This Is How You Make Friends? (4)
"All you have to do is reward him personally, such as returning the favor...Alliances are a matter of state, Your Majesty!" <Noble >
"Yes, Your Majesty!" <Noble >
The meeting was held again but the nobles of Carthage strongly rejected the alliance.
Even when their head of state was recently save by the delegate himself.
Well, that was to be expected.
An alliance between countries is not a game.
In other words, they are formed only when the relationship is equal to some extent, unless it is an agreement of paying tribute and military vassalage.
It's like the relationship that Lunan and Roserun had, but I didn't have the slightest intention of serving Carthage.
"What do we have to gain by allying ourselves with Aquitania? Explain it to me." <Count Dolfe>
In the meantime, Count Dofle asked me.
He was very friendly to me.
It was Count Dofle who had arranged for me to meet the king and queen.
His words must have meant that I should try to persuade the nobles who were gathered here.
"First, according to our intelligence, there should be an invasion from the nearby Ramie Kingdom. If that happens, Aquitania's army can lend a hand. It is a strong army that has dealt with Visigoth and Brigitte day in and day out." <Julius >
In fact, this was not a lie, of course, the time frame was still a long way off.
As soon as they heard my words, the nobles gave me a look of disapproval.
"The Ramie Kingdom is our ally. And even if such a thing were to happen, the navy of Carthage is the strongest on the continent. We don't need your help!" <Noble >
One of them shouted, looking confident about the navy.
But that was only when there was a competent commander.
Thanks to Chesedin's death, the navy would soon be in the hands of a foolish man.
"I can't let that go unheard. The king of Ramie is an old friend of mine. I don't think they will attack us." <King Carthage>
"But that is not all. The Visigoth Kingdom is in a position to attack Carthage at any time. Just because you don't share a border with them now doesn't mean that you are safe,after all their armies are still conquering the Herald Kingdom, while securing their hold over the majority of Lunan's territory right now." <Julius >
The Kingdom of Visigoth is not a country with a well-developed navy.
That's why the Kingdom of Carthage was completely relieved, but that's a ridiculous assumption.
There is no country that the king of Visigoth would not target.
"That's enough. You're just causing confusion with your baseless arguments. Well, it's also true that you prevented a rebellion. Therefore, I will give you one last chance. Serve this Carthage. If you are willing to offer tribute and form a military-vassal relationship, I will let you off the hook." <Duke Zeta<< p>
The Duke of Zeta, the chief of the nobles, spoke such nonsense.
"That's not good. Alliances should be based on equality." <Julius >
"Then you can go home now!" <Duke Zeta>
When the Duke of Zeta came to that conclusion, even the nobles began to call for me to leave, there was nothing more to say here.
My purpose in coming here was not only to prevent a coup and return home.
There were still some things to be gained.
Of course, it was not an alliance.
That hadn't even been in my mind from the beginning, because there was a more reliable way than that.
The promise of an alliance is like a relationship on ice that can always be broken by betrayal.
"If that is what they say, then you must go back...I'm sorry, envoy, but you must return to your country. I will repay you with gold for your kindness in saving my life... and my wife!" <King Carthage>
In the end, the king gave way to the nobles.
Once more showing he had little real power.
***
- - Rebellion POV - -
"My brother is dead?" <Lushak >
"Yes...It's too heartbreaking. Master Lushak!" <Vassal >
"Kukkuk, I see. My brother is dead?" <Lushak >
- Kashak's territory -
The vassals knelt down to avenge their enemy with a look of regret on their faces, but Lushak started laughing.
He tried to laugh in his heart, but it was a normal laugh.
"Master Lushak?" <Vassal >
The reaction of the vassals made Lushak change his expression in panic.
"I will avenge him. I will never forgive the royal family and the nobles of Carthage!" <Lushak >
He said that, but inwardly he was shouting with joy at the fact that he would inherit the entire powerbase that Kashak had built up.
"You said the allies that my brother has infiltrated in the capital and the royal court are still alive and well?" <Lushak >
"Yes. If it weren't for the intervention of the Aquitanian emissary...they would have stood up and protected the lord all at once! But sadly it all happened so quickly they had no time to act, so they remained quiet biding their time for the true rebellion since this time was destined to fail." <Vassal >
Thud! Lushak kicked his vassal with his foot in the middle of his story then he shouted under his breath.
"Shut up, I'm your lord from now on! Can we please get that straight?" <Lushak >
"I'm sorry, sir." <Vassal >
When the retainer raised himself to apologize, Lushak snickered.
"Oh well. Count Lexemann, a friend of my brother's, is willing to lend a hand, and then it'll be easy. The palace guards would be no problem once the people that my brother had infiltrated open the gates!" <Lushak >
It was a plan that Kashak had meticulously prepared for ten years.
It was not going to all fall apart overnight.
"We will launch a bloody vendetta against the royal family of Carthage, who are trying to destroy our family." <Lushak >
The brother of the ringleader of the coup, although he should have been arrested for his role in the coup, Lushak had no intention of giving up the chance for the throne he had finally obtained, and led his entire army to march on the capital.
This was done swiftly under the cover of night. The soldiers in the territory were also elite soldiers that Kashak had poured his heart and soul into raising and they were quite fast.
***
- - Rebellion POV - -
______________________________________
[Lushak's rebels]
[Soldiers: 22,000]
[Morale: 90 + 10 (rage)]
[Training level: 88]
______________________________________
Lushak's rebels marched on the royal capital of Carthage.
The gates of the royal capital were easily opened by the conspirators that Kashak has infiltrated.
"For Master Kashak!" <Rebels >
What Kashak had done for the past ten years was considerable.
Otherwise, Lushak's rebels, or originally the Kashak Territorial Army, would not have had a +10 rage gauge on their morale.
It was only natural that the family would be destroyed since they had been caught staging a coup d'etat.
His younger brother, Lushak, wasn't going to be beaten quietly, and the army quickly took over the royal palace.
The military power was a good indication that if I hadn't killed Kashak, they might have been a dangerous element that could have invaded Aquitania at any time during the war with Visigoth.
"Kill them all! Kill all of the king's army!" <Lushak >
Lushak began to ravage the royal city while uttering the typical lines.
______________________________________
[Carthage Royal Guard & Capital Garrisons]
[Soldiers: 30,000]
[Morale: 70]
[Training level: 80]
______________________________________
At first, the King's City Guard was 30,000 strong, but the number of soldiers who turned to the Lushak rebels reached 10,000.
These are the soldiers who adored Kashak among the capital city guards, or who'd already committed to the rebellion before hand.
It can be said that they are the legacy of Kashak.
Thanks to them, the number of the rebels quickly reached over 30,000.
The royal capital is a port city.
The main force of the defenders was the navy, so it was also significant that the rebels attacked on land.
The gap widened in the blink of an eye and the royal capital was set on fire.
Well, it was only natural.
The commander of the fleet, the capable Vice Admiral Shaq, was assassinated by Kashak.
Kashak had also killed Admiral Chesedin, the veteran warrior who had defended the country and was its spiritual support.
How can they stop the rebels in such a situation?
Killing Kashak prevented the coup for a while, but in the end, the rebellion was destined to succeed.
Lushak Retin, this guy is no big deal.
He's really a violent man who makes a mistake and gets executed after Kashak comes to power.
Carthage would be a mess if such a man came to power.
I had hoped that the incompetent Lushak would be in power instead of a competent and capable warrior, and that's what happened.
What I have to do now is to overthrow the government held by such an incompetent Lushak.
Even in the midst of this chaos, there was one thing I had to get.
In any case, my troops were useless.
Right now, I needed stability and training, and I had my hands full just keeping Visigoth in check.
Of course, Visigoth was in a situation where they couldn't move right away either after having lost 200,000 men and still being embroiled in a bitter fight with the Herald kingdom.
***
- - Queen Serena POV - -
"Your Majesty, this way, please!" <Queen Serena>
When the king received the news that Lushak had broken into the palace, he began to evacuate through an old hidden passage.
The queen Serena, and Dofle, who was worried about his daughter, were with him.
The other leading nobles did not enter the palace, which was on fire, but fled out of the capital, because in a situation like this, the best way was to go back to their own territory.
All they could think of was that if they headed for the royal palace, they would be surrounded by Lushak's army, isolated, and then die.
However, there was no way that Lushak would stand by and watch them flee outside the capital.
The king was the only one who knew about the hidden passage so only Dofle, who rushed to the palace because he was worried about his daughter, was given the chance to escape to safety.
The king entered the hidden passageway with the limited Royal Guards, attendants, maidservants, Serena and Dofle to protect him.
"Your Majesty, what is that gate?" <Queen Serena>
Serena asked when she saw the huge iron door at the end of the hidden passage.
"I don't know about that, either. I've heard that it's a facility from the time of the Ancient Empire, but I don't know how to open it."
"I see. The one in the middle is called the Mana Formation, by any chance?" <Queen Serena>
A mana formation was painted in the center of the gate. Serena had seen it in a book, and when she asked, Dofle nodded.
"So it seems. Your Highness now is not the time to be worrying about gates that won't open." <Dolfe >
"Yes, Serena. The hidden passageway built by the previous king of Carthage is next to it. Let's hurry up." <King Carthage>
By the king's order, the existence of the giant iron door was erased from their minds and the group started walking again.
"Father, are you alright?" <Queen Serena>
Serena squeezed Dofle's hand and he nodded at her.
There was no way he was going to be weak when Serena was fine.
"I'm fine." <Dolfe >
The King and Serena's party spent a considerable amount of time trying to get out of the hidden passage.
The king was old and unsteady on his feet, and the hidden passage was quite steep, so it was not easy to escape.
However, since it was a hidden passage that was difficult to find, he had not been tracked down yet.
After that long struggle, they were finally able to get out of the hidden passage.
The hidden passageway led to the outside of the royal capital, which meant that they were now outside the citadel that surrounded the city.
"Your Majesty, I will take you to Dofle territory for now. It would be better to evacuate to a safer place first, and then reclaim the capital in union with the other territories." <Dolfe >
"Yes, that's right. I'll do that. I don't care what it takes, I just need to rest for now." <King Carthage>
"Yes, Your Majesty!" <Dolfe >
They started their journey again, but the old king was in no condition to ride a horse and he could not get a carriage as soon as he left the hidden passage, so his speed was quite slow.
Dofle knew they couldn't go on like this.
Lushak's rebels, who had noticed the king's absence from the palace, were searching everywhere outside the capital.
The faces of the royal guards turned pale when they saw the rebels.
They were not going to be able to compete with them in terms of numbers.