his proposition?" asked Lorist, seated within the tub.
"Not yet. I postponed by saying it was a huge matter for the house that merited serious consideration. I'll give him an answer within the next two days. I came to look for you immediately after seeing him off," said Kenmays.
"Apart from your pledge of allegiance, what demands did he make of you in exchange for becoming a duke and being given a province?"
"He wanted me to encourage you guys to press the attack," Kenmays shrugged, "He'll make me a duke the moment the duchy ceases to exist. However, I did warn him that we wouldn't be able to exterminate the duchy without House Norton's aid. Given the combined might of House Kenmays and House Shazin, we would be able to defeat our enemies. But exterminating the whole duchy would be a rather big stretch."
Lorist furrowed his brow in thought while Kenmays stood near the tub, patiently waiting for a response.
As the water within the tub cooled, Lorist finally raised his head.
"Perhaps, this will be a great opportunity for all four houses. We can use this chance to swallow the whole Madras duchy. Here's what you have to do: put the second highness off for two days before you say this to him..."
...
During the past two days, Baron Shazin Hennard brought his troops to raid the nearby nobles' manors and returned with plentiful resources. Delamock still lived up to its name of being the largest food producer of the former empire. Hennard managed to raid four manors during the two days and gained enough food to feed the army's 100 thousand soldiers for the whole winter.
The second highness felt like he was on vacation. As Hennard had gone pillaging, or put more eloquently: 'gathering resources', the second highness wasn't able to work on his relationship with the baron. Kenmays didn't want to meet with him for some reason, so the second highness was unable to press him for a response. As for Lorist, he was busy fishing with his guards on the Metropoulos River as if he didn't care about the ongoing war at all.
Even though the second highness was well cared for in the camp, his freedom was severely restricted. Whenever he attempted to leave, there would be a really polite guard who would remind him of his status as an observing noble knight and of how he wasn't allowed to leave the campgrounds for no good reason to avoid causing trouble for its owners. The reasoning behind it was that even though the Northlander troops were only having a small skirmish with the Madras duchy's forces, if the second highness's presence was discovered, the consequences would be severe and the war would turn out really differently.
For the sake of his greater goals, the second highness resisted the urge to leave. He didn't want to be treated like an unwelcome personage by the army, especially during a time when he could take House Kenmays under his wing. So, he could only waltz around the camp with his attendants and drool at House Kenmays and House Shazin's pristine armor and fantasize about them destroying his enemies under his command.
There were roughly 36 thousand Shazin troops, 46 thousand Kenmays troops, and 12 thousand Norton troops in the camp, bringing the total near 100 thousand men. Apart from the raiding excursions Baron Shazin and his gold-ranked knight, Tabik, conducted, the rest of the troops that were not involved in patrolling or training were assigned miscellaneous tasks, such as chopping firewood, repairing the lodges to prepare for winter, fishing, hunting, and herding the livestock they had brought along.
The army looked completely unprofessional in the eyes of the second highness. He felt soldiers should only be concerned with war and spared the need to do the work of servants. If he had been in command, he would've swept half of Delamock already. And after gaining territory with such an elite force, he was confident he would be able to defeat Duke Madras. He would make sure the duke stayed cooped up in his lair in Sidgler while he made his way to the imperial capital.
The second highness's patience was finally rewarded when Count Kenmays showed up in front of him three days after the offer was made.
"Your Highness, House Kenmays is willing to pledge its allegiance to you and fight under your banner. We beseech the light of the mighty Wargod shine upon our kingdom and bring Your Highness endless victory," said Kenmays after he saluted respectfully.
The second highness was overjoyed when he heard the count's sincere reply. Now, he had yet another mighty noble house loyal to him alongside House Norton. It greatly increased his confidence in achieving his goals.
However, the second highness saw Kenmays's troubled look and asked out of curiosity, "What's wrong, count? Is there something troubling you?"
Kenmays replied with a bitter smile, "Your Highness, even though I and my house had pledged you our allegiance, we are unfortunately unable to fulfill your wishes. We won't be able to attack the duchy, nor were we able to convince our ally to resume the offensive."
"Why is that? My fine count, my word to you is no light matter. I make an oath on my status as the ruler to make you duke as long as you can exterminate the duchy. When I reunite the empire, you may freely pick a province as your dominion."
Kenmays shook his head.
"Your Highness, you've misunderstood. If you want the duchy exterminated, all four houses have to attack with full force. It is not possible to do so with only Baron Shazin's and my forces. Additionally, Baron Shazin has zero interest in pitting his men against the duchy's forces. As for our house, my father will definitely oppose the casualties likely to be incurred should we press on now."
The second highness asked with a trace of suspicion, "My Lord Count, I've seen your and Baron Shazon's troops; they are very formidable. The near 100 thousand troops you have here are more than enough to clear out Delamock. You stand a great chance at victory even if Duke Madras resists with all his might. Why do you say you're unable to take the duchy?"
"Your Highness, perhaps you are uninformed about the current state of the duchy's forces. Actually, a few years ago, after Duke Madras clashed with the second prince at Kobo, he armed his troops heavily. Apart from the 48 thousand men of the Seamountain Legion, which he has stationed in Sidgler, there are four defense legions that number up to 100 thousand men defending the seven citadels in Sanderson Hills. There are another 20 thousand men each at Nadegas, Kobo, and the river bank respectively. In total, they easily have over 150 thousand troops. If the private forces of the various nobles are factored in, there are another 60 thousand men at their disposal.
"If Baron Shazin and I press the attack with our two legions, we will quickly get entangled with the 100 plus thousand troops of the duke. If that happens, even if we end up victorious, our vitality will be horribly sapped. Even if we win, Duke Madras can continue to rest and recover given his dominion's abundant resources and population, while our houses will take up to ten years to recover.
"Your Highness, you should know that the Nortons have the most powerful military among our houses. Even if all through of our houses were to assault them at the same time, they would still win. There's also House Felim, which you might know as the House of the Pegasus. Baron Felim is the descendant of that house and his light cavalry legion has only recently shocked the world with their prowess. In contrast to those two houses, the troops of House Shazin are slow foot soldiers balanced in both attack and defense. House Kenmays's troops focus more on defense, with offense our weakness.
"Your Highness, I truly apologize for not being able to conquer the duchy. Our attack will do nothing but smash an egg against a rock. It is far from the rational thing to do. At present, the best I can do to show my loyalty is provide you some funds. I truly am unable to conquer the duchy, unless all four houses act in unison. Please forgive my incompetence," said Kenmays as he took out a thick stack of gold Forde bills that amounted to roughly 100 thousand gold Fordes and placed it carefully on the table.
The second highness seemed a little sour after hearing the response. What Count Kenmays said amounted to, 'I only pledged allegiance to you for the sake of officiating my house's title. If you want to use us to fight the duchy, we won't be able to help you. House Kenmays is willing to provide monetary support, but we definitely won't send our troops to the meat grinder for the sake of restoring your throne.' Naturally, the second highness was doubtful of what Kenmays said of the duchy's forces, but he was glad to have gleaned another piece of information that may prove useful to him.
"You mentioned the might of House Norton exceeds that of your three houses combined?" asked he.
"It does, Your Highness. The Nortons have two legions that number 120 thousand men. If you add their garrison soldiers to the figure, they have 150 thousand troops. Our own house only has 55 thousand in our legion, whereas House Felim's legion is made up of 46 thousand men, and House Shazin's numbers 42 thousand. The troops of the three houses combined don't even make up 150 thousand men. The Nortons are naturally the strongest," expounded Kenmays.
He intentionally understated the actual number of Norton troops by omitting the 25 local defense brigades in his count. As for three of the brigades that were present within the camp, he pretended to have not noticed them, since the second highness didn't really grasp the organization of the Norton forces anyway.
"Since that's the case, I have another question," the second highness began, "Since The Northlands is already the four houses' domain, they no longer have to defend against other neighboring dominion lords given how all four of your dominions are connected. If that's the case, why do they still maintain such a huge military outfit? What are they planning? Aren't the three other houses, including yours, worried about the Nortons' ambitions?"
Kenmays smiled when the second highness tried to put the Norton house in a bad light just like Lorist said he would. He was trying to fracture the relationship between the allies.
"Your Highness, do you know why the four houses formed an alliance in the first place?" Kenmays asked, "There are only two reasons. First, to set our sights on the Iblia kingdom. Second, to resist Duke Fisablen and his cavalry legions."
"Set your sights on the Iblia kingdom? I can understand being wary of Duke Fisablen, but aren't the other three houses nobles of the Iblia kingdom? Why would you target your own kingdom?" asked the second highness interestedly.
"Your Highness, actually, after House Norton sent their troops to Windbury to capture the second prince, we three noble houses have been isolated by the rest of the kingdom's nobles. It's more appropriate to consider us nobles of The Northlands. The reason we're targeting the Iblia kingdom is that we're doing it for Baron Felim. You should know the original dominion of the House of the Pegasus is in Southern, and it's his dream to reclaim his ancestral land.
"However, Southern has already been made a wasteland from the conflict, and we'll have to conquer Winston first to reach it. At present, Duke Fisablen's daughter, Iblia's queen, holds power within the province. We will definitely be pitted against the duke if we attack it. Duke Fisablen was renowned as one of the empire's three war gods and his Frontier Legion was one of the most impressive forces in The Northlands. The reason all four houses are expanding our military so fervently is so we are prepared for a conflict with the duke. It's also why House Norton maintains such a huge force."
"Ah, I see. Duke Fisablen, House of the Pegasus, and Baron Felim..." mumbled the second highness, before inspiration flashed across his eyes, "Count Kenmays, if I am willing to make Baron Felim a count and give Southern to him as a dominion, would he be willing to pledge allegiance to me as well?"
Kenmays wore a look of resentment as he thought, this second highness is shameless to the core! Even though he doesn't have troops or power, he treats the empire like he owns it and promises land he doesn't own to others! Hmph, it's easy for him to promise to make Baron Felim a count, but is Southern even his territory in the first place? If Baron Felim pledges allegiance to him, he'd have to send his troops to fight for Southern himself, with the only benefit being having a good excuse to do so, since the Andinaq kingdom is at war with the Iblia kingdom.
The second highness hurriedly realized what he just did when he saw Kenmays's expression. "Naturally, Lord Count, I won't forget your contributions as well. If you can convince Baron Felim to join my side, feel free to state what you require."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Kenmays said as he saluted, "I won't hold back either. If we can eliminate the duchy, I want Sidgler as the hereditary dominion of House Kenmays."
Lobbying
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As things played out, sending Count Kenmays to deal with the second highness was a brilliant plan.
Since Lorist was the second highness's vassal, he had to act respectfully and politely.
But faced with the suspicion the second highness held towards the house, Lorist would never bother to do anything to placate the second highness or calm his fears. Not only was it a sign of his confidence, it was also part of his pride. Whether the second highness be his former self that commanded 300 thousand troops or his current self -- no better than a failed noble -- Lorist maintained the same attitude he always had.
Since you're so suspicious of me, I can't be bothered to deal with you. All I have to do is do the bare minimum required of me.
Lorist thought the second highness wasn't one without talent. His reputation as one of the war gods on Grindia was nothing to scoff at. First, he had used the northbound convoy to pacify the kingdom's trouble-causing nobles. Thereafter he plotted to ruin the relationship between Duke Madras and the second prince and caused them to be on hostile terms to the point that Duke Madras had to cede Yungechandler.
On another front, the second highness schemed against the first prince and gradually chipped away his enemy's forces, ultimately causing his foe to fall into his trap before he invaded the kingdom, forcing the first prince to cede two southwestern provinces for a peace treaty. A few years later when war broke out once more, the second highness crossed Cloudsnap Mountains to circumvent the iron-wall defenses the first prince set up and managed to take over Frederika. It was a battle that greatly alarmed all on the continent.
The second highness may be a brilliant commander, but the way Lorist saw it, he wasn't a good king. While the second highness's governing policies weren't bad per se, he didn't have the wisdom or wit of a king. Lorist believed the second highness was a grudge-holding, petty, stubborn, authoritarian, and opportunistic man who always thought he knew best. Lorist could easily name a ton more faults the second highness possessed.
The man's biggest problem was his self-importance. It was the reason Lorist wanted as little to do with him as possible. He had no right to instruct Lorist to do this or that. He was glad a landed noble like him could refuse unreasonable orders from his liege, unlike the knights that served the second highness -- who had to obey every single order without question.
Lorist's method was simple: do everything step by step and focus on building a firm foundation. It was far better than the second highness's alpha-strike mentality that got him to gather a force of 300 thousand, only to end up with nothing after a devastating loss, having nowhere to return to apart from The Northlands, resulting in him having to rely on Lorist once more.
When the second highness received the Whitelion Legion's equipment as well as 100 thousand gold Fordes, it showed the relationship between the second highness and House Norton was nothing more than one of a liege and his vassal. The second highness had baited House Norton with the same gear to have their forces exterminate the obstacles that would stop him from gaining power. The equipment's return signified Lorist desire to have nothing further to do with the Andinaq royal family, a sentiment which the second highness undoubtedly noticed.
Kenmays, however, thought differently. Given the might of House Norton, Lorist could refuse any unreasonable order from the second highness and the latter wasn't able to do anything about it apart from smiling in a friendly manner. Kenmays was a person from a merchant family, so he had his methods to make the second highness willingly jump into the hole dug for him. Even though the second highness didn't always have his guard down, Kenmays still managed to fulfill his duty without issue. All the while pretending to rally allies for the second highness through advising Baron Shazin and Baron Felim. He encouraged the second highness to accept the two nobles' demands.
When Kenmays brought out his request for Sidgler to be made his dominion after the Madras duchy's conquest, the second highness agreed because he felt Sidgler was a rather rural province that didn't have much value apart from Platinum Beach, which was a famed vacation spot. And, given that the province was in Duke Madras's hands, the second highness was more than happy to give it away to instigate the fight between House Kenmays and the duchy since it would cost him nothing.
"How do intend to convince Baron Shazin to join us in our campaign, Your Highness?" asked the count.
"What if I make him a count?" asked the second highness after some thought.
"Your Highness, it won't do if you only promise empty titles to others," Kenmays said, shaking his head, "You must come up with benefits that will actually move them to support your cause."
"What does Baron Shazin want?"
"This," Kenmays said as he pointed at the map of the Madras duchy, "He wants the land around Sanderson Hills in Delamock."
"There? Why does he desire that?" asked the second highness, a little troubled.
The location was the border of Winston and wasn't like the rest of Delamock, rife with ripe farmlands. It was rather odd for the baron to want such a place as his territory.
"Your Highness, you should know well that Baron Shazin is a man brought up in a military family. He doesn't really understand what it means to manage a dominion. He's the one with the tightest finances among all four houses. He frequently needs our aid. There are two silver mines and one copper mine in Sanderson Hills. It would help alleviate his financial situation. It's far better than selling crops, which is why he desires the area," explained Kenmays.
"But, I intend to use those mines to fill the national treasury," said the second highness hesitantly.
"Your Highness, Sanderson Hills is currently under the control of Duke Madras and there are seven citadels there manned by a 40-thousand-man garrison. If you agree to the baron's request, he will attack and conquer the area regardless of the cost. Your Highness can then levy a ten percent tax on the mines' earnings. That's far better than sending your own elite troops to the grinder that is the seven citadels, no?"
"You're right, Lord Count," the second highness conceded, "Tell Baron Shazin that I agree to his demand. Apart from giving him that area, I will also make him a count."
"Your Highness truly is wise. We are really fortunate to have you as our king. I believe you will usher the empire into a new era of prosperity."
It was something Lorist wouldn't be able to utter even if it killed him. Yet, Kenmays had managed to deliver the line perfectly as if it came from the depths of his heart.
"Let's talk about what we need to do to convince Baron Felim next."
"Oh?"
Before the second highness's smile faded, his face turned into a look of bewilderment.
"Baron Felim? Didn't I already agree to promote him to the title of count and give him Southern as his house's dominion? Is he not satisfied?"
Kenmays sighed deeply before he said in an annoyed tone, "Your Highness, don't tell me you forgot that Southern is not under your control right now. The Iblia kingdom rules that area."
The second highness's face flushed.
"Even though it's currently part of the Iblia kingdom, when I return to the Andinaq kingdom and reassume my throne, I will restart my plan to reunite the empire and conquer it. Southern will be my land to rule."
"Time, Your Highness. What you need is time," Kenmays said forthrightly, "Your Highness can no longer promise others apples before the apple tree produces any fruit. Nobody will know for sure whether the apple will be sweet or sour. If you make that kind of offer as a king, others will regard you as a conniving merchant -- quite a harsh blow to your reputation."
"Ugh..."
The second highness couldn't help but appreciate the truth in the count's words.
"Lord Count," he shrugged, "What you said may be true, but apart from promising others things I don't currently have, what can I do? I'm more than ashamed of being a king so incompetent to fall to my current state."
"Your Highness, please don't think of it this way. Even lions have times of weakness. Your experiences are nothing short of legendary and the people of the future will no doubt sing your praises," Kenmays praised, "Your Highness, what Baron Felim wants is simple. He is willing to pledge allegiance to you and attack the duchy on your behalf. All he wants is your promise to back him up when he attacks Iblia to take Southern. He will also need a legion of troops in Southern to defend against any attack by Duke Fisablen."
"This..." mused the second highness as he fell into deep thought.
"Your Highness, are there any difficulties in doing so?"
"Lord Count, it's not that I don't want to agree to the baron's request, it's beyond my means," the second highness laughed bitterly, "As you said, a king shouldn't make promises lightly. Even if I manage to conquer the duchy with your cooperation, I can only form one Whitelion Legion and I have to use it to fight my way to the imperial capital. Even if I do manage to take the kingdom back, I'll have to rebuild the royal family's local defense legion to defend against the Union and the four central duchies. There's no way I can send a legion to help Baron Felim take back Southern."
After the second highness gained some understanding of the duchy's military, he predicted the three houses of Shazin, Kenmays, and Felim would be in shambles after engaging it. That was the reason he wanted to use his Whitelion Legion to reclaim his kingdom right away without bothering to aid them.
He believed the kingdom's garrison soldiers would hear of his return and surrender and he would have to reorganize his military to deal with the Union and the four central duchies after reclaiming his throne. He couldn't be bothered to send a legion to aid Felim. Duke Fisablen wasn't a person that could be angered lightly either. Sending a legion to fight with the duke's was sending them on a suicide mission.
"If Baron Felim is willing to wait a few years until I destroy the Union and the four central duchies, I'll send troops to retake Southern for him. I hope you, Lord Count, will do your best to convince him to endure for two more years for the sake of the greater good," said the second highness embarrassed.
He knew if the Union and the duchies were that easy to deal with, he wouldn't have ended up in his current state.
Kenmays shook his head as he understood the second highness's intentions to use the light cavalry legion of House Felim to conquer the duchy. After his goal was achieved, the issue of House Felim's rightful dominion could be postponed.
"Your Highness, I really don't understand why you don't use any of the many easier methods at your disposal. Why don't you just use the Nortons mighty forces?"
"House Norton?" The second highness sighed, "Lord Count, it's not that I don't want their aid. It's that they're unwilling to give it."
"Unwilling? How so?"
"I've already made Lorist Duke of The Northlands in hopes that he would send his troops to retake my throne. However, all he gave me is some equipment and money. He didn't bother to give me even a single soldier," said the second highness with a hint of anger.
Come on, that's 100 thousand gold Fordes and the equipment of the Whitelion Legion, not just some money and equipment. That alone should be worth three Duke of The Northlands titles, thought the count.
With a smile, he said, "Your Highness, I believe the reason they're unwilling to deploy any troops is that you didn't offer them anything they want. House Norton has been rather troubled over one issue."
"Oh? What is that?" asked the second highness curiously.
"Back when House Norton clashed with the second prince and won, their forces swept across The Northlands and took care of all landed nobles apart from our three houses. Currently, there are 17 noble houses living in Firmrock Castle. They are all the old nobles of the Krissen Empire that have some relation with House Norton. But, given that The Northlands is already under our four houses' control, Lorist has been wanting to give them replacement dominions."
"What did you say? House Norton actually dared to attack the old nobles of the Krissen Empire?" exclaimed the second highness.
"Your Highness, don't forget that even though those landed noble houses stemmed from the Krissen Empire, by the time the Nortons attacked, they were already nobles of the Iblia kingdom who have pledged allegiance to the second prince," Kenmays sighed, "House Norton's actions are perfectly justified. They have already shown mercy because they were once nobles of the empire."
"Oh, so that's the case," the second highness hurriedly said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I've forgotten. What you mean to say is..."
Kenmays pointed to Delamock.
"Your Highness, if you agree to enfeoff land here to the nobles, I believe House Norton will help us. If you can also let Lorist have Kobo and the rest of the remaining territory, I'm sure he will further Your Highness's cause without any hesitation.
The second highness hurriedly shook his head.
"No way, Lorist is already Duke of The Northlands. House Norton has already been given the whole of The Northlands, yet they want to stretch their hands into Delamock? That won't do."
"Your Highness, please consider your current position. Also, Delamock is Duke Madras's, not the Andinaq kingdom's. If House Norton wishes to take over the area, they will be the ones to pay the price. There is no free lunch in this world. Only through giving will you gain! You're only being asked to strike the deal with the territory currently belonging to Duke Madras. In essence, you don't have to give away anything of your own! Not only that, you can let the Nortons help you reclaim your throne! Are you going to give up on this opportunity? Your Highness! Don't disappoint me!"
The second highness glared at Kenmays all of a sudden.
"Count Kenmays, why did you bother to come up with this? Was Lorist the one that had you come lobby for him?"
"Your Highness, you truly are a person with a suspicious nature," Kenmays laughed, "There are two reasons I chose to do this. First, the Nortons' forces far exceed that of our three other houses. With their involvement, we can decrease our casualties. Second, I wish to have five of the landed nobles we're rearing given land in Delamock along with those in the care of the Nortons."
"Is that so..." Since the count had revealed his own intentions, the second highness no longer suspected he had plotted this in conjunction with Lorist.
"However, I feel this benefits House Norton far too much. To the point it's a little undeserved," said the second highness begrudgingly.
You're still not satisfied even if they're going to fight to the imperial capital for you? Kenmays said with a smile, "Your Highness, if you accept this, you can leave the matter of reclaiming Baron Felim's dominion to House Norton. I believe they would be more than capable of defending against House Fisablen."
"A great plan!" exclaimed the second highness.
The mere thought of having House Norton wear itself down against House Fisablen made his blood boil with excitement.
If those two houses fight intensely and end up both ruined, I'll be able to deal with them after I settle the Union and the four central duchies. Maybe I'll be able to rid myself of two problematic issues in one go!
"I don't think Lorist will agree. He is someone that won't yield unless he sees something in it for him," said the second highness worryingly.
"You can name him the governor of Winston and leave Windbury in his jurisdiction," suggested Kenmays.
The second highness raised his head.
"No way, that way, the Nortons would have two provinces!"
"That won't happen, Your Highness. When we conquer the duchy, there will definitely be nobles that will submit to you. I also know some nobles of the Iblia kingdom that are on friendly terms with me. All you have to do is move their dominions to Winston, and leave only Windbury under House Norton's control. If you make sure to support House Felim, one of the Nortons' allies, I believe you'll have caused House Norton quite a bit of trouble."
"Splendid!" the second highness cried with a clap of his hands, "Alright, I'll go with your plan."
Regret
Enjoy the second release of the week.
The sound of the horn resounded nonstop across the dry, withered plains as a group of soldiers marched into view on the horizon. They brought with them various banners and stood in the distance. Not long after, a few mounted men seemed to utter something, followed by some inaudible, confused cries from the men at the back. They began to move once more and headed for Duke Madras's camp at the foot of the mound.
The second highness could still remember clearly the time the messenger of Duke Madras once again visited the army's camp to urge the army to leave the duchy in a day's time after the four houses pledged their allegiance to him.
However, when Kenmays revealed the new conditions of retreat, the messenger laughed with insult laced eyes.
"Lord Count, are you treating the duchy like an ox you can simply slaughter? Do you think His Grace will agree? Don't forget a huge ox will have a pair of fearsome horns. As the messenger, I have no right to criticize you for how ridiculous your ambitions are. I can only repeat what you said word for word to His Grace. But I have to tell you one thing before I leave: since you want war, we won't disappoint you."
After the messenger's departure, the second highness was completely riled up and he instantly gave a spirited speech, which basically boiled down to how negotiations have fallen apart and that the army should use the chance to strike the duchy and take the rest of Delamock to gain as much territory as possible before they can ready themselves. That way, they can afford to drag the war on or crush them utterly.
However, the four nobles merely looked at the second highness with expressionless faces. Baron Shazin was the first to speak out. He explained that there was no longer any need to attack Delamock. He would instead raid the nobles' orchards and farmlands. Given his understanding of Delamock, he felt there would be no point in attacking the well-defended castles since they would have to station soldiers thereafter occupying them. It was no good to fragment their forces.
With a stern face, Baron Felim also criticized the second highness's plan. It was already the 10th month and winter would arrive in a month. It wasn't possible to take the whole of Delamock in just 35 days, not to mention the fact that apart from Kobo, the rest of Delamock worth taking were only manors of other landed nobles. Given that Kobo was a fortified city with 20 thousand men guarding it, it was incredibly hard to take. The army wouldn't be able to take the city quickly and any attempt to do so would only incur unnecessary losses.
Kenmays smiled and advised the second highness that there was no need to be in such a hurry. The messenger would require at least ten days to deliver the news to the duke, it would be the 11th month by the time word reached him. The duchy's forces would have less than half a month to prepare for winter, whereas their own army was mostly ready. By the time spring comes, the enemy would be severely weakened because of their lack of preparation and victory would be within their grasp.
In the end, Lorist concluded that they would go according to their predicted course of action and ignore the army that the duke would no doubt send. They would only fight after the duke gathered his army in spring the next year. Lorist expressed his confidence in the army's might. They would be able to take the duchy far more easily if the duke's army was wiped out first.
The strategy meeting ended on that note, with the four nobles leaving immediately without giving the second highness a chance to convince them otherwise. The second highness grit his teeth after everyone else left and regretted that he didn't ask for the right to guide the army's actions when he signed the agreement.
The contract of oath was a guarantee a liege gave to his vassals. As long as the vassal carried out the task given by their liege, they could go about it however they wanted without needing the permission or interference of their liege.
Usually, an oath contract came in three copies. Apart from the liege and vassal's copies, there would be another one for public announcement. The second highness's oath contract came in four copies, one each for him and the four nobles with the final one used for public announcement. During the new year, Kenmays would represent the four houses at the annual celebration in Gildusk and announce the agreement to the nobles currently deprived of dominions by the Nortons and Kenmayses. According to Kenmays, the agreement signaled the return of those nobles to the second highness's rule.
At first, the second highness wanted the smaller noble houses to sign the contract with each of the four houses respectively, but Kenmays mentioned that the act might make others think the second highness was intentionally trying to sabotage the alliance between the four houses. It was imperative that the four houses worked together to conquer the duchy, so all four houses should be involved in a joint signing. Only thusly would all the houses be in the same boat with regards to reputation and casualties.
Kenmays added that he would like to personally sign the agreement independent of the other houses because he didn't want to be dragged into the same pit with them. He said it would definitely incite Lorist's suspicion and the others by making them think the second highness had some private arrangements or benefits for House Kenmays. If it were allowed to come to pass, not only would the alliance be affected, the second highness's plan to reclaim his throne would also be ruined. So, Kenmays said he was willing to get into the same boat as the four houses, even if it meant potentially greater losses for him, so the second highness managed to successfully regain power in the kingdom.
The second highness praised Kenmays's sensible considerations and agreed to follow his suggestion for the four houses to sign the same agreement, with the conditions Kenmays stipulated. When the second highness stamped his finger on all six copies of the contract, Lorist, Felim and Shazin all nodded in acknowledgment. The second highness couldn't be more riled up. He thought the four houses were now at his beck and call. He would use them to wipe out his enemies and conquer the realm.
However, Lorist refused his suggestion to deploy soldiers almost immediately. When the second highness brought up the plan to conquer Delamock, he realized he didn't have any right to command the four houses' forces despite being their liege. Even the second highness' guards reported to the four houses. Apart from gold-ranked knight Ripleid, Glacia and his three silver-ranked knights were back at the Norton dominion recruiting soldiers and guarding the Whitelion Legion's equipment.
Not willing to give up, he sought out Lorist and the rest and tried his best to convince them once more to follow his plan and storm the duchy while the duke was busy moving his own troops in to position to defend against the upcoming assault, saying that allowing the enemy to gather their forces was the biggest mistake they could ever make. After all, Duke Madras had the advantage in terms of both terrain and manpower. Even if they fought to a point of losing, they would still be able to go on the defensive and drag on the war.
However, there was only a month before winter arrived, so the second highness suggested that even if they weren't able to conquer the whole of Delamock, it was still better than nothing if they managed to wear down on the forces of the duchy and force the troops at Delamock to be unable to receive reinforcements or support. That way, they could deliver the final strike when the enemy was worn out even further by the coming winter.
Since Lorist mentioned that he wanted to wipe out the duke's army in one go, the second highness intelligently changed his rhetoric. He said they had to decrease the enemy's combat strength before the final fight instead of sitting around and watching the enemy gather their forces. Given the current situation, the duchy was like a huge ox which the sole wolf that was their own army intended to hunt. The wolf ought to open as many wounds on the ox as possible to stall the ox from launching into a life-ending charge. Only after the ox bled most of its vitality out should the wolf engage in the killing engagement and spell the end of the duchy.
To convince Lorist and the rest, the second highness went so far to use himself as an example, citing his loss two years prior to the allied noble army in Anderwoff. Back then, he didn't command his troops to wipe out the allied noble army in one go and instead engaged in three to four smaller skirmishes which all ended in the horrible loss of the nobles. However, the nobles of Anderwoff continued to fight to the death even after Anderwoff had been taken. Having been driven to Majik, they continued to struggle against the second highness's forces until they received aid from the Union and the four central duchies which ultimately resulted in their triumph.
That was the reasoning behind his argument that Lorist's plan for an all-out battle wouldn't guarantee the duchy's fall. The second highness felt the army might repeat his mistake and end up in a huge predicament. He maintained that only by attacking first and conquering the nobles' manors in Delamock and crippling the duchy's forces was the way to go and that the army had to grasp the chance instead of leaving their troops cooped up within the camp doing nothing.
Lorist didn't bother to argue with the second highness and merely brought out a map of the duchy and began a simple simulation. Given the current state of the allied army, if they wanted to take the nobles of Delamock's manors, they would have to split up into four contingents, each contingent containing 20 thousand men. Only then would they be able to conquer the manors of those nobles. Even at the lowest possible casualty ratio of one to one, each of the four units would lose at least half their numbers after conquering around five of those manors and would have no choice to retreat, ending up with only a third of Delamock under their control.
The biggest weakness of the strategy was how there wasn't a way to encircle Kobo mainly due to the fact that the duchy's reinforcements would arrive far too quickly. The duke would either send his strongest unit, Seamountain Legion, to disrupt their plans or send 20 thousand garrison soldiers stationed at the Sanderson Hills, making it extremely dangerous for the troops on the way to Kobo, even threatening the safety of the camp at the riverbank.
If they sent 50 thousand men to encircle Kobo, the duke's reinforcements wouldn't be able to deal with it. If they did that, however, the duke would send his troops to attack the camp at Metropoulos. If the camp was destroyed, the consequences would be unimaginable. They might lose their only way of retreat and perhaps be eliminated completely.
Lorist didn't hesitate to point out that the reason the second highness failed his attack on the Redlis kingdom wasn't that he had gotten into a drawn-out, to-and-fro battle with the nobles, but that he had his supply lines cut, which ended with the defeat of the troops stationed at Kanbona. Naturally, the second highness's ill-prepared resources also contributed to the problem when they had to battle for an unexpected amount of time. However, it still seemed the second highness hadn't yet understood where he truly failed and almost had them repeat his mistake.
Embarrassment turned into anger as the second highness stressed that the forces of the Nortons and Felims could secure the camp at the riverbank during the attack. That way, they would be able to guard the camp and even press the attack on the nobles.
It was then that Felim objected profusely and called the second highness out for not understanding his and the Nortons' forces. So far, the allied army's main force lay with Shazin and Kenmays, most were heavy-armored infantry only proficient at defense and interception. Not only that, Shazin's two cavalry divisions currently served as scouts and the camp had been set up in a way that would make it easier for the infantry to defend from enemy assault and spend the winter.
Letting the defensive infantry troops attack the nobles all the while defending the camp along with the Norton cavalry legion, which was optimized for attack operations, was nothing short of idiotic. Felim insinuated that even if his troops and those of the Nortons guarded the camp, it wouldn't be able to support the heavy infantry troops that returned from the attack. The resource consumption during winter for the mounts of two legions was already astronomical.
"There's no need to argue further. We'll stick to the plan as previously discussed. All we have to do from now to winter is defend the main camp. As for whether we attack, that can wait. Your Highness, you ought to take a bath, calm down, and get some rest. Don't waste any precious time," said Lorist before he left.
The second highness almost coughed up blood from his anger.
What do you mean take a bath and get some rest?! Did he mean I was wasting his time?!
The angered second highness brought out the contract and tried his best to find a clause that would allow him to assert some control over Lorist. As he scoured the contract, he realized he had been duped by Kenmays, who had dug him a huge pit into which he had jumped willingly, to say the least.
All of the clauses in the contract were ran through the second highness and mandated by him personally. But after re-reading the contract, he hurriedly brought out a map of the empire and realized that even if he could reunite the empire, apart from House Fisablen's Wild Husbandry Province, the entirety of the Iblia kingdom would fall under the jurisdiction of the four houses. As long as the alliance held, a third of the empire's territory would forever be out of his reach.
Take, for instance, Delamock, which the second highness promised to the landed nobles deprived of their dominions. Most of them were vassals of House Norton, and Delamock would belong to the Nortons in the truest sense after the duchy was eliminated.
The worst part was how the second highness elected Lorist as the governor of Windbury. He had forgotten that Windbury was the capital of Winston, so even if the nobles of Winston were on the second highness's side, a governor like Lorist wasn't. And in the chain of command, any order the second highness had for the nobles of Winston had to go through Windbury first, so Lorist could just intentionally not pass the orders on while he dealt with the nobles himself.
The second highness's regret amplified. He had practically given the whole of Winston to the Nortons. He later discovered another clause that severely disadvantaged him: there was no date for when the Nortons had to help the second highness reclaim his throne. Not only that, the territory promised to the four houses would be in effect right after the duchy's conquest whether the second highness regained his throne or not.
For instance, the second highness had promised Sidgler to Kenmays as his hereditary dominion with the count promoted to duke with the only condition being the conquest of the Madras duchy. Not only that, as long as the four houses conquered Winston and Windbury, Lorist's term as governor would be effective immediately and Windbury would fall under his control.
I was blinded! How could I believe Kenmays, a person from a sly merchant family?!
The second highness despaired with his realization, especially the one where he didn't stipulate when the four houses had to reclaim his throne. It could happen right after their conquest of Madras, or even 20 years later! The four houses would only have to sustain the second highness in The Northlands in the meantime while they carry out their strategy to suck as many benefits out of him as they could.
Even though the second highness felt rather generous when he was giving away almost all the benefits of conquering the Iblia kingdom to the four houses to ensure their loyalty, he realized that the current situation allowed the four houses enough territory to found their own kingdom after he reunited the empire. He almost wanted to cut his own hands off and wondered how he could be so misguided to put his thumbprint on such a contract.
There were no lieges that dared to go back on their word on an oath contract. After all, it was the most sacred form of agreement there was. It represented the promise of the liege to the gods and their ancestors. The second highness knew the contract was the only document ensuring the four houses' loyalty. If he truly breached it, not only would all his reputation and trustworthiness be gone, the four houses could use it as an excuse to revoke their pledge of allegiance to him and return to being rogue nobles. Not only would he not gain a single thing for which he had bargained with the four houses, he would also gain four mighty enemies.
Currently, the second highness was standing at the top of the castle in the middle of the mound where the camp was built. He looked at the horizon and saw the duchy's forces gathered at a campsite one kilometer away, busy digging moats and building up their defensive line. He also saw rows of carriages bringing in all sorts of resources.
I hope they gather as many as possible. I can only be patient and wait for spring to come now. Perhaps after the four houses' army clashes with the duchy's and end up crippled, I can rise again. Maybe the only way I can go about this is to let the army get entangled with Duke Madras at Delamock while I build up Whitelion Legion on the sidelines to regain control over the situation, thought the second highness.
Landing
Here's the third release of the week, enjoy!
The silver moon hung high in the sky and shed its silver glory onto the realm of man.
The weather was rather calm on the northern seas, which was rare for the winter season. The moonlight reflected off the calm surface of the ocean, giving it a sparkly sheen.
On the distant shore, a lit torch could be seen twirled around three times. It stood still for a few moments before it once again twirled thrice.
"Everything should be on track," Potterfang said, "Milord, I think we can make our move now."
Even though the weather was pleasant, in stark contrast to the strong winds all too common during the season, the chill of winter still made Lorist cold to the bone despite the thick layers of fur he wore.
"Let our troops drink some rum and warm their limbs. I don't want them going numb because of the cold and falling into the water. They're definitely goners if they get wet in this cold. I don't want to see any accidents happen. Prepare to move out."
"Yes, Milord. I will have them prepare right away. Don't worry, Milord. We've already trained for this many times; there won't be any problems," replied Potterfang, standing ramrod straight.
The orders were passed down quickly. The ships in front rotated until their sides faced the shore. The sailors threw a large net over the side and let it hung down the side of the ship to the water below before lowering the rafts.
The soldiers each took two gulps from their respective leather sacks, causing Lorist to get a whiff of the dizzying scent of rum. It served to raise the soldiers' body heat so they didn't get affected too much by the cold. Norton troops don't coop up in their camps during the winter. Instead, they would undertake all sorts of training exercises thanks to the need to exterminate the magic beast wave years earlier. It was already a common practice and also served to improve their knowledge on staving off cold.
The standard rations of a Norton soldier included a small leather sack of rum. Drinking some rum and circulating one's battleforce would increase the body's temperature and help maintain it for a time, which would prevent one from being chilled numb by the cold.
After the soldiers had some rum and began flexing their limbs, they checked their armaments one more time before going over the railings and climbing down the net to reach the rafts. Some of Firmrock Legion's silver-ranked troops had already gone ashore not too long ago and awaited the rest's arrival.
A few more ships gradually approached the shore with chains of large wooden boxes trailing behind them. They were the mobile ports which the worksmiths on the ship would link together to form a 100-meter-long bridge through the reefs near the shore after the ships anchored. The legion's wheelbarrow-ballistae unit could only land once the dock was assembled and in place.
While it was usually harder to set up two mobile ports in the dead of night, given the calm weather and the moonlight, the task was completed in a few short hours. After the Firmrock troops completed their landings, the floating bridges would be retracted and left near the reef so House Kenmays could use them as a port as per the agreement between Lorist and the count.
As the saying went, 'to defeat an army, go for the commander'. Lorist had never planned to rely on defeating the duchy's army before making his move to swallow it up. The plan to wait till spring before crushing the duke's army was only something Lorist used to mislead the second highness. What the four houses actually wanted was for the duchy to be in a state untouched by war when they took over.
While the second highness's plan for the four houses to wipe the nobles in the province out to stifle their ability to resist was a sound plan, it would effectively render the territory useless even if they conquered the entire place. The four houses would have to invest lots of funds to redevelop the land. This was the true reason they refused to follow the second highness's suggestion.
When the duchy's most elite force, Seamountain Legion, arrived at the camp opposite the Northlander army, Lorist knew Duke Madras' lair, Sidgler, was no longer defended. It had already raised the odds of his plan to take Sidgler during the 12th month to 80 percent. As long as they were able to encircle Edelise without anyone noticing and capture the duke himself without letting word spread, he could use the duke's personal seal to enter Xith Castle, Vanades, and Kobo unimpeded without the defenders knowing any better. The duchy would effectively be no more after those three places were taken.
The second highness should've been invited or forced by Kenmays to go to the duke's manor in Gildusk to participate in the new year's celebrations. The second highness had already realized the tricks Kenmays played on him in the contract the previous month and changed his friendly attitude. Kenmays, on the other hand, maintained his polite demeanor as if nothing had happened. The second highness was unable to hate the man no matter how angry he was.
Lorist smirked when he thought about the fact that it was his idea to let Kenmays do the talking. He didn't think the second highness would actually fall into the trap that easily. Perhaps, he thought too highly of himself and only brought his guard up against the Nortons. Whatever the reason, he fell for Kenmays' flowery words.
The second highness might just realize spring next year that the whole of the duchy fell into the houses' hands when he was expecting them to just begin their attack. Only then would he truly understand the degree to which he had been duped. Without war-torn battlefields, the second highness won't be able to take advantage of the situation to recruit soldiers for his Whitelion Legion. That way, he won't be able to go to the Andinaq kingdom to deal with Queen Carey. As a result, he would have to rely on the four houses to spend his days and keep begging Lorist to deploy troops to restore him to the throne.
The other houses were not informed about the plan to encircle Edelise itself lest it was leaked. According to the plan known to all, the Nortons would deploy Tigersoar Legion at the lower stream of Metropoulos during spring the next year and cross the floating bridge to head to the final battle with the duchy's forces. While it was not part of Lorist's actual plan, he would still have to deploy the legion to face Queen Carey's forces.
"Milord, the first batch has landed. The sailors are heading back with the rafts," reported Potterfang.
They were at the narrowest part of the shallow seas near Platinum Beach situated only a little over a hundred meters from shore. Lorist snapped out of his thoughts to look at the coast. He saw the sailors pulling the rafts back to the ships using the rope that connected the vessels. The rafts were mostly empty apart from the single sailor manning them.
Lorist recalled the three horizontal wooden boards he intended to use for balancing the rafts, but the shipwrights at the yard had found the design unusable. In the end, they redesigned the rafts to have a rounded back and a square front, which allowed for more people to be ferried at once while improving the craft's balance. They only needed one extra sailor to man each boat from the back.
"Milord, I've returned," said the figure that suddenly appeared on one of the rafts and scaled the ship.
It was Els, the guards', the first to be deployed, leader.
"What was up with those fishermen during the day? They forced us to delay our operation," inquired Lorist.
Originally, the plan was to be carried out during the day, but the folk of the Flying Fish of Dawn found it hard to scout the beach because of the fishing boats near the coast.
What the heck is wrong with them? Even though it's winter, there are still sailors willing to take the risk and fish! Nobody could've predicted...
In the end, Lorist had no choice but to wait until evening before he could begin the operation.
"They are from the Blackpearl Merchant Guild, Milord. Their salt farm and fishery are located at Platinum Beach's southernmost end. Our men have already taken control of the premises. According to the captives, the fishermen were out fishing to prepare ingredients for the duke's banquet tomorrow. It appears to be a yearly affair," replied Els.
According to Lorist's knowledge, the Blackpearl Merchant Guild was the largest merchant guild in the duchy. It was said they were one of the duchy's largest backers. They monopolized the salt and fish trade. The salt merchant committee's suppression in the duchy was their doing. Their method of salt production through boiling seawater was horribly inefficient. It resulted in ridiculous prices. In spite of their prices, there was still a market for their salt throughout the duchy.
The Blackpearl Merchant Guild also fished near the coasts and sold their catch to the four central duchies. Seafood was also one of the few specialties of Sidgler. Lorist didn't think the duke would go so far as to have the fishermen go to sea during winter just for his new year's banquet.
He looked at the two floating bridges that were only a fraction complete.
I don't think this will be finished anytime soon.
Lorist turned to Potterfang.
"Pog, I will go ashore first. Stay here and command the troops."
"Milord, why don't you rest in the cabin instead?" Potterfang asked, surprised, "It won't be too late to go there when the bridge is complete. It's far stabler that way as well. Also, taking a raft is rather risky."
"No worries," Lorist laughed, "I'll bring a few guards with me. I'm sure you've heard what Els said as well, right? I plan to interrogate the captives. We might be able to have more people infiltrate Edelise with us."
Now that Lorist had made his decision, there was nothing Potterfang could do. He had of the rafts reserved for Lorist and the guards, led by Els.
In an attempt to raise morale, Lorist chose to land in the same manner his troops had and took the initiative to do part of the rowing. He found the initiative rather displeasing by the time he neared the shore. Feeling the splashes of chilling water on his face caused him to start shivering slightly. His hands were almost chilled to numbness. He yearned for the shore all the more for it.
The closer they got to shore, the more ice crystals were visible in the water. When Lorist saw this, he found he had overlooked one important factor. Platinum Beach wasn't frozen as he thought it would be and had instead turned into a field of snow. Thick layers of snow gathered on the beach's surface, causing the part of the beach where water touched to form ice.
The squarish part of the raft bumped against the shore and caused some of the ice to fall off. A group of Norton soldiers rushed to the raft and pulled on the rope at the front of the raft while they shouted.
"Quick, get to shore! Take lighter steps and don't stomp on the ground. If any of you need to warm up, take a few swigs and start moving about."
"Oh, Milord, it's you," said one of the soldiers who realized Lorist's presence amidst the guards.
Lorist jumped on the shore lightly and patted on that soldier's shoulder.
"Well done. But why can't we stomp on the ground here?"
"Oh, Milord, the first group of soldiers to arrive had instantly stomped about to warm up the moment they got here. They didn't realize they were standing on a patch of frozen ice instead of the beach itself. The ice cracked and the whole group fell straight into the water," replied the soldier.
Lorist's chest tightened when he asked, "Then, how are they doing now?"
"They're fine, Milord," the soldier said with a smile, "Even though the unlucky fools got wet, the water only reached their thighs since the waters here are shallow. They were ordered to strip and dry their clothes near the fire before taking more rum and circulating their battleforce. They'll be back to normal after their clothes and armor are dry. They're still loitering around the fire naked over there and many of us couldn't help but laugh..."
Lorist felt relieved as he laughed at the thought of a bunch of naked men circling a fire. Fortunately, there was battleforce in Grindia. Had they been normal folk who couldn't use it, they would've ended up on the brink of death. Falling into water 30 degrees centigrade would no doubt bring a tragedy. Thankfully, the soldiers were at least of the bronze rank and were far stronger than average soldiers in Lorist's previous life.
Knight Pajik had been made an officer in Firmrock Legion following his breakthrough to the gold rank. Lorist was rather assured with the knight running the landing. It didn't take long for Pajik to rush over.
"Milord, why have you come?" asked the knight after he saluted.
"I wanted to come over for a look and ask the folk at the fishery and salt farms about Edelise while I'm at it. How many people do we have ashore at the moment?"
"One and a half brigades, Milord," replied Pajik.
"Good. Even though Edelise is a day's travel from here, you have to be wary since the road there is covered by snow. Have a brigade of fully-armed troops occupy that mound in the distance and monitor the surroundings. We'll set out for Edelise when the rest of the force has landed," said Lorist as he pointed to a snow-covered mound farther away.
"Understood, Milord. I will send some men immediately," said Pajik.
"Alright. Els, let's head to the fishery and salt farms."
"Understood, Milord. We'll have to walk across the beach to get there," said Els.
Occupation
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From the map, the land of Sidgler could be seen as a valley surrounded by Lizgna Mountains and Civilink Highlands. The valley was large enough to be a province in and of itself. Some parts even neared the coast. There was only one entrance, it was the pathway near which Xith Castle was built. The fact that only one castle was required to defend Sidgler was probably why Duke Madras made it his headquarters.
The second highness's strategy started with him encouraging the four houses to devastate Delamock. But he never thought they would attack Sidgler and only wanted the duke to coop up in his lair. He felt conquering Xith Castle was nothing but a pipe dream. The dangerous terrain aside, the narrow pathway into Sidgler prevented any army from displaying their true potential. Small waves of a hundred people going against the castle was nothing but suicide.
When Lorist led his convoy through the duchy, he had them disguised as merchants and successfully conquered Xith Castle. He left it in the care of the second highness's troops. But right after the duke mobilized Seamountain Legion from Sidgler, the second highness left after a few days because it was only good for defending against outside threats rather than inside ones. While Xith Castle was hard to take from the outside of the valley, the opposite was true from the inside. The reason was that the duke was afraid he would be trapped in the valley if anybody managed to conquer the castle and hold there.
The duke renovated the castle heavily over the past few years and made a simple citadel into a triple-walled contraption. The company he had originally stationed in the castle was also increased to a full regiment. Even if one managed to conquer the first wall, the troops defending the castle would still be able to put up resistance from the second and third walls. It was precisely because of Duke Madras's confidence in his castle that he allowed his most elite unit, Seamountain Legion, to head to the frontlines to give the Northland bumpkins a long due lesson and chase them back across the river.
It was a shame the duke never predicted the enemy would come from the sea during the winter. Apart from the thousand guards that defended the central castle at Edelise, there were no more than two thousand men defending the inner and outer cities. Most of them were conscripts brought on board specifically to serve for the winter.
Nobody performed their duties fully; the cold was just too much. As they saw it, no enemy could get past Xith Castle. Had it not been for the banquet the duke hosted, which saw many nobles of the duchy going through the castle and tipping the soldiers on duty, none would bother to show up for their shifts.
It took one day to travel from Platinum Beach to Edelise on foot and around ten or so hours by carriage. One would take close to half a day even if one went by horse without rest. The duke renamed the city from Traft after his first daughter, Edelise - who was born there. He spent eight years expanding the city before he renamed it. He also moved his house there at the same time and made it their headquarters.
Lorist had a map of Sidgler unrolled before him
"Edelise is defended by three fortified walls, the center of which is connected to the keep," Lorist explained as he pointed at the city on the map, "All of the duke's family members are there. He will host his banquet at the duke's mansion, which is directly behind the keep. The area between the inner wall and the centermost wall is called the inner bailey, where most of the duke's relatives and rich merchants or tycoons live. Some of the duke's vassals also have dwellings there.
"Between the outer wall and the wall in the center is the outer bailey, where most of the family members of Seamountain Legion's soldiers, the servants of the inner bailey, members of the Blackpearl Merchant Guild, and farmers of the surrounding area live. Put bluntly, the citizens of Edelise have a really tight-knit relationship with House Madras. Duke Madras has managed Sidgler for close to 40 years already and has built the foundations of his house here at Edelise.
"Last night, we interrogated the captives of Blackpearl Merchant Guild's salt farm and fishery and got word that the defenses around Edelise are rather lax at the moment. We can take the two walls easily if we're undiscovered, but the central castle itself will prove troublesome. When we attempt to breach the third line of defense, we'll have to make sure the enemy doesn't have any escape routes. We cannot let them retreat to the keep and put up a defense there.
"As Edelise is House Madras' headquarters, I will have to give a special order. We are Nortons; we don't lower ourselves to oppressing civilians. But as we attack Edelise, if there are any commoners that resist our advances, you may use any method at your disposal to pacify them, be they women or children. Otherwise, there will be a chance for someone to rile up a civilian revolt and bring us countless troubles, perhaps even affect the moves we can make. Understood?"
"Yes, Milord," replied the knights surrounding him.
Lorist asked Howard something before he turned back to the knights.
"It's around five right now. According to the captives, they are supposed to depart around seven to arrive at Edelise around five to deliver the seafood to the keep manager. Els, bring some men with you disguised as members of the guild and take the supervisors with you. You just need to get past the outer wall."
"Understood, Milord. I will definitely execute my mission successfully," replied Els.
"If we had to march to Edelise, we might not be able to arrive today," Lorist laughed, "Fortunately, we have our skis. They will let us travel even faster than the carriages Els is taking to the city. The only problem is there are six farmland manors along the way. If we're discovered, they might light a smoke signal to alert the city guard. That's where you come in, Malek."
"What are your orders, Milord?" said Malek as he stepped forward.
"I will leave the six manors to you. You have to prevent them from informing the enemy of our presence."
"Understood, Milord. I will not let any of the six manors inform anyone," said Malek.
"Pajik."
"Awaiting your orders, Milord."
"Take a brigade and seal the path between Xith and Edelise. As long as you do, even if there are people who manage to escape Edelise, they won't be able to reach Xith. With this, our plan can't fail."
"Understood, Milord."
"Pog, what comes after will depend on you. I'm leaving the attack on Edelise to you. My only role is dealing with Krisas, the duke's rank 2 blademaster. It is the key to taking Xith, Vanades, and Kobo. We can't afford any mishaps."
"Rest assured, Milord. I won't let you down," Potterfang nodded.
"Alright, there's little more than an hour left. Let's get to work and leave the moment you're ready. There's no need to wait for my order. Pog is in charge, follow his command. Understood?"
"Yes, Milord!"
...
The operation was executed without issue. Els managed to control the gates of Edelise easily after infiltrating the city. He even managed to let the first group of soldiers enter. They only took about half an hour to take over the outer wall. Snow began to fall just as the combat died down. The skies darkened and hid the invaders well from those further inside the city.
It was strange that they only had a small number of captives from the outer wall. When they questioned what few captives they had, they learned that most of the guards had given their shifts the slip. No one was willing to face to cold.
Els continued his mission. He donned the guise of a Blackpearl Merchant Guild member and brought his produce for delivery. Along with Potterfang's troops, he quickly took the second wall. Just as they were about to advance on the third wall, however, something unexpected happened. A few people approached from far and cursed at the group who were supposedly delivering the seafood for almost being late for the banquet. They hurried Els's group to the duke's mansion immediately.
When the people realized Els and the guards weren't people they knew, one smart one attempted to rush back to report. Els had no choice but to take care of them. Fortunately, none escaped. Three died and two were captured. It didn't take long to deal with them either -- nobody noticed the commotion. After quickly dealing with the corpses, they questioned the two captives and learned that the person in charge from Blackpearl Merchant Guild sent the five of them out because he was panicking about how late the seafood was.
After leaving a carriage to store the corpses and four guards to watch the captives, Els led the rest straight to the backyard of the duke's mansion. The near-hundred guards split into two units. One stormed the keep the moment Potterfang made his move and the other headed to the third wall's gate to await Lorist and Potterfang's arrival.
Attacking the keep turned out to be quite the relaxing task. Only 200 or so of the original thousand guards that should have been on duty weren't absent. When faced with the horde of Firmrock Legion soldiers, they surrendered after ten short minutes of resistance.
"Argh!" cried an elaborately dressed fifty-year-old man. He was rank 2 blademaster Krisas. He lay on the ground, defeat by just six strikes from Lorist. Beside him lay his ceremonial sword, which he had used for the engagement. It was a most sorry sight.
The fight happened within the main hall where the banquet was held. Lorist had killed a rank 2 blademaster almost instantly in front of Duke Madras and tens of other noblemen and ladies. The bloody sight caused quite a number of women to faint.
"Who are you?"
Lorist rubbed his nose awkwardly.
"Norton Lorist of House Norton, Duke of The Northlands," replied Lorist.
"Duke of The Northlands? House Norton doesn't command that title," said Duke Madras suspiciously.
"You would indeed not know of it. I was only recently given this title by Second Highness Auguslo. I've also been enfeoffed the whole of The Northlands."
"Is that so... Then Auguslo's still alive and even made it to The Northlands... And those people from the Union claimed he was dead. What are you going to do to me?"
"Hehe, Lord Duke, it's not up to me to decide your fate. I will send your whole house to His Highness. It's up to him to decide your fate," said Lorist.
Duke Madras slumped back into his seat like a deflated balloon and laughed wryly.
"Haha, I already know my fate in that case. I have another question, though. How did you enter? Did the garrison troops at Xith Castle betray me?"
"I don't know whether the troops there betrayed you, Lord Duke. We came from the sea," replied Lorist.
Just like that, Edelise fell into Firmrock Legion's hands. The city's near hundred thousand citizens didn't know they were at the mercy of a different master. Lorist left the aftermath to Potterfang and occupied Duke Madras's bedroom on the uppermost floor of the keep. He indulged in his precious wines and enjoyed the snow gradually covering the city.
Not long after, something embarrassing happened. Loyal as Potterfang was, he was worried that his lord wouldn't have any company in his sleep. So, he picked two noble ladies from the captives and sent them to warm Lorist's bed. For those women, this was something unavoidable as it was noble custom. They might, perhaps, be able to use the opportunity to make a plea for their house. They never thought they would be serving Lorist, the man who had terrified some of them into unconsciousness when he killed Blademaster Krisas.
When they met Lorist, the two instantly panicked. One fainted and another lost control of her bladder. Lorist, much dismayed, had Howard send the women out, only for another misunderstanding to occur. The one who peed all over thought Lorist had just ordered their execution and fainted, while the one who just regained consciousness hugged Lorist's leg and pleaded to be spared.
The commotion was quite a way to spend the first night of the new year and Howard took the brunt of it as he had to monitor the servants who cleaned the floors while he brought a bathtub to Lorist and prepared some hot water before leaving promptly. Lorist had chosen to 'punish' the women personally. Their moans and cries rang throughout the night. It only calmed down at dawn.
Lorist only re-appeared at noon the next day.
"Let this be the last time you do this," he told Potterfang with a stern expression.
In spite of his reprimand, the two beautiful women were kept by his side and their households were spared.
...
During the 1st month of Year 1777, House Norton and their Firmrock Legion attacked Sidgler via Platinum Beach. They conquered Edelise and managed to apprehend Duke Madras and tens of other duchy nobles. Firmrock Legion's commander, Gold-ranked Knight Potterfang, used Duke Madras's seal to gain entry to Xith Castle and Vanades for a surprise attack and managed to occupy both. On the 23rd day of the 1st month, Kobo also fell. From that day onward, the Madras duchy was no more.
On the 17th day of the 2nd month, the citizens of Edelise revolted. Near a hundred thousand citizens protested on the streets against the surprise attack and demanded House Norton leave and Duke Madras return. Only ten thousand of the legion's soldiers were present. Gold-ranked Knight Malek gave the order to kill to suppress the revolt, which resulted in the deaths of more than 30 thousand of Edelise's citizens and the capture of 40 thousand more. Malek, who gave the order without the slightest change in expression, was known henceforth as Ironface.