Game Mind of a Medieval Modern Person - Chapter 158



Only Noblemtl

158. Gamble with everyone’s life Success and victory always ring bright and hopeful.

So, we often couldn’t see the countless failures and merciless losses that lay behind it.

In the end, innocent common people are trampled under the footsteps of a few people who have created a success story.

Whether in the past or present, it was the same in any world where people lived, even if it was another world.

Fortunately, Bishop Senista, who was in charge of the diocese of Penrad, was one of the exceptions who was aware of this fact.

Bishop Senista was a rare cleric who remained faithful to the essence of religion rather than political gain.

He came to see me right after I successfully led the meeting, condoned the purge of Kardal, and even saved the life of Prince Penrad.

Bishop Senista appeared, knocking on the door of the VIP room, while they were sharing the leftovers from the last banquet as a small congratulatory gesture.

The voice coming from beyond the door was clearly agitated.

“Your Majesty, I have something important to discuss with you.”

“Are you talking about now?”

“Yes. Now.”

“Please come in.”

Perhaps he was deliberately trying to seize the moment so that I wouldn’t say anything else.

I was preparing for any eventuality by gathering Terveer, his fellow knights, and even my attendants, as the atmosphere in the castle was in turmoil.

I could guess what he was going to say, but I didn’t refuse because I knew the importance of conversation and communication.

Bishop Senista opened the door without hesitation and looked in this direction.

As expected, with a flushed, red face.

“Your Majesty, I have some terrible news.”

“First, please sit down. It looks like you have a lot to say.”

“It is said that Ariava, swinging four times, has ravaged the nearby city of Batarium.”

“Batarium…!”

It was Terveer who was taken aback by Bishop Senista’s remarks.

Thanks to years of traveling around the Duchy of Penrad, I had memorized the geography.

“Lord Tervere, do you know the place?”

“Narva, this is not something that can be just passed over.”

“Yes. This is something that Your Majesty, who has sworn to protect humanity, must never overlook.”

Bishop Senista explained the situation in detail in a suppressed voice, suppressing his boiling rage.

Batarium.

It is a city with a population of 7,000 located northeast of Phenolium. It is said that they felt a sense of crisis due to the speed of Ariaba’s advance and continued to send requests for help.

After two years of continuous pillaging and Ariaba’s siege tactics, they starved to death inside the castle. In a last-ditch effort, they opened the gates and made a surprise attack, but were defeated as if it were a given.

The majority of the Batarium were killed, unable to escape the elaborate and systematic looting and massacre.

There was only one thing I could say about this terrible tragedy.

“I will definitely get revenge.”

Then Bishop Senista slammed the table roughly with both hands.

bang!

“Yes! The innocent are being persecuted by the enemy, and that’s all you can say?!”

“Bishop, this is the situation. We cannot move until the dispute between Prince Penrad and Kardal Orn Yuvas is resolved.”

“The duty of a priest is not to consider political gains and losses, but to save people and care for them! How can a person who represents the starlight of humanity, the manifested stigmata, be so indifferent?”

Ahem.

It wasn’t me who coughed, it was Terveer.

As expected of a knight who is determined to protect the weak, Terveer must have been unhappy with my passive attitude toward saving civilians who were in immediate danger.

Terveer wasn’t the only one who harbored such discontent.

It was the same for Terveer’s fellow knights and my attendants.

Those who were of noble birth, such as Mild Orn Geron and Hustan Orn Suster, who had been leading the surprise attack alongside me, just let it go.

“…”

“Your Majesty, you have your own thoughts. Bishop Penrad, please refrain from making rude remarks.”

Mild Orne Geron frowned and even lost all respect for the bishop.

But the rest of the knights were all glancing this way with a look of disbelief.

If you look at it from the perspective of the person, the moment I see a pagan, I should turn away and draw my sword, but since I am the most calm and indifferent, people may look at me strangely.

As the atmosphere flowed this way, a strange sense of awkwardness made me laugh out loud.

“Yes, it’s time to laugh.”

“Bishop Senista, how can you be so naive?”

“Naive?”

Something that has happened many times before has happened again.

Memories of the past come flooding back.

I looked at the bishop in front of me, touching the glass I had put down with my index finger.

When I looked at it from all sides, I saw that it had really upright eyes.

From the gun firmly planted in his pupil, I could feel the passion that he was willing to burn himself to death for the right thing, even if his abilities were lacking.

People with those kinds of eyes are always at odds with me.

“Thanks to you, we don’t have to go to them anymore.”

“…”

“The first advantage that Ariaba had was that they had a smaller force than us, and if they moved around here and there, focusing only on plundering, there would be no way to pursue them. They gave that up of their own accord, so it’s a good thing for us.”

This time it was the same.

A clear anger began to form in Bishop Senista’s eyes.

But I didn’t stop talking.

“Second. Since the enemy approached first, we have less of a burden to organize supplies and march. In a situation where there is concern about division of command, spending time outside the garrison is a risk factor for us who have to operate a large army. Since we have minimized that, this is also a good thing.”

If you don’t tell the truth because you don’t want to incur the other person’s hatred, what’s the point of keeping your mouth shut?

The more urgent the crisis, the more we need to strip away our flashy decorations.

“Third. Since they have to procure all their supplies locally, they will likely engage in frequent raids. If they move that actively, it will be easy to figure out how they move. It will be very useful when responding and intercepting.”

“You can stop. I know that Your Highness possesses military talents.”

Eventually, Bishop Senista chose to take a step back.

Still holding back those resentful eyes.

“But you fight as if you were enemies.”

“Enemies?”

“Pagans. Those who justify sacrifice in exchange for what they gain from offering sacrifices to their gods. Your Majesty spoke as if you were fighting like them.”

Bishop Senista Tan probably wanted to equate me with pagans and make a fuss about it.

But to me, who respects pagans as fellow human beings, such personal attacks are just ridiculous.

I quickly skimmed through the articles that had been holding their breath, then raised the corners of my lips and answered.

“You have to learn what you’re good at. Why should you suffer by buying a weapon when you can use the methods of experts who are good at killing people and stealing their victories?”

Crack-.

Bishop Senista could no longer stand his anger and began to grit his teeth and glare at me.

I started an argument just to scratch a piece of my conscience, but I’m so angry that I didn’t even get my money’s worth back.

But to me, who had been trained extensively when I was the king of a ruined country, a country that was worth ruining, it was a meaningless provocation.

Finally, Bishop Senista, unable to bear it any longer, chose to turn away and leave without saying a word.

For no reason, I just roughly slammed the innocent door shut.

CLANG!

It was as if the hinges were about to fall off.

Still, the level of tension quickly subsided.

The knights who had been holding their breath while watching the conversation all let out their breaths, and Terveer pounded his chest, showing a look of frustration.

“Narva…!”

“I’m listening.”

“What the Bishop said makes sense. If it were up to you, you could have gone out and confronted them already. Is that really the only reason you’re dragging your feet?”

I didn’t dare answer Terveer’s question.

Are the reasons for delaying the expedition because of the things I mentioned earlier?

Of course not.

My heart was burning with the urge to cut down those pagans, but I held myself back because there was something more important.

Of course, the longer the expedition is delayed, the more intense the Ariaba invasion becomes.

Even the sinless ones, those who desperately wanted salvation, would be used as sacrifices for human sacrifice or would be lined up like shackles in slavery.

-The disappointment of the local lords and serfs towards Prince Penrad will also grow.

To Kardal, the crime of kin murder; to Prince Penrad, the disappointment of his people; to Prince Yuvas, the evil plan of Miriam Orne Yuvas.

It’s like giving each of these bad guys a little bit of a hard time to create some sense of camaraderie.

Any damage to my reputation will be quickly restored thanks to my status as a stigmata manifester.

Furthermore, since the position of the weakest Duchy of Powis would be a good excuse for passive behavior, the longer this fight drags on, the more it benefits me and the Powis family.

but…

“Narva.”

…The moment I met Terveer’s eyes, I swallowed the words I was about to say.

“No. We simply made the inevitable sacrifice considering the tactical advantage. If we could have done otherwise and achieved a better result, we would have done so.”

“Really?”

“yes.”

I forced a smile and answered, letting out a sigh of relief inside.

It’s a good thing I didn’t make a pledge of honesty.

***

Prince Penrad and Kardal Orne Yuvas.

The sharp confrontation between the two created a tense atmosphere, dividing Phenolium in two.

The first one to take action was none other than Prince Penrad.

The confrontation between the Yuvas expeditionary force and the garrison trying to stop them was revealed outside the gates of Phenolium.

“You can’t enter the castle? Then, make my soldiers sleep on the dirt floor!”

“His Majesty the King finds it difficult to accommodate more people than this.”

Prince Penrad unilaterally informed Kardal that the castle was full and could not accommodate any more men, and that he should build a fort outside the castle and hold out.

They said they would accept some troops, but it would only be about 1,000.

Considering that the surviving Yubas expeditionary force numbered 7,000, this was a woefully inadequate number.

Kardal, who was forced out of the castle without being able to move, also did not stay still.

After secretly making contact with Admiral Orbe, who had already entered the castle, the next day, the Yuvas sailors began to march through downtown Phenolium.

It is only natural that people are terrified and hole up in their homes as elite soldiers armed with spears and swords march through the streets of the city.

Prince Penrad, who heard the news late, appeared with his vassals, but Admiral Orbe’s response was extremely cold.

The cross-eyed admiral greeted Prince Penrad with an arrogant attitude, as if he didn’t care about the difference in rank.

“What kind of mischief is this?! Parading heavily armed soldiers in the castle! Without permission!”

“I was looking around to see if it was true that Yubas’ soldiers could not be put to sleep.”

“How sad. You came here to help, but all you’re doing is colluding?”

“Make no mistake, Prince Penrad. It is not you that Yuvas seeks to help, but the people of Penrad who suffer under your foolish rule!”

Clashes became more and more frequent.

Yuvas, who hoped to be crowned king with the support of the people of the Duchy of Penrad, and the Duke of Penrad, who wanted to protect his right to rule.

It is only natural that these two sides could not compromise.

Even Kardal, who had seized military power here, attempted to assassinate Prince Penrad, so it was highly unlikely that they would be on good terms.

But no matter how much you hate someone, there comes a time when you have to join hands.

July 3, 1216.

As the Allied forces fought a tepid battle for control, more than 16 settlements were lost.

Ariava was even more brutal in his efforts to extract the Allied forces trapped in Phenolium. The invaded settlement was surrounded by a tight and organized siege, and all but a few survivors were massacred.

The scale of the situation was apparent even outside the scene.

The river nearby was running red with blood, and packs of wolves were swarming the piles of corpses. Frightened refugees were marching in long lines toward Phenolium.

Then, rumors began to spread that several entire groups of refugees en route to Seoul had gone missing.

Eventually, the serfs, unable to bear it any longer, gathered in front of the palace and denounced the leaders of the Allied Forces.

“Ariaba is coming!”

“What on earth are the knights doing while they’re burning our fields and our houses!?”

Only then did both Prince Penrad and Kardal realize that this was no longer the time for political fighting.

The two joined hands with a common goal.

We must intercept Ariaba.

It was the first time that the Allied Forces, who had been glaring at each other until then, prepared for an expedition.

The problem arose elsewhere.

The Allied forces had no idea where Ariaba, who moved unpredictably and committed massacres and pillages, would target next.

It was at this time that Bishop Narva, who had been watching the fight from the sidelines, stepped in.

Narva appeared between the groaning commanders, spreading out the map, and before anyone could stop him, he stabbed the index finger of his right hand.

On top of that empty spot, where no symbol or word is placed.

It was a plain ideal for field warfare, except that the mountains were to the west and a relatively wide tributary lay a little to the south.

It was especially advantageous terrain for the Allied Forces, which operated a large force of over 10,000 soldiers.

However, Prince Penrad and Kardal immediately frowned.

“What’s in there?”

“Bishop, I understand that you have wisdom.”

The rebuttals are spat out right away.

But Narva smiled coldly and retorted.

“If you can’t find it, you have to throw out some bait.”

As he spoke, Narva picked up a wooden horse symbolizing the refugee procession with his left hand.

And he continued his speech by placing the wooden horse, which symbolizes refugees, on the empty spot where he had pressed his index finger, on the plain.

“Let’s build a settlement here to accommodate refugees.”

At first, the gazes that looked at me in bewilderment because they didn’t understand began to change little by little.

Disbelief and shock fill people’s pupils.

“You don’t actually need to give out a lot of supplies. Just announce it and gather people first, and then convince them that it will take time to procure the supplies.”

“But… that’s…”

Narva’s claim was clearly absurd.

This is a method that even Prince Penrad, who is desperate to maintain his ruling power, cannot say anything about.

It wasn’t much different from other commanders.

The only exception was Kardal, who listened with sparkling cat-like eyes.

“Anyway, it looks like Phenolium has announced that they can no longer accommodate any more people. Isn’t that a good thing, Your Majesty?”

“Ugh…!”

Prince Penrad glared at Kardal with disgust, but soon sighed deeply and lowered his head.

It’s not a lie.

Phenolium was already burdened with the burden of feeding an army of ten thousand men.

Accepting refugees who cannot help in the fight will only increase the potential for conflict over supplies and distribution.

However, the petty bourgeois conscience that had even dampened his lust for power made Prince Penrad ask questions.

“Bishop, there must be a way to save them, so you came up with this method, right?”

“of course.”

At some point, Narva had taken his hands off the map.

Instead, he placed his right hand on the hilt of the sword tucked into his waistband and wiggled his fingers.

“I intend to appease their spirits with a sure victory.”

The name of the plain that Narva pointed out was Ilenio’s Sigh.

It was where the refugees of the fallen kingdom began their long escape.

Episode 159