Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 78 Herme's Arrangement

Therod Monastery is a shrine dedicated to the goddess Melitelli, whose belief in the goddess is the most important religion in the northern kingdoms.

This goddess is derived from primitive human beliefs in fertility, love, plowing fields, stoves in homes, and pregnant women.

This belief translates into various female figures who rule over fertility and reproduction, care for farmers and gardeners, and bless lovers and couples.

Then these different beliefs slowly came together and blended with each other, and finally these gods became one and became the mother of all: Meritelli.

The deity appears in three figures: a carefree maiden, a mature pregnant woman, and a hunched old woman.

Priests of the Meritelli sect preach love and peace, and their shrines are often hospitals, asylums, and orphanages as well.

The goddess was the most famous in the North, and her abbeys were often very wealthy as a result of their generosity of benefactors.

Because of the shelter and care for so many people in need, the Serod Monastery covers a very large area, and more than 500 people live here on weekdays.

In order to support so many people, there are several wealthy villages near the monastery dedicated to supporting the monastery, and some farmers who directly serve the monastery manipulate the fields outside the monastery walls.

The priests in the monastery also opened up fields, some of which grew food to support themselves, and the other part grew various herbs that could be used in medical treatment.

Villagers in this area are happy to offer offerings to the goddess, as her priests always help them unconditionally.

Melitelli's clergy travel regularly, helping all those in need they come across.

The most striking thing about this monastery is its high tower, which has a big clock inside. This big clock is made of high-quality brass, and there are prayers about Meritelli's beliefs on the clock.

The big bell on the high tower will ring in the morning, noon and evening, reminding the nearby farmers of the time.

Many people spend their whole lives in the bell that rings on time every day, and it has become an indispensable part of their life.

On weekdays, there is an endless stream of visitors to this monastery, some come to seek help from the monastery, some to donate wealth, and some visit simply out of gratitude.

But now things have changed, after the Second Northern War broke out and Aedirn's army collapsed, the Nilfgaardians came here.

The order received by the army in black was to destroy this land, and the wealthy monastery was naturally their key target.

The black-clothed army didn't say much, they rushed into the monastery and killed people like crazy.

Most of Melitelli's clergy didn't know how to fight, so naturally they could only be caught without a fight, and the black army took control of the monastery.

And then, the Nilfgaardians did something that made the Adenians extremely resentful, and it was also extremely blasphemous.

Having figured out by torture where the last of the abbey's wealth lay, they hanged all the Meritelli clergy, killed the orphans and sick here, and finally took away all the young and strong, who would become slaves.

According to the rules of war in the north, monasteries and temples should not be affected by the flames of war, and slaughtering temples is even worse, but the Nilfgaardians don't care about these, and the Nilfgaardian Empire is an atheistic empire.

They are very strict when it comes to faith.

From the perspective of the Black Army, these beliefs are superstitious and harmful to people, so many beliefs in the north are within the purging scope of Nilfgaard, so they did such a thing.

Yes, atheism.

Some people may ask, isn't Nilfgaard a state religion with a great sun disk?Why is it said that Nilfgaard is an atheist country.

This is because the great sun wheel belief is not a simple belief.

In the past, the Great Sun Wheel, or the Sun Cult, was only one of the many religions in the south.

About 50 years ago, the status of the Great Sun Disk changed.

At that time, the Nilfgaardian emperor Fergus Enress implemented a series of political and religious reforms. This was the means Fergus sought to make the empire more united and power more centralized through reforms.

He cleverly bundled politics with religion, became the high priest of the sect, and obtained both monarchy and theocracy himself.

In exchange, the emperor will also let the clergy in the sect serve as important officials in the state's public institutions.

Believers believe that all creatures on the earth are sheltered by the sun, which is the giver of life and the protector of human beings, but it is also cruel and extremely destructive. This is the great sun disc.

And in this discourse system, the word Great Sun Wheel can refer to the sun, the Nilfgaard Empire, and more importantly, the emperor.

And when these three factors overlap, the great sun is not just a simple belief, it is more like the embodiment of Nilfgaard's national ideology, which is to dispel the light of the dark age, so the army in black is so happy to use the great The name of the sun wheel spreads "order and civilization".

In the eyes of the Nilfgaardians, their great sun disc is completely different from the superstition of the northerners. It is a higher, more secular, and more universal existence.

That's why the Nilfgaardians treated the clergy in the north extremely cruelly, and the lightest solution was to kill them all at that level, and their temples must also be destroyed.

So they treated the monastery so cruelly, killed all the priests inside, destroyed all things related to belief, knocked down the statue of the goddess, took away all valuable things, and did not forget to set a big fire at the end .

The fire was huge, as if the goddess Melitelli was angry at the destruction of her place of worship.

But the Nilfgaardians still dismissed it and fought all the way. They didn't know how many temples they destroyed, and they didn't see how the gods inside were.

These behaviors of the men in black naturally angered the locals. The priests of Meritelli have long been an important part of people's lives. How many people were delivered by the priestesses of the temple, and how many people were saved by them...

When Nilfgaard was still marching strongly, the locals were intimidated by the empire's cruel actions and did not dare to do anything. However, after the empire suffered a defeat, the local rebound was naturally the strongest.

Almost every village is a potential guerrilla. If one or two soldiers go out, they will be murdered, and there are more attacks on the imperial convoy.

Coupled with the counterattack of the Aedirn army from Vengerburg, the Nilfgaardians quickly lost this land.

Although the black army has left, the destroyed monastery has received a large garrison of Aedirn.

Although the main body of the monastery has been burned, the tower still stands.

The strategic location of this high tower is very good, it can radiate the surrounding area, and although the local area is not the front line, it is not far from the front line.

So naturally, this high tower became an important place for the Aedirn army to transfer supplies and troops to the front line.

At the moment when Nilfgaard started advancing again, this tall tower located on the quasi-front line became the headquarters chosen by Heme, and its importance further increased.

"So, that is the Burning God Pagoda?"

Wearing a set of plate armor, but still wearing a Cossack nobleman's cuffed leather cap, Heme, surrounded by guards and subordinates, came to the tower.

Because the tower was burnt black by the flames, it had the name Burning God Tower. Hemei was quite interested in it, and this was the first time he had seen such a tower.

On the one hand, it is to describe its appearance, and on the other hand, it is what the local people did to remember the Nilfgaardians.

Although it was ruthlessly burned by the flames, the tower still stood firm on the land, just like the belief of the goddess Melitelli.

"Yes, Lord Protector."

Herme's new squire, Valentine, said that this was a 16-year-old young man.

Compared with Viato, this kid is obviously much more mature, both in etiquette and in dealing with people, he is very smart, and he is very quick and capable in doing things.

Of course, he is a distant relative of Hemei, and he is the best existence among the younger generation elected by people from his hometown.

As for Viato, he had gone to the front and led an army into battle.

This kid was quite reluctant when he left Herme. On the one hand, he had been with Herme for so long, and on the other hand, the importance of leaving the center must have dropped greatly, but he still had to leave.

Hemei planned to let this kid get his qualifications from the front line, and the future represents his will in the army.

After all, this kid has been his attendant for so many years, so he won't go to anyone.

Of course, the premise is that he has successfully obtained so many military exploits, and there is nothing wrong with him.

If unfortunately died on the battlefield, then no one else was to blame, and Herme had no choice but to choose someone else.

The qualifications of gold-plated brushes must be plated with real gold. Without real materials, no one will be convinced.

For the new attendant Valentine, Herme planned to make him a knight as late as possible. Young people should exercise for a while, which is good for their future.

After finally getting a servant, I should use it for a few more years, so as not to spend time getting used to the new servant.

Of course, if those young people knew that he thought so, they would definitely curse behind their backs.

Under the Burning God Tower, around that tower, new fortifications have been built, with walls, ditches, and horse repelling all available, plus many patrolling soldiers, it looks like a fortress.

It can be built so well, thanks to the large amount of construction waste here.

The Aedirn army used these ruins as waste. The materials used in the original monastery were very solid. Even if it turned into a pile of ruins, there are still a lot of good things inside.

Of course, in order to take care of the nearby people and the followers of Meliteli in the army, they naturally did not forget to use these waste materials to rebuild the statue of the goddess who was overthrown and destroyed by the Nilfgaardians.

This has another meaning, which is to emphasize what the Nilfgaardians have done here.

The various atrocities committed by the Nilfgaardians are an important part of the war propaganda carried out by the Protectorate Government, and the blasphemy of the gods should naturally be emphasized.

At the moment, Herme saw that the stronghold centered on the Burning God Pagoda was very busy.

There are soldiers running around everywhere, and the peasants send carts of grain to the barn of the tall team.

On the training ground, veterans are teaching recruits how to use weapons, lest they be killed due to inexperience as soon as they enter the battlefield.

The blacksmith shop is also constantly working, and all kinds of equipment are waiting for them to repair. It can be said that it is extremely busy.

Outside the city walls, there are endless tents, most of which bear the emblem of the Kingdom of Aedirn, representing their status as military supplies.

The warehouse in Wengerburg is full of tents like this, which are just now being used by Herme.

The Aedirn army assembled here also exceeds [-]. Herme has gathered all the troops that can be assembled, and there are busy scenes everywhere, and the recruits are being trained crazily.

Herme was not afraid of the possibility of the Nilfgaardians attacking from other directions, because the Nilfgaardian-controlled area was full of guerrillas who obeyed the orders of Wengerburg, and they kept bringing news of the Nilfgaardian mobilization, so You don't have to worry about sneak attacks or anything.

A huge army brings a huge stench, and the Aedirian army does not have the professionalism of the Nilfgaardians. The huge excrement "influences" everyone equally.

There are so many people gathered, so the smell here is also soaring, and a huge amount of feces are produced every day, and they can only be thrown into the big pit outside the camp.

Hemei and others boarded the Burning God Tower. This tower was heavily guarded and guards could be seen everywhere. After all, this was the headquarters chosen by Hemei.

Herme breathed a sigh of relief. After arriving here, he finally got rid of the stench that had been lingering around his nose all the time, which made him heave a sigh of relief.

It seems that Marondo is doing a good job. Herme sent him here before and asked him to be in charge of setting up this new headquarters, which is now full of orderly guards.

The highest floor of the tower was Herme's headquarters. Since the Nilfgaardians had removed the big clock above it, it was made of high-quality brass after all, and it was the focus of looting by the imperial army.

So the space was vacated, just for Herme to turn this place into his command center.

When Hemei came in, all his generals had already arrived, and they all bowed and saluted to Hemei in unison.

According to factions, this group can be roughly divided into three parts.

The first part is of course the Cossack Ataman and Chief Haklan. They are also the least military-looking group of people, but after all, they have proved their combat effectiveness on the battlefield, so no one here has a different view of them.

The second part is the generals, nobles, and local dynamic people of Aedirn. This group of people represents the members of the traditional Aedian princely military and political system. They are obviously more soldiers than Cossacks.

The last part is composed of Herme's subordinates and the township party. This group of people is completely Herme faction, and they are very loyal to Herme, and Herme also relies on this group the most.

In front of everyone, there is an elaborate map table.

This is the map of the southern border of Aedirn, with all the rivers and mountains on it, and the small dots representing the cities, which emit a faint gleam.

The dots of light representing the army are distributed on the map. The Aden army is yellow, and the Nilfgaard army is black. Coupled with the previous twilight, it is enough to see that the map table in front of you has magic.

And the one who made this map was the bald warlock who bowed to Herme when he stood on the throne. He was wearing a magic robe, and there was a parchment full of prayers and spells on his chest.

The sorcerer's name was Abarat of Hajji, a wise and learned scholar-mage and alumnus of Ban Ard's College.

As a dropout from that school, Herme had been using her connections to recruit people from that school. It would be good if there were many warlocks around to help.

The reason why Ben Ade was chosen was that the academy trained male sorceresses. Anyway, Herme didn't want to have any contact with those sorceresses. If she could delay seeing those sorceresses as late as possible.

After the Brotherhood of Warlocks collapsed, the academy became eager for Herme's invitation, and then sent Herme's "senior".

And Herme actually knew this person, because in a certain cg, he and the former royal archer who was now Herme's entourage were killed by a big bald head, which left a deep impression on him.

"Everyone, hello, it seems that your spirits are very good, so are you ready to fight the Nilfgaardians? There will be a big battle next, and we have to fight hard to kill the Nilfgaardians." Kick the heads of the Germans like balls, wrap their heads with their black flags, and send them to the emperor of the city of golden towers."

Herme's words made the atmosphere instantly relaxed, and everyone immediately became chattering and laughing, and the words of the Duke Protector enlivened the atmosphere very well.

"Okay, everyone, let's report the battle situation. I want to know how the front line is doing now."

Herme changed the subject and went straight to the topic, which was before the discussion.

During this period of time, he was on his way here, and he didn't understand the battle on the front line for the time being.

"Lord Hemei, let me sum it up. During this period of time, I was serving as the chief of the general staff."

A meticulously dressed officer in the standard uniform of the Aden army stood up. He was Lechicki, Heme's township party member.

The so-called Chief of Staff is a position set up by Aden to promote the professionalization of Aden's army, and the same establishment is the General Staff Department.

Of course, the main people here are Herme's subordinates and the township party, which is a department that Heme uses to increase his influence over the entire army.

But right now, this new department still has limited powers, and it can't be compared with the old Yadian War Department, and the War Department is very dissatisfied with the sudden appearance of some general staff to share their power.

The Ministry of War is essentially a shadow conference-style department composed of high-level members of the Aedirian army during the war. These generals are naturally very dissatisfied with the power being taken away and intervened.

Taking into account the opinions of the Ministry of War, Herme could not give too much power to the General Staff.

So now the staff department only has two responsibilities of military training and information collation, instead of the impact on the entire army that Herme envisioned, so as to improve the professionalism of the army.

But you have to eat food one bite at a time, and you have to do things little by little, so take your time.

"In the past week, the Nilfgaardian army launched three large-scale assaults on our defense line, seven medium-scale assaults, and countless small-scale raids. The number of the Nilfgaardian army that was mainly responsible for the assault has also been figured out by us. That’s right, it was the Wind Tower Brigade that was defeated and fled in the Battle of Wengerburg, and its commander seemed eager to wash away the stain of defeat, so there was such a desperate attack.”

"However, these attacks were bravely resolved by our soldiers. Even if they were temporarily repelled by the Nilfgaardians, our soldiers will make a comeback after reorganizing the front, defeat the Nilfgaardians, and regain our front. In the battle in the past week, 230 people were killed on our side, and 570 and 270 people were injured, while [-] and [-] enemy corpses and prisoners were found on the battlefield. At present, the situation on the front line is relatively stable, but the Nilfgaardians will be killed at any time. It is possible to launch another assault.”

Listening to Lechicki's report, scenes of brutal battles emerged in Hemei's mind. So many fights and deaths were turned into a series of cold numbers here.

Some emotional people might start to waver here, but Herme's heart is not so fragile, he just listened to the battle report indifferently.

Of course, everyone present is the same. If you are too soft-hearted, don't be a general or an officer.

He liked Lechicki's battle report very much. It seemed that he was right to choose this dropout and military school graduate from Niuburg University. Herme was very satisfied with his professionalism.

"In addition, according to the scout report, the main force of the Nilfgaardian army seems to be fully in place. If there are no accidents, an unprecedented fierce battle is likely to break out. The above is all my content, over."

Having said that, Lechicki saluted Heme, and then sat in his seat. His work has been completed.

"You're doing well, Lechicki."

Herme said this, and then he pondered for a while, organized his words for a while,

"Everyone, I think you have heard the current situation. I don't have any excessive demands, as long as you manage your troops well and let them enter the battlefield in the best condition, do you understand?"

"Obey! Lord Herme!"

All the generals at the scene said so neatly, and many of them were very motivated. In their view, if they could defeat Nilfgaard once, they would definitely be able to have a second time.

But Herme was not so optimistic. Now the people of Nilfgaard already knew the power of his gunpowder weapon.

With the national power of that empire, they will definitely formulate corresponding countermeasures on the battlefield. Herme still doesn't know what these countermeasures are.

Therefore, this battle is not easy to fight, and the Nilfgaardians will not fall twice in the same place.

And there is another terrible thing, the number of recruits in my army accounts for one-fifth, so many recruits are really impressive...

But already here, there is only a fight.

Of course, when facing his subordinates, Herme showed great confidence.

As the commander-in-chief, he couldn't make a fool of himself, so he still had a face full of confidence. It seemed that victory was inevitable.

(End of this chapter)