Chapter 68 - Sixty-Eight ... The Broken Ruler

Chapter 68: Chapter Sixty-Eight ... The Broken Ruler

Chapter Sixty-Eight ... The Broken Ruler

The guide came running over, dripping with sweat, then suddenly crept forward and grasped Jan’s hand with a look of great honor.

"It’s an honor to meet you, my lord."

"..."

"Ah, my apologies. Ahem. Everyone says you’re blessed, my lord, so before I knew it..."

"Yes, well. It happens."

"What did you wish to see me about...?"

Under the sharp looks of those around him, the dwarf guide quietly withdrew his hand and asked carefully.

"I hear there were barbarians at the temple to begin with. Is that right?"

"Yes, that’s right. Typical barbarians of the Arpen Mountains. The sort who wrap themselves in animal hides and paint their bodies with blue tattoos."

"Hm..."

From the description, they sounded like the Pexi, a barbarian tribe of the Arpen Mountains. In his past life, Jan had heard of them more than once, usually in reports of their raids on the lowlands.

Sure enough.

"Sounds like the Pexi."

"Oh, you know of them, Master Agphiel?"

"A fierce, hardy tribe. They’ve endured since the days of the old empire without ever being wiped out. A people with a long history. But I didn’t know they were guarding a temple out here."

"Then they’ll be furious, won’t they?"

"Most likely."

It seemed those wretched dwarf councillors had kicked a hornets’ nest.

Why they had gone and raided someone else’s perfectly peaceful temple, he couldn’t fathom. He had an uneasy feeling that this wouldn’t end easily.

"Still, it’s fortunate. The Pexi are more reasonable than you’d think."

"Are they?"

"Of course. There’s a reason they’ve held on since the days of the old empire. They know when to pull back if things go against them. Show them a little goodwill, and they’ll likely want to cooperate."

"And if they don’t pull back?"

Agphiel answered as though it were a strange thing to ask.

"Then we fight. What else? Isn’t that why you brought an army?"

"Well... that’s true."

As expected.

People here, sage or not, never hesitated when it came to that.

Jan found he had nothing to say.

Still, it was a relief to know there was a simple way to settle this.

As long as nothing went wrong, it would surely be resolved.

As long as nothing went wrong.

That was what he had thought.

Then something went wrong.

The first meeting didn’t go badly at all. The Pexi were barbarians, and they were plainly furious, but that didn’t mean they weren’t thinking.

The moment they saw an army armed with spears, blades, and armor, they hurried to talk first. It was just the choice one would expect of a people who had survived since the days of the old empire.

They set only one condition.

Punish the ringleaders who had desecrated their temple!

Naturally, Jan had no intention of agreeing to that. The ringleaders were members of the canton council, and punishing them would cause serious trouble.

He offered enormous compensation instead, including the return of the holy objects, but without the punishment of the ringleaders. After a moment’s deliberation, they accepted his offer in the end.

The compensation was simply too great to refuse.

’Money always speaks.’

In any case, up to that point, everything had gone smoothly.

All that was left was to return the holy objects without incident, and it would be over.

Or so he’d thought...

Clang!

Crack!

Behind them, the porters carrying the holy objects dropped one by mistake.

The statue of the Ruler the Pexi held most sacred of all.

The whole gathering went silent.

"Uh... uh?"

And of all places, right in front of the Ruler’s high priest.

The System’s messages appeared before Jan.

[You have destroyed the holy statue of the Pexi Ruler. To the Pexi, there is no greater insult. Remember this: the caprices of history are always close at hand.]

[Notice: Your standing with the Pexi falls.]

[Notice: Your standing with the Papal See rises.]

[Notice: Title acquired!]

[True Holy Knight: "The faith wills it! Burn the heretics!"]

’Damn it.’

"Raaaah!"

"That vile heathen has destroyed our holy image!"

"Awoo! Awoo!"

"Kill them! Never forget this insult, warriors!"

The friendly mood turned ugly in an instant. From who knew where they had been hiding them, the Pexi drew out great axes, spears, and blades and charged in fury.

"B-battle stations!"

"Holy war! This is holy war! Burn them all!"

Jan grimaced. He had tried to settle this quietly, one way or another, and nothing was going right.

"Protect his lordship!"

Captain Lampard called out quickly and began directing the soldiers. Now that things had come to this, there was nothing else for it.

They would have to break through by force.

Crash!

Crunch!

The front lines collided.

Both sides swung their weapons hard and roared in anger.

But the results were very different.

In that first clash, the Pexi warriors fell to spear and blade without doing any real damage at all.

The Pexi warriors were big-boned and powerful, but they wore no armor.

That single clash tipped the battle in an instant.

And on top of that...

"How dare these barbarians!"

"Protect his lordship!"

"For the faith!"

The knights who had been at the rear shouted fiercely and spurred their horses.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

As the heavy horses charged in, shaking the very earth, they proved why knights were called the flower of the battlefield.

Crash!

Crack!

The Pexi warriors packed together at the rear were crushed to pulp in moments. With their horses at full gallop, the mounted knights ran wild like fish returned to water.

"Hyaaah!"

"Die!"

Having practiced for years with lance and sword on horseback, the knights were like enraged tigers.

They pressed forward, crushing everything that stood in their way.

"Monsters! You monstrous brutes!"

"Ahh, great Ruler! Why have you sent such monsters against us?"

The priest and the leader of the Pexi, watching, let out cries of despair. Stopping mounted knights without long spears was all but impossible.

Fwish!

Fwsh!

"Reload! Stay calm and wait for it!"

At the same time, the crossbowmen Jan had so ambitiously trained began their attack. With the chilling sound of air being torn apart, bolts punched through the Pexi warriors. Even armor was hard-pressed to stop a crossbow at close range. What chance did the unarmored Pexi have? The Pexi warriors dropped one after another.

"Good!"

The tide of battle had clearly turned.

He had wanted to avoid a fight, but now that it had come to this, it couldn’t be helped. Ending the battle as quickly as possible would do the least harm.

Just as he was thinking that, masses of wood suddenly shot up in front of him. It was magic, cast by Agphiel, who had been watching from beside him.