T/N: Sorry for not translating in a while. I've been busy with school. I hope to translate more soon.
Voistra.
The name of this vast plain, located almost in the center of the continent, is said to derive from the ancient word Voithstola.
Voith means "wheat," and shtola means "to dye fabrics," which in turn means "to spread evenly.
As its etymology suggests, the Voith Plain is one of the most important grain-growing areas on the continent of Eruo.
The history of the Voistra Plain shows that it has long been under the control of several aristocratic families.
In the days when the Zethusian High Society boasted of its power, the nobles of each region could not maintain their independence without the approval of the Society. This meant that any rule that was not in the interests of the Zethusian Society could not be accepted.
Land boundaries were more often determined by the politics of the priests than by the power of the nobles.
There was no way that the Holy High Society would have approved of sole control of the Voistra Plain.
To allow a single noble family to rule a vast plain would be like sowing the seeds of disaster.
The emergence of a particularly strong territory outside of St. Navenpos was something that should be avoided. This was even more so when it came to noble families.
The basic policy of the Zesu Church was to have a strong St. Navenpos reign over a small aristocratic domain.
Thus, the Holy High Society divided the Voistra Plain into several sections, leaving each to a different noble family.
If one of the noble families were to attempt independence against the Holy High Society, they could unite the remaining noble families and crush them.
Looking back over history, it can be said that this policy worked effectively. At least until the authority of the Holy High Society decayed.
As time passed from priests to nobles, these old ruling structures also crumbled like corroded iron.
It was the priestly aristocratic Spiaseik family, the Spiaseik family, that achieved the unification of the Voistra Plain.
In the current continent of Eruo, there are two major groups of nobles: the native nobility and the priestly nobility.
The indigenous nobility is simply a family lineage that originated from the indigenous nobles who have ruled the region since ancient times. In contrast, priestly aristocrats are descended from high-ranking priests dispatched by St. Navenpos.
Indigenous aristocratic families are not immortal. Sometimes they die without children, and sometimes they are driven to extinction as a result of their rebellion against the Holy High Priesthood. Some of them are even welcomed into the house by the indigenous nobility to take in the advanced culture of St. Navenpos.
In general, indigenous noble families are uncertain about the origin of their ancestors, while priestly noble families often have solid historical records in their families because they are recorded in the Holy High Society and were originally priests of the intellectual class.
The Spiaseik were a typical priestly aristocrat family, as they originated from a high priest who was seconded from St. Navenpos about 350 years ago.
During the turbulent times that followed the papal uprising of 200 years ago, the then head of the Spiaseik family had ambitions to unite the Voistra Plain.
The power of the priests was weakened by the turmoil that had broken out in the heart of the Holy High Society. They no longer had the power to unite the numerous noble families scattered across the Voistra Plain.
In a sense, it was inevitable that the Spiaseik family, which had the major city of Ocellaria, won the battle.
It was a time when it was not unusual for priestly nobles to conspire with priests to gain supremacy.
After winning the Voistra Plain, the Spiaseik made a political statement to the entire continent.
It was to change the name of the family.
This was a useful means of dispelling the diminutive image of the Spiaseik family as "one of the various aristocratic families that existed here and there on the Voistra Plain," and of demonstrating to the rest of the world that they were the sole rulers of the Voistra Plain.
In later years, this technique was imitated by many aristocratic families. The aristocratic family that united the Aterahan region changed its name to Aterahan, following the success of the Spiaseik family.
Thus, the Voistra family, a great noble family that has left its mark on history, appeared on the continent of Eruo.
The Spiaseik, who had gained strength by unifying the plains,...... the Voistra family, did not let their momentum wane as they expanded westward.
West of the Voistra Plain was a mountainous region, dotted with a number of small and medium-sized noble families.
The Voistra family was able to subjugate these weak noble houses, which continued to fight over a small area of land in a joyless, mud-slinging contest.
It took about 20 years to unify the Voistra Plain and about two years to subjugate all the noble families in the mountainous region, and the Voistra family grew quickly.
Eventually, the Voistra family declared the founding of a new state and took the name of the royal family in order to establish a complete aristocratic system of rule.
This was the birth of the Kingdom of Voistra.
The Vostro royal family was later forced to rethink its course of expansion when it expanded its territory beyond the Leishleif region.
The main reason was that the rapid increase in territory had resulted in a shortage of knights.
Since there was no point in increasing land that could not be managed, the decision was made to steer the course toward stabilizing the territory by fertilizing the lands that had already been annexed.
The kingdom of Voistra was protected by a natural defensive position with mountains to the west, a major river to the east and south, and a curtain of mountain ranges to the north.
The only hole through which a large army could pass was the Leishleif area, a large break in the northern mountain range.
The Voistlanders therefore devoted their resources to strengthening the defenses of the Leishleif area and built the Leishleif Castle, an impregnable fortress complex unparalleled in history.
If the turbulent times in the western part of the continent had continued as they were, the Voistra Kingdom could have become the western champion.
However, the era chose a man who opened up a path of blood and ran through the never-ending turbulent times, the Emperor Zinkhaen.
The Voistra royal family, having learned of Emperor Zinkhaen's power during the siege of Leishleif Castle, soon gave up on maintaining the kingdom and surrendered.
At this time, he sent his daughter as a bride to strengthen his ties with the emperor's family, and then made a successful transition as a nobleman of the Zinkhaen Empire.
Furthermore, the Voistra family went to the trouble of reverting to the family name in order to show the emperor Zinkhaen that they no longer had ambitions, and to appeal to his obedience.
Thus was born the Dukes of Spierzeik, the Zinkhaen Imperial nobility that continues to this day.
Just as the Quardenze family's coat of arms is designed with a serpent entwined with a crossed spear and the spray of a great river, the Spiaseik family had its own coat of arms.
Although the family name has changed, the coat of arms that represents the family, the Spiaseik crest, has never changed.
"Its design can be found at ......."
"The wheat and sickle with the ears hanging almost touching the ground. A single-edged vine tilted at an angle. ......There's no doubt about it, it's the flag of the House of Spierzeik."
"Damn it, how did I get here?"
The two men, who had hidden themselves in the bushes on the small cliff, made small venomous grunts at the ground.
The army advancing on the mountain path below did not notice the men, but marched on at a leisurely pace. The large military banner in the middle of the road had the Spiaseik crest painted on it.
It was the army led by a nobleman, the Lord's Army.
"The men who were guarding this area were killed by that thing?"
"I doubt it."
The red-eyed man sputters out a few words to himself, and the blue-eyed man chimes in.
Their status is that of soldiers of the Quardenze family. They are usually active as foot soldiers stationed at the frontline base that is locked in a standoff with the old Voistra.
There was a reason why they were moving far away from the base in the mountains.
"They are moving in the direction ...... of the city of Nambonan. This makes it impossible to call for reinforcements. Oh no, General Galfis is on his way to ......."
"Hey, relax. No general gets hit that easily."
It all started on the third day of the new year. The old Voistra's army invaded the outpost.
From the old Voistra's point of view, the frontline base of the Quardenze army was nothing more than a bump on the eye. So fighting was a common occurrence, and at first the soldiers at the base even laughed it off as a "New Year's greeting.
The army, however, was of an unprecedented scale.
Not only the Spierzeik family, the old Voistra's allies, but also their descendants, the aristocratic families, were pouring into the base in large numbers. And among them, there were a few nobles.
A large number of soldiers, knights, and nobles. These concentrated attacks plunged the frontline base into an unprecedented battle.
Against the old Voistra, which had thrown in a considerable number of forces, the commander, Quardenze Galfis, decided to request reinforcements from the city of Nambonan.
They were chosen to serve as messengers.
"I think we should split up from here. I thought it was a waste to let us be the messengers, but the general's intuition is right on the money. Indeed."
It would have been unthinkable under normal circumstances to use two follower soldiers to serve as messengers inside one's own territory, let alone in enemy territory. It would be even more unthinkable if they were attacked by a large army and were short of troops.
However, Galfis sensed something fishy about the old Voistlander's movements and decided to move his valuable retinue.
"......Yes, that's right. The sun will be setting in a few more hours, and we'd better go for the city of Nambonan as fast as we can under the cover of darkness."
The reason the two of them were working together was to avoid a one-on-one situation in case they met the followers' enemies along the way.
This was because it was not possible to ensure victory in a one-on-one fight, and even if they were able to defeat the enemy, they would not be able to fulfill their mission satisfactorily if they were wounded.
However, they decided that if the main ancestor's enemies were present, they would have a better chance of survival if they scattered and ran rather than if they were poorly organized.
They were also concerned about the battle at the frontline base, but Galfis, who had fought a hundred battles, was there. However, there are no nobles in Nambonan City. Whatever the course of action, it would be bad if the information was not conveyed quickly.
"Before we split up, let's share some information about each other."
"Yeah, it would be a problem if only one of us made it there, you or me."
Watching the enemy advance, the men exchange words, believing that they will meet again in Nambonan City.
The presence of the nobles means that there is no mistaking the presence of follower soldiers deployed around them to protect them. If they are caught in their watch list, they will die.
After a quick review of the situation, the blue-eyed man muttered quietly, "I'm not sure I believe it, but I'm sure I'm not alone.
"......This time around, I don't think the old Voistra's goal is to destroy the frontline base."
"Odd, isn't it? I think so too."
"What's the reason?"
"They are marching too fast. Even if it is an army led by a nobleman, they don't advance so quickly through enemy territory."
The Lord Ancestor's magical power is powerful anyway, and it is extremely useful in military operations.
By applying physical enhancement magic to an army of more than tens of thousands at once, it is possible to realize a marching speed several times faster than that of a normal army.
In addition to the high firepower of the ancestor's individual soldiers, the high mobility of the general soldiers would also be a powerful weapon in the ancestor's army.
However, its strength would be demonstrated mainly in defensive battles in its own territory.
Nobles who charge into enemy territory, where they do not know where the enemy's eyes or traps may be, are extremely rare and in the minority.
"Indeed, it is not like General Galfis."
"Right?"
In a sense, this is a familiar sight to those who have seen Galfis up close and personal, who will not hesitate to charge single-handedly when he sees an opportunity.
However, in all the long battles they had fought, no Spierzeik family members had ever made such a maneuver. In other words, the presence of this enemy army is unusual.
I think the Spierzeiks may have been the head and moved the centipede's legs," he said. They're local, they know the area.
The blue-eyed man says that it is highly possible that the Spierzeiks family manipulated the legs of the centipede, the knightly family members who lost their way of life after their master was killed. ......
Although the Quardenze family is currently the ruler of the area, the land was ruled by another noble family until a few years ago. Some of the local commoners may still cooperate with them.
The centipede legs that have been lurking in various places as the Spierzeiks family executes its plan will tell them what the Quardenze army is up to and guide them along the way. From their point of view, it was someone else's territory that they knew all too well.
I don't know how long they have been working together, but they may have been acting as scouts for some time. They may have been acting as scouts for some time, just for this day.
'You deadbeat bastards. When your heads are crushed, get the hell out of here."
The red-eyed man says as if to spit.
The blue-eyed man shared his words, but continued with his thoughts.
"My hunch is that this is a maneuver to take out General Galfis."
"Are you serious?"
"I wouldn't say that as a joke."
The blue-eyed man continues, looking down at the Spierzeik soldiers who continue to march in formation.
He continued, looking down at the Spiaseik soldiers who were still marching in formation.
"There is an abundance of wealth there, and if we can make it our base, it will be difficult to get reinforcements from the interior."
"......, so we're cut off?"
Even if reinforcements come from the interior, we can't win with just our foot soldiers. Nobles against nobles. But it is too dangerous to cross the river with the enemy's nobles waiting on the other side.
The ship could easily be sunk.
"Ah."
A boat leisurely crossing a river is a good summary from the point of view of our ancestors.
It is necessary to eliminate the danger on the other side of the river in order to get the nobles on board, even if they are mere soldiers.
"If we don't get reinforcements from the interior, we're in for an endless war. Even now, we're outnumbered at the base, and the old Voistra guys can bring in as many troops as they want from their territory. ....."
It was a big operation for a maneuver to take down just one general, but the red-eyed man felt it was possible.
The Quardenze family's rapid advance was largely due to Galfis' hand, and defeating him would certainly be a turnaround.
If they could defeat Galfis, who was also known as the "red devil," the Spierzeik family's reputation as a warrior would be raised at a stroke.
There was a good chance that the imperial aristocratic families that had supported the Quardenze family would turn their backs on them.
"Let's work as a messenger to make sure that doesn't happen. It will be a battle to see how much time we can buy in Nambonan City."
"I agree. Let's take this opportunity to check it out."
"It is not the job of a messenger to speculate," the red-eyed man says lightly, and returns to the task of checking on the Spierzeik soldiers.
It is not possible to check the entire army at once on the mountain road, but if they move around poorly, they may be found. Therefore they kept hiding in place for a while.
"The number of ...... troops is about 30,000 ......50,000? What do you think?"
"It's hard to count. ...... Well, I don't think it's more than 40,000."
Looking at the Spierzeik soldiers, they discuss the number of troops.
This is an important estimate, as the army is about to approach the city of Nambonan.
Of course, there are a lot of knightly banners.
The number of engineers is not less than 5,000. At this rate, they must have put in a lot of foot soldiers as well.
"Oh, man."
They had noticed that although the number of soldiers was modest, they were of good quality.
There seemed to be no mistake in assuming that this was a strategy to capture the city of Nambonan in one fell swoop with a small number of elite soldiers.
"The speed of the advance is very fast. If we continue at this pace, we will reach Nambonan City in two or three days."
"We're about a day away from a serious run, so it looks like we'll be ready for a day or two. ......"
"We're going to have to ask the general to hang on a little bit longer. Let's hope reinforcements arrive early from the interior."
The two recited the contents of the last message, said their goodbyes, and mounted their horses.
They made a wide detour around the advancing Spierzeik forces, each heading for the city of Nambonan.
"Report."
The room was filled with a strange silence.
The man who spoke the low words was the military officer in charge of the troops stationed in Nambonan City. He is the next head of the Gatoren family of knights, and just recently turned 40 years old.
One of the military officers responded to the commander's voice, stood up on the spot, and opened his mouth.
"Sir! Spierzeik's forces began deploying in the western part of the city. A general assault is expected to come at sunrise."
The unspoken sound of a snarl, a mixture of preparedness and nervousness, echoed through the room.
Two days had passed since the man with the message, the man with the red eyes, had flown into Nambonan City. The blue-eyed man still had not arrived.
The Nambonan garrison was hastily arming up and getting into position to intercept the Spierzeik forces.
The headquarters of the garrison was also temporarily moved to a conference room in the mayor's mansion.
"Any change in overall command?"
No sign of backing down. The Spiaseik crest is red with a yellow background, and Spiaseik Verret is in overall command.
When nobles run an army, they use their family's coat of arms as a military banner, but the design varies from general to general.
Only the current head of the family can use the official family crest, but a simplified version of it can be used by anyone other than the head of the family.
In the case of the Spierzeik family, a simplified red and yellow flag is known as the flag used by the next head of the family.
Spiaseik Verret.
The eldest son of the Spiaseik family head was the general of the Nambonan raid.
After the military officers made some reports, they were asked to be seated by the commanding officer.
The reports were merely a summary of what had already been confirmed many times.
Most of the military commanders had already gone out to the field to prepare their troops, and the only people in this room, the headquarters, were the executive-level military commanders and the debriefing staff.
No particular progress has been made since Spierzeiks army, numbering about 38,000 troops, appeared in the western part of Nambonan City last night.
The number of Quardenze troops defending Nambonan City is currently about 64,000. Looking at the simple number of soldiers, the Quardenze side has the advantage, but there is not a single main ancestor among them.
In addition, there were a number of martial knight banners on the Spierzeik side, so even in terms of the number of squires, it was impossible to say for sure that they had the upper hand.
"I have a report."
In response to the young military officer who raised his hand and asked to speak, the commander silently moved his chin.
The young officer raised his hand and said, "Ladies, your transfer to the interior has been completed without incident."
"Thank you. But we need to launch the ship one more time. The river must be kept on the alert. Miss Anna is the young man's favorite. We must get her out of there before we run out of time."
When the military was informed that Spierzeik's forces were approaching, they immediately made a decision.
It was to evacuate Wilke's beloved women to the interior.
The fall of the city of Nambonan, and the fact that Wilke's beloved women would become the consolation prize of Spierzeik's soldiers, was to be avoided at all costs. If Wilke became impotent from the mental shock, the future of the territory would be bleak.
For this reason, the military officers evacuated Kohari, Rave, Tico, and the other women living in the house to the interior, beyond the reach of the enemy, in other words, to the other side of the great river.
This young military officer was in charge of transporting them and had just returned to the city of Nambonan.
"We will continue to be vigilant and watch out for the river!"
The young military officer bowed briskly and continued after prefacing his words with the words, "The information is uncertain."
I heard on my way back here that the Galiana family has attacked the Quardenze family.
"What?"
The army led by the head of the House of Galiana has invaded the interior.
The new information, and the bad news at that, created an atmosphere of disquiet in the room, and the military officers turned to each other with hardened expressions on their faces.
The commanding officer quelled the clamor with a small tap on his desk.
"Go on."
"Ha. ...... But the soldier who told the story didn't seem to have any detailed information either, other than that he didn't have any ....... I'm sorry, but that's all I can ...... tell you at the moment."
The young military officer shrank back to the point of looking pitiful as he was now being stared at by every military officer in the room.
Why didn't you come back after confirming the authenticity of the report, you coarse man, his superior, a senior military officer, lamented.
Deciding that he had nothing more useful to report, the commanding officer allowed him to leave, and he fled the room as if to escape.
'...... things don't look good.'
Cutting through the silence, one of the military officers spoke up.
Then, as if pulled by his voice, the other military officers spoke their opinions one after another.
The commander listened quietly as the military officers began to speak excitedly, and then spun his words in a calm tone.
"We are the vassals of Quardenze."
At the sound of his voice, the military officers calm their voices and silently wait for him to continue.
A stern silence envelops the entire room.
"There is only one thing to do, and that is to protect this land."
The military officers responded to the commander's words by bowing in unison without speaking.
In the absence of instructions from the Quardenze family, the best they could do was to protect the city of Nambonan.
It is a shame to be misled by uncertain information. Being military officers of the highest rank, all of them immediately returned to being calm.
"We have sent a message to New Nellie, and in two days the instructions, if not the reinforcements, will reach them. Then we will do our duty. Good."
"Ha! ha!" the military officers said, this time in unison.
The commander grumbled, as if this was the end of the military discussion.
"It's a shame the ...... draft didn't go ahead."
The commander's words make everyone all look bitter.
The Nambonan retinue had sent horses to recruit men from neighboring villages, but they had all failed to turn up.
"It seems that the city of Nambonan is not to be trusted. Because they were tricked into recruiting soldiers last time, many of them think they will be tricked again this time."
The commander was answered by the military officer who had just reprimanded the young officer.
The battle for the city of Nambonan by the Quardenze allied forces was several months ago.
On that occasion, the Nambonan Council had gathered soldiers from neighboring villages and pitted them against the coalition of aristocrats. As a result, a large number of villagers died or became slaves.
This was resented, and many fled from the Quardenze conscripts in large numbers, gripped by fear at the display of the power and terror of the aristocracy.
In a sense, it was cause and effect.
After the meeting, most of the senior military officers made a short run to the field. Only a few remained at headquarters.
The commander, feeling thirsty, said he would leave the room and then left the conference room.
"The kid over there."
"Ha, yes!"
The commander called out to the back of a boy who was walking impatiently down the hallway of the mayor's mansion.
"Are you the one who works here? What's your name?"
"I'm Kianes! I work here!"
To the rugged, stern-faced commander, Kianes curtsies awkwardly, trembling with nervousness. He had been persistently taught by his room-mate that it was important to be polite to the higher-ups.
Kianes has come to the mayor's mansion to help the city officials with their chores, which have become busy during this time of war.
His sister, Tico, was evacuated to the interior, but Kianes happened to be on an errand and could not make it aboard.
"Can I help you?"
The armor-clad commander was nothing but a scary adult in Kianes' eyes.
The commander frowned at Kianes's high-pitched voice and ordered him to bring water.
Kianes paced back and forth down the hallway as if he were running away from the commander and brought a goblet filled with water.
"He brought it to ......."
It was at that very moment that Kianes presented the goblet to the commander.
Suddenly, a chill ran through him, and his whole body shivered. The goblet in his hand fell to the floor, and the water it contained spread throughout the hallway.
He was so shocked, he thought, "Hi ......! Hi......!"
As it was, Kianes fell to his knees into the hallway, his vision darkening in horror as he opened his eyes.
It was as if a mass of malice had been forced down his throat, and its black filth was coursing through his entire body. Everything from Kianes's skin to his organs was nauseated.
"Calm down."
'Hi ............! Hiiii......! Ugh, ugh ......! Ggh! Ububu......"
The commander launched a light healing spell at Kianes, who was vomiting and spreading vomit all over the floor.
The effect was immediate, and Kianes calmed his breathing.
'Oh ...... that ......? Hey, what the hell, now ......"
Don't you know. This is the will of the Lord Ancestor to kill."
It is a kind of magical release.
Unlike magic power, which is pure energy with nothing in it, magic power with emotion in it spreads around like ripples on the surface of water.
In particular, emitting magic power with a strong aggressive intent to kill is an act of intimidation by the ancestors.
It was said that if an ordinary nobleman emitted magic power with full force and directionality, it could reach up to two or three kilometers away.
It is difficult for a commoner to sense normal magic, but when blended with the spice of murderous intent, even a commoner can sense it.
And the killing intent amplified by the magical power envelops the commoner in fear.
The weak-minded, those unaccustomed to intimidation, and those with little fighting spirit are rendered immobilized by this surge of killing intent and stop fighting.
Commoners who receive this threat for the first time invariably fall into a state of panic, causing vomiting, hyperventilation, fainting, etc. The current Kianes is a good example.
One of the reasons for the Lord's troubles was this widespread desire to kill.
"It takes courage to overcome the Lord's will to kill," he said. As Miss Anna said, it is not difficult if you have the passion to protect this city. Remember that well."
The beginning of the intimidation means that the battle is on.
The commander left a stunned Kianes sitting on the floor and went straight back to his headquarters.
