Chapter 69: Conspiracy

On the high ground in the center of Davo City stood the towering central castle. Around it was a square protective wall, and in the middle stood a sharp cone-shaped building about a dozen stories tall. Only a spiral road led to the castle gate, and at its widest, that road could only fit three light carriages side by side, making it impossible to launch a large-scale battle there. This was the center of the city’s administrative and military command, and also the city’s last strong line of defense. During a civil war over the throne two hundred years ago, the city’s owner, the stubborn defender Count Rashid, had relied on this line of defense and held off nearly ten thousand rebels with only a thousand soldiers for twenty days. In the end, he held out until reinforcements arrived, and with a pincer attack from inside and outside, turned defeat into victory.

However, Fred would not let such a situation happen in this battle. The reason was simple: the castle currently did not have enough food for the defenders to hold out for that long.

For six days, we did not attack the enemy. We simply blocked all the roads leading down the mountain and began a true siege. The granaries were in our hands, and the docks were completely under our control. The Winston were in fact in a desperate situation. Their only hope was the supply fleet that would not arrive until ten days later at the earliest. And with their food already cut off, no army could hold out for ten days that long.

In fact, under our siege, the last remaining grain in the castle had already run out three days earlier. We knew this because that night, we heard the final mournful neighs of warhorses coming from the castle. That night, I saw with my own eyes the guards in the arrow towers on both sides of the wall light bonfires and pass a piece of half-cooked horse meat around. Each person only tore off a small bite at the corner of their mouth, then passed it to the next.

In the quiet night, the chewing sounds of the defenders were clearly audible, mixed with faint sobs. A knight whose armor was no longer bright suddenly dropped the food in his hand, leaned against the city wall, and wept loudly.

Warhorses were riders’ most loyal friends and most reliable comrades. They were like their legs, an inseparable part of them. They had never been food for knights. But now, the warriors on horseback, who regarded their warhorses as a second life, had no choice but to swallow their friends’ limbs while enduring grief. I thought no one could blame them for their weakness at a time like this. Even we, their opponents, could not.

And all this had already passed three days. Even horse bones could not make the defenders last this long. Behind the city wall, several tall trees had originally stood. Their yellowing leaves might have swayed in the cool autumn wind for a few more days. But suddenly, overnight, they disappeared, leaving only bare branches. That was probably the reason the defenders could still hold on.

But even so, the castle remained calm, just as it had been on the first day. The soldiers on the walls and towers still stood straight and watched us warily. Malnutrition made them thin and weak, but their expressions told me that whenever necessary, they could pick up their weapons and fight at any moment, becoming opponents no one would want to meet.

To lure the enemy into surrendering, we used every method we could: letting our soldiers eat and drink noisily not far from the castle, pouring wine and grain on the ground, and letting cooking smoke drift toward the castle with the wind… Those soldiers were so hungry that they swayed even when walking, yet they completely ignored our tricks. Everyone knew this kind of perseverance was meaningless. Even they themselves knew it. But at least now, at this moment, they were still an unconquerable force.

“They are simply not human!” I complained in discouragement.

“But they are true warriors,” Fred admired, not hiding his admiration for his enemy at all. “An army like this is what any commander dreams of. The man who could build such an army is no less than any great leader who made history.”

“He is murdering his soldiers!” Red Flame was also restless. “He has no chance at all.”

“You are wrong, my friend. Look at those soldiers on guard. Do they look the least bit unwilling? I rather think…” Fred sighed and said, “It is these unyielding men under his command who do not want their commander’s reputation to be stained by surrender…”

I thought Fred’s words were not groundless. Prince Louis was not the kind of person who would casually use innocent people’s lives to add to his own military glory. The people of Davo City could testify to that. After the city fell, the citizens did not welcome us as we had expected. Instead, they seemed to show great regret for the foreign ruler. Even when the city’s food supply was tight, Prince Louis did not abandon the civilians affected by the war. He decreed that each citizen could receive two-thirds of a soldier’s grain ration, and throughout the fighting, he never dragged civilians into battle. Completely different from the cruel rule of the Winston occupation army we had heard about, the prince always maintained a kind and friendly attitude toward the people of the occupied city. Through gentle policies, he won popularity for himself. When the city was taken and the outcome was already decided, some citizens of Davo City even stopped us from killing those friendly occupation soldiers.

To be honest, I felt Prince Louis’s way of doing things was not like a soldier, but rather like a compassionate dreamer full of romanticism. A man like that would never drag the lives of nearly a thousand soldiers into the abyss for his own dignity. If it really was those soldiers who would rather defend to the death for their commander’s honor, I would not be surprised. My experience fighting them told me that soldiers who worshiped their commander like a god were completely capable of doing such a thing.

I had to admit they were enemies worthy of respect. We had no choice but to wait for them to completely lose their fighting strength.

“I really don’t want to defeat him this way.” Fred looked at the castle, and his tone revealed an unspeakable regret. “If I had a choice, I would rather lead the same number of troops and fight him openly on the battlefield. Whether victory or defeat, I would gladly accept the final result. But this is war. It is not just about the two of us.”

At that moment, his eyes looked very lonely.

Waiting was not the only thing we did these past few days. Two days earlier, we held Dirk’s funeral. According to pirate tradition, his body was placed on a wooden raft piled with dry firewood and pushed into the river. Kelsey personally lit the raft as a final farewell to her friend. According to pirate legend, deep in the deepest ocean lay a mysterious island, the destination of all sailors’ souls. The dead would find eternal happiness there. This funeral could help the dead person’s soul go there.

I asked Poirot whether this legend was true. Poirot replied meaningfully:

“What matters is not where the dead person’s soul truly went, but where the living believe it went, isn’t it? If this belief makes them feel better, then it is real.”

I agreed with this. I felt Dirk’s soul no longer needed to go to some place that would make him happy. He had already received the greatest happiness.

This thought made me feel better. I hoped it was true.

After the funeral, the pirates left. They had completed the agreed task and received the reward they deserved from us. I felt deep guilt toward them. These free sea people had been dragged by us into a war. Some of them had left their lives on this land that did not belong to them. They should have been soaring freely on the blue horizon where the sea met the sky, crossing the waves like sea wind. But now, they had lost that chance.

For all this, we could only compensate them with money, but some things could not be compensated with money.

Kelsey handed her ship over to Hook and Anchor. She hoped she could stay by Red Flame’s side until the war ended. Although Red Flame strongly objected, he could not talk her out of it.

The only pleasant news came from Dakla. At the meeting yesterday at noon, he appeared before us on crutches. His wounds had healed. The heaviest arrow wound on his back had recovered very well. However, the arrow wound on his left leg had injured his fibula, and he might have a slight limp in the future.

“Even so, I still run faster than you!” He paid no attention to his wounds at all, and joked with the short-statured Riley about the slight disability he might have.

We were overjoyed by his recovery. Too many people had already died in this battle. If we lost another close comrade like him, I did not know how I would face it.

“…Don’t get hurt, okay? Even if you die, don’t get hurt. If you accidentally get hurt, don’t let Millia treat you. Her medicine is sharper than a knife. I almost died right there in her hands…” Dakla looked very well. At least he still had the energy to badmouth people behind their backs.

“This is not the grateful attitude one should have toward the person who saved your life,” Riley replied in a friendly but sharp way.

“I am telling the truth. I almost suspect her medicine was brewed on a witch’s stove with bat wings and spider webs…”

“Hmm, that woman, possible. Maybe tomorrow your wound will grow scales, and then you’ll turn into a monster that swords can’t pierce.” Poirot never missed a chance to mock the monk behind her back. Even Fred, who had personally experienced the terror of Millia’s homemade potion, could not help nodding again and again.

“When she applied the medicine to me, I felt like she was sticking a knife into my wound and then twisting it hard. If I hadn’t fainted at that moment… Huh? Why are you all looking down and not saying anything? Could it be…”

“Mr. Dakla, it’s time for you to change your bandages, and you should not be walking around now.” Millia’s voice came from behind him.

“M-M-Miss Millia, why is it that you never make any sound when you walk?” Dakla’s face instantly turned pale.

“That is so I don’t disturb patients’ rest, and so I can observe the effects of my medicine during other people’s conversations. For example, this time, Mr. Dakla, I think the dose last time was too small, and the effect was not obvious enough…”

Listening to the sound of their footsteps leaving, we smiled at each other.

I was glad that after going through a life-and-death battle, I could still smile. I felt that if I could still smile, then there was still something about our lives worth praising, especially when we smiled easily because our friend was safe…

I really wished everything could end this way, letting us use a victory without any more casualties to end this battle and also end this war. We could use the Winston crown prince to exchange for the land we had lost, and at the same time buy a brief peace, until one day some great ruler suddenly got a hot head and started another stupid and meaningless war. That would not be a problem for us to consider now, would it? I could retire smoothly from my position as an officer, take a perhaps not-so-generous pension and a few medals that meant nothing, and go back to being my tavern owner. And Fred, he had already stood in a high enough position that he could at least fulfill his promises to his friends within a certain range.

Unfortunately, this was only a brief and beautiful fantasy. Soon, my wish was shattered by the visit of a messenger.

When I was brought to the meeting room by Fred’s attendant, the atmosphere in the air was very tense. A messenger in civilian clothes, exhausted, slumped in a chair to one side. Although his clothes were messy and he looked very listless, he wore a fashionable mustache at the corner of his mouth. The two ends of the mustache curled slightly upward, like a pair of eyebrows that had grown in the wrong place. He must have suffered a lot, because he was gulping down the hot milk in his cup without caring about dignity.

“This is Knight Merrill, the messenger of Your Majesty.” After everyone had arrived, Fred first introduced the unfamiliar messenger to us. “Mr. Merrill has brought us an urgent message…”

“The royal capital Morning Light City is under siege!”

“That’s impossible!” I shouted, losing my composure. This news came too suddenly, giving no one any warning.

“Yes, that’s impossible. We have controlled the entire northern front line. It is impossible for a second Winston Army to cross the Morning Light River and reach the foot of the royal capital without us knowing.” Rodrick also cried out in surprise. All the officers in the meeting nodded in agreement, approving his words.

“Indeed impossible, gentlemen.” Fred interrupted us. “The army besieging the royal capital is the army of the Cretans.”

The news Knight Merrill brought was this:

Thirty days ago, just as we were harassing the supply lines of Davo City, Marquis Wemberly, the envoy of the Crete Kingdom, arrived at the royal capital. He stated that Delanmaya had made enormous sacrifices to help the Crete Kingdom in the war to resist the Winston Empire’s aggression. To show friendship to the King of Delanmaya, King Lathus V of Crete specially supported Delanmaya with large amounts of grain, weapons, armor, and other strategic supplies as a gesture of thanks.

Ten days later, a Crete transport team made up of many carts and horses and more than a thousand escort soldiers arrived at South Tares City on the border between the two countries, and was welcomed by Count Lotsen, the city lord. The friendly count did not know what kind of guests he was welcoming.

That night, nearly ten thousand Crete troops forced their way across the border in the twilight. With the help of more than a thousand insiders, they easily captured South Tares City. That same night, also attacked were seven other Delanmaya cities on the border between the two countries. Since the two countries had always maintained friendly relations from the beginning of the war, and not long before, the kingdom had been promoting talk of friendship between the two countries, many defenders never imagined they would be attacked at such a time. The Cretans almost did not meet any decent resistance and completely controlled the border between the two countries. Then they swept forward like splitting bamboo, advancing triumphantly into the inland heart of Delanmaya.

For this long-planned attack, Delanmaya was clearly unprepared. Moreover, the long war with the Winston Empire had drawn almost all of Delanmaya’s already few elite troops to the Morning Light River front. In addition, the royal capital Morning Light City was originally relatively close to Crete City. While the rulers of Delanmaya were still eagerly expecting the gift from the King of Crete, they suddenly discovered that this war gift, which had no credibility at all, had already been delivered right before their eyes.

At this time, it was already too late to go and argue with His Excellency the envoy. The residence where the envoy had stayed was empty. On the table in the living room, there was only a delicately worded letter addressed to King Miguela I of Delanmaya. The letter said that in view of the fact that the Kingdom of Delanmaya was ‘unable to resist’ the invasion of the Winston Empire, and for the purpose of ‘self-protection’, the Crete Kingdom would regretfully have to adopt an ‘active defensive posture’ and create a ‘strategic flexible buffer zone’ within Delanmaya. If it encountered resistance, then it would consider the Kingdom of Delanmaya and the Winston Empire to have reached a ‘strategic tacit understanding’ and to be ‘aggressive countries’ that were ‘jointly seeking Crete territory’. For this, the Crete Kingdom could only respond with a ‘righteous declaration of war’.

Following this naked conspiracy, the Crete army pointed directly at Morning Light City. When Merrill and the others were ordered to seek help, the war banners of the Cretans were less than five days’ march from the royal capital. The royal capital was in imminent danger, and Delanmaya had reached a critical moment of life and death.

What should we do?

This question had only one answer, but it was very hard to say it out loud. In just one or two more days, the victory right before our eyes would be within easy reach. We would achieve the feat that generals of every country on the continent dreamed of, and make our names reach a height never seen before.

But we had to give all of that up.

Fred’s gaze looked out the window. From here, we could see the pointed tower top of the central castle in Davo City. Right there was the destined rival of Fred’s entire life. Now, he had a chance to win here. This might be the only chance in his life to defeat him. If he missed it, it would never come back.

A small voice came out of his mouth, but we all heard it clearly. That was his decision, the only order he had to give:

“All troops retreat. Target: the royal capital Morning Light City…”