Chapter 134: The Coastal City Alliance
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 134: The Coastal City Alliance
Not only Aron, but also the horse he rode, was breathing steadily. It meant they had taken their sweet time.
‘I’m sure I told them to charge immediately.’
The force that had reached the gate first to deliver the news numbered less than a hundred.
Instead of following my command, they hadn't trusted me and had sent scouts first. And this was after Mollak had surely told them I was surrounded by the enemy.
Unable to bear my sharp gaze, Aron turned his head away. His vassals made excuses for him.
“Ahem. Opening the gate all by himself? Anyone would have hesitated. No, in fact, we should be praising Lord Aron’s fidelity for personally coming to the rescue, despite knowing it was a reckless plan.”
“Indeed. We practically clung to his legs to stop him, but Lord Aron insisted he could not betray his faith in the Baron and forced the sortie.”
Birds of a feather, I suppose. The vassals were putting on a whole show, singing his praises. The problem was that with every word, Aron’s face grew redder and his body trembled.
‘So he has a conscience, does he?’
Meanwhile, the allied soldiers who had entered with him were sighing in relief.
“Phew. I thought we were just gonna charge in without any siege weapons.”
“When did the guy at the front slip to the back? You bastard, you were trying to run, weren't you? Weren't you?”
“But is the gatehouse not fully repaired? What’s wrong with it?”
A soldier with a guilty conscience quickly changed the subject. He brazenly looked to me, then asked the parapet guards for the story.
“What? The Baron smashed it with his sword? What kind of ridiculous joke is that?”
Of course, they didn’t believe it at first. The structure was so wide it would take dozens of people with their arms outstretched to encircle it.
It was even made of brick and mortar, so sturdy that most siege weapons couldn't make a dent.
And a man had half-demolished it with a sword? How could anyone believe that? But as the parapet guards all vied to testify, they had no choice but to accept it.
The news soon spread throughout the entire army. Unexpectedly, half the soldiers nodded as if it were plausible. One of them, as if he were the subject of the rumor himself, boasted smugly.
“Tsk, tsk. Bunch of country bumpkins. You guys aren't from the south, are ya? The Baron is the one who can rip a troll’s head off, spine and all, with his bare hands. Got it?”
“Weren’t all those rumors exaggerated?”
“Hey! I saw it with my own two eyes! If anything, the rumors don't do him justice.”
Dresden’s base was also in the south. Therefore, half of the mercenaries he recruited were from the south.
It was only natural that many of them had personally experienced the battlefields where I had earned my many titles: Giant Slayer, Skull Crusher, the Undefeated Knight.
To them, I was the one who gave them their fix of southern pride. An idol, you could say.
“I saw it too! The Baron is a different breed from us! He is the noblest of nobles! A great warrior beloved by the Lord himself!”
Those drunk on southern pride recklessly invoked the will of God to praise me.
“Crazy bastard! Shut your mouth!”
Instantly, the surrounding mercenaries clamped their mouths shut and glanced nervously at Archbishop Raceni.
They had learned during our journey together that the Archbishop, normally the kindest of men, turned into a madman when it came to matters of God.
Surely, the mercenary who had invoked the Lord’s will would be severely reprimanded. That would have been the normal course of events.
“The Lord said, ‘Open the gate,’ and the citizens voluntarily opened the city gates!”
But wasn’t the Archbishop smiling with satisfaction and nodding his head? The mercenary who had been watching him turned to his comrades and whispered.
“Uh… is it real?”
The rumors began to grow.
“Ahem. I heard that the Baron’s lands are a paradise on earth. So many jobs that no one has to worry about starving to death. And yet, the taxes are half that of neighboring territories. I’m thinking of settling there when I retire.”
“And what about the new city being built in the central south? I heard the wages for laborers there are on par with a mercenary’s pay. If it weren’t for this war, I would’ve signed up as a worker for sure.”
Like a snowball rolling through a field of snow, the rumors grew larger and larger.
Before I knew it, I had become the noblest of nobles, an agent carrying out God’s will on earth—a man vouched for by the famously devout Archbishop himself.
The gazes of the soldiers, who had kept a subtle distance from me since this was just a borrowed army, became remarkably warmer.
They probably knew the rumors were exaggerated. Yet, the reason they had become so favorable toward me was likely because even if only half of it were true, I was a commander worth believing in and following.
And the trust of these mercenaries, whom I had not hired myself, was the greatest asset I had gained from conquering the city.
“Ahem. We shouldn’t be standing around like this. Shouldn’t we hurry and take control of the city? I’m concerned that if we give them time, those who should be held responsible will slip away.”
“You’re right. This is one of the great cities of the Alliance that monopolizes the Eastern Sea Route. I can’t even begin to imagine how much wealth lies dormant here.”
Even as they were losing the mercenaries they had paid for in real-time, the vassals failed to notice, their eyes turning red with the thought of plundering the city.
I found it absurd.
“Don’t tell me you plan on sticking your spoon in a meal someone else cooked?”
“Plunder is our right!”
“Funny. You speak of rights when you haven’t swung a single sword? And after you deliberately delayed, ignoring the commander-in-chief’s order to charge?”
“We are not ignoring the Baron’s achievement in opening the gate alone. However, conquering the city is another matter, is it not? This time, the army will be needed, so naturally, we must follow custom.”
The vassals, foaming at the mouth in protest, turned to Aron, who had been standing a step back, and added.
“Isn’t that right, Lord Aron?”
Aron, on the verge of losing his position as heir, couldn’t refuse the opinion of his remaining supporters. They knew this and had called on him.
“The Baron should concede this time. Our goal isn’t just some major city, is it? If we are to march to the capital together, now is the time to strengthen our unity.”
Furthermore, since I was just a guest commander who would be a stranger once this was over, the decision must have been even easier for him.
But for someone trying to reclaim his position as heir, wasn't he being far too shortsighted? What would he do if I got offended and decided to walk away?
“If Lord Aron insists, then I will take a step back. I will take my original commander-in-chief’s share of 30%. However, the plunder will be limited to the mayor, the city councilors, and the ruling families of the city associated with them.”
“What…! Why does the Baron get to decide that!?”
Even though I had made a concession, the vassals protested. Blinded by the wealth before them, they had forgotten what was truly important.
I forced them to remember.
“If you don’t like it, I’ll take my share and be done here.”
“Ha! Don’t you think you’re getting too arrogant just because you got lucky and opened a gate? The army we gathered numbers a thousand! We could have conquered a city like this even without the Baron!”
“Then go ahead and try.”
I pulled my sword from where it was propped on the gear crank. The portcullis immediately crashed down, separating the inside of the city from the outside.
All that remained inside were Aron, his vassals, and about a hundred soldiers. The number of parapet guards and private soldiers from each family who had surrendered to me was about the same.
“You said you could have conquered the city without me? I’ll watch quietly, so give it a try.”
The face of the vassal who had been pointing his finger at me so arrogantly turned deathly pale.
Now, hadn’t they walked right into the tiger’s maw? The other vassals, who had been spouting their cunning words nonstop, also fell silent.
“Hah. Baron. I will apologize on their behalf. And… I thank you for your generous concession.”
In the end, Aron had to step in to resolve the situation.
I openly clicked my tongue at the vassals who were now hiding behind Aron’s back, after being so imperious just moments ago.
“Incompetent fools, full of nothing but greed.”
Their insulted faces flushed crimson. I turned my back on them as they glared at me with murderous intent. I’d sown plenty of seeds; now I just had to wait for them to sprout.
‘An army of a thousand is a luxury for incompetent fools.’
I faced Aron again and continued.
“I guarantee, just looting the city’s ruling class will be more than enough to make Lord Aron and his vassals worry about their bellies bursting.”
It was just as I said. Faced with a seemingly endless flood of treasure, the vassals rejoiced as if their faces had never turned red with anger. Meanwhile, Mollak, who was watching from the side, asked.
“Do you have no regrets, my lord? If you had insisted, all of this could have been yours.”
Mollak’s attitude had also changed. He was now properly respectful, as if he were finally serving his true master.
“It’s all destined to come back to me anyway.”
“Pardon…?”
I entrusted my share of the spoils to Mollak and immediately went to find Archbishop Raceni.
While everyone else was engrossed in looting, he was in the administrative building, praying for the dead mayor and city councilors. As I stood beside him, he spoke softly.
“How can a mere human know the Lord’s will? But I wonder if the Lord’s plan truly includes the deaths of the innocent.”
He seemed to be having slight doubts about whether joining the northern continent expedition was truly God’s will.
I let out a small laugh.
“Archbishop. Do you think these men went to heaven?”
“I am aware that the perception of merchants is not favorable. However, a merchant’s life is but one way of living. Only the Lord can judge what is right and wrong.”
“Only the Lord can intuitively see through the complexities of life. However, there are evil deeds that even a mere human can judge.”
“What do you mean?”
“Follow me. I will prove to you that these men are not worthy of your prayers.”
I led the Archbishop toward the port. He followed me, constantly looking around.
“I heard you were from the northern continent.”
“Ten years is enough time for mountains and rivers to change. This place, Bochum, was once a place I stayed, but it is now so different from my memory. The men the Baron killed must have done their best for the city and its citizens.”
The Archbishop seemed to be filled with even more regret, but I paid him no mind and led him deeper into the port.
We arrived at the merchant district, thick with the salty smell of the sea. The merchants had closed up shop, as their city had been occupied by outsiders.
“Now, tell me. What do you intend to show me?”
“The two faces of man. Open it.”
I commanded the merchant guarding a massive tent. He hesitated, glancing at the Archbishop, but finally opened the entrance when a sword was pressed against his neck.
“Heeik-!”
Inside the tent, countless ‘cages’ with iron bars awaited us. What was inside were not beasts, but humans. Most of them were Easterners.
Iron shackles with heavy balls were fastened to their arms and ankles, a clear sign they were not there of their own free will.
“What is this… Don’t tell me they’re pirates?”
The Archbishop’s eyes trembled as he took in the scene inside the tent.
“Then they would be in a prison, not a merchant district.”
“Are they perhaps spies from the East?”
“Archbishop, do not deny reality. You know what these people are, and what this place is.”
“Truly. Are you truly saying they are slaves?”
The Archbishop gripped the iron bars of a cage. An Easterner inside flinched in surprise and crawled away, then turned his back and buried his head in his knees.
Thanks to that, the countless scars etched on his back filled the Archbishop’s vision. They were wounds of a severity that was hard to believe a human could inflict on another human.
“The city’s development was built on their blood. And is it only Bochum? The biggest export of the Coastal City Alliance, which monopolizes the Eastern Sea Route, is slaves.”
“How can they buy and sell fellow human beings? The Holy Land and the Pope are on the northern continent, how could they…!”
I smirked.
“Because the Pope allowed it. What was it he said? That the different-skinned Easterners are not human? He justified it by saying there was no need to gather them into the Lord’s embrace.”
In the game, I had simply thought the Pope was crazy. But now that I knew about the secret pact with the Coastal City Alliance, it was different. This was the price of a deal.
“…!”
The veins on the Archbishop’s hands bulged as he gripped the bars. He turned to look at me, his face filled with disbelief.
“Is that all? The Pope colluded with the Coastal City Alliance to eliminate the rightful heirs to the thrones of the northern continent. That’s information given by the very men you prayed for as innocents. It means the Pope is the main culprit behind the chaos in the north.”
“How, how could…”
“Do you still not understand? The reason the Lord has guided us to the northern continent?”
“I can’t believe it…”
“Then ask the victims yourself.”
Among those locked in the cages were quite a few who had been unjustly framed. One of them answered the Archbishop’s question with a glob of yellow phlegm.
“Khaaak-ptooey! The one who framed me was a priest! A servant of God? Ha! What kind of priest loves yellow gold more than God’s teachings!”
When the Pope at the very top was corrupt, it was unlikely the priests below would be any different.
The Archbishop, met with a look of distrust, was at a loss for words. He seemed truly shocked. Even after we had freed the slaves, he remained silent for a long time.
“Do you still think they were innocent?”
“…I was arrogant. I will no longer doubt the Lord’s will. I will purify the apostate Pope and set the faith of the northern continent back upon a firm foundation. If that is the mission the Lord has given me, I will not refuse it!”
It was the moment the Archbishop and I came to share the common goal of overthrowing the Pope.
But I wasn’t satisfied with just that. I helped the Archbishop to his feet and said.
“There is something we must do before that.”
“Please, speak.”
“I intend to use the wealth taken from the corrupt to save those who were unjustly enslaved and the poor.”
“A few coins will not be enough to save the poor of a metropolis like this.”
Coming from the Archbishop, an expert in this area, his words were likely true. But I was confident.
“That would be true, if it were only a few coins.”
When we returned to the administrative building, Mollak was waiting with my share of the wealth piled up like a mountain. I entrusted all of it to the Archbishop.
“All of this…!?”
It was an amount that would startle even the Archbishop. And this was only 30%, which showed just how immense the wealth accumulated by the city’s rulers was.
“On the condition that you make it widely known that I was the one who donated it.”
As it happened, tomorrow was Sunday. Even during a war, Sunday Mass was an indispensable procedure.
“The Lord said to not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.”
“True words. However, for the sake of a greater good, is it not acceptable to show some flexibility?”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“Nobles live and die by their reputation. If I, the commander-in-chief in name, make a donation and that fact becomes widely known, they will have no choice but to participate in the donations for a while, if only to save face.”
Since I had given up a full 30%, they would have no choice but to offer up a considerable amount as well.
However, the praise from those who received aid would mostly come to me. Because people only remember the first.
In the end, the vassals who had stuck their spoons in would have their wealth taken and gain nothing. I had made the concession to Aron’s vassals with this intention from the start.
And that wasn’t all I had prepared.