Vol 4 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Volu in Pain in the Endless World”
———- The Holy Crusaders, the Plains of Strange Cliffs, Encampment, 24km from the City of the Gate
Chaplain: “24km left before we reach our objective”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “Yes”
Crown Prince Marshal: “Even without pushi+ng ourselves, we should be able to establish our formation in front of the City within 10 days”
Green Ash King: “That’s right”
The Primarch: “…… With the Heart of the Holy Spirit, we can increase our speed, and commence the attack as soon as we arrive! With the full force of the devotees of the Holy Spirit, we can break the resistance of those evil De of the Holy Church over the City”
Crown Prince Marshal: “With regards to that”
Chaplain: “As soon as we arrive at the City of the Gate, we, the great andthe City Do each of you find this arrangement acceptable?”
Crown Prince Marshal: “Please wait”
Chaplain: “What objections do you have?”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “This is an oracle!”
Crown Prince Marshal: “Please pause for a moment There is a report”
Holy Iist: “Yes We successfully set foot into the Deo As a result of this journey, our soldiers are at the liue As it has taken more time than we expected, we currently do not even have two months worth of rations Moreover, in this battle, we cannot forget even for an instant that the enemy have a limitless expanse of land to their rear Our supply lines are based on the encaistics and security of the rations is slowing down the ht and heavy infantry units, and hence it is a fact that the speed of our projection is limited by the need to ensure our supply lines do not become overstretched Of course, if we can end the war in one sile strike If we can end it in teeks, we should have no problee amounts of food stocks, so we can resupply there However, if we spend any more time than that, ill have to fall back”
Chaplain: “So the Holy Crusaders are not the strongest?”
Crown Prince Marshal: “We are, if we make the appropriate preparations, and if we do not act with negligence or complacency On the battlefield, the worst mistake a person could make would be would be to assume victory even if there was a nine out of ten chance of winning”
Holy Imperial General: “I also believe we should act based on the circumstances we are confronted with”
Green Ash King: “Hmm……”
The Primarch: “Than you tell me”
Crown Prince Marshal: “Our forces will march to the front of the City, where ill establish a proper base encampment If possible, ill prepare observation and defensive positions out of wood Fro terrain, and deploy in a formation which willthe soldiers enough time for rest and recuperation With successive artillery fire, we should be able to wear down the defensive fortifications of the City within a few days Moreover, with the large sulphur mines of the Demons of the Pale, we should be able to produce our own saltpetre for this combat”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “Saltpetre……?”
Crown Prince Marshal: “It is an essential ingredient in gunpowder, which forth”
Green Ash King: “It is a fairly essential item”
The Priunpowder?”
Holy Iist: “If we our entire force of 300,000 Crusaders were to coht days”
The Primarch: “That is not a problem Surely we can take the City of the Gate within that time”
Chaplain: “Let’s destroy the Deht days then”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “Definitely”
Crown Prince Marshal: “However, that is completely impossible”
Chaplain: “This is the will of His Holiness the Primarch In other words, this is the will of the Spirit herself!”
Crown Prince Marshal: “Please consider this We have not even ed to conquer the City of the Gate, which means we are only at the doorstep of the Deht to the rest of the De to need access to the sulphur reserves in the old territory of the Demons of the Pale, in other words, we need that saltpetre”
Green Ash King: “Hmm”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “Is saltpetre really that necessary? We are holy warriors blessed by the Spirit of the Light Troop fatigue? With the sweet emotion of devotion and blessed faith, we can overcome all of that”
The Primarch: “Hehehehe…… That’s what I don’t understand —– In front of us is the City of the Gate With the Gate as an altar, we have our brave heroes as the key, and all we need to do is to hold on to that altar Why do we need to capture the entire Demon World?”
Crown Prince Marshal: “Huh?”
Holy I to the reports of our scouts, the City of the Gate is currently constructing a massive defensive fortification They have drawn reinforce for our assault”
Chaplain: “That is a good development,do not need to venture far to break the heart of the Demon resistance”
Holy Iist: “!”
Holy Imperial General: “—– That’s……”
Chaplain: “Huh?”
Holy Imperial General: “We, the Holy Crusaders, definitely have powerfulour soldiers to the very brink of their abilities is an exercise in futility It’s true that we should be able to deliver a very strong single bloith all our forces, but do consider that there has never been a battle in which more than 100,000 soldiers have been comhly chaotic, and we cannot expect these peasant soldiers to be able to execute such coordinated formations In the worst case scenario, our entire force could collapse”
Chaplain: “……”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “Green Ash King?”
Green Ash King: “Yes”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “Are you confident of your forces?”
Green Ash King: “Well, that’s why I’m the forward commander”
Holy Imperial General: “Your Majesty!”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “You toldthe ht?”
Green Ash King: “Well, I just said that you could leave it to me”
Holy Iet won over?)
The Primarch: “But this is a problem, Crown Prince Marshal)
Crown Prince Marshal: “Yeah, it really is”
The Primarch: “Hmm Hahahahahahaha Are you a coward, Crown Prince Marshal?”
Crown Prince Marshal: “My orders are to support and protect the interests of Your Holiness and the Central Continent, to forever defend it’s lands and peoples For this purpose, perhaps a little cowardice is appropriate too Wouldn’t you agree?”
Holy Iist: “…… Your Imperial Excellency”
Green Ash King: “No, no I’m sure we all understand how important the saltpetre is While I cannot be sure about the Demon Army’s formations or people, I know that there are currently no arrisoned in the City To deal with theh”
The Primarch: “……”
Green Ash King: “Let’s split our forces into two parts If we go by the book, a battle on two fronts is a terrible idea, but with our abilities, I believe we can pull it off After dedicating some forces to the protection of our hinterland and our supply lines, we can hness can then command 50,000 men to take control of the erstwhile territory of the Dehtly defended area, hence we believe 50,000 soldiers should be sufficient On top of that, I will command 150,000 soldiers to take control of the City of the Gate I will request that all cannons be placed under our command Like this, we should outnumber the Deh for us to trample over them…… What do you think?”
The Primarch: “Good When the City of the Gate falls, perhaps we shall see the light”
Chaplain: “…… Very good”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “I will be looking forward to it, Green Ash King Hehehehe”
Crown Prince Marshal: “……”
Chaplain: “What do you think, Your Ihness?”
Crown Prince Marshal: “I understand”
Holy Iist: “……”
Green Ash King: “To?”
The Pri tomorrow Our soldiers will need to march faster”
Chaplain: “Holy Spirit bless us all”
Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “All is as the Spirit wills it”
————– The Kingdom of the Lake, the City of the Lake, the Headquarters of the Merchant’s Union
Branch Chief: “Soed to deplete the stocks of charcoal for the secret workshops They have begun to issue letters of appeal to surrounding Kingdo the name of the Crown Prince Marshal to help them”
The Young Merchant: “Letters of appeal, huh?”
Branch Chief: “They may be termed letters of appeal, but the content is basically a thinly veiled threat, you could really say that it’s a letter of demand”
The Young Merchant: “Hmph That should slow them down”
Branch Chief: “That’s right With this, the Holy Crusaders should suffer a significant shock to their supply stocks”
The Young Merchant: “But it seeh……”
Female Union Employee: “……?”
Branch Chief: “Do you have so else planned?”
The Young Merchant: “How many cities does the Union have banks in?”
Female Union Employee: “Sixty four”
The Young Merchant: “With the Southern Alliance as our heart, perhaps we ht be able to expand this to a hundred or more”
Branch Chief: “What are you planning?”
The Young Merchant: “The chief advantage of the Holy Church is their numbers”
Union Employee: “Of adherents?”
The Young Merchant: “That’s part of it, but the amount of branches they have is immense as well Support is of course materialised when they call for soldiers, but on the whole it’s a eb that encole part of politics and the economy I would call it a network”
Union Employee: “I don’t understand”
The Young Merchant: “In other words, the four cathedrals represent much le cathedral could have five or six times as much influence as you think”
Union Employee: “…… Hmm”
The Young Merchant: “One very striking example would be money orders”
Branch Chief: “Don’t tell me you intend to disrupt the money orders system!?”
The Young Merchant: “Yes”
Branch Chief: “That is a very great risk”
The Young Merchant: “Indeed it is”
Union Employee: “What risk?”
The Young Merchant: “…… As you know, a e su the money is liable to all kinds of risks like delays due to weather, piracy and banditry or any other sort of accident A caravan laden with gold is the et for any robber around The Union has invested lots of uards for our istical proble such a massive convoy”
Feht”
Branch Chief: “There areuarantee at one city of one hundred gold pieces and then old pieces froo anywhere, but that’s a money transfer For this to work, you will need a lot of branches for your organisation, and you will also need to have large amounts of money so people can trust that the syste es, the only one who has that ability is the Church”
The Young Merchant: “The Church has been using their e profits In fact, it is one of the Church’s greatest sources of revenue”
Union Employee: “The 10 levy?”
The Young Merchant: “That’s right Using oes to the Church It’s true that indenting mercenaries to protect the money conveys which inevitably have to be used eventually is not cheap, but they still e profit at the end of the day”
Female Union Employee: “I understand Since the Union was displeased with this arrange system”
Branch Chief: “It’s true that that was a consideration”
The Young Merchant: “The issuing of inally the principal role of banks to begin with It was not meant to be a system from which the Church can freely tax”
Branch Chief: “But with the immense scale of the Church, if ere to confront them directly, ould only draw ire and attention to our existence we have so tirelessly worked to shroud and conceal”
The Young Merchant: “Then let us make the maximum considerations However, please try to think about it At present, whether it’s politically,a trehout the land is noatching and waiting with an eagle eye for an opportunity to expand their lands In the middle of all of this, the Primarch of the Holy Church has suddenly decided to leave the board? As players, we cannot possibly allow this opportunity to slip away from us”
Branch Chief: “Do we have a chance?”
The Young Merchant: “We do”
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-————————-
Explanation
Network: An econo directly unrelated goods or services combine to support each other and boost the efficiency of the whole Being able to control or join the network enhances productivity
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————- The Kingdom of Ice, the Violet Audience Room
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Looks like you’re so busy your eyes are starting to spin round and round This many missives!”
Seneschal: “Yes, but I have to look through them all somehow”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “This letter…… ‘The nurow day on day, in these circu hell thedos with eyes of compassion and to bestow of your medicine until my people’”
Seneschal: “Yes…… It is a request”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “The Kingdom of Copper How dare they? This is the country which produced those muskets which have massacred sowhen he speaks of human compassion?”
Seneschal: “We’ve got his portrait, if you’d like Our bards have ed to collect the portraits of most of the heads of state of the various countries”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Good, I haven’t seen it But I recall his face now With a face like a frog, but the kind of frog that other frogs find ugly”
Seneschal: “Precisely”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Ah, and I expect the rest are of a similar nature”
Seneschal: “Indeed”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “I would like to help you, but”
Seneschal: “I will e”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “What is this mountain over here?”
Seneschal: “It may resemble a mountain, but these are actually letters of appeal froers?”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Why are all the letters in duplex?”
Seneschal: “All letters intended for the Kingdoh here”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Eh?”
Seneschal: “I am certain Your Majesty knows that the Disciple noble hard to centralise our communication networks”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “It see quite unnecessary”
Seneschal: “I see”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Ue have turned black and collapsed from smallpox we also have no food, please save us please’”
Seneschal: “Hdom of Waves”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “You e for the Templars to deliver the vaccinations”
Seneschal: “No, please wait a moment”
The Queen tof Ice and Snow: “Why?”
Seneschal: “There are many, many letters just like this one”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “But it doesn’t take a lot of vaccines to save a se from smallpox, and most of all, these little children are innocent, and we can save them Why should we not lend them every possible assistance we can, is that what the Holy Order is preaching?”
Seneschal: “No, but these twenty-four letters, all written in the sah the consulate in the Port of Trout of the Kingdom of Waves”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Eh……?”
Seneschal: “According to our consulate in the Port of Trout, the Queen Mother of the Kingdoes of the royalty to amass a massive personal treasury in order to enrich the prosperous merchant nobility”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “……”
Seneschal: “What will you do?”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Send a medical task force to confirm the veracity of these reports personally”
Seneschal: “Yes…… It would be terrible if they were actually completely black”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Enough And this?”
Seneschal: “Mdom of Boarshead”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Hdoms of the South should so selfishly s of the Spirit, is completely out of the question If you do not wish to fall prey to the deadly pikes of our areous holy devotees, you will sendwith every iveness’”
Seneschal: “…… What a load of poof With enough pipeweed, perhaps they ht be able to materialise their million soldiers in their heads”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Throw this away Yes Do that It’s rubbish”
Seneschal: “Yes”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “So the only letters worth my attention are these five?”
Seneschal: “And I thought you were uninterested in matters of diplomacy?”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “What should I do?”
Seneschal: “The Magic Guild of Magpies, what should I do about this?”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “They are looking for a candidate, but I’ll pass”
Seneschal: “Really?”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “Yes They want us to sell it to theht? I have no intention to trade the vaccination for e on their intentions”
Seneschal: “Then…… What of assistance to the Kingdom of Rice, and to the Free Cities?”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “The Free Cities rely co lanes used by the Merchant’s Union, we’ll see what they have to say about all this black gossip”
Seneschal: “I understand”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “With regards to the Kingdo I cannot decide on my own I will have to refer that to the council of the Union Let’s keep this in view for now”
Seneschal: “I understand”
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “It seeainst smallpox has come as quite a shock to the various countries…… We will have to handle this sensitively”
———– The Kingdom of Metal, the Quarters of the Disciple Soldier
Disciple Merchant: “Hey Long time no see!”
Attendant: “I apologise for the intrusion”
Disciple Soldier: “How nice of you to come!”
Metal Lieutenant: “We’ll have some hot pies and wine soon, but well, come this way”
Disciple Merchant: “Relax”
Attendant shuffles
Disciple Soldier: “Your sry”
Attendant: “That’s not true?”
Disciple Soldier: “Please don’t worry When I ith our teacher, I was also hungry almost every day”
Metal Lieutenant: “Oh? So you went through such days as well?”
Disciple Merchant: “We endured a fair a No ry”
Disciple Soldier: “That’s true…… Well, that’s the life of a man”
Disciple Merchant: “Well, I suppose that is all in the past?”
Disciple Soldier: “I hope so”
Metal Lieutenant: “The Warrior-King of the Red Horses has arrived together with the High Prince of Branches The Queen of the Lake and the Lords of the Free Cities will be arriving in a few days time”
Disciple Merchant: “Is that so?”
Attendant: “What a large conference”
Disciple Soldier: “Indeed”
Disciple Merchant: “Once you consider the context, it really makes your head hurt”
Attendant: “?”
Metal Lieutenant: “The Demon World…… The Subterranean World?”
Disciple Soldier: “What do I feel about it? Well, looking back at our financial situation, perhaps I should have opposed it more”
Disciple Merchant: “……”
Disciple Soldier: “On top of that, we’ve also got the Holy Crusades to the De the sword of all huh there was a time when they would point their muskets at us, perhaps if we protested with reason, well, that’s not exactly likely but……”
Disciple Merchant: “Nope”
Disciple Soldier: “?”
Disciple Merchant: “My intention is for us to deploy our soldiers”
Disciple Soldier: “What?”
Metal Lieutenant: “Really? Is that the collective decision of the Kingdom of Winter!?”
Disciple Merchant: “That’s not true Our King, the Lone Winter King, merely said that he would think about it It is my personal consideration that we should participate in this war”
Disciple Soldier: “Why?”
Disciple Merchant: “Because I cannot think of anything else”
Metal Lieutenant: “For……?”
Disciple Merchant: “If the Crusaders were allowed to achieve a great victory, they would be able to extend their influence and power, and I have no idea if ill be able to put a stop to the spread of their power What you donation of heretic countries For us to continue living, we have to ensure the balance of three powers —— the Central Continent, the Demon World and ourselves in the Southern Alliance”
Disciple Soldier: “…… Is that so”
Disciple Merchant: “As such, I support our deployment However, the appropriate conditions are harsh”
Disciple Soldier: “How so?”
Disciple Merchant: “It will be very difficult to justify this war to our people It is not a war of self-defence In this situation, if ere to ask to people to bear this burden, I fear the chance of us fo open rebellion is not low In order to prevent that, we have to come up with a proper justification Moreover, as the Southern Alliance, our do our limited military force”
Attendant: “War?”
Metal Lieutenant: “It would appear so”
Disciple Merchant: “No, I believe that the wars of the past will be a poor strategy for us to adopt It would be perfect if we could limit the scale of any conflict, and perhaps at the end, we could settle this with a simple bar scuffle”
Disciple Soldier: “You’re talking in your sleep The Holy Crusaders can si the Southern Frozen Sea In which universe would they possibly agree to settling all of this with a bar scuffle?”
Disciple Merchant: “But we do not have the military forces to directly confront and suppress the three hundred thousand soldiers of the Holy Crusaders, do we?”
Disciple Soldier: “That’s true, but……”
Disciple Merchant: “That’s why it’s difficult, so difficult, ive up on it”
Attendant: “Yeah, the Disciple Merchant has not slept for days”
Disciple Soldier: “Neither have I”
Disciple Merchant: “Well, I do have some measures in mind”
Disciple Soldier: “What?”
Disciple Merchant: “Have the Kingdo expeditions Food, winter gear, pine resin, sleighs, charcoal, winter goats —– that sort of thing”
Attendant: “Ahem”