Chapter 164: Vojstra.
Vojstra.
The name of this vast plain, located almost in the center of the continent, is said to derive from the ancient word “Voith stra.
Voith means “Wheat,” And shtola means “To dye fabrics,” Which in turn means “To spread evenly.
As its etymology suggests, the Voigtland Plain is one of the most important grain-growing areas on the continent of Eluo.
The Vojstra Plain has long been under the control of a number of noble families.
In the days when the Zethusian High Society was in power, the nobles of each region had to obtain the approval of the Society in order to maintain their independence. This meant that any rule that was not in the interests of the Order was not recognized.
The boundaries of the land were more often determined by the politics of the priests than by the power of the nobles.
There was no way that the Holy High Society would have approved of sole control of the Vojstra Plain.
To allow a single noble family to rule a vast plain would be like sowing the seeds of disaster.
The emergence of a particularly strong territory outside of St. Navempos was to be avoided.
The basic policy of the Zesu Church was to have the powerful St. Navempos reign over the small aristocratic territories.
Thus, the Holy High Society divided the Voestra Plain into several sections, each of which was entrusted to a different noble family.
If one of the noble families were to attempt independence in opposition to the Holy High Society, the remaining noble families could be united and crushed.
Looking back over history, it can be said that this policy worked effectively.
As time passed from priests to nobles, these old ruling structures also crumbled like corroded iron.
It was the priestly aristocratic Spiaseik family, the Spiaseik family, that achieved the unification of the Voistula Plain.
In the current continent of Eluo, there are two major types of nobility: indigenous and priestly.
The indigenous nobility is simply a family lineage that originated from the indigenous nobles who have ruled the region since ancient times. In contrast, priestly aristocrats are descended from high-ranking priests dispatched from St. Navempos.
Indigenous noble families are not immortal. Sometimes they die without children, and sometimes they are driven to extinction as a result of their rebellion against the Holy High Priesthood. Some of them are even welcomed into the house by indigenous noble families in order to adopt the advanced culture of St. Navempos.
In general, indigenous noble families are uncertain about the origin of their ancestors, whereas priestly noble families often have solid historical records in their families because they are recorded in the High Society and were originally priests of the intellectual class.
The Spiaseiks were a typical priestly aristocrat family, as they originated from a high-ranking priest who was seconded from St. Navempos about 350 years ago.
During the turbulent times that followed the papal uprising of 200 years ago, the then head of the Spiaseik family had ambition to unite the Voistula Plain.
The power of the priests had been weakened by the turmoil that had erupted in the heart of the Holy High Society.
In a sense, it was inevitable that the Spiaseik family, which had the major city of Oceloria, won the battle.
It was a time when it was not unusual for priestly nobles to conspire with priests to gain supremacy.
After winning the Voistra Plain, the Spierzeiks made a political performance to the entire continent.
It was a change of family name.
This was a useful means of dispelling the diminutive image of the Spiaseik family as “One of the various aristocratic families that existed here and there on the Voistula Plain,” And of demonstrating to the rest of the world that they were the sole rulers of the Voistula Plain.
In later years, this technique was imitated by aristocratic families here and there. The noble family that united the Aterahan region changed its name to Aterahan, following the success of the Spiaseik family.
Thus, the Vojstra family, a great noble family that would go down in history, appeared on the continent of Eluo.
Having gained strength from their unification of the plains, the Spiaseiks ……, The Voistra family, without letting their momentum wane, expanded westward.
To the west of the Vojstra Plain was a mountainous region, dotted with a number of small and medium-sized noble families.
The Vojstras used their great strength to subjugate these weak noble houses, which continued to fight over a small area of land in a joyless, mud-slinging contest.
It took about 20 years to unify the Vojstler Plain, and about two years to subjugate all the noble families in the mountainous region, and the Vojstras grew quickly.
Eventually, the Vojstra family declared the founding of a new kingdom and took the name of the royal family in order to establish a complete aristocratic system of rule.
This was the birth of the Kingdom of Vojstra.
The Vojstra royal family was later forced to rethink its course of expansion when it expanded its territory beyond the Leishlief region.
The main reason was that the rapid increase in territory meant that there were not enough knights.
Since there was no point in increasing land that could not be managed, the government decided to stabilize the territories by fertilizing the lands that had already been annexed.
The kingdom of Vojstra was protected by a natural defensive position with mountains to the west, a major river to the east and south, and a curtain of mountains to the north.
The only hole through which a large army could pass was the Leishleif area, a large break in the northern mountain range.
The Voigtlanders therefore devoted their resources to strengthening the defenses of the Leishleif area and built Leishleif Castle, an impregnable fortress complex unparalleled in the history of the world.
If the turbulent times in the western part of the continent had continued as they were, the Vojstra Kingdom could have become the western champion.
However, the era chose a man who opened up a bloody path through the never-ending turbulent times, the Emperor Zinkaen.
The Voistra royal family, having learned of Emperor Zinkaen's power during the siege of Leithleif Castle, soon gave up on maintaining the kingdom and surrendered.
At this time, they sent their daughter as a daughter-in-law to strengthen their ties with the emperor's family, and then made a successful transition as aristocrats of the Jinkaen Empire.
Furthermore, the Vojstra family went to the trouble of reverting to the family name in order to demonstrate to Emperor Zinkaen that they no longer had ambition, and to show their obedience to him.
Thus was born the Dukes of Spierzeig, a Zinkaen imperial aristocracy that continues to this day.
Just as the Quardenze family's coat of arms is designed with a serpent entwined with a crossed spear and the spray of a great river, the Spiaseik family had its own coat of arms.
Although the family name has changed, the coat of arms that represents the family, the Spiaseik crest, has never changed.
Its design can be seen at …….
The wheat and sickle with the ears hanging down almost touching the ground. A single-edged vine tilted at an angle. ……There's no doubt about it, it's the flag of the House of Spierzeig.”
What the heck is it doing here?
The two men, hiding in the bushes on the high cliff, made a small snide remark to the ground.
The army advancing on the mountain path below did not notice the men, but marched on at a leisurely pace. The army was marching forward at a leisurely pace, oblivious to the men, and among them was a large military banner with the Spiaseik crest painted on it.
It was the army led by a nobleman, the Lord's Army.
The men who were guarding this area were killed by that thing?
I doubt it.”
The man with the red eyes spoke to himself, and the man with the blue eyes chimed in.
Their status is that of soldiers of the Quardenze family. They are usually active as foot soldiers stationed at the frontline base that is locked in a standoff with the old Voestra.
There was a reason why they were moving so far away from the base in the mountains.
They are moving in the direction …… Of the city of Nambonan. This makes it impossible to call for reinforcements. Oh, no, General Gulfis is on his way to …….
“Hey, calm down. The general will not be so easily defeated.”
It began on the third day of the new year.
From the old Voestra's point of view, the frontline base of the Quordenze army was nothing more than a bump on the eye. So battles were a common occurrence, and at first the soldiers at the base even laughed it off as a “New Year's greeting” .
The army, however, was of an unprecedented scale.
Not only the Spiaseik family, the old Vojstra's allies, but also their descendants, the aristocratic families, were pouring into the base in large numbers. And among them, there were a few nobles.
A large number of soldiers, knights, and nobles.
Against the old Voivostra, which had thrown in a considerable number of forces, the commander, Quardenze Gulfis, decided to request reinforcements from the city of Nambonan.
They were chosen to serve as messengers.
We'd better split up from here,” Said Garfis. I thought it was a waste to let us serve as messengers, but the general's intuition was right on the money. Indeed.
It would have been unthinkable under normal circumstances to use two soldiers to send a messenger inside their own territory, let alone in enemy territory. Prepared for the worst.
But Gulfis sensed something fishy about the old Voigtlanders and decided to move his valuable retinue his.
He decided to move his precious retinue. The sun will be down in a few more hours, and we'd better go for Nambonan City as fast as we can under the cover of darkness.”
The reason the two of them were working together was a plan to avoid a one-on-one fight in case they met the followers' enemies along the way.
This was because it was not possible to ensure victory in a one-on-one fight, and even if they were able to defeat the enemy, they would not be able to fulfill their mission satisfactorily if they were wounded.
However, they decided that if the main ancestor's enemies were present, they would have a better chance of survival if they scattered and ran rather than if they were poorly organized.
They were also concerned about the battle at the frontline base, but Gulfis, who had fought a hundred battles, was there. However, there are no nobles in Nambonan City. Whatever the course of action, we must get the information to them as soon as possible.
Before we part ways, let's share some information with each other.
I'll make sure we share information with each other before we split up.
As they watch the enemy advance, the men exchange words, believing that they will meet again in the city of Nambonan.
The presence of the nobles means that there is no mistaking the presence of an army of foot soldiers deployed around the city to protect them.
After a quick review of the situation, the blue-eyed man muttered quietly, “I've got to go to .
……This time around, I don't think the old Voestra's goal is to destroy the outpost.
I think it's a coincidence.
What's the reason?
They're marching too fast. Even if it is an army led by a nobleman, they don't advance so quickly through enemy territory, normally.
The main ancestor's magic power is powerful anyway, and it is extremely useful in military operations.
By applying body enhancement magic to an army of over tens of thousands at once, it is possible to realize a marching speed several times faster than that of a normal army.
In addition to the high firepower of the ancestors themselves, the high mobility of the general soldiers would also be a powerful weapon.
However, its strength would be demonstrated mainly in defensive battles in its own territory.
Nobles who charge into enemy territory, where they do not know where the enemy's eyes or traps are, are extremely rare and in the minority.
It's true,” He said, “But it's not like General Gulphis.
Isn't he?
They have seen Gulphis up close and personal, who would not hesitate to charge single-handedly if he saw an opportunity, so in a sense, they are familiar with this scene.
However, in the long history of battles, no Spierzeig family members have ever made such a maneuver.
I think that Spierzeig was the head of the Centipede and moved the legs of the Centipede. They are local, they know the area.
The blue-eyed man says that it is highly possible that the Spierzeig family manipulated the legs of the centipede for the knights who lost their way of life after their master was killed.
Although the Quordenze family is currently the ruler of the area, the land was ruled by another noble family until a few years ago.
As the Spierzeiks execute their plan, the centipede legs that have been lurking in various places will inform them of the movements of the Kuordenze army and guide them along the way. From their point of view, it was someone else's territory that they knew all too well.
I don't know how long they've been working together, but they may have been acting as scouts for some time.
They're a bunch of deadbeats. If your head is crushed, you're going to die quickly.
The man with red eyes said as if he was going to throw up.
The man with blue eyes sympathized with his words his, but continued his thought his.
My hunch is that this is a plan to take out General Gulfis.
Are you serious?”
I wouldn't say that as a joke.”
The blue-eyed man continued, looking down at the Spierzeig soldiers who were marching in formation.
The blue-eyed man looked down at the Spiaseik soldiers who were still marching in formation and continued, “We'll nail the general to the front line base and then use a detachment to attack and overrun the city of Nambonan. There is an abundance of wealth there, and if we can make it our base, it will be difficult to get reinforcements from the interior.
……, So the way to retreat will be cut off?
Even if reinforcements come from the interior, we can't win with just our foot soldiers. The nobles are nobles to the nobles. But it is too dangerous to cross the river with the enemy's nobles waiting for us on the other side.
The ship could easily be sunk.
“Ah.”
A ship leisurely crossing the river is a good summary from the perspective of the Lord's ancestors.
It was necessary to eliminate the danger of the other side of the river in order to get the nobles on board, even if they were only soldiers.
If we don't get reinforcements from the interior, it's going to be an endless war. Even now, we're outnumbered at the base, and the old Voigtlanders can bring in as many men as they want from their own territory. .. ….
It was a big operation to take down a single general, but the red-eyed man felt it was possible.
The Quardenze family's rapid advance was mostly due to Gulfis, and defeating him would certainly turn the tables on the Quardenze family.
If they could defeat Gulfis, who was also known as the “Red devil,” The Spierzeig family's reputation for valor would be boosted at a stroke.
There was a good chance that the imperial aristocrats who had supported the Quardenze family would turn their backs on them.
Let's work as messengers to make sure that doesn't happen,” He said. It will be a battle to see how much time we can buy in Nambonan City.
I agree. Let's take this opportunity to check it out.
It is not the job of the messenger to speculate, the red-eyed man said lightly, and returned to the task of checking the soldiers of Spierzeig.
It is not possible to check the entire army at once on the mountain road, but if they make a poor move, they may be found.
“…… The number of troops is about 30,000 ……5,000? What do you think?
“It's hard to count,…… But well, I don't think it's more than 40,000.”
Looking at Spierzeig's soldiers, they discuss the number of soldiers.
The number of soldiers is important for the army that is approaching the city of Nambonan.
Of course, there are a lot of knightly banners.
There are no less than 5,000 soldiers in the engineering corps. At this rate, they must have a lot of squires as well.
Wow.
The number of soldiers is not that large, but they noticed that the soldiers are of good quality.
The first thing to do is to make sure that the city of Nambonan falls at once with a small number of elite soldiers.
The advance speed is very fast. If we keep going at this pace, we will reach Nambonan in two or three days.
We'll be ready for a day or two, since we're only a day away from a serious run.
We'll have to ask the general to hang on a little longer. Let's hope reinforcements arrive early from the interior.
The two men recited the last of their messages, said their goodbyes, and mounted their horses.
They made a wide detour around the advancing Spierzeig forces and headed for the city of Nambonan.
Report.”
The room was filled with a strange silence.
The one who spoke the low words was the military officer in charge of the troops stationed in Nambonan City. He is the next head of the Gatoren family of knights and just recently turned 40 years old.
One of the military officers responded to the commander's voice, standing up on the spot, and opened his mouth.
'Ha! Spierzeig's forces have begun to deploy in the western part of the city. It is expected that a general attack will come at sunrise.”
An unspoken sound like a snarl, a mixture of preparedness and nervousness, echoed through the room.
Two days had passed since the man with the message, the red-eyed man, had flown into Nambonan City.
The Nambonan garrison was hastily arming itself and getting into position to intercept the Spierzeig forces.
The headquarters of the garrison had also been temporarily moved to a conference room in the mayor's mansion.
No change in overall command?”
'No sign of a move back. The Spiaseik crest is red with a yellow background, and the commander-in-chief is Spiaseik Verret.
When the nobles run an army, they use their family's coat of arms as a military flag, but each general has a different design.
Only the current head of the family can use the official family crest, but a simplified version of it can be used by anyone other than the head of the family.
In the case of the Spiaseik family, a simplified design based on red and yellow is known as the flag used by the next head of the family.
Spiaseik Verret.
The eldest son of the Spiaseik family head was the general of the Nambonan raid.
After making several reports, the military officers were asked to take their seats by the commanding officer.
The reports were merely a summary of what had already been confirmed many times.
Most of the military commanders had already gone out into the field to prepare their troops, and the only people in this room, the headquarters, were the executive-level military commanders and the debriefing staff.
There has been no particular development since Spiaseik's army, numbering about 38,000 troops, appeared in the western part of Nambonan City last night.
The number of Kuordentse troops defending Nambonan City is currently about 64,000. Looking at the simple number of soldiers, the Kuordenze side has the advantage, but there is not a single main ancestor among them.
In addition, there were a number of martial knight banners on the Spierzeig side, so even in terms of the number of squires, it was impossible to say for sure that they had the upper hand.
I have a report.
The commander silently moved his chin in response to the young military officer who raised his hand and asked to speak.
The young officer raised his hand and said, “Ladies, your transfer to the interior has been completed without incident.
'Thank you for your efforts. But we need to send the ship out one more time. But we need to take the ship out one more time, and the river must be kept on the alert. Miss Anna is the young man's favorite. Must get her out of there before we run out of time.
When the military was informed that Spierzeig's army was approaching, they immediately made a decision.
The military immediately decided to evacuate Wilke's beloved daughters to the interior.
The fall of the city of Nambonan, and the fact that Wilke's beloved daughters would become the consolation prize of the Spierzeig soldiers, must be avoided at all costs. If Wilke became impotent from the mental shock, the future of the territory would be bleak.
For this reason, the military officers evacuated Kohary, Rave, Tycho, and the other girls living in the house to the interior, beyond the reach of the enemy, that is, to the other side of the great river.
This young military officer was in charge of transporting them and had just returned to the city of Nambonan.
The “Mere Old Man! We will continue to be vigilant along the river!
The young military officer bowed in a brisk manner and continued after saying that the information he had received was uncertain.
I heard on my way back that the Galiana family has attacked the Quardenze family.
What?
The Galiana family, led by the head of the family, has invaded the interior.
The new information, and the bad news at that, created an atmosphere of disquiet in the room, and the military commanders turned to each other with hardened expressions.
The commander tapped his desk to calm the clamor.
Go on.”
'Ha. …… But the soldier who told the story didn't seem to have any detailed information either, and nothing else ……. I'm sorry, but that's all I can …… Tell you at the moment.
The young military officer shrank back so much that it was pitiful to watch, as he was now being stared at by all the military officers in the room.
Why did you come back after confirming the authenticity, you rude rascal, his superior, a senior military officer, lamented.
Deciding that there was nothing more useful to report, the commanding officer allowed him to leave, and he fled the room as if to escape.
'……Things don't look good.'
One of the military officers spoke up, cutting through the silence.
As if pulled by his voice, the other military officers spoke their opinions one after another.
The commander listened quietly as the military officers began to speak excitedly, and then spun his words in a calm tone.
We are the vassals of Quardenze.
At the sound of his voice, the military commanders calm their voices and silently wait for the rest of the speech.
A stern silence enveloped the entire room.
We have been entrusted by our lord to protect this land.
The military officers responded to the commander's words with a silent bow.
In the absence of instructions from the Quardenze family, the best they could do was to protect the city of Nambonan.
It is a shame to be misled by uncertain information. All of them immediately returned to their calm, as they were all military officers of the highest rank.
We have sent a message to New Nellie, and in two days the instructions, if not the reinforcements, will reach them. Then we will do our duty.
The military officers were now in unison.
The commander complained, as if the military discussion was over.
It's a pity we didn't go ahead with the …… Draft.”
The commander's words brought a bitter look to everyone's face.
The Nambonan City Cossacks had sent horses to recruit men from neighboring villages, but they had been unable to gather enough men for the mission.
It seems that the city of Nambonan is not to be trusted. It seems that many people think that because they were tricked into recruiting soldiers last time, they will be tricked again this time.
The one who responded to the commander was the military officer who had just reprimanded the young military officer.
The battle for the city of Nambonan by the Quardenze allied forces was a few months ago.
On that occasion, the Nambonan Council gathered soldiers from neighboring villages and pitted them against the coalition of aristocrats. As a result, a large number of villagers died or became slaves.
Resentful of this, and also gripped by fear from being exposed to the power and terror of the nobility, a large number of them fled from being drafted into the Quordentse army.
In a sense, it was cause and effect.
After the meeting, most of the senior military officers made a short run for the field.
The commander, feeling thirsty, said he would leave the room and then left the conference room.
The kid over there.
Yes, sir!”
The commander called out to the back of the boy who was hurriedly walking down the corridor of the mayor's mansion.
Is he the one who works here?
I'm Kianes! I work here!
Tense and trembling, Kianes awkwardly bowed to the rugged, stern-faced commander. He had been persistently taught by his room-mate that it was important to be polite to the higher-ups.
Kianes has come to the mayor's mansion to help the city officials with their chores, which have become busy during this time of war.
His sister Tico was evacuated to the interior, but Kianes happened to be on an errand and could not make it to the ship.
Can I help you?
The commander, clad in armor, looked like a scary adult to Kianes.
The commander, frozen at the sound of Kianeth's high-pitched voice, ordered him to bring water.
Kianeth paced back and forth down the hallway as if he were running away from the commander and brought a goblet filled with water.
He brings it to……”
At the very moment when Kianeth offered the goblet to the commander, he suddenly felt a chill run through him.
Suddenly, a chill ran through him, and his whole body he shivered, The goblet in his hand his fell to the floor, and the water in it spread throughout the hallway.
He was in the middle of the hallway when he heard the words, “Hi……! Hi……!”
Kianeth fell to his knees in the hallway, opening his eyes in horror as his vision darkened him.
It was as if a ball of malice had been shoved down his throat and the black filth was coursing through his entire body Everything from Kianes' skin to his organs his was nauseated.
'Calm down,' he said.
Hi……! Hi……! Ugh, ugh……! Ugh! Ugubu……!”
The commander launched a light healing spell at Kianeth, who was vomiting and throwing up all over the floor.
The effect was immediate, and Kianeth's breathing his calmed down.
'Oh …… That ……? What, what was that ……?”
Don't you know? This is the killing intent of the Lord's Ancestors.
It is a kind of magical release.
In particular, emitting magic power with a strong aggressive intent to kill is an act of intimidation by the ancestors.
It was said that if an nobleman emitted magic power with full force and directionality, it could reach up to two or three kilometers ordinary away.
It is difficult for a commoner to sense normal magical power, but when blended with the spice of murderous intent, even a commoner can sense it.
And the killing intent amplified by the magical power envelopes the commoner in fear.
The weak-minded, those unaccustomed to intimidation, and those with little fighting spirit are rendered immobilized by this wave of killing intent and stop fighting.
Commoners who received this threat for the first time invariably fall into a state of panic, causing vomiting, hyperventilation, fainting, and other symptoms. Chianes is a good example of this today.
One of the reasons for the Lord Ancestor's troubles was this widespread desire to kill.
It takes courage to overcome the Lord's will to kill. But as Miss Anna said, it is not difficult if you have the passion to protect this city. Remember that well.”
The beginning of the threat meant that the battle was on.
The commander left a stunned Kianeth sitting on the floor and went straight back to his headquarters.
