Enlightened Empire

Chapter 389: Making a Fist

Not long after Corco’s commands, everything in Kapra had been settled, and the king began his hunt for Ogulno and his accomplices. Together with his army, he traveled north, on the same road he had taken on his retreat from Kapra last time. Once again, he reached Utusku, under the control of Lord Makipura.

The lord himself welcomed Corco, as well as the other lords and their representatives, into his home. They only spent one evening there, for rest and resupply. Makipura agreed to send some building materials and food down south to Kapra to help out the victims of Ogulno’s slaughter. At the same time, Corco retrieved the thousand soldiers he had left in the estate to protect them against Arcavian marauders. Soon, they wouldn’t be needed any more. It was time to get the entire army together for one large blow. By then, the Marauders would either run out of supplies, or retreat back east.

The next morning, the reinforced troops marched west, back to the site of the lightning battle. By now, the battlefield had been cleaned up. Fresh snow had fallen and covered the traces of blood and murder underneath. All that could still be seen was a mass grave that Fadelio had set up for all those bodies no one had come to claim.

By now, most houses had sent some representatives to bring back their dead warriors and give them a proper burial. However, there were still those warriors from House Ogulno and the other two escaped lords, and there were also all those commoners no one cared about. For all of them, Fadelio had set up a grave, as well as a small monument carved into a piece of stone found underneath the snow. When Corco arrived, he found his friend in front of the monument, holding vigil for the dead.

However, when the attendant heard what had happened in Kapra, he knew that they still had work to do, and that the war was far from over. The army rested the night in the camp, before it traveled north, back towards Saniya. Due to the king’s anger-induced impatience, they spent as little time as possible on every individual station.

As a result, they didn’t even go all the way back to Saniya. Instead, they took the new highway through the Chawir Marshes and rested overnight in Harkay. The former town under control of Wayra had now become a city in its own right, larger than Saniya had been before Corco’s arrival. Yet the soldiers had no time to sight-see. Before they had brushed the snow off their boots, the army moved on north-east, into the lands of Corco’s allies. By that time, they had also learned the results of the northern battlefield.

Just like in the south, the north had harvested an overwhelming victory. While the attack of the Ichilias was more intense than Corco had expected, they had still failed to break the defenses prepared on the beach. Then, at some point during the battle, Governor Divitius Ichilia fell in combat. His death was confirmed later when his body had been retrieved. Though with his crushed face, his identity could only be confirmed by his fancy armor, as well as the seal of his house which he carried on his body.

Either way, their leader’s death had broken the spirit of the remaining troops, as had the constant artillery bombardment from front and back. In the end, House Ichilia’s troops surrendered shortly after the death of their lord. Most of House Ichilia’s warriors had been caught as prisoners. The ones who wouldn’t give in died before they could organize any more resistance.

On top of that, Atau had managed to retrieve and capture around thirty of House Ichilia’s battleships, left in various conditions. The Ichilias had bet big this time, and the result had been a crushing defeat. After this, they wouldn’t be a serious threat for a long time, if ever.

In the short term, the convincing victory meant that even more troops from the northern battlefield could join the main army and travel together with them towards the east, towards Cashan. Finally, the army arrived on the last station of their journey in allied lands. After this, they would cross into enemy territory, where they would aim to finally take full control over the entirety of Sachay, and unify the southern kingdom under one, centralized rule.

“King Corcopaca, welcome to Cashan.” Ever since the army had set off from Saniya, Guachimine Villca had been following them as House Villca’s representative. Now however, he turned from an observer to a host. The king left his army outside and entered the core city of the southern kingdom together with the other lords and representatives, and a few guards of course. By now he had seen enough assassins and wasn’t in the mood for any more, even in the home of his allies.

Corco hadn’t been to Cashan in years, not since he had helped the Villca brothers take the city during his war against Pacha. Back then, the city had been split in the power struggle within the Villca family. Before the split, the city had been wealthy, but old-fashioned. After the split, parts of the city had been destroyed and much damage had been done to the infrastructure. That had been three years ago. In that time, much had changed.

As they passed through the city, Corco could feel a more vibrant energy compared to the past. From within his palanquin, he could see many people walking through the streets with brisk steps, and there was construction everywhere.

“It seems like the city had also grown in size quite a bit,” he commented. Of course he knew that Saniya had sold a lot of cement to Cashan, but the sight still surprised him.

“Yes, King Corcopaca. Though not as much as Saniya, Cashan has had its own share of northern immigrants. Some of those who aim to go to Saniya see the prosperity of our fair city, and simply get stuck here.”

Pride filled Guachimine Villca’s voice as he explained the city’s success. However, the king wasn’t too happy. All of these people who had stayed here would never make their way over to Saniya. Yet before he could even develop the thought, he caught his own inadequacy. Now, he was no longer in charge of a small estate. Instead, he would now gain control over the entire kingdom. Developing multiple cities in multiple regions was a good thing, something to be celebrated.

“I see you’ve all worked hard for the prosperity of the kingdom, good job,” he thus said, to the glee of his host. Again, the king took to observing the outside, this time with an open mind.

From his superficial glance, it seemed like the Villca brothers had indeed done a good job administering their city over the past few years. This was a view even more reinforced by the grand welcome that awaited them at Villca Manor.

The mansion was lavishly decorated. Red bands of cloth were everywhere, and the Villcas had even splurged on some purple dye from Saniya to put up the southern kingdom’s flag in every room he saw. Soon, they entered a giant salon, large enough for a thousand guests with room to spare, and were sat in front of plates made of silver.

A massive offering of food and drink on every table reminded Corco of the great banquets he had held in Saniya throughout the years. Many dishes were clearly inspired from Saniya’s creations. Countless servants stood at the ready to fulfill every wish of their guests, and a performance of hundreds of dancers occupied the center of the room, and would go on to last for most of the day.

They’re really trying to impress, huh?

Just as Corco thought that, the one eager to impress appeared right in front of him.

“King Corco, what do you think?” said Uchu, the current lord of House Villca as he walked into the salon with arms spread wide. A few years back, he had been no more than a bastard child of the previous lord, living outside of Cashan as a small-time pirate. By now, the years as a lord had removed the traces of his past. The lord held his head high and proud, and his generous physique spoke of many lazy days enjoying his status.

He looks more and more like his father, Corco thought, and hoped that he wouldn’t act like his father in the future. He would hate to lose an ally.

“It’s nice.” the king finally replied after he had pushed the worrying thought to the back of his head. “Looks like you’ve done well for yourself in your estate.”

“Of course. Not least thanks to King Corco’s gracious support.” The lord laughed and continued. “But please, please. Have a seat.”

“I didn’t give much support, right?” The king said and followed the lord. “Looks like it’s mostly you guys doing a good job.”

Of course that was an exaggeration, and Guachimine acknowledged as much.

“King Corcopaca deems to make light of his contribution. From the construction of the new copper mines to fertilizer, cement and other help, Saniya had done much to contribute to Cashan’s current prosperity.”

“That’s right. House Villca is ever grateful,” Uchu added.

It seemed that despite their new status, the wealth hadn’t gone to House Villca’s head. It was a calming thought for Corco. As they talked, even more food was moved out, and the meal, in all its old-fashioned extravagance, proceeded without any disturbances. Most of the time, Corco would talk to the Villca brothers about local or global issues, though of course, the ongoing war was always the center of their discourse.

“Yes,” Corco repeated again. “All distinguished lords on this table have contributed so much to the southern kingdom’s future prosperity. Of course, everyone will be rewarded for their efforts, in addition to my eternal gratitude. We are already in negotiations with the defeated lords and will have detailed results soon.”

“King Corco, please spare your words until we have returned from the east, with victory in hand.”

A deep voice interrupted the private talk between Uchu and Corco. However, the lord of Cashan didn’t seem bothered at all.

“Brother!” he shouted and stood up to walk towards the mighty figure who had just entered. Visibly excited, he hugged his brother Pahuac, still in his bright red armor.

“You made it in time,” Uchu said.

“Of course. I never miss a war council.” Pahuac laughed and looked around as he walked towards the tables that seated his brothers and the king. “Although it seems like you have not been working too hard so far.”

He gave a nod to his brother Guachimine, before he greeted his king.

“Pahuac Villca.” Corco replied. “I thought you were stationed at the Anticasa Mountain Pass. What are you doing here?”

The king looked around and was relieved to see that the general of House Villca hadn’t brought his hell hounds with him this time. Still, he was meant to defend the kingdom’s borders from the enemy army that should be amassing in the neighboring Antila.

“I came back as soon as brother’s runner arrived. I would never miss a strategic meeting for battle, not for anything in the world. I have left my men in the pass. If they dare attack us, we can hold them for a year at least. So no need to worry.”

“In that case, I’m relieved. Since you’re here already, you may as well help us prepare. That way, I don’t have to take care of the entire battlefield by myself. I got other things to do, you know?”

“Easy,” Pahuac boasted as he plopped onto a seat and grabbed a glass of wine on the way down. “After we’re done getting drunk, I take you through the pass, and then follow along on the battlefield. This time, against those Antila bastards, I will lead House Villca’s men myself, and show those cowards what real strength is.”

“Yes, no one knows Antila’s defenses better than House Villca,” Uchu added.

As neighbors, House Villca of Cashan and House Sucopia of Antila had been competitors for many generations, regularly swapping control over the Anticasa mountain pass between them. It was only natural that they were intimately familiar with the city’s defenses, which was one major reason why Corco wanted Pahuac involved in the upcoming battle.

“And I salute you for your contributions to the Kingdom of the South.” Corco said, and raised his glass.

“Sure,” Pahuac shrugged and downed his drink in one go. “Though I don’t really care about the contribution and such. I just like hitting stuff.” The warrior finished with a loud laughed.

“If you do not want the contributions, then I will take them off your back,” Guachimine replied.

“Hitting them should be enough thought to deal with Sucopia anyways. Thinking about those idiots too much only gives indigestion,” Uchu added in a joking tone.

As he watched the three brothers talk to each other harmoniously, Corco felt confused. Here in Cashan, the three brothers had divided up the power between each other. Under their combined rule, they had made their lands prosper. Even now, after years together, it looked like they were still cooperating without friction. His own family could have been like that as well. Yet him and his brothers hadn’t even met since the start of the Succession War.

Even now, he was still fighting a rebellion instigated by his cousin and uncle. It made Corco feel like he had failed somehow, like there would have been a better way to go, if only he had been better himself. Annoyed, he pushed the pointless thoughts of the past aside. Whatever could have been wasn’t meant to be. Now he could only look ahead. Maybe once he had cleaned up his kingdom, he would find the time to feel sorry for himself.

The next morning, the kingdom’s army made its way towards the Anticasa Mountain Pass, reinforced by the troops of House Villca.

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