I was excommunicated from the Holy Knights

80 – The Good, the Bad, and the Traitor 2

Friedrich, who came to help Bohemia, but lost his territory, the Palatinate, in return.

Looking at him, I knew very well that I had to make my judgments coldly.

Although they achieved a dramatic victory with their brains, the damage suffered by the Bohemia side in the last war was also formidable.

The direct troops under the command of Count Turnen did not suffer much damage, but the troops of the 13 nobles, who had fought a bloody battle with Tilly before that, suffered considerable damage, and it took a considerable amount of time to recover.

In particular, in the case of the Palatinate, only about 3,000 people, less than half of the 7,000 reinforcements, remained.

It was the result of going deep into enemy lines, being attacked from all sides, and even getting hit by Tilly’s powerful magic attack.

Of course, compared to the original, which was almost completely destroyed in the first place, it was obviously a great achievement in that it eventually brought victory while suffering only that much damage.

‘Even though I’ve defended against the emperor’s offensive once, it’s absolutely impossible to raise an army right now in Bohemia’s situation.’

In the first place, there was no way my father, Earl of Thurn, would grant permission as much as he knew that fact, and I was also against the reckless sending of troops in the current situation.

However, abandoning Friedrich like this was a foolish act beyond moral level and for the survival of Bohemia.

‘The war is still far from over. I’ve just finished the first half of the war that will last for 30 years, and the war will probably become more intense as the power dynamics have been twisted once because of my intervention.’

In the future, the war would continue and many people’s blood would be shed in the process.

In particular, the emperor who once tasted defeat in Bohemia is highly likely to seek revenge in any way, and in order to counter this, we had to inevitably attract outside forces.

And, that link was Friedrich right in front of my eyes at this moment.

In the original work, Friedrich escaped from ruined Bohemia to Noland, where his family is located.

There, with the help of Moritz, the ruler of Noland, he dreams of reclaiming the territory.

By actively using the heretical alliance that Anhalt had conceived in advance.

‘And in the original work, thanks to that, the Holy Empire suddenly opens up a hell road in which all the countries on the continent go wild over religion. Originally, I tried to prevent this kind of situation from happening, but…’

Originally, when working as a member of the church as a paladin, this foreign intervention was considered an element that must be prevented.

But… in a situation where the game has been turned upside down, I had to use everything that was available to me, whether external forces or whatever, for my own survival and the survival of Bohemia.

It is not like Friedrich and Anhalt, who use it clumsily and end up together.

Very thoroughly, literally sucking it down to the marrow.

‘If that happens, the empire will be destroyed more than the original, but it doesn’t matter to me anyway. After all, we’ve already crossed the river of no return.’

Anyway, this emperor, church faction, and empire became our perfect enemies.

Whether they fail or not is no longer my concern.

So, while considering the rough map of the future, I began to explain to Friedrich part of my plan to proceed.

The main goal was to attract external allies to recover the Palatinate.

*

Vienna, the capital of the Holy Empire.

Hwangseong Daejeon located in the center of it

On the throne at the end, that person…

Emperor Sisyphus Ferdinand

A longevity bowing his head in front of him.

He was looking down at General Tilly, putting on a cold expression.

“Defeat…? To a mere handful of pagans… the army of our Lord who obeys the will of God?”

“Kill me, Your Majesty!”

General Tilly lamented, banging his head on the floor.

looking at him

Emperor Sisyphus felt a burning rage and his hands holding the throne began to tremble.

Just a few days ago, he had been extremely excited thanks to the news of victory in the Palatinate.

Occupying Friedrich’s stronghold, which can be said to be the enemy’s leader, is practically the same as piercing through the enemy’s heart.

Emperor Sisyphus was convinced that if he could use this momentum to win the Battle of Bohemia, no one would ever come out of the empire against his will.

The news that definitely ruined his mood.

The defeat of General Tilly and the victory of Bohemia left a deep scratch on the emperor’s pride.

however,

Therefore, the emperor was well aware that he could not immediately and blindly order a second attack on Bohemia.

For the emperor, who was excessively zealous for religion, the situation of heresy’s victory was causing unbearable anger.

However, despite this, he was not a person who was swept away by momentary emotions and blinded to the situation.

Defeat is a painful fact, but in this regard, Sisyphus calmly began to weigh the profit and loss of this incident.

‘The Palatinate was certainly in hand, but the defeat in Bohemia was quite a blow. If left unattended, it could give false hope to heretics.’

A defeat in Bohemia could damage the authority of the emperor at a time when religious divisions were becoming extreme and lords who tried to use this as an excuse to develop their own independent power were stirring up all over the place.

If this situation continued, there was a very high possibility that the suppressed lords would rise up like a swarm of bees and rebel against the emperor.

however..

Despite the defeat in Bohemia, a landslide victory on the Palatinate side was preventing the worst from happening.

together

Although the victory was achieved, the damage of Bohemia, which blocked the attack, was also not easy, and it was likely that it would be unreasonable to launch an offensive in other areas.

On the other hand, General Spinola of the Palatinate did not suffer much damage during the battle.

Here, as time passed and the lords under the emperor gradually began to gather armies, the power that the emperor still possesses is a level that cannot be ignored.

In this situation, there was a high possibility that the still prudent lords were still weighing the situation while watching the situation, and the emperor felt the need to firmly establish his authority once again.

‘Yes, but playing Bohemia is still not a good option. To throw a sword at a wild beast that is at its peak, one must be prepared for that amount of sacrifice. If I lose again, then I could really lose everything.’

Anyway, what the emperor needs right now is to reverse the atmosphere.

In other words, it was to clearly show the lords what to do with those who oppose them.

In this situation, it was the correct answer to kill the so-called easy guy rather than risking his life against a difficult opponent.

And, the emperor knew very well that a suitable target would appear soon.

‘If you are a prudent lord, you will definitely choose to watch the situation. But… wherever you go, there are going to be people who are not good at grasping the situation and show a reckless attitude by stepping out first. And only those guys will be the sacrifices that will establish the authority of this emperor.’

Anyway, Bohemia needed time to reach out elsewhere.

Without knowing that fact, there must be those who move recklessly intoxicated with the small victory of the heretical forces.

If they were dealt with clearly, the mood of the lords leaning towards Bohemia would be firmly captured.

‘Before catching the wolf, catch the fly first. It is to tell those foolish heretics very clearly who is the true owner of the empire.’

And after a few days…

Emperor Sisyphus began to hear the news he expected.

A new uprising following the Bohemia region…

Immediately after hearing their details, a cool smile began to form on the emperor’s lips.

“Like this, the wicked seeds of evil are starting to appear again. Come on.. They crawled out well. I will give them the mace of justice according to God’s will!”