Night of the Soulless Heathens – 429



#429. Season of War 3

The Chitai Kingdom was a kingdom formed by the union of the nomadic Chitai tribe and the settled people led by King Yaegasu. In the past it was a superpower that trampled on neighboring countries with the fearsome power of its nomadic cavalry.

However with the invention of gunpowder weapons the nomadic cavalry was shackled and gradually settled people made up the majority of the kingdom and its former status as a cavalry powerhouse disappeared.

Nevertheless Cheetah was still a sleeping tiger-like nation that all eight kingdoms watched over as the master of the prairie that could not be ignored.

The current king of Chitai who had ascended to the throne as King Sebalhan seven years ago was a young and energetic descendant of the Yaegasu clan.

*********

“So His Majesty the Northern Qi wants us to attack those soulless blasphemies?”

In Chongqing the capital of Qitai Sebalhan frowned as he welcomed the Northern Qi envoy.

“Yes the King’s Church will also bless you. This is the rightful temple.”

“However Naisandokhar is not an easy terrain for cavalry operations. The road is rough and there are many goblin tribes. It takes at least a month just to get from our capital Chungking to Naisandokhar and in order to operate the supply unit smoothly we have to first clear out the nearby goblin tribes…”

It is said that the nomads of Chitai have been riding horses since childhood and have achieved the state of being like humans riding horses. Even for such nomads of Chitai it was not easy to attack Azadin’s forces through Naisandhokar.

The distance is so far that a grand expedition is necessary.

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll show you the way.”

Surprisingly the slave traders of the Telvarin Guild volunteered to guide us.

“And if the nomadic tribes near Naisandhokar gather and attack instead of gathering and rallying in Chongqing it won’t take that long.”

Sebalhan frowned.

The fact that he mentioned the distance from Chongqing was to show that he did not want to go on this expedition but the merchant Naburangi grabbed his words and pounced on him.

“There is no need for us to step forward and shed blood in order to satisfy the ambitions of the Northern Qi. We have stockpiled a lot of food and livestock. Perhaps when this Fimbulbert is over the ones who will be alive and well are the children of Chitai.”

“Is that so? That’s a completely different story from what we investigated.”

The Chitai Kingdom had a vast territory so even with a little farming it could produce sufficient yields without having to import food.

It also had grasslands so it was great for raising horses.

If it were normal that is.

The problem however was that as soon as they became Fimbulbert the horses began to freeze to death.

If the horses don’t huddle together in a barn and survive with each other’s body heat they’ll freeze to death. Where are the barns for nomads?

We hastily pitched a tent to keep the horses warm but now they can no longer go around looking for grass.

For those who raised horses and grazed on the grass of the pastures Fimbulbert was a living hell.

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From this winter to this spring half of Chitai’s horses froze to death and had to be slaughtered.

Thanks to the horse meat made in this way the Chitai did not have to worry about food but since horses were as precious as life to the nomads who were on the verge of losing all their remaining horses seeing them freeze to death was like driving a nail into their hearts.

‘It may sound crazy to kill a person to save a horse but my horse is more important than that of a person from another country.’

When the chieftains of Chitai heard the proposal to invade Azadin’s territory with the support of the King’s Church and the Northern Emperor they salivated at the thought of the safety of their horses.

To them Naisandokhar was a paradise a land far removed from Fimbulbert.

It was an abandoned land in the Arang Kingdom due to its deep forests and many goblins and Breeds. However after Azadin took control of the land he built roads reclaimed the land and accepted refugees transforming it into a bustling city.

Given the wealth of Naisandhokar Azadin will stockpile food and equipment to live on.

The generals who thought so had actually been suggesting an invasion of Azadin’s territory for some time.

At that time the Northern Qi obtained the approval of the King’s Church and offered to provide food weapons and information to Chitai.

But Sebalhan didn’t feel like it for some reason.

“Rumor has it that King Azadin has taken over Banreung alone and has also solved the Erantree quest of the Salvation Knights. Furthermore the Kingdom of Arangi will soon fall into his hands so he is a hero of the time. If we attack impulsively like this and suffer a defeat we will lose both justification and profit.”

“It is something that the King’s Church has approved so how can there be no justification?”

“Is that so? I don’t know about the doctrine of the King’s Church but as a man I feel ashamed. We Chitai have been nomads for a long time so we don’t have hunger for food. Even if Fimbulbert lasts two more years we won’t starve to death.”

However nomadic peoples needed the goods of settled peoples: salt tea cotton medicinal herbs iron ore and so on.

“Survival is already guaranteed so is it right to invade other countries in pursuit of other luxuries?”

“your majesty.”

The military and tribal chieftains were furious. Their king Sebalhan’s words were impeccable but he could only make these remarks while staying in Chungking.

Most nomadic tribes even the chieftains live a life that is not much different from that of the lower classes in the cities.

While the settled people of Chitai obtained salt from the sea and traded for various daily necessities to maintain a civilized life the nomadic people obtained them through inland trade. Now that the cold has become extreme and inland trade has been cut off they need war.

It was during this summer when the cold had finally eased that we had to take possession of the warm southern lands.

‘Hmm. The atmosphere….’

Sebalhan was not stupid. He knew that the military commanders and tribal chieftains were thirsty for war but if he continued to argue for the right thing and oppose his subordinates might rebel.

“So what I’m saying is I hope that the Northern Qi side will provide tangible help not just words.”

Sebalhan changed his words to demand more from the Northern Qi side. He did not oppose the war but rather he pressured the Northern Qi to give more by citing various difficulties. This way he would not incur the resentment of his subordinates.

“Is that so? I have prepared this.”

The Northern Qi envoy presented documents containing their preparations and support to Sebalhan.

Sebalhan frowned after reading the document.

“Is this really possible?”

“Yes of course.”

“…….”

Sebalhan clicked his tongue as he read the contents of the letter.

The contents of the letter included war supplies including arrows spears swords gunpowder and guns as well as daily necessities such as 100000 seoks of barley and 1000 cartwheels and even an operational plan such as a preemptive infiltration by ogre mercenaries.

‘You can handle ogre mercenaries and bridles? You bastards…’

The Northern Emperor who was appointed King of Kings by the King’s Church is dealing with the retinue of the King of Teeth.

The royal family and the high-ranking priests of the royal church the knights can use the excuse that they use black magic to know their enemies and themselves…

Being able to deal directly with the forces of darkness was a whole other story.

Ironically the noble bloodline Northern Qi Cohen Lionaire practices heretical sorcery while the lowly bloodline Azadin is closer to the orthodox lineage.

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‘No I heard that Azadin also uses necromancy. Lord Sok of the Fimbulhorde is with him. Hmm.’

Sebalhan guessed the power of the Northern Qi by looking at the amount of supplies the Northern Qi supported and the dark forces he moved.

“Understood. Then I will open a tribal council and ask for the opinions of the various tribes.”

At the council of chieftains the resolution to strike King Azadin was passed almost unanimously.

*********

In Naisandhokar and Sandhokar Legion Kalan and the druids Cedrin and Niselda were deployed.

They continued to develop Naisandokar Sandokar while searching for Camilla who murdered Count Sandokar Ivechek.

Naisandhokar was densely forested and Azadin’s kingdom needed a lot of timber at the time.

By clearing the forest they could avoid attacks from the Breena Goblin tribes and be safe from the primal spirits of wild magic.

But at some point Cheetahs began to gather in the border area.

They set up a supply depot to store supplies and sent a trading party to Naisandhokar saying they wanted to trade.

“These bastards are passing by while diligently observing our defense line. No matter how you look at it they are not ordinary merchants.”

Legion a half-elf werewolf had noticed that the Chitai traders were more spies than merchants.

“You’re not the only one who noticed Legion. What they’re building is clearly a military supply base.”

Sedrin said as he flew his birds into the sky to monitor the situation.

“It’s a supply base that can feed at least 20000 people. It’s definitely not a peaceful trading post.”

A trading post and a military supply base for storing weighing and checking quality of trade goods are clearly different structures.

Sedrin who had scouted the Cheetah army with his bird’s eye view was certain that this supply base was for military purposes and that there were at least 20000 enemy soldiers.

“20000. We have a huge number of people too…”

“We’re all refugees and we’re all lumberjacks rather than soldiers. On the other hand… those guys are probably Cheetah cavalry. Surprisingly.”

The nomads of Chitai were originally known for carrying supplies on horses and attacking directly without any separate supply units changing horses.

Unlike settled peoples who have to prepare for war nomadic peoples are good at striking and retreating quickly.

However that is only true if there are no walls to besiege and if a siege is required a supply base is obviously necessary.

“Perhaps it is because the weather is cold and many horses have died? And their target is not just Naisandokhar. They are planning to attack not only our hastily constructed palisades or earthen forts but also the stone walls.”

Sedrin observed the Cheetah’s preparations for an invasion and realized that they were preparing for a full-scale war not a simple border raid.

“Should I report to the king?”

“Of course I should report it. No I already reported it.”

Sedrin who uses druid magic used his magic to send a message as soon as he confirmed Cheetah’s supply base.

*********

Azadin received word that Chitai had set up a supply base north of Naisandhokar and was massing troops.

When Azadin learned of this fact he explained the situation to King Sebalhan of Chitai through the King’s Church.

Of course the three shots of the attack were completely ignored.

‘I just set up a trading post. Don’t kill any living people.’

But in the meantime Chitai prepared for war step by step.

As a result Azadin was forced into a two-front war even though he did not want to.