Chapter 368 368-One Against Two
Having spoken, Howard slightly raised his head and addressed Kara, "Come then, today I shall seek justice for the people of my Oungria region, long tormented by your Osland Kingdom."
Kara and Khannis exchanged a glance and then launched a two-pronged attack, one from the left and the other from the right.
Howard lifted his knight's great shield, successfully blocking the military saber swung by Kara.
The knights of Osland Kingdom seldom wielded lances, which resulted in their weaponry being of limited range.
Take, for instance, Kara's current weapon, the Kilij—a type of cavalry saber with a broad blade but lacking in length.
When Kara's saber struck Howard's shield, Khannis, who was approaching from behind and to the left, had already been unseated from his horse by Howard's lance.
This action was executed with such rapidity that even Khannis himself barely understood how he had been so swiftly dismounted.
He had roamed the military ranks for many years and had encountered various formidable opponents, but he couldn't fathom how he had been overpowered so quickly in combat.
However, defeat was defeat, and there was no need for desperate struggle.
In the civilized cultures of the continent, nobility were afforded the right not to be killed outright upon defeat in battle.
In most instances, capture was the more likely outcome.
This privilege was contingent upon the precondition that one did not resist or resort to underhanded tactics.
The treatment one could expect was directly proportional to the obligations one must uphold.
Khannis, unwilling to gamble with his life, obediently stood up and then remained motionless by the side.
Although the battlefield was chaotic, there was still space allocated for duels.
The warriors of both armies steered clear of this particular area.
Kara, engulfed in a wrathful blaze, swung his saber towards the head of Howard's warhorse upon failing to land a hit on his human adversary.
In the chivalrous code of noble dueling, it was a fundamental rule to target the knight, not his steed; to aim for the warrior, not the mount.
Violation of this principle shook the very foundations of dueling's honor.
Protected by its horse armor, Howard's steed was spared injury from Kara's blade, but the threat to its life sent it into a wild frenzy, leaping high into the air.
The horse's leap was akin to vaulting over a stream, reaching the height of a fully-grown man before crashing back to earth and bolting forward in a blind panic.
Under normal circumstances, a rider would be unceremoniously unseated in such chaos.
However, Howard, who had been raised in a household where the finer points of noble etiquette might have been neglected but not the martial disciplines – thanks to old Frank's rigorous training – managed to cling onto the reins, preventing a disastrous fall.
Witnessing Kara's blatant disregard for the rules of engagement, Khannis raised his voice in a mixture of shock and reproach, "Kara, what are you doing? Wasn't this meant to be a duel of honor, without threat to life? The victor wins glory and boosts morale on the battlefield while the vanquished preserves his life, returning home upon the payment of ransom. What purpose does your action serve?"
Kara responded with a cold snort, wordlessly, and swiftly changed direction to resume his pursuit of Howard.
Gradually, Howard's horse regained its composure, its wildness subsiding.
In a deft move, Howard counterattacked with a reverse lance strike, unseating Kara.
Thus, in this duel where Howard faced two adversaries, he emerged as the victor.
Half an hour later, Resarite arrived with his musketeers to provide support.
Howard and Resarite once again joined forces in battle.
Howard inquired of Resarite, "How's it going? Is everything comfortable over at Phrus?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Resarite replied with a chuckle, "Heh, not too bad."
Howard, wielding his single-handed sword, slew an enemy heavy cavalryman in close combat and then said to Resarite, "After this battle, we must have a proper drink together!"
Resarite agreed to the plan.
Another half-hour passed, and the battle lines of the Osland Kingdom completely collapsed, marking a victory for Howard and Frederick.
Meanwhile, the Milanese forces, feeling overlooked by all, suffered a devastating attack by the Osland Kingdom's army five days later, leading to their complete annihilation.
Upon hearing this news, Howard merely shook his head, offering no extensive comment.
A month later, a diplomat from the Osland Kingdom was received by Howard.
The envoy, dressed in a tunic with beige borders and predominantly red, conveyed to Howard, "King Howard of the Oli Kingdom, I bring a message from our Emperor Suleiman."
After a series of diplomatic formalities that encountered no significant obstacles, Howard accepted the surrender of three duchy-sized territories from the Osland Kingdom and declared a withdrawal of his forces.
Phrus, having opened up routes through the enclaves they acquired, now had a path running straight from the Easteuro Great Plains to the east, swiftly cutting through the former Lorren Duchy, then through the old Cremia Duchy, reaching the territories gained in their last war.
With these pathways opened, Phrus could finally begin the centralization of these provinces.
Likewise, Howard, after expressing his gratitude to the Governor of Milan, brought the war to a definitive close.
Manluk's behavior in the war was notably strange.
Despite being an active participant, he did not dispatch a single soldier northward, simply watching as his ally, the Osland Kingdom, suffered defeat after defeat, and endured the verbal and written censures of Emperor Suleiman.
With the expansion of the kingdom's territories, the deployment of troops and the appointment of local officials increasingly faced delays.
It became a physical manifestation of the challenges a large nation faces, as some officials, upon receiving orders in the capital, took a whole month to reach Howard's newly acquired Constantinople Castle.
Howard sought to manage his expanding country with a simpler, more streamlined approach.
Nora and some members of the Habsburg subtly hinted at their willingness to help lighten Howard's burdens.
Bosiden showed particular interest in the trades of Lika and Guzz, aspiring to take direct control of the commerce in these two provinces.
Alonso, though indifferent, found his wife Boshni ambitiously asserting that Alonso could be made king of the Oungria region.
With each piece of news, Howard's anxiety grew.
He confided his worries to a teacher, who suggested that a study group could assist in managing the nation.
This was a novel idea, especially for a country spanning a continent.
Catherine, however, strongly opposed this, fearing it would diminish her power and leave her frequently subject to the teacher's counsel.
In response, Howard began to engage in amiable exchanges with each of his vassals.
Through numerous opportunities to share afternoon tea together, he managed to ease the tense atmosphere to varying degrees among them all.
A month later, Howard announced that the King of Oli would begin incorporating teachers from the study group into the administrative management of the kingdom.
The spiritual leaders of the continent lauded Howard as an exemplary individual.
Another month passed, and through the network of these teachers, the nation's various transportation networks saw significant improvements, leading to quicker appointments and more efficient assumption of duties by officials.
Howard was pleased with these developments.
In the New World, the New Oli Kingdom faced another rebellion.
This time, Howard personally led troops to quell the uprising.
After suppressing the rebels, Howard decided not to return the soldiers to the mainland, pondering the idea of expanding his influence in the New World instead.
He declared war on a nation known as Zudeni, thereby dragging its allies into the conflict as well.
Thus, a war against seven New World countries was ignited.
This war presented few challenges.
The over twenty thousand soldiers Howard brought were more than sufficient.
The military strength of these New World countries was significantly inferior.
Howard, understanding the futility of aimlessly chasing enemy soldiers across the terrain, wisely focused on capturing the fortresses of these nations.
People might flee, but the buildings could not.
Once Howard captured the capital of a country called Suzo, he was able to force its surrender.
The will to fight in these New World nations was incredibly low.
Due to their limited strategic depth and historical factors, they tended to surrender quickly once their capitals were occupied by continental forces.
As Suzo bordered the colonial lands, Howard seamlessly annexed the entire nation.
A unique advantage of dealing with New World countries lay in their ability to cede their territories in the New World.
This was significantly different from simply demanding the cession of various count-sized lands from these countries.
Howard fully absorbed the nation of Suzo and then proceeded to systematically conquer the remaining belligerent states.
For those countries bordering his base of operations, he used cession as a strategy, annexing large swathes of land in whole.
For those not sharing borders with his territories, he had no choice but to demand financial compensation, along with a monthly payment of 10% of their economic income to Howard.
Following this campaign, Howard's dominion in the New World expanded to more than double its original size.
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