The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 914 - 472: Capturing Alsace_2

Chapter 914: Chapter 472: Capturing Alsace_2

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When Ivita received the news of Germanicus’s death, he was at the border of the Alsace Kingdom, watching the King of the Ancient Tomb achieve victory after victory with the morale of his troops and clever tactics.

The army Ivita had gathered this time was rather disorganized, as he hadn’t had time to train a force himself, but the total number still amounted to over eight thousand, more than two thousand of whom were recruited professionals.

In addition, with support from The Three Republics, the total number of troops exceeded twenty thousand, not to mention an almost equal number of reserves.

After all, when it came to money, no one could surpass The Three Republics at the moment.

And in the southwestern border of the Alsace Kingdom, there should have been more than two legions, including one stationed in the south at Burgundy—The Alsace defensive legion, ready to support anywhere.

The full number of troops in a legion was 4990.

Yet corruption was rampant in Alsace, often reporting four or five soldiers for every actual one on the roster to embezzle provisions money, thus, the coalition facing Ivita totaled less than five thousand men from Alsace’s Fifth and Sixth Corps.

Both legions lacked morale, after all, the old king had died, and the new king hadn’t even had time to issue coins stamped with his image.

Under the call of Ivita, the rightful king, these soldiers hardly resisted and quickly surrendered or were incorporated.

Ivita’s army swept through and entered Alsace into Taynweir County, West Midland County, Charatuho County, among four counties.

Alsace had a total of seventy-four counties, and now, suddenly losing four was a heavy blow that would further weaken the nobles’ confidence in the king and the Royal Capital.

The King of the Ancient Tomb was able to dominate in Alsace for another reason—All top professionals in Alsace who decidedly supported the king had been eliminated by Ivita, leaving no high-ranking professionals to counter the King of the Ancient Tomb, who naturally could wreak massive destruction.

But when Ivita and the King of the Ancient Tomb went to negotiate with the nobles of West Midland County at the home of the surrendering governor, Ivita received an urgent message brought by a messenger.

Firstly, his elder cousin Germanicus had died.

According to his own letter, he had foreseen this moment and wanted to resist this fate early, but didn’t know if he could succeed.

Now, it seemed he had failed.

Germanicus died at a banquet before his engagement to Oyo III’s eldest daughter, poisoned by a glass of wine, dying a meaningless death.

In the letter, Germanicus mentioned that he had advocated for Ivita at The Church, speaking well of him.

He expressed his envy of Ivita’s freedom of action and asked Ivita to avenge him and be wary of Oyo III.

For Ivita himself was also very close to the succession of the Empire.

If he also took control of the Alsace Kingdom, he would almost certainly become an enemy of Oyo III.

One cannot tolerate others coveting what is by one’s side.

Ivita sighed, recalling his first meeting with Germanicus, which seemed to have been in the garden at the Governor Belisarius’s mansion.

The Hearthstone Witch’s eyes sparkled, "Oyo III is really foolish, he has eliminated the biggest obstacle for Your Majesty."

"If I were him, I would never do such a thing. This move by Oyo III, aside from paving the way for you, has no other benefits whatsoever."

Ivita remained silent.

He was genuinely a bit saddened.

The King of the Ancient Tomb said in a deep voice, "With Germanicus’s death, Oyo III can also extinguish the hopes of some nobles in his own country."

Ivita snorted coldly. "Oyo III’s side is just a league of usurpers."

"Let’s go,"

"Oyo III and all his offspring will soon pay the price."

They quickly arrived at a villa located in the suburbs, a uniquely styled, stunning villa adorned with gold patterns and gold-leaf wallpaper on the exterior.

This was a style recently developed by the extravagant nobility of Alsace.

The Governor had already been waiting at the door, personally greeting and helping Ivita dismount. When he glimpsed Ivita’s face, his body trembled even harder, almost as if he had seen a king from the past. "The true King has finally returned. Your Majesty, do you know what those malicious people have done to the kingdom in your absence?"

The Governor was an old man who had lived through the era of Ivita’s father’s reign, and later during the reign of Henry VII. He considered those years indescribably painful, a period he couldn’t look back on without feeling devastated; peace had come at the price of constant concessions to enemies. He felt the country was like a chopping board under a knife, yet what could he do alone?

If the King of a country was corrupt and all the court advisors were depraved, then those being marginalized in this country were the intelligent and insightful ones.

The Governor looked at Ivita with great affection. "You finally returned, there is hope in Alsace again, everyone can once again have their own hope."

Ivita looked at him somewhat coldly. "If that’s the case, then why didn’t you, as the Governor, call for a surrender when my troops and I first arrived in this county?"

The Governor of West Midland County’s face was streaked with tears. "In my position, I plan my course. As the Governor, I cannot abandon my responsibilities."

"Moreover, Jalen, that traitor, has imprisoned all my family members, including my sons and my granddaughters, and my wife. He knows that people’s hearts are already scattered, so he uses my family to threaten me."

"You could kill me, for I have come to know that there is hope for this country’s future, and how fortunate I am. What difficulty would death pose to me?"

Ivita’s expression finally changed as he looked at him. He sighed, saying, "If people do not fear death, how can they be frightened by it?"

"I will not kill you, go on, you are right. As Governor, you must fulfill your responsibilities, and not, because of personal feelings, allow a strange army into the kingdom. You did nothing wrong; come, let us go inside."

He helped the Governor of West Midland County up, who was profoundly shocked and flattered.

Inside the Governor’s house, nobles from the entire county had already gathered.

Their problems were the same as his—Jalen had kidnapped their family members in an attempt to make them resist Ivita to the fullest.

This tactic, however, was also likely to incite resentment.

With the Governor’s help, Ivita quickly gained the trust of all the great nobles present. The nobles, observing Ivita standing amidst them as if he had everything under control, completely abandoned Jalen in their hearts.

Compared to Ivita, where was Jalen anything like a monarch? He was merely a general who knew how to lead troops into battle.

Moreover, his habit of kidnapping the families of the nobles had incited panic among the nation’s nobility.

All the nobles had accumulated a reservoir of grievances.

This grievance, once slightly provoked, would instantly explode, and completely exceed everyone’s control.

A plump, somewhat haggard noble stood up and was the first to kneel before Ivita. "Your Majesty, my wife, daughter, and son are all imprisoned within the Royal Capital by Jalen, that demon. Am I to assist a man who harms me? Am I to be frightened by a bandit? Will that bandit really stop harming my loved ones just because I obey him?"

"Your Majesty Ivita, please protect my family. I want to entrust my life and the lives of my family entirely to you, and no matter what happens, I will have no regrets."

"Your Majesty."

All the other nobles present followed his lead.

Ivita suddenly smiled, Jalen had made a very big mistake in a critical moment; he had miscalculated human nature, and now it was time for him to reap the consequences.

The ones feeling cornered were not these nobles.

Ivita, with his hands behind his back, said indifferently, "I have already found out where your families are. They are all imprisoned in a Holy Mother convent, and a branch of The Church there voluntarily tipped me off about this. I will be visiting it soon."