Chapter 123 - Upheaval on the Peninsula
Soqya Peninsula, Fedi.
"After occupying the city-state of Ambratu, the Viscount of Lanwan launched a shameful sneak attack on the city-state of Dolrcocha. Her wolflike ambition is now clear for all to see, and we must take it seriously! Otherwise..."
Cleon spoke eloquently in the Fedi elder council.
The recently concluded trip to Badan had been another profound humiliation for Cleon.
The war on the Ivy Alliance front had once again stalled. Cleon had repeatedly criticized Elder Branco Milon, the commander-in-chief, in the council, accusing him of being timid as a tiger despite leading a superior force, hesitating to advance and wasting the Alliance's manpower and resources.
Before heading to the North Soqya front, Cleon had confidently vowed to defeat the Viscount of Lanwan in the shortest possible time, end the war, and set an example for Branco Milon.
As it turned out, the war in North Soqya did end quickly, but the outcome was the exact opposite of what Cleon had proclaimed before the war...
Although Cleon did not consider the failure his fault—believing the incompetence of the three city-states of Badan, Carmela, and Dolrcocha to be the main cause—he knew that as long as there were people who wanted to see him humiliated, the blame for the rapid collapse of the North Soqya front would be firmly placed on his head.
Thus, Cleon didn't bother with further explanations and instead devoted all his energy in the council to promoting the "Lanwan Threat Theory."
"Currently, the city-states of North Soqya have almost completely lost their ability to contend with the Viscount of Lanwan. To prevent the Lanwan Viscountcy from further encroaching on the North Soqya region, I believe it is imperative for the Ivy Alliance to dispatch a powerful expeditionary force to help our allies drive out the aggressor and retake control of North Soqya!"
After speaking, Cleon glanced around and saw the other elders with expressions ranging from grave and contemplative to dismissive...
"Elder Cleon, if I heard you correctly, you want Fedi to use military force in North Soqya?" an old man who was consistently at odds with Cleon in the council, Urbano, asked with his arms crossed and a faint, mocking smile.
"Of course," Cleon said, lifting his chin, and repeated, "The military strength of the North Soqya city-states is no longer sufficient to confront the Lanwan Viscountcy. It is up to Fedi to send troops now."
"But Elder Cleon, you yourself have said that the Viscount of Lanwan's army is so powerful that even the combined forces of all the North Soqya city-states could hardly resist them. How many troops should we send to fend off the Viscount's advance?" Urbano retorted. "Ten thousand citizen-soldiers? Or fifteen thousand? How many of them need to be Awakened—three thousand, or five thousand? With the front line already stretched thin, where are we going to assemble such a large army?"
"We can conscript from the Ivy Alliance city-states again. As long as we can field ten thousand citizen-soldiers, including three thousand Awakened ones, and add the remaining forces of North Soqya city-states like Badan, Carmela, and Dolrcocha, we will be perfectly capable of repelling the Viscount of Lanwan's invasion!" Cleon stated firmly.
"Heh... We just conscripted a round of soldiers from our allies two months ago. Now, most of the remaining citizen-soldiers in the city-states are those who have just returned home for about a month after fighting the Delmoreans on the front lines for more than a year, some even two," Urbano said, spreading his hands and asking Cleon mockingly.
"How are we supposed to conscript them again? Send someone to inform those veterans that their one-month vacation is over and it's time to return to the battlefield? And that, as a surprise, we've prepared a new enemy for them?"
"Elder Cleon, how do you think they will react? Will they pick up their javelins and obediently accept the surprise we've prepared for them? Or will they pick up their javelins and run through the conscription officers we send?"
Cleon frowned and argued again, "We don't need to force conscription. We can simply hire them, employing the citizen-soldiers who are still willing to fight to go to North Soqya..."
However, just as Cleon was fiercely debating with the opposition elders led by Urbano, the sound of hurried footsteps and chaotic noises suddenly erupted within the council chamber.
"Citizen, citizen, you cannot go in there."
A young man dressed in linen and an apron stumbled into the assembly hall, followed by two guards who were hastily chasing after him.
Just as an elder was about to scold the man for trespassing in the council, the young man spoke first. With a sob in his voice, he shouted, "Elders, we are defeated! The Bronze Pass has been breached by the Delmore Alliance! Elder Branco's entire army has been annihilated, and he himself was killed in battle!"
The entire assembly hall fell into a dead silence.
The Bronze Pass was a vital strategic point north of Fedi, guarding the main road leading directly to the city. Its outer walls had been built by the people of Fedi at great cost, forged from bronze infused with extraordinary materials, making them nearly indestructible. In the century since its construction, the Bronze Pass had never been breached by the Delmore Alliance.
Branco Milon commanded the main force of the Ivy Alliance, numbering around twenty-five thousand citizen-soldiers, including nearly ten thousand Awakened ones.
With the fall of the Bronze Pass, the Delmore Alliance's army could march directly to the walls of Fedi.
With Branco Milon's entire army annihilated, Fedi had completely lost its ability to face the Delmore Alliance in a direct confrontation.
If the news was true, Fedi was now like a woman stripped of her clothes with her limbs broken, vulnerable to being ravaged by the Delmore Alliance's army at any moment.
"How is that possible? Who are you? How do you know this?" a Fedi elder demanded loudly.
The young man was startled and quickly replied, "I, my name is Yannis, I'm a barber. A customer who came to my stall for a shave told me."
What, just a barber.
The expressions on the elders' faces softened considerably.
Cleon pointed at the young man and berated him, "What does a barber like you know? The Bronze Pass is impregnable! And Elder Branco is a veteran of many campaigns! How could his entire army be annihilated?"
"I, I, but that's what the customer said..." the young man stammered, at a loss.
"And what your customer said is true?" The elder who had just questioned the young man stood up again and sneered. "And we don't even know if this customer of yours actually exists."
Instantly, the other elders chimed in.
"That's right, I think you just fabricated this false news yourself!"
"What is your motive for creating such a rumor! Are you trying to shake the morale of our army?"
"I see now, you're a spy for the Delmoreans! Daring to curse our army to be completely wiped out!"
...
"No, no, I'm not a spy, I'm not a spy! This is truly news I heard from a traveling merchant," the young man defended himself frantically, his face pale.
However, none of the elders present wanted to hear his defense. One elder raised his hand and proposed, "This man has fabricated a false war report, undermined military morale, and trespassed in the elder council with malicious intent. I propose he be executed as a spy for the Delmore Alliance!"
"No, I'm really not a Delmorean spy, I was born in Fedi, I love Fedi..."
The young man wailed in terror as he was pinned down by the council guards.
The Fedi elder council had nineteen members; fifteen were present at the meeting. With six elders opposing and nine in favor, the young citizen named Yannis was sentenced to death on the spot.
Urbano frowned as he watched the young man being dragged out by force.
After the young man was taken away, the council meeting resumed, continuing the discussion on the Lanwan Viscountcy's encroachment in the North Soqya region.
Unlike before, besides Cleon and Urbano, the other elders had now developed a keen interest in the problem of the Lanwan Viscountcy. They enthusiastically offered strategies and plans for sending troops to North Soqya, fervently discussing how many soldiers Fedi would need to decisively defeat the Viscount of Lanwan in one fell swoop.
Urbano, who had been firmly against Cleon's proposal, now remained mostly silent.
After discussing until noon, the chief elder presiding over the meeting, Agostino, announced a temporary recess.
During the break, the elders eating lunch all gathered by a window, which coincidentally offered a clear view of the execution platform that had just been set up outside.
On the platform, an official announced Yannis's crime—fabricating false news and spreading rumors that the citizen-soldiers on the front line had been disastrously defeated and completely wiped out.
Hearing this, the Fedi citizens below grew incensed, shouting "Kill him!" while throwing stones and rubbish at the platform.
Yannis's tongue had already been cut out, and blood was pouring from his mouth. He could no longer say a word.
The executioner pushed Yannis under the gallows, placed the rope around his neck, and then kicked the stool out from under his feet.
A large mouthful of blood spurted from the young Yannis's mouth. He struggled in mid-air for a while, then gradually fell silent.
The Fedi citizens below let out a cheer, threw another volley of stones at Yannis's corpse, and then departed, satisfied.
A middle-aged woman wailed and tried to rush onto the platform, likely a family member of Yannis coming to collect his body. However, she was stopped by the guards on duty, because according to Fedi law, Yannis's body had to hang from the gallows for at least fifteen days.
"Perhaps we should have listened to him a bit more," Urbano said, his face expressionless.
"What was there to listen to? Just the absurd ravings of a rumor-monger," an elder scoffed dismissively.
Cleon seemed to nod in strong agreement.
However, at that very moment, a burst of hurried hoofbeats sounded. A swift black horse galloped from the direction of Fedi's east gate towards the elder council building. On its back was a citizen-soldier in leather armor, covered in dust.
Arriving at the council entrance, the citizen-soldier practically tumbled from his horse. He paid no mind to his disheveled state and immediately rushed into the building.
Before even seeing the elders, the citizen-soldier shouted as he ran, "The Bronze Pass has been breached, General Branco Milon has been killed in battle!"
The elders who heard his cry froze on the spot.
The citizen-soldier stumbled and scrambled his way before the elders and shouted again, "Elders, the Bronze Pass has been breached, our entire army has been wiped out!"
"Are, are you telling the truth? Do you have proof?" Finally, Agostino had to be the first to step forward and ask.
"Oh..." The citizen-soldier fumbled around his clothes for a moment and then produced a small silver rod. The rod had several rotating rings engraved with letters.
This object was called a Gistar. To put it simply, it was a cipher stick. The rotating rings could be used to encrypt military messages, and it also served as a form of identification for Fedi generals.
Taking the Gistar, Agostino inspected it several times and finally had to accept the reality. "This is indeed Branco's credential..."
Upon hearing this, the silence in the council chamber became even more profound. For a moment, no one knew how to face such terrifying news.
An elder rushed forward, grabbed the citizen-soldier by the collar, and demanded, "When did General Branco's disastrous defeat happen?"
The citizen-soldier thought for a moment and said, "About ten days ago."
"Then why are you only reporting it now!" the elder questioned angrily.
The citizen-soldier gave a bitter smile, undid his leather armor, and revealed his clothes, which were stained a reddish-black with blood, and a gruesome wound that was still seeping.
"I was gravely injured in the battle with the Delmoreans. I crawled out from a pile of the dead, but I didn't get far before I collapsed. It was a passing shepherd who saved me..." the messenger explained in a hoarse voice.
The elder holding him was at a loss for words and slowly released his grip.
Urbano pushed the other elder aside and, still in disbelief, asked, "The Delmoreans have been held back at the Bronze Pass for over a hundred years. How did they breach it this time?"
"I'm not sure either..."
The messenger shook his head and said.
"That day, an elite Delmorean unit suddenly appeared behind the Bronze Pass and launched a simultaneous attack with their main force in front of the pass. Our army was caught completely off guard, and the fighting was chaotic."
"General Branco personally went up to the pass walls to boost morale, but he was killed by enemy soldiers who breached the wall. We didn't know what to do, and the army quickly collapsed."
"Immediately, immediately start conscription again!" Agostino's voice trembled as he spoke. "All Ivy Alliance city-states must send citizen-soldiers to defend Fedi! We need to send out conscription officers at once! Does anyone disagree?"
"No!"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
...
The other elders all cast their votes in favor.
At this point, no one spoke of considering the attitudes of the other allied city-states anymore.
"Urbano," Agostino said, turning to him, "you are the most experienced among us in matters of war. I wish to appoint Urbano as the commander of Fedi's city defenses. Does everyone agree?"
The elders voted again. This time there were only ten votes in favor.
Nevertheless, Urbano was successfully appointed.
After arranging these matters, Agostino, the aged chief elder of Fedi, could no longer withstand the shock of this unprecedented bad news. His body swayed, and he collapsed.
Some rushed to support him, others patted his chest, and some shouted for a doctor... The scene devolved into chaos.
Outside the window, the body of the young man named Yannis still swung lonely in the wind.