One City, Two Systems

"What are you doing?" Damian asked, laughing as he walked up.

Damian took off his coat and wrapped it around Schmalen's wife's feet, then reprimanded the retinue, "Do you have any self-respect left? Besides bravery, you have much more to learn!"

This scene earned Damian the favor of many knights.

Though they were doing wrong, as long as they stood on moral high ground, it was acceptable.

This was the common double standard of the Middle Ages: because I am morally superior, I can act immorally; because I have qualities, I can behave unbecomingly. Anyway, as long as one repents to God afterward.

"Don't pretend. If you dare, kill me!" Schmalen cursed at Damian as if seeing his father's murderer.

"We generally don't kill nobles, but if you insist..."

Damian turned and said, "Fetch the executioner's blade. Given the current situation, we'll declare Count Schmalen's death as suicide. He won't ascend to heaven and will suffer in hell."

This blatantly false statement made the knights laugh, but Schmalen and his family were too scared to speak.

Damian, a monk, declared it a suicide to hell, which might just happen. What if?

No one wanted to be tormented by demons in hell. After centuries of preaching, the Church's indoctrination was exceptionally firm for ordinary people.

After this commotion, Schmalen lost both his wealth and dignity. Damian's army annihilated Schmalen's, his castle was occupied, and except for some resistance from rural knights, the County of Milhouse was practically extinct.

"I... I'm willing to pay a ransom of two thousand gold coins, but you must... you must return Milhouse Castle to me!" Schmalen no longer thought about being treated well; he just wanted to quickly save his life and castle.

Return it to you?

Damian couldn't help but sneer.

Whether or not to return the castle mainly depended on the interference of the Weimar County's boss, Arendse. If he strongly opposed, Damian would give up and seek more land compensation.

So, the power of Conosa was still insufficient.

If Damian had two thousand troops on hand, would he fear Arendse?

On the other hand, what was most important for Damian was to appease Henrik so he wouldn't reveal the matter of digging the excrement channel. For this, Damian rewarded him with a village as a fief.

...

Bishop Maged's messenger returned home in a daze and delivered Damian's refusal message.

"Alright, you may leave."

Maged showed no reaction on the surface, but he was very satisfied.

This Damian seemed very interested in the conservative alliance. Moreover, judging from his attitude, Conosa couldn't constrain him.

Of course, the most important thing was that Damian, as a monk, had good command skills. In just a few days, he captured Milhouse Castle, which even Arendse couldn't conquer. It would be a pity not to pull such talent into the conservative faction.

Maged immediately went to find Count Arendse according to the established plan, with a worried expression.

"Count, something big happened! The messenger I sent there came back to tell me that although Milhouse Castle is exceptionally sturdy, it encountered even more formidable warriors. The formidable Damian captured Milhouse Castle in just a few days!"

Maged's exaggerated tone made Arendse even more nervous.

Milhouse Castle had once been coveted by Arendse too. Even during the reign of Conosa's father, he had raided Milhouse Castle while the former was defeated in France. The end result was losing a large number of soldiers and knights for nothing.

Such an important castle, and Damian captured it so easily. What if he pushes his luck further?

After careful consideration, Arendse said, "Summon our knights. It's time to show Conosa the strength of our territory." Arendse was determined to intervene militarily.

This was exactly the effect Maged needed.

He wanted Arendse to realize his own importance and also to show Damian that he was the one who held the real power.

Before long, Maged joined the expeditionary force, riding a donkey.

Arendse's territory was much larger and more affluent than Gothingen. His army numbered four hundred men, even without full mobilization.

In addition to these four hundred troops, he had over three hundred household knights at his disposal, so the entire force moved with an imposing cloud of dust, clearly not to be trifled with.

Indeed, this was the case.

Arendse took only a day and a half to march his army to Milhouse Castle.

This time, Damian was the one forced into a defensive position.

Standing atop the castle, looking at the swarm of knights under Arendse, Damian felt a strong sense of envy.

"That lad is Damian, huh? He looks tall and has the makings of a knight. I thought he'd be the frail kind typical of traditional clergy." Arendse waved and gazed at the walls from afar.

Although he hadn't confirmed it specifically, he recognized Damian by his extraordinary demeanor.

"How about I go into the city to negotiate on your behalf?" proposed Bishop Maged, who had instigated the count's siege but now suggested peace talks.

"If we can negotiate, we should." Arendse also hesitated.

If Damian could leverage the walls or palisades to engage Arendse in a protracted and attritional battle, Arendse might indeed suffer significant losses. After all, Milhouse Castle was very difficult to besiege.

Such a city-state could be held by just a few dozen men.

And clearly, Damian had more than just a few dozen men.

Seeing his plan halfway successful, Bishop Maged quickly entered the city alone.

Damian, without pretense, sat him down and earnestly asked, "Oh, Bishop Maged, it is truly a pleasure to see you. Where have the enemies of God fled to now? How much defense do we need?"

Bishop Maged spoke vaguely for a while, then asked, "What are your demands? How do you wish Schmalen to compensate for your losses?"

After some consideration, Damian said, "The Milhouse domain has about 60-80 towns and villages. I want him to cede 30 knight villages to me, which is to say the entire northwest border."

This was truly the demand of a master extortionist, asking for nearly half the territory right off the bat.

However, Bishop Maged thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "That won't do. You're asking for too little. Ask for more."

Damian: "?"

"What do you suggest?" he couldn't help but feel curious.

Bishop Maged smiled, took out a document, and calmly said, "Milhouse Castle is a composite fortress, both a city and a castle. I suggest splitting the castle to you, but the town remains under Schmalen's control. How about that?"

Damian was stunned.

"One... one city, two systems?"