What? The Southern Kingdom asked for our help?
What? The Skaven Ratmen came out in full force?
Since Laing and Suria were both in seclusion, the first reaction of the nobles and knights was to look for the Lake Goddess Witch Morgiana. Morgiana was interested in sending troops to help Estalia, and the Lake Goddess Witch quickly agreed to hold a meeting and started a new knight war in the name of the Lake Goddess.
Of course, without the decision of Laing and Suria on the spot, it would take some time to discuss how to use the country's resources and coordinate the armies of the grand duchies, the nobles, and the bureaucracy. Therefore, on the morning of the second day of receiving the request for help in April, the marshals and the cabinet members left behind by Laing arrived at the palace's dining hall one after another, ready to have breakfast and discuss the matter.
Croissants, sausages, cheese, coffee, maple syrup, eggs, vegetable salad, blueberry tart, and smoked salmon. The breakfast was very sumptuous, but the mood of the people present was different. The bureaucrats left behind by Laing, such as Talleyrand, Berliat, Veronica, Teresa, and Vincent, were not very interested and just ate peacefully. The nobles and knights, including Laun and François, were having a heated discussion. The Green Knight also appeared. The physical embodiment of the Eight Virtues of Knights brought a large bag of extremely hard baguettes. It was so hard that it could only be cut with a sharp saw or even a knight's sword.
Seeing the Green Knight appear, everyone bowed. This demigod had protected Brittany for almost a thousand years.
"Where's the brat?" The Green Knight's ghostly voice was emotionless. "Not eating breakfast?"
François looked at Kalad.
Kalad looked at Morgiana.
Morgiana looked at the head maid, Sylvia.
Sylvia's face was red, and the head maid opened her mouth. Under everyone's gaze, she said awkwardly, "This is the first time the baron has attended a meeting alone today. He's still choosing a formal suit."
"You didn't choose well last night?" The Green Knight's voice was emotionless. "Is this how you do things?"
"It's all my fault. Please punish me, Your Highness." Sylvia hurriedly knelt down to admit her mistake.
"Tsk!" The Green Knight, who was Devenhill's mentor, was the first to snort in displeasure. He smashed the bread, knife, and fork on the table with just the right amount of strength. The sound was crisp, but it did not damage anything. He shook his head.
Seeing that the Green Knight had stopped eating and seemed to be unhappy, everyone was forced to stop eating and enjoy their breakfast.
As a symbol of chivalry, the Green Knight was not in a good mood. The warm atmosphere suddenly dissipated. Berchemund, Laun, François, and others stopped one after another. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly.
Berchemund ate half of the hot dog. He didn't know whether to chew or hold it in his mouth.
Ron frowned and lowered his head to wipe his mouth with a napkin.
François shook his head helplessly, as if he was considering his words.
Kalad's expression was ugly, and his brows were furrowed.
Talleyrand's expression was calm. He was still smiling. After putting down his knife and fork, he even started chatting with Vincent.
Morgiana, the Lake Goddess witch, was probably the only one who did not have to look at the Green Knight's face. She looked a little worried, but the Green Knight was Devenhill's mentor. She could not interfere.
Just as the Green Knight finished speaking, Devonshire hurriedly walked into the hall with the Twilight sisters behind him. Nestra's face was rosy and lustrous. Seeing everyone's gazes on her, she walked unnaturally. Alohan, on the other hand, did not feel any pressure. She grinned and swept her gaze across everyone who looked at her, making eye contact with them.
The baron moved quickly. As he walked, Devenhill, whose clothes were still a little messy, tidied up his collar and sleeves. He was the last one to enter the dining hall. He lowered his head and apologized to Kalad and François, a little embarrassed.
The Green Knight looked at Devenhill coldly. "When your father was your age, he was still living in the snow in Nord. What about you? My baron? If you don't get rid of your extravagance and decadence, how can you become an excellent knight and a qualified heir to His Majesty? How can you face the lady who handed you over to me, your father, and your mother? Do you think the throne should be yours in the future? Are you that great? Who do you think you are? "
"…" Devenhill's face turned red.
"A king is not proud of his bloodline, but a king is proud of his bloodline." The Green Knight continued. "It's not because your bloodline is noble that you're destined to be a king. It's because you're a king that your bloodline is noble. If you always think of yourself as Laing's son and never realize that you're just Devenhill, then I don't need to be your mentor! You should find someone else. I'm not being modest. Since the lady has asked me to be your mentor, then I will hold you to the highest standards. Are you convinced? "
"I'm convinced, mentor." Devenhill was even more embarrassed. In fact, the baron knew that there was an important meeting in the morning. He had planned to sleep early and wake up early, but the Twilight sisters were too obsessed with him that night, causing him to sleep late.
"There are a lot of good-for-nothings in this country. If they're not serving in Laing's army in the north, then they're going to the Badlands. If you're always like this, then I suggest you go find your grandpa Belega at the Eight Peaks Mountain and ask Laing and Suria to have a few more children!" The Green Knight scolded Devenhill.
Standing there, Devenhill received the harshest criticism he had ever received in his life. The baron knew that he had made a mistake and could only accept it.
"You can't make such a serious mistake again. Sylvia, you'll be fined a year's salary," said Morgiana as soon as the Green Knight finished speaking.
"Yes." Sylvia immediately accepted the punishment. Seeing this, the Green Knight paused for a moment. He looked at Morgiana and nodded. "That's all."
Everyone sat down. After a storm, the Green Knight gestured for everyone to begin.
Morgiana had already said that she could call for a holy war, so everyone discussed how to mobilize the troops and how to mobilize the troops.
What was the attitude of the Knight King Kingdom towards this request for help?
Good!
Very good!
The Lady is calling us, the times are calling us, the great holy war of the knights is about to begin!
What did everyone like the most in a religious, feudal, and military aristocratic country?
Of course, it was the holy war!
The holy war was the best reason for war, especially this kind of holy war where one "helped" a neighboring country "resist" an invasion. One had to know that the last holy war in Arabi brought Brittany two to three hundred years of prosperity, and this time, it was Estalia who took the initiative to ask for help. In such a terrible and tragic war, how could we, as the inheritors of the virtues of knights, not get a cup of … cough, cough, I mean, lend a helping hand?
Not only did we gain both fame and fortune, but … one had to know that the Knight King Kingdom had been coveting Estalia's territory for many, many, many years, and they just didn't have an excuse to do so.
Therefore, when the southern kingdom's request for help was sent to the Brittany court, the knights and nobles were all excited, especially those led by Berchemund, François, and Laun. They couldn't wait to mobilize the whole country.
The first thing they agreed upon was that it was impossible for the knights to cross the Black Mountains to rescue Tyrell because it was too dangerous, especially since Milagliano had already fallen. The Skaven Ratmen only needed to send a small number of troops to block the mountain path, and the knights would have no chance of surviving. Therefore, they decided to prioritize Estalia, which was the closest to them and had a direct route to the city.
Then there was the issue of gathering the army. Naturally, the knights and nobles wanted to mobilize the whole country, and many of them wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to annex Estalia. However, Laun and François immediately warned them not to mobilize the whole country. Furthermore, it was already April, and the spring plowing season had already begun. Recruiting the army couldn't affect the important agriculture.
"Don't worry, it won't be a problem. Who doesn't have a regular army under their command?" Berchemund didn't care at all.
The knights and nobles were in a heated discussion, but on the other hand, the bureaucrats weren't very interested.
Talleyrand said that it wasn't appropriate to make a big fuss over this matter. They had just defeated Morghur, and the Royal Guards, including the Old Guard, Muxilon's Coldstream Guards, and the First Guard Cavalry Regiment, needed to rest and reorganize. Furthermore, the Norse dwarves needed time to settle down. It was troublesome to arrange for the 96000 Norse dwarves, and he couldn't provide enough help on this matter.
Berliat sincerely said that Muxilon's military factory still had many research projects, and he only had a portion of the budget that Laing had set aside. If they wanted to mobilize the army on a large scale, they would need Minister of Finance Vincent's approval.
Minister of Finance Vincent's attention was on his daughter. He first cast a grateful glance at Morgiana, and then said that His Majesty Laing had left a certain amount of budget space before going into seclusion, but it was impossible for him to support such a large military operation.
This made the marshals feel troubled. Carrying out the Holy War of the Knights required money! Of course, the dukes could pay for it out of their own pockets to a certain extent, but this meant that they could only lead their own troops. After the armies of the various grand duchies had been converted into regular armies and reorganized, the dukes could only lead their own knights, nobles, private armies, and serf conscripts.
What? You mean the freemen's army, the musket brigade, and the artillery regiment as the backbone of the army?
It was still possible to mobilize a small number of them, but they definitely couldn't mobilize a large number of them! For a nationwide mobilization, the freemen's army would only listen to Laing and Suria's orders. If Laing didn't make the decision, who would dare act recklessly? Don't look at how Laing was in seclusion right now. Could it be that there was no one who wasn't afraid of him coming out of seclusion for revenge?
You mean the bureaucrats Laing left behind? Who would dare make decisions for the king on this type of matter? Who would take responsibility if something happened?
Everyone fell into a predicament. Those who wanted to fight didn't have the money, while those who had money didn't want to fight.
Talleyrand secretly exchanged a look with Berliat. The high-class cripple gave Berliat a meaningful look.
Berliat shook his head slightly.
The time wasn't right yet.
Talleyrand lightly tapped the ground with his walking stick.
The bureaucrats immediately collectively objected.
Just like that, even though Brittany had the ability and the idea to support the southern kingdom, without a core leader and decision-maker, the military plan couldn't be formulated and issued. The dukes and Laing's bureaucrats began a long and drawn-out negotiation and game.
Devhill saw all of this. The baron was a little restless. He forcefully shut his mouth to prevent himself from interrupting and remained silent.
What he needed to do now was to listen and learn.
"I can't help but want to go all out, Nestra!" Alohan licked his flaming red lips excitedly when he heard that there was going to be another war.
"You must calm down. We must avoid unnecessary sacrifices, Alohan!" Nestra said impatiently. "Everything is for Aisley!"
Devhill couldn't help but smile bitterly as he listened to the Twilight sisters' argument. They were arguing all the time. He really didn't know how long he would have to listen to them argue in the future.
… I'm the dividing line of sitting in the court and listening to politics …
Brittany was still arguing about what to do.
In the palace of the Empire, Emperor Karl-franz also received the letter asking for help from the southern kingdom. The Emperor's mouth twitched as he tilted his head.
Where do I have extra troops to support the southern kingdom now?
I also have a Holy War going on here!
Archbishop Vickma had almost used up all the religious troops in the southern part of the Empire to attack Sylvania. Now the army had just set off and entered the territory of Aisley not long ago. Even many mercenaries had followed them. On the magic academy's side, the Light Magician Sun Seer Jovi had set off with a small group of Magicians, including a Light Magician.
The huge number of Holy War soldiers put a lot of pressure on the already stretched Empire's food supply and soldiers' salaries. This was also why the Emperor was very angry about it, but in the end, he acquiesced to the existence of the Redemption Voucher. At the same time, Kurfürst Marius's territory of Aisley also provided some food support.
This wasn't the end. As winter passed, the Vilich Spellcaster army in Prague continued to move south. They had already begun to besiege Kislów Castle in the south and Örengrád in the west. Now that the Brittany had basically retreated, what was left was the allied army formed by the Empire and the locals of Kislöw. The current commanders were the Grand Baron and Kurfürst of Hocke, Edebrand Rudenhoff, and the Kurfürst of Auster, Wamir von Zhukov.
Urgent letters flew in from the frontlines like snowflakes. The northern defense line urgently needed the Emperor's reinforcements!
Karl-franz didn't stay idle either. The 60000 soldiers he gathered from various territories of the Empire had already gathered in Brunswick and were ready to move to the northern frontlines.
At this time, where would he have the troops to reinforce the southern kingdoms?
The Emperor was even considering personally choosing either the Holy War in Sylvania or the Anti-Chaos War in the northern frontlines to go to the frontlines himself.
After a few days of discussion, the messenger sent a new message.
"Because the Sun King and his queen are in seclusion, the Brittany is still discussing whether to send reinforcements or not." The messenger said, "Based on the known information, there are no reliable speculations or conclusions for now."
"What about Gelt and Nur?" The Emperor's heart sank.
Seclusion?!
Laing, what time is it now? You went into seclusion, and with your Queen Suria?!
"Lady Emmanuel made it clear that she's not interested in rescuing the southern kingdoms because it's too far away. The Empire's army has to go around the prince's territory at the border, which may take two to three months. Nur's army has to be used to defend Nur. Plus, Nur has already supported the Holy War in Sylvania." Countess Metternich said helplessly, "As for Gelt, our great alchemist is still organizing an army to join the Holy War in Sylvania. Your Majesty, this is also your wish."
"Does Gelt not have any extra troops?" The Emperor asked even though he already knew the answer.
"If there is, it will be difficult for us to support the expenses of crossing the mountains. We are not dwarves, Your Majesty," Marshal Rick Helberg said. "There is no shortcut. We can't cross the mountains."
"Understood. Now, we can only hope that the southern kingdoms can hold on for long enough and that everything will go smoothly for His Majesty Vikmar."
"As long as we can defeat Man Frey Von Karstein's undead army and solve the problem of Sylvania, everything will be fine, Your Majesty," Chief of Spies Amads said.
"I hope so."
Two weeks later, the Holy War in Sylvania gradually approached the border between Ivy Territory and Steyr Territory.
Sylvania was right in front of them. When the army arrived at Dark Creek Valley, Red Cardinal Al Frey encountered a crazy vampire hunter.
"Welcome to … Night City!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
