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CHAPTER 6 FYUZARION – Episode 8 The Shinkai Army’s Second Invasion (Part 1)

1

Bard headed towards Himaya, accompanied by Karz and Quinta. The messenger knight was severely exhausted, and his horse was in no condition to run, so they were left behind in Fyuzarion. Jurchaga also wanted to come along, but he was asked to stay. The number of people coming to the village was increasing, and it was a time when they needed to build trust through business. There were almost quarrels breaking out over the use of the gifts left behind by the Fafarlen family. Jurchaga’s high negotiation and coordination skills were essential for handling such matters. Having Jurchaga would have been immensely helpful for gathering information and delivering messages, but they couldn’t afford to take him away from the village at this time. Quinta was given a horse that the previous wedding procession had left behind. It was a well-trained horse, so even the inexperienced Quinta was able to ride it safely.

On the sixth day, they arrived at the port of Himaya. It seemed that no rumors had reached there yet, and it was as peaceful as always. The next day, they arrived at the port of Try. They sensed a slight tension in the air. From there, they headed straight to Lordvan Castle, arriving on the seventh day.

2

“Entrante. Thank you for coming,” Arflaburne greeted them, looking like the lord of the castle. And for good reason – the new lord of this castle was Viscount Dusselburne of Lianza, Arflaburne’s younger brother. No, he was no longer a viscount. He was now the Count of Lordvan.

In accordance with the agreement made during the First War Of Nations, Lordvan Castle was transferred from Parzam to Goriora. The Emperor decided not to make Lordvan Castle an imperial domain and instead appointed a feudal lord. Dusselburne was appointed as the lord of Lordvan and the guardian of this castle. It was likely also meant as a reward for the Fafarlen family, who had suffered great losses in the previous demonic beast invasion. There was also the fact that no one wanted to come to such a remote place far from the imperial capital. Furthermore, it seemed that in exchange for granting this land, a part of the former Vodres ducal family’s territory was returned to the Vodres family. As it would take some time to reorganize the devastated frontier knight order, Dusselburne would also be responsible for frontier defense for the time being. Bard had heard about these matters from Arflaburne at the wedding.

“I had just returned to Izakross when an urgent messenger arrived from our house steward. On April 21st, the Shinkai army suddenly attacked Kobushi Castle and captured it in just one day. Upon receiving the urgent report, His Majesty the Emperor ordered the neighboring lords to assemble and summoned the Imperial Knights. However, this was not in time. Incredibly, the Shinkai army arrived at the imperial capital on April 26th and began their attack. They had traversed the roughly fifty koku-ri distance from Kobushi to the imperial capital with their army in just five days. The cities along the way couldn’t intercept them in time due to the astonishing speed of their advance. The Imperial Knights, not fully prepared, met them outside the gates of the imperial capital. Leading the Shinkai army was a giant riding a strange beast, and with one swing of his weapon, he unleashed a whirlwind that blew away our knights.”

Bard’s eyes widened. That knight… Such a knight could be none other than Grigol Entrante, the General of Greed, Lugulgoa Geskas. But it was also impossible for him to have survived those wounds. What in the world was going on?

“The person who relayed this story to me, and the one who ordered the message to be sent, did not directly witness the scene. However, based on this account, there’s no doubt that the enemy general is the General of Greed. The Shinkai army, riding on their momentum, broke through the gates and rushed towards the imperial palace.”

‘Wait,’ Bard thought instinctively. He had never seen it, but he had heard that the imperial capital was surrounded by massive, sturdy walls. Goriora’s soldiers were skilled with bows, and the land was known for its excellent timber, so they should have had plenty of arrows. It shouldn’t have been so easy to invade. Moreover, while the Shinkai cavalry was unmatched in field battles, they weren’t necessarily invincible in siege warfare. When he said this, Arflaburne made a complicated expression.

“I thought the same. The messenger’s words were quite incoherent. The prevailing rumor seems to be that the enemy general used something like Nogelga (witchraft). The initial volley of arrows was blown away by a strange gust of wind, and while they were still in shock, the enemy rushed to the gates. Strangely, there was a commander who tried to close the gates and another who opposed it, so the gates weren’t fully closed. Naturally, the defenders rained arrows upon them, but the enemy ignored their losses and ran through.”

The Shinkai army headed straight for the imperial palace. It’s said that there were Gorioran knights leading them. More inexplicable events occurred at the palace. One of the commanders of the guards abandoned his defensive position and acted as if he was welcoming the enemy army. The Shinkai army seized control of the palace and captured the Emperor. Those who resisted were mercilessly cut down, turning the palace into a sea of blood. What happened next was even stranger. The Emperor not only readily surrendered to the Shinkai army but also issued a proclamation stating that the Shinkai army was no longer the enemy and that the war was over. He then summoned the influential nobles of the imperial capital to the palace. Count Fafarlen also attended. As it was an undeniable summons bearing the imperial seal, he had no choice but to comply.

That night, a messenger arrived from the palace. Count Fafarlen had apparently gone mad at the palace and attacked the guests, so he was cut down.

At this time, the Fafarlen household was being managed by the house steward. Arflaburne, the eldest son, had gone to Doriatessa’s wedding with the third and fourth sons. Dusselburne, the second son, was at Lordvan Castle. The house steward’s decision was swift. First, he sent the count’s wives, including Arflaburne’s new wife, and the daughters to the Vodres family to seek shelter. He dispatched two clever and skilled knight-messengers. One to Arflaburne and the other to Dusselburne. He ordered all the knights remaining at the house to prepare and head to Lordvan Castle. He himself then headed to the imperial palace with four attendants. Going to the palace would likely mean not returning alive. But if no one went to retrieve the lord’s body after his death, it would bring shame to the late master.

This was the sequence of events conveyed by the house steward’s messenger. Upon hearing this, Arflaburne parted ways with Marquess Karriem and the others and came to Lordvan Castle. There, he joined up with the knights of the Fafarlen family, but they had no further detailed information.

3

Dusselburne supplemented the subsequent events. He showed Bard an order. It contained the Emperor’s command.

A message was sent to all knights of the rank of Count and above. The Goriora Empire is to cease hostilities with the Shinkai Kingdom and henceforth regard that nation as its suzerain. The orders of General Lugurgoa Geskas, the representative of the Shinkai King, are to be considered equivalent to the orders of the Goriora Emperor himself.

Additionally, there were instructions from the Chief of Staff enclosed. It was a sealed letter, which normally should not be seen by anyone other than the recipient. The lords in and around the Imperial Capital were to lead their troops and assemble at the capital. This was for the invasion of Parzam. The lords of the northeast and east were to first gather at Lordvan Castle, await orders from the capital, and then attack the Kingdom of Parzam. At that time, Lordvan was to provide all provisions.

“I know this Chief of Staff well, and he is not the kind of person to issue such unreasonable instructions,” Dusselburne said with suspicion, and it was no wonder. Even to Bard, an outsider, there were several suspicious points.

“My Entrante. Summoning knights of the rank of Count and above means that the knights belonging to their factions will also be mobilized. It’s safe to say that all knights, except those on special defense duties, will be included. I believe the number of knights alone will exceed three thousand. In terms of total troop numbers, it will amount to about twelve thousand. The defense of the homeland will be nearly bare. Eight out of ten of them will head to Orbus via the west. A march of ten thousand men – can you imagine how much food will be required? It’s madness,” Arflaburne said, and Dusselburne nodded in agreement.

“It’s just as you say, brother. Telling this Lordvan Castle to feed two thousand soldiers is absurd. There will be nothing left – no cattle, no pigs, no vegetables, no grain. We will end up having to abandon the Lordvan we have just acquired.”

The people who originally lived in Lordvan Castle all wished to move to Fargo with Mados Archeios, the Marquis of the Western Province. They disliked becoming subjects of the Goriora Empire, a foreign country. However, it was impossible to take everything, including the livestock. So Mados sold the livestock and farming tools to the Goriora Empire. The payment was borrowed from the Emperor by the Fafarlen family. Although part of the castle walls had collapsed, Lordvan Castle had several wells with plenty of water, and the castle was spacious and well-built. There were many houses that were ready for immediate use. The fields were well-maintained, and there were pastures nearby. There was also a mountain of fuel stockpiled. Having acquired a large number of livestock as well, if they could just gather the people, they could immediately put the management on track as a powerful self-sufficient castle town.

Arranging for the people was very difficult. The Fafarlen family did not have enough knights to defend this place. In addition to the ten men who were originally under Dusselburne’s direct command, the Fafarlen family newly assigned ten more, but that was the limit. Assigning any more knights would hinder the operation of the Fafarlen main family. Therefore, they gathered the second and third sons of knights who had no land to inherit, and the squires who could not become knights due to economic problems, to secure the numbers. This was possible because a certain amount of money was paid annually from the Imperial Palace to maintain the knightly orders.

Securing farmers and various craftsmen was even more difficult. The skilled workers living in the glamorous Imperial Capital were reluctant to go to a castle that seemed like the end of the earth. Farmers, by nature, do not want to leave their own land. As a last resort, they obtained a conscription permit from the Emperor, sent knights around to the villages to hold “briefing sessions,” and gathered people in a manner almost akin to kidnapping. And just as the system was about to be put in order, this order came.

Bard had never even considered the logistics of two thousand soldiers. Let alone imagining what would happen when ten thousand soldiers were on the move.

Even without that, the Central Plains were unlike the frontier mountains and fields, making it difficult to procure food. If it were three knights and three attendants, with a little money, they might be able to procure most of their food on their own while also resupplying at villages. But with thirty knights and thirty attendants, self-sufficiency is completely impossible. Even a one or two-day stay in a small village would be a heavy burden. What about three hundred knights and three hundred attendants? A single meal would deplete the game in a small forest and consume many trees for fuel. Even in a fairly large town, if they stayed for ten days, any surplus food would be exhausted. Even then, if they received a commensurate amount of money, they could replenish the lost food from surrounding towns. But what if this became two thousand people? Even gathering food from a large city and its surrounding towns would be difficult to satisfy their hunger. Moreover, the food in other towns would also be depleted when they tried to replenish from there.

So, what would happen if ten thousand soldiers stayed for thirty days and took away the next thirty days’ worth of food and fuel? It would deal a severe blow to a large city and its surroundings. This instruction letter showed not the slightest consideration for such points.

Of course, Lordvan Castle itself was fully capable of accommodating an army of two thousand men. However, according to this military order, they would have to feed that army for a month or several months. To do so, they should have been given a preparation period of several months or even years to accumulate food and various supplies. This land was not a place where food could be easily imported. Moreover, that was assuming Lordvan Castle was functioning at its full capacity. Having just taken over from Parzam, and having barely managed to get the castle to a point where it could be minimally maintained, this order was beyond unreasonable at this time. It could only be thought of as an intention to crush Lordvan Castle. The same applied to the cities of Thula and Seion. This abnormal way of doing things was what the Goriora Empire was now.

4

“So why did you call me,” Bard asked. The Goriora Empire was now on its knees before the Shinkai Kingdom and was about to wage war against the Kingdom of Parzam, declaring them an enemy. It might be a suspicious order, but it was undoubtedly an order that came from the Emperor himself. Bard did not belong to any country, but he had served as a general in the Middle Army of Parzam and was considered a general from the Parzam side in the TriNation Alliance. From the perspective of the current Fafarlen family, he was an enemy.

“Sir Entrante. As a knight, I want to walk the path of righteousness. Something sinister is about to happen. No, it is already happening. I want you to be here to discern the right path in this confused world. See things with your eyes, determine their meaning with your heart, and let us hear the words that come to your mind. We shall find the path we must take from those words,” Arflaburne said boldly yet earnestly, and Bard nodded in agreement.

Two days after Bard arrived at Lordvan Castle, a messenger arrived from the ambassador stationed in Parzam’s capital. The messenger presented a letter addressed to the capital and another addressed to Baron Dusselburne of Lordvan. It was a report from the ambassador. In it was news that froze Bard’s blood. It stated that King Julelan of Parzam had been stabbed with a poisoned dagger by his first concubine and had either died or fallen into critical condition.