Mageknights moved swiftly, breaking into the guard house next to the gate. Cellinia and I teleported onto the walls, dealing with any enemies standing there. In one minute, we secured the gate, washing it with blood. Some knights moved to the mechanism controlling the iron portcullis, raising it; others moved to open the wooden gate. But most simply prepared to hold out.
As our attack wasn't discreet, we alerted almost every combatant in the city. Soon, groups of soldiers led by knights appeared in our view, rushing to reclaim the gate. Mageknights formed a formation in front of the gate while Cellinia and I acted on our own. She disappeared from view instantly, using the alleys to flank incoming enemies.
I, meanwhile, floated above the gate, a cloud of starlight appeared above, raining down stars on approaching enemies. This caused them to seek cover, drastically slowing them down. The few Shamans present in the city tried to act against me, but they were quickly met with my counterattack the moment I felt their magic power.
I could see that the army outside started to move, Margaret and her cavalry leading the charge. She cleared the distance between the army and the gate as if flying, entering the city surrounded by radiant light. Without slowing her charge, she broke the encirclement our enemies tried to set up further away, her spear aimed at the commander behind the troops.
The commander ordered his knights to form a defense line to stop her, but she gathered her light into two wings, turning her horse into pegasi that leaped over the knights, lodging her spear directly into the enemy commander's brain. Then, she disappeared, leaving the blue glow of my teleportation behind. A short moment later, her horseback figure appeared by my side.
-"The commander has been slain! Surrender, and you shall be spared!"-She shouted at the enemy soldiers, her spear dripping with blood and gray matter.
Her words had an instantaneous effect, causing panic and despair among the enemies. Those near, seeing that more and more people were entering the city, chose to surrender directly, but some further back decided to try to run. This caused a chain reaction, and as more enemies tried to escape, a rout occurred.
As the allies of the city were too small for horses, I left the clearing of enemies to two kings, while I took my people toward the center of the city, where the remaining knights quickly barricaded the city lord's mansion. But such hasty defenses were nothing in the face of Mageknights, not to even mention my or my Knights.
And like that, a fortress city fell in under an hour, marking the first victory of the war. In that time, over 300 people died, including 24 enemy knights. On our side, aside from a few unlucky casualties, there was practically no cost; a flawless victory.
The city was quickly controlled, and a lockdown was ordered for now, but after dealing with the captives, it will return to mostly normal operations. The orders were quickly dispatched, and before sundown, all enemy soldiers and knights were gathered in the plaza, waiting for us to decide their fate.
-"Just kill them."-King Rience looked at the crowd.
-"No."-I quickly shoot him down.-"We'll follow the correct procedures."
-"It's just a waste of time."
-"There is no waste in upholding one's honor. I'll deal with everything here, while Sirs will press our advantage. Just leave me 50 knights and 1,000 soldiers to manage this region."
-"I'll leave 50 of my knights and 500 soldiers under your command."-King Urien agreed quickly.
-"Whatever, just take those 500."-King Rience waved his hands.
-"Good. I'll take control of the York region. I should finish before the height of summer."
-"I'll leave my back to you then."
-"Just don't delay, the Vortigern will definitely attack us before the autumn."-King Rience tried to act normally, but I could feel malice coming from him.
-"I won't let you face his armies alone."-I assured him.
The next day, they departed with their armies, leaving me to manage the yet-to-be fully captured region.
Inside the city lord's mansion, I gathered everyone close to me, along with a few elders and representatives from the city.
-"Let's not waste more time."-I started, looking at York town representatives.-"I can understand your dissatisfaction with our arrival, but I believe your lives are more important than some politics that are far beyond your reach."
-"We'll follow the lord's words, but we hope to receive fair treatment."
-"You have my word, but until everything settles, the crime will be punished much more severely. I won't change the city rules, just keep people from obstructing the troops or aiding the enemy; either of those will be treated as treason punishable by execution."
-"Yes."
-"The taxes and such can be discussed later, for now, we'll focus on the prisoners. The knights will be kept in one of the mansions, forbidden from leaving before a ransom is paid. Soldiers will be conscripted to work for conscripted for three years of labor aside from being ordered to pay a sum of money. Those who pay after three years will be free; others will enter into servitude until the debt is repaid."
-"Thank you for your mercy, lord."
-"The injured who can't work will be left to fend for themselves. You can arrange for them to return to their families or to receive care in some other way; we won't care about them. As for the deceased, in a week we will allow a mourning procession to send them on their way; the first job of prisoners will be to bury the bodies."
-"May we ask a priest to lead the burials?"
-"You may."-I then turned to my Knights.-"Shining, take your healers to help prisoners recover. Later, you can act at your discretion. Margaret, your task will be to crush any resistance still left in the region. You can take 300 soldiers in addition to your cavalry. Cellinia, your task is to capture or destroy the other three towns. Take the Mageknights, 40 knights, and 400 soldiers. Viviana, you are in charge of the remaining soldiers. Make sure there are no rebellious fools in the city. Qingyan, arrange for the supply line to reach here, and then extend it towards those two Kings."
-"Son, what about any captives?"-Margaret raised the question.
-"Same treatment. The more hands we can get, the easier it'll be to man farms and restore the destruction caused by this war."
-"What about rebellions or other forms of resistance?"-Shining asked.
-"Execute all rebels along with families of ringleaders. Sabotage is based on severity, from slavery to execution. As for passive resistance, impose fines; if that fails, then debt slavery it is."
She accepted, knowing that it was necessary.
We then discussed some other minor matters, aiming to restore the city to function without issues as quickly as we could. And luckily, the people in those times did indeed value life beyond some fleeting belonging to a nation or loyalty to some king. As such, not even a week later, we ended the lockdown, and the city of York returned to its usual operations. And on the same day, a visitor I somewhat expected finally showed up.
-"Your Excellency Justiciar."-The leading bishop bowed to me.
-"Please, raise your head."-I looked at them from behind my desk, which was full of documents and maps.-"What brought you to me today?"
-"We wanted to see the Justiciar who is on the mouths of everyone these days. Especially as we saw some who worship Your Excellency as a Holy Son."
-"So, are you here to accuse me of blasphemy and heresy?"
-"No."-He denied it.-"I can feel the aura of a saint emanating from Your Excellency, meaning either those people are just calling Your Excellency that from reverence, or there is truth in them."
-"I see. How do you wish to confirm it?"
-"May we see Your Excellency's light?"-Younger priest standing behind the bishop spoke, but from his attire I could deduce her was not a normal clergyman but rather a well-trained exorcist.
While I wasn't sure what he meant by showing my light, I decided to play along and show them something. I combined the simulation of Sankta Empathy with some of my memories of Laterano, creating an illusion of visiting the city and feeling the emotions of people there. And they, seeing the white city filled with angels, feeling their happiness and reverence for me, were quickly convinced.
This was the first real seed of faith planted in Britain, one I didn't expect to sprout so quickly as it did, but that's something for later. For now, the war was my priority, and it finally encountered some issues. I spent two months arranging matters from York, clearing remaining enemies, and restoring the region to its functions.
During this time, we killed or captured ~1,500 enemies, while the remaining ~2,500 fled either north or south. There was no strong opposition, only a few villages ruled by nobles from Anglo-Saxon lineage tried to oppose us, but when the said nobles were dealt with, they quickly decided to surrender. In the end, I spared those who hadn't committed any other crimes, executing only those who tried to profit during the chaos.
I was receiving regular reports from King Urien and King Rience, even Artoria would write what was going on her front, so I had a great outlook on the progress of the war when the spring passed. From that, I could tell that the York campaign was the most successful, achieving all the objectives without many losses.
The northern front, which was now pushed from two sides, encountered problems due to stronghold cities dotting those lands, forcing both King Urien's and Morgan's forces to be bogged down in long sieges. The estimated force of ~7,000 could stop the combined force of Urien and Morgan of ~14,000 men rather easily, so they could defend the north for as long as they had food. I could tell that, if any progress is made there, it would be next year.
The main front was not much different. Artoria and Vortigern's forces clashed once in a grand battle, both armies numbering over 10,000 men. Thanks to our advantage in equipment, mainly magical and holy swords, she managed to win that battle, but the casualties were crippling.
Of ~900 knights on our side, more than 300 died in battle, with another ~100 sustaining injuries requiring them to end their careers. But this paled to ~4,000 dead soldiers and another half that were critically injured. This shrank the main force to under 5,000, forcing Artoria to stop her march and focus on recuperation and recruitment.
The enemy fared no better, losing ~500 knights in battle, with additional ~200 captured with various states of injury. As for soldiers, it was a total rout. ~7,000 dead, with ~2,000 captured, and only a little over 1,000 escaped. This showed the cruelty of open battle when magic is used indiscriminately.
With the enemy main force crippled, King Rience should push south to capture the city of Lincoln, but he marched slowly, excusing his situation with bad weather. While British weather was all but pleasant most of the time, to be unable to cross the distance that would normally take a month of marching in almost thrice that long was pathetic. It was obvious that he was procrastinating, wanting everyone else to suffer casualties before he acted.
But inaction was not enough to move against him; he first needed to make a more direct mistake. And we wouldn't have to wait long, as I was about to depart from York to join his army and capture the city of Lincoln. Mostima will remain in York to act as the temporary lord, though her main focus is still arranging spies in Wales in preparation for Rience's rebellion.
Leaving with only my personal army of 300 and my Knights, we were able to move swiftly, joining King Rience in under three weeks. He had finally moved to siege the city of Lincoln, so when we arrived, his camp was already built, but no other works were being done.
-"Took you long enough."
-"I return those words to you. How's the progress on the siege?"
-"None. We only established the perimeter and checkpoints on the roads."
-"You plan to sit here and starve the city out?"
-"Preferably."
-"It's a waste of time."
-"But due to the destruction of the enemy main force, they can't mount any resistance to lift the siege. We don't have to rush; it's better to take the safest approach."
I looked at him in silence. He was technically right, but that was only from a tactical perspective. Strategically, this was a mistake, and he knew it, but only Artoria could command him from a strategic standpoint; even I, as commander, could only decide the tactics without consulting her and the court. What's worse, he started the siege just after the height of harvest, meaning their siloes were full. With careful rationing, the city could last for a year and a half, two if stretched.
In the end, I had to concede, at least for now. But that didn't mean I'll just sit here and waste time. I took my forces and cleared the region between Lincoln and York, deciding to spend the winter in the newly emerging town of Sheffield, fortifying it while waiting for the winter to pass.
I looked at the snow-capped streets and the people working on building the walls. There was no belonging to Britain in them, only a wish to survive and live well in their small reality of this city and a few surrounding villages. To them, kings and nobles are faraway names, having nothing to do with them.
The war to them is like a calamity; there is no gain, no fame to achieve, no honor to claim, just death around every corner. This was the cruel reality behind myths and legends that were the foundation of so many heroes. Their nameless lives will be the foundation for Artoria, Morgan, me, and many other Knights of the Round Table.
-"Are you pitting them?"-Promulgator appeared by my side.
-"You can say that."
-"King needs both a heart of stone and deep emotions."-Otto also showed up.
-"I'm not a king."
-"Yes, you are. Just titled differently."-Otto turned to look at the working people.-"Don't let the lives or deaths of people without any connection to you weigh you down."
-"I was just wondering if karma was real."
-"Karma? It depends. There is no reincarnation on Terra, so the concept of karma also doesn't exist. But karma as cause and effect is something I believe in too."-Promulgator answered me.
-"There is rebirth, in my Azure Dream."-I pointed out.-"But I'm unsure if I believe in it. What had I done in my past life to deserve my current situation? The title of Holy Son, the blessing of goddesses..."
-"Don't you know from your dreams?"
-"No. While I now know most of my past life, the last few years are missing."
-"Then decide after you find it out. Don't let a fear of some imaginary concept prevent you from doing something real."
-"True."-I nodded.-"No matter what, we need to focus on reality."
I took one last look at the workers and left.