Chapter 78: Making Quick Work of Popo

Chapter 78: Making Quick Work of Popo

“Yes, write it that way.”

In the Wawel Castle located in Krakow, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s king was giving specific orders to his royal clerk regarding the drafting of the letter.

“Scold him! Scold him more!”

Cassivia’s scheme hadn’t gone unnoticed.

The king instinctively distrusted her, or rather, no king would trust a knight captain with thousands of troops under her command unless he was a dimwit.

Not to mention Cassivia had been privately executing heretics in the name of the Holy War. There was no basis behind her accusations; she had become the judge deciding whether one was a heretic or not.

It was worth asking whether Cassivia was spreading the Lord’s glory or expanding her influence.

So, the king had decided to give Cassivia a push when he learned that the latter had been sending letters to berate the Eastern Romain Emperor and the Khitan Caesar.

Just a few pages? How is that enough?

They might think that we’re underpaying our knight captain and that she can’t afford to buy paper! Come, let me help you add more. We can start with ‘greeting’ the Khitan Caesar’s ancestors.

What? A letter every few days? That’s hardly enough, don’t you think?

What if people think that we’re not devoted to our cause of purging heretics? I’ll lend you a helping hand. We’ll send a letter a day, so that the Khitan Caesar can enjoy your venomous tongue every day.

You’re only sending a couple of people to plunder the Eastern Romain Empire? That’s not thorough enough, no?

We wouldn’t want people to think that our knight captain isn’t proactively purging heretics. Here, I’ll send more people on your behalf so that the world can feel how devoted you are to the Lord!

Hmph!

You think that you can say whatever you want just because you’re far away? That won’t do.

It’s my job as the king to let the world know just how devoted my knight captain is to the Lord. Let’s see if you dare back out if the Crusade against the Eastern Romain Empire happens!

Once you have your hands full in the frontlines, I’ll have more room to maneuver in the country!

“Your Majesty!” an armored knight entered the audience hall and excitedly reported to the king, “We have gathered our forces together, be it the knights, squires, cavalrymen, militia... In total, our army is almost 20,000-men strong!”

An army of this size was a terrifying force in this era.

The king smirked in glee.

“Is that woman still rallying the Crusade?”

“Then now...”

We’ll have to find a way to deal with the Khitan Caesar.

It just so happens that Cassivia is rallying a Crusade to purge these heretics. Since the heretics are knocking on our doors right now, you should go and deal with them.

“Your Majesty!”

Yet another messenger rushed into the audience hall.

“Lviv has fallen! The Khitans appeared out of nowhere! Our soldiers were caught off guard and were swiftly defeated by them,” he cried in a panic.

The king was stunned.

“Is the Khitan Caesar that formidable?”

Supposing the military reports were reliable, it would mean that the Khitan Caesar and his cavalrymen only needed hours to take down their cities. He couldn’t believe how easily the Khitans were able to overrun their forces!

“Is he really the Scourge of God?” someone suddenly murmured.

Their ancestors had once been walloped by the previous Scourge of God, so they understood better than anyone what it meant to go against someone like that. Not only were their troops completely annihilated, but their king then even had a spear jammed through his head.

And now...

Judging from how quickly the Khitan Caesar was tearing down their cities, he was even more fearsome than the previous Scourge of God.

“Hmph!” the king roared in fury.

“What Scourge of God? How many times have we clashed with the eastern Khitans and Tatars? They are mortals like us, made out of flesh and blood! Not to forget, we aren’t the same country we were 200 years ago!

“Prepare for battle!” The king drew his sword. “We shall reinforce Lviv! Those Khitans shall learn the most powerful knights bathing under our Lord’s glory!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the officials in the audience hall replied resoundingly.

“Your Majesty, Przeworsk has fallen!” another messenger rushed into the audience hall and reported. “The Khitan Caesar is making his way to Sanok!”

“...” The king glanced at the map.

The Khitans are marching in a straight line toward our capital. How arrogant! They are making light of us, the Spear of the Lord!

The king’s face darkened in anger. He spat through gritted teeth, “Set off right away!”

The Khitans would reach their capital in no time if they didn’t make a move now!