CH 297

Chapter 297 – Puppet War(14)

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Screams and wailing filled the sky. The humans cried out.

“O Great Being! Please forgive us! Please—.”

“Mercy! I’ll do anything, so please at least spare my life!”

All fifty people cried out in different ways. It was almost like an orchestra was performing a de-harmonized symphony without any practice. There was no way that I wouldn’t be moved by this mess of a symphony. My order remained firm.

– Crackle.

Our troops started to set the firewood ablaze. The flames that spread over from the torches gradually grew larger. The screaming became a decibel louder.

Burning at the stake was actually quite a hassle. You have to gather a lot of dried lumber and the burning procedure took way too much time. It was obviously inefficient since we still had hundreds left to kill. Regardless, I had only one simple reason as to why I chose this method.

It was cruel.

“Fuck, let me go! Let me go this instant—!”

“Oh merciful Persephone, please guide my soul…….”

“Huagh! Huaaaagh! Kuaaaack!”

Village chiefs, landowners, subordinates of tax administrators, and civil militia leaders, these people who most likely reigned as the rulers in their small societies were slowly burned to death from the bottom up.

Their visions became blurry because of the flames. They screamed and coughed as smoke filled their lungs. Some of them passed out and some of them cried until the very end. Despite all this, their final moments were the same. They all became charred skeletons and fell to the ground powerlessly.

“…….”

The Brittan soldiers standing on top of the ramparts went silent.

There was another good thing about burning at the stake. It was eye-catching. You could easily see the smoke from a very far distance, meaning it should’ve been as clear as day for the citizens of Parisiorum.

People were actively dying beyond the walls……. It would be troubling if this thought wasn’t looming over your heads. My goal was to pressure the people of Parisiorum, and, by doing so, pressure Henrietta as well.

“From this point forth,”

My warning echoed throughout the blackened sky.

“People will be burned here at the south gate every six hours. The number of lives that will be sacrificed will increase the longer the ruler of Brittany avoids her crimes. There is no mercy here.”

“…….”

“Humans of Brittany, I recommend that you pay close attention. See how immense the seeds of crime you planted have grown and how they are being harvested. Let us see how long you can turn a blind eye to these sacrifices…….”

From that day on, immolations were carried out four times a day.

The executions happened regardless of whether it was day or night. It didn’t discriminate between men, women, or the elderly. Black smoke billowed upward during the afternoon and red flames lit up the sky during the night. There was no time for the smoke to settle.

As I predicted, Brittany didn’t take action. No, I should say that they weren’t able to take action.

“A protest is being held in Parisiorum.”

Gamigin reported. She had been observing the city from the sky with her wyvern unit. The protest began two days after we started our executions.

“Splendid. What is the scale?”

“It’s been increasing over time. At first, it was about thirty people, but now there are about four hundred.”

The protest was growing at a fast pace. This was proof that the people were anxious.

According to Gamigin, their demand was simple. They wanted the slaughter happening outside the city to stop. Henrietta most likely couldn’t do anything in her position. She wanted to escape the city, but she was being tied down.

Three, four, and five days went by quietly.

There was a single battle during that time. It didn’t happen in Parisiorum. A naval battle abruptly happened on the sea far from Parisiorum. Since their land routes were blocked, Brittany had tried to transport supplies through the river.

Unfortunately for them, the Republic of Batavia’s fleet was waiting for them at the river mouth.

“If they conclude that they cannot avoid a siege, then Brittany will, without a doubt, try to get their supplies through the river.”

Laura pointed out.

“If we lay out an ambush at the entrance of Sequanna River, then we should be able to obtain some sizable gains.”

Brittany’s army may be peerless on land, but their navy wasn’t special. On the other hand, the Republic of Batavia had one of the strongest naval armies alongside the Kingdom of Sardinia. Brittany’s navy was utterly powerless before an ambush by fifty large galleys.

Around twenty small and large ships were sunk and about thirty supply ships were captured.

Laura’s prediction was accurate this time as well. Once we received a report that the supply ships filled with provisions had become ours and were coming our way, the commanders laughed. There were even a few Demon Lords who looked at Laura with surprise and respect.

“At this point, you are no different from a prophet.”

Brother Beleth grumbled. Now Laura wasn’t only holding her authority because of some royal command. She made the people around her acknowledge her position as a deputy commander with her abilities.

However, Laura was half a step away from the excitement around her. Her expression remained the same. This was simply a natural outcome of an obvious course of events. That was the feeling she gave off. She probably believed that as well.

With this, Brittany lost all their ways to receive supplies on their own.

They most likely scraped together whatever they could in Parisiorum, but who knows how long they can endure with that.

If they want to escape, then they have to do so as soon as possible. Wasting time without being able to do this or that was the worst thing they could possibly do. Henrietta should know this better than anyone else.

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“Our fleet was defeated by Batavia’s navy.”

Everyone became quiet once Queen Henrietta gave that announcement. The generals silently dropped their heads. Their queen had immediately contacted the navy of their nation the moment she had learned that their provision warehouse was assaulted. She had acted with the utmost speed. But that speed was made pointless…….

“Your Highness, then what about our supplies……?”

“None of our ships managed to get through Batavia’s navy. Men, we can no longer expect any more supplies.”

The fate of the Kingdom of Brittany’s army was decided at this moment.

Henrietta spoke bitterly.

“I was wondering why we were able to get through the communication jamming spell. It wasn’t because the magic circle in the royal palace managed to pierce through it as I had originally thought. The enemy had deliberately released it so that we would ask for help from our navy…….”

“Do you think the enemy was able to see that far, Your Highness……?”

One of the generals asked.

“It must have partially been a coincidence.”

“I do not know yet. There have been no coincidences in this war. They built a fortress, crossed the river, and attacked our supplies. We’ve been playing on the palm of their hand this entire time…….”

Henrietta shook her head.

“We thought it was going to be a prolonged battle, but it was actually a short battle aiming for the Emperor. We thought it was only a short battle, but then they stole our provisions. And now they are forcing a prolonged battle on us now……. I feel like we’ve become puppets.”

“…….”

The masses referred to this war as the Puppet War. Frankia’s Emperor became Brittany’s puppet and the Crowned Prince of Habsburg became the Demon Lord army’s puppet. It was satirical as two puppets went to war against each other.

Henrietta believed that this phrase was appropriate in a different meaning. Someone had written the manuscript, and everyone, be it the Demon Lord army or the army of Brittany, was moving according to it. Adding to this, no one knew how long this puppeteering was going to last. It was a nightmare…….

“How much longer can we endure?”

The generals turned to look at each other in response to the Queen’s question.

Henrietta predicted that they had enough provisions to last maybe twenty days. If they conserved them as much as possible, then maybe a month and a half? A month’s worth of supplies was an almost embarrassing amount to have when defending against a siege. Henrietta spoke in a way where she was partially testing to see if her generals had a good understanding of their current situation.

“My apologies, Your Highness. At the very least, 15 days, but we do not have enough to last longer than two months.”

The other generals carefully nodded. Henrietta smiled wryly when she realized that her generals had come to the same conclusion.

She was pleased to know that her generals were competent. It was also tragic that she was unable to win with such competent generals. That was why Henrietta could do nothing more than smile wryly.

One of the generals spoke up hesitantly.

“We cannot enter a siege like this. Your Highness, the enemy is creating an encirclement around us. Only the south gate is blocked at the moment, but they might block the rest of the gates soon. You must come to a decision soon in order to preserve the honor of our country.”

“No, it could also be the opposite.”

Henrietta spoke.

“They could intentionally be blocking only the south gate. In other words, they’re urging us to run away. Generals, we have to go west in order to return to Brittany and the Sequana River will be in our path. The river which they are positioned on the other side of.”

“……They will attack us while we are crossing.”

The generals groaned.

“To make matters worse, Batavia’s navy chose now to appear. They could’ve led their ships and attacked while we were absent from Parisiorum. Despite this, they didn’t do so……. Why do you think they didn’t?”

“……There is no point in them going out of their way to capture Parisiorum. That is what the enemy thinks.”

Henrietta nodded.

“That’s right. Their goal isn’t Parisiorum. It isn’t even to win the war. They’re simply aiming for our, Brittany’s ruin.”

“If we defend the capital, then we’ll be wrung dry. Brittany would be nothing without an army. It would end up as the weakest nation on the continent. But if we don’t defend Parisiorum and escape, then our ideology would be lost. The people will start to doubt us. That would also lead to the death of our nation…….”

Henrietta muttered.

“Ruin is waiting for us down both paths. By the time we came to our senses, we were already at a dead end……. What a persistent and terrifying enemy.”

Persistent and terrifying. The generals could only agree to those adjectives.

In truth, they didn’t get to have even a single proper pitched battle. The Green Rose Knights got wiped out, but in terms of numbers, they only lost about a thousand soldiers. Nonetheless, before they knew it, the war was already over. Even the generals of Brittany never thought a war like this could be possible.

“We will split our army in two. One half will remain to defend Parisiorum while the other half will escape from here.”

“Your Highness.”

“We will have to leave enough soldiers so that rumors don’t spread about us abandoning the city.”

The generals became speechless. They knew as well that that was their only solution, but that meant they would be leaving hundreds of soldiers behind to be sacrificed.

“They won’t be able to endure long anyway. Leave mostly old soldiers and rookies behind.”

“Your Highness, but that would…….”

“In that case, then I will remain.”

Saintess Longwy spoke up at that moment. The Queen and her generals opened their mouths in surprise. Remaining in the city in this scenario meant death.

“Saintess Longwy.”

“If we all leave, then the soldiers will think that they were abandoned. Even if that may be the truth, they would be unable to last for even a day like that. There would be no point in leaving them behind.”

Saintess Longwy spoke firmly.

“They will not think that they were abandoned if I remain with them. Your Highness, please allow this.”

Henrietta furrowed her brows.

“No, I will personally remain. I already abandoned my soldiers on Bruno Plains. I will not do the same shameful act twice.”

“Your Highness must persevere for the sake of Brittany. Guilt is a great virtue for rulers. However, you must not get swept up by that guilt. Have you already forgotten? Leading Brittany to the mainland is Your Highness’ obligation and mission.”

“…….”

The Queen went silent.

Saintess Longwy was the only one smiling brightly while everyone else was looking down.

“Do not worry too much. I do not wish to throw away my life either. I will endure for as long as possible and escape with our soldiers if I think that we are in danger. I believe the Goddess will at least bestow that much mercy upon us.”

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TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I wonder what’s going to happen to the Saintess. Does Dant have anything in particular planned for her?

On a side note, the next chapter will probably get delayed because I have to go to my reserve forces training the day after tomorrow. We didn’t have to go for 2 years thanks to Covid, but they’re starting it back up this year. I’m not sure when it’s going to end, but I’ll probably want to rest after I get back from that. So yeah, I’ll see you guys after I get through that.