I Became A Black Merchant In Another World
Chapter 427: War of Conquest of the New World (2)

When we arrived in the New World, Ulfric Ericsson, the actual leader of our Dong Indica Company, greeted me.

"Your Grace, welcome. This is the New World. Do you like it here?"

"Unlike the Toscani Empire or the Maasai Confederation, the forest is dense, and there are all kinds of strange fruit trees."

I said it was amazing, but I felt like I had seen all these fruits before.

The yellow fruit over there is a mango, the fruit with impressive blue leaves comes from the pineapple plant, and the fruit hanging from the palm tree is a coconut.

Even though I had never seen these fruits on the Albanian continent...

It felt right to pretend like I hadn't seen them before.

When Ericsson gestured, a local woman with brown skin brought me a plate of mangoes.

"This is the fruit we call mango here. When transported by ship, it spoils quickly, so it’s a fruit that can only be eaten locally. It's very sweet and delicious."

Mangoes, which I hadn't tasted in 13 years of possession.

Just like their appearance, they were so sweet that my head tingled a bit.

"They’re incredibly delicious. We should dry some and sell them later."

"If we dry them, they’ll last longer. I should have thought of that."

"It’s fine if you didn’t. By the way, do you think 20,000 elite soldiers will be enough to conquer the Sipha Empire?"

Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, those men, successfully conquered nations similar to the ones in the New World with just over a hundred men.

However, looking at the paths they took, it was possible only due to luck and a series of fortunate events.

War always brings far worse variables than I could ever anticipate.

Some generals have died while camping after being struck by meteors—if that’s happened, everything else is just as unpredictable.

'While you can’t prepare for everything, you should at least prepare as much as possible.'

"20,000 will be plenty. The people in this village are practically allies of the Dong Indica Company. So, if we make this our landing point and keep resupplying, we should be able to conquer the Sipha Empire that’s deeply rooted here."

"They don’t even have steel weapons, so it seems doable..."

It's like in any game where a primitive tribe, armed with just clubs, cannot possibly defeat knights in steel armor.

An armed soldier in full steel armor cannot be injured by primitive tribesmen wielding obsidian clubs.

No, even with just padded armor, it would be enough to defeat them.

'Still, I can’t be too careless...'

"Even if 20,000 soldiers can face the full force of the Sipha Empire, if we can't win the hearts of the local people, it’ll turn into a serious problem."

"Do you wish to stabilize the rear?"

Stabilizing the rear is a problem, and fully conquering this vast New World with just 20,000 soldiers is impossible.

Local collaborators are necessary.

"If we can't stabilize the rear, we can't conquer. Let me talk to the chief here."

"Understood."

**

"This is the chief of the tribe, Tupac Changa. I never imagined I would meet the strong one from across the sea, as Ulfric mentioned."

I guess it’s because I brought 20,000 soldiers with me.

The chief greeted me with extreme politeness.

Since they came to me with such humility, I didn't need to lower myself further.

'Once you bow, you're likely to get taken advantage of.'

"Do they call me that here?"

"When Ulfric and the others spoke of you, they referred to you as a servant from across the sea. That’s how the title came to be."

I liked this title quite a lot.

'The powerful one from across the sea.'

It feels like the kind of title you’d earn after achieving an incredible feat in a game.

"Can you guess why I’ve come here this time?"

"Seeing how many soldiers you’ve brought, I presume you want us to become your subordinates."

"That's right. How about we fight together to overthrow the Sipha Empire and find freedom?"

"I must refuse. Our Changa tribe is already strong enough..."

"Count me as the noble, and call me 'Your Grace.'"

"Your Grace, even though some of our women have married your subordinates, we have no intention of opposing you. No, with just 400 of us, we can’t dare to fight you."

The barbarians might be ignorant, but they aren’t stupid enough to misjudge a situation.

In a society where civilization hasn’t fully developed, stupidity means certain death.

In a developed society, even a fool can survive somehow.

The chief of the Changa tribe, with its Bronze Age level of civilization, was obviously a wise man.

'A fool couldn’t become a chief.'

No matter how strong someone is, being revered as the top warrior of a tribe is their limit.

"However, the Sipha Empire is far more powerful than you, Your Grace."

"Are they far more numerous?"

"The emperor of the Sipha Empire leads over 200,000 soldiers into battle at once. My father once told me that the emperor led 500,000 soldiers to destroy the Atau Empire."

"That’s many more than us."

They have no idea how powerful muskets and plate armor soldiers are.

So, even if I say we can conquer the empire with just 20,000 soldiers, they wouldn’t believe it.

'I’d rather believe in the tale of humans going to the moon than that.'

Trying to force knowledge that’s beyond their understanding into their heads would only make me look foolish.

Maybe I need to explain it gently, like feeding a baby?

"It’s not just their numbers! They are truly evil!"

The chief’s face became filled with tremendous fear.

"Those evil ones lead hundreds of thousands of soldiers, moving like locusts. When they capture a city, they massacre everyone in it. Some are selected as sacrifices to the gods, and they are slaughtered alive on a giant altar, their bellies slit open."

"That’s barbaric."

"And they wage a cruel war every year, calling it the Flower War."

"Flower War...?"

The idea of a war being named after a flower makes me sick.

It sounds like a war I know all too well.

"They announce that they will hold a Flower War against a tribe, and the strongest warriors from the Sipha Empire and the tribes fight. Since no one is supposed to die, they use weapons that only injure, not kill, but they ravage people. After they lose, they capture tribe members at random and sacrifice them on the altar."

"That’s atrocious."

"My grandfather, my father, and even my children and grandchildren will continue to face the same thing. Every time, our people will lose their families."

When the Spanish expeditions, including Cortés, arrived, the indigenous people of the Inca or Aztec Empires welcomed them for this very reason.

Their families were captured and sacrificed in those dreadful wars called the Flower Wars.

After being sacrificed, they would be treated well, being called "sons of gods" and given special treatment.

But even so, many were saved from being sacrificed by the soldiers of the Spanish expeditions, who fought to protect them, only for them to ask, "Why are you saving me? I’m going to be with the gods now. What do you think you’re doing?"

'In the end, it’s the same as being brutally killed and sacrificed.'

Naturally, the locals here would not welcome such absurd acts.

The Changa chief sighed as he looked at me.

"Still, it’s better to oppose them and risk our entire tribe being ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) destroyed than to let them do as they wish. They do not leave a single enemy alive."

"Then, to protect your family, don’t we have to fight them? We are not cattle, we are humans, and we should fight like humans and die like humans."

"...Stop spouting nonsense."

At this point, should I demonstrate the power of muskets and steel armor myself?

Just as I was about to order the armor to be brought, one warrior rushed into the room where we were staying.

"Chief, chief! It’s bad! 4,000 soldiers from the Sipha Empire are approaching to kill us! We have to run now! Or we’ll die!"

"Where are we supposed to run?"

"I don’t know!"

Hearing that, I quietly stood up.

And I grinned.

If my prediction was right, no, we were going to win this war easily.

"4,000? Let’s take just 100 men and win."

The chief looked at me as if I were crazy.

"Don’t talk nonsense! You can’t possibly defeat such a powerful army with just 100 men!"

The difference in civilization levels is too great for that to be impossible.

Even if they strike, they won’t leave a scratch on us.

If we’re fully armored in steel, we could even survive their stone-throwing attacks.

"After we win, join me."