Translator: Cinder Translations
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After the first failed attack on Lion's Port by Giles' army, King Garrett II of Collins did not give up on the coveted prize before him.
Taking advantage of the fact that General Cook, the commander of the Papal Army, was busy leading the siege of Niceport, Garrett II began to make connections and form a small coalition with other factions in the Church Army, all of whom were also eyeing the wealth within Lion's Port. Together, they plotted to seize the small port town of the Aldorians.
On a morning like any other, General Cook conducted his routine inspection before the siege. Unexpectedly, he discovered that a large portion of the army was missing from their designated positions.
Enraged, the old general investigated and found that several city-states, led by Collins, had failed to deploy.
He had to suppress his anger and refrain from immediate action, instead ordering the attack to be paused. After all, Collins was the second most important force in the Holy Army, just after the Papal Expeditionary Forces.
Just as he was about to send someone to inquire, a messenger rushed in, reporting that Collins' army was heading toward Lion's Port.
The horsewhip fell from Cook's hand, and in that moment, he recalled Garrett II's strange behavior during yesterday's meeting, where he had been absent-minded and dismissive while discussing the new offensive plans.
"Damn it! I should have been more cautious!" Cook lamented. "A bunch of troublemakers."
"Quick! Send the fastest riders to stop those fools!" he ordered.
Following his command, several messengers galloped toward Lion's Port, raising a cloud of dust behind them.
As they approached, they first heard thunderous sounds, followed by a shocking sight.
The Aldorian city walls were not tall, which is why Collins' army had not brought heavy siege equipment—they only carried light ladders.
However, those low city walls had become an impenetrable barrier, as a strange firearm was mounted on them, spitting fire at any intruder while accompanied by thunderous booms.
Each burst from the weapon knocked down large numbers of attackers, some dead on the spot, others lying on the ground, wailing in agony. The sight was horrific.
Frightened, the messengers quickly turned their horses around to report the situation. As long as the Collins forces weren't foolish, they would likely not attempt a direct assault on the city, which was shielded by the power of a devilish weapon.
Cook waited angrily in his tent until Garrett II and his allies, leading a group of disheartened soldiers, returned in disgrace.
On the eve of victory—after all, the Horns Bay Alliance, the strongest enemy, was down to just a crumbling city—there was a fierce conflict among the leaders of the Church Army.
"You defied unified command and provoked the Aldorians, wasting the opportunity to attack Niceport. If you weren't the King of Collins, your head would be hanging on a flagpole by now!" Cook raged at Garrett II.
According to protocol, this was improper. After all, Garrett II was the king of Collins, no matter how small the city-state was. However, Cook had lost all patience.
"To hell with your unified command!" Garrett II snapped back, shaking his muscular arm. "If your command was so brilliant, why are we still not celebrating victory in the streets of Niceport?"
"Regardless, you should never have provoked the Aldorians!"
"I'm out of money! Let me say it again, I'm out of money! I need a lot, a lot of money! The funds the Papacy promised haven't arrived, so I had to find a way myself!" Garrett II shouted.
Cook stared in disbelief at the king, once noble, now shouting like a thug.
"You, the King of Collins, have lost your honor and faith for the sake of money! I've wanted to say this for a long time—how many fortunes have you plundered along the way? You've embarrassed the Papacy! Are you not satisfied?" Cook reprimanded him morally.
"What, should I eat only breakfast and skip lunch and dinner?" Garrett II yelled, throwing his arm up. "To hell with honor, to hell with faith! General Cook, get back to reality! Do you think we came to fight for faith? Let me tell you, we're here for money! And how do you think we turned the tide and won the battle? I'll tell you, it's because I distributed all the wealth in the royal treasury to everyone who went to the battlefield. That's what motivated them to fight hard and win the advantage. It's money, not you—great General Cook—that brought us victory!"
Cook's fury boiled over. He looked at the maddened King of Collins, feeling his words were sacrilegious, implying that the Holy Army's victory was not the result of divine intervention, but of crass money.
At his breaking point, Cook drew his sword.
"What are you going to do?"
King Garrett II, shocked, drew his own sword to face him.
This instantly caused chaos as both sides drew their swords, ready for a deadly clash.
In a critical moment, the local Horns Bay Church intervened, using every ounce of persuasion to calm both sides down.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I just received good news! Our forces in the north have achieved another victory and are advancing toward Eaton, the evil wizard's land!"
"The final victory is near! The difficulties we face now are just the brief darkness before dawn!"
The representative of the Horns Bay Church, invoking the name of the Father, delivered an impassioned speech. Everyone agreed to overcome the current difficulties to achieve final victory, believing that once they won, all problems would be solved.
Unfortunately, divine protection seemed to have ended there. The Holy Army's siege of Niceport was the peak of their great holy war, after which they fell helplessly into decline.
The internal conflict was temporarily resolved, and that night, the camp fell into silence as soldiers rested to conserve energy for the battle the next day.
However, just after midnight, at the lowest point of the night, a small commotion broke out somewhere in the camp.
It could have been a fight between a few drunken officers, or soldiers stumbling over a brazier, but normally such minor incidents would be quickly resolved by the night patrol.
However, after weeks of failure at Niceport, the Holy Army was simmering with frustration. For the lower-ranking soldiers, they were ordered to charge into battle and fight desperately, only to return and face harsh punishments, terrifying casualties, and exhaustion. It felt like a mountain pressing on their spirits.
The recent conflict among the high-ranking officers only fueled rumors, further unsettling the camp. The terrifying weapons encountered by Collins' forces at Lion's Port were embellished and spread throughout the camp.
This minor disturbance spread like wildfire, and soon it became clear—the Holy Army was on the brink of collapse!
(End of the Chapter)
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