Chapter 169 - Battle (1)
There were two days left until the Fief War.
The world was calm, but it was merely the calm before the storm.
The complex stakes of this battle had become apparent to all due to Arthus' declaration of a rebellion.
Therefore, Henry quietly waited for them just like a fisher waiting for something to take the bait.
Just in time, the soldier guarding the entrance notified Henry.
“Young Master, the members of the Central Aristocratic Association have arrived.”
“Lead them to the same place as last time.”
“Yes, Sir!”
The soldier nodded his head in a familiar manner and returned to the entrance.
When the gate opened, all the members of the Central Aristocratic Association could be seen lined up in a singular row.
Looking at them, Henry thought to himself.
‘This will be my last business with them too.’
Henry had anticipated their visit before the Fief War, given how addictive the Pink Swamp was and how it could easily rip apart families. That was why, even though they were on Arthus’ side, they had taken the risk of entering the enemy's den.
Henry fully understood how they felt, so he had sent a letter in advance, before they decided to visit on their own.
The letter stated that he had prepared a generous amount this time, so everyone had come prepared. It also stated that he was going to accept bartering instead of hard cash.
As a result, those who were quick-witted knew exactly what this meant.
With hopeful eyes, they gathered their wealth, collecting gold and food, and thoroughly prepared themselves. They believed they could use this opportunity to heavily stock up on the cigarettes they could never have enough of.
While some thought their actions were foolish, they didn't see spending a lot of their wealth on cigarettes as a waste.
They thought that after the change in rulership, Duke Arthus would bring them even more wealth and fame.
Their mindset of spending money like water without hesitation had always set them apart from ordinary individuals accustomed to thriftiness.
“I will begin the auction for the Pink Swamp.”
The auction began.
Henry no longer sold small luxury items, and purposely only offered the Pink Swamp in the auction in order to maximize its value.
He had notified Herarion of this situation in advance, which allowed Henry to prepare more cigarettes than usual.
Everyone’s eyes were fierce. Although no one said it out loud, they all had a feeling that this would be the last auction.
After a while, Henry managed to earn twice as much money as he had during the first auction.
There was a mix of joy and sorrow between the consumers. Some of them smiled contently after having shown off their wealth, and others looked as pale as a blank sheet of paper because they couldn’t purchase a single pack of cigarettes.
‘Tsk tsk, what a pity.’
To addicts, cigarettes equated to currency, as it was evident that among those who purchased the cigarettes, some would sell a portion of them to recover from their financial losses after having exhausted their funds. This way, those who couldn’t purchase the cigarettes from Henry would be forced to buy a lesser amount at a higher price.
However, this wasn’t something Henry was concerned about. Rather, it was a good thing, because if people continued to resell them for a while, the least powerful nobles would be ruined.
After the auction had concluded, Henry bid them farewell by distributing a single cigarette to each individual who had participated.
“This is just a small gift from me.”
Like a welcome drink, this cigarette was a sign of gratitude that marked the beginning and end of an auction.
After the Pink Swamp was distributed to the nobles, they all lit a match to smoke it right away.
“...!”
As soon as they drew on the cigarettes, everyone was surprised.
‘T-this taste is…!’
This one was much stronger and more intense compared to the usual Pink Swamp they smoked.
Although it clearly looked and smelled the same, they were able to notice a big difference as soon as they smoked it.
Some of them exchanged cigarettes with the person next to them, wondering if there was something wrong with their own cigarette. However, this one had, in fact, a distinctly different taste.
Henry smiled as usual and announced the end of the auction.
“This concluded the auction. Everyone can pay for the cigarettes you have purchased and then receive them.”
“W-wait!”
Just as Henry was about to get off the stage after his closing statement, one of the nobles stopped him in an urgent voice.
‘That’s right!’
Henry was glad someone said something, or else he would’ve been disappointed. He turned his head back toward them while maintaining an expressionless face and said, “What is it?”
“T-this! What is this?!”
He had to quickly stop Henry from leaving, and his voice carried a hint of panic. However, he still mustered up the courage to speak out loud because he felt that this could be his only chance to ask.
Henry smiled and gave him a confusing answer.
“I’m not sure. I will let you know during our next auction.”
“...!”
Despite not knowing whether or not there was going to be another auction, Henry mentioned that there was indeed going to be one.
This indicated that regardless of the Fief War's outcome, there was a glimmer of hope for future auctions.
The supposedly final auction for the Pink Swamp had ended just like that.
* * *
Another day had passed.
Henry looked back at the teleportation gates for the last time and personally checked up on the preparations.
These were indeed Monsieur engineers.
Following Henry’s request, Vulcanus had gathered all the artisans of Monsieur and gotten them to work on building the walls of each free city.
As a result, the walls of the free cities were constructed with grandeur and expansiveness, leaving the guards on wall duty bewildered by the sudden expansion.
‘It’s looking good.’
There were many free cities and subordinate countries besides Vivaldi, Monsieur, and Enkelmann, but these three places were the only ones Henry could currently look after. Additionally, these three places were the most useful out of all the free cities.
Of course, the common people who were entering and leaving the city had no way of knowing why the walls had suddenly been expanded or why the cost of food had risen.
Even within the three cities, an eerily calm atmosphere had settled, similarly to the quiet before the storm.
‘I hope it’s not too late.’
Henry managed to receive small updates from Von, stating that he had found some of the people Henry had asked him to track.
There was no way to know who, where, and how many people he had found, since they were communicating through an artifact similar to a caller scroll. However, Von was able to let him know the location of the upcoming Fief War.
This was enough preparation.
He had already visited Shahatra in advance and made the payment, checked on the progress of the students, and confirmed that other miscellaneous things had been taken care of.
All that was left was to fight tomorrow’s Fief War wisely.
After thoroughly inspecting everything, Henry headed toward Eisen’s mansion to prepare for the big day.
* * *
“Where have you been?”
As soon as Henry arrived at the mansion, Eisen reprimanded him in an irritated voice.
“I went out to get some fresh air to clear my head,” replied Henry calmly.
“...Alright, if you say so.”
Because of the upcoming Fief War, Henry had been staying at Eisen’s mansion for two days now.
However, even though he knew this, Eisen scolded Henry, suggesting that he was also anxious despite his pretending to be composed.
It made sense that Eisen was agitated; he was already anxious even with Henry by his side, yet Henry kept vanishing whenever he had the chance.
Henry had been at Enkelmann just a few moments ago. He had no choice but to do so in order to manage his busy schedule, as he couldn't fulfill all his commitments while remaining confined to the mansion.
‘How shameless of him. I won’t be doing this crap for long.’
Henry glanced at the time; the sun was still shining, but it was time to start moving slowly.
He talked to Eisen as if he were sweet talking to a child and said, “Marquis, why don’t we start moving the troops to the Thern region?”
“Already?”
“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to move them in advance so the soldiers can rest for tomorrow?”
“Alright. Notify the Shonan army immediately that we’re going to have the opening ceremony before the war.”
The Fief War was scheduled for tomorrow, but the soldiers wouldn't be able to get enough rest unless they moved before sunset.
It was possible to move early tomorrow morning, but there was a big difference between fighting after three or four hours of marching and fighting after a good night’s rest.
‘It’s going to start soon.’
Henry went over the Shonan army’s strategy in his head as he told the servant about the opening ceremony.
The magnitude of the Fief War was significant, given that up to five thousand soldiers would participate from each side. Even leaving aside the logistics division, the total number of soldiers was still substantial.
In addition, the Fief War was supposed to be an honorable battle between the nobles, but in reality it was a ruthless slaughter battle aimed at the destruction of the opponent’s family.
Henry reported to Eisen that it would take at least four days for this Fief War to end.
This was a fairly reasonable prediction.
No matter how ruthless of a battle this was, it was still considered an honorable one. Therefore, the location, date, and battle rules had all been agreed upon in advance. For example, they would stop fighting when the sun set, and they wouldn’t attack each other’s supplies.
This was why Henry told Eisen that it would take at least four days if they proceeded according to the agreements.
‘It’ll only be two days at most.’
Of course, Henry had no intention of devoting a whopping four long days to the fight between these two bastards. Four days was enough time for Alfred to start the rebellion, take over the imperial palace, kill the emperor, and reorganize the army.
Henry intended to kill both of them within two days at the longest and move on to the imperial palace.
Flap!
The opening ceremony was ready.
Five thousand of Shonan's soldiers gathered in the large garden of Eisen’s mansion. There was also a wagon holding rice and other supplies, sufficient for several days.
Eisen wore a full brass plate armor called Lelbert, something he enjoyed wearing. He also put on a golden cloak that matched the brass color, and walked up to the podium.
On the podium, Eisen pulled out a massive double-edged ax called Bleakin, its size matching Eisen’s height.
Bleakin shone in the sun.
Using the shining Bleakin as a baton, he roared at the top of his lungs toward the five thousand soldiers.
“The time has finally arrived!”
Thud!
The soldiers stomped instead of responding, causing tremors throughout the large front yard of the mansion.
With an even louder voice, Eisen shouted, “No matter what, we will not lose!”
Thud!
“Let’s show that damn Alfred what we’re made of!”
Thud!
“We must win!”
It was a short but powerful speech, and it was also very fitting for Eisen, since he wasn’t a good talker.
Thanks to this, the soldiers gained more fighting spirit and they also shouted like Eisen.
“HURRAAAAAAAAH!!!”
The resolve of the soldiers could be felt in their shout that shook all Shonan.
Henry stood next to Eisen and glanced at the roaring soldiers.
The Shonan army was dreaming of a bright future, but they were completely oblivious to the truth.
Henry closed his eyes and briefly prayed for the soldiers.
‘If there's a sin you all carry, it's probably the misfortune of encountering a poor leader.’
The Shonan army had only had a thousand soldiers at most, but after the subjugation, the army had grown several times in size, and had become famous to other soldiers.
However, that kind of fame was only going to last up until this battle, because their lives were going to be used as tools for the sake of Henry’s revenge.
After finishing his prayer, Henry opened his eyes and looked at the thousand-man commanders standing in front of the soldiers in each unit.
Thousand-man commanders had authority over one thousand soldiers.
After the last subjugation, these commanders were selected out of the many people who knew about Eisen’s fame and hoped to join the Shonan army. Behind them, there were the hundred-man commanders and the ten-man commanders, all lined up in order.
‘Live. Survive to the end, and enjoy your rights in a better world.’
This was the only hope Henry had for them.
Honk!
A horn announced the war with a thunderous roar.
“Let’s go!”
“Ahhhh!”
Eisen’s soldiers moved simultaneously.
The events that were going to change the history of the empire were starting to unfold.
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