Chapter 230
(Kyle Calendar Year 513: Age 20)
Movements in Neighboring Nations: The Imperial Kingdom
of Istria
Translator : PolterGlast
In the Imperial Kingdom of Istria, while feigning a
New Year no different from usual, preparations for the expedition towards
autumn were secretly being put in place. Castro, who had become the
Archbishop, as the Imperial Kingdom's Minister of Military Affairs and
Commander-in-Chief of the Army, was sparing no effort in the military buildup
and arrangement of plots for the Imperial Kingdom.
A sudden visitor appeared in his office again.
"Ho ho ho, Castro, you seem busy from the start
of the year?"
"T-This is, Master! I am grateful for your always
sudden visit."
Castro knelt
respectfully and bowed.
"No, nothing much, I just came to check the progress of
your plans and encourage you. It seems that on the Empire side, arrangements
are in place to invade with a force of 50,000 in the autumn."
"Hoh, 50,000! Then they will lure the enemy soldiers
south even more. Without knowing that we will invade in large numbers not only
from the east but also from the north. Either way, it is a pitiful thing for
the Kingdom."
"And, what are your plans?"
"My apologies. First, in the coming days, I will demand
the return of the 1,000 Longbowmen still detained in the Kyle Kingdom."
"Will they return them?"
"Probably... they will not return them. But that is
also one of our plans. While the armistice agreement is in place, we will
denounce the Kyle Kingdom's fault to neighboring countries for that
insincerity and the inhumane treatment of prisoners. Saying that the armistice
agreement is meaningless with this. Thereby, the groundwork will be laid for us
to annul it."
"So the 1,000 are sacrificial pawns for that?"
"Those who have forgotten God's will and have already
been tamed can be of no help to us. Regarding Longbowmen, there are 3,000
survivors from the previous battle, 1,000 who returned in the previous prisoner
exchange, and additionally, we have pulled 1,000 each from the three borders,
totaling 3,000, and 1,000 newly trained. The total of these 8,000 Longbowmen
will be the main offensive force this time."
"It was said that rebuilding would take 10 years, but have you advanced that far in this
short period?"
"Yes, furthermore, pieces are prepared. Although their
skill is far inferior, there are about 5,000 disguised Longbowmen who are
infantry turned archers. Combining this unit with 5,000 infantry, totaling 10,000,
we will first attack the fortress on the western border. Timing it for when the
messenger announcing the annulment of the armistice agreement arrives at the Kyle
Kingdom's Royal Capital."
"I see, and when attention turns to the western border,
the next move?"
"The main offensive from the north will consist of
8,000 Longbowmen as the main unit, 5,000 cavalry, and 5,000 infantry. In
addition, let us accompany about 5,000 soldiers from the Kingdom of Uros,
who are dazzled by our pressure and the share of the spoils."
"Ho ho ho, an invasion army totaling 23,000. Terrified
by that force, the northern Margrave and the Clan Chief of Ice will defect to
this side, and the plan is to obtain 6,000 new reinforcements?"
"Yes, with a total of 29,000 at our disposal— even
if things do not go perfectly, as long as we can muster an army of 23,000—the
10,000 or so Royal Capital Knights
remaining in the Royal Capital will be of no concern to us. Though,
this attack is only effective thanks to your grand strategy of surrounding the
enemy from all four sides, Master..."
"Rest assured. Everything is moving smoothly. It is
already certain that the Royal Capital Knights will stick to the south
and west of the Kingdom. And they will likely bite at your decoys too. Then, the
northern army will proceed like conquering an uninhabited field."
"Yes, the north exists because of that plot."
"Fumu... then, can I take it that the strategies and schemes we imparted are all proceeding smoothly?"
"Yes, the Piette Trade Confederation's six small
nations are now divided into three factions. It was easy to incite them
according to your instructions."
"Indeed, of the three countries bordering the Kyle
Kingdom, two are prospering through friendship with the Kingdom. However,
the Kingdom of Uros, which borders both your country and the Kingdom, is
always an opportunist, and thus treated coldly by the Kingdom. No, the northern
Margrave bordering them is a shackle. Was that about it?"
"Yes.
When I promised that upon the conquest of the Kingdom, they would be granted
priority trade rights and our assistance in invading the remaining two nations,
they immediately made their allegiance clear."
"Pitiful, not knowing they will be used as arrow fodder
for you. How is the current northern Margrave? A jealous, narrow-minded man. He
must be unable to bear the prosperity of the south and east?"
"As you say. Although he was not punished in the
previous civil war, he is anxious that he missed the winning horse. To oppose
out of vanity, he imposes unreasonable taxes within his territory, and as a result, merchants are avoiding his lands more and more,
preferring to conduct their trade through the other two nations instead. He is
a fool who strangled himself out of jealousy. He will likely ride on the future
schemes as well."
"If he knows he will also be attacked and destroyed, he
will immediately lean towards us. And the fallen Clan Chief of Ice was
originally fond of insidious conspiracies."
"As you say. It seems he was quite anxious that his
former comrades, Fire and Water, had established friendship with the Fearalt
Principality and were advancing new schemes. Rather, before we made this
proposal, he was trying to extend a hand of conspiracy to the Kingdom of
Uros. Without knowing we are behind it."
"Fufufu, without knowing that the Principality's
movements are our scheme. Does he not realize that he is the one drowning in
conspiracy? Truly foolish. Let him dance in the dream he painted himself, so he
doesn't realize it as much as possible."
"As you command!"
"Castro, I am relieved. Then continue to be
diligent. The day you receive the honor of leaving your name in history as the
Pope ruling these two countries is probably near."
Leaving those words, the man called Master had disappeared
before anyone noticed.
"Master is always an elusive person. Even so... Pope
ruling two countries? That's not bad either."
After saying that and being lost in thought for a while,
Archbishop Castro raised a loud voice and called his attendant. There
were several matters that required immediate action. He called them to put
those plans into motion.
"Dispatch the messenger to the Kyle Kingdom!
Make sure to move according to the instructions given in advance. And summon
the 12 Apostles immediately! We are entering a war council."
We have finally come this far. The hardships during the time
of confinement enduring humiliation, the reconstruction of Mages, and
the reorganization of military power were not easy things. The day those are
rewarded is near.
Watching the back of the attendant running upon receiving
orders, Archbishop Castro raised the corners of his mouth and smiled
fearlessly.
The 12 Apostles of the Imperial Kingdom of Istria,
called Divine Messengers, are 12 people as the name suggests. Originally, there
were nine Divine Messengers. However, to compensate for the loss of one member,
they had succeeded in adding four new members through the efforts of the past
few years
Wind Mage:
2 + 2 Holy Mage: 3 + 1 Sound Mage: 1 Earth Mage: 1 Water
Mage: 1 Dark Mage: 0 + 1
In the previous battle with the Kyle Kingdom, Castro
could only mobilize a mere two Wind Mages. Moreover, one of them (Aura)
was lost in the battle.
However, the former Holy King who hoarded Mages and
made Holy Mages especially the outlet for his desires is no more.
Compared to before, Castro, who had seized overwhelming power, was in a
position to mobilize all Divine Messengers.
And Castro, who liberated the Divine Messengers from
the hands of dirty power holders, has their deep trust. In front of the 12 people
lined up and kneeling, Castro was in a good mood.
"12 Apostles, everyone is gathered. The days of
enduring submission for a long time will soon end. The day will come to
liberate the Mages who are hoarded by the power holders of the Kyle
Kingdom and treated unjustly. These are God's will. The time has come to
fulfill your sublime duty as Divine Messengers by God's protection."
"Ooh!" "Then, finally." "Yes!"
"The Kyle Kingdom's royalty and nobles, who fear
not even God, hoard your brethren, defile their dignity, and treat them
unjustly as spectacles. Just as the power holders of this country once were, they
have sacrificed these victims to their own greed. Even now, your kin endure
days of bitter suffering."
When Castro said that, the four Holy Mages
stiffened their bodies. Since they were all young and beautiful women, they had
previously been humiliated daily by the former Holy King.
"We have to save them... from that hell."
One of them murmured as if determined. As if lured by that,
one of the men kneeling and bowing his head raised his face.
"I wish
to avenge Aura, and our brethren who
perished in the previous battle. I want to make those devils pay."
He was the Wind Divine Messenger who had served in the
previous battle with Aura. He was told that Aura suffered a
mortal wound and, delayed in escaping during the confusion of the fortress
falling, lost her life.
For him who trained magic together and fought with the
Longbowmen, Aura was an irreplaceable comrade. Therefore, he harbored a
particularly strong hostility towards the Kyle Kingdom.
"We must also save the related persons newly taken away
due to the Kyle Kingdom's deceptive information, the soldiers still
captured in the enemy's midst and treated like slaves as prisoners, and over
3,000 of our Imperial Kingdom's people. In this battle, we, as
liberators, must deliver God's judgment upon the enemy country's power holders
and their vanguard."
Of course, the information given to them kneeling there is
so-called clipped information, intentionally processed by picking only facts
convenient for Castro and his group. But for them, this was the absolute
truth, and they had no means of knowing the truth.
"Serpens, I want you to proceed with the final
phase of the operation regarding the Kingdom
of Uros.'"
"Ha! Everything is proceeding more smoothly than
imagined."
This man called Serpens was a man introduced as a Dark
Mage candidate by Azar, a subordinate of the man called Master, when Castro was confined and spending time in
misfortune.
He is a man of few words and somewhat shadowy, and it is not
even certain if he was born in the Imperial Kingdom. However, by adding the Imperial
Kingdom's first Dark Mage to one of the Divine Messengers, Castro,
who was still a prisoner at the time, was able to demonstrate his competence
and prove that he was 'worth keeping alive'.
And after that, he also maneuvered secretly during the
former Holy King assassination incident, and secretly maneuvered in the
denunciation and capture (brainwashing) of the main culprit.
"I will continue to entrust you with the duty of
messenger so that the other party understands our great cause well."
"Ha! Understood."
"Others, proceed more than ever more than ever with the
integrated tactics involving Longbowmen and countermeasures against enemy
attacks. Is that clear? we have little time left. Apply yourselves fully so
that we do not fall behind their cowardly tactics!"
Even the Imperial Kingdom of Istria had incorporated
the war lessons from the previous battle with the Kyle Kingdom.
Especially, they were putting effort into the fusion tactics of catapults and
wind magic, which became a major factor in their defeat.
That indicated that one of the things Takuhir feared
most was becoming a reality. 『Tactics that can be reproduced in this world will surely be
imitated someday, and this time they will be directed at oneself. 』 He had always feared this.
And, on a day not so far away, the Kyle Kingdom's
camp would be made to realize it.
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