stonecrandall Page 38
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[You know Lancelot is caught in the middle between you and your father, so you didn't intend to hold him responsible. You took the letter Lancelot brought you, and suddenly your head started to ache, because it explained Mordred's next plan.]
Using scorched earth tactics to disrupt the enemy's logistics was merely a side effect of her actions. The core of her operation was to create greater chaos by attacking Vortigern's Saxon court, thus facilitating the Crusaders' entry into Saxon territory. Once the Crusaders began their offensive, she would maneuver back and forth behind the Saxon lines to prevent the enemy's frontline soldiers from receiving supplies.
[This is an extremely bold tactic, but... you fully agree with it. You wrote a letter approving Mordred's plan and arranged for Lancelot to lead another 500 Calibur Knights to support Mordred and help him achieve his goal.]
The thought of 1000 purgatory knights and two Knights of the Round Table waging guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines excites you. As for the eight hundred crusaders, you have plans. You intend to wait until the end of this holy war and bring the entire Upper Germania under your control, then select a few of the most meritorious crusaders who fought alongside Mordred to reward them and make them Mordred's future core.
The matter of Mordred is now settled. Under your and the King of France's coordination, the Crusades are quickly taking shape. Catholics from all over Europe have gathered together to form an army of eighty to one hundred thousand men. This army is united under the banner of God and obeys the arrangements of you, the saint.
[According to the plan you and the French King agreed upon, this army split into two groups, with the French King and you each leading one group, to attack Upper and Lower Germania simultaneously. The French King went to conquer Lower Germania, while you, along with Artoria and the Knights of the Round Table, headed straight for Upper Germania, where the Saxon royal court was located.]
Unlike the French king who merely wanted to conquer and seize territory, your goal was very clear: to quickly form a pincer movement with Mordred and launch a direct attack on Vortigern's location, which would later become Brandenburg.
Chapter 74 Think carefully about what you've done. Do you still dare to say you have no ulterior motives towards the Counter Force?
[In this great crusade, you truly witnessed the strength of Vortigern's regular army. As you predicted, the large-scale gathering of Saxon troops was a formidable force. Almost no single nation's army could withstand a direct confrontation with the Saxon army. Fortunately, however, these Saxon troops were not facing any particular nation, but the entire Crusade.]
In terms of the advantages of a frontal army, the Crusaders were clearly superior to the Saxon armies, even when divided into two forces, especially given that the French king was no different from a traditional warlord, focusing entirely on conquering cities and seizing territories.
As the saying goes, there are priorities and urgency in everything, a principle that applies worldwide. For the Saxons, the Crusaders led by the French king were their greatest calamity.
Even though your reputation far surpasses that of the Dharma King, making you theoretically the most dangerous enemy, their hostility towards you is far less intense than towards the Dharma King. The reason is simple: the difference in your policies after the start of the war.
Since your target has always been Vortigern, to ensure a smooth campaign against him, from the moment you set out from Amiens, you ordered messengers to notify the various Saxon tribes along the way, demanding their surrender and provision of supplies for the Crusaders. In return, you guaranteed that if they were willing to abandon their support for Vortigern and become your vassals, you could ensure their continued existence in this land.
This was an order that went terribly against the original purpose of the Crusades, which was to punish infidels.
Therefore, in the early days of your announcement of this order, dissenting voices arose within the Crusader you commanded. However, you easily suppressed these dissenting voices by simply having Artoria demonstrate the power of the Holy Lance and by promising to convert the Saxons to Catholicism.
As for the suspicions about your Saxon tribe, your solution is simple: just truthfully report what the French king did in Lower Germania.
Yes, compared to you, who still have the desire to vassalize the Saxons, the French king's approach to these infidels was simple. He made a decision almost indistinguishable from that of the Crusaders in history: kill, wipe out all the Saxons who dared to resist the Crusaders.
People are always inclined to compromise. For example, if you say, "This room is too dark, let's put a skylight here," everyone will definitely object. But if you advocate tearing down the roof, they will compromise and agree to put a skylight. And the Dharma King was the one who tore down the roof.
After comparing you with the King of France, the Saxons were willing to accept your terms. Even though you were once an enemy of the Saxons when they conquered Britain, your reputation for keeping your promises had spread throughout Europe, and even your enemies knew how trustworthy you were in this regard.
Therefore, your journey, while not entirely smooth, was not particularly fraught with conflict. Only a small number of Saxons loyal to Vortigern attacked you, while the majority of the Saxon tribes chose to move south to join their compatriots in Lower Germania in resisting the French king.
[You didn't hold the Saxons' actions against you, because you never expected to get their surrender with a single promise. But you also didn't attack the southward-migrating Saxon tribes. You assumed they had already surrendered and instead focused all your energy on fighting Vortigern.]
As it turns out, your decision wasn't exactly right, but it wasn't wrong either, because after leading your army through numerous battles, large and small, across the Rhine River, and arriving in the Hanover region, you discovered that a large Saxon army had already amassed near the Elbe River.
These are the last remaining Saxon tribes loyal to Vortigern, while many more Saxons are still resisting the French king in Lower Germania. You know, once you destroy this last army, your goal will be achieved, and that won't be difficult for you, since your legion itself hasn't suffered many losses.
Led by Artoria and the Knights of the Round Table, the Crusaders engaged the Saxon army head-on. It must be said that the Saxon resistance was exceptionally fierce, and this was one of the few times you couldn't achieve a quick victory. Your enemies occupied terrain unfavorable to cavalry, dragging the war into a stalemate. They also limited the effectiveness of the Holy Lance and Holy Sword through melee combat. After all, you and Artoria couldn't afford to use such weapons of mass destruction directly on the battlefield for the sake of efficiency.
But all of this was in vain, because Mordred, who had been operating behind enemy lines, joined the fray shortly after the war began. She led the Cavalry in a direct assault behind enemy lines, beheading the enemy commander on the spot. Thus, the war on the Elbe River ended with your great victory.
[And with the end of the great war, Mordred also gave you a great gift to offset her guilt for acting without authorization.]
King Vortigern was captured by Mordred.
While all of Vortigern's confidants were busy defending against your attack, Mordred seized the opportunity to raid Vortigern's royal court. She knew very well that, given your character, you wouldn't blame her if she performed a great service, so she really did give you a big surprise.
However, the only thing that surprised Mordred was that her actions went unnoticed; Vortigern didn't even clash with her, and was simply captured without resistance.
Chapter 85
[了]
You were confused by this, but your confusion will soon be resolved.
Just as the rumors say, the once invincible King Vortigern has become a decrepit old man. When he was dragged to you by Mordred, bound in iron shackles, you would have thought Mordred had arrested the wrong person. In your mind, Vortigern was supposed to be a formidable enemy who could literally transform into a white dragon, and whose power was almost one with the island of Britain. But now...
Too weak.
Quinn stared at the old man kneeling before him, feeling an emptiness as if he had been battling with thin air for a year or two.
To ensure a smooth victory, he painstakingly assembled a perfect hand before daring to play, only to discover that his opponent was a cripple who couldn't even complete a set of terminal tiles. This kind of pain was truly unbearable.
"So you're the traitor Vortigern?" Despite feeling a sense of defeat, like punching cotton, Quinn followed the usual procedure and immediately slapped a heavy label on the other party.
However, as Quinn spoke, the old man kneeling below, who seemed on the verge of death, suddenly raised his head as if he had been revitalized, and looked at Quinn with great spirit. This sudden change made Quinn grip the holy sword at his waist, guarding against the old dragon's possible last-ditch counterattack.
However, the scene that Quinn imagined, which appeared in some anime, where an enemy who should have died suddenly had a last burst of energy and dealt a heavy blow to the protagonist, did not occur. Vortigern just looked at Quinn with a face full of confusion and surprise, as if he had seen something that made him happy but also puzzled him.
Just as Quinn was wondering if this man was a little crazy, Vortigern's first words made him break out in a cold sweat.
"Why hasn't the Counter Force sent assassins to kill you yet? You outsider, who shouldn't be here, are you trying to challenge the guardians of humanity by altering your inevitable fate, and making the mysterious era an eternal enemy that will destroy mankind?"
No way, how dare you accuse me of such a serious crime?! Are your nine generations of relatives wholesale?!
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Quinn immediately retorted.
"Isn't that right? Merlin, that nightmare, has already been imprisoned by you, hasn't he? You even produced a perfect offspring with my poor niece. Although I'm old, my eyes aren't blind yet. The girl who captured me, isn't she the vessel you and Morgan prepared specifically to perpetuate the mystery?"
Vortigern's spirits rose higher and higher as he spoke, and his gaze toward Quinn was filled with expectation, almost as if he regretted being born too late.
"And the spiritual veins of Britain, you seized the power that the island should have been waning, and revitalized it... Outsider, no, the new master of Britannia, I can see that you are not the kind of person who will obediently follow the will of fate. You have deceived the restraining force, haven't you?"
Chapter 75 True wisdom is leveraging.
I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!
A rapid and efficient triple denial flashed through Quinn's mind, but before he could figure out how to deny the huge accusation Vortigern had pinned on him, the people accompanying Quinn in the military camp were already casting admiring glances at him. In particular, Mordred, who had personally pushed Vortigern in, was now filled with excitement at being recognized.
What?! I'm the designated crown prince?!
Mordred's feelings at this moment could not be described as mere elation; she was simply... incredibly excited!
Ah, so good! I feel like singing a song! A perfect offspring, continuing the mysterious vessel, this is so cool! Although I'm already lucky to be my father's daughter, I've never felt so happy before. Indeed, I am the offspring that my father and mother are most satisfied with!
If Mordred didn't lack a tail, she would have transformed into a humanoid helicopter by now, her tail whipping around so much it could carry her into the sky.
But the others were not so excited. Led by Gawain and Lancelot, the Knights of the Round Table who had experienced the original king-choosing ceremony had already sensed Vortigern's underlying words. They turned to look at Quinn, their eyes filled with worry.
Under what circumstances would someone be so eager to establish merit and expand territory? There are many possibilities. For example, youthful vigor is one, but what if this person is also working hard to prepare a perfect successor for the empire?
Even though he already had offspring to choose from, he felt that none of his existing offspring were reliable and insisted on creating a new one...
Anyone who thinks about this matter will only have one thought.
Quinn is nearing the end of his life and wants to choose the best future for the country in his final moments to ensure the good continuation of the nation and his family after his death.
The Knights of the Round Table wavered because of Vortigern's words, but fortunately, everyone present was your trusted confidant, and no one harbored any disloyalty. They were only worried about your safety and health, especially Artoria, who stared at Vortigern, trying to see the treacherous and lying look on the old dragon's face.
But things didn't go as planned. Vortigern's face showed only relief and expectation. This old dragon seemed to desperately want to see Britain ruled by someone like you, as if you were the king of Britain he had been hoping for.
You can't figure out what Vortigern is thinking at this moment, but that doesn't affect your attitude towards him. He is a lowly king, an enemy of all Britons. Only by returning with his head can your goal be considered complete. You intend to send him on his way personally.
Faced with your decision, Vortigern did not resist; he was willing to be beheaded by you.
So you decided to carry out the public execution in front of the entire Crusade. Vortigern was willing to accept your decision, but he wanted to offer you a word of advice.
"My new master of Britannia, though I am a despicable man, Britain is still the land that gave me birth and nurtured me. I hope you will sit upon my corpse and perpetuate the glory of that island. Beware, do not succumb to the fate that the forces of restraint have ordained for you. A wise ruler like you should rightfully become the ruler of all. After my death, take my body back to Camelot and adorn your imperial throne with my bones."
[You heeded Vortigern's advice and promised to return his body to Britain. Holding the holy sword, you personally beheaded Vortigern in front of all the Crusaders. As Vortigern's head fell to the ground, the old man's body began to twist and distort, transforming into a gigantic dragon.]
Your legendary story has been elevated.
According to Celtic and British mythology, the Britannian emperor launched a holy war against the Saxons to kill the Baal King. When the Crusaders stormed Vortigern's court, the emperor decisively defeated the Baal King's army. Princess Mordred then captured the Britannian traitors and brought them to the throne. With the death of the Baal King, the dragon that had caused the turmoil in Camelot and all of Britain perished under the sword of the Holy Sword. Thus, the great threat to Britannia was eliminated.
Your trait "Enemy of the White Dragon" has been changed to "Dragon Slayer". Your Valor is increased by 5. When facing dragon-type enemies, they are more likely to enter the "Fear" state. When you are defeated by a dragon, you gain a temporary "Battle Continuation".
Vortigern is dead. With the death of this lowly king, the Saxons of Upper Germania no longer have a reason to be your enemy. Your previous policy of appeasement has finally taken effect at this moment, and many Saxon tribes that were not your enemies before have gradually begun to submit to you.
Meanwhile, in Lower Germania, the King of France continued his campaign of conquest and expansion. His campaign was extremely difficult, and the Saxons' hatred for him had surpassed their hatred for the Romans. Therefore, when news of your victory reached him, he requested your assistance.
Faced with the Dharma King's plea for help, you don't plan to personally go to the capital.
Chapter 86
Horse, you sent Lancelot, also a Frenchman, with a crusade to support the French king, while you yourself gathered the Saxon tribes in Upper Germania who were willing to submit. This is essential for smoother rule over Germania in the future; you must get the Saxons out of tribalism and into feudalism.
This is a long and tedious process, but you are not worried, because the actions of the French king in Lower Germania will eventually lead to the Saxon people's hearts turning to you, and in fact, that is exactly what happened.
With Lancelot joining the French army with the Crusaders, the French campaign in Lower Germania became increasingly successful. The purges of heretics grew increasingly brutal as the Crusaders suffered losses, and more and more Saxons were unable to withstand the Crusader offensive and were forced to relocate their tribal strongholds.
Finally, many settlements chose to migrate eastward, but many more were unwilling to leave their ancestral homeland. They had no choice but to migrate north to Upper Germania to seek your protection. In the eyes of these Saxons, you had defeated Vortigern head-on, proving in a barbarian way that you were stronger and more trustworthy than Vortigern. After all, those Saxon tribes that surrendered to you were indeed not punished.
You accepted these Saxons, but you demanded more from them. You no longer only wanted their submission, but also demanded that they not interfere with Catholic missionary work.
The Saxons had no choice but to accept your demands. However, you did not demand unconditional sacrifice from them, but instead granted them corresponding rights. You promised to build cities for them, fund their trade, and help them establish a complete commercial system.
Under such benevolent rule, Upper Germania exhibited a stability distinct from Lower Germania, until the Holy War ended and everything settled down.
You have just returned to Paris with the British army, and the King of France has been waiting for you for a long time. He is eager for you to keep the promise you made to him.
He wanted to establish the Frankish Empire.
Chapter Seventy-Six: Morgan Gets Married!
Dharma King?
That's my half-brother. How can I, as the older brother, not lend a hand when my brother is in trouble?
Agruven, go! Go and give my good brother the King of France a good job! Don't come back to see me until you've become some kind of Grand Duke of Burgundy or Grand Duke of Normandy!
Faced with the King of France's plea for help, as the leader of the Anglo-French alliance, you are well aware of how to be a good leader of a gang: you can't ignore your subordinates in trouble. So, you sent your most trusted and capable lieutenant, your own son Agruven, who has little moral bottom line, to aid the King of France and help him conquer the land you promised during your alliance.
Agravin had no objection to this, especially when you privately told him that he could use his wisdom in the war without restraint. Agravin's eyes practically lit up. He had long yearned to apply his wisdom to the war, but unfortunately, you never allowed him to offer advice at military conferences.
The reason you don't allow it is quite simple: Agricole's thought process is purely that of a British old-fashioned lord, including, but not limited to, promoting what the French king did during the Crusades, arbitrarily planning the governance of French-occupied territories, intensifying the political struggles among nobles within the French royal court, and advocating for military merit as a reward, causing French nobles to compete for the title of the first knight of France, etc.
If your political plans and strategic goals are aimed at making Britannia the leading power in continental Europe, then Agcuvin is nothing more than a troublemaker who drags other countries into the mire and causes them to disintegrate to the point where they are not even as powerful as Britannia.
Therefore, you rarely adopt Agravivan's advice, but now you also want to cause the French king some trouble. After all, you don't want to see a real Frankish Empire emerge on the European continent. You hope that the French king can remain your ally and vassal for life, rather than a European monarch standing on the same level as you.
Therefore, Agravan was the best candidate to support the King of Padmasambhava. However, due to your suppression of Agravan, the King of Padmasambhava had never heard of Agravan's talent in this area. He only knew that Agravan was your son and a member of the Knights of the Round Table.
The saying "like father, like son" applies here, and even the Dharma King believes in this theory.
When faced with Agravan and all the armored paladins you sent, the French king received Agravan with a grand welcome ceremony. Although the number of this reinforcements was small, their quality was high. Your armored paladins are recognized as the strongest cavalry in Europe. Even though their number is less than 10,000, they are enough to play a decisive role.
As for you yourself, you returned to the new capital of Britannia with even more people.
[During the Holy War, construction in London continued unabated. The capital you envisioned is now taking shape, and your return journey has added the most luxurious gift to the new capital: you have brought back the corpse of Vortigern. You intend to use the remains of this dragon as a base to forge a set of palace treasures.]
You spread the word, recruiting skilled craftsmen from all over Europe, hoping to make good use of this hard-won material. But before that, you placed his corpse in the center of the new capital for all the people of Britain to see, to prove that you had killed the lowly king.
With Vortigern's death at your hands, your prestige is at its peak. You have completely solved Britain's greatest problem, and everyone believes that Britannia will reach its zenith, becoming a great empire no less powerful than Rome.