Ch.233233. The Frankish Kingdom (2)

Of course, there was no way for a mere rural baron like him to defeat the Empire.

From my perspective, the baron’s level was around Grade 5, and his so-called army consisted of only about 100 regular soldiers and 200 conscripts.

The baron had been successful simply because he was one level higher than an ordinary knight (Grade 6) and possessed family heirlooms—a common magic sword (LV1) and armor (LV1).

Though skilled as a warrior, the baron wasn’t exceptionally talented. Unable to view his abilities objectively, he eventually began to act recklessly.

When a retainer serving his house strongly opposed him, the baron, annoyed by the resistance, beheaded him with his magic sword. He even slaughtered his only heir in one stroke before leading his rabble toward the border.

Despite having heard numerous accounts of the Dawn Empire’s formidable military might, his excessive confidence stripped him of reason.

And so, confidently leading his army toward the Dawn Empire’s border region and its watchtower, the baron began his reckless march—

“Hahaha!! Sinners, your chance for salvation has arrived! Atone through death!”

“”””””””””Atonement! Atonement! Atonement!!””””””””””

“Oh God of Vengeance!! Another one goes up to you───!!!”

Before even reaching the border watchtower, the baron and his rabble encountered trainee members of the Sacred Assault Corps who were conducting exercises in the border region.

“P-please, spare m—”

—CRUNCH!!

“Oh God!! Please allow us to slay these invaders!!”

“””Salvation-salvation-salvation-salvation───!!!”””

The Sacred Assault Corps was a penal unit that gathered and educated fanatics who had committed crimes without discernment. These were trainees who had received relatively less education than others in the corps.

In terms of physical capability, they were nearly perfect even without blessings, but mentally, they were no different from madmen who only knew how to control their fanaticism.

The outcome of a clash between these fanatic trainees who had completed training so harsh that any of them could have died, and soldiers who were mostly conscripts with only basic fighting skills, was predictable.

The ground was covered with meat and bones thoroughly pounded by the Sacred Assault Corps trainees, while the bodies of the fallen trainees were gathered and recovered to one side.

Amidst the pile of the baron’s soldiers, reduced to well-tenderized meat, one of the mid-level Sacred Assault Corps commanders who served as an instructor faced the baron directly.

Clang! Clang! Claaang!!

“You’re no better than a frogman in a well! Did you think awakening your aura made you something special?!!”

“······Kuk! S-shut up!!”

Naturally, a mid-level commander from the Sacred Assault Corps with its high casualty rate was on an entirely different level of combat prowess than the baron, even though both were Grade 5.

Without even giving the baron a chance to use the magic from his heirloom sword, the commander forced him to desperately defend against the relentless attacks of his twin battle axes.

If not for his heirloom full-body magic armor—a rare item indeed—the baron would have had his head cleanly severed by the commander’s axe long ago.

Clang! Clang!

Overwhelming skill built up over approximately 60 years of survival on battlefields.

Plus blessings received from the singular determination to kill enemies before being killed.

“This ends now!”

“W-wait a mom───”

—Whoosh—thunk.

With conditions that made losing impossible and no room for carelessness, the battle soon ended in the Empire’s victory as the baron’s head went flying through the air.

‘I’ll have to… take responsibility for this.’

This incident couldn’t simply be dismissed as a victory and forgotten.

While the impact of these fools charging in and being annihilated by my children was significant, strictly speaking, they had invaded another country and attacked a unit that was in training.

This could be seen as a failed military provocation that could have justified our children declaring war, if they had wanted to.

“””””””””War! We want war!”””””””””

“”””Everyone! Let us all volunteer and participate in a war of vengeance!””””

“””””””””The government must act in a way that doesn’t shame the God of Vengeance!! Protest vigorously!!!”””””””””

Throughout the Dawn Empire, daily protests demanded government action, and strong public sentiment for retaliation caused the entire empire to ignite with calls for “appropriate counterattack.”

Due to the widespread education in the Dawn Empire, most citizens were knowledgeable enough to understand the severity of the situation.

Meanwhile, as the Empire’s heated public opinion spread in all directions…

“What are we supposed to do about this!”

“What can we do! What power do we have against them!”

“No, let’s use their rudeness as an excuse to attack them!”

‘This territory has nothing to do with me… I’ll stay quiet.’

The palace of the Frank Kingdom, which had belatedly received this shocking news, had predictably descended into complete chaos due to the conflicting interests of countless nobles.

Southern lords trying to properly assess the situation and devise countermeasures, central region lords speaking recklessly since it wasn’t their responsibility, some foolish imperial lords spouting nonsense, and lords of smaller territories quietly observing to avoid unwanted attention.

These feudal lords, who invariably acted according to how closely an issue affected them, inevitably prioritized themselves and their territories.

From the beginning, the feudal state known as the Frank Kingdom was completely different from what we think of as a nation—it was originally just different countries sharing the same culture forcibly placed within a framework.

They maintained the framework (the state) even after the death of its creator due to mutual interests.

In reality, while the various states within the Frank Kingdom lacked the authority to form independent relationships with other powers, it was essentially a union of 87 independent countries and thousands of free cities.

The Frank Kingdom had no national army to speak of, only the king’s personal guard and territorial forces, which revealed the nature of these territories’ relationships—

“You brainless fool! Are you suggesting we stand against that mighty empire?!!”

“To submit without even fighting, calling them mighty! Are you truly a knight who understands honor?!!”

Having waged territorial wars against each other numerous times, the lords would never unite unless the threat was immediate.

So while the Frank Kingdom’s court was in uproar, my empire delivered an ultimatum to the Frank Kingdom, which had shown no response despite our protests.

It stated that if they didn’t announce an official position on the incident within 10 days, we would “take revenge”—a final act of leniency from the unilateral victim, but…

What kind of country is the Frank Kingdom?

“How dare these godless devil-worshippers show such disrespect!!”

“We must not let this stand! They must be properly punished!”

The feudal kingdom of chivalry and honor—or more crudely, a gathering of machos—interpreted the Dawn Empire’s leniency as “disrespect” and proceeded to cause trouble.

“We say to you devil-worshippers: How dare you try to escalate the actions of a mere madman into a national issue?”

They delivered this message to our diplomat who was staying in the Frank Kingdom’s capital awaiting a response, then expelled him completely, seemingly to demonstrate their strength.

‘This isn’t… this isn’t right.’

‘…Is this really the right move?’

Of course, not everyone agreed with the Frank Kingdom’s diplomatic approach.

This opposition faction, significant despite being a minority, secretly delivered letters to the departing diplomat.

The parchment letters stated they had nothing to do with the incident and requested leniency, along with promises to remain neutral in case of all-out war.

The imperial diplomat received these letters and hurriedly returned home on his personal Blood Wolf.

Soon after, the Empire’s official declaration of war was delivered to the Frank Kingdom, and after several negotiations, both countries agreed on the form the war would take.

They limited the scale of troops to 10,000 each and restricted the battlefield to a plain in the border region that was once a mountain range.

They also limited the number of professional mages to only about 10, prohibited direct attacks on enemy formations, completely banned explosive weapons above a certain size—specifically cannons.

Crucially, they agreed that only 50 mid-level fighters would participate directly in the battle.

The Kingdom side had deliberately set conditions favorable to themselves as a strategic move during negotiations, but to their surprise, the Dawn Empire accepted these conditions without objection.

It was as if they were confident of victory regardless of the conditions imposed.