Chapter 33

The Medieval-Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset 33

33. They Use Witchcraft

When John and I went out into the street, the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the bishop’s territory had long since disappeared.

There were no longer any monks or priests who leisurely strolled along, muttering prayers to themselves. All of them were busy running around in confusion at the sound of the bells that rang incessantly.

I understand why the monks and priests were acting like that. It was an unprecedented situation where an army was approaching them directly. They must have been optimistic, thinking that it couldn’t possibly be this bad, even as they cursed.

It was only natural to be taken aback when the authority of the church he had believed in unexpectedly failed to work. The problem was the reaction of the guards in the castle.

“Why does this always happen when I’m on duty…!”

“Assemble, assemble! Everyone to the ramparts!”

These guys seemed to think the same way as the priests and monks. Their faces were filled with dismay, as if they never expected Yubas to appear in person and lead the army. As if that wasn’t enough, they were running around in a panic, clumsily grabbing their spears and swords, and hitching up their sagging pants.

Terver and the knights emerged, pushing their way through this chaotic crowd.

“It seems the soldiers of the Bishopric have grown soft in peace.”

He said, his face grim at the sight of their disarray, not to mention their lack of discipline. The other knights seemed to share the same sentiment, nodding in agreement. Then one of them remembered something he had forgotten and asked.

“Come to think of it, that sharp-tongued attendant of His Highness is unusually quiet today.”

“…”

“And his lips are…hmm. Were his lips always that thick?”

“John is feeling the weight of his words. I merely provided a little help to awaken his senses.”

John patted his chest as if to protest, pointing to his swollen lips, but his appeal could not be granted. Anyway, it was good to see that everyone in our party was safe.

Terver and I looked at each other and naturally began to walk. Our destination was the ramparts. It was a chance to witness the true extent of Yubas’ power, which I had never seen properly before.

We made our way through the streets filled with clamor, pushing past the screaming soldiers. As we finally climbed the well-maintained stairs to the ramparts, a cool wind blew in from outside.

At first, it was just a cold wind. But humans have intuition.

Not long after the wind passed, a chill came over us, not touching our skin but creeping down our spines and sweeping through our lungs. It was so cold that our breath turned visible. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Yuba…”

Terver, who had always maintained a confident and assertive demeanor, suddenly tensed up. The other knights also shed their comical expressions and stared grimly at the scene unfolding below the ramparts.

Lion-emblazoned flags fluttering everywhere. Armor gleaming with a luxurious sheen even from afar, and sharp, glittering spears and swords. And soldiers standing in formation, maintaining their posture as if frozen.

This was not a small pursuit force of a few dozen men. It was an army, numbering at least several hundred, perhaps even a thousand. I pressed my right hand to my forehead, feeling a throbbing headache, and opened my mouth.

“Brother, how many do you think there are?”

“…At least a thousand. Judging by the number of horses and riders, there must be about fifty cavalry.”

The majority of the army Yubas had sent were infantry. Naturally, their mobility would be poor, and it would have been impossible to mobilize an army of a thousand men and send them to the Bishopric in just ten days.

But the impossible had happened. I realized the reason for this and clicked my tongue.

“No wonder it was so quiet when we came to Illeniput.”

Yubas must have realized that the ambush had failed, so instead of ambushing us on the way back, he gathered his forces. He had chosen to demonstrate his strength instead of pursuing us in a reckless chase.

To mobilize such a large force so frequently. I had heard he was wealthy, but he was even richer than I had imagined. Perhaps I had underestimated Yubas’ power.

But there is a reason for the saying “power does not last ten years.” Even a conqueror who had set out with the ambition of a great empire could be killed by a single stab wound. If a power like Yubas’, which had so many weaknesses, could be sufficiently challenged.

I know Yubas’ weaknesses and how to exploit them. If Yubas were a true warlord, that would be a different story, but if he were to face me with schemes and tricks, I was confident that I would not lose.

As I was encouraging myself, one of the knights spoke up with a worried voice.

“Is it possible that Yubas will attack the Bishopric?”

“No, he won’t. He’ll just do what he did before, a simple show of force. He has an excuse to do so.”

“An excuse? To intimidate the Bishopric?”

“He can besiege and wait if there are any criminals or suspects hiding in the church. That’s probably what he’s thinking.”

This time, Yubas had approached the situation in a somewhat sophisticated manner. Of course, mobilizing the army itself was a crude trick, but the excuse he gave was quite reasonable.

In reality, he was intimidating his former son-in-law, but he was saying that he was chasing a heavily armed group that had crossed the border illegally. That’s why he always emphasized the importance of semantics.

Depending on what is emphasized, the perception of the recipient will change. Yubas would intentionally avoid mentioning my existence, leading this conflict to be seen as a conflict between themselves and the Papacy.

The important thing is to know what he intends to gain from this demonstration of force. I slowly turned my head and looked at Terver.

“Brother, I think Yubas has changed his goal.”

“….”

The core of the plan for Chantel that Hubas has drawn up is the child who has the right to succeed. And from Hubas’ point of view, the eldest son, Edelred, was difficult to use as a puppet as he had enough qualities as a monarch to take his father’s place.

The second son, Terbear, was not only difficult to capture because he was a powerful knight, but he was also difficult to persuade because he had no particular desire for power. In the end, after trying to manipulate the third son, Nal, I Barely managed to pull out of the crazy thing I did.

However, Terbear would have been the best choice if he could have been captured. The reason was simple.

“If you go, it seems like you’ll be able to hold women in your arms as much as you want.”

“Narva, this brother is a knight, not a stallion. Don’t make me a man who brings shame to my wife and family.”

Terbear answered while looking at me with a serious face, but it was nonsense. Even the knights who had been looking at Hubas’ formation with a desperate attitude until just now were turning their heads away all at once.

Who could blame them? The pitiful Terbear was a patient who often had to receive prescriptions from a s*x therapist. It was time to shed tears over Terbear’s chronic illness.

“Ow, ow! Hey, hey!”

“John, didn’t I tell you to feel the weight of the horse for a while?”

John, who had been silent for a while, suddenly started jumping. At the moment when he was trying to quietly carry the weight of the horse in his palm, a sharp cry that seemed to tear at his throat rang out over the castle wall.

“A messenger, a messenger! Hubas is requesting an audience!”

***

The meeting between Hubas and Bishop Illeniput did not take place immediately. This was solely because Bishop Ganista was considered of our party.

The bishop called Terbear and me to his office and gave us a detailed explanation. According to the bishop, there was a high possibility that we would not be able to respond properly if the meeting took place suddenly. So, he bought us time to prepare .

Bishop Ganista did not stop there. He went so far as to make some suggestions.

“If the sons of Powys agree, I will tell you what I know about Hubas.”

It was a proposal he made while handing out dried fruit that he had taken out of the cupboard. Terbear devoured it, but I had to ponder, my chin in my hand. The conclusion was quite positive.

It’s definitely a good offer. What I know about Hubas is quite fragmentary.

Sentences are lions holding swords. The current lord is an ambitious relative. He conspired with the Papacy and then broke away after fighting over the right to invest, and has recently become obsessed with the power of heresy. And he is currently the most powerful force in the Dawn Islands.

Up until now, I’ve been able to guess his intentions to this extent, but now it was the limit. To explore the other person’s intentions, I needed to know more information. Of course, there was a way to leave this task to someone else.

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“I only trust you, brother.”

Seeing Terbear answering while fumbling with the dried fruit, I couldn’t bring myself to choose him.

I came to a conclusion by combining the guilt of receiving the inheritance early decades, the filial piety towards my father who would receive the news that I had transferred the right to invest, and the distrustful prejudice towards Terbear.

“I’ll listen.”

“Good. Since Sir Terbear seems to have left it up to you, you should listen carefully.”

Bishop Ganista’s story added detail to the facts I knew. Most of the details focused on exactly how much power Hubas had, but…after hearing it all, I could see why the Papacy was struggling.

“Hubas must have had a real king right before his eyes.”

“If he had completely subjugated the other four families, that would have been the case.”

As the bishop said. Hubas was a force that came close to unifying the Dawn Islands. In terms of the Three Kingdoms, he was close to Cao Cao or Yuan Shao, who had devoured Hebei and Central China.

Traditionally, he possessed many fertile farmlands and developed cities where trade flourished, as well as an army and fleet raised on the basis of abundant finances. The bishop even estimated the extent of Hubas’ military capabilities in numbers.

“Hubas has 17 warships. Judging only by the number of horses imported from the mainland, he can theoretically mobilize 2,000 cavalry. Of course, that’s when all the knights under his command are called up.”

“…”

“The church estimates that Hubas can gather an army of 15,000 to a maximum of 20,000 if he issues a complete call-up order. Fortunately, his dominance has weakened as believers have turned their backs on him as his conflict with the church has become more pronounced. It’s only theoretically possible. In reality, it will be impossible.”

“Still, the number of digits is a bit different…”

Adults are bewildered when they speak vaguely, but are surprised when they speak in numbers. That’s exactly what happened to me.

20,000? Did I hear wrong? If the church had continued to join hands with Hubas, I could clearly see a future in which the other four duchies would have been subjugated soon. If that had happened, I wouldn’t have been safe either.

However, there was no need to be overwhelmed by the numbers. I was surprised by the difference in the number of digits, but that was all. Hubas’ catalog specs were high, but there were many defects in his actual specs.

Of course, I couldn’t take it lightly. It was a matter of my life, the future of the duchy, and the lives of my father and brothers. I groaned slowly after chewing on the bishop’s story several times.

“Okay. I understand enough.”

Bishop Ganista then let out a sigh of relief and took off his pince-nez.

“I see that Your Grace understands. Then… I shall cease delaying this audience any further.”

***

The audience with Yubas took place in the reception hall of the cathedral.

He had readily agreed to meet us inside the church where no one would be permitted to bear arms, since the situation outside the city walls was too dangerous. At the very least, it seemed that he had no intention of resorting to treachery for the time being.

However, that did not mean his lack of treachery implied any courtesy.

Yubas’ aide, a gaunt man with sharp cheekbones and a prominent Adam’s apple, was a seasoned warrior, judging by his well-developed trapezius muscles. He was akin to our own Terbear or any other knight.

He fixed us with a sharp gaze and declared without preamble, “Reports have come in that a suspicious group has recently been spotted among the estates. They are heavily armed and mounted. Their numbers are excessive for mere travelers, and they have made no contact with our lord. It is enough to arouse suspicion.”

“Is that sufficient reason to trespass on the lands of a sovereign?”

Bishop Ganista defended calmly.

“My lord bishop, please understand our predicament. In recent times, mercenaries who had gathered in anticipation of a war that never came have turned to banditry, causing harm to innocent civilians. Some of them even hide in churches, evading just punishment.”

“These are merely knights on a pilgrimage.”

“Is that so? Whom do they serve? Money?”

Yubas’s knight retorted with a sneer. He glanced at me and Terbear rather than the bishop, and began toying with the hilt of his sword.

“These are times when brigands who call themselves mercenaries and rogues who call themselves free knights run rampant. Anyone can adorn their surcoats with a crest if they have the gall to abandon their conscience and their future.”

I had no knowledge of this, but it was a deadly insult to Terbear, a knight who held honor in high regard. Without waiting for me to intervene, Terbear sprang to his feet and roared, “How dare you insult me, knowing who I am!”

“I do not know who you are. If you wish me to learn your identity, and if you are confident in your own, then hand over your men to us without resistance. Your credentials will be judged by my lord.”

The knight’s calm response in the face of Terbear’s furious outburst sent a shiver down my spine.

It seemed that Yubas intended to take us into custody for questioning, claiming ignorance of our identities. This was not an audience but merely a notification to provide justification to someone else.

The problem was… this notification was an act of grave disrespect toward a high-ranking noble. No matter how powerless our duchy may be, we were still nominally a royal family, and this was unacceptable. Yubas could not have been unaware of this.

Moreover, judging by Yubas’s previous behavior, he would not hesitate to cut off our tails rather than trim them. Yet, he dared to urge his own death so calmly.

The only swordsman at my side was the cunning Sertal, but what kind of extraordinary individuals had Yubas gathered? I was filled with a sense of injustice, recalling the raid captain who had relentlessly pursued me even as I led the counterattack.

Eventually, I rose to my feet, both to restrain Terbear from drawing his sword and to satisfy my curiosity.

“Brother, please wait.”

“Narva.”

Terbear would draw his sword and act later. For now, I needed to understand not Yubas but those who served him.

I winked at Terbear and turned my gaze to Yubas’s knight.

“Does Yubas take good care of your family?”

“I am simply…”

“Look at the things Yubas has done. Why do you still honor your contract, your loyalty?”

“…”

At that moment, a subtle expression crossed the face of the knight, who had been so calm and composed. He looked down at me with complex eyes and answered honestly, “I know that my lord is flawed. But I also know that he seeks to establish a nation so strong and stable that brigands and lawbreakers will not dare to raise their heads.”

“What if that goes against the will of the Church?”

“I will follow my lord, who has promised stability and peace.”

His unwavering response convinced me. I placed my hand over Terbear’s, which was resting on his sword hilt, and said softly, “You must let them go.”

“Even if you ask me to… this is unacceptable. How can a knight endure such humiliation?”

“He came here intending to die.”

Only then did Terbear flinch and let go of his sword hilt. However, the knight of Yubas remained silent, showing no sign of disappointment.

If I left it as is, he would remain as solid as a stone tablet for the rest of his life. I decided that it was my turn to be honest, as he had answered me sincerely.

“Yubas can still enjoy stability and peace. That is, if Yubas himself desires it.”

“….”

“Go back. Do not waste your precious life on such things. And tell him to stop talking nonsense about conquering a mere bishopric.”

Thought it was what should have been said, the interview ended abruptly.

And I realized that Yubas was even crazier than I had imagined.