CH 345

What the? What is this? Why is this happening?

It’s a shabby little fortress and old men in shabby clothes are bowing to me. It seems that the other party is a local governor or a feudal lord and his men. I thought it was not good for me to be too humble to a small feudal lord, so I stood on the upper seat that was given to me and they seemed to misunderstand me for someone else, I feel like.

How did this happen…? I recall what happened a while ago…

After successfully passing through the Del Strait, we joined a separate fleet that came down the Welzel River from Floren, and we were having discussions while taking the course to the west.

“So… it’s fine to head to the Blish Isles… but where should we land and which country should we contact?”

To be honest, I don’t know much about the place called the Blish Isles. I don’t know how credible the information is, but I’ve seen the map, and I’ve heard of the situation there to some extent.

But that’s just a matter of looking at the report on the desk. I have not actually been to Blish Isles, nor have I received a direct report from someone who has.

From what I know, I’ve heard that the Blish Isles is a country of many smaller states. The Kingdom of Wessek, which stretches from the south to the center-east, is the closest to the unification of the Blish Isles and boasts the largest territory and power.

And the Kingdom of Alvaland has a territory in the north. However, the northern part is not completely unified, and the one that boasts the most power there is Alvaland.

Also in the midwest and west is the Welez region. There is no such thing as a unified government in a state where several small countries are completely running amok. It seems that the time has long passed when people could say that if things proceeded as they were, Wessek would eventually unify the Blish Isles.

In the end, none of the powers on the Blish Isles became a great power, and even though there were some countries that went to good places, they were never unified.

So, I was thinking of creating my own power on Blish Isles and unifying it by force. This expedition is to create a foothold for that purpose. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to be able to unify an island that couldn’t be united after hundreds of years of fighting, and in just a few months at that.

Somehow this time, we’ll manage to gain a foothold on Blish Isles, secure distribution from there, and gradually expand our power while preparing for the unification of Blish Isles.

I have territories and spheres of influence in the Kingdom of Ploiss and the Hulk Sea, so I have an advantage over those who are just making ends meet on the Blish Isles. If they can suddenly expand their power in a short period of time, or we might be able to unify the Blish Isles in a few years, we’ll succeed.

“We don’t recommend approaching from the south,” Ramor said.

“The possibility of being noticed by the Kingdoms of Hollant and Frasia will increase,” Schwartz added.

This time, Ramor, who is familiar with the circumstances of the Hermann Sea, cannot be left out. I’d like to entrust him with the command of the detached force, but for the sake of discussion, he’s currently on board the flagship, “Santa Maria”.

“It would be nice to go around north and head for the Blish Isles… but where do you land and which power do we contact?” I asked.

I also agree that I don’t want Hollant and Frasia to notice us, as much as possible. I want this place secretly unified while they didn’t know! I agree with them.

However, if that happens, it will be impossible to land on the southern coast. In some places, the straits between the continent and the islands are quite narrow on the south side. Heading to the south coast, it would be difficult to get by unnoticed. If all enemy ships were to be sunk, the number of witnesses would be greatly reduced, but it’s not like we’re in a state of war yet, so I can’t start a fight.

“If we were to land, it would be in the Middle East or the Northeast,” Schwartz said.

“However… Alvaland and Welez are areas of influence for the indigenous people, and it seems that we are not very welcome,” Ramor said. “Then, contacting Wessek, which has a sphere of influence in the south and the middle-east…”

“Hmm… If you were to unify the Blish Isles, it would be with the Wessek Kingdom, wouldn’t it?” I asked. “Will such a country welcome us warmly?”

“””…………”””

In the end, the story stops there. It’s not like they’ve ever talked to them before. The story just goes round and round in the same place all the time.

“Let’s land in the middle-east region first. We should collect local information,” Ramor said.

“Indeed…” I replied. “We don’t know what we don’t know even if we keep worrying about it. Let’s go as far as we can.”

For the time being, I aim for a place near the edge of Wesseks’s sphere of influence. Near Alvaland, but not within Alvaland’s territory. I can’t say that there is no chance it will suddenly become a battle if the indigenous people’s country becomes our opponent. First, let’s gather information by approaching a stable country.

I have no intention of suddenly setting things up with the Kingdom of Wessek or plotting a takeover. We can see that even if we suddenly try to do something like that, we’ll fail because we haven’t secured a landing base or a beachhead.

“Report! Land is in sight, but something is wrong!”

“What is it?”

When we were approaching the planned landing point, I went out on the deck with the report from the lookout. If you look at the western sky through a telescope, it looks like smoke is rising.

“Hey! Do you know the details?”

“Aye! It looks like they’re in a battle!”

From the deck, you can only see smoke rising into the sky. But the lookout on the mast seems to be able to see what’s going on over there.

“Battle? Where in the hell is…”

“Perhaps this was originally a place close to Alvaland, so then it’s a clash between Wessek and Alvaland?”

“Check the flag! That poor fort’s flag is Wessek’s! The ones attacking it are Alvaland and… Frasia!”

““The Kingdom of Frasia…?!”

I’m face-to-face with Schwartz and Ramor. It’s understandable that Wessek and Alvaland are fighting. Originally, it was a place near their borders. Skirmishes may be an everyday occurrence. But why is the Kingdom of Frasia in a place like this?

“Ship… What about the ships!? Is there a ship nearby?”

If… if the Kingdom of Frasia came ashore to attack here, there should be a ship in the vicinity. But if not…

“I don’t see any ships in the vicinity!”

“Haah… It might be the worst-case scenario for us…”

“What do you mean, Young Miss?” Schwartz asked, looking at me like he doesn’t understand

“That’s the thing… If Frasia teamed up with Alvaland to launch an assault and attacked the fort in order to take it down, there should be a ship nearby. But there are no ships nearby. If there is no presence here, it means Frasia didn’t land near here… Then where did they land from and where did they march from?”

“So I see…if you cross the southern strait, you’ll be right at Blish Isles. If you want to cross the strait…ah!”

I think I noticed it while I was talking. It’s the worst…

“That’s right… This Frasian army crossed the southern strait and came here on foot… To this place near the edge of the Wessek Kingdom’s sphere of influence…”

“In other words… the Kingdom of Wessek…”

“Is on the verge of extinction…”

Having Frasia as an enemy is the worst. If we intervene poorly here and it becomes a war between the Kingdom of Frasia and the Kingdom of Ploiss, it can’t help but be a big deal. But I can’t help but consider it still.

If the Kingdom of Wessek really is about to be destroyed by the Kingdom of Frasia, and perhaps in the process, the Kingdom of Alvaland, it may be easy to save them in this crisis and take over the Kingdom of Wessek. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to conquer the Blish Isles while securing our landing base and goals.

The worst thing would be for the Kingdom of Frasia to conquer the Blish Isles. Thinking about it makes me think that the current situation is not so bad.

If you don’t want it to develop into a war between the Kingdom of Frasia and the Kingdom of Ploiss, then you should settle it before they realize that this is the Kingdom of Ploiss. After we conquer and unify the Blish Isles, it doesn’t matter if they find out that we’re the Kingdom of Ploiss.

“Let’s head to the rescue of the fort! The enemies are the Kingdom of Frasia and the Kingdom of Alvaland! We will not allow any of you to attack the Kingdom of Wessek! Be careful not to mistake your enemy!”

“”””Aye!”””””

The order was immediately transmitted and all ships entered battle formation. The 25 ships lined up along the coast, firing naval guns from a large fleet unlike any other in this world…it was harsher than I could have imagined…

Humans are sent flying away. It doesn’t matter if the accuracy of the Caan cannon is bad, or because it’s a muzzle-loading type, it’s slow to reload. Humans in this era don’t know how to protect themselves from shelling and simply run away. It’s a simple job to randomly throw iron cannonballs in a place crowded with thousands of people.

In modern times, they would dig trenches, wear helmets, and lower their bodies to prepare for artillery fire and explosions. It does the least damage. But the enemy soldiers who don’t know that, just run away and get blown away by shells and blasts.

In less time than I had thought, the first battle ended with overwhelming results.

I made contact with a scout from a shabby fortress who asked me some questions about the situation and informed them that I was not the enemy. As expected, it was people from the Kingdom of Wessek who were holed up in the fort, and we decided to land after hearing that kingdom’s request to set up a table for discussion.

A small number of elites are brought along. I can’t bring Schwartz and Ramor, who are both in charge of the fleet. I’m going with the strong soldiers, and then… Janzicka…

I’ve also brought along former prisoners of the Polsky Royal Army who had been trained for this day. If the discussion turns out to be a trap, then if I want to gather members who can escape alive, I have no choice but to go with just me, Janzicka, and some of the elites.

Even though I’ve heard some stories from the scouts, it doesn’t mean that there are no lies or traps. Once I entered the shabby fort with my guards and entered the room I was guided to… the old man who was sitting on the upper seat suddenly got down from his higher position and bowed to me.

The others seem to be a little perplexed, but the fortress and everyone else looks shabby. Somehow I was advised to sit in the upper seat, so I went up the stairs and looked back at them.

The old man who knelt first was shouting something incomprehensible, so I thought he might have misunderstood me and gave him my name. And yet… for some reason, even the others knelt together. I don’t understand the situation at all. What is this?

“Somebody… please explain the situation first…”

And the explanation I heard after that made me feel slightly dizzy.

The situation was worse than expected. Apparently, the Kingdom of Wessek was on the verge of extinction. Maybe it just happened to be attacked here, and there might still be other powers left, I wanted to think like that… but it seems that this was the only place left.

It seems that the first person who knelt before me was Harold, the King of Wessek. I’m surprised to hear that he abdicated from his throne, as well. Again, I thought he was a local lord and made myself look more powerful. No matter how much he was on the verge of extinction, this person was the king of the Wessek Kingdom, who was quite more powerful than me.

Even if he actually ruled for almost no time at all because of the civil war over succession, if he was still properly crowned king, he would be in a higher position than me, who is only a local Lord. But he didn’t have that attitude…

""

But if you’re going to excuse me, if you suddenly take that attitude, you’ll think that maybe it’s because the other person knows you’re in a better position, right? Even in such a situation, if I am humble and continue to lower myself, I will be mocked.

The fact that diplomatically in this world it is not good to be underestimated so much has deeply permeated into my body. That’s why I thought that if the other party thinks I’m superior, I should respond accordingly. I’m not in the wrong, as King Harold who suddenly knelt down was to blame.

“I understand the situation more or less… So it means that nothing is over yet,” I said.

Even though we have defended this place and defeated the enemy once, the war is not over yet. Rather, the enemy will only become more serious in the future.

Since the enemy’s sphere of influence has expanded at once on top of the consecutive victories, they probably decided that sending some troops here would be enough to bring them down. In fact, if we hadn’t come, it would have fallen.

But since we scattered the enemy’s troops, the enemy will invade more seriously this time. This war, which began with the problem of succession to the throne of Wessek, will not end until there are no other self-proclaimed successors and Wessek unites the whole region.

The War of Succession is the most troublesome one… and we have stepped into that troublesome quagmire war…