Chapter 135: Coastal City Alliance
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 135: Coastal City Alliance
For the people of the Middle Ages, religion was a part of life. Barring unavoidable circumstances, missing the holy Sunday mass was unthinkable. No, the very thought never crossed their minds.
Had the looting spread throughout the city, it would have been a different story. But as it was, the common citizens cautiously made their way to church, wary of the soldiers stationed at every corner.
“I hear the Archbishop has returned?”
“I can’t believe how long it’s been. I still remember his last sermon like it was yesterday.”
“You shed a tear back then, didn’t you?”
“Ahem, this fellow’s memory is so poor. I just had some dust in my eye.”
“Well, if you say so.”
The largest church in Bochum was bustling with a crowd eager to welcome the return of the famously devout Archbishop.
It was near the end of the mass, during the closing remarks, that the Archbishop called for me and I ascended the dais.
“Finally, I would like to introduce someone to the citizens of Bochum. He is a man who has proven that even a layman can live a life that follows and practices the Lord’s word more faithfully than a cleric. Please, everyone, welcome Baron Allen Tobalts from the Western Continent.”
The gazes of Aron and his vassals, who were attending mass in the front row, fixed on me.
Those who knew the Archbishop had joined me on the expedition to the Northern Continent were clearly suspicious, wondering what scheme I was plotting now.
When even the citizens began to watch me with wary eyes and whisper amongst themselves, they broke into smirks.
“Foolish. Did he really think the ignorant masses would like him just because he spared them from the looting?”
“Tsk, tsk. Hanging around an idealistic religious fanatic must have filled his head with flowers.”
Seizing the opportunity, they were paying me back for the utter disregard I’d shown them yesterday. Even the famously devout Archbishop was demoted to a mere ‘religious fanatic’.
But their time spent chewing me up and spitting me out didn’t last long.
When I gave the prearranged signal, Mollak, who had been waiting on one side of the church, came up to the dais leading a small group of soldiers.
In pairs, they carried dozens of chests, each the size of a man’s torso.
“Open them.”
The soldiers opened the chests. With each one unveiled, the citizens gasped, unable to hide their astonishment.
“Good heavens! What in the world is all that!?”
“It’s gold and jewels! Ha, in all my life, I’ve never seen such treasure with my own two eyes…”
“It’s literally piled up like a mountain! A mountain!”
For a moment, the gold and jewels in the chests shone so brilliantly it felt as if the midday church had grown even brighter.
The mountain of treasure held a strange magic. The citizens swallowed hard, their eyes glued to the gold and jewels. A silence fell.
Clap.
I clapped my hands, and the gazes that had been fixed on the treasure turned to me. They couldn’t help but wonder why I was putting on such a performance.
Having captured their attention in an instant, I spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard even by those watching from outside the open church doors.
“Listen! My name is Allen Tobalts! I am the commander-in-chief of the army that has occupied this city, and as a baron of the Western Continent, I have come to save you in accordance with the Lord’s will.”
“What nonsense is this!”
“What right do you have to say such things, you murderer who slaughtered our duly elected mayor and councilors!”
“And as if that weren’t enough, you plundered our families’ fortunes! You are a robber and a murderer! Have you no shame, with God watching from above!”
Furious voices erupted from all corners of the church. They belonged to those with even the slightest connection to the plundered ruling families.
To them, I was a Knight of the Apocalypse, yet here I was, claiming to be a savior. They couldn’t contain their rage.
“Are you defending those who have been excommunicated?”
My voice was incomparably quiet compared to theirs, but fortunately, it seemed every last one of them had heard me. I could tell by the way they’d all gone silent as if struck dumb.
Gulp.
“E-Excommunicated…?”
A man in the front row asked, swallowing hard.
Excommunication was a declaration that stripped a person of all human rights, permitting them to be treated like an animal. It was to the point that killing an excommunicated person was not considered a sin.
As powerful as it was, it couldn’t be used lightly, but once invoked, it wielded immense influence. It was no wonder the defenders of the dead mayor and councilors fell silent.
“Archbishop.”
The Archbishop, who had stepped back, now came forward. He looked over the citizens with his piercing eyes.
“You have all seen the deplorable sight of humans buying and selling other humans in the merchant district! What is even more lamentable is that the rulers of this city gave the slave traders permission to do so!”
At the mention of this uncomfortable truth, the citizens’ faces turned deathly pale. Those in the front rows, who had no choice but to see the Archbishop up close, hung their heads to the ground.
The Archbishop continued.
“How dare they! How dare they commit such a deplorable act in the Northern Continent, the home of the Holy Land! And did they truly think they could be forgiven for it!”
There was power in the Archbishop’s words. The citizens dared not raise their heads, praying for the Lord’s mercy. Some shed tears of repentance at his mere words.
“They shall all suffer eternal torment in the fires of hell! And is that all? Among you, there must be those who knew and pretended not to, and those who took part! You are all sinners, so confess your sins before the Lord now!”
“Archbishop! I was wrong! I—!”
“I was wrong, Archbishop!”
The citizens scrambled to their knees, begging for forgiveness. In contrast, harsh glares were directed at those who had opposed me—the ones with deep ties to the dead mayor and councilors.
“We must atone to the Lord! We must atone!”
Humans are lenient with themselves and strict with others. And right before their eyes were people on whom they could shift the blame.
The citizens’ gazes toward those connected to the mayor and councilors grew increasingly hostile.
“Out of the way—!”
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, they began to hastily push through the crowd and flee.
A few were caught by the agitated citizens, but they managed to break free only when the soldiers I had stationed nearby intervened.
“Why…?”
Those who were saved looked back at the soldiers and me with expressions of disbelief before leaving. They would probably gather their assets and flee the city.
That was exactly what I wanted.
Clap.
I gave the Archbishop a grateful nod, then clapped my hands again to draw the citizens’ attention.
“The devil’s minions who ruled this city succumbed to the devil’s whisper and exploited all its people! I, Allen, will restore this city according to the Lord’s will! As part of that, I will donate to those who were unjustly enslaved, the city’s poor, and the lost lambs with nowhere to go!”
Nobles often donate to prove their piety, but I was likely the first to donate such a vast fortune in its entirety.
Gulp.
“Then all of that is…?”
The citizens’ bodies trembled slightly upon learning the purpose of the mountain of gold and jewels. No one dislikes unearned income.
“W-What are the conditions!”
I raised a hand to quell the commotion that was spreading like wildfire. Then I pointed to the Archbishop and said.
“The Archbishop and the priests will inform you of the details. Please consult with them after the mass.”
The power to decide how money is spent is authority itself. The reason nobles and mayors are powerful is because they have the authority to decide how to use the taxes they collect.
By donating a vast fortune to the church, I bestowed authority upon the Archbishop and the priests. This was to further bolster the Archbishop’s religious authority, which had already come over to my side.
If the renowned Archbishop were to gain tangible power, he would be able to stand against the Pope.
And that wasn’t all.
The city’s rulers had all met their end by my sword, and their families had been ruined by the looting.
Those with even the slightest connection to them would also be busy fleeing the city after the recent incident.
So, who would run the city now?
Aron’s vassals would have no choice but to rely on the church’s help, just as they did in their own territories. In other words, the real power of the city would fall into my hands.
No matter how much wealth I donated, could it compare to the value of the metropolis of Bochum? This was by no means a loss.
‘Moreover, the church is also a training ground for talent.’
For me, who had not increased the number of my vassals, the biggest problem was the lack of middle managers.
The Archbishop had agreed to use the wealth I donated to feed, house, and, additionally, educate orphans.
Help received in one’s most difficult times is never forgotten, so I would be gaining middle managers with almost no chance of betrayal at a minimal cost.
It would take at least ten years to see the results, but I decided to be patient. I’m still quite young, after all.
“Allen! Allen! Allen—!”
When the Archbishop nodded in agreement, the citizens were convinced that my words were not a lie.
Forgetting that I was the commander-in-chief of the enemy army that had conquered their city, the citizens began to chant my name. It started with the voice of a citizen in the very front row.
Of course, there were those who were displeased by all of this.
“Hah, all that for a donation?”
“I never knew the commander-in-chief was so deeply religious.”
“Tsk, tsk, what’s the point? It looks like the Tobalts family won’t last long. A head of a house has a duty to increase the family’s wealth, after all.”
Aron’s vassals, oblivious to my true intentions, judged me by appearances and sneered at my foolishness.
But their smiles didn’t last long. After I stepped down from the dais, the Archbishop, having calmed the commotion, raised his voice and called them out one by one.
“As you can see, there are many brothers in need of help. The commander-in-chief has just set an example, so surely the other esteemed nobles will not stand idly by, will they?”
The Archbishop nonchalantly pressured them into donating. The citizens’ gazes immediately shifted to them. The vassals’ faces twisted into strange expressions, unable to laugh or cry.
If they refused right here and now, wouldn’t they look incredibly stingy in comparison to me?
Moreover, since everyone knew they had amassed enormous fortunes through looting, they had no excuse.
“Ahem. It seems the Archbishop beat me to it! In fact, I was also planning to donate. Yes. That’s right.”
“Goodness! The church is so small that the faithful can’t even attend mass? I shall contribute to the church’s expansion!”
In the end, the very men who had just been cursing me for wasting money were forced to donate a portion of their looted wealth.
The problem was that the citizens saw they had been strong-armed into it. Despite donating a great deal of wealth, the gazes directed at them were not favorable.
“Haha! All of you will go to heaven!”
This was why Aron’s vassals looked as if they’d bitten into shit, despite the Archbishop’s assurance.
If they had known that their donations would also be used according to my will, they might have died of indignation.
Meanwhile, after the mass, Aron’s vassals gathered again in the administrative building and condemned Allen and the Archbishop.
“We were played by the Baron and the Archbishop!”
“Seriously! If he wanted to donate, he should have just done it himself! Why did he have to drag us down with him like a water ghost!”
“He was clearly holding a grudge because we demanded our share of the plunder, and this was his revenge!”
Everyone sees the world through their own lens. Oblivious to Allen’s scheme, Aron’s vassals interpreted his actions at their own level.
“Are we going to keep letting the Baron do as he pleases?”
“He may be the commander-in-chief, but he’s just a guest commander, isn’t he? Do we really need to be led around by a man who relies on us for troops and the Count for supplies!”
Before Allen’s scheme could even bear fruit, the vassals agreed that he had to be excluded.
Had Allen seen this, he would have had no choice but to admit that he had greatly overestimated them.
Having reached an agreement, they went straight to Aron. After hearing their opinions, Aron let out a sigh.
“Haa. Do you think I’m satisfied with this situation? The problem is that we couldn’t have taken the city without the Baron’s help. It’s distasteful, but we have to endure it.”
But the vassals, who had already been humiliated once and had their money extorted at the church, did not back down.
“We think differently! How could we, a collection of men from storied families, be incapable of doing what a baron from some unheard-of house has done!”
“Besides, it wasn’t that the Baron was so great, but that the defenses of the Northern Continent’s major cities were too weak! We could have easily conquered them ourselves!”
There was some truth to their words. Bochum’s defenses were indeed lax enough that it could have been conquered even without Allen’s intervention.
Of course, that was just hindsight.
“So what are you proposing?”
“Leave the capture of the next city to us! We will prove that we don’t need any help from the Baron!”
Aron’s vassals were truly confident that they could succeed just as well as Allen. It was because Allen had made conquering the city look far too easy.