Chapter : 138

“B-block the walls!!”

“Stop their breakthrough! Hurry to the collapsed wall!”

Seeing my furious charge, the area beyond the wall became very chaotic.

Count Bozen’s vassals were pushing soldiers toward the collapsed wall, trying to raise morale somehow.

They knew it too.

If that place was breached now, the battle would end.

Kicking the hesitant soldiers’ buttocks, Count Bozen’s knights rushed toward the collapsed wall.

That furious momentum would surely subside if they broke its first brunt.

“Follow me!”

“Let’s slaughter all those insignificant bastards!”

Therefore, Count Bozen’s knights were thinking of going forward and defeating the enemy somehow.

However.

“You bastard! My sword…. Urk!”

At the very front of the charging army was me.

“It-it’s the Margrave of Bellua!”

“Group up! Combine your strength to block him!”

Count Bozen’s knights, having sold their chivalry somewhere, started attacking all at once without knowing honor.

An ordinary knight would surely fall to such a combined attack.

The only problem was that the target was me.

-CRUNCH!

-BANG!

Swinging the holy sword I received from the Archbishop of Cologne, I began to strike down the charging knights.

The first knight I met couldn’t even scream as his helmet split open, dying instantly. The next knight tried to block the attack with his shield but was bounced off just like that.

Just one blow.

Seeing heavily armed knights collapsing one by one, even knights dared not attack.

“M-monster…!”

They were overwhelmed by my momentum.

Forgetting their status, the knights started retreating in fear whenever I approached.

If the knights were like this, there was no need to speak of the ordinary soldiers.

-ARGHHH!

-B-block him!

-It’s a demon! A demon has descended.

Every time I rode my horse back and forth among the enemies, Count Bozen’s battle line began to collapse rapidly.

“Oh, God…. Is that really a human being…?”

Watching this from afar, Count Bozen’s vassals began to seek God without realizing it.

The war situation collapsing due to one man’s valiant power. It was something utterly hard to believe.

However, the more I rampaged like this, the more some of Count Bozen’s vassals had to solidify their thoughts.

-WAAAAAA! We have captured the wall!

-Put down your weapons! We will grant mercy if you surrender!

Not long after, when the flag of the Margrave of Bellua, symbolizing me, was hung on the wall.

-Charge! Advance toward the inner castle like this!

They looked at each other’s faces meaningfully and hurried toward the inner castle.

* * *

The battle was over.

From the beginning, Count Bozen’s forces were insufficient to stop me.

Even the walls had collapsed.

Count Bozen’s army, unable to utilize the advantages of defense, inevitably collapsed quickly as soon as I broke through the battle line.

My soldiers spread throughout Lupei Castle, the capital of Count Bozen’s territory, dealing with the remnants, and I was able to enter the office of Count Bozen’s territory with my vassals.

However, I couldn’t easily relax my expression.

Rather, it was heavily distorted.

It was all because of Count Bozen’s vassals, the internal traitors.

“Y-Your Excellency! We have brought Count Bozen’s head!”

The bastards brought Count Bozen’s head, still dripping with blood, and knelt before me.

“Ha! Head? You brought his head?”

At the absurd situation, I let out a hollow laugh.

‘Are these bastards kidding me?’

If they were going to betray, they should have done it before fighting, and if not, they should have brought Count Bozen alive as much as possible.

But they killed him?

And by chopping his head off?

They seemed to have tried to curry favor with me in their own way, but this was a foolish act.

A count was a high-ranking noble.

To kill such a high-ranking noble in the kingdom’s civil war. And without a trial at that. This was a big problem.

Moreover.

‘I intended to leave Count Bozen alone to induce the formation of an opposition force against João internally….’

That way, even when João came of age later, he would have no choice but to continue relying on me.

But all plans were messed up.

Because of those stupid and greedy bastards.

“Y-Your Excellency! We only trusted and followed Your Excellency’s words.”

“That is right. To keep Your Excellency’s hands clean, we willingly beheaded the heretic! P-please grant mercy according to custom…!”

They had some wits too.

Sensing that the atmosphere was turning bad, they hurriedly shouted excuses. The problem was that this offended me.

“You dare to kill your lord and ask for mercy in front of me? Fine, I will grant you mercy. I will specially sentence you bastards to the guillotine so you can die without pain! Seize them!”

“Y-Your Excellency!”

“You cannot do this. Mercy!”

At my command, the soldiers quickly seized the bastards. They wailed trying to survive somehow, but I had no intention of listening.

No.

At this point, I decided to punish the betraying vassals harshly and treat Count Bozen’s vassals who resisted until the end favorably instead.

“Release all of Count Bozen’s vassals and knights who were captured as prisoners.”

“Pardon? However…. According to custom, prisoners belong to the captor….”

“Ah. I know. But isn’t that part ultimately a ransom issue? I will pay for all of it myself.”

“Then no one will have any particular complaints.”

Only then did the hesitant vassals and elf knights brighten up.

Magician Agpiel smiled brightly as if satisfied with my decision.

“Excellent. Sometimes it is necessary to show mercy. Especially for someone with a reputation for outstanding divinity like you.”

Grudges formed by blood would not be easily erased, but the gratitude for the victor’s generosity was also quite distinct.

Especially if I punished the vassals who betrayed their lord and treated those who resisted until the end generously.

‘Well, it seems like a loss right now, but it will be a gain in the long run.’

Although the territory would be unsettled because Count Bozen died miserably, it was clear that it would calm down soon.

* * *

Indeed, as expected, the situation flowed positively.

Public sentiment in Count Bozen’s territory began to settle rapidly.

I immediately sent someone to the domain to bring João here, while waiting for the clergyman dispatched from the Holy See.

And not long after, as soon as I confirmed the Holy See’s guarantee approving João’s succession to the title of Count Bozen, I held the inauguration ceremony.

“Glory to the new Count!”

“Long live His Excellency the Margrave of Bellua! Long live the Regent!”

People praised me in unison, and the feudal vassals of Count Bozen’s territory came personally to pledge loyalty to João.

Of course, this pledge was essentially directed at me, the regent who would actually rule Count Bozen’s territory, but no one pointed that out.

They had submitted to the overwhelming power shown in the recent war.

“It is not good to be too aggressive. Although you have secured a definite justification, the King and the Duke of Bourgogne will certainly not view it favorably.”

“I know. Magician Agpiel. That is why I am meeting diligently to find allies like this.”

At Magician Agpiel’s words, I smiled bitterly and said.

As Magician Agpiel said, the Elang Kingdom was turned upside down.

-This is clearly a usurpation of title!

-For a Margrave to absorb a Count’s territory! And a regent on top of that? Isn’t that his half-brother? This is deceiving everyone.

Some people, especially nobles as ambitious as Count Bozen, denounced my sudden move as if they didn’t like it.

-Will he really stop here?

-We cannot stay still. We must hurry and ask the King for help.

-Still, the King is a bit…. How about we unite and keep him in check? Or to the Duke of Bourgogne….

-Ahem! Are you telling us, who govern directly-managed lands by proxy, to join hands with the Duke of Bourgogne! Are you trying to get us killed?

The noble bureaucrats managing the southern directly-managed lands confiscated this time and some lords could not hide their discomfort with my aggressive expansion.

It seemed they intended to unite and check me if necessary.

However, since the factions they belonged to were all different, they were not easily uniting.

They were just arguing back and forth, waiting for the choice of the King and the Duke of Bourgogne.

Of course, while they were doing that, I was actually taking control of Count Bozen’s territory very quickly.

* * *

“How is Treasurer Palmer doing?”

“He is working very hard, leading the administrators trained in the City of Mangtong. Lord.”

“Hmm, good. Tell him to let me know without delay if he needs any help. I will lend him soldiers to push through everything.”

Before I knew it, all my main vassals had come over to Count Bozen’s territory and were immersed in stabilizing the domain.

It was a county in name.

To take control of this place in a short period, considerable administrative power was needed.

‘There is a mountain of work to do.’

Work, work, work.

As expected of the [Pangea Universalise] era, Count Bozen’s territory was also operated in a haphazard manner, so almost every system had to be reorganized.

Thanks to that, Treasurer Palmer and his subordinate administrators screamed, but who cares.

When even the Great Sage and Magician Agpiel was wrestling with piles of documents, no one dared to voice complaints.

“Is the progress regarding the customs union going well?”

“Yes, Lord. Count Bozen’s territory is roughly sorted out, and we just need to coordinate with the subordinate feudal vassals now.”

“Were there no objectors?”

“Rather, they followed actively?”

“Hmm, really?”

That was fortunate.

I intended to make them submit by force if necessary, but to think they followed on their own.

And with their joining and compliance, my customs union was finally fully connected without breaks.

Margrave of Bellua – Count Bozen’s Territory – City of Mangtong by land, and all the way to Pigeros by sea.

This tremendous trade network, which would cross without tolls and various taxes, was sure to become the best trade network in the kingdom, no, the continent, before long.

From salt to sugar, various industrial products, and even raw materials from various mines obtained by absorbing Count Bozen’s territory this time.

It had become a trade network with almost kingdom-level completeness.

‘Good, I finally gained the power to be self-reliant.’

The Great Famine was coming soon.

To survive that Great Famine, securing essential resources was absolutely necessary.

By absorbing Count Bozen’s territory this time, I had acquired all of that.

It was a very good thing.

And while I was satisfied like that.

“Lord! An envoy has arrived.”

“Hmm? Who is it?”

“It is Baron Pierre. Shall we guide him to the reception room?”

Finally, the King’s liaison.

Baron Pierre, the head of the kingdom’s purveyor merchant guild, had come.

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