Chapter 185 : Chapter 185
Chapter : 185
“…Have you lost your mind?”
After a brief silence, Magician Agpiel looked at me as though he had just found a lunatic.
“Ahem. A lunatic? Magician Agpiel, that is rather harsh, is it not?”
“It is because you keep saying things that deserve that response.”
Ah. Yes, I understood.
To encircle a castle with a castle.
It was not an idea a sane man arrived at easily.
But I knew.
I knew that this absurd encirclement tactic had been carried out before—and that it had succeeded.
Long ago, Caesar of Rome had done precisely this at the Siege of Alesia, using an “outer fortress” strategy against Vercingetorix of Gaul.
To capture Vercingetorix, who had shut himself inside the stronghold with the Gallic coalition army, Caesar had built fortifications outside the fortress, turning it into a reverse encirclement siege.
“With a perfect blockade, Vercingetorix could only collapse in the end from a lack of supplies.”
A fortress did not store enough supplies to shelter tens of thousands for long.
In the world of [Pangea Universalise], even a few thousand was considered an enormous mobilization.
If I blocked every road completely, they would have no choice but to wither and die out, slowly.
Of course, this was not something you could attempt easily.
“Think about it. Well, as you say, the enemy cannot receive reinforcements because the Emperor has no capacity, and yes, the Holy See and the House of Viscount Bardi will provide money. But manpower? Will workers sprout from the ground?”
“Hmm….”
As Magician Agpiel said, manpower was the greatest issue.
Modern people, accustomed to machinery and industry, sometimes overlooked just how much manpower large-scale construction and production required—but I knew it well.
Even simply building a palisade in a full ring required an immense workforce.
Still, I had my own idea.
“Ahem. Do not worry.”
“Why? Surely you are not going to gather people by selling miracles again? No matter how much you are loved by God, if you do that, you will be punished by heaven. Be careful.”
“…….”
How, exactly, did this man see me?
“…I was going to hand out bread.”
“Oh? Ahem. Ahem…. Yes, in times like these, food is more precious than money, so that could work.”
Perhaps embarrassed, Magician Agpiel cleared his throat. If I truly did that, securing manpower might become far easier.
There were limits to buying labor with coin, but if I scattered precious food, people would surely gather.
“Even so, even if it is only a palisade, building a fortification is no easy matter, so manage it carefully. If Count Steffen is not a fool, he will not sit idle.”
“I am planning to keep the elf knights on constant standby as a detachment. If anything happens, they will intercept.”
“A good attitude. A lion uses all its strength even to catch a mere creature.”
As always, he gave excellent advice. I nodded.
Just as Magician Agpiel said, one must never grow complacent. One must prepare.
But there was something neither he nor I had quite accounted for.
The power of the reputation I had built.
“Have you not heard? They say the Margrave of Bellua is building a fortress to encircle a fortress. I do not know what strange thing he is doing.”
“Hey now, stop! How can you say something so irreverent. Strange? When something departs from common sense, does it not signify a revelation?”
“Ooh? Then…?”
The moment word spread that I was building a structure to encircle the castle, an odd rumor began to circulate.
And once that happened—
“That is it! His Excellency has received another revelation from God! Everyone, let us go! To the place where the miracle is being worked—go and lend our strength!”
“That is right! The Bishop who once stood beside His Excellency said it himself! When the Margrave, who has received God’s revelation, commands it, it is achieved! A palisade, too, will be done in no time! If you run your mouth, you will die—just help and it is built at once! Gather! If not now, you will never experience a miracle!”
People began to pour in from everywhere. And this region was under the Holy See’s rule, where God’s teachings were deeply rooted. Faced with a “sacred” story like this, people were easily enthralled.
“Did you not say you would not sell miracles?”
“…….”
“Hmm. You truly are outstanding. When you die, it may not be heaven but hell that welcomes you.”
And that was not all.
“Performer of Miracles…. Take my hand. Take my hand, please. Protect us from those brutal men. If you only give the order, we will follow.”
“We do not need compensation. We want revenge. Divine punishment upon Count Steffen!”
The consequence of burning every village to stop me had returned to him.
He had burned them all—serf villages, free peasant lands, even the weakest manors without distinction. And those who had lost everything began to regard Count Steffen as an enemy to be hated with every breath.
-THUD-THUD-THUD!
-RUMBLE! THUD!
“Higher! Stronger! Faster!”
Thanks to that, the palisade construction I had envisioned began to envelop the capital city of the County of Campania, where Count Steffen was staying, with astonishing speed.
“T-this…! Insane…!”
From far away atop the walls, Count Steffen could only gape, wanting to faint from sheer disbelief.
---
“You idiots! What in the world have you done!”
After confirming what lay outside, Count Steffen erupted in fury.
At first, when he heard that the enemy was dispatching officials into the county and preparing to govern it, he had thought he had seen every sort of madman. And that certainty only deepened when he heard their plan to build a palisade around the city.
A palisade to encircle a fortress.
What kind of nonsense was that?
A fortress was not something you built overnight with a few hammer blows.
And yet—
“How can this be possible? Who are all those people, and what is that palisade that has formed around us!”
Unbelievably, the insolent Margrave of Bellua’s plan was unfolding exactly as declared.
With each passing day, the palisade rose higher.
“Are you blind with your eyes open? Why did you not try to stop it?”
“It-it started so suddenly, all at once….”
“We attempted several raids, but all were repelled, my lord Count.”
“Do you call that an answer? Then you should have made the people participating scatter! No—how can it even be possible that there are so many people here?”
Count Steffen’s subordinates broke into cold sweat and offered excuses.
“They are participating willingly. We have tried sending spies to spread counter-rumors, but we are only branded unbelievers.”
“They say the Margrave of Bellua has received a revelation from God and is building the fortress.”
“They are blinded by it. They say they want to feel the miracle, and so they join. What can we do?”
At those words, Count Steffen felt darkness descend before his eyes. What were these absurd claims—and what were these ignorant fools who believed them?
Even though it was the sort of talk that deserved a burning at the stake, people believed it and followed. That was a terrifying thing.
“So sly… and with such enormous influence!”
It made his skin crawl.
To use religious authority so cunningly—it was like seeing the Great Emperor of the Holy Empire in his youth.
“A threat to the Empire…. To the Emperor? I misjudged him. I thought he was only a fledgling, a greenhorn….”
A creeping sense of crisis rose within Count Steffen.
“I have to do something. This cannot continue.”
The fear that he might lose.
If he lost this time, he would lose everything and be chased out of the Holy Empire with nothing.
“Prepare the knights. We will sortie soon. I will personally stop their madness!”
He bared his teeth as he spoke.
---
“Meheheheh. Lord-nimu. It is going so smoothly. Smoothly! Mehr. At this rate, it will end quickly. Meeee!”
Today, Bishop Marco the goat beastman was in particularly high spirits, bleating with glee. Wondering why, I glanced down at his fingers and understood at once.
-JINGLE. JINGLE.
Both hands were filled with silver rings. And between his thumb and forefinger he was greedily clutching necklaces as well, to a ridiculous degree.
They were not gold, but it was more than enough silver to make Bishop Marco feel comfortably rich.
“…Bishop Marco. If you squeeze money out of pious common believers like that, you might get struck by lightning.”
“Meeeeee!! Lord-nimu. Squeeze? This is voluntary donation. Donation! Mehr. If someone hears you, they will misunderstand. Mee! Watch your words, Lord-nimu.”
“Oh… is that so? Understood….”
I replied with an uneasy expression.
He was so brazen that I had nothing to say.
The clergy the Holy See had dispatched were walking around with fire in their eyes…. Well, he would handle it somehow.
If he got caught and had his backside beaten, that was not my fault.
Just try asking me for help then. I would boil you into goat soup.
“Tsk tsk. Is that new? Just leave him be.”
“Oh, you are here.”
“Yes. Being unchanged can be a good thing in its own way. It is when someone suddenly changes that you should worry. At his age, he will not change…. And besides, would he really be reported at this point?”
At Magician Agpiel’s indifferent words, I let out a small laugh and shrugged.
“Well, that is true as well, Magician Agpiel.”
“So do not worry.”
“I was not worried in the first place. As you said, he will conduct himself as he sees fit.”
“……”
Magician Agpiel’s expression turned uneasy.
No matter what, I should at least pretend I cared about my vassal.
“Ahem. Are Captain Konrad and Sir Biden doing well in the north and south?”
I subtly changed the subject.
Magician Agpiel clicked his tongue once, then spoke.
“Fortunately, there have been no major problems. You attached plenty of clergy and administrative officials, did you not? It would be difficult for problems to arise.”
“Still, you never know. This is enemy territory. They could resist orders, or the remaining noble forces could flee into the mountains and harass them.”
“You still do not understand.”
Magician Agpiel snorted as he answered.
“They are cooperating remarkably. The peasants, the local nobles—everyone.”
“What?”
This came out of nowhere.
I could understand peasants—they were used to their ruler changing—but why local nobles?
“Has the Emperor squeezed this region hard? And this time Count Steffen forcibly evacuated villages, so the backlash is severe, they say. They are trying to switch sides while they can.”
“Ah….”
Normally, vassals did not switch allegiances lightly.
To nobles, dignity and prestige were values they would trade even their lives for.
How could they change lords just because their sovereign’s power seemed uncertain?
It would be a disgrace that would be mocked for generations.
But when justification was handed to them—when their interests were harmed—it was different.
“They are quicker than I expected.”
“It means they feel the tide has turned. Is this not a war the Holy See itself has authorized? The Emperor is far, and the Pope is near. And the news that the Emperor was defeated in the north has already spread, so they will act all the more swiftly.”
“Hmm….”
Hearing it, I could feel the emptiness of power.
When one was strong, all bowed their heads and followed. The moment one weakened, they discarded and betrayed.
Of course, it was also fair to call this the result of the Great Emperor’s usual faithless rule by force alone.
“In any case, if this continues, you will take the County of Campania as well. Congratulations in advance, Margrave.”
“Not at all. It is too early for congratulations.”
“Hmm? In this situation, what can Count Steffen do?”
Magician Agpiel asked in confusion. To him, the war already looked finished.
Choosing a delaying action to avoid a pitched battle and wear the enemy down had been excellent—but now the situation had flipped, and concentrating for the delaying action had become a blunder. How would he supply so many people? And how would he break through the palisade that had been built?
But I shook my head.
“He is not someone who will collapse like this. Count Steffen, Magician Agpiel.”
Count Steffen.
The Great Emperor of the Holy Empire’s indomitable general.
Even in [Pangea Universalise], he was one of the few Four-star administrators.
A four-star administrator was a slaughtering machine that could win even unfavorable battles.
“I should not think of him as I did during the War of Succession of the Kingdom of Aragon.”
Back then, it had only been because the gap in troop numbers was too great. Even so, had he not shown the most threatening attack, making my heart pound?
I had to be cautious. Cautious again, and again.
This time, the difference in numbers was not so large.
“Then what? You think Count Steffen will try something?”
“Yes, Magician Agpiel. So we must prepare well.”
“Prepare…?”
I had no intention of letting my guard down. Instead, I would lay a trap prepared solely for Count Steffen.
“What Count Steffen can do is obvious, is it not? Tonight, we will have a beautiful fireworks display.”
I answered with gleaming eyes.