Dungeon Defense (WN)

* * *

Our group traveled on the Empire Road. The stone roads that were built throughout the continent thousands of years ago when an ancient empire had control of over half the continent were still being used to this day. Thanks to this, we were able to move at a stable pace while pulling a carriage.

I was surprised by the scenery that greeted us. The Frankia Empire was no different from France in my original world. When I thought of France, I would often think of wide and peaceful fields. However, what I saw after crossing the border was completely different.

Forest. Forest after endless forest―.

Thin and dry winter trees surrounded us on all four sides. It felt like tens of thousands of snakes had frozen in place. Open fields where trees had been chopped were a very rare sight. Once we got to the top of a hill, I could see that the forest stretched out all the way to the horizon.

I have never felt anything in particular while looking at natural landscapes; however, I was overwhelmed this time. I learned that if you leave nature alone, then it would propagate to a creepy degree.

I stared in astonishment at the sight.

“The scenery is quite different compared to Habsburg.”

“It shows the strength of the lords in the area.”

“Logging rights and cultivation rights mostly belong to the lords. The scale of a forest changes according to the strength of the lords and how weak the commoners are. You will be able to see something interesting when we visit a village.”

I could hear a slight sneer in Jacquerie’s tone. This dwarf would rarely ever voice his own opinions, so it was rather jarring whenever he showed his emotions like this.

“There are many commoners who freeze to death during the winter because they are unable to buy any firewood despite being surrounded by trees. The second and third sons of households are unable to cut down trees since the firstborns are the ones who inherit all of the land. Most people that secretly try to evade taxes end up losing an arm or a leg.”

“…….”

Jacquerie let out a snort.

“Winter is ending and we will be entering spring soon. As usual, some have survived the winter while others did not. Nonetheless, among the people who have died, it most likely does not include the people related to the lords.”

“So you are saying that there is more to it than this.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

After hearing Jacquerie’s explanation, the forest around us looked different. It felt deformed and bizarre. The tree branches looked like human arms bent backward.

“Whoa there.”

Jacquerie, who was in the lead, slowed his pace. There was a group moving in the distance ahead of us on the Empire Road. Jacquerie narrowed his eyes as he stared at them before speaking.

“It’s a merchant group. They have about 10 escorts.”

“Do you think there will be a conflict?”

“Only if their entire group is insane.”

We deliberately approached them slowly.

The merchant group had already started to panic since the moment they saw us in the distance. They were so nervous that some of them even ran into the forest while the others were moving to the edge of the road. Jeremi spoke once she saw this.

“They seem to be afraid of us.”

“That is only natural. We are a group of about fifty combatants.”

Jacquerie answered in a mocking tone as if he were explaining something incredibly obvious. Jeremi smiled brightly.

“Did you know? You are beautifully annoying.”

“Drop it. My ears are the only things that will become dirty if an elf compliments me.”

“How could the way someone speaks be so beautiful?”

The two urged their horses forward as they bickered. I followed behind them with the rest of our troops.

Jacquerie was right. If we have this many elite soldiers, then we could easily burn down a single region. We are probably like a nightmare to that merchant group.

Sure enough, the merchant group was clearly terrified by our scale. An old man who appeared to be the representative of the group came forward and greeted us.

“May Hermes’ blessing be upon you.”

The old man didn’t say anything more as he raised up a bag of money and presented it to us respectfully. In other words, he was paying a toll fee.

“Mm.”

Jacquerie took the money while on top his horse. He shook the bag and the sound of coins clinking together could be heard. He was confirming how many coins were inside the bag. He shook the bag about six times before giving a satisfied nod.

“May Hermes’ blessing be upon you as well.”

“Thank you for your generosity.”

The old merchant bowed deeply as he thanked us.

Jacquerie spoke.

“Your wisdom has simply granted you salvation. Is there something that you wish for?”

“If it is not too much to ask, may I inquire where your lieges are headed?”

“We are responding to the call from Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager, de’ Medici.”

The merchant let out a sigh.

“Hoo. Is Lutetia Parisiorum fated to be drenched in blood?”

“If possible, I advise that you avoid doing business at Lutetia Parisiorum as well.”

The merchant let out another sigh as he shook his head.

“I thought that we would have enough time to sell armaments in Paris……. It seems the Heavens are against me. No, Your Liege’s advice is worth a thousand gold. Thank you very much.”

“Hm.”

Jacquerie glanced at the merchant group’s carriage. His face looked like he had just thought of a good idea.

He approached me and whispered.

“Your Highness, it is a bit early, but would it be all right to set up camp here for the night?”

“It seems you have an idea.”

“Yes. A rather good one, at that.”

Jacquerie gave an earnest nod. Jacquerie knew more about the world as a mercenary captain who had marched through the continent. I gladly gave him permission.

Jacquerie went back to the merchant and spoke.

“If it is all right with you, we could purchase your armaments.”

The old merchant opened his eyes wide.

“Really?”

“Indeed. We will be meeting with Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager anyway. It would be good to have more weapons.”

“…….”

The merchant stroked his beard. He seemed to genuinely consider the proposal. Jacquerie waited a few seconds before continuing in a casual tone.

“You do not have to make an immediate decision.”

“What do you mean?”

“We will be setting up camp soon. You have already paid a toll, so we shall stand guard for you. You can spend the night mulling over this carefully.”

“……A truly generous treatment. I give you my utmost gratitude.”

We decided to follow Jacquerie’s decision to camp with the merchant group. The old merchant shouted at his travel companions that the knights were going to protect them for the night. Once he did, the people who had been hiding in the forest slowly came crawling out.

“You fiends! I even treated you guys kindly! You ungrateful scoundrels!”

The old man raised a small whip and started whipping at their backs.

“Hiii! Forgive me!”

“We won’t do it ever again!”

They cried out as they prostrated themselves and begged for forgiveness. A portion of their workers seemed to have run away when they saw our army approach. Their wages were probably going to be cut by more than half after this.

Our group paid them no mind as we proceeded to set up our tents. The mercenaries set up the tents with dexterous hand movements. They finished setting up their quarters in about an hour, so they truly were elite soldiers. According to the mercenaries, it usually takes two to three hours when trying to set up a genuine military camp, but that still didn’t change the fact that they were quite fast.

Late in the evening.

The leading members of our group gathered around a campfire. We shared a drink of boiled brandy as we conversed. The sound of chatting could also be heard around us at the other campfires.

Jacquerie spoke.

“I wish to explain why I suggested we should set up camp here.”

“Granted.”

“Thank you very much. Your Highness, do you know the current state of affairs within the Frankia Empire?”

I shook my head.

“I do not. Explain.”

I have a rough understanding of what was happening in every nation around this time thanks to the <Dungeon Attack> lorebook, but I didn’t feel confident with only game knowledge. I had made the 8th Crescent Alliance happen a whole decade early. I have to know how this was going to affect the world.

“Currently, the Frankia Empire is split into two sides. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager are opposing each other while both leading their own powerful factions. What Your Highness needs to know is the fact that we will be cooperating with the Empress Dowager.”

“Why is that?”

“The Empress Dowager thinks favorably of republicanism.”

That was definitely a good enough reason.

“The Empress Dowager, Catherine de’ Medici, was not born in Frankia. She was sent to be wed from a ducal household in the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Kingdom of Sardinia professes to being a kingdom on the surface, but the cities within its borders actually have fairly strong autonomous rights. Not only is republicanism not an unfamiliar ideology to the Empress Dowager, but it is also an ideology that is near and dear to her. Despite this, this does not mean she is a member of our <Liberation Alliance>.”

It made sense to me.

This was something I knew through <Dungeon Attack> as well. The Empress Dowager has been acting as the regent for three generations now. The emperors would keep dying at a young age, so the Empress Dowager had come into power temporarily. The Empress Dowager was rather talented, so the nation was managed well, but…….

“The young emperor is discontent with his mother.”

The issue was the fact that the parent and child had a very bad relationship.

“The current emperor, Henry III, is fairly young. Different from his brothers who died of disease early on, he is healthy and energetic. He will be 18-years-old this year.”

“So he wants to seize power and run the nation himself, huh?”

“That is correct.”

The young emperor of Frankia was reaching the peak age of his life, and yet, the nation was still revolving around the Empress Dowager who had been in power for three generations now. The Emperor didn’t have a lot of supporters or influential vassals around him, so he could only be discontent with the current situation.

“There is another problem. The Empress Dowager is generous to religion and its beliefs. This may have been an inevitable decision as a female trying to lead an entire nation. Thanks to this, despite being located right next to the Batavia Republic, royalists and republicans used to coexist rather well.”

Used to. Past tense. This meant they no longer were.

“The Emperor does not take after his mother, I see.”

“Indeed.”

Jacquerie took a sip from his brandy before continuing.

“Before Henry III became the Emperor of Frankia, he had taken the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for a brief moment of time. As you know, the nobles of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth possess a lot of authority…….”

“They are a nation close to that of an aristocratic republic. I know.”

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a nation where royal authority was extremely limited. Who knows how difficult life must have been for Henry III when he was from another nation and could not even speak to them properly.

The nobles would do their utmost to protect their own power rather than swear their loyalty to the king, and when the king wants to make a decision, it has to be permitted by the council of nobles. They would only be a king in name. In truth, they were nothing but a figurehead. Republicanism must seem like a horrific idea for a young emperor who was overflowing with ambition…….

“Once the previous emperor, in other words, his brother died of a disease, Henry III returned almost instantaneously as if he were running away from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. All for the sake of inheriting the throne. However…….”

“Republicanism was being publicly established in Frankia as well.”

He was a part of the bloodline of emperors. He had a good enough cause. His competency wasn’t verified yet, but he was young. He was overflowing with passion.

However, he didn’t obtain any authority as a king or an emperor. He was a mannequin emperor. Eventually, the young emperor became enraged at republicanism and stood up to take his authority back from his mother.

“A civil war had already been predetermined.”

“Mm.”

“Not only is the Empress Dowager a foreigner, but she lost her husband a long time ago. Despite this, she devoted her entire life to the Frankia Empire. In truth, she was the one who created and preserved the current empire. She was deeply upset that her son would try to ruin her country.”

I laughed. They had quite an impressive broken family.

“In response to this, the Empress Dowager called for the soldiers of the nearby lords and mercenary groups. Even now, soldiers from all around the nation are gathering to the capital. Your Highness, we will be participating in that civil war as one of those groups.”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I wonder if Jacquerie and Jeremi are going to have more prominent roles in the future or if they’re just going to fade away after this arc is over. Jeremi feels like an interesting character. She resembles Humbaba in a way since they were both shunned by society. Jeremi has burn marks and Humbaba+witches were burned. Maybe I’m reading into it too much.

Well, in any case, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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