Fun Territory Defense Chapter 195 (Patreon)

[Another Viewpoint] Confusion in Jiernetta Kingdom

[Erhard Asbach Jiernetta]

"What the heck are you saying?!"

He yelled, banging on the table. The violent sound echoes off the stone floor and walls, echoing through the room. I glare at the messenger, who cower at my words, and open my mouth.

"Let me see you give that ridiculous report again!"

"Ha, haha! The Welner fortress in the southwest has fallen! After the Border Knights retreated, we were informed that the remaining Knights of the Scuderia Kingdom had a small force in the fortress and immediately set out to recapture it, but that too failed! The damage was extensive, and we are currently retreating to the fortified city of Grocer to regain our position!"

"Nonsense...!"

Hearing the messenger's report again, he threw the ceramic vessel he had at hand at the kneeling soldier. It hit him in the shoulder armor and he staggered slightly.

"This is not even a funny joke! We had prepared so well for this challenge, and yet we were defeated in all three battlefields, and now our stronghold has been taken? How can we lose when they have so many weapons?"

He slammed the table again and yelled at them. In response, the soldier shook his shoulders and stared at the ground. Sweat dripped from his forehead, wetting the floor.

"I'm sorry, sir...but there were various threats in Scuderia Kingdom that we didn't have information on. These disabled not only the black balls, but even the large dragon species. Perhaps this information could be used against them..."

"Shut up! I've already received such reports three times already!"

"Ye, yes!"

The soldier who was making excuses was threatened, and he replied in a voice that sounded as if it had been turned inside out. He was irritated by the frightened soldier's appearance, and tried to get his head around the situation.

At first, he was thinking of getting the aid of the Solstice Empire, the champion of the central continent, to defeat the Scuderia Kingdom and gain supremacy over this continent of Grant. Anyone who is not a magician would have ambitions if they were confronted with a black ball, a cannon, or a gun that could change the course of the war.

Of course, like the Hesel Alliance, which borders the Solstice Empire across the sea, there is a touch of uneasiness in the fact that they cannot defy the Solstice Empire and are allies under disadvantageous conditions, but the recent momentum of the Scuderia Kingdom was more alarming than that.

It showed a cooperative stance toward the Solstice Empire by purchasing large quantities of black balls and firearms for its own defense, and used them to take over the Scuderia Kingdom's territories one after another. If he could gain the trust of the Solstice Empire sufficiently, he could obtain the black jade manufacturing process, albeit with certain conditions.

Eventually, they would be powerful enough to face the Solstice Empire. That was the ultimate goal.

But now such a goal has become synonymous with mere nonsense. After all, we have been defeated in battle after battle by the Scuderia Kingdom, which has neither black balls nor cannons. Anyone who hears this will scoff at our country's misery as the work of fools.

Why? Why did this happen?"

I grit my teeth and mutter this in my mouth. When our country clashed with the Knights of the Solstice Empire, we could not even fight properly after seeing the power of the black ball and the firearms. There were also the Knights of the Hesel Alliance, which had earlier formed an alliance with the Solstice Empire, but to put it bluntly, they were not in the number of things. Or should I say that the Solstice Empire was simply too strong?

At any rate, the knights of the Solstice Empire had 20 guns lined up in a row, and their infantrymen were holding black balls in their hands. Although we also had a top-class four-elemental magician, it was all he could do to destroy two of the cannons. While they were trying to destroy the next one, they were hit by a blow from another fire cannon and seriously wounded.

They attacked with bows and arrows and even made a cavalry charge, but they were no match at all. The heavy infantry, with their large shields that could completely cover their entire bodies, could easily nullify our attacks. If we tried to force our way through, we would fall prey to their fire the moment they stopped moving.

The roar of the black ball and the burst of the cannon not only incapacitated the horses, but also took away the will to fight of the inexperienced soldiers. This was no way to wage a proper war.

As a result, the Jiernetta Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat and became an ally after accepting humiliating conditions. In effect, we were treated as a dependency. In imports and exports, tariff rates are set unilaterally, and requests from the other side are almost always forced, whereas requests from us are not allowed.

The only advantage of this unequal alliance is that we can fight with the help of the mighty Solstice Empire. The Solstice Empire has pledged its support to the alliance and is willing to add new allies. Although it does not use the word "dependent," the Solstice Empire assigns grades to its allies. The first grade is the country that has formed a direct alliance with the Solstice Empire, and if that first grade country adds a new ally, it is considered a second grade country. After that are the third-grade countries. If a country increases the number of allies lower than itself, it will receive preferential treatment in terms of taxation and goods.

Eventually, the Solstice Empire should control the world. Because they think so, allies are trying to gain the Solstice Empire's help and bring their surroundings under their control, as if they are competing. Hesel is no different, but its location is different. Heshel can only take small countries one by one and will only be able to increase its allies in the lower grades by a small margin.

On the other hand, after our country was defeated and allied with the Solstice Empire, we immediately marched on the smaller countries in the west and northwest and forced them to form an alliance with us. Those two countries became second-class states. With the Solstice Empire to the east, Heshel to the south, and the lower allies to the west, our country now has only the Scuderia Kingdom as a neighboring adversary.

Until now, the Scuderia Kingdom has been giving us a hard time, but now we have the military might of the Solstice Empire. If this happens, we will become the most powerful nation on this continent, and on the contrary, we will obtain resources that exceed those of the Solstice Empire.

By that time, if we had the new technology of black balls and firearms obtained from the Solstice Empire as our own, we would eventually be able to take over the empire's position.

That is what I thought.

But what the heck is going on here?

I feel dizzy with anger. We were trying to establish even a slightly superior position within the Alliance, but at this rate, we would be cut off from our territory by the opposite, and the Knights of the Solstice Empire would come out of the woodwork.

If that happens, not only our position within the alliance, but even the survival of our country could be in jeopardy.

"...No matter what means we have to use, we will crush the Scuderia Kingdom. That is the only way for our country to survive...!"