Reincarnated to the Past 34: Good and Bad (2) (Patreon)

Reincarnated to the Past
Chapter 34: Good and Bad (2)

-VB-

“I-Is it right for me to go?”

Johaken nodded. It was the middle of the night, and they who had all gathered here opted out of using torches in fear of the enemies outside their walls spotting their messenger.

The messenger in question was one of the hunters that Alan had brought with him in the initial siege. He was the youngest of all of the warriors who had stayed at Istria, but had the best running speed and endurance combination.

“Yes. You are the fastest, the only one who will get to the tribe in time for a reasonable reinforcement, or at the very least, to call my brother-in-law to our defense.”

The mention of the pseudo-demigod of war brightened the boy, and with a nod, the warriors guarding the gate opened its thick wooden doors just slightly enough for the boy to pass through.

The boy, armed with nothing, nodded, and slid through the small gap and ran. He ran like his life depended on it.

Johaken ordered the gate to be closed again, and they did with a soft thud.

It’s been three days since the siege began, and the Byzantions weren’t as bad as Alan was. They knew that they could burn fields, but all the fields had been burned already. They had no concept of siege weapons like his brother had, and they just settled into “hopefully” starving out the city.

Oh, they did attempt a few attacks against the walls with ladders and tried in vain to bring down the gate with rams, but they failed despite their overwhelming manpower advantage.

Currently, it was the most logical plan of action for them, and Johaken agreed; there wasn't enough food in the city to last them over two months. He also did not like the idea of sitting behind the walls of the city.

“Alright, all of you go get a good night’s sleep. We don’t know when we’ll sleep well after tonight.”

It was the same words he’d given every night when the sun set, but they were no less true; if you died, then you wouldn’t wake up to enjoy a good night’s sleep anymore, just an eternal rest of oblivion.

He watched the few warriors and the local citizen-soldiers (a strange concept for him) who were with him disperse, and then he too went to his … home.

Johaken walked up the street towards the wealthier manors situated at the center of the city. There, he took a turn towards the palace. He passed by the guards standing by the gate, who had opened the thin wooden gates when they saw him coming. The servants who were still working saw him and bowed, moving out of his way as he made his way deeper into the palace.

Then it was he who saw someone else. Renius had come out of his room, probably having heard that he had returned to the palace.

“Brother Johaken.”

“Brother Renius,” Johaken greeted and bowed slightly. As he was both the younger in years and the one who had married Renius’s younger sister, the hierarchy of position was clear, even if they were on friendly terms.

“It’s … funny how I find myself wishing the best for the same warrior - I’m sorry, a hunter - who had assaulted our walls no more than a month ago,” Renius sighed wearily. “The beds we make, is it not?”

“It is,” he said as he straightened himself. “I did not expect these Byzantions to stay as long as they had.”

Normally, warfare was nothing like what Alan waged. More often than not, there were several battles where both sides lined up and clashed before one side conceded or were overrun.

“It is not as bad as your other brother-in-law was to us. The worst the Byzantions can do is fire some arrows, bang on the doors, and die on our walls. Your other brother nearly ruined us without even physically touching us. I find the latter to be more horrific, now that I’ve gone through the tamer siege of today.”

Johaken really wondered how ruthless the siege must have been. He was there to see the aftermath, but what would it have been like to see your fields burn, forests burn, water poisoned, and death creep from the sides?

There was a pause. “Will he come?” Renius asked with a frown.

“Why do you ask that?”

“He has no obligation to us, unlike you. It was one of the reasons why I allowed your marriage to my sister.”

Johaken nodded. It was as much as a political alliance as well as a military alliance between the King of Istria and the Commander of Kettins. He knew for a fact that had there not been a marriage between him and Regia, he might have just pulled out of the city when the Byzantions came to the siege.

Would it end here, though?

“... It may have been a mistake, however.”

Renius looked to him angrily. “Why would calling your brother here be a mistake?”

“Because I don’t think that he might stop at merely routing the Byzantions.” When Renius looked confused, Johaken quickly spoke again. “Remember that Wiseman Alan nearly burned this city to the ground and poisoned all of its people because one of your nobles’ son almost touched his wife.”

Renius paused before he asked quietly. “Are you suggesting that the fact that other cities might attack us would be enough for him to set out to subjugate them all like some conquerors in the east?”

“Honestly, I do not know. Is it possible? I believe so.”

“... I believe that such a thing may be a speculation. I hope it is a speculation, because I do not wish to be involved in a war that drags dozens of cities into chaos and ruin.”

Johaken sighed.

“I will do my best, but I dearly hope so as well.”

Johaken would regret bringing this idea up, because Renius, despite having been troubled by the idea initially, would find profit and revenge in the coming years by stoking the flames of war.