Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 111

Creating Retainers to Build a Human Empire 113

The Hybrid War (3)

###

Chesena, a nation stretching along the western coast of Wallachia. Its capital, commonly referred to as a republic, was an island called Tishirendon.

Tishirendon was a city built by connecting two small islands through land reclamation. The soil was poor, making it difficult to farm and limiting the population it could support.

Thus, even though the republic was a maritime trading nation that surpassed Germania and Wallachia, its capital’s population was only 160,000—far less than the capitals of the other two countries.

However, before the small states of southern Wallachia received trade permits from the representative assembly, the republic virtually monopolized the sea routes, making it a major power, no less wealthy than Germania and Wallachia.

“So, it has come to this.”

A man with bulging eyes and a receding hairline slammed his fist on the round table.

He glared at the nine councilors sitting around the table.

“That arrogant heretic has now bared his teeth at us! He has seized the tribute due to the Mother and threatened to take away our rights. How long must we endure this?”

The councilors frowned, each displaying discomfort.

Their appearances were similar to the man’s, with bulging eyes and receding hairlines. Deep wrinkles lined their necks, opening and closing like gills with each breath.

“What did the Mother say?”

One councilor asked, looking at another councilor dressed in priestly robes.

The priest closed his eyes and didn’t answer.

“Why are you silent? Did the Mother say nothing? Or did she say something difficult to convey?”

“······.”

“The heretics under the banner of the Empire are strengthening their crackdown. There are few collaborators left within the Empire.”

“······.”

“We need a countermeasure. At this rate, the tribute will be cut off within months.”

The councilors voiced their dissatisfaction towards the priest.

All councilors except the priest had advocated for a full-scale war with the Empire since Edar Lundringgen usurped the title of Emperor, but each time, the priest’s veto had blocked it.

In a collective leadership system where ten councilors each cast one vote to lead the state affairs, the priest was the only one with veto power, so persuading him was essential to pass any agenda.

“What is making the Mother and the elders hesitate?”

The priest opened his eyes. His two pupils moved independently, scanning the councilors before settling on the man who had spoken first.

“Enrico Doge, if we fight the Empire, do we have a chance of winning?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have brought it up if it would harm the republic. The Empire can never defeat the republic.”

“How can you be so sure? The Empire is a powerful nation that defeated the Theocracy. Although they are heretics, we need to grasp reality.”

The priest said in a coaxing tone, and Doge nodded.

“I am well aware that the Theocracy was easily defeated by the Empire. If the republic engages in a full-scale war with the Empire, we will not be able to maintain our inland colonies.”

“Are you advocating for war knowing that?”

“The republic is not an inland nation.”

Doge raised his voice as the priest smiled at his answer.

“Losing the inland is no small loss. However, in return, the republic can have the coastal regions—the defenseless and temptingly ripe coasts of Germania and Wallachia since the imposition of the maritime prohibition [a ban on maritime activities].”

He said, looking at the councilors.

“Considering exchanging colonies where it is difficult to collect tribute with coastal regions that have been cultivated in a greenhouse for hundreds of years, who would lose?”

Doge raised his voice and pointed to the map on the table. The map depicted the entire southwestern peninsula and the republic’s trade routes. His index finger moved along the Empire’s coastline.

“If the Empire wants the republic’s inland territories, let them take it. In return, we will have everything on the Empire’s coast, so what is there to regret? How can the heretics, who cannot even properly stop the southern small states, defend this vast coast? And can they even target our heart, Tishirendon? How far is this place from the mainland?”

Doge spread his arms wide, gesturing to show the distance between Tishirendon and the mainland. The councilors smiled at his actions.

“Is that all? The Empire is constantly in conflict on three fronts: north, west, and south. If we trample on the coast and erode the Empire’s capabilities, the Empire will not be able to handle it.”

“Hmm…”

“What was the reason why the republic did not fight with Germania and Wallachia all this time?”

“Because we worship the same representative assembly, even though our religions are different.”

Doge nodded at another councilor’s words.

“That’s right. The representative assembly forbade us from fighting with the two countries. That was the case even after the heretic usurped the title. But now the situation has changed. The Empire is trying to seize our lifeline. We only have two options left.”

Whether to refuse the Empire’s intimidation and give up the tribute, or to fight the Empire to obtain the tribute to be offered to the Mother, the councilors shouted without hesitation that they should fight.

“I guarantee that if the republic and the Empire fight, we will offer more Imperials than the population of Tishirendon as tribute for seed cultivation within half a year. We will offer tribute for all citizens who have not been able to become our kin because they have not received the seed. So please, permit the war against the Empire.”

The councilors responded to his resolute demand with enthusiastic applause. Even as they applauded, everyone’s gaze was directed at the priest, with a look of concern that he might cast his veto.

“The Mother.”

The applause stopped abruptly.

“Fully understood the gravity of this matter.”

“Does that mean…”

The priest raised a hand to stop the words.

“The Mother opposed the war because she was concerned that her descendants would be hurt if they fought the Empire. However, she understood that the situation could no longer be retreated from, so she told me separately.”

“······.”

“If the council is truly certain that it can fight and win against the Empire, then do not exercise the veto against the resolution to wage war against the Empire any longer.”

“Ooh!”

The councilors clenched their fists and exclaimed.

“Put the agenda to a vote.”

The declaration of war against the Empire was approved unanimously.

At that moment, sunlight poured into the conference hall, illuminating the councilors, and their skin reflected the light, shimmering like scales. And from the gills that looked like neck wrinkles, a strand of tentacle slightly emerged, then hid inside as if fleeing from the sunlight.

Ding—

And just in time, the bell rang in the city.

The Temple of Naga, located at the highest point in the city.

An endless crowd gathered on the stairs leading to the temple.

Dozens of young men dressed neatly in white at the head of the crowd.

Ding—

The young men entered the temple, and the crowd stood on the stairs, seeing them off. Soon, screams erupted from inside the temple, and the crowd burst into cheers.

To receive the seed of the great race.

“———!”

“—! ——!”

Unintelligible screams continued for a while before ceasing. Then, the crowd stopped cheering. The young men emerged from the main gate as they had entered.

The young men wore the same serene smiles as before, and there seemed to be no change in their appearance. However, those with a keen eye could tell that their skin had become slightly paler, and their eyes were slightly more protruding.

Wrinkles had formed below their necks, and those wrinkles were twitching.

###

“They’re fast.”

Indeed.

The republic’s movements were swift.

Less than half a month after the Old Man of the Mountain, Nuadile, and the security forces confiscated slaves from the republic’s merchants, the eastern coast of Germania began to be attacked.

It had only just begun, so it was just small pirate groups. The damage wasn’t that great either. But the problem was that they couldn’t even handle the small ones.

Nuadile frowned and said.

“Germania and Wallachia have almost no coastal defenses. There have been no attacks from the sea until now.”

The reason why there were no attacks from the sea was simple.

The human race in this world had extremely limited access to the sea.

Germania and Wallachia, which could pay tribute by land, were almost completely blocked from establishing navies and engaging in maritime trade under the name of maritime prohibition. Only the republic and the southern small states were allowed to possess navies and engage in maritime trade to a limited extent.

Thus, why would they build defenses when they were never invaded by sea?

“Since starting the war of attrition with the representative assembly, we’ve had some defenses because of the appearance of other races’ ships… but frankly, we’re too busy building fortresses on the borders of the Theocracy and the southern small states.”

That’s understandable.

Even in modern Earth, coastal blockade was difficult.

How could they block the long coastline in this era?

“As a matter of urgency, both governor-generals have issued evacuation orders for all residences near the coast. We’ve also deployed retainers under the command of the regional army near the coast, but the effect will be minimal.”

“Hmm.”

I felt a headache and pressed my temples with my fingers.

“Are you alright?”

Nuadile, who was reporting the situation, asked worriedly.

“If it’s difficult to listen, we can postpone it.”

“Keep going. It’s not because of that.”

It was because Rachel was using her powers again.

Even though the revolt was over, the Wolf Church’s faith remained.

She traveled around the country, proselytizing the Public Church, and in the process, she drew on magic, commonly called divine power, as a miracle. After all, showing it once is more effective than just talking about it.

“Um… then I’ll continue. Gehardt is heading west, occupying the republic’s colonial city bordering southern Wallachia. As you can see on the map, there’s a peninsula in southwestern Wallachia where the republic’s colonial cities are concentrated. It seems he intends to occupy it and put pressure on the capital, Tishirendon.”

“Does that mean he’s going to wait without joining us?”

“That’s right.”

“Then we shouldn’t make him wait long.”

I took my hand off my temple and looked straight ahead.

In front of me was a fortress with the republic’s flag flying.

High walls built on high ground, with moats around the fortress. It looked like a classic textbook example.

According to the report, the fortress garrison was about 800 men, which wasn’t much.

“Edar-nim, we’re ready.”

Calliope led a retainer squad belonging to the Imperial Army and stood behind me.

Three fully equipped retainer squads, that is, 30 men, plus 7 members of the Imperial Guard.

It was a force that could take the fortress in an instant if there were no other races.

“Stand by for a moment.”

I stopped them, who were ready to break through, and raised my right hand.

Four cannons, each pulled by 12 horses, came forward.

Siege cannons that began mass production just before the expedition.

It was an improved version of the bronze cannons introduced in Germania, and it was expected to perform far better than the cannons used at that time in all aspects, including destructive power, accuracy, and movement speed.

“Let’s test how effective they are.”

“Artillery battery, deploy!”

And the person commanding the army’s siege artillery battery, which consisted of only 4 cannons, was Horatio, the chief of the Naval Affairs Department under the Ministry of Military Affairs.

————————————

Admiral

Horatio

Lv. 83

Rank: A

Traits: [Retainer], [Navigation], [Artillery]

————————————

Nuadile’s expression became strange as he looked at him.

That was because Horatio’s rank and level would warrant treatment better than Nuadile and Gehardt, but as the chief of the navy without a navy, he was commanding a sub-strength artillery battery on the ground.

“Fire!”

Kwang—!

The siege cannon, which had been the result of more than half a year of effort, spewed fire.

The accuracy was clearly different because the barrel was lengthened and the cannonballs were changed from stone to metal.

The first shot accurately struck the fortress wall.

“Oho.”

Nuadile narrowed his eyes.

The surface of the wall hit by the cannonball crumbled.

The stone that was fired in Germania only managed to crack the wall, but the metal cannonball was smashing the wall.

“It’s a shame there aren’t more.”

I nodded as I watched the siege cannon continue to pound the wall.

“This war will be a long one. Therefore, even if there are only that many right now, the number will soon be sufficient.”

Because Olympus’s armory would be running even at this moment.

“It seems like the performance check is enough.”

Just as I was about to stop the shelling, the gate opened.

“Hmm?”

Thirty cavalrymen came out of the fortress.

Nuadile chuckled in disbelief.

“The impact must have been quite significant. To not hold out inside the fortress and instead make a final charge. Is it some kind of honorable death?”

“I wonder.”

【Lv. 38】

【Lv. 43】

【Lv. 39】

【Lv. 47】

“They’re hybrids.”

I looked at the cavalry’s levels and raised my hand again.

This time, it wasn’t the artillery but the musket squad that came forward.

The number of musket squads was a little over half of one company, 211 men.

In addition to that, there were four field guns, the same number as the siege cannons.

“Isn’t it too dangerous?”

“It’s fine. It’s adequate.”

With a nod, I had my familiars stand by right behind the musket squad.

In case the musket squad wasn’t effective, the familiars would handle the cavalry.

“Prepare to fire!”

The enemy cavalry began their charge as soon as they exited the fortress gate.

The musket squad formed a three-rank line in front of the cavalry. The first rank knelt on the ground, the second rank slightly bent their legs, and the third rank stood straight, aiming forward.

“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”

The company commander shouted from the right end of the line.

If I remember correctly, his name was Piemon.

A mercenary—a human recommended by a familiar named Titus.

Boom! Boom!

The field guns, deployed to support the infantry, roared.

However, the field guns didn’t put on as impressive a display as the siege cannons.

Because the enemy’s numbers were small and they were too fast. They were difficult targets for inexperienced artillerymen to hit.

“Hold!”

Some of the cavalry were startled by the shells falling around them and broke formation, but that was it.

The thirty cavalrymen watched the artillerymen fumble with reloading due to nerves and increased their speed.

They must have been sneering at the infantry pointing wooden sticks at them.

Since it was their first time encountering cannons, they probably thought of muskets as strange spears. They were probably thinking that at least they wouldn’t die in vain in their final charge.

“Fire!”

What greeted them was a volley of fire.

Hybrid War (4)

Neighhhhh!

The horses screamed and collapsed.

The enemy cavalry was hit by a volley of fire just ten meters away from the musket squad. Even with the musket’s low accuracy, few bullets missed at this distance.

“Ku, ack!”

All thirty horses fell and didn’t get up. A dozen or so riders struggled to their feet but hesitated, having lost the momentum they had shown just moments before.

In an instant, flames and smoke burst before their eyes, flesh was torn, and comrades died. The shock to their minds must have been considerable.

“…”

The smoke surrounding the musket squad slowly dissipated.

The thick smoke was one of the disadvantages of black powder. The smoke produced during combustion was so excessive that it made aiming for subsequent shots impossible.

The cavalrymen saw the musket squad moving through the dissipating smoke. They didn’t know about gunpowder weapons, but they realized that the musket squad’s actions were reloading bullets.

“You… you bastards!”

If they continued to stand there dumbly, they would only be subjected to a second volley.

A cavalryman, belatedly regaining his senses, gripped his spear.

【Lv. 43】

He had only suffered a gunshot wound to his left arm.

Moreover, the distance between the musket squad and the cavalry was only about ten meters.

“This is dangerous.”

Nuadile frowned and muttered.

The musket squad, which should have been prepared for the cavalry’s charge, was slow.

It was their first real battle. And it was their first real battle against cavalry charging at full speed. Even though the enemy’s numbers were small, if they had been a beat late, they would have been the ones to die.

Tension dominated them, causing them to forget their training.

They were just now tilting the gunpowder-filled cartridges into the muzzles to load the gunpowder. Some were shaking their hands so much that they even spilled gunpowder on the ground. They wouldn’t be able to finish reloading before the cavalry arrived.

“Charge! Kill those bastards!”

The cavalry charged at the musket squad.

Bang!

At that moment, a fist-sized hole was punched through the cavalryman’s chest.

“…?”

The cavalryman blankly looked down at the hole.

Then he looked up again and looked to the side.

The gray smoke cleared, revealing the field gun.

Thud.

The cavalryman collapsed, and Horatio smiled.

“Good job. Yes. That’s how you shoot.”

While everyone’s attention was focused on the musket squad and the cavalry, he ran to the field gun battery and directed the fumbling artillerymen.

The field gun battery, which had missed the first barrage, finished reloading and aimed at the remaining cavalry.

“Keep firing!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The remaining three field guns also roared.

The distance was about ten meters, and the opponents were just standing there blankly.

It was impossible not to hit them with a direct shot.

The shells were smaller than fists and the distance was short, so their penetrating power was intact. They showed a completely different appearance from those who had been hit by cannons in Germania.

Those hit by stone shells would bounce or have shrapnel embedded in their bodies, but the metal shells pierced through flesh and embedded themselves in the ground.

“My… leg, my leg!”

“Ugh!”

“Aaaaaaagh!”

With three cannon shots, three cavalrymen died, each with a leg torn off, a head exploded, and a flank torn open.

【Lv. 37】, 【Lv. 36】, 【Lv. 41】

The cavalrymen directly hit by the shells,

【Lv. 4】, 【Lv. 6】, 【Lv. 5】

The Imperial soldiers lighting the fuses,

Originally, a gap that could never be overcome.

But with muskets in hand, the two became equal.

I freed all humans, but Pasimea’s muskets made people equal.

“Aim!”

“…!”

While the cavalrymen were startled by the field guns and hesitated, the musket squad finished reloading and aimed at the enemy again.

“W-w-wait…!”

“Fire!”

Bang bang bang bang!

With the second volley, the cavalry was annihilated.

Looking at the numbers alone, it seems like 211 people captured 30, so it doesn’t seem like much. But didn’t they just show it? The difference in levels.

Liberated slaves who had only completed a few months of shooting training hunted down those who had trained their entire lives with two flicks of their fingers. Without any losses.

“Well. It’s better than I thought.”

Nuadile muttered, stroking his white beard.

“Range, reload speed, accuracy… there are many things to improve, but if enough of them gather, the firepower will be so great that those shortcomings can be ignored.”

“That’s what I expected when I made them.”

“There aren’t many among the familiars who can gain an advantage against a musket squad that has gathered in numbers.”

I nodded.

There are many familiars with the same level as the cavalry.

Individually, it might be different, but if they had to face a musket squad forming a firing line like now, even decent familiars would be forced to take damage.

If they were careless, the familiars might reproduce the spectacle that the Cesena Republic’s cavalry showed.

“From now on, I’ll have to walk around covered in armor.”

Blocking bullets with armor.

It seems like a ridiculous idea, but these are familiars.

Not only familiars but also strong people of the same level as familiars. They have the strength to crush steel with their bare hands, so the armor they wear can increase their defense tremendously if they can endure the inconvenience of movement.

“There’s also the method of arming with mithril or orichalcum.”

Of course, only a few can arm themselves in that way.

“This is what the master wanted, right? We take on the enemies that are not affected by gunpowder weapons, and the humans take care of the rest. Right?”

“Yes.”

That is what I intended.

The Empire has no power to fight against the other races besides the familiars.

What good is an asymmetrical force like Calliope if the opponent is determined to force a war of attrition? She can’t do anything about it.

Let’s recall the time when I hunted Vlad in Wallachia [historical region of Romania].

At that time, the number of familiars I mobilized was 300, and the average level was in the mid-30s. However, the familiars, excluding Calliope and Pasimea, succeeded in hunting several blood relatives who had reached level 80.

Is there any guarantee that I won’t suffer this situation in reverse?

“You are certainly strong, but you cannot overturn an overwhelming amount. I turned the representative assembly into an enemy, and the representative assembly is the entire other race. Therefore, I had to prepare an amount that could deal with the entire other race.”

Gunpowder weapons were an appropriate means for that goal.

The effect was proven by the achievement of liberated slaves with single-digit levels slaughtering Naga hybrids of levels 30 and 40. Now, if I mass-produce weapons in the armory and arm the entire Imperial army, the situation where I have to rely only on familiars on land will be over.

I smiled with satisfaction.

“Calliope.”

I sent her and the familiars into the fortress.

The fortress surrendered as soon as the familiars arrived.

They had been hit by siege cannons and chose a suicidal charge in a panic, but even that crumbled in vain, so there was no will to fight left.

“What shall we do with the prisoners?”

“Didn’t the Public Church decide to send a priest?”

“Hmm. A priest with a rather strange job called an ‘indulgence seller’.”

Was his name Karamazov?

I remembered his name because his job was so intense.

“Leave it to him. I asked Rachel for a priest for conversion.”

“Conversion?”

“The Republic is different from the two kingdoms. The citizens of the Republic have a deep-seated way of thinking that they regard themselves as the same as the other races, so caution is needed.”

I checked the bodies of the cavalrymen.

The wrinkles below the corpse’s neck twitched.

When Calliope cut the wrinkles with her sword, a creature similar to an octopus wriggled out. I pressed it down with the cavalryman’s spear that had fallen on the floor.

“Look.”

“Is this the Naga’s parasitic substance that the master spoke of?”

It is a parasitic substance, but it is slightly different from a parasite.

The period of exploiting the host’s nutrients and living is only the first few years. When it grows into an adult, it lives in symbiosis with the host and gradually transforms the host into the same creature as the parasitic substance.

“Because this is a subspecies of the Naga, the human who becomes its host also transforms into a subspecies of the Naga.”

That is what looks like becoming a Naga to the citizens of the Republic.

“…The reason why there are humans who want to become servants of the blood relatives was because of the desire to transcend humanity and become other races. If the citizens of the Republic have the same mind….”

“They will do anything to become a host.”

That was how the Naga ruled the Republic.

They received tribute from humans, indirectly ruled the Republic, selected loyal citizens, implanted parasitic substances, and treated the humans who became hosts as their own kind when they became complete subspecies.

“Orcs and goblins only see humans as breeding tools. Vlad and the blood relatives only use humans as slaves called servants, and Horvids brainwash humans and their very existence is deception itself.”

“Compared to those, the Naga’s behavior of making them subspecies but treating them as their own kind can be seen as merciful. I heard they don’t even worship the Wolf Cult?”

“Yes, it’s merciful. Except for the fact that they use humans as breeding facilities to create subspecies’ offspring.”

“Hmm…”

Nuadile narrowed his eyes.

“The other races are just other races.”

“Just like humans are just humans to them.”

Nuadile shook his head and looked at the dead cavalrymen.

“Come to think of it, they look similar.”

“The more the mutation progresses into a subspecies, the more the appearance changes. The eyes protrude like fish, hair falls out from the skin, and scales and gills also appear.”

These mutations cause suspicion that the other races are deeply involved in human society, so hybrids with scales covering their faces do not go outside the Republic. Just like the knights of the 교국 [Gyoguk, likely referring to a religious or knightly order] hid their mixed-blood identity.

“Have the prisoners repair the walls. We are the only ones with cannons right now. For a while, those classic walls will be useful.”

That was one of the reasons why I didn’t go straight to the capital of the Republic and conquered all the inland strongholds. If I left the fortress garrison alone, there was a risk that they would try to plunder the rear, and if I occupied the fortress, I could use it to defend the interior.

It would be a great help in situations like this, where pirates are infiltrating the interior.

“Where to next?”

“There is a city half a day away from here.”

Calliope replied.

“Occupy it today. Prepare to move.”

“Yes.”