Chapter 100 - 94: The Infamy of the Strong

A fierce battle was raging not only outside London City, but also within its walls.

These Knights from Normandy had been in England for over a week, but so far, their targets had been nothing but defenseless villagers. They had long yearned for a true war to earn their own glory.

The oldest of the Knights who chose to follow Robert was not even thirty. Most had been knighted only recently; many were dubbed by their noble relatives or fathers only after Robert’s call to arms went out.

Their prior lives as attendants had made them impatient, so their pursuit of glory was especially urgent. Many of them even saw this war as a repeat of the Norman Conquest from a decade ago. They believed that, like their fathers who fought at Hastings, they would gain unimaginable wealth and land.

Now, they swung their longswords. With every enemy they killed, their potential wealth increased, and so did the possibility of being granted land.

Although disorganized infantry stood no chance against the well-equipped Norman Knights, London City’s defenders were numerous, and many citizens had also taken up arms.

Furthermore, the streets of London City could not possibly accommodate so many people at once. Unaware of the situation ahead, the Genoese Crossbowmen and Flemish Spear Soldiers in the rear kept pushing forward, vying for the chance to be the first to enter the city and plunder.

This left the warhorses of the Norman Knights led by Robert with little room to maneuver, and for a time, they were actually held back by the defenders, who were purely infantry.

Of course, another reason was that many of these young Knights were happy with this turn of events. To them, slaughter was a ladder to glory. Many Knights, along with the Genoese Crossbowmen and Flemish Spearmen who had stormed the city, eagerly rushed into citizens’ homes, beginning the "legal plunder" of war.

The scene was starting to get out of control.

Robert brandished his longsword, its blade easily severing the spearhead swung by a Long Spear Soldier. The sword’s tip then plunged into the soldier’s eye socket, taking his life.

As he pulled the sword tip from the soldier’s head, warm blood splashed into his eyes. Through his blood-red vision, he noticed Odo in the distance, a long spear aimed at his back.

Robert quickly yanked his reins, urging his warhorse to charge in that direction. The instant the spearhead was about to touch Odo’s back, the tip of his sword flicked the long spear away. With a slight twist of his wrist, his blade sliced open that Long Spear Soldier’s neck.

However, the spearhead still pierced Odo’s chain armor, wounding his back.

"Uncle, are you alright?" Robert asked, steadying his arm.

"Never mind me. Don’t waste time here. You have more important things to do. You need to seal off the Tower of London—there are definitely still Knights inside. Cut the bridge over the moat so they can’t get out. William will react quickly. You have to hurry."

"As long as we take London, this war is half-won. You..."

Before Odo could finish, a messenger on a light horse galloped over.

"It’s... it’s bad, Duke! We’re under attack! An attack! They... they’re attacking our rear flank!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Speak clearly!"

Odo grabbed the messenger by the neck. The sudden force nearly suffocated the man. Fortunately, Robert, who was beside him, pulled Odo’s arm away.

"Speak properly. Who is attacking?"

"It seems... it seems it’s the King. It’s complete chaos outside the city. The Mercenaries were scattered by the King’s Knights. Now they’re all jammed at the city gate, unable to get in or out."

"William..."

Odo’s expression darkened.

"I’ll lead my men back right now..."

Before Robert could finish, Odo shoved him away.

Just then, Arno also arrived at their side.

"You have a more important job to do. Go deal with your brother, and I’ll go deal with mine. If we get caught in a pincer attack, we’re all finished."

"But..."

Robert hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. He turned his horse and charged toward the Tower of London. At the same time, his attendants sounded a horn. As the call rang out, the Knights who were still fighting and plundering instantly mounted up or wheeled their horses around, following Robert toward the Tower of London.

Arno was about to follow when Odo grabbed him.

"If you get the chance, kill Rufus. Don’t let Robert have the opportunity to spare him. Understand?"

"Such a venomous deed is something you should do yourself, my dear father. I am willing to be a thief, a robber, a drunkard, but the one thing I don’t want to be is a treacherous murderer."

"Oh, my father, don’t add any more colors to your bishop’s robe. It’s already garish enough."

"Is there a difference? Do you think what you’re doing is permitted by God? I’ll tell you what, if everyone truly believed in Him, we’d all be in monasteries, and we wouldn’t be standing on England’s soil right now."

"People only ever care about the winners. As long as you keep winning, future generations will always find a way to exalt you, no matter how wicked those winners once were."

"Because they project their own desires onto those winners, fantasizing that they, too, could one day become a winner."

"Even though most of them, no matter how hard they try, are only fit to be fodder for those winners. Everyone admires the strong. Whatever the strong say is right."

"People only remember Charlemagne the Great. Who remembers who the Saxon Butcher was? As long as the outcome is good, what does it matter how cruel the process was?"

"You are devoted to the outcome, whereas I prefer the process. If the process is interesting enough, I’d rather never see the end result." Arno shrugged.

"Arno, my child, you should be grateful to have a father like me. It is because you are a Count’s son, because the same blood as the Duke of Normandy flows in your veins, that you have the privilege of saying such naive and childish things."

"You’re right, old man. But asking me to be Cain? That’s off the table."

Arno flicked his reins, urging his warhorse into a run.

"A bunch of fools."

Odo cursed under his breath.

But he couldn’t be bothered with such things. He had more important matters to worry about.

He followed the messenger and quickly reached the city gate. The commander of the Genoese Crossbowmen immediately came forward, trying to persuade him to dispatch Knights to rescue his soldiers.

Just as the messenger had said, the situation outside the city was a complete mess. The Mercenaries outside had been pushed to the brink of collapse by the Knights’ charge.

Odo soon spotted that familiar figure.

"Lord Earl, they can’t hold on! We must send out the Knights at once..."

"Fire now!"

"What? Lord Earl, they’re entangled with the King’s Army right now..."

"Fire! I told you to fire now! Do you hear me?!"

The commander hadn’t even finished speaking before Odo seized him by the collar.

About a third of the Genoese Crossbowmen had squeezed into the city, enough to unleash a volley of arrows.

"No, no, no, this isn’t in our contract! The contract says you have to guarantee my soldiers’..."

"You listen to me now! I will not let my Knights bleed for these Mercenaries! I promise you all, the survivors will receive double pay! You can plunder London City for three days, and you can take whatever you can carry!"

"As for you, I can even make you a Knight, and grant you a knight’s fief."

"But if you defy my orders, I won’t give you a single coin of what’s left! If we lose this battle, neither you nor your men will leave London City alive. Now, fire the arrows!"

...

「Outside London City.」

A Knight charged at Eric with his lance raised. Eric instinctively ducked, swinging his nail hammer and smashing it into the Knight’s abdomen. The immense force knocked the Knight straight from his horse.

Because that reckless fool Robert had taken all the Knights inside the city, Conqueror William’s arriving Knights now far outnumbered Eric’s.

A frontal charge against Conqueror William’s Knights was utterly hopeless.

Eric could only divide his knights into two teams to harass the flanks of Conqueror William’s force, luring some Knights out from the main group to be picked off one by one by the one hundred Genoese Crossbowmen he commanded.

But this tactic had limited effect, and soon the Knights he sent to harass the enemy were struck down one after another.

The routed Flemish Spear Soldiers and Genoese Crossbowmen were in complete disarray under the Knights’ charge, unable to regroup. Many even threw themselves into the moat.