The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 106

106. Prelude to Civil War (3)

—Prince John of Manges’ Camp, 1190—

The sky began to darken, much like it had when I shot the arrow earlier, around the time the sun started to set. The scenery was undeniably beautiful.

To be precise, only the scenery was beautiful.

—Heeheeheeing.

Cromwell, seemingly fueled by a pseudo-Puritan revolution, roared as he routed the treacherous Prince Henry’s army.

—Rustle.

The fallen Royalist knight earned a one-way trip to the River Jordan, courtesy of Justice John’s strike.

‘I can’t crush them instantly like Richard. I’m focusing on attacking vital points, concentrating on separating heads from bodies, or kindly stabbing them in their vitals.’

Don’t call me a coward. It’s wise to fight according to your strengths on the battlefield.

—Rustle.

“Your Highness, please don’t overexert yourself with us by your side.”

“I know.”

The knights beside me were also issuing orders and cutting down enemies. They were truly reliable. The Safe Knights!

They knew my limitations well and were kind enough to protect me from time to time.

‘It’s good to cut down enemies as a knight, but unless I’m a human weapon like Richard, I need to pace myself.’

I was calculating with my eyes, mainly targeting knights who weren’t too dangerous.

—Phew, phew, phew.

And in between, I was sending knights to the River Jordan with longbowmen.

We don’t use crossbowmen anymore. Our great Prince John has longbowmen with ‘Irish Longbows’ by his side.

Even though training and maintenance are expensive, their power to snipe rebel knights was considerable.

‘But longbowmen alone can’t save the world.’

Of course, the power of longbowmen is amplified when combined with other types of troops.

The Viking blood flowing within me roared. Rather than feeling pleasure from killing people, the relief of surviving once again became cathartic.

Thus, as a knight dominating the battlefield! No, as a knight surviving today, I looked at the battlefield and realized I was a descendant of Vikings.

But this was just wishful thinking. The situation wasn’t good. Those bastards were targeting me, thinking I was the easiest to deal with.

My hand holding the greatsword tingled. Outwardly, I was acting all brave and resolute, but I felt the fear of defeat.

Whether I was captured or killed in this battle, my reputation was the real issue.

Reputation is a double-edged sword. I’ve been lucky so far, becoming the young star, Safe John, of the Middle Ages, but if I fail here, I could become Moron John at any moment.

‘Anyway, this isn’t good.’

The sound of weapons clashing in the rear was getting louder, deafening even. It meant the enemies were getting closer.

Geoffrey’s rebels in front were closing in on us, and William Marshal, the Sword of England, who had joined that corps, was maliciously targeting me.

William Marshal’s army was strong. It was only natural that an army commanded by a leader called the Sword of England would be strong.

Moreover, there was the evil Geoffrey’s army beside them.

It was essentially a disadvantageous 2:1 fight.

Thinking of the 21st-century online game ‘Legend is Not a Legend,’ it was like fighting both the top (left) lane and the jungle (roaming unit) at the same time.

I had prepared, but the unexpected reality was a completely different matter.

The situation was unfavorable.

“In the name of Jesus Christ, annihilate the rebels like Joab.”

The owner of that voice was William Marshal.

“Your Highness, do not pay attention to the words of such a wicked man.”

Godfrey looked at me with concern, but I was unfazed. Really.

Rather, upon hearing William Marshal’s roaring voice, I smiled.

“Haha, that’s an interesting thing to say.”

Joab was a cunning commander of Israel.

He had achieved many feats under King David, but he sometimes crossed the line by openly showing his ambition. In the succession process, he didn’t side with Solomon, the son of a concubine, and was miserably killed after siding with Prince Adonijah.

In other words, William Marshal was implying to our army, ‘Do you want to die miserably because you met the wrong prince?’

But surprisingly, the morale of my army didn’t waver.

That was because of the trust between them and me.

To say such things to Safe John and his loyal soldiers. No matter how much of a cheat-level English commander he was, he went too far. He was already approaching our army.

William Marshal, who raised his voice mentioning Joab, had no intention of sparing me.

Then, my brother Geoffrey, who was leading the army advancing south as if to surround us, spoke from a fairly close distance.

“Little brother, let’s end your antics here. This ‘game’ is too early for you. John, my poor brother. Perhaps you will cross the River Jordan today.”

‘That, that evil bastard.’

He spoke kindly and gently as if teaching a young brother, but it was a warning that he might cut off my head if things went wrong.

“Do not listen to the remnants of the fake King Henry!”

Since Henry hated the nicknames ‘co-king’ and ‘young king,’ I combined them to create a new nickname. Now the rebels would be the remnants of the fake king claimant.

William Marshal didn’t spare us. Was he planning to come up from the rear and completely surround us?

But could a master like Richard not have anticipated this intervention?

In England, there were many nobles who were hedging their bets under the guise of neutrality, and William Marshal was one of them.

What I was curious about was why William Marshal had joined so early.

I knew that Richard and Henry were probably thinking of a short, decisive battle. But is the world that easy? To be honest, a civil war can’t end quickly.

‘I have to endure while cutting down Geoffrey’s army.’

Rather than being cornered in this ambiguous situation, I should go forward as much as possible and attack the relatively weak points.

“Execute Plan 4 as prepared. Attack the army towards Nantes.”

A flag signal went up.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

But I wasn’t afraid.

William Marshal was strong enough. He was a great man. But I, who had been through several battlefields, was not an easy opponent.

The arena of Asura [a realm of conflict and suffering in Buddhist cosmology] where you always have to keep the worst-case scenario in mind. War is always like that.

Not long after the flag signal went up, two special units moved.

The Coptic Cavalry.

Middle Eastern elite cavalry who had been trained by none other than Masoud.

Whether it was the 21st century or the 12th century, the Copts, who were the playthings of the Islamic people and the target of persecution, were, in a way, unfortunate people who were constantly abused, not unlike the Jews.

But I treated them incredibly well. Men fight for those who recognize them.

Of course, as I lived as a medieval person, I didn’t forget the ‘bilateral contract’ either.

“In the name of God!”

—Dudududu.

“Charge!”

In the name of God, they revealed fierce righteousness to slaughter the wicked rebels.

And it wasn’t just them. My sister-in-law Claire’s mercenaries, who could be called the hidden dagger in my army, began to move.

“Let’s drink and enjoy!”

These guys were worth their money.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t fought until now. They had just been conserving their strength in the rear!

I wasn’t arrogant. My army couldn’t beat them all, but I knew I could ‘buy’ time.

Survival of the fittest. Might makes right! The logic of the same world doesn’t only appear in martial arts novels.

It was happening right in front of my eyes, brutally enough.

That damn William Marshal, the Sword of England, was massacring civilians. In the end, being weak was a sin.

But even so, I didn’t give up hope.

‘Either way… I have something I believe in.’

The reason I was so confident was that I knew the strength of our army, but there was also a great power comparable to the Sword of England.

The Sword of Normandy. Want a taste?

—Ppoooooooo.

—Dududu.

The sound of a large horn and knights moving.

Reinforcements had arrived.

“Your Highness, we have come to save you.”

“Thank you, Count.”

* * *

Sun Bin (a descendant of Sun Tzu) of the Warring States period in China said this to a lord who enjoyed chariot racing:

[When the opponent sends out their best chariot, the general should send out their worst chariot. When the opponent sends out their middle chariot, the general should send out their best chariot. When the opponent sends out their worst chariot, the general should race with their middle chariot. That way, you will always win 2 to 1.]

I had blocked the best chariot with the worst chariot.

In fact, the focus of this battle was the Earl of Oxford. The key to victory was how quickly he could defeat the enemy’s left flank.

In the end, we won.

“Retreat!”

“We lived.”

“They’re retreating.”

Prince Henry’s White Lion Army began to retreat.

That meant they had no intention of pushing us any further. The short, decisive battle they had envisioned had failed.

“The rebels are retreating.”

“We won.”

In the end, we won.

“You held out well.”

The commander-in-chief, Richard, who greeted me, was covered in blood.

Others would be horrified, but I, who had known Richard for a long time, knew. This wasn’t Richard’s blood, but the blood of the rebels.

* * *

We defended Manges once. We had won the first battle.

Then Richard approached me.

“Brother.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Richard called me affectionately, but I was a subject. I could be casual in private, but in front of Richard’s subordinates, the commander of the expeditionary force, I had to bow my head thoroughly.

Richard was expressionless, but I could tell from the slight twitch in his eyes that he was pleased I wasn’t acting up as his own brother.

Soon after, Richard said to me.

“Duke of Ireland, today was beyond expectations. You are much more reliable than during the Crusades.”

“Thank you for seeing it that way.”

The original John was 고민 [agonizing] about when to switch sides next to his father Henry II around the same time, but Safe John was sincerely loyal.

Once you ride the Richard coin, you have to go straight.

“I look forward to your continued support.”

Richard, who patted me on the shoulder and showed his trust, turned his gaze and said.

“The army must be thoroughly prepared. You never know when they might launch a surprise attack.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Richard’s words, commanding in a firm voice, were filled with authority, but the voices of those who obeyed the order were full of loyalty.

‘As expected, amazing! My brother.’

In Eastern terms, they had already recognized Richard as ‘emperor’ and had no doubt about victory.

“I have something to say separately, so follow me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

We entered the castle.

“Call me brother here.”

This was a private setting, so he wanted to have a comfortable conversation. But it wasn’t very comfortable. Richard and I were close, but how could I be completely at ease in front of such a human weapon who carried so much weight?

Nevertheless, I replied to Richard with a very polite face.

“Yes, Brother.”

Richard, speaking as if he were sure, said indifferently.

“John, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Brother.”

What he wanted to say with such a serious face would never be ordinary.

“You fought well. Even if you had experienced the Crusades, it would have been difficult to endure like this.”

‘This can’t be all, right?’

“My wife Sibylla can no longer conceive children.”

“Yes?”

Why this story all of a sudden?

“But I don’t want to chase away my beloved lover just to get an heir. And if I get an heir, you and I will have another civil war.”

“Brother, how can you say such a thing?”

As I, startled by Richard’s sudden outburst, trembled like Liu Bei in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms [a historical novel featuring the Three Kingdoms period of China] who had seen lightning, Richard said with a kind face.

“Let’s also form a marriage alliance. Adelaide and James… aren’t they both a good match?”

“Yes?”

Our Angevin family was about to become the Habsburg family [a prominent European royal house known for strategic marriages].

The first and the third.

The second and the fourth want to form a marriage alliance for their own reasons.

What a messed-up family.