Yikes this is getting intense. Not sure how I feel about Brown's meditation (normally an entirely nonmagical thing) in our world counting towards his cultivation, but I suppose some sort of 'cheat skill' is ultimately necessary.
Hmm, "Gemeinplatz" means "common place", but it sounds a little like "gaming place". Perhaps unintentional, but I wonder if this is a reference to how many isekai protagonists treat their adventure like it's just some game, as well as how many of them could be called "Gamer" in the ironic sense of an euphemism for loony racists.
Godooken! And his tongue was a sword of fire now has new meaning. Can't wait till he starts converting folks. Wait does Harriet start doing kung fu as well?
It's still the 63rd of Summer, 5859
Somewhere near the walls of Casamonu where two men have their fists raised against each other, Casamonu
Menacing. If one needed to describe the current atmosphere between John Brown and Long Dong in one word, which is a thing that one isn't wont to do but let's have a hypothetical here for the sake of making overly complicated hypotheticals that drag on for too long, then "menacing" wouldn't be a bad word. Both men were staring directly into each other's eyes, piercing each other's gaze, and planning on piercing each other's skulls with fists. Things were quiet, except for the rustling grass and the hopping grasshoppers to-and-fro-to-yonder.
Unfortunately for the grass down below and Brown up above, Dong's patience was running thin. He clasped his hands together and pushed them forward while opening them in an awkward motion while making noises like he had severe constipation. Thankfully the concentrated ball of energy he released was shining so brightly that nobody could see him to make fun of his moves. Brown leaned sideways preparing to avoid the ball with a swift leap, but he had a better idea right before the ball hit him. It was too late for him to avoid it, so the old man simply kicked the ball back. This somehow worked, a greater flash of light emanated from the point of contact between his shoe and the ball. The ball of light bounced up of Brown and exploded into flame with an ear-shattering bang. On the path to Brown, the grass had been burnt up by the ball of light.
Old man Brown prayed in thanks to the Lord for having allowed him to deflect an enormous ball of pure energy. He intended to pray a bit more, but his prayers were rudely interrupted by the annoying heathen right in front of him launching eight smaller balls of energy at once. This time Brown didn't like his chances, and the balls were a bit slower, so he began running away while the balls chased him.
"You coward! You witless geezer! Stop running!" Unfortunately for Dong, Brown didn't listen to his advice. Eventually the balls of energy dissipated and exploded in a similar fashion to their bigger counterpart.
There was a trail of burnt and burning grass behind Brown. "I'd say that the real coward is the one trying to beat an old man." Despite his claims to being an old man however, Brown was proving to be quite nimble in this current moment. This time the energy balls came from the sky and Brown, being in his peak, leaped, somersaulted, and did a backflip just to not become part of the craters left behind by the balls of energy. His old bones were aching, but he felt the aching disappear as he breathed in, out, and let out a prayer or ten.
Time seemed to slow down when the old man closed his eyes. No, he needn't run away or even see anything. He could instinctively feel the balls of energy fly towards him. His body took over. With his power surging, he kicked, and then added a punch, and then headbutted the last one. There was even more burnt grass around him when he finally opened his eyes.
"What the…" Dong was beginning to lose order in his breathing. There was a line of blood streaming down his nose, both from exertion and from frustration. His opponent was getting better at cultivation in real-time. What had he unleashed upon this not-Earth? The best thing to do was retreat, and retreat Dong did with his tail between his legs. He jumped back, and then let loose a barrage of glowing chains from his sleeves to restrain the old man.
Brown, however, was not the type to be okay with being restrained by chains. He yanked the chain with both his hands and dragged the Dong back to himself. Dong flew towards Brown, confused about the fact that the old man wanted even more.
Long Dong was ready however. He raised his fists up high to protect against Brown punching or kicking him. He readied his instincts to matrix himself out of rifle fire. He even solidified qi around him to protect himself in case of any attacks using pure energy. He was sure that he could receive any attack he had seen from Brown up until now.
Then Brown took out something from his pockets and threw it towards Dong.
Soap? This was the last thing Dong thought before his head collided with a bar of soap in the air. He had expected a projectile to fly towards him, not for him to fly towards a projectile.
So quick was his collision that he passed out.
So quick was Brown's fist that he didn't wake up ever again.
Long Dong couldn't defy fate.
Yep, it's still the 63rd of Summer, 5859
Somewhere near the walls of Casamonu where a bunch of soldiers have been pushed to, Casamonu
"Urgh…" Shinasi was trying to get closer and closer to the two men trading fists. However, there seemed to be some sort of invisible barrier he couldn't get past no matter how much he pushed it. He pushed and pushed forward, yet it felt like he was trying to get past a wall made of pure slime. "Captain, hang in there!"
"Old man!" Ayomide knocked on the barrier as well. However, she took a pause when she noticed what was happening inside the barrier. It was wild, to say the least. The old man in question was doing feats of acrobatics which she had never seen before in her life. "Hang- hang in there?!"
The next few minutes was jaw-dropping to the spectators outside of the cultivator's barrier. John Brown was dealing a beatdown the likes of which had never been seen before in the history of the remote edges of Gemeinplatz. It was quite hard to follow with all the balls of light flying around and old men jumping around, but it was still a good watch for the soldiers around the barrier. Some sat on the grass, watching the fight in lieu of entertainment. Some were cheering on. Some were biting their nails, thinking of what'd happen if they got enslaved again.
Thankfully, for the fans of John Brown, the old man's soap saved the day as the barrier came down with the defeat of the cultivator. Shinasi fell face-first as he had been leaning on the barrier, while Ayomide saved herself with a well-timed guest of wind to keep herself on her two feet. There was a rush towards the scene of the battle filled with craters. Brown had knelt down on the ground, breathing in and out deeply while his forehead was riddled with beads of sweat.
"Old man? Are you fine?" Ayomide had ran up to Brown, ready to cast some healing if need be. She didn't as the old man was fine, at least physically.
"Praise be to God, I'm fine." Brown coughed up some blood and stained his coat. "Mostly."
"Mostly?" Coughing up blood doesn't make you look fine…
"Mostly. I've been worse." added Brown, having literally died once after being hanged. "I just need some sleep." He yawned a bit too casually for someone who had died once.
"A-Alright…" Ayomide now looked at the lifeless body of Dong laying right next to where Brown was. She, and many of the men, were mostly desensitized to corpses by now. One of the soldiers covered the body with a blanket for later burial. Nobody really knew how to conduct a funeral for an otherworlder, neither did they really have enough respect to conduct proper rituals for those trying to kill them, so enemy bodies would simply be buried. The rest of the night passed with the League resetting their camp which had been destroyed by the unexpected cultivator attack.
Tomorrow, the siege would finally start.
Right around the end of 63rd of Summer, 5859
The walls of Casamonu, Casamonu
Sir Korvus was waiting. And waiting some more. The skies had darkened, yet he was waiting. From his position, he was only seeing a light show and he couldn't distinguish between the two vague humanoid blobs clashing down below. "It's taking Dong a while to cut off the head of the snake…"
Things would have been easy after the troops of the Demon King were demoralized with the aforementioned Demon King being defeated. Either they'd dissolve and Korvus wouldn't have to deal with them, or they'd try and siege the castle down in a futile attempt. There was no way that a bunch of headless savages had the ability to bring down the walls of civilization, so Korvus wasn't worried about potentially being sieged down.
All he needed to do was wait for Dong to come back with the good news.
An important clarification since a few people have talked about it:
John Brown isn't OP now. He has used up all his 60-years of cultivated qi to defend against Dong, and it'd take him another 60 years to gather such strength again. He's back to being a regular old man as of the end of Dong.
An important clarification since a few people have talked about it:
John Brown isn't OP now. He has used up all his 60-years of cultivated qi to defend against Dong, and it'd take him another 60 years to gather such strength again. He's back to being a regular old man as of the end of Dong.
I was hoping he'd get into it and develop a form of magic to be competitive. But it's your story. You want Brown to be brains over brawn fine, but if belief in God grants power it's only fair Brown gets cleric power too.
Then Brown took out something from his pockets and threw it towards Dong.
Soap? This was the last thing Dong thought before his head collided with a bar of soap in the air. He had expected a projectile to fly towards him, not for him to fly towards a projectile.
John Brown isn't OP now. He has used up all his 60-years of cultivated qi to defend against Dong, and it'd take him another 60 years to gather such strength again. He's back to being a regular old man as of the end of Dong.
...Hmm. I'm skeptical about whether that's factual, or you playing with us.
Oh, I don't think he's OP, or that he'll be pulling those sorts of feats again soon... but not necessarily because he's used up all that power. If someone with so much less devotion and work of faith can acquire more, more quickly, why should this one fight have fully exhausted John Brown's power? I suspect, rather, that he won't be pulling that again soon because he won't be needing that again soon. As I understand it, his belief system, the bedrock foundation of that power, holds that miracles will not occur to solve his every little problem -- no, the good work before him requires that he work. And yet, when faced with an enemy wielding powers such as this, when only a miracle could have saved him -- then did his faith grant him power, just enough, to bring victory within reach if he continued to fight the good fight with determination and cleverness. The foe defeated, the power faded... but if it should ever be truly needed again, I suspect it may not take anywhere near six decades to recharge.
It's not the 63rd of Summer 5859 anymore, it's the 64th of Summer 5859
The walls of Casamonu, Casamonu
Things weren't looking so brightly for Sir Corvus. He had gone to sleep last night hoping that the situation would get brighter, but the only thing to brighten had been the sky and nothing else.
There were no Dongs in open sight, no cultivators who'd save him, only the siege camp which had surrounded the walls and blocked an easy escape for Sir Corvus. He was about to curse the fool who had made the decision to mount a defense, before he realized that he was about to curse himself. Not wanting to curse himself any further, he saved his curses for the Demon King, that damnable commander of savages. Staring down from the walls, he saw the savages down below who looked no different from ants. Oh, how he would love to crush them…
Sir Corvus had, of course, been busy with things other than fantasizing about crushing his enemies while standing atop a wall. While he didn't think that the savages mounting a successful siege was possible, he also wanted to be ready for any surprises like the one which had happened yesterday. He had commanded his troops to position what few cannons he had around the walls and fill them with shrapnel in case the savages tried to go over the walls. Casamonu didn't have much gunpowder in storage, nor could they get more when they were surrounded by enemies, so those cannons would only fire if the enemy got close enough to secure a hit. The garrison was marching 24/7 to make sure that nobody could even get close to the walls without being pelted with arrows until they were buried six feet under.
Corvus had also considered arming a militia composed of the citizens of the town, but then the concept of arming the common people made him a bit too scared to even think further about trying it out. He did still plan on looting the town of everything valuable when he left, and doing that would be hard with an armed population to resist him. For now, he was content with letting himself be seen as the last line of defense before the savage forces of the Demon King, nay, he was the last line of defense before the savage forces of the Demon King. As his noble blood demanded he'd defend the people of this town, and then leave after taking his just due. The ever-so noble Sir Corvus had already made all the justifications he needed to make himself feel good about being a glorified bandit. Perhaps, in another world, he would have become on Olympic-level mental gymnast.
With the ants below scurrying to conduct their pitiful siege, Corvus couldn't help but feel relieved and let out a boisterous laugh. "Ha! What was I worrying about?" What were these savages going to do, run up the walls and enter the city from above?
Suddenly, a BANG, and the earth below shook along with the heavens above. Corvus almost fell butt-first on to the ground. He looked below from his high walls, to where the explosion had come from. There was a newly-formed smoking crater down below. Was it some sort of magic summoned by the Demon King? He looked intently at the colony of ants down below. Where was the magic coming from?
All Corvus saw was a black blur pass above his head before he heard another explosion right above his head. This one grounded him and everyone around him as shrapnel whizzed past or into them. Corvus had gotten lucky and his helmet had blocked a broken shard of clay from shattering his cranium. A poor soldier right next to him hadn't been so lucky, and his brain wasn't functioning at all anymore. Those who had been injured were crying out in pain.
It was pure cacophony, one which Corvus had to quickly retreat from back to security. He crawled on the ground with his ears ringing, swearing to crush the dirty ants below him who had forced him to such an embarrassing position.
64th of Summer 5859
Below the walls of Casamonu, Casamonu
Ayomide squinted her eyes, trying to get a good view of the explosion which was very far away from her. She, and the others around her, only saw a distant brief fiery explosion followed by a cloud of thick gray smoke above the walls. It was so far away that she couldn't hear the explosion. "…did that even do anything?"
Brown nodded with satisfaction at the results of their artillery test. "I can assure you that they aren't too happy about the fireworks show that we are putting on, young lady. Load up another round, gentlemen!"
There was a veritable artillery crew around a copper tube which looked far from a proper piece. The tube was affixed on top of a few bags of grain held steady by planks. A few of the more muscle-laden soldiers had been tasked with repositioning the artillery every time it fired, and Rabanowicz was in charge of mentally doing ballistic calculations to make sure that they were positioning everything correctly. Watanabe was right next to her, drawing calculations on the earth with a stick to verify Rabanowicz's mental math.
However, theory and math enough were far from being enough to fire this cannon, or any other cannon for that matter. Bilal had sent a team of skilled kiln workers along with the cannon delivery to set up a kiln. Brown had originally requested cannonballs to be made at Libertycave, but Bilal had decided that it'd be far better to set up a simple kiln in the camp itself to make the cannonballs. The cannonballs in question were clay balls packed with pebbles, metal scrap, and anything else which would potentially hurt a person. Inside them were also a whole load of gunpowder, courtesy of the smugglers which had left the gunpowder in an unmarked location near Casamonu for them, and a fuse (hemp rope doused in oil) sticking out ready to be lit.
A soldier rolled a newly-baked cannonball into the copper tube. It rolled down the tube, eventually seating itself with a loud thunk at the bottom. Rabanowicz ordered some last-minute adjustments to the angle and position of the cannon before it was ready for fire. Firing the cannon was relatively easy: Ayomide first shone a concentrated beam of light to light the fuse and then, before the cannon exploded in their faces, she cast a very strong gust of wind right inside the cannon itself. The compressed air, stuck between the walls of the cannon and the cannonball, pushed the cannonball with great force that launched the cannonball fast enough to reach the walls. There was another flash of light and more smoke as the cannonball hit the wall directly this time. Unfortunately, the damage great enough to immediately bring down the walls, gunpowder as an explosive wasn't too strong and the clay cannonball itself wasn't hard or fast enough to do much damage, but the explosion by itself was enough to demoralize the garrison up above the weakening walls.
"We need it a bit down, to damage the foundations of the wall. Also, the explosion is too early, we need it to explode right next to the wall. Get a longer fuse." commented Rabinowicz, watching the explosion do its thing. Immediately the cannon was lowered and a longer fuse was attached to the cannonball. This was far from an exact science, with the cannon being wildly inaccurate and the fuses varying wildly in how fast they burned. Sometimes it was too early, sometimes it was too high, sometimes the fuse refused to light up.
Still, it was much better than having no cannon at all no matter how odd the cannon was compared to its contemporaries. Almost all cannons in Gemeinplatz would propel a cannonball through the explosion of gunpowder and break down walls with sheer kinetic force from the speeding hunk of metal or stone. However, the League didn't have enough bronze or iron to cast any cannons capable of handling an explosion inside its chambers. Therefore, they were using wind magic to propel a lighter projectile with explosives inside it to try and get a similar effect to a conventional cannon. It wasn't proving to be as effective, but the walls would have to come down eventually once they were pounded on enough. Probably. Hopefully.
The artillery crew loaded another cannonball into the Libertycave cannon, and the people on the wall got ready for another explosion. This was going to be a long siege.
Heh, air cannon. How thick are Casamonu's walls though? I would not expect a largely-uncontained gunpowder explosion outside the walls to do much damage to thick stone. Some chips of course, but not enough to dig through it with the limited gunpowder supplies smugglers can bring. That erzats shrapnel shell is more of an anti-infantry weapon.
Unfortunately, the damage was not great enough to immediately bring down the walls, gunpowder as an explosive wasn't too strong and the clay cannonball itself wasn't hard or fast enough to do much damage, but the explosion by itself was enough to demoralize the garrison up above the weakening walls.
65th of Summer 5859
The walls of Casamonu, Casamonu
It was a hellish night, especially for those guarding the walls of Casamonu. Their day had been ruined by one simple thing:
BOOM! Crackle…
A group of noisy neighbors had arrived to pound their walls in quite the rude manner. What's worse, quite unlike a noisy neighbor's kid making noise, the League had grown large enough to be a danger to their livelihood. Plus, the neighbor's kids usually didn't have an explosive cannon manned by a revolutionary catgirl wizard capable of bringing down castle walls.
Without the HOA anywhere in sight, the defenders on the walls had to deal with their neighbors by their lonesome. Sir Corvus had ordered the cannons of the city to shoot at the one cannon down below, but with a lack of experienced artillery crew, his artillery only managed to pound the earth around the cannon. Soon he had found himself out of gunpowder, and that was that for their cannons. Now they stood idle like the useless bronze tubes they were.
All that Corvus could do, and what he was doing right now, was ordering his men around to make sure that they were plugging the walls. Every mason in Casamonu had been drafted to reinforce the side of the walls which were being pounded by the cannon. Such a draft was justified in the face of this aggression shown to them by the Demon King outside of the walls. It was a heroic effort in their eyes, suitable for those who were living to see the avatar of evil in the flesh attack their city. A line of clergymen lined up next to the hardworking masons, quoting scripture at them for motivation while doing no physical work themselves. Corvus himself joined the clergymen in doing no real work; a lord such as Corvus would never stoop so low to touch a bucket of mortar.
BOOM! Crackle…
Another section of the wall was hit, and pebbles along with dust flew of the wall and flew into the faces and mouths of the masons. There was a bout of coughing and swearing while the old stone masons tried to reorient themselves after the explosion. The section that they had been repairing had gotten hit again. Normally having to work on fixing the same thing again would have been mildly annoying, but it was more of a life-and-death situation than annoying for those on the walls.
BOOM! Crackle…
With their adversaries down below getting better and better at aiming, the explosions had gotten even more accurate and frequent. The same section had been hit again. The masons got to work to try and plug the cracks forming in the wall before it'd completely collapse.
BOOM!
This time, the explosion was right above their heads. A couple of the masons and the soldiers overwatching them were wounded from the shrapnel. The wall was yet to be patched up. As the cannons were loaded back up again, the masons saw that the wall wouldn't survive another round. They ignored the soldiers surrounding them and ran for it, running away from the weakened section.
BOOM!Crackle!
From a solitary old man in a cave, to a dozen fugitives, to a force numbered with three digits…
Brown and his men had gotten far in their march on, far enough to breach the walls of an actual castle.
65th of Summer 5859
Below the walls of Casamonu, Casamonu
Ayomide was feeling sleepy. Also bored. She was bored after having had to stand right next to this abominable copper tube without doing anything but cast wind magic. Everyone around her had stopped talking after having stood in the same spot with her for the last day. The excitement of battle had been, as is usually the case, replaced with sheer boredom as the siege dragged on to its second day.
"How are you faring, Lady Orange? Are the accommodations suitable around here for your royal tastes?" Here he was, to at least relieve her of some boredom. Shinasi dropped by the cannon after having finished patrolling the place and making sure that nobody inside Casamonu was trying to get out.
"It's not as good as my royal seat covered with purple satin attended by my team of a hundred servants, but it'll have to do." Ayomide yawned after having launched another cannonball. "Somebody should get me a chair to sit on, at least."
"Ayomide, we don't have any chairs in the entire camp." Such luxuries were far away from a makeshift siege camp "I haven't found any chairs in the wild either, so we're out of luck."
"Yeah, yeah." Yet another round was launched by Ayomide. They had been stockpiling cannonballs whenever her magic power ran out, and they had lots in the stockpile to quickly load into the cannon. "We'll get to sit all we want when we siege this place down. Who knows, you might even find yourself an actual seat covered by purple satin?"
"If I find such a good seat, I'm firmly planting my butt on it and never moving it again." replied Ayomide. The march, the scuffle in the village, she already had enough action to last her for the rest of her life despite her being only at the start of the battle against slavery. She'd have retired already if not for… well, Ayomide didn't exactly know it at herself at that moment.
"I'll make sure to shop for a good satin seat when we're in town, then. Hopefully the shopkeepers will be a bit more responsive to us in our second visit."
"I have the slightest suspicion that they'll have to be a bit more responsive to us."
Ayomide launched another cannonball, which cut their conversation in half. Following the great ball of smoke from the exploding cannonball was another greater ball of grey smoke as a wide section of the wall gave up on standing and crumbled down. There was a rumble which reached even the ears of the siege camp. After that, silence. The wall was rubble, and the rubble wasn't a wall.
Through the breached wall, Ayomide could see the city itself. Or, she could see the rooves of the building from this far away at least.
65th of Summer 5859
Casamonu, City of Casamonu
Sir Corvus had, after having built up the courage to go up on the walls, almost been crushed under the rubble of the collapsing wall. His fine fur cape was now dirtied by dust, and his mood had been sullied by his new neighbors.
"Sir! Sir, are you fine?" A retainer ran to Corvus, helping him get up.
"I'm not! I'm not…" He looked at the breach. It was big, but… "They can't defeat us if we continue to defend in the city. Get the men to calm down and go back to their positions!"
The retainer responded with a salute "Yes, sir! Anything else?"
"We must make sure that they don't dare enter this breach. Station all available garrison members to around here, and make sure that the masons are here as soon as possible to repair this mess! That's all, now get out!"
"Understood, sir!" The retainer made a run for it, leaving Sir Corvus alone. An urban area, walls or not, was a defensible position to have. The savages below, with their copper spears and helmets, couldn't possibly win if they tried to assault the city itself. The cramped streets of a city made for excellent chokepoints which he'd use to choke the fugitives if they tried to enter the city. Hence, as long as Sir Corvus' men weren't forced out of the walls due to running out of food or water, they could defend this place indefinitely. Most luckily for Sir Corvus, he had already made quite the stockpile of food with all the raids he had conducted in the rural areas of Casamonu. He estimated that they could last for half a year, and by then reinforcements from the Empire would surely come to relieve his forces.
Sir Corvus would be fine as long as his food stocks were fine.
65th of Summer 5859
Below the walls of Casamonu, Casamonu
A black, starry blanket had covered the entirety of Gemeinplatz. Under it was many things, from sleeping wild animals to awake "civilized" animals who were going about their illicit nighttime business.
Among these civilized animals was a human named Ayda, the head of an extensive smuggling ring in Casamonu and former love interest of some insignificant bloke named Shinasi. She was travelling in the middle of a forest, reached by the underground tunnel system that Brown and co. had passed before to smuggle textiles, all by herself in a move that even she found to be irrational. She had passed this place countless times before, so she had no problem navigating the trees by intuition. She went a bit north, then a lot west, before turning three times and walking ten steps forth to find herself out of the woods and into a path leading to Casamonu.
The full moon shined on Ayda, so bright was it that she felt like she was on the moon itself. She saw her surroundings somewhat clearly, as grey and pale as her surroundings were under the moonlight. What wasn't grey and pale were the campfires lit up by soldiers keeping watch for any intruders like her. It was odd to see such a large group of armed fugitives, but Ayda wasn't going to complain about those giving her extra business. She casually walked up to the soldiers, waving at them like she was walking into her own house. The soldiers, just doing their job with nothing personal, raised their spears up and got ready for their encounter with the strange woman who had come out of the dark. Her dark robes and fashionable leather gear didn't help her look less suspicious.
"Stop right there witch, or whatever you are!"
Just as she was about to open her mouth to explain the purpose of her visit, Ayda had to turn around and raise her arm. Behind her was an even shadier lady in dark robes, who had a knife wielded by her arm which had just been blocked by Ayda. "Good going, you just about got me."
"I wasn't trying to get you. I just wanted a closer look." replied the other lady in black, who had withdrawn her arm along with the knife.
"Do you usually take a closer look at people with a knife on your hand?"
"I don't have a knife in my hand right now."
"You just did- whatever." Ayda sighed and gave up on the futile argument. "I was called here by your boss."
"Yes, we, and I, were looking for you. I assume you're the correct person. I don't think there's anyone bold enough to walk into a military camp without permission." Kyauta had clearly not heard of what spies did.
"You'd be surprised at what people get up to for the right money."
"You'd be surprised at what some people have to get up to for no money. Follow me."
Ayda expected way more security for such a location of a military nature, but she was allowed to walk behind Kyauta without anyone else guarding her. Not that they needed to send anyone to guard and watch over her – the soldiers in the camp were closely watching the stranger who wore even stranger clothing. Walking through the camp, watching the armed fugitives, Ayda wondered what state the world had come to. She had been bombarded with clergymen in the streets rallying people in defense of the town against the Demon King, and then she had been bombarded with actual cannonballs as the walls of Gemeinplatz met Ayomide. She couldn't help but believe that someone capable of leading an army of fugitives against a walled city must be the Demon King of legend, and she was right in the middle of his lair.
After a brisk walk, Ayda found herself entering a modest tent. Far from the lair of a demonic entity, the tent was… to put it clearly, the inside of the tent looked like how she'd expect the inside of a tent to be. A bedroll on the side, a bag or two on another side, and nothing else but the earth beneath and the tent above to protect one from the elements. In the middle was an old man who looked nothing special except for his magnificent white beard. "Welcome, Miss Ayda was it?"
"Yes, top of the night to you." She sat on the floor, finding herself alone save for the old man right in front of her. He seemed to be judging her with his eyes, though his gaze didn't bore deep enough to actually read her mind through magical shenanigans. Aya stared back at the old man, pondering in the silence as to when the Demon King would show up. Sure, she had seen the old man before come to her, but such an old timer would definitely just be an underling and not the embodiment of all that is doom and gloom.
Brown ended the uncomfortable bout of silence with a cough. "…and I am Isaac Smith or, as the people here know me and you should refer to me from now on, John Brown. Glad to meet you again, you have been a great help to us."
Ayda looked around her again, making sure that she wasn't being fooled somehow. "…I was called here to meet your boss. Is he busy right now?"
Brown raised his brow, confused. "I'm the Commander-in-Chief of the League, though I definitely wouldn't call myself 'the boss'. The only one above us here is the good Lord above."
Ayda looked above, only seeing the walls of the tent again. Perhaps they preferred the title "Demon Lord" rather than "Demon King". "Then I want to see your lord as soon as possible."
"Miss Ayda, we'll all get to see Him eventually. No need to rush when you're so young." Sensing the point of the conversation float away from where it should be, Brown paused his evangelizing for a second. "I was the one who called you here, to ask for your help."
The old man did look to be some sort of right-hand man to the Demon King (Demon Lord?), so Ayda stopped trying to search for the big bad evil guy and get on with business. "Alright then. What do you need help for? More gunpowder? More textiles? More of anything? The only thing we can't find is food right now, the big git at the top has been rationing it pretty strictly."
"No, we have no need of any more physical goods for now. The opposite in fact – we need to have fewer physical goods in the hands of the count. Your last point is of particular interest. How is the food situation in Casamonu?"
"The men of Corvus have been selling food at a very high price. He practically has the market cornered, the clever bastard. You can see huge lines forming in front of the castle walls every day."
"So, all the food in town is stored in one location?" Brown raised his brow so high that his forehead disappeared amongst a sea of wrinkles.
"Yes, but they have… Well, I'm not your scout now, am I?" Ayda simply shrugged, and then extended an open palm forward. "A little donation, if you would be so kind."
"Greed is a horrible sin, Miss Ayda, and I pray that the Lord cures you of it, but I'll humor you and give you a great deal." He pretended to take out a pouch of money from his pockets, only to take out a folded piece of paper and leave it on Ayda's hands. She unfolded the paper expecting it to be a cheque or something else of a monetary nature, only to find some sort of contract written and signed by Commander-in-Chief John Brown.
Without waiting for Ayda to read it in full, Brown began laying the basics of his proposal through speech. "Simply put, Miss Ayda, we'll need a bit of help from enterprising individuals like you in the future. For now, you're considered a criminal from violating the laws of the Empire and the country, but we'll give you a pardon and funding to conduct your business legally. The League won't enact mercantile laws as strict as the Empire's, so you should be able to thrive without having to hide behind the backstreets."
Ayda took a pause. A very long pause, going over every word on the written contract. It was dangerous to make contracts with devilish influences like that of the Demon King, but she couldn't find anything unexpected in the text. She would be pardoned of all the times she broke the mercantile laws of Casamonu, receive funding for the production of gunpowder and facilitating trade into the League, and be given a certain amount of land to be appropriated from soon-to-be-isekai'd nobility. From her perspective, this seemed like an excellent deal as long as she helped the fugitives into the city. She understood this to be Brown's goal: she wouldn't be able to receive anything from the deal unless she threw Casamonu into the hands of the Demon King. It was truly a deal with the devil. Ayda wasn't the type to turn seedy deals down, but even this seemed too far for her. "This is the oddest deal I've ever received in my life."
"In which way, if I may ask? I think it's a pretty simple one."
"It's odd in that… well, you deal with fugitive slaves, you deal with demi-humans, and now you deal with some smuggler as if she were a respectable burgher." Ayda removed her eyepatch, revealing a closed eyelid behind which no eyeball stood. "I haven't a shred nor have ever had a shred of nobility or respectability Mister Brown – I lost this eye in my youth in the slums where my late mother had born me as the bastard. My father is a nameless slave whose name I don't know. I don't know where you come from, but you look to be a well-bred man, perhaps an otherworlder, the type to never deal with fugitives or bastards."
"Is that the problem?" This was definitely not the first time that Brown was receiving such a question. He had a simple answer. "I would rather have the small-pox, yellow fever and cholera all together in my camp, than a man without principles. Noble blood doesn't make up for principles, neither does ignoble blood mean a lack of principle. Far from it – I have seen that men of highest stature tend to also be men of lowest principle. In the eyes of Omnipotence all men are made equal; in my eyes, a shrewd woman like you who has conducted fair business with us is worth way more than any emperor."
Worth more than an emperor? These words had left Ayda shocked. Brown would have been drawn and quartered for having uttered the first letter of such a sentence. She was on the guard for flat flattery, but she could feel clearly that Brown was genuine in his speech.
Brown continued. "It's a mistake, madame, that people make, when they think that bullies are the best fighters. Give me men of good principles, God-fearing men, men who respect themselves, and with a dozen of them I will oppose any hundreds of such men as the ruffians hiding behind that castle."
Having felt that he evangelized enough, Brown procured a thin piece of charcoal for Ayda to write her signature with. Soon enough, she had signed the agreement, and less sooner but soon enough nonetheless, the League was cooking plans to infiltrate the castle thanks to Ayda's intel. Hello, you may be wondering why this week's chapter has released early. It's because today is a special day, and I wanted to celebrate with an early chapter:
Today is the day that Touhou Renkyouto ~ Subterranean Festival of Love and Jealousy releases on Steam. It's a top-down bullet-hell shooter, and after a year of work, hopefully it's been worth the wait. If you're interested in the game (or supporting me), feel free to check its page on Steam. I'd be very happy to receive your support
Dangerous, reaching out to Aida. Seems Brown judged her well and she can be trusted to help against the lords of Casamonu, but smugglers are often folks not ready to comply with any law, even just ones. Should news get out, I imagine Brown will have less trustworthy 'allies' reaching out in the future.
Depends. Is the person a mob boss wannabee or just a business woman. Mobsters usually have non profit motivation to break rules. Corporate Monopolists and Tycoons follow the laws just fine. Namely because the laws make them rich...
Casamonu Castle: a grand and somewhat new castle, established several millennia after the Empire of Gemeinplatz had been born. The castle overlooks Casamonu itself alongside the ruins of all the Casamonus before it which paint the environment in various shades of gray with rubble. For the last week, the castle had been housing the ever-important supplies of grain and other non-perishables required for Casamonu to survive the siege. Such an important castle requires excellent protection, and excellent protection requires experienced guards.
Unfortunately, experienced guards require money. Money that Sir Korvus definitely couldn't afford to spare for some men to stand around all day checking a gate.
"So, what're you doing this weekend?" asked Billy (whole real name was still Bilaleddin), who had survived many a political chaos and gotten himself reassigned to protect the castle of the count. Such a prestigious job meant that he had finally managed to afford himself a tabard to cover his gambeson filled with unfixed holes.
"…don't you have anything else to talk about?" replied Bob (who real name had been Boron until he had gone to court last week and legally changed his name to be Bob), who too had survived many a political chaos and found himself stuck with the idiot right next to him. He too had managed to save up to buy a tabard, and the tabard had made him look professional enough to be assigned right next to the castle gates.
"Not really. There hasn't been anything to do due to those bloody savages." Billy scoffed with such derision that one wouldn't be mistaken to think that he could bring down a whole sieging army down just with pure scorn.
"Right, everywhere is boarded up… even the nunnery!"
"The nunnery? My wife and I were planning to visit them to bless our marriage this weekend, are they not accepting visitors?" Billy had become visibly disappointed in not being able to get himself blessed as soon as possible.
Bob hadn't meant the sacred sort of nunnery, but he kept his cool. "…is the nunnery an appropriate place to bless one's marriage? Isn't that usually done in a temple?"
Billy shrugged. "When I showed my old man the girl I wanted to marry with, all he said was 'leave her at the nunnery', so I'm doing just that."
Bob gave up on trying to dig into Billy's family and instead turned forward to dig into the night. It was completely dark as the new moon was hidden behind a menagerie of clouds. The only thing lighting them were the lanterns they were generously given by the castle's owner. Everyone was asleep, so it was all quiet save for Billy's yappings. So quiet in fact, that Bob preferred to speak to Billy more instead of getting bored out here all alone. Bob was searching for some conversation topic to open to his comrade just before he heard faint footsteps approaching the door. "Halt! Who goes there?"
"Me goesh 'eer!" The reply came from a man who sounded most chemically inconvenienced. "Where thish?"
Bob sighed, even though he was happy to get some action. The drunk man approached them close enough for his spiky, disheveled black hair to be visible. His gambeson and a shield haphazardly attached to his back suggested that he was an adventurer of some sort. "Great, it's a drunk. Billy, do you know how to deal with them?"
"No, Bob."
"I'll show you then." Bob flipped his spear to have the blunt side facing the drunk man approaching him with bottle in hand. He then swiftly prodded at the man's stomach with the spear's shaft, pushing him away and making him lose breath.
The drunk man quickly retreated after having been defeated with this expert show of arms, though he apparently forgot his bottle on the ground. Bob took the bottle into his hand, realizing with a smile that it was still sealed with an unopened cork. "This looks like some good stuff." He opened the bottle with his bare hands like an uncivilized barbarian and had a sip for taste-testing. Then he almost spat it back out due to how strong it was.
"That's no fair, give me my share as well!" Billy received his own sip, then Bob another, until the bottle had reached its bottom and there was nothing else to drink. Boredom had made being blackout drunk seem very appealing to them.
It was not like anyone would dare infiltrate the castle of all places.
66th of Summer 5859
Casamonu Castle, Casamonu
"Snore…"
It was morning.
"Zzz…"
Bob and Billy were still fast asleep.
"Yawn…" CRACKLE! "What the hell?!"
A burnt piece of wood had fallen right next to Billy. He jumped up, and turned around to see… "The granary… Bob, the damn granary!"
"Hm? What are you screaming bloody murder?" Bob slowly opened his eyes, though he could barely see anything with how hammered he was. He turned his head to where Billy was pointing to see… "The granary!" Or, to give a more accurate description, he turned around to see not the granary, but a burnt patch of land and rubble in the place where the granary behind the walls once was. There was a smell of burnt bread in the air, possibly from the wheat which had turned into ash alongside the building.
"So… w-what do we do?" asked Billy. His hands were shaky, both from being hammered and from having doomed an entire city with said hammering.
Bob gave an answer to Billy by dashing away from the castle before anyone could come to see their cockup. Billy joined him in the dash, running as far away from the castle as possible.
66th of Summer 5859
Some inconspicuous forest near Casamonu, Casamonu
Shinasi raised his arms up, praising the sun finally brightening him up. "Phew, I hate these tunnels. They're dark, irritating, damp…"
The tunnel guides provided by Ayda had already gone back to the tunnels, leaving Shinasi alone with Ayomide whose ability to see in the dark had helped them greatly, and Kyauta who had helped them with being sneaky. He took in the fresh air, so unlike the oppressive air found in the underground tunnel system of Ayda. Fresh air, one of the only truly free things in this world, seemed most precious when he had been deprived of it for a measly couple minutes.
"Then, let's get away from these tunnels as fast as we can." Ayomide raised her crystal up and lit up the surroundings for her comrades.
Shinasi looked back at the exit of the tunnel, sighing. He was carrying an empty bottle. "Shame about the bottle of rectified spirits, the guards ended up drinking it all… I'm surprised they were able to wake up afterwards."
Kyauta pushed Shinasi forward towards the outside of the forest. "Are you really thinking about that right now?!"
"He did a good job Kyauta, don't be too harsh on the man." Ayomide took Shinasi by the hand to lead him. "Especially his drunken act. I was actually concerned for a second when I saw him limp like that…"
Kyauta shrugged. "Fine, whatever you say."
Ayomide and co. made their way out of the forest, unaware of the fact that they had set fire to something more than the granary.
Well, that will speed up the siege alright. But Brown and co will definitely need to figure out a way to restock grain supplies after this or their relation with the people will be tenuous. Also, I hope that once this city is secure than the crew will have an opportunity to finally start trying to manufacture gunpowder weapons.
"He did a good job Kyauta, don't be too harsh on the man." Ayomide took Shinasi by the hand to lead him. "Especially his drunken act. I was actually concerned for a second when I saw him limp like that…"
Well, that will speed up the siege alright. But Brown and co will definitely need to figure out a way to restock grain supplies after this or their relation with the people will be tenuous.
Agriculture in general seems tenuous, I don't think the exact system of agricultural slavery has been specified, so all we know is that slave plantations are being ransacked as well as general problems with agriculture due to aristocratic conflict. The only advantages I can think of is the seizing of noble horses for agricultural work, as well as diet improvements due to the meat consumption of the aristocrats being reduced, leading to livestock products being available to the lower classes.
