"Are you kidding me? He couldn't even handle a small thing like that? I sent that Great Warlord fifty boys and a thousand clay pots of wheat for nothing."
Outside the besieged castle of Bovenden village, the 48-year-old steward, Howard, was furious. He had just learned that Countess Canossa had unexpectedly escaped, rescued by a militia summoned by a monk under his own brother Skork's command.
A unibrow, a thick beard, a square and flat face, a fat belly, and the large nose and receding hairline common among knights—this was Howard. He stood about 1.6 meters tall, and his family crest was a black bird.
The name Howard was actually English. His family were descendants of Danes who had settled in England and then moved to the County of Göttingen fifty years ago. These Danes, after conquering territory in England, were assimilated by the local culture and later settled in various places during their seafaring voyages. Fifty years ago, Vikings had raided the Duchy of Lotharingia along the Rhine River. The Duke at the time was weak and incompetent. To stop the Vikings' rampage, he ceded a great deal of territory, allowing them to settle and become his vassals.
Most inept lords in the Middle Ages made the same choice when faced with Vikings. This seemed to explain the defiant and untamable genes of the two brothers.
However, the consequence of temporary appeasement, of nursing a tiger that would later cause harm, was the present tragedy. The state was subverted, order had collapsed, bandits ran rampant, and people were forced to live alongside monsters.
In Bovenden village, over a hundred families had all taken refuge inside the Bovenden family castle. The village itself had been burned to the ground. The fields, ponds, and riverbanks were littered with the bodies of unlucky travelers killed in the crossfire, along with the filth and garbage left by the rebel army.
Stepping out of his triangular campaign tent, Howard waved a hand toward the castle. "Hurry up with the siege. As for that damn Horten of Bovenden, let him be. I've already killed his brother, anyway."
Just a hundred meters from the castle gate stood dozens of crosses, bearing the bodies of enemies who had opposed Howard and been beheaded.
The corpse at the very top was none other than Horten's older brother... the knight who should have inherited Bovenden village, Schneider of Bovenden.
"My son... my poor..."
Horten's father in this world, the old and haggard Madi of Bovenden, was draped over the earthen rampart of the castle, weeping like a dead man.
Because of the war, Madi of Bovenden had first lost his eldest son, Schneider, who was meant to inherit the family estate. Then he lost his wife, Horten's mother. When his wife died of grief over their eldest son's death, Madi had felt like taking his own life to follow her.
"Father, please be strong. The Bovenden family still needs you to support it," said Schneider's new wife, Amelia, who hailed from the neighboring county. She too was in agony.
A sudden, unexpected civil war had robbed her of her husband and her mother-in-law. Her new home, which she had barely had time to grow accustomed to, had been ravaged and plundered.
The Bovenden family was small. They had only five knights: Father Madi, his eldest son Schneider, an uncle, and two distant relatives from the same village. Thanks to their control of a key transportation route, the family's small enterprise had been doing well. When Schneider married, the Bovenden family had invited many friends, and the event had drawn much attention.
But now, only the father-in-law and daughter-in-law, Madi and Amelia, were left alive. All the others... were dead.
Of the 120 families of subjects, thirty percent were dead.
Of the five knights, three were dead.
Of the 17 standing professional soldiers, only six remained.
On the castle walls, only a few dozen able-bodied men were left to defend it.
The farms had been swept clean, and the highly profitable and important mill had been occupied. It was safe to say the entire family had already lost everything.
"Of course I'm fine. But... the family has lost its heir. Who will..."
Old Madi struggled to his feet. He knew full well that the Bovenden family had suffered a devastating blow and could not withstand a second one.
"There's still my brother-in-law. I heard the men below shouting that Horten of Bovenden summoned a militia and just rescued the Countess," Amelia said, comforting her father-in-law. This small piece of news was the only thing that could offer Madi any solace.
Sure enough, Horten's actions brought Madi considerable relief. One could even say that Horten being alive was Madi's only remaining conviction. An heir had to carry on the family name.
In truth, Madi had another hidden worry: the dowry.
When this was all over and Horten left the abbey to return home, he would have to consider marriage. But the Bovenden family now had nothing. Worse, Amelia was now a widow. She could take her substantial dowry and remarry, which would leave the Bovenden family in serious debt.
If we survive, Madi began to calculate, perhaps we could solve the problem internally, letting this bachelor-to-be and the widow in the family sort it out themselves.
As for defending against Howard, it wasn't entirely impossible. In the Middle Ages, as long as the enemy couldn't build siege engines, the result of most wars was simply the stronger party raiding the weaker party's farmlands.
Over a dozen kilometers away, Horten was still unaware that his "dear" father was already calculating the most optimal marriage arrangement for him.
"I have 280 men now: two units of Spearmen, three of Pilgrims, one of Longbowmen, and one of Peasant Bowmen. Honestly, a force like this is barely enough to dominate a county, but how do I defeat Howard?" Horten scratched his head in frustration. In military matters, he was still just an enthusiast.
Normally, a county could be as large as a prefecture or as small as a township. The County of Göttingen was relatively prosperous, but a rather small place. Here, anyone with a few hundred men was considered quite powerful. But Howard's rebellion was so large-scale and unexpected, involving so many parties—how could he not have backers?
The group looked at the crude map and couldn't help but feel discouraged.
"Don't lose heart."
At that moment, the one who stepped forward to comfort the group was, surprisingly, Countess Canossa, who was not skilled in military affairs.
She had tied her long, black hair into a bun and spoke with a low, serious voice. "There is still a chance. I may not understand military matters, but it's like carving a roast pig at a banquet. You have to consider all the nobles present—who is high, who is low, who is old, who is young. Only the person who can carve that pig perfectly is qualified to control the whole situation."
Horten nodded. Simply put, the more helpers Howard brought in, the more he would have to pay out. But where would Howard get that much capital? In the end, he would inevitably have to offend some families to appease others, paying out a huge sum in compensation.
External allies could be dealt with, but what about the internal ones? With so many people wanting a piece of the cake, who would get the biggest share? With such intense internal contradictions, Howard's rebellion, which seemed like a raging fire, was actually without a solid foundation. One push and it would topple.
That being said...
As Horten was deep in thought, the door was suddenly pushed open. Knight Wagner walked in with a cold sneer.
"Horten, you can stop thinking about strategy. I've received news. Your brother, Schneider, has been executed by Howard. You? You should prepare for a funeral first."
What?
His... brother?
Horten was shocked. Although his parents had chosen to abandon him for his brother, Schneider was no reckless fool. How could this have happened?
The Countess and the Knight-Captain also wore grave expressions.
[Sudden Temporary Quest: The Murder of a Brother Cannot Go Unavenged!]
[Objective: Launch a frontal assault on Howard's army and kill Howard to exact revenge.]
[Reward: One random unit of Elite Cavalry!]