Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 115

Creating Retainers to Build a Human Empire 117

Homo Hybrid War (7)

###

I stood at the end of the levee, surveying the walls of Tissireddon.

Upon the walls stood humans, homo hybrids, and various other races.

The other races included elves, dwarves, and lizardmen, though their numbers were few.

‘Human hunters.’

These weren’t armies sent by the Council or the nations of those races to oppose me. They were more like individual hunters or volunteers.

The fact that the Council’s garrison on the southern border wasn’t showing any activity beyond reconnaissance was proof of that.

The other races in Tissireddon were those whom the Republic had thrown at the Empire’s coast as hunters, now mobilized for defense.

‘Vlad seems to be holding up well.’

Tissireddon was a production site for a subspecies that the Nagas considered their own. The fact that they weren’t providing any significant assistance suggested that Vlad’s Mycenaean Empire [referring to a historical civilization known for its warrior culture] was putting up a good fight against the Council.

The reason I said it would take half a year to occupy Tissireddon was based on the assumption of Naga support, but if this was the situation, it wouldn’t even take five months.

“Surrender. You who are neither human nor Naga.”

I drew forth the light emanating from my soul.

The light healed the wounds of the workers and made the enemies looking down at me flinch.

In particular, the other races were sensitive to magic and had high levels [of magical aptitude], so they could see the caliber of my soul more clearly than others, and their reaction was intense.

“The rumors, were they true?”

“How can a human possess power like the Mother…?”

The teachings of the Public Church were bearing fruit.

An action that would have caused a severe headache in the past.

But now, it only made my head throb a little.

“The Mother you are waiting for will not come. She is afraid that my wrath will turn towards her if she helps you. She is too afraid to help you.”

If she were going to help, she would have done so already.

With the fall of the capital imminent, why would she help now?

“I know that your Mother did not want this war from the start. But you were arrogant and harbored the vain belief that you could defeat me, and you forced this war.”

What other reason would the Republic have for not declaring war on the Empire immediately after the two kingdoms were conquered?

Because I had bluffed the Council.

The Nagas were likely preventing the Republic from acting rashly, fearing that they might become targets themselves.

“More than half a year has passed since I donned the Emperor’s crown. Did you think that the Empire’s capabilities would be diminished by fighting enemies on three fronts during that time?”

The Republic’s judgment was based on common sense.

Not knowing the internal situation of the Empire, they would have assessed the Empire based on its capabilities during the time when the Germania and Wallachia kingdoms existed.

The capabilities of those two kingdoms were such that it was impossible to continue internal affairs while enduring attrition warfare on three fronts.

Moreover, didn’t they experience the chaos of the Wolf Cult’s uprising and the Wallachian civil war? It was logical to assume that their national power had been greatly diminished rather than recovered, and that they had reached their limit.

“If the Empire was such a weak entity, why would the Council leave me alone until now? Why are they watching so cautiously instead of helping you right away?”

But my abilities defied common sense.

I had retainers, and I had gunpowder weapons.

The reorganization of the administrative system based on retainers reduced inefficiencies within the system while dismantling the feudal system, and it unleashed the Empire’s latent potential.

That was why I was able to develop Olympus and fortify the south while waging local wars on three fronts.

“From the moment you harbored arrogance and decided to wage war against the Empire, your fate was sealed. You cannot defeat the Empire, and the name of the Cesena Republic will disappear from history.”

Here, gunpowder weapons made everyone equal except for those of high level, and they were sufficient to defeat the Republic’s navy when building the levee.

The number of cannons produced in the past few months was small.

Because the armory was only in Olympus.

However, the Republic’s navy could not attack the coastal batteries and had to stay within the effective range of the coastal guns for months to prevent the levee construction. Not just for a day or two, but for months.

“But if you acknowledge your sins and surrender now, I will accept you. There is only one condition. Abandon Tissireddon and leave.”

The outcome was definitely sealed.

Whether they surrendered today and ended the war, or resisted for a few more weeks at most and exhausted their remaining capabilities, the Republic had only two options.

It was the same proposal that Lucio, who had previously advised me to surrender, had made to me.

“Also, if there are any humans who wish to remain in the city, I will forgive their sins and accept them as Imperial citizens.”

As I finished speaking, silence fell all around.

Only the sound of the waves lapping and the cries of seabirds playing in the sky could be heard.

But soon, the Republic side, having regained their composure, shot arrows.

“Get lost!”

“The Republic will not surrender!”

Calliope stepped forward and deflected the arrows heading towards me.

I slightly raised the corners of my mouth and sneered.

“If that is your wish.”

I raised my right hand.

“Continue the attack.”

Boom!

As if waiting for it, the siege cannons spat fire.

The distance between the walls and the levee was less than half the effective range of the siege cannons, and the battery, directly commanded by Navy Chief and Admiral Horatio, was highly skilled due to months of actual combat.

“Don’t be complacent just because the enemy is a stationary target.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

On the other hand, Tissireddon’s walls were classic walls, so they were only tall and had no response to cannons at all. They were perfect as targets.

Not a single shell missed the walls.

“Counterattack!”

“Don’t let them get any closer!”

“Fire the ballistae [large, ancient crossbows]!”

Thung!

Calliope, Gerhard, and the guards moved around, deflecting arrows and stones.

It was a scene that could only be seen in movies, but it was reality.

At their level, arrows and stones were no different from swatting mosquitoes.

Clang—

Even if they couldn’t block all the attacks, a significant number of projectiles didn’t reach the workers and fell into the sea.

Among them were the large arrows of the ballistae.

“They’re deflecting those…?”

“Monster bastards!”

Tissireddon’s defenders were shocked but didn’t give up.

Sending fire ships, dismantling the levee from underwater, and attempting coastal landings, the closer the levee got to the city, the more desperate the resistance became, and the battle continued even at night.

But it was useless.

If a fire started, they just put it out; if the levee collapsed, they just rebuilt it; and landings were not even ticklish [a minor annoyance].

“Raise the drawbridge for the remaining distance. There’s no need to fill it in anymore.”

When there were only 4m left, I declared.

The Imperial soldiers raised several iron plates between Tissireddon and the levee. With that, the island of Tissireddon was connected to the mainland. It was just four and a half months after starting construction.

###

Tissireddon fell into chaos.

It had been chaotic since the walls came within range of the siege cannons, but as the levee construction neared completion, the chaos grew to the point where it was noticeable even from outside the city.

“How many can escape now that they’re finally trying to run away?”

Horatio yawned, looking at the sea with half-closed eyes.

I followed his gaze and saw ships leaving the city.

Transport ships had been going in and out of the city for several days.

They were carrying citizens to nearby islands.

“It’s too late. They should have run away sooner.”

Gerhard snorted.

“Even if they try to escape now, there won’t be enough ships to carry people. They’ve lost almost all their large ships in the attrition warfare with us, and the few ships they have left are shabby ones that can’t leave the coastal waters. I don’t know why they stubbornly held on.”

“Well, they must have believed that the Nagas would help them until the end.”

Horatio scratched his head.

That was also true, but Tissireddon was also very important.

The Cesena Republic was like a city-state, so the islands other than the capital Tissireddon had no foundation.

Therefore, losing Tissireddon was virtually the same as destruction.

What would happen to the citizens of the Republic if the Republic were to be destroyed?

“If the Republic is destroyed, the hosts of the parasitic plants, the homo hybrids, will probably be taken care of by the Nagas. They are practically treated as their own kind. But the citizens who are not hosts are just humans, so would they even care?”

“Yes. All that’s left for them is to flee to an island with no foundation, offer themselves as tribute to the Nagas, or seek my mercy.”

Horatio scratched his head and looked at the walls.

The walls connected to the levee were destroyed. They had been bombarded since they came within range of the siege cannons. There was no way the walls, which had only been built high, could withstand the attack that had lasted for nearly two months.

The collapsed walls formed a hill, and the heads of the defenders hiding behind the hill were visible.

“Shall we break through?”

I nodded.

“Musket brigades, forward.”

At Horatio’s command, two regiments of musket soldiers came to the front lines.

The Olympus armory had produced about 3,000 muskets during the half-year war. After deducting losses incurred from guarding the levee construction and supply units, there were a little less than 2,000 left.

“Advance!”

The width of the levee was 120m.

Normally, the musket brigade’s formation was a three-rank line, but because of the narrow width, they slowly advanced in a six-rank line.

“Stop them!”

“Don’t let them cross!”

“Waaaaaaa!”

As the musket soldiers set foot on the hill, the hidden defenders jumped out.

Tatatatatatang!

But a volley of fire poured down immediately.

The distance between the defenders and the musket soldiers was only a few steps.

Moreover, thousands of people were rushing in densely packed, so the effect of the volley was enormous.

“Front rank, kneel!”

The terrible truth for the enemy was that the volley was not a volley. Only the front three ranks had fired, and the rear three ranks had only been standing.

“Rear rank! Fire!”

Therefore, the enemies who had not fallen in the first volley were hit by the second volley.

Tatatadatang!

It was impossible to see how much damage the defenders had suffered due to the thick smoke caused by the black powder.

But if 2,000 musket soldiers fired a volley at thousands of people a few steps away, wouldn’t the result be obvious?

“Charge!”

“Long live the Emperor!”

The musket soldiers retreated, and the retainers and Imperial soldiers rushed into the smoke.

“Ugh, uaaaaaagh!”

The defenders, who had been hit by two volleys at close range, did not put up much resistance. They had no will, and they had no ability.

“Surrender! We surrender!”

“Don’t shoot!”

The remaining defenders were only pure humans.

“As expected, they all ran away.”

Horatio frowned.

The hosts of the parasitic plants, the homo hybrids and other races, who should have been commanding the defenders, were not here. As Horatio said, they had run away.

They had not been seen since the levee was nearing completion, so they must have started escaping the city from then on.

“Not all of them will be.”

I looked at the fleet leaving the city.

It was called a fleet, but in reality, it was a scale that was embarrassing to even call a fleet.

The types of ships that made up the fleet were only small and medium-sized auxiliary ships, with no warships. The scale that could be carried by going back and forth for a few days at that scale was small.

As I recall, there should have been over thousands of homo hybrids and other races in Tissireddon.

Clearly, there were still those who had not left the city in the city.

“Horatio, move the batteries on the earthen mound to the walls so that the enemy ships cannot approach the city.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Gerhard, go to the harbor. Capture all the bastards waiting for ships there.”

“When you say capture, do you mean capture them as prisoners?”

Prisoners.

Humans, maybe.

But what would I do with capturing other races or homo hybrids?

I shook my head and replied.

“My Empire has no need for other races. Kill them all, leaving not a single one alive.”