Ch.183Suppression (2)

“The king has begun his attack!!”

“…As I suspected.”

If this had happened for the first time, the nobles would have been in complete disarray.

But while surprised, they aren’t panicking.

After all, they had been operating under the assumption that something like this would happen.

“How were they attacked? A surprise attack?”

“Yes, Duke of Nevers. They say they were suddenly attacked while moving along the road. There was no offer of surrender, of course.”

“…How cowardly.”

The nobles are appalled by the king’s cruelty.

Since this wasn’t a formal battle, they hadn’t really expected things like formal introductions between commanders or official declarations of war.

But offering surrender is different.

Aren’t they the king’s vassals and subjects?

Even if they had rebelled, they might have had a change of heart or could have been persuaded, so offering surrender before battle is not just customary but practically obligatory—and he disregarded that?

Moreover, they had merely assembled an army under their rightful lordly privileges, not even staged a rebellion.

“He has completely crossed the line.”

“I agree.”

To ambush and annihilate vassals who were moving to a training ground with troops assembled under legitimate rights—this is an act so terrible and cruel it can hardly even be called tyranny.

Even in wars with other monarchs, isn’t a declaration sent before war is waged?

This means the king regards his own vassals as less than nobles from other countries.

“How many casualties?”

“Nearly 90% are dead or wounded, and only about 10% barely managed to escape. The count who led the army appears to have fallen in battle.”

“…Tch.”

Although the annihilated army numbered only 300 men, a casualty rate approaching 90% is clearly abnormal.

Moreover, the fact that the entire command, including the count leading the army, perished indicates that this attack was meticulously planned.

Not announcing the state of war, not offering surrender, and ambushing vassals who were moving troops under legitimate rights, killing them all in a planned attack… Is this truly the behavior of one who follows God?

…No, what a foolish question.

Wasn’t he already a man who openly violated God’s commandments by practicing polygamy and usury? This was a foreseeable future.

“…Everyone must be informed. The war to end tyranny has begun.”

The founding monarch of the Kingdom of Lotharing? The conquering monarch who devoured the Kingdom of Caroling? The war monarch who won countless battles?

His achievements are certainly impressive. He accomplished many historic feats that an ordinary monarch, or even an exceptional one, would struggle to achieve, but so what?

The man who achieved those feats is a tyrant among tyrants, for whom the word “tyrant” is insufficient.

With such great achievements, a few instances of tyranny would normally not be enough to move the nobles against him, as his authority would be too overwhelming.

But his tyranny was so extensive and horrific that it completely buried those great achievements.

“Let us resist the tyrant and end his tyranny!!”

“Hurrah!!”

No one here admires the king’s achievements or looks up to him.

They see him as just another tyrant, all too common throughout history.

……….

“However, the condition of the survivors is quite strange.”

“Strange, how?”

“They claim the enemy wields demonic powers and hellfire sulfur. I thought it was nonsense, of course, but all survivors are giving identical testimonies…”

After the Duke of Nevers officially declared resistance against the tyrant, a baron who had been compiling the survivors’ testimonies secretly approached the duke to report.

What nonsense is this?

Wielding demonic powers and sulfur fire? How could such things exist?

The king may have a demonic personality, but he is clearly human. Talk of demonic powers and sulfur fire is absurd.

“What specifically do they describe?”

“They were too terrified to speak coherently, but they commonly mentioned fire that clings to people’s bodies as if it has a will of its own, magic wands that shoot thunderbolts, and meteors that tear through flesh and bone.”

“The clinging fire must be the glass bottles used during the Carolingian succession war… but I don’t know about the other two.”

Those glass bottles were used exclusively by the central army, so I’ve never actually used them myself, but I’ve seen them used by the Carolingians a few times.

They instantly swept away enemy troops cornered in tight spaces and burned down any wooden structures—truly hellfire sulfur like in the scriptures. Certainly, to rural conscripts, it would seem no different from sulfur fire.

This suggests that the other weapons are not demonic powers but simply new weapons developed by the king.

“You participated in the succession war, so you understand? The ignorant serfs mistook the king’s new weapons for demonic powers out of fear.”

“That’s true. But the existence of such weapons is certain, so we must prepare for them.”

“Hmm…”

Those weapons that seemed so reassuring when our side used them in the succession war now seem so daunting when facing them as the enemy.

The existence of fire bombs renders basic battle tactics like formations and arrays useless, requiring entirely new tactics, but the problem is that without formations and arrays, battle cannot be properly conducted.

Each soldier fighting individually? That would no longer be an army but an undisciplined rabble of bandits without military discipline.

…Tsk, but I cannot give up.

‘This is my chance to avenge my father’s death at the king’s hands.’

The evidence is circumstantial and the proof too faint to be certain.

But given the king’s malicious character, it’s clear he is the one who killed my father.

Having already rebelled once and distinguished himself in the fight against the Kingdom of Caroling, the incompetent king must have despised him.

Most nobles who have joined our cause likely aim to gain tactical advantage over the king to force him to withdraw his tyrannical policies or pressure him to abdicate in favor of Prince Lothair… but not me.

If the opportunity arises, I will send the king to God’s side by any means necessary.

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“Ah… I was concerned about lowering morale. Please forgive me.”

“That’s… true. Certainly, speaking of such things in front of everyone would risk lowering morale.”

Hiding his true intentions, the Duke of Nevers casually continues his conversation with the baron.

If the nobles discovered the truth, he could be impeached for letting personal feelings interfere with important matters.

……….

“…Now of all times?”

What is this?

The envoy sent by the rebels has delivered a letter containing absurd statements.

There was much ranting and raving about me, but to summarize the core message: as of this hour, the Anti-Tyranny Alliance has begun a war against the tyrant Claude.

“This is ridiculous.”

Even without formal letters being exchanged, weren’t we already in a state of war?

They openly criticize me while simultaneously gathering their armies in one place—what ruler would be foolish enough to simply watch?

Anyway, my judgment was correct. If I hadn’t attacked and cut them down before their armies fully assembled, things would have become extremely troublesome.

“How many scattered rebels have we captured so far? How are the weapons performing?”

“If we count only numbers without considering equipment superiority, we’ve dealt with approximately 1,500 rebels so far. As for the weapons… they’ve been reported as performing so excellently that they’re almost frightening to use in the field.”

Performance so frightening to use, yet only 1,500 casualties?

Hmm… no, that’s not right. They weren’t facing a concentrated enemy force but dealing with separately acting enemies, so this couldn’t be helped.

“How many enemies remain?”

“We can’t know exactly, but calculating backward from the taxes previously paid by the nobles who joined the rebellion, they definitely number over 10,000.”

10,000—they certainly have some numbers.

If it were 10,000 well-trained soldiers, it would be terrifying, but most of them are likely just peasant conscripts, so I’m not particularly concerned.

“Is the leader of the rebels still the same as reported?”

“Yes, their leader is said to be the Duke of Nevers.”

“Hmm… things have become slightly complicated.”

The Duke of Nevers’ father was my uncle, so we’re cousins? He’ll undoubtedly claim the thrones of Lotharing and Caroling.

While the thrones of Lotharing and Caroling were not inherited but gained by me alone, making it difficult for other Burgundy family members to claim succession rights, the Duke of Nevers, being my cousin, could make a claim that isn’t completely baseless.

Being so closely related, killing him carelessly would worsen my image for killing a relative… hmm, I should issue separate orders to ensure he dies on the battlefield rather than being captured. If he dies in battle, it’s not me who killed him, right?

Sigh, despite his father’s rebellion, I had intended to treat him well because of past debts and his contributions, but with him becoming their leader, I have no choice.

“Try to bring the Duke of Nevers back ‘alive.’ Though the battlefield has no eyes to distinguish between those to kill and those to spare, he is my close relative, so we should at least make an effort to keep him alive.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

What a shame.

While it’s impossible to govern by giving important positions and privileges to family members, I had no intention of bothering him if he had just stayed quietly on his estate and paid his taxes regularly.