Chapter 171 : Chapter 171

Chapter : 171

-WAAAAAAH!

-Win!

The jousting arena was absolute chaos.

Men and women, young and old alike, had all come out in droves to the arena because it was entertainment they had not enjoyed in a long time.

-Eeeek, Sir Borata looked at me.

-Oh my, you idiot. He looked at me. Hohoho.

Well, was there really much to see in the era of [Pangea Universalise]?

For them, watching heavily armed knights (and brimming with raw masculinity, at that) fight for their honor was the kind of scorching entertainment that really got the blood pumping.

In every way, for both men and women.

“For honor!”

“I will dedicate this victory to Your Excellency!”

At both ends of the arena, two knights on horseback shouted toward the platform.

One was an elf knight from the Prince-electorate of Bohemia, and the other was an errant knight who wandered the kingdom’s south, selling his strength.

Both seemed to have a decent reputation, because every time they moved and shouted, the cheers around them boomed and echoed.

Thanks to that, the two knights stood there with faces as flushed and excited as the crowd’s.

Of course, I still could not get used to this atmosphere.

‘Seriously…. With war right around the corner, what the hell are we doing?’

I still could not get used to it.

I had ended up holding a banquet and a jousting tournament, yet not a single one of my vassals tried to stop me. Even the nobles who had come to attend this subjugation, all of them!

Instead, every last one of them was praising me, saying it had been an excellent decision….

‘It is like I came to some Wonderland, like Alice.’

It really did not feel like we had time for this….

Just then, the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, who was sitting beside me, spoke without having the slightest clue what I was feeling.

“What are you doing? Why are you not starting the match already? Everyone is waiting, Margrave.”

“Ah, yes.”

Good grief. Not knowing how my heart was burning away! I let out a sigh inside and gestured toward the front.

-WAAAAAAH-!

At that, the crowd’s cheers erupted. The nobles on the platform also stared ahead with faces full of anticipation.

-NEEEIGH.

The two knights in front of me immediately turned their horses and rode back to their ends. They put on the arms and armor they had brought, then raised their tournament lances and prepared for the clash.

And then, soon.

-DING!

The bell rang.

“Hyah! Take my lance! I am Valos of Loren!”

“Kiiiyoooooot! I will show you the dignity of the elves. Take this! This is Borata’s lance!”

They immediately charged at each other, thrusting their lances.

-CRUNCH!

-CRACK. THUD!

Winner and loser.

In the blink of an eye, a ruthless world of victory and defeat had begun, where one would monopolize honor.

---

The matches were fun in their own way.

There were outstanding knights, and there were people who showed off riding skills that looked like stunts.

The desperate, bloody struggle of knights who craved honor, fighting for victory, had something raw that made the viewer’s adrenaline surge.

I felt like I finally understood why jousting tournaments were popular in the era of [Pangea Universalise].

That was, setting aside the frequent accidents that happened even though they used sturdy armor and tournament lances.

And not only that, I also felt like I understood why they wanted to hold jousting tournaments and banquets, in the part I had overlooked.

“Hmm, that fellow seems quite brave and pretty good.”

“I know. I wondered if the rumors were false, but they were true.”

“How about we bring him to our side? We needed a knight who could charge at the front, anyway.”

Like this, lords who had each brought their own armies were talking to each other at the banquet, trying to recruit the knights who had distinguished themselves in the jousting tournament.

“So you are Barutu, the one who won twice in a row this time?”

“What is it?”

“You impressed me. How about moving with me? I am a knight from the Archbishopric of Cologne. I am looking for comrades.”

And knights were banding together, each seeking companions.

“My lord! Please take us in.”

“We are volunteers from the Loren region who joined the crusade of our own will. Most of us were born and raised in the same village, so we communicate well, and we can handle weapons fairly well, sir.”

And the peasant volunteers who had been wandering around messily without any command began to cluster together, following renowned knights.

At first, I worried some strange faction was forming inside the city, but what the hell?

“The wandering knights and the volunteers have calmed down. Some still drink and cause trouble, but we can control them to a certain extent.”

“Each lord reports that their troop organization has been completed, my lord. How shall we handle it?”

“The elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, said he has received all the answers regarding command from each lord. He says he wants to hold a general council soon, so what shall we do?”

All of a sudden, the messy, chaotic, complicated problems of military command were solved, just like that.

“……?”

So they drank among themselves, bickered and tussled, and it was solved this easily?

In a medieval-level world that lacked transportation and communication, I finally realized that a banquet held by a high noble was an opportunity to activate the community and establish a system.

“What did I tell you? I was right, wasn’t I?”

Thanks to that, all I could do was gape at Magician Agpiel as he spoke with a smug shrug.

“I really like that fast, thorough side of you. But not everyone is like you.”

“Ahem. I do not think I move quickly, Magician Agpiel.”

I answered with an awkward expression.

Was it not that I was fast, but that these people were just too slow?

If they moved this slowly, would the enemy not learn everything and respond?

Then Magician Agpiel clicked his tongue and scolded me.

“Tsk tsk. You, my boy. Do you think only your people are slow? They are slow over there, too. Respond to what? At this usual pace, they would struggle to even recruit troops in time to respond before you went all the way.”

“Huh?”

“Huh, my ass! You seem smart, but in parts like this, you are weirdly dense. Good grief…!”

Seeing Magician Agpiel sigh as if he was frustrated, I scratched my head.

Thinking about it, he was right.

I felt frustrated because our side was slow, so how slow would the enemy be? Especially when I was moving without fully following the customs of this era.

‘Mmm. Then there is a high chance they still have not responded to our movements yet?’

It had already been three months since the king of the Elang Kingdom issued a subjugation decree, saying he would attack the Crusader Knight Order.

According to my sources, they still had not moved.

Meanwhile, I had basically finished all preparations in just two months.

If that was the case…?

‘Their eyes will all be fixed on the north. For now, they will only be wary of the king of the Elang Kingdom.’

It was an opportunity.

Like Magician Agpiel said, it meant they were not prepared yet. If we moved just a little more tightly, they would flounder and collapse in an instant, without a doubt.

‘Still, I should confirm it.’

Since my domain had somehow become the center of trade in the southern territories, information might have already leaked.

If they were prepared and I rushed in blindly, we could suffer heavy losses. I needed to find out beforehand.

Thinking that, I called Chamberlain Hamil.

“You called, my lord.”

“Yes. Chamberlain Hamil. Are the subjugation forces doing fine right now?”

“Thankfully, they are quiet under the Prince-elector of Bohemia’s command.”

“Hmm, good. That is fortunate.”

Really, everything was useful.

That went for our money-hungry goat beastman Bishop Marco, and our scatterbrained troublemaker mage Azuela, and even the elf king who was still passionately howling about honor.

I nodded as satisfaction rose in me.

“I have heard that Viscount Avignon’s merchant guild has put down roots all over the southern region. Is that right?”

“Yes. That is correct, my lord. But why Viscount Avignon…. Are you trying to gather information about the heretic hunt?”

“That is right.”

After that swift submission, Viscount Avignon had also played a solid role in suppressing the rebellion, and with my full support, he had become the head of a massive merchant guild that spanned the southern region.

He must have liked the espionage work he experienced during the rebellion suppression, because now he was moving almost semi-voluntarily like an intelligence merchant for me.

“I want to find out whether the Crusader Knight Order scattered across the southern region is preparing for my attack, and if they are, what their troop level is, and so on.”

“Ah! As for that, Viscount Avignon said he already sent spies. If you say the word, he will give you the related information right away.”

“Oh?”

Just like last time, he was a man with an unbelievably sharp sense for things. Even without me saying anything, he prepared everything step by step.

Treasurer Palmer really should learn from this.

‘Ugh.’

Just thinking of that slick bald head makes me angry.

I swallowed the anger rising inside me and continued speaking to Chamberlain Hamil again.

“Then tell Viscount Avignon to send that up immediately.”

“Understood, my lord. I will go and tell him right away. Do you have anything else you wish to say?”

“Ah! Right.”

Oh, damn. I almost forgot.

This was not the only important thing. There was something else, too.

“Was there any reaction from the Duchy of Bourgogne about my issuing the subjugation decree?”

“It seems they still do not have much interest. In fact, I heard they are also moving to subjugate the Crusader Knight Order within their own territory.”

“So that is how it is.”

Well, yes.

Even the territory the Duke of Bourgogne owned was no less than a small kingdom. He needed to subjugate the Crusader Knight Order forces entrenched there first.

He would also secure public sentiment and earn a fat sum of money.

Then I would pass on the Duke of Bourgogne for now. First….

“Send an envoy to the king of the Elang Kingdom. Since he raised the banner of subjugation, tell him to issue an official order for the southern subjugation.”

“Yes? Do we really…. need to do that?”

“Come now. Aren’t we, in name, the king’s vassals? If we move forces within our country on our own, would we not just hand them a pretext for nothing?”

Of course, it was not only that.

It meant, I will handle the south, so you handle the rest on your own. Do not covet the interests in this region.

In other words, it was drawing a line for a kind of land-grabbing game. If the king of the Elang Kingdom accepted it, then it would practically be the same as me being officially recognized as having a sphere of influence over the southern region.

‘With The Great Famine and war right around the corner, he probably will not refuse.’

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The king of the Elang Kingdom was not stupid enough to ignore that old proverb.

“And send someone to the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia. Tell him it is time to begin the subjugation.”

“Understood, my lord. I will move at once.”

A time of upheaval came again.

Starting with this subjugation, the Elang Kingdom would be swept into a whirlpool of great chaos.

Not long after that.

-DIRIRING!

[You have destroyed a Crusader Knight Order branch in the southern region of the Elang Kingdom. The Holy See will be deeply moved by your actions.]

[Notification : The Holy See’s favor increases.]

[Notification : Fame and prestige increase.]

-WAAAAAAH! It has fallen.

-Execute the heretics! Do not forgive those abandoned by God, not a single one.

The city that played the most central role for the Crusader Knight Order in the southern region had fallen.

With this, the Crusader Knight Order in the southern region would lose its center and scatter like a sandcastle before the wind.

And at the same time.

“My lord! Lord Gertman, the second son of the Duke of Bourgogne, has come to see you.”

“?”

“It has been a while, Your Excellency. You have subjugated the excommunicated, you say? Congratulations on building yet another achievement. The reason I came is none other than…. to beg you to lend me your army.”

“??????”

I received an unexpected proposal from an unexpected visitor.

What is going on?