Chapter 97: The Country of Knights

“My Lord, what is going on?!”

King Charles, together with the nobles and commanders assigned to the Po River, were confused.

“Those soldiers are shouting that the Scourge of God is here, the end is nigh, and all sinners here will be subjected to the Lord’s judgment. What’s going on?”

King Charles had barely managed to establish himself as the leader over the Crusade troops stationed at Po River—he enjoyed significant prestige as the French king who had concluded the Hundred Years War.

“Those soldiers are spouting nonsense. They are saying the Scourge of God is a Horseman of the Apocalypse, and he has descended to the mortal world with his undying army,” a Holy Romain Prince-elector said.

As the next emperor of the Holy Romain Empire hadn’t been decided yet, the prince-electors had been going around soliciting allies to reinforce their position. This prince-elector had chosen to woo King Charles’ support.

“It sounds like something has gone wrong over at the Duke of Milan’s side.”

The commanders in the Po River’s barracks began studying the map to analyze the situation.

“Most of the soldiers who escaped here are their mercenaries. Did the Duke of Milan lose?”

“I’m not surprised if he did. The Khitans have never lost a single battle over the last two years.”

“But that’s an army of 60,000! Can it be obliterated just like that?” a noble exclaimed in disbelief.

“Maybe it wasn’t completely defeated?” someone suggested. “The vanguard troops could have been defeated, resulting in some soldiers getting separated from their allies and escaping here. The Duke of Milan could be defending the city with the remaining troops now.”

“Even so... the question still stands: where did the Khitans come from? Did the camp at Venezia-Giulia collapse too? That can’t be, right?” the prince-elector took a bite of holy biscuit as he murmured.

Venezia-Giulia had a prince-elector too, as well as troops from other cities and nations. Their army was at least 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers strong. It was hard to imagine that they would fall just like that.

“Could the Scourge of God have climbed across the Alps?” someone raised a frightening possibility. “That’s why the Duke of Milan was caught off guard, and his army of 60,000 was vanquished just like that.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

A snowstorm was raging in the Alps, and crossing it under such weather was bound to result in huge casualties. Even if the Khitans survived the ordeal, it was unlikely their steeds could do the same.

And there was no way for the Khitans to acquire new steeds after crossing the Alps.

“Argh...” King Charles was getting a headache from reading the map. “Send more scouts to Milan and Venezia-Giulia to investigate the situation. We must get to the bottom of this matter...”

“Your Majesty!” A messenger suddenly rushed into the tent. “England’s regent is back!”

“Oh?” King Charles raised his pitch. It was hard for him to bear any goodwill toward England. “What are we waiting for then? Let’s welcome him in.”

His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“Your Majesty, about that...” the messenger stuttered, “He might not be able to enter by himself.”

“Hm?”

King Charles could hardly believe his eyes when he saw England’s regent.

The brawny man who was still standing with gusto not too long ago had been reduced to a pathetic state. He lay in a carriage, wrapped in bandages, his face pale and his eyes dead.

Moreover, King Charles believed that he had a decent shot at victory even in a direct confrontation. He had brought almost 30,000 soldiers with him, and 15,000 of them were knights!

Other countries would have trembled in fear if he brought this huge army out for a walk.

And if he included allied soldiers stationed in the River Po’s barracks too, their army strength totalled to 80,000. With this much military power, it was hard to imagine losing to the Khitans’ army of 3000.

Even if the Khitans were as valiant as the legends put them out to be, capable of fighting one against five, that merely equated to a military prowess of 15,000. That was nothing compared to their army of 80,000!

We have the absolute advantage here!

Before King Charles could say a word, his allies, the nobles, and the knights were already lashing out in anger.

“Oi, what do you mean by that?”

“You lost a fight, so you praise the enemy as if they are some kind of supernatural force... That’s what a coward would do!”

“There’s no place for cowards like you in our Lord’s heaven!”

“How dare you call yourself a soldier of the Holy War?”

“Run home and cry for your mother!”

The English soldiers felt both infuriated and frustrated. In the end, they quietly trudged off under the tirade of insults.

We need to leave. This place isn’t safe. We should escape as far as possible.

Seeing the English soldiers leaving with hung heads, as well as the heightened morale of his knights, King Charles nodded in satisfaction. He drew his prized sword and roared, “Brave knights, pick your lances, ride your steeds, and raise your flags! We shall spill the enemies’ blood to forge a great legacy that the world will never forget!

“Your king will accompany you in this noble Holy War. Don’t ever forget that the Lord is looking upon you!”

“WOOOOO!!!”

“LONG LIVE THE KING!”

“LONG LIVE FRANCE!”

The cheers nearly brought down the barracks. To everyone’s excitement, King Charles issued his order.

“We shall fight the Khitans!”

—

Starve’s Historical Trivia:

France emerged victorious against England in the Hundred Years War, managing to drive off England from their soil and taking away their continental territories.

Interesting fact: it is also during his rule that Joan of Arc appeared. She reinforced Charles VII’s position by insisting that he has to be crowned king.

He created the first French standing army (aka full-time army), and Niccolo Machiavelli (the man whose name is behind the term Machiavellianism) famously said that France would have been invincible if his successor Louis XI had maintained and built on the standing army.