Unification War (10)
Anno II and the Archbishop of Bremen arrived in Constantinople, and the imperial soldiers under their command were left speechless at the sight of its splendor.
"It's incredibly flashy."
"Look at that. Even ordinary homes look like palaces."
Europe had endured invasions by barbarians for so long that the magnificent architecture built by ancient Rome had crumbled to ruins. With it vanished the advanced technologies of ancient Rome. Even the prosperous cities of the Holy Roman Empire paled in comparison to those of antiquity.
Unlike Western Europe, the Eastern Roman Empire—Byzantium—had preserved Rome's legacy reasonably well. This allowed them to maintain not only grand structures like the Colosseum and massive hippodromes but even the homes of common citizens in opulent style.
The soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire envied this wealth. Most of them were mercenaries or conscripts who received no proper pay.
The Holy Roman Empire had a peculiar military structure. When the emperor ordered troops mobilized, his personal Imperial Guard assembled first. Then came contingents from the vassal princes, followed by filling the gaps with mercenaries and conscripts.
Unlike the well-equipped Imperial Guard, the conscripts lacked proper armor. The powerless had long suffered exploitation by the mighty, so they reaped few benefits from civilization's advantages. That was their world—until Constantinople turned it upside down.
Seeing that not only the powerful but ordinary citizens could live in prosperity ignited a slow seep of long-suppressed rage.
"I want to live in a city like this."
"We could live comfortably too."
"We outnumber them anyway. If push comes to shove..."
The soldiers began to murmur restlessly.
In contrast, the Imperial Guard reacted tepidly to Constantinople. As a standing army backed by the emperor's full support, they saw it as just another gaudy city.
Protected by this Imperial Guard, the Archbishop of Bremen and Anno II conversed, oblivious to the ominous mood among the conscripts and mercenaries.
"By the way, Your Excellency Regent, when is the Magistros we were supposed to meet arriving?"
The Archbishop of Bremen's question drew an irritated glance from Anno II.
"I wonder if it's my place to report such details directly to you."
"If I've offended you, I apologize. But it doesn't look good for the one leading His Majesty's army to be treated so dismissively by the Eastern Romans."
His tone dripped with sarcasm, plain for anyone to hear. As Anno II opened his mouth to retort, a loud voice rang out from nearby.
"Bu... Bulgarians!"
"Why the hell are those bastards here?!"
"And they're even armed..."
A Bulgarian contingent bristled with murderous intent. Gazing at the city of Bulgaroktonos—which had burned their homeland—they smirked.
"A more beautiful city than I expected."
Nestoric's voice was ice-cold. He harbored vengeance not only against Rogerius, who had ruined him, but also against Byzantium for torching Bulgaria. Of course, he kept that hidden. Outwardly, he focused on allying with nobles to eliminate Rogerius.
But his true aim was revenge on Byzantium—razing Constantinople and decapitating Basil II's corpse. To achieve that, he needed Rogerius gone first, so he hadn't revealed his real intentions.
As Nestoric surveyed Constantinople, he spotted the Holy Roman army. To gauge their mood, he approached Anno II and the Archbishop of Bremen.
Guards blocked his path. Nestoric brought forward a soldier fluent in High German, explaining they approached merely in friendship.
"Friendship?"
"Hilarious, coming from barbarians."
Anno II and the Archbishop dismissed the Bulgarians with contempt. From their perspective, Bulgarians had strayed far from Roman culture.
Composed largely of Slavs, the Bulgarians mostly followed Orthodoxy. To the Holy Roman Empire, which prized Catholicism above all, they were neither Romans nor true heretics—just aliens.
Unlike the schismatic Eastern Romans, they were wholly other. In truth, Bulgarians were more Romanized than the Germans who had seized the Holy Roman Empire. Centuries of incorporation into and separation from Byzantium had infused their culture with Eastern Roman styles.
But the Holy Romans viewed themselves as Rome's true heirs, so their perspective was narrow and prejudiced. They openly scorned Bulgarians.
"Tell the barbarian to back off."
The Archbishop of Bremen's order prompted his guards to glare at Nestoric with disdain and issue a guest dismissal.
Outraged Bulgarian soldiers couldn't stay silent at their commander's humiliation.
"Insolent dogs."
"Daring to disrespect General Nestoric!"
Nestoric stepped in to calm his furious men, who raged as if it were personal.
"I'm fine. In fact, I've learned they're at odds."
"What do you mean, sir?"
Nestoric pointed at Anno II and the Archbishop.
"The man in the center seems higher-ranked, but the one beside him gave the order. That means bad blood between them."
"But couldn't the lower-ranked one just be assisting without causing discomfort to his superior?"
"If so, he would've dismounted before I approached and blocked us outright."
Nestoric's logic rang true. Remaining mounted suggested it wasn't mere courtesy to a superior.
"They won't be much help in this war."
"Why not?"
"Look how they're scanning the surroundings—like they have ulterior motives."
He jabbed a finger at the Archbishop of Bremen. His aide nodded in understanding.
Meanwhile, as Nestoric conferred, his Bulgarian soldiers struck up conversations with the Holy Roman mercenaries.
"Never thought I'd find you here."
"I didn't expect you to still be alive either."
Sudden camaraderie bloomed. Most mercenaries in the Holy Roman expeditionary force were Bulgarians. When a nation falls, survival grows hard—so Bulgarian men wandered as sellswords.
The Holy Roman Empire saw the most such work: constant princely feuds meant skirmishes aplenty, if not full wars.
These Bulgarian exiles, as Anno II and the Archbishop had noted, endured scorn and contempt. Meeting countrymen after so long, they couldn't hide their joy.
Nestoric watched closely, then summoned one soldier to ask what they'd discussed.
"J-just casual greetings, sir. Nothing special."
"Even trivial details matter. Tell me everything you heard."
Complaints about their adopted homes. Chatter about wives and children. Mundane daily life, no real intel.
Nestoric raised a hand to cut it off—then paused.
"And they mentioned discontent between the mercenaries and conscripts."
"Discontent?"
"Yes. Some envied Eastern Rome's splendor, said they wanted to live here."
Typical talk from rootless wanderers and struggling peasants. But Nestoric didn't dismiss it lightly.
"This could be useful..."
Soldiers brimming with greed. Nestoric knew what they did when something desirable lay within reach: seize it by force. Like the Vandals plundering Rome long ago.
In a normal alliance, such thoughts were unthinkable. But Nestoric and Ioannikios's bond was no true alliance—mutual betrayal loomed.
Thus, Nestoric began scheming to exploit their volatile lust for plunder.
"One snag, though."
His eyes fixed on two men: Anno II and the Archbishop of Bremen, who had scorned him.
"If those two vanished, it wouldn't be impossible."
They were the chains restraining the mercenaries' and conscripts' desires. As long as they lived, no spontaneous uprising was feasible.
"The Imperial Guard's security is tight. Assassination's unlikely."
Nestoric coldly calculated his odds and concluded failure was near-certain.
"Pity, but unavoidable."
Just then, a man approached Nestoric, introducing himself as Devgoros, aide to Magistros Keroularios.
"Please follow me."
Under Devgoros's guidance, Nestoric moved on. A brief meeting with Ioannikios ended, and a council convened to strike at Rogerius's Optimatoi.
The Bulgarian and Holy Roman forces gathered at the staging area before the war. They planned to rest overnight, then march on Optimatoi.
As assembly concluded and all slept, a shadowy figure raided Anno II's tent.
Anno II—tutor to Heinrich IV and regent of the Holy Roman Empire—met his end. Noble though he was, death claimed him all the same.