132 I am the rightful king of this country.
How can I empty the village of the village? It’s honestly impossible. It might be possible in a village near the castle, but such a thing would not be possible in a village far away from the castle.
William could not understand even after hearing the story.
“I don’t know where all the villagers went. Maybe they went into a nearby castle, or maybe they gathered them in another area. But one thing’s for sure, it’s not something they’ve been preparing for in a year or two.”
The centurion, whom he was familiar with, distorted his face as he said that.
“They were preparing long before we arrived. The reason they emptied the town was probably to annoy us rather than to evacuate people.”
William involuntarily swallowed his saliva.
It was certainly as the centurion said.
Armies of many countries operate without supply units. If you can’t plunder, you can’t get food and women, and of course there’s no profit.
It is natural for the morale of soldiers to drop, and even their survival is threatened. You can’t wage war. In the worst case, you may just have to go back because you can’t even fight and you have no food to eat.
“But is that possible? Is it really possible to empty the town?”
At William’s question, the centurion spat out.
“We’re actually going through this. I only found out about this by accident, but there are troops who have returned to the mountains above Wateringu. They met with them and decided to attack the lord’s castle in Wateringu. going to be.”
The centurion spat on the floor and said.
“In the end, this morning, an order came down to go to Montes, which is next to Watoringu.”
“Are you saying that Watoringu is being pushed back?”
“I don’t know. Whether to replenish food and go back to Watoringu, or attack Lord Montes’s castle. Anyway, I can’t do anything when I have nothing to eat.”
Montes contains rock salt areas. Originally, the kingdom of Crete fought a war to occupy the area with rock salt and its surroundings, so it did not deviate much from its purpose.
However, before the main force of the Empire arrives, you must expand the front line by expanding the occupied area as much as possible. If you don’t do that, you will be pushed back by the imperial army, and Crete will eventually become a battlefield.
In addition, Watlingu was the largest and strongest castle and was completely destroyed during the invasion of Cania. The castle currently being used as a lord castle is smaller than that. There was a possibility that the castle could be taken away now.
‘But it would be impossible after the imperial army came.’
While I was talking with the centurion, the chief’s lieutenant came to call for William.
As soon as the image of his adjutant appeared, the centurion returned to his unit with a sh*t-eaten face.
The commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Crete is the crown prince. Both father and son were incompetent and greedy.
Even though they were still marching, the Crown Prince was sitting in his chair. Where did you get the chair again? Maybe it was loaded on a cart.
Since the commander-in-chief is like this, it is unlikely that this war will end well. Even if they didn’t say anything, they were worried inside.
Well, in the coldest midwinter, you can tell just by looking at going to war with the Empire alone.
It seems clear that I chose the wrong country when I was born.
Around the crown prince stood the lords or deputies who had brought soldiers from their respective domains. It looks like the meeting just ended. Everyone had a somber expression.
“Your Highness, Crown Prince, did you call?”
As William bowed, the Crown Prince looked at him with a stern expression.
“William, you already know that our situation is difficult, right?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I had an unpleasant feeling. When the crown prince speaks with a straight face like that, nothing has changed.
“I prepared for the siege, but because it was winter, there was a problem with the cart carrying the siege equipment. I can’t move. I think I’ll have to borrow the power of a witch.”
“Well, what are you talking about?”
“What if you ask me about it? You should find out what witches can do.
“But, Your Highness, the promise between Your Majesty the King and the Witch…”
When William spoke, the Crown Prince banged on the arm of his chair in a fit of rage.
“What if you’re talking like that in a situation like this? If you can’t attack the castle, you have no choice but to wander and go back. I don’t think the witch wants that either.”
The Crown Prince clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“It would be your job to convince the witch. I don’t think you really meant to end it with just an escort.”
When the crown prince comes out like this, it is useless to say anything. William nodded and lowered his head. But how can a witch help in a siege? My heart felt tight.
After hearing a few other small stories, William was barely able to get away from the Crown Prince.
William greeted him and was about to turn around when the Crown Prince spoke in a rather low voice.
“And, this evening the witch’s dwelling place is my tent.”
William lowered his head and closed his eyes. Close your lips tightly and cool your mind for a while.
It was not new today for the crown prince to behave in this way.
But this time, I was really angry.
In mid-winter, when even food for the soldiers is being supplied today and tomorrow, I try to invite a woman, and a woman who should not be touched at all, into my tent. I’ve heard that there was a concubine on the way to this place, but I wonder if that kind of thing doesn’t matter at all.
‘Really, I chose the wrong place to be born.’
William cleared his voice.
“Your Highness, even though she looks beautiful, she is a witch who doesn’t know what to do. It is too dangerous.
William continued, being careful not to sharpen his voice.
“Besides, before departing here, His Majesty the King had a stern word. You shouldn’t make witches feel uncomfortable and leave for other countries. Witches said that it doesn’t matter if they are not necessarily from our country. He said that if something like this happens, he will be held accountable regardless of his status.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes widened as he glared at William.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. But Your Majesty called me separately and asked me to do something special.”
“Chit, got it.”
The Crown Prince clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t help it.
William bowed and quickly withdrew. If he stayed there any longer, he would show dissatisfaction without even realizing it.
I walked away from the crown prince and walked among the scattered soldiers. There were frostbitten soldiers everywhere.
It is not known if they have a certain level of status and money, but there are many cases where commoner soldiers who are conscripted and brought don’t have proper shoes or clothes.
William walked briskly, averting his eyes from the groaning soldiers.
If you get frostbite, your feet will rot. Even if you survive on the battlefield, you will die painfully in the end. It’s a world where living is harder and harder than dying.
‘Damn it.’
Even after the Witch of the West joined the army, most of them stayed in the wagon.
Whether it’s because she can’t see, or if it’s just a witch’s habit, the Witch of the West doesn’t like to go out in front of people.
Only a few crows remained on the roof of the carriage. After withdrawing from the king’s presence, it gradually decreased, and then only a few remained. But when it flew away, no one saw the crow leaving.
‘It’s creepy.’
William knocked on the carriage door. Hearing a reply from within, William asked if he could get help in taking the castle, though he thought he couldn’t.
The Witch of the West was silent for a moment.
‘I guess so.’
I thought it was natural. Can I be called a witch? But after a while, the witch spoke.
“If you are not afraid of my bird, I can make a way to the castle.”
William involuntarily asked out loud.
“Is that possible?”
“Yeah, I can, but I can’t keep it too long. About ten minutes, maybe twenty minutes at most.”
“That’s enough.”
Most castles are surrounded by moats or, if not, very high. Because of this, siege equipment was usually towed or made at the place of attack, and then climbed over a ladder.
But it takes a lot of effort and time to do that. If you can cross the castle wall without such preparation, the advantage will be indescribable.
William suddenly looked at the carriage.
If they knew that such a thing was possible for a witch, wouldn’t the king and crown prince try to capture her somehow? Indeed, he might try to tie her to the country by severing her limbs or using drugs.
“…”
William turned around. Now was not the time to think like that. We must somehow lead this war to our advantage. What should I do because I am worried about the witch?
‘Maybe I’m possessed by a witch.’
Specifically, in a state where the witch didn’t know what to do, the Kingdom of Crete arrived at the first dicoquaria’s castle.
***
It’s hell.
Rudy looked at the sight unfolding in front of his eyes.
After entering the dicoquaria, the first thing that caught my eye was the withered corpses of people.
A child who is skinny enough to be able to recognize the shape of his bones, and an adult whose skin and bones are so close that it is impossible to recognize the difference between men and women. No one is overweight at all. All equally dry.
After entering a little from the border, the corpses of such people were scattered all over the place. It was almost as it was when it died from the cold. A little snow piled up on their bodies as if they were covered with cotton blankets.
Rudy got off his horse and knelt in front of one of the children.
The child’s body was not covered with snow. I thought maybe he was alive.
The child’s face was clean enough to think so. It looked as if he would open his eyes if I called him even now.
Rudy tried to hug the child, but couldn’t.
oh, you’re dead
It was only after I tried to hug him one more time that I thought about it. The child’s body was firmly attached to the ground.
At first glance, the child seemed unscathed. However, when I lowered my eyes slightly and looked at the floor, I saw blood pooling on the back of my slightly twisted body. It was just that the eyes sucked in the dark red blood and did not flow.
“why.”
Why are even such young children dying here? Why are people so cruel
As Rudy murmured, an aide came and knelt beside him.
“your majesty.”
When Rudy looked up, the aide was making a sad expression. From that face, Rudy realized that the aide had seen a body like this before.
Looking around, the soldiers were watching Rudy. It seems that they, too, have seen such a skinny, miserable corpse. Only Rudy was stunned.
‘is it. Did these people already see a lot of scenes when Dicoquaria was invaded a long time ago?’
When Rudy returned his gaze to the child’s corpse, the aide opened his mouth.
“These are refugees trying to cross the border. They must have been killed by a soldier from Cania. Since they are the ruling side, they probably didn’t intend to save them from the beginning.”
“okay.”
“There are corpses like this elsewhere, Your Majesty.”
“…okay.”
“your majesty.”
“…”
Rudy closed his eyes for a moment. If you make a mistake, you will shed tears. After a while, Rudy opened his eyes and got up from his seat, and the soldiers corrected his posture.
“You must have already heard why the Empire came to Dicoquaria.”
Rudy carefully looked at the soldiers around him. Everyone was quietly watching Rudy.
“Here, I say to you once again, do not leave the people of this land in pain any longer. The king of Dicoquaria is originally of the lineage of Watoringu. The rightful king of this country is I, and the people who are oppressed by your hands Save my people.”
After Rudy’s words were finished, the shouts of the soldiers resonated high enough to pierce the sky.
“Defeate Kania, who usurped our emperor’s country!”
“Let’s drive Crete out of this land!”
“Beat it!”
“Beat it!”
It is not only Crete and Chania that have invaded this country. The Empire was also the country that invaded Dicoquaria. But nobody mentioned it.
Rudy, now standing in front of them, is not the king of decoquaria. The person the soldiers were looking at was the emperor of the empire.
And the one who expelled Kania from this country and ruled is not the king of Dicoquaria, but the emperor of the empire.
The Emperor of the Empire rules over Dicoquaria.
The shouts of the soldiers continued to shake the borders without ceasing.
Long live His Majesty the Emperor!
Long live the Putegrin Empire!
Rudy looked at the dead bodies.
It took a long time, but now I can finally achieve the purpose of becoming an emperor.
