Just because I had seen through Henrietta's intentions didn't mean I could do anything about it.
If I raised a fuss, everyone would just tilt their heads and ask, "What's the problem?" And they'd be right — because on the surface, there was no problem at all.
Our forces were swelling by the day. The northern lords and nobles — mostly republicans — the Dowager Empress's faction of aristocrats, the mercenary companies they had hired… on top of all that, the Batavian army was converging as well. Just counting heads, we had already easily surpassed thirty thousand.
"Fine, Henrietta! Then I'll dance along with you in spectacular fashion."
After agonizing all night, I reached my conclusion.
It was true that Bretagne's cavalry was formidable. That had been proven in the last battle. Ten thousand Bretagnian troops might well annihilate our thirty thousand. But what about thirty-five thousand? They'd start to struggle. Take one step further — what about forty thousand?
And fifty thousand?
"Would you still be so confident of victory then, you arrogant queen?"
That was the moment the strategy took shape. The other side was furiously pursuing a tactical victory. I, on the other hand, had solidified a strategic advantage. If they tried to pierce us with their razor-sharp lances — we would become Mount Tai and crush them flat.
There was nothing left to hesitate about. I would overwhelm Henrietta with sheer numerical superiority!
Once the goal was set, I moved quickly. By any means necessary. First, I persuaded the northern nobles once again and circulated proclamations throughout all of Frankland.
"We humbly proclaim to all under heaven in the name of righteous cause. The foreign invader Bretagne and their treacherous cronies have deceived Heaven and sown discord across the land, devouring the empire and manipulating His Imperial Majesty, throwing the palace into chaos, and now slaughtering innocent citizens — there is no thicket that does not tremble at these sins, and no river that does not rage at their infamy."
"Here, bearing the secret decree of His Imperial Majesty, we raise our righteous arms for the sake of justice alone. Until the day we drive back the barbarous foreign enemy and execute the traitors, we shall serve as warhorses that never rest. All who bear purpose under heaven! Rise with us now to save the people mired in the filth of the swamp and to defend His Imperial Majesty!"
Propaganda.
More propaganda!
Henrietta de Bretagne — even if you are moving together with the Emperor, the mandate is in our hands. No matter how large the royalist faction may be, few will pledge loyalty to an outsider like you.
Assassins, secret members of the Liberation Alliance, nobles' servants — every available body was mobilized, and I unleashed a massive offensive of words. Proclamations were posted in towns across the nation.
The Emperor's faction responded in kind, trotting out the usual cries of "rebellion" and "treason." The information had become so tangled that it was impossible to discern the truth — from the perspective of the common people, there was no way to judge. But it was precisely this chaotic mess that served as my battlefield.
Didn't know what the truth was? Perfect. When the truth was invisible, only power and rhetoric could shine. I traveled from village to city without a single day's rest, touring the north and east ceaselessly, delivering speeches.
"Citizens! When chaos has fallen upon us, what must we do? Goddesses, shine your light upon us and tell us what we must do!"
My voice, amplified by a projection magic, rang clearly across the plaza.
"The Goddesses have spoken! First: Do not let your heart be swayed by the mere movement of your body, but lead your body to where your heart calls! Second: Do not seek your purpose on a path already walked, but carve a path toward where your purpose leads! Third: Only then will our sky grow ever wider, and we shall lose nothing!"
I raised my right arm and let out a cry.
"The Net of the Sky will aid the good and never let the weak slip through! Protect our land from Bretagne! Citizens, the righteous—rise up!"
The thousands, the tens of thousands, fell into a fever of excitement and roared their approval. The sky trembled, the earth shook. The city itself had become a single, screaming entity.
"Uraaaa! Long live France! Long live France!"
"Wring the necks of the traitors! Kill the Bretagne wench!"
"Jean Volé! Jean Volé! Jean Volé!"
My talent for agitation, which had begun during the Crescent Alliance Army's expedition, reached its zenith here. The people, unbidden, declared themselves a holy army and began to escort me.
The priest of the Goddess Artemis, Jean Volé. Nobles and common folk, drawn by rumors from afar, swarmed to join the path I traveled.
When I spoke softly, they held their breath. When I roared with righteous fury, they were consumed by the same rage. Tens of thousands cried out in unison, "For the Goddess!" and, in moments of silence, they were utterly still.
To this, I added the pamphlets I had long prepared. Royalists or republicans, nobles or commoners—it didn't matter, I scattered them all. Once about three thousand copies had been dispersed, people began to copy them by hand, reproducing them on their own.
"At any cost, we must shatter and destroy this falsehood that binds us..."
"The Gods have commanded us: Become masters of the land!"
"All people have an equal right to the land, and to the various benefits the land grants to humanity."
Those among the populace who could read took my pamphlets and preached to their families and friends. Since they gathered in one place to form volunteer units, the contents of the pamphlets spread like a plague in an instant.
These were not merely volunteers. They were soldiers armed with ideology. And there is no army more powerful or tenacious than one steeped in ideology...
A speech is powerful in the moment but its effect is short-lived. A pamphlet, on the other hand, yields results over the long term. Even after I had passed and gone, the pamphlets remained, and the people continued to stoke their own fervor. Thus, a staggering twelve thousand militia rose up.
The nobles were stunned.
They never could have imagined the people would respond to this extent. Their morale soared, bolstered by this unexpectedly powerful reinforcements.
"Indeed. The gods have shown their favor to our cause."
"Let us march at once to capture the Queen of Bretagne!"
Not everyone was pleased. Some nobles began to worry about what lay ahead.
"Their resolve to rise for the Emperor and the nation is commendable, but..."
"Could republicanism not be growing too strong?"
Empress faction or Emperor faction—their essence remained noble. They feared the people becoming overly tainted by this "epidemic." I would have to persuade such people through different means.
If I purged the enemy's nobles on charges of treason, their fiefdoms would fall directly into my hands. To do that, however, I first had to defeat the Bretagne army.
Even for the sake of our victory, I had to tolerate the people's army for now. After all, were they not ignorant commoners? For the time being they might raise their voices and make a clamor, but as time passed they would forget all about it as though it had never happened…
Nobles were creatures who eternally coveted the expansion of their fiefs. The persuasion proved effective.
Several rounds of negotiation went back and forth. The nobles appointed me—Jean Voulet, who enjoyed absolute popularity among the people—as commander of the volunteer army.
"In recognition of your contributions, such as persuading the Northern Lords and working tirelessly to save Franc from crisis." That was the official reason. The truth was simpler. I was the perfect man to rein in the people's rampage and steer things in a direction favorable to the nobles.
If things went sideways, you'd take the blame. That was the unspoken meaning, wasn't it?
It didn't matter. On the contrary, it was exactly what I wanted.
In the original world, peasant soldiers were nothing more than a ragtag bunch with low training and low morale. But here it was different. Once every few years—sometimes several times a year—the peasants endured goblin raids. When luck was against them, they even faced off against bands of Orcs.
Every village ran its own militia. Their level of training was by no means low. In comparison to the conscripted peasants of the original world, they were almost embarrassing. Well, the bigger problem was that not just the peasants—even the knights here were far more formidable than those in the original world.
In any case, I now commanded a well-trained force of twelve thousand.
For someone who was likely among the wealthiest of all the Demon Lords, military funds were no issue at all. No problems there. Henrietta de Bretagne. I would stop at nothing to face that queen in battle…
"With this, even if we wanted to lose, we couldn't."
"…I am ignorant when it comes to military affairs, but I believe the same."
Jeremy, having watched all of my actions, shrugged his shoulders. Beside him, Daisy quietly nodded as well. Even as seen by the Demon Realm's greatest assassin captain and a future Hero candidate, I was giving it absolutely everything I had.
Propaganda, impromptu speeches, distributing ideological pamphlets.
Mediating the relationships among the nobles in my capacity as a special envoy, working behind the scenes to elevate the most prestigious duke among them as leader, brokering between the nobles of Franck and the military commanders of the Batavian Republic, and finally ordering the mercenary company to train volunteers…
"Cough."
I downed the vinegar water in one gulp. My mouth stung all over.
I could say with certainty that the past few days had been the busiest stretch of my entire life.
I really wanted to show this sight to Lapis. Even the peerless Lapis would have been so impressed this time that she'd clap her hands and exclaim, "Impressive, Lord Dantalion. Truly magnificent. Lord Dantalion is without question the most diligent and dependable of all Demon Lords."
At last, the allied forces had fully assembled.
────────────────────
<Sacred Alliance Army>
Commander-in-Chief: Duke Henri de Guise
Deputy Commander-in-Chief: High Councilwoman Anna de Witte
■ First Army: Empress Dowager Faction Noble Army. Commander-in-Chief: Duke Henri de Guise.
Infantry 24,000 (mercenaries, conscripts). Cavalry 5,000 (knights 1,000)
■ Second Army: Batavia Republic Army. Commander: High Councilwoman Anna de Witte.
Infantry 15,000 (mercenaries, citizen militia). Cavalry 7,000 (knights 150)
■ Third Army: Franck Volunteer Corps. Commander: Jean Volé Artemis, Priest.
Infantry 12,000 (peasant militia).
□ Total Forces: Infantry 51,000. Cavalry 12,000 (knights 1,150)
────────────────────
It was an enormous army.
I had worried that Bretagne might try to pick us off before all our forces could assemble, but in the end that was nothing but needless anxiety. Instead of targeting us, Bretagne chose to reinforce its own troops.
Even so, Bretagne's forces numbered a mere fifteen thousand. Add in the Emperor's Imperial Guard, and they might field around twenty-five thousand total. Not a small number by any means, but I'm sorry to say that our side boasted a massive army of sixty thousand.
No matter how furiously Henrietta de Bretagne fought, overcoming a 2.5-to-1 disadvantage was nearly impossible. Besides, our commanders were hardly incompetent!
Duke Henri de Guise possessed both valor and the authority to command the nobility. Anna the Wid—I had met her before, back when I first joined the Liberation Alliance. Anna was the second most capable fighter in the Alliance after Paimon. At the very least, she was far from useless.
And as for Jean Bolée... well, I myself am not exactly outstanding when it comes to tactics.
However, at my side I had Jacques-Lee, a veteran mercenary captain who had seen a hundred battles. He also possessed the charisma to command volunteer soldiers flawlessly.
Even a village dog can sing of the moon after three years at the market. I had watched Commander Zepar and Barbatos command their armies with my own eyes, standing right beside them. It was an experience worth its weight in gold. If I listened carefully to Jacques-Lee's advice and managed the army with care, I was confident I could avoid any serious blunders.
If there is one phrase I have treasured as the gold and jade of a lifetime's learning, it is this: "The victorious army wins first, then seeks battle." A victorious army secures its victory before it ever steps onto the battlefield. That is exactly what it means.
Henrietta de Bretagne—I have prepared the battle just as you wished. But I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news... It seems I have already achieved a decisive strategic victory before you even had the chance to showcase your specialty. The defeat is yours.