Chapter 42: A New Hope
Numerous men filled the grand halls of the Benician Citadel.
Whether they were knights and barons or dukes and marquises, all manner of nobles gathered within these halls as long as they held a notable amount of power.
Not only were there a wide variety of nobles belonging to different ranks but they also hailed from various nations.
Whether it be the Panish Empire, the Fench Empire, the Kingdom of Ostria, or any other major or minor nation.
As long as it was a predominantly katholic nation, there was at least one noble representing it within these great halls.
Although they were nobles of different ranks from different corners of the continent, they all gathered here for the same single reason.
And that was to discuss the growing threat of the protestent nations to the north.
Before, the only real protestent threat was the Unified Kingdoms of Great Breeton, but the sudden advent of an enigmatic yet powerful nation; the Imperium of Drussia has severely threatened the hold of katholism in the mainland continent.
protestent Shweden was mostly contained to the northeast due to constant conflicts within the Boltic Seas while protestant Breeton was kept isolated on their own islands. As such, katholic interests were mostly protected, with only the Eslamic Turkman Empire being a real threat to the southeast.
However, that is no longer the case ever since the establishment of the Imperium of Drussia.
If the rumours were to be believed, then the emperor of Drussia; Maxwell Dunnwal apparently didn't even care about religious conflicts or religion for that matter, so long as he can use it as a casus belli in order to declare war without being shunned by the international community.
In order to combat this growing threat, the Pope of the katholic faith; Pope Abraham has since called a council in Benice which consisted of katholic nobles hailing from each katholic nation within the Eurrelpeon continent.
Among these nobles was a single woman.
Although it was rare to see a noble lady attending these kind of councils, her noble ranking transcended even that of the dukes within these halls.
And that was because she was not just nobility, but in reality she was royalty.
She was a princess.
In particular she was the first and only princess of Porrand, making her the irrefutable heir to the throne; Princess Stefanie Geinen Naftes.
However, despite her royal status, Stefanie has not enjoyed the luxuries of being a royal-born for the past few weeks.
Not since the devastating defeat of the Porrish to the Drussians at the Drussian-Porrish border.
The entire army led by her father, King Stefan was entirely decimated.
Although Stefanie tried her best to dissuade her father of attempting such a brash and reckless strategy, all of her attempts were for naught. In the end, all she she could do was watch her father triumphantly march off to his doom.
To ensure that the battle would be as 'clean and effective' as possible, the army that her father lead consisted only of 60,000 of the most elite cavalrymen within the kingdom of Porrand. There were no ranged crossbow or musketmen nor were there any footmen or pikemen.
Apparently, these additions to any contemporary army would have only 'unnecessarily strained' the Porrish army's supplies according to her father.
As such, the remaining thousands of capable infantry were left to garrison the western forts in the event that her father were to fail.
While Stefanie was sure that these forts would still inevitably fall to the Drussians, it would have at least bought her time in order to muster an army large enough to at least have one last stand in the Porrish capital.
Or at least that was what Stefanie hoped would happen.
Everyone, including Stefanie expected the Drussians to lay siege to the western forts in order to at least preserve the infrastructure for when the Drussians eventually annex the Porrish territories.
However, to everyone's surprise, for each fort that happened to bar their way, the Drussians only lined up their assortment of artillery before proceeding to raze said forts to the ground.
After the first few forts were completely obliterated, Stefanie with her closest aids and advisors chose to temporarily abandon Porrand with around roughly 10,000 capable soldiers until another opportunity to strike back at the Drussians arises.
As much as it made Stefanie's heart ache, she had to abandon her beloved nation if it meant securing the future of her peoples.
However, when Stefanie finally departed the city, a miracle happened.
Coincidently, the same day that they were ready to flee the capital was the same day that the katholic Pope called for a council in Benice.
Other than attending the council, Stefanie's next best option was to hide away in some border nation and bide her time, a possibility that Stefanie ruled out long ago.
This was her one and only chance to gain support she so sorely needed within an instant.
There was no way she could give up the opportunity to quickly return to her homeland.
However, Stefanie discovered yet another miracle when she personally met with Pope Abraham before the actual council has started.
To her pleasant surprise, Abraham's motives for hosting another council happened to somewhat coincide with Stefanie's reason for attending.
After a quick discussion with Abraham before the council officially began, they quickly realised that they both had a common enemy.
The Imperium of Drussia.
It didn't take long for the two to reach an agreement after Stefanie revealed her current circumstances to the pope.
Although, it quickly became obvious to Stefanie that the pope only really saw her as a pawn, she no longer cared about such trivial details.
The quicker she can return to Porrand with an army, the better. To Stefanie, it no longer mattered what sort of humiliating sacrifices she had to make if it meant the realisation of her goals.
Amongst the chattering nobles, Stefanie could only wait in silence for the moment she was awaiting for.
Finally, after a long period of waiting that moment has arrived.
Flanked by two deacons, pope Abraham walked out onto the stand before proceeding to raise his open palm, beckoning the crowds to quieten down.
"My fellow adherents of the katholic faith... I call you all here now to discuss a matter of grave importance... the Imperium of Drussia."
As Abraham began his speech, Stefanie couldn't help gritting her teeth together in anger when she heard that detestable nation's name.
"Today, the katholic church will make it officially known their stance on the nation of Drussia... by calling fourth a new crusade! Not another crusade to the lands far to the southeast but to the lands close to our borders to our north! For our future; the future of Kristandom is on the line!"
As he said this, the room was quickly consumed by noise as the nobles failed to stop themselves from conversing with one another before it was once again quickly silenced by the pope's raised open palms.
"Make no mistake. The protestent Drussians could mean the end of us all if we don't exterminate the threat immediately..."
Abraham paused for a moment before turning his eyes to Stefanie as he concluded his speech.
"If you require more proof... then look no further than a recent victim of their actions... Princess Stefanie Geinen Naftes."
A serious of shocked gasps filled the halls as all eyes turned their attention to Stefanie before the hallway was filled with silence.
After taking a deep breath, Stefanie broke the silence with just the right tone of voice.
"60,000 men. That was how many men participated in the battle to repel the Drussian invaders... 60,000 of the best cavalrymen that Porrand has ever seen... Would anyone care to guess how many of those men returned to their families after the battle?"
As she expected, Stefanie received no answer except silence to her question.
"Not. A. Single. One. And now the Drussians are 'frolicking' in the soils of my beloved homeland... who know's what sorts of appalling atrocities they may have already committed on my peoples while I'm absent from my nation."
Unbeknownst to Stefanie, her fingernails have already dug deep into the palms of her hands as she gripped her hands into a fist due to sheer anger. She has already gotten way too ahead of herself to realise her own bleeding hands.
"Yes, it may seem that I have abandoned my kingdom to those demons but you must understand that I have done that in the hope of my kingdom's future. Everything I have done and will do, will always be for the greater good of Porand. That is why I beg you..."
Stefanie put more and more emotion into her voice as she spoke, ensuring that everyone present understood the pain she was suffering.
"Please pledge your support into the Drussian crusade. Pledge your support, so that in the future, no one here will be forced to go through same the pain and anguish and sacrifices that I had to endure for the sake of their own Kingdom."
Subconsciously, Stefanie started to raise her voice, gradually becoming louder and louder as time passed on.
"Please pledge your support! So that we can wipe this scum of the face of the earth! Pledge your support to destroy the Imperium of Drussia!"
Stefanie found herself rapidly inhaling and exhaling once she concluded her speech.
Although she expected no response straight away, she was surprised to find a man already preparing to speak up.
He was an old man with greying red hair who wore a crown; he was a king.
It was the king of Ostria; King Varian Steiner IV.
"I have lost my last heir to those monsters... although Ostria is currently facing a time of turmoil, we are can still spare some men for your endeavours if it means the death of that... horrid emperor."
After giving a short sigh, Varian made his proclamation.
"I pledge 10,000... no 20,000 men to your crusade. May they be of use to you in your noble mission of liberating your homeland."
Soon, another noble, seemingly of Panish decent has also decided to speak up.
"We Paniards have lost many of our comrades against the Drussians and yet our king does nothing. We swear no fealty to a king who cannot bring us the justice we demand. "
With a mix of anger and resentment in her voice, the Paniard made her proclamation in a similar manner to Varian.
"We will not so half-heartedly commit a small fraction of our forces like our weak-willed king did. Instead we pledge 50,000 elite Panish troops. Although our predecessors may have failed against the Drussians before, we have since studied their tactics. We will not disappoint you."
Once the Panish woman quietened down, more nobles declared their choice to participate in the crusade.
"We pledge 17,000 men!"
"We pledge 8000 men!"
"We pledge 21,000 men!"
Overcome with joy, Stefanie didn't know what took over her body as she shouted aloud a single phrase.
"Deus vult!"
'God wills it.'
Although the halls was consumed with silence this did not stop Stefanie from shouting that same phrase once again.
But this time it was not alone.
"Deus vult!"
More and more people, nobles and clergymen alike joined in the chant as that same sentence was repeated over and over.
"Deus vult!"
"Deus vult!"
"Deus vult!"
Seeing this, Stefanie felt a slight smile grow on her face.
For a moment, Stefanie became deaf to the clamour within the halls as she thought to herself.
Although Stefanie has finally formed that army that she so desperately needed and sought, she was still uncertain of what the future may hold.
However, there was one thing she was certain of.
No matter what.
No matter the cost.
No matter the evils she must commit.
Vengeance will be hers.
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