Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Chapter 80

The entire territory was being consumed by fire.

However, the devastating raids hitting the island of Britannia were no longer being provoked by mere war deserters.

In fact, desertion never existed. Everything was part of an elaborate strategy by the Empire to fragment and disperse the defending armies.

As if that were not enough, the massive naval fleet carrying 20,000 imperial combatants never intended to return to the continental shores by crossing the Strait of Calais.

While the inhabitants of Britannia grew confident due to a fictitious truce brought about by the supposed enemy withdrawal, the imperial ships abruptly changed their route. They deployed along the maritime boundaries of Britannia and captured strategic landing zones. Shortly after, they initiated an offensive of ruthless pillaging throughout the entire region.

That is the harsh reality in armed conflicts.

To snatch lives or lose one’s own, to plunder or to be a victim of plunder. To eliminate the rival before they act, to seize resources before being dominated.

During those same days, a colossal storm began to flood the lands of Britannia.

The storm was relentless.

“We will defend this position until our last breath!”

In the midst of the tempest, the members of the Black Armor Company let out a war cry before the approaching riders.

At the flanks of the formation, the imperial shooters buried wooden defenses to block the way, while the Empire’s cavalry dismounted to fight side by side with the heavy infantry of the Black Armor Company.

An impenetrable defense.

Under the scourging of the rain, the imperial contingents stood firm on the high ground, protected by a thick mud that stood before the attackers, a product of the previous days of constant rain.

The riders of the Kingdom of Britannia launched an all-out offensive.

This rapid assault group from Britannia sought to stop the Empire’s looting and swiftly eradicate the invaders. With the imperial factions divided and plundering the territory, the local cavalry, endowed with greater speed and maneuverability, should have been in control of the situation.

That was the logical outcome.

“Destroy those imperial scum!”

As the riders’ onslaught began, the soldiers of the Black Armor Company remained immovable.

The dark attire that identified the “Black Prince” fluttered in the wind, while he concentrated dark arcane energy at the tip of his fingers.

“Black Cannon, Gatling style, 5.56 x 45 mm.”

A malevolent, living, and distorted force was unleashed immediately.

Its intensity had been voluntarily reduced.

Dale’s goal was not to completely exterminate the enemy cavalry. Several reasons justified this decision.

The contingent of rival riders was too numerous to be wiped out with a single spell. Furthermore, keeping certain opponents alive tended to cause greater psychological disorder than their elimination.

Although the primary reason was that he pursued a triumph derived from the strategy of the armies as a whole, rather than victories based on individual feats.

The devastation advanced swiftly. A barrage of dark projectiles pierced metal protections, shattered skulls, and spilled bodily fluids, tissues, and remains of the combatants.

“What… what kind of power is that…?”

“It’s him… the signature spell of the ‘Black Prince’…”

“No one will make it out of here alive!”

Panic spread rapidly among the enemy riders.

“Retreat, turn around! Make the mounts turn back!”

The vanguard of the cavalry broke its organization and disintegrated amidst the confusion.

“Let the second wave advance! Provide support to those retreating!”

The second block charged, but ended up colliding and becoming entangled with the fleeing riders, all of them sinking into the quagmire.

In the thick layer of mud, turned into a trap by the incessant water, the retreating combatants stumbled over those intending to advance, pushing and knocking each other down.

The damp earth clung firmly to the joints of their heavy armor, sucking them in as if they were trapped in a swamp.

A swamp of doom.

Desperate to survive, the riders grabbed each other chaotically, dragging each other to the bottom, sometimes becoming crushed by the weight of their own combat gear. The numerical advantage held by the opposing side became their own ruin.

It was the same tactical method that the Maiden previously employed to defeat an imperial contingent that greatly outnumbered her.

“……”

Dale watched the collapse of his opponents unflinchingly.

“What is your perspective?”

He finally broke the silence, addressing the “prisoner” who accompanied him silently at his side.

“Does this represent the perfect nation that Lady Aurelia longed to found?”

“……”

On the muddy terrain of destruction, the warriors of Britannia fought uselessly for their lives.

The Maiden Aurelia witnessed the scene.

She stood completely helpless before the loss of her men, unable to act due to the immobilization spell imposed by the white mages. Showing her impotence, she bit her lip bitterly.

She carried no visible physical restraints, such as shackles. However, Aurelia had simply transformed into a “helpless maiden.”

A humble country girl, forced to witness the ruin of her own land.

“The moment has arrived.”

Noticing the final chaos of the enemy cavalry, Dale gave the signal.

“End the life of every one of them.”

A faithful display of the severity and ruthlessness of the “Black Prince.”

“Transmit the general’s orders!”

“Leave no one alive!”

The Black Armor Company, armed exclusively under Dale’s orders, finally began its advance. A select group of five hundred warriors on horseback equipped with heavy armor.

Shortly after, Dale distributed instructions to the rest of the imperial groups.

“Make the vanguard warriors mount their horses again and charge.”

“Stay alert for possible ambushes in the rear by hidden squadrons.”

“Shooters, stay firm behind the defenses, but cease fire.”

Orders delivered with absolute order and precision.

The Empire’s soldiers fighting on foot, who had collaborated to stop the rival cavalry’s onslaught alongside the Black Armor Company, returned to their horses which remained ready. Following Dale’s strategy, they executed an enveloping movement from the flanks.

“Attack!”

It was not a fortuitous triumph achieved against all odds.

Despite the inferiority in numbers, the context played in their favor. The opposing side was plunged into despair, while they controlled the geography of the battlefield.

It was a confrontation they had secured from the beginning.

Securing a triumph in a combat that must be won is simple.

However, at the same time, there is no task more vital than consolidating a victory when the scenario is favorable.

Unlike the Empire, which suffered the loss of a massive army against the insurgents commanded by the Maiden, or those fools who abandoned the fortified position of Bell Fort, reducing their ranks by half.

These are the rules of the military, and Dale assimilated this premise impeccably. Failure in a military campaign usually originates from not concretizing the triumphs that are within reach.

“Lady Aurelia should have foreseen these consequences.”

Dale expressed himself with serenity, pointing out that that panorama was the direct fruit of the young woman’s utopian concepts.

“……”

Under the incessant rain, the Maiden Aurelia gritted her teeth in silence.

Under the direction of the imperial strategist and “Black Prince,” the Empire’s battalions annihilated the riders of Britannia who lay immobilized by the mud.

A total of 20,000 imperial combatants advanced through the geography of Britannia, seizing every resource in their path.

On every occasion, the riders sent to repel the incursions fell defeated, causing the entire region to be consumed by the chaos of looting.

This was “inevitable.”

Troops require sustenance to maintain the campaign. However, the armed conflict had extended beyond what was projected and the Empire’s reserves were scarce.

The massive diversion of military provisions destined for the rescue of Philip represented a highly detrimental impact.

Therefore, the most direct path to remedy the shortage of resources in a conflict was evident.

Strip the opposing side of their food. Resort to pillage.

During those same days, an emissary of the Empire arrived in Reims, the main city of Britannia.

His objective was to present a document signed by Dale, the main leader of the imperial hosts, directed to King Charles.

The missive stated only one sentence.

── Si vis pacem, para bellum.

(If you long for concord, prepare for combat.)

During that period.

The Empire’s groups interrupted the scattered incursions through the territory and began to concentrate their resources in a single location to conclude the confrontation.

The target was the capital of Britannia, Reims, the same city that the Maiden Aurelia had previously snatched from the Black Prince without resorting to violence.

Some time later, in the imperial region of Burgundy, located on the island of Britannia.

The Maiden Aurelia remained confined in a room of the military building.

Although the restrictive spell of the white mages completely nullified her capabilities, she received the attentions corresponding to a hostage of great importance.

“Before long, the imperial groups will initiate siege actions to regain control of the capital, Reims.”

In that place, Dale shared the news.

“I do not require you to show me pity.”

Aurelia answered dryly to Dale’s statement.

In previous days, it had fallen to her to witness the corrupt intentions that the Holy Knight held toward her person.

That monarch with porcine features.

Her future seemed sentenced to become an object of procreation for that individual, or else to end her own existence before suffering such degradation.

“What are your reasons for keeping me safe?”

The one who intervened to prevent that tragic outcome was precisely the “Black Prince,” and for that reason the Maiden demanded an explanation.

“It is evident that you seek to obtain some benefit from my situation.”

“……”

“Does your plan consist of bringing me to public scrutiny and discrediting my divine visions?”

“If my purpose were to strip you of your sacred reputation, Lady Aurelia.”

stated Dale.

“Handing you over to fulfill the desires of that individual would have been the most effective strategy.”

That was undeniable.

“Being so, what is it that you want from me?”

“My only wish.”

declared Dale.

“Is that Lady Aurelia witnesses personally the outcome of this military campaign.”

The conclusion of the conflict.

“The ruin of the one who proclaimed herself as the instrument of the divinities.”

“……”

“I ask you to assume this as a determination of Lady Aurelia herself.”

“What do you mean by those words?”

The young woman’s question remained floating in the room while Dale formulated his reply.

“I mean the true alternative to guarantee the salvation of the Kingdom of Britannia.”

Simultaneously, in another of the rooms of the Burgundy fortification.

“That insolent Saxon boy…!”

Count Brandenburg, holder of the title of Holy Knight, exclaimed with uncontrollable hostility.

He knew perfectly well that the appearance of his spiritual manifestation represented the height of deformity and displeasure.

Despite this, it constituted a direct expression of the Holy Knight’s dogmas and, in a certain sense, that creature with pig features reflected his true identity.

For this reason, he was willing to bear the discredit in order to capture the “Saint Maiden.” However, he failed in the attempt.

All of this because of the restrictive pact fixed directly on his own being.

That fateful day, the youth of Saxon origin set a geass linked to his life force and to the consequences of the failure of the mission.

“First, during the upcoming battles and maneuvers, you will follow my orders unquestioningly.”

“Second, the fate and conditions of the captives obtained in this campaign will depend exclusively on my judgment.”

Could he have anticipated everything from the beginning? Would it be possible that even a strategist of his lineage was nothing more than a piece manipulated under the criteria of the “Black Prince”?

The intolerable degradation exerted great pressure on his spirit.

As if that were not enough, the complex he carried throughout his existence was now exposed before others’ eyes.

Within the order of the Knights of Saint Magdalene, there was no longer a single member who was unaware of his hidden weakness.

“Under no circumstances will I allow this to go unpunished…”

He clenched his jaw firmly while he fixed his attention on the hilt of the Holy Sword Durandal.

A rhythmic and constant echo resounded.

The beats of the military drums began to be heard, marking the start of operations against Reims.

The Imperial Army, composed of a force of twenty thousand effectives, established a siege around the main city of the Kingdom of Britannia.

The “Black Prince,” belonging to the dynasty of the Saxon House, commanded the actions from the front.

In his role as supreme chief of the Empire’s groups, he kept the Saint Maiden held under his direct custody.

“Let us offer an alternative to the citizens of Reims.”

Dale intervened with determination.

“An alternative…?”

“Handle the dialogue with them yourself, Lady Aurelia. Invite them to lay down their arms.”

“……”

“I assure it by pledging the honor of the Saxon lineage.”

added Dale.

“If they opt for a peaceful capitulation and evacuate Reims, the Imperial Army will avoid any act of extermination or pillage.”

“Do you think I am going to grant validity to your promises?”

“There is no obligation for you to show sympathy toward me.”

stated Dale showing indifference.

“I only seek that Lady Aurelia evaluates the proposal under her own criteria.”

“……”

The environment was plunged into silence.

“Allow me to attempt the dialogue with them.”

After pondering it carefully, Aurelia showed her agreement and began the march, guarded by imperial elements, in the direction of the walls of the great city.

It was precisely on that path when she perceived the shouts.

“The ally of the imperial oppressors!”

“An impostor! The traitor has returned!”

“Get out of here, collaborator of the Empire!”

The insults were heard clearly.

They did not come from the enemy occupation ranks. They were the complaints of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Britannia themselves, the same individuals for whom she had given her efforts.

“What is the reason for this…?”

At first, she found herself unable to assimilate the origin of such disqualifications.

“The instant the Saint Maiden was captured in the Orleans area.”

At that moment, she perceived an explanation behind her.

“I took it upon myself to spread false testimonies.”

Arguing that the Saint Maiden Aurelia decided to sell the interests of the kingdom, making a pact with the imperial forces in order to preserve her own integrity.

“……”

“It took them a few weeks to completely discredit the legacy that the Saint Maiden built with such care.”

A very short period.

“To the popular perception, the Saint Maiden represents today a renegade who handed her homeland over to the invaders.”

The entire Kingdom of Britannia showed her their contempt for the protector figure that in the past they idolized.

“Was the sacrifice worth it?”

inquired Dale.

“To become an instrument of celestial designs, leaving aside your own life to defend the interests of this nation.”

“……”

“──Did it truly ‘pay off’?”

reiterated Dale seeking an answer. Aurelia remained quiet, unable to articulate any word.

Chapter 80