Mid-August, in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Hadrta, within the Steel City of Seltoden, Duke Ulysses has gone without a good night''s sleep for over a month now.
In recent times, the entire kingdom''s situation had been tumultuous, changing so rapidly it was almost unbelievable.
Just half a year ago, the lords of the kingdom were taking sides, discussing the session of the heir to the throne. As a neutral party, Ulysses wasn''t particrly interested in who became king, knowing that decrees from the capital had minimal impact on bordend lords like himself.
However, he hadn''t anticipated that the second prince, Hatar, would dare to conspire with notorious wizards, even going so far as to seize the capital and murder King Bazeel! This action shook the entire kingdom!
Though their newly crowned king imed externally that it was the Machiavellian act of the Cardinal aligned with the elder prince and the Church, and he merely righted the wrongs to ascend the throne, this flimsy excuse likely fooled no one!
Such an act was bound to incur the wrath of the Church!
Given this, Ulysses pretended toply with Hatar''s call, seemingly returning allegiance to the kingdom''s rule while covertly informing a section of bordend nobles about the downfall of the kingdom.
When Edweil led the army to retaliate, Ulysses readily chose to wee the king''s forces! He was well aware of the power held by the Empire and the Church. While the cultists of those dark gods might have momentarily exerted their influence bymitting regicide within the kingdom, the moment the Church''s forces arrived, they would swiftly be decimated!
Ulysses was resolute in this belief. Yet, within less than a month, news arrived of theplete and utter defeat of the Church''s forces...Upon receiving this information, Ulysses was shattered. He couldn''t fathom how such a mighty army could face such a disastrous defeat. He even doubted if it was a concocted story by spies banding together to deceive him.
Once the authenticity of this news was confirmed, Ulysses fell into tremendous panic, faced with an incredibly crucial decision.
Should he continue following the Church''s orders or turn towards the embrace of the new king?
As a proper noble, Ulysses wasn''t fixated on principles. He was open to employing anyone, whether lowly assassins or infamous wizards, if they served his purpose.
As for faith in the divine, he did possess some, albeit minimal. After the crushing defeat of the Church''s forces, this devoutness diminished even further!
The secret to the sustained existence and continual growth of the Ulysses family had always been firmly standing on the side of the victors for hundreds of years...
However, ultimately, Ulysses chose to observe. Over this month, the victorious wizards surprisingly showed no signs of action, which made him start to wonder if perhaps these followers of the dark gods had also suffered severe losses in that war, causing them to hesitate to step out of the capital.
Ulysses, draped in nightwear, paced through his expansive estate. Before long, news arrived from his scouts. Ignoring the need to change his attire, he hastily summoned them, urgently inquiring,
"What''s the situation in the capital now? Any movements from King Hatar or the wizards?"
"Milord, the minions of those dark gods have left the capital. Rough estimates suggest over thirty thousand troops split into three legions. The whereabouts of two of the legions are currently unknown..." The burly knight reported in a low voice, half-kneeling on the ground.
"Unknown?" Ulysses frowned. Concealing the movements of such a massive army seemed improbable.
"What about the remaining legion? Don''t tell me they got lost too?" Ulysses coldly interrogated.
"Milord, they... they are right behind us!" The knight stuttered.
"Behind?" Ulysses was taken aback.
"They are outside the city! Less than ten kilometers away from Steel City!" The burly knight cautiously replied.
"Outside the city?! So quickly?" Ulysses was aghast. The capital was two hundred kilometers away, with five formidable castles and over twenty viges in between! Did this legion of over ten thousand people just fly over?
Ulysses instantly recalled the information he had received earlier about those alchemical constructs supposedlyrger than houses but capable of flying in the sky. Without a second thought, he rushed out, mounted the estate''s finest warhorse, and arrived atop the city walls in a mere five minutes.
Ulysses, d in nightclothes, stood out on the city walls. Thankfully, at this moment, no one cared about the slight impropriety of their esteemed lord because, on the horizon, a legion of over ten thousand soldiers was advancing towards the Steel City.
At the forefront were a dozen or so intricate iron boxes resembling carriagepartments, maneuvering swiftly across the wide ins without relying on beasts of burden. Behind them trailed ominous massive cannons.
And nking these were over ten thousand musketeers, marching in impable formation, each wielding a long wooden stick with a pointed knife bound at the top.
If it were the first time seeing these, Ulysses might have mistaken them for short spears. Yet, ording to the scouts, these firearms called muskets were incredibly powerful long-range magical creations, imbued with the power of thunder and mes, capable of effortlessly piercing through armored protection at a hundred meters, leaving the Duke''s proud cavalry in the dust...
The only relief for Ulysses was the absence of those colossal flying alchemical constructs.
Even so, their chance of victory was incredibly slim because Seltoden was by no means as fortified as the capital! Especially after the disastrous defeat suffered by the Church''s expeditionary forces, let alone these neers!
Ulysses promptly analyzed the situation, considering whether to surrender or not.
He did entertain the thought, but the Grand Bishop of Seltoden and his clergy were right by his side, and remarkably, they seemed to have received the news even faster than himself!
"No need to worry too much, Duke Ulysses." The Grand Bishop seemed to perceive Ulysses''s inclination towards timidity and reassured him. "I have received divine revtion. Under the leadership of Saint Lucia, we will personally crush these minions of the dark gods who havemitted grievous crimes in the kingdom. We need only persist for a while, victory will be within our grasp."
"When the timees, I will present your merits to His Holiness, and you shall be the next King of Hadrta!" The Grand Bishop stated firmly.>
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