Chapter 172 150: First Simulation (Part 3)
[Because you tried to negotiate with the enemy, your vassals decided to stop the war, but Jeanne insisted on fighting the enemy to the end, finding herself in a situation of lone combat.]
[In May 1430, while leading the army to move to Compiegne, Jeanne was attacked by the enemy and captured by the Burgundy army.]
Losa: "..."
This... is it forcibly restoring history?
You plan to:
A. Negotiate diplomatically and attempt to offer a ransom to bring Jeanne back.
B. Immediately dispatch troops to rescue Jeanne.
According to Losa's original thought, at this point, option A should definitely be chosen, but the problem is, Losa has already realized his choice is restoring history.
With his empty wallet and nearly exhausted finances, he cannot possibly offer a ransom higher than that of the Englishmen.
This kind of conclusion, even if he ultimately wins, Losa refuses to accept!
So...
[Warning!]
[Choosing this option, you will officially enter the final battlefield of this simulation.]
Losa, without hesitation, chose the second option.
[You chose to immediately dispatch troops, but in poverty and heavily indebted, you can only barely gather a small army, and your vassals are unwilling to support your foolhardy action.]
[Outside the Borva Castle, where Burgundy guards her, you engage in a standoff with Burgundy and English troops.]
The winds of change bring Losa's perspective to the front of the army.
He takes a deep breath; the air is identical to that of the real world.
Warhorses clad in iron armor pace back and forth.
Behind him, faces tense and serious make Losa realize that now is the true beginning moment of this simulated war.
He surveys his body, covered in custom-fit silver-white plate armor, with a cloak of blue and gold fleur-de-lis wrapped at the front.
He tries to use the blood magic power, still able to function normally.
"Rahel, Saint Lai, Lusheng Meng, Bodegu..."
"You are all Jeanne's close friends— as I am."
Losa deeply engraves the now inexplicably familiar faces before him into his mind: "As the King of France, perhaps I should not engage in this uneven battle, destined to fail. But generals, knights, and my soldiers— Jeanne has always been saving us, now, it should be our time to rescue her."
He gallops along the front line.
He raises the sword in his hand, gently kissing the pommel.
"In the name of the King of France."
Losa shouted.
The soldiers erupted with thundering shouts.
"In the name of Saintess Jeanne."
"Frenchmen, charge with me!"
As the words fell.
Fewer than three thousand French soldiers began to charge at the well-prepared allied forces.
Arrows flew, striking down one companion after another by Losa's side.
The English longbowmen were showing their might.
The fully armed knights hadn't even reached the enemy's side before suffering severe damage.
Even if their full plate armor could withstand the arrows, their lightly armored steeds could not.
Losa, however, remained calm as water, blindly charging into the enemy lines, mechanical in his slashing.
Because he knew, from the start, this war's outcome was predetermined.
The disparity between enemies and oneself was too great, no tactical maneuvering could alter it.
Finally, the enemy encircled him.
The surrendering soldiers, some in disbelief, looked at the King still fighting against the enemy, with corpses piled underfoot, tears filling their eyes.
"Heavenly Father above, our King is still fighting, and we disgracefully chose to surrender."
Losa felt his hand growing heavier, the enemies closing in no more, instead compressing Losa's space with long weapons.
At last.
The final drop of blood magic power was spent, his mind dizzy.
He leaned on his sword, standing amidst the corpse mountain.
Takes off the helmet, facing Duke of Bedford urging surrender, smiles: "Next time, I will surely win!"
He drew his sword across his throat, blood spurted, splashing across Duke of Bedford's face.
Could not believe this sight, a king, suiciding with a sword before him, merely to avoid capture?
The English soldiers, their faces pale.
Duke of Bedford, after a long silence, said: "Execute all prisoners; the fact this King fought until death must never be spread!"
The sky was dim.
The setting sun descended in the west.
Losa's world plunged into darkness completely.
Ending: You suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Boval, killed amid chaos, Henry VI was fully crowned as the King of England and France thereafter, Lancaster family replaced the Valois family, becoming the ruler of France.
Saintess Jeanne was judged in Rouen City, identified as a witch, in March 1431, she was sent to the burning stake, her body consumed by flames, in plain view, burned down to mere black ashes.
The Archbishop of Manchester loudly announced: "Behold, she is no saintess, she was completely burned by divine flames— France is destined to stay under King Henry's rule, this is the will of the Heavenly Father!"
[Your first simulation was declared a failure!]