The Battle Horn
The Battle Horn
Summer here was exceptionally short when compared to the Kingdom of Graycastle, with its four distinct seasons. The coming of fall was more like a warning for the upcoming cold and a cold wind would quietly arrive before people would change their light jackets.
Garcia Wimbledon was sitting on her throne in her fox-fur overcoat, while listening to the complaints and requests of the nobles.
She did not like this palace. The pillars, walls, and floors were all white stone, which had been polished smooth and made translucent to look like ice. Even though she sat on two velvet cushions, she could still felt the biting chill spreading up to her from the steel throne.
"The damn house seems to be built of ice," she thought unhappily. "The first thing I'll do is to break down the floors and walls, and then rebuild them with dark brown granite slabs, after my situation has stabilized."
"Respected Majesty, I'm begging for justice!"
A noble said, in a woeful tone.
The fellow was long-winded when the matter needed only a few words. The main point was nothing more than that Archbishop Heather presided over a public trial of sinful nobles, most of which were sentenced to the gallows. Although he was lucky enough to avoid being hanged, he was still sentenced to confiscation of his property and was forced to deal it out to the civilians who had suffered from his persecution.
"I can understand your request, and your private property shall not be infringed upon." After a moment of contemplation, Garcia continued in a calm voice, "But, it'll be hard to clarify the specific amount. Provide me with a balance sheet from the last five years, I'll replace a portion of your compensation from the seizure."
"But, those mobs have almost robbed me blind, so I'm afraid the records might..."
Garcia interrupted. "Well, I can only give you compensation in accordance with the standards previously announced, if you can't provide the balance sheet. There're other nobles being ransacked around you. If I give you more, others will get less, right?"
"That's right. Who knows whether the numbers you declare are true or not! "
"Don't be so verbose, Knight Halon. Those gold royals were not yours."
"You should be content with what you've got. Compared to your companions, you're lucky. They can only beg for compensation from the deities in the heavens."
Seeing that all the nobles around him were glaring, Knight Halon could only bow, saying, "Okay, I accept the compensation you've given me, and thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty."
"Next," Garcia said with a smile.
"I'd like to send my best regards, Your Majesty," a white-haired old man said as he stepped out of the crowd, with his hands on his chest. The kamon of the Silver Heron Family was shining on his chest.
"Marquis Bode, I remembered your domain did not suffer attacks from the church mobs."
"Yes," he nodded and said, "they definitely wanted to attack but they couldn't... Snow Ridge was easily defended, and my knights blocked the invasion of the mobs. My son, however, was less fortunate. He was on duty at the palace on the day of the riot. In order to protect the former Queen, the believers killed him and hung his body on the gate. He wasn't free from the humiliation until Your Majesty arrived at the Kingdom of Everwinter."
"That sounds like a tragedy." Garcia pretended to be sad and sighed. "What would you like me to do?"
"A guy named Butcher killed my son, and he has become the leader of the surviving rebels. The gang of people has been hiding in the Impassable Mountain Range to the north. I want to kill them to avenge my son." Marquis Bode stated calmly.
"I don't have enough manpower. Apart from those going on patrol, defending the city wall, and the granary, it's hard to dispatch more to hunt for the hundreds of mobs in exile," Garcia said and shook her head to express regret, "Once winter comes, the heavy snow will block the mountain pass, then they won't be able to get supplies, and sooner or later they'll all freeze or starve to death. So, why don't you stay calm?"
"I'll only feel relief after killing the foes to avenge my son, Your Majesty. I'm not requesting that you dispatch knights to search for the rebels. There're many grottos at the foot of the mountain, and they must be hiding there. However, the entrance to the grotto is extremely narrow, and the knights can't invade since it's blocked off by rubble. I was hoping that you would provide me with the alchemical materials necessary to destroy the gate, and I'll do the rest by myself."
"He wants snow powder?" Garcia thought and frowned. "The formidable power of the snow powder is almost ever-victorious. It can be the trump card needed for game-changing, so it shouldn't be spread around."
As she went to refuse the Marquis Bode's request, he said again, "If you grant my request, I would return back to the palace to work for you. The Silver Heron Family would support your rise into power in the Kingdom of Everwinter."
Garcia slightly paused upon hearing his words. "When the church put the former Queen to death, a portion of important officials were also killed. Marquis Bode was quite prestigious here, he could work as the prime minister to unify the rest of the nobles, which could, to some extent, ease the dilemma of the administrative difficulties."
"You request too much." She contemplated his words for a moment before making the final decision. "But, since I'm not willing to give you gunpowder directly I can send my specialized alchemist to assist you in destroying the gate."
...
After the official business was over, Garcia went to the back room. Ryan came forward and handed a cup of heated fruit wine to her. "It's hard work, Your Majesty! Those nobles all turned to you as expected. In this case, you'll still be able to take over the whole Kingdom of Everwinter, gradually, even without depending on the King of Wolfheart."
"If it wasn't for the church." Garica shrugged her shoulders.
The church's move to deprive the nobles of the inheritance right had caused them all to side with her. She had won the wide support of the nobles and, together, with her efforts to greatly undermine the rights of the church power-holders, it would make it less difficult for her to gain a firm foothold in the king's city. However, she would still have a long way to go to take control of the Kingdom of Everwinter. People there were greatly influenced by the church. The soldiers of Blacksail Fleet, who were dispatched to wipe out the churches in some of the large cities, had suffered attacks from civilians and believers alike. Therefore, there was a vital importance to align with the Kingdom of Wolfheart, not only to help resist the church but to also weaken the influence of the church by thinning their population.
As for the civilians who were as stubborn as mules, they should all be killed.
"Oh, by the way, the King of Wolfheart sent you a letter," Ryan took out an envelope and said, "you were busy dealing with the administrative affairs at that moment, so I didn't bother you."
Garcia looked serious as she opened the envelope and read the letter.
"Bad news?"
"The church has dispatched troops again," she said in a deep voice, "and they're heading to Wolfheart City by land and have broken through several of the temporary lines of defense."
"What? The Months of Demons is about to come, are they planning to abandon the new Holy City?" Ryan's eyes bulged in shock.
Garcia returned to her desk, contemplated a moment, and then frowned.
It was impossible to think that the church would let her off the hook, but she had not expected them to counterattack so quickly. She would be well prepared if the church had waited to wage war until spring, but the enemy obviously did not want her to have the respite. If she did not accept the request for assistance from the King of Wolfheart, she would not be able to resist for long if the Kingdom of Wolfheart collapsed.
However, there was a chance.
Provided that the troops from the church were exhausted to near death in Wolfheart City, the enemy would then suffer from a great calamity as the demonic beasts invaded massively into Hermes.
They might send out more of the God's Punishment Army, even so, she had more powerful weapons, like the snow powder. That, used with the black water from the Styx River, would create an evil fire powder that would be lethal if thrown over the high wall in Wolfheart City. She could absolutely destroy the collective strength of the enemy.
Realizing this, Garcia said, "Execute my command, the troops of Blacksail Fleet are to get ready for the expedition! We'll get through winter in Wolfheart City this year."