CH 344

The Blish Isles, a cursed land where strife has raged since ancient times. Long ago, it was partially conquered by a huge empire, and when the empire was destroyed, the empire’s people left. Since then, the natives have been fighting each other. And the islands have been invaded by those who came across the sea.

Even when the country seems to be united, it is divided again, and conflict ensues. Peace never lasted long, nor did a unified country emerge, but instead kingdoms rose and fell.

After hundreds of years of such conflicts, the situation gradually calmed down as the countries finally began to unite again. However, such peace did not last long, either.

The Wessek Kingdom, which had once flourished and ruled the southern and central regions of the Blish Isles, had its last timid, weak, and inept king pass away without leaving an heir, so Wessek was plunged into a civil war with so many factions vying for power.

Wessek had established the largest power on the Blish Isles, and now it was divided from this succession battle, even though the whole region had yet to be unified.

There were indigenous people on Blish Island. However, the Delians, Plossians, and Anghels who came afterward crossed the eastern sea and landed on the Isles. The indigenous people and the Anghels fought each other, and just as they were finally coming together, to some extent, under Wessek. ……

Wessek was heavily dependent on those who had crossed from the southern continent. It was using people from the southern continent, the Frasians, from a large country on the southern continent. King Wessek was related by blood to the Frasian nobility, and because of that relationship, he received a great deal of support from the Frasia. That is why the Frasians were so heavily used in Wessek.

King Wessek had no children and the man he had named as his successor died before Wessek did, leaving him without an official successor. The king’s blood relatives came forward to claim that they were the rightful heirs, and a civil war ensued with the help and support of various forces.

Among them, there was Guillaume Noln, a vassal of the King of Frasia and nephew of King Wessek, who received support from the more powerful Frasia and was steadily expanding his power. His opponent was Harold Godot, the King of the Anghel-Sakzens, nephew of King Wessek, and also of a different bloodline.

Next to the indigenous peoples were the Delians, the Plossians, the Anghels, and the Sakzen, collectively called the Anghel-Saxens. Anghels originated from the Anghel Peninsula, located near the border between the Delian and Plossian peninsulas and the base of their region. In other words, it is close to today’s Caan and Carruthers territories.

If we consider this conflict in its most simplified form, it can be said to be a three-way struggle between the indigenous people who have been driven north, the Frasians who are invading from the south, and the Anghel-Sakzens who have crossed over to the Blish Isles and settled in the central and northeastern parts of the country. There are various other conflicts and forces, but if one knows the three main sides, one can understand most of what’s going on here.

And those who called Harold Godot their new king were now holed up in the area called Delroe in the central and northeastern parts of the country, in danger of being destroyed.

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“Your Majesty, Harold Godot! Run away from this place!”

“But to where do I flee to…?” Harold countered.

“”””…………”””‘

King Harold had ascended to the throne as the rightful heir to the Kingdom of Wessek, and now was being simultaneously attacked from the north and south by the Kingdom of Frasia, which had invaded because it was a distant relative, and the Kingdom of Alvaland, a country of natives to the north that had attacked in tandem with the Frasian invasion.

The Kingdom of Alvaland was foolishly led into a trap. Harold could not help but think so.

Considering the topography and sphere of influence, it seemed logical at first glance that Frasia in the south and Alvaland in the north would cooperate to attack King Harold’s forces in the central region.

However! Even considering that advantage. Even if they were to exterminate King Harold’s forces with that, what would happen next? How would the Kingdom of Frasia react? It need not be mentioned. Next, Frasia will target Alvaland.

The only countermeasure to avoid being conquered by the Kingdom of Frasia is for Harold and Alvaland to cooperate with each other in order to confront the more powerful Frasians. However, Alvaland is not thinking about that and is attacking in tandem with Frasia to eliminate King Harold’s faction, since it’s weakened at the moment.

What foolishness… if this continues, Wessek will be…… or even all of the Blish Isles will be taken and ruled by the Kingdom of Frasia. Alvaland will not rule, it will be ruled. It would be foolish not to understand that.

“Enemy attaaaccckkkk! Enemy atttaaacckkk!”

“–?!”

The watchtower soldier’s scream echoes in the base. There was no escape …… and there was nothing to do but fight until the last man was left with this castle as their final resting place.

“It’s all over now……”

There was no hope of reinforcements. If the enemy was Alvaland in the north alone, it was not impossible, but looming from the south was Guillaume, leading a force from the great kingdom of Frasia. There is no reason for Guillaume to overlook Harold. He will surely kill him here to end any future succession problems.

“Close the gaatttteeeessss!”

“Archers, ready! Releeaasseee!”

From outside comes the clamor of war. But no matter how you look at it, there is no way to win. In fact, they’ve been lucky so far.

“Run away, my friends. I alone will be the one to die here,” Harold said.

“What are you saying, King Harold?!”

“That’s right! At the very least…… let us fight to the last!

“You all…”

In the king’s quarters in the castle where King Harold and his men are holed up, he hugs his vassals shoulder to shoulder. Harold is young, but more than that, they are now not just a king and vassals but comrades-in-arms.

They are all ready to fight. All that remained was to take out as many of the enemy as possible before they died. With this resolve, the final strategy is discussed.

The strategy was not a difficult one. It is not the best way to win. It is a final assault, a ritual for their deaths. What is discussed is who will attack from where. Who will die against whom? That is all that is discussed. Those who gulped down their last drinks looked at each other and nodded.

“Alright……. Now, let’s go to……”

“In-In the eastern sea! A large number of unfamiliar giant ships have appeared! Their flag is…… an eagle on a tri-color!

“”””—!””””

Those who had already prepared their faces for death looked at each other again with panicked expressions as they heard the news.

“Whose ships?”

“I don’t know!”

“Reinforcements from the Kingdom of Frasia?”

“But it’s not the Frasian flag they bear……”

Confused, they looked to the sea at the topmost point of the castle’s eastern side…… and they saw dozens of huge ships they had never seen before coming toward them. They were so huge. And there were too many of them. One of them with excellent eyesight counted the ships that came into view one by one.

“Tw-Twenty-five ships! There are twenty-five ships as big as they seem!”

“King Harold… what say you……?”

“…”

However……, even if they are not on their side, they could be enemies of the Kingdom of Frasia or the Kingdom of Alvaland. It would be a relief for Harold and his people if the enemies of their enemies would fight each other, instead.

“Call off the assault! Everyone concentrates on defense! Do not attack that ship’s forces! If they fight with the Kingdom of Frasia or the Kingdom of Alvaland, then stand by and watch them!”

“””””SIRE!”””””

The Frasian army was hunting down King Harold, and just as they were about to take the castle, they noticed something strange.

“What is that?”

“Ships? Reinforcements?”

“No…… I didn’t hear anything about reinforcements……”

A fleet was appearing over the horizon. There is no way that Harold’s army ships are in this area. The first thing to remember, is that Harold’s army no longer has a navy, even. In that case, whose ships are those that?

The only people in this area should be them, the Frasians, or Alvalandians. Then, if it was not their army, was it a ship of Alvaland? While we were thinking about that, the ship was quickly growing in size. And although from a distance they could not see the total number of ships because they were neatly lined up in five rows, as they got closer, they realized that they were quite numerous.

“They’re huge! And yet, so many sailing at once!”

“Tri-color and an eagle? Whose ships are these?”

While the Frasian army was puzzled, the giant ships came closer and closer, and then lined up side by side along the coast, showing their broadsides.

The terrain this castle is built on has the sea to the East and a river to the North. For the Frasian forces attacking from the south, there were no obstacles, and the castle could easily be taken down if they attacked forcefully with overwhelming military power. The Alvaland Royal Army attacking from the north is probably struggling because of the river. This was also convenient for the forces of the Kingdom of Frasia.

It would be most convenient if the Kingdom of Alvaland could delay their arrival while attracting the enemy’s attention. The enemy would be forced into the Kingdom of Alvaland, and the castle would be theirs for the taking. That was the ideal. For this reason, it was convenient that they were positioned in the open south. At least up till a few minutes ago, it was an advantage …….

But…… now it is different here. The Frasian army camped on a plain with an excellent view and no obstacles…… was to see hell open before them in an instant.

DON!

“Wh-What was that noise?”

The first shot……. and Then …….

DOOOOONNNN!

The impact hit with a massive “DOHN!” The soldiers crouch down with their heads in their hands, startled by the sound, feeling the vibration as if it were an earthquake. Looking at the center of the impact, they see…… that the ground has been gouged out and the soldiers around that point have been blown to pieces.

“What in the………?”

DONNN! DONNN! DONnN! DO-DO-DO-DO-DO-DODOOONNN!

“—!? Re-Retrea—!!”

The same sound as the previous one suddenly began to be heard more intensely. And what means is…….

“UWAAAH!”

“GYAAAH!”

“UGEH!”

Soldiers are being blown to pieces like garbage here and there. …… The Frasian military camp, which had been so enthusiastic that it would soon be able to bring down the castle, instantly turned into hell, and each of them began to flee in a disorganized mess.

The enemy’s attack did not slow down, however, and one after another, they poured down on the Frasian army. Blown apart and knocked down, the number of soldiers quickly dwindled. All that remained was masses of flesh.

“Th-This cant be… wahpyuh…?!”

And the stunned commander’s head was blown off by a cannonball that happened to catch him as it flew, silencing him forever.

“I-I can’t believe it…”

“How could that Frasian Royal Army be so one-sidedly run-over……?”

Harold’s faction had been looking outside at the caste, stunned and unable to understand what was going on before them. It was too far removed from reality. And it was too convenient. Just when they were about to face their deaths, an ally conveniently appears and saves them from that. There was no way such a convenient thing could happen.

They can even imagine that they have already been killed by the Frasian Kingdom and this is just a convenient dream they are having as they’re dying. Or are they already out of their minds and went crazy?

“The same attack came from the ships that turned north……, and the Alvaland Army has also been destroyed…….

“………… Hoh!”

“HOOORAAAYY!”

“We have survived!”

“Haha! Hahaha! Hooray! How does the day find you now?!” 1

All the enemies that had surrounded the castle are gone, and now peace has returned. The ships anchored along the coast show no signs of attacking them.

Eventually, the scouts left and reported that they had succeeded in making contact with those who had disembarked from the ships. They said that a representative of the fleet was coming. Harold and the others were all dressed and waiting. Some of the men from the ships landed and came to the castle. The moment they opened the door and saw them coming in, King Harold, no, just a man named Harold jumped down from his high throne and offered his crown.

“The King… the Return of the King! All of you! Listen up! This is the true king of us Anghel-Sakzens! Moreover, yes! I abdicate! And then… I give all my power to our true ruler!”

“The true king of the Anghel-Sakzens?”

“The return of the king?”

“You don’t mean to tell me that…… is King Karruzer! This man?!”

There are legends in this land. In these Isles of Blish, which had not yet come together, the true king of the Anghel-Sakzens, King Karruzer, will one day return and unite these separate lands. He is said to be a beautiful king with blond hair and blue eyes, a characteristic of the Anghel-Sakzen people. They can only assume that the man before them is the legendary King Karruzer himself.

He leads an overwhelmingly powerful army and saves the last of the Anghel-Sakzen Kingdom from mortal peril. Just as the legend says.

“My name is Flora Charlotte von Carruthers,” their king said.

“Oh……”

“Ooohh!”

“It’s King Karruzer, after all!

“Our king!”

Harold and his subjects knelt and bowed to King Karruzer as he ascended to his throne and turned around to face them.

The Delians, the Plossians, the Anghels, and the Sakzens all belonged to the race known as the Hermann, or Hermannites. The area around here, where the Kingdom of Wessek is located, is also called Angheland, meaning the Land of the Angels.

The first and only conquest and unification by a foreign power in the history of the Blish Isles was about to take place here, a turning point in history that would later be called the Hermann Conquest.

T/N: This mistaken identity works better in Japanese, where Carruthers and Karrzer are very, very similarly spelled and pronounced, and didn’t have to go through localization. Just imagine that Flora’s Plossian accent and the Anghel-Sakzen’s accents are so thick that they easily mistake one name for the other.