Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Chapter 180 The Knight of Redemption

Chapter 181 The Knight of Redemption

"I want to ask everyone a question: On what basis can Sigismund claim the Bohemian throne?" Peter's gaze swept over the crowd.

"Bloodline!"

someone shouted.

"The support of traitorous nobles!"

Another voice rang out.

Peter shook his head, the branch drawing a deep mark on the ground. "No, it was force. He took down five thousand Hungarians, two thousand Cumans, and Polish mercenaries."

Seven thousand troops! In Bohemia, where wars between lords were still limited to double-digit skirmishes, very few could muster enough military strength to fight against them.

Marquis Jöbst of Moravia is one, Rosenberg of South Bohemia is one, and Marquis William of Meissen is one.

Other royalists, such as Radji, only have a few hundred troops at present, which is far inferior.

He paused, letting the numbers settle in the air, "But the seven thousand troops are both an asset and a burden."

The normal pay for an army operating outside the military is 7,000 Groshins per day, 70,000 for ten days, and 700,000 for one hundred days.

Did Sigismund have that much money to pay for the military? Clearly not.

"He couldn't afford to pay that much money, so the troops currently stationed outside Kutenberg are not paid and are sustained by soldiers going out to rob and collect protection money."

The army had to procure its own food supplies. Was this an army? No, it was a band of bandits who had cut off their pay and supplies!

"They were Sigismund's allies when he first invaded Bohemia, but now they've become a huge burden, refusing to leave their barracks without pay!"

"Sigismund, having lost his military strength, was nothing more than a lion made of straw."

It would be pointless for Yobst to reach a peace agreement with such a grass lion, and it would be impossible for the seven thousand troops to leave on their own.

They were like a mountain weighing down on the Bohemian people, and they wouldn't stop until they had squeezed the people beneath them dry.

"These armies, which rely on plunder to maintain their strength, are actually quite fragile."

The entire Kutenberg region had a population of over 60,000, yet it had to provide food, drink, and supplies for 7,000 soldiers. This was a huge exploitation of the lords and commoners, and it was no different for their massive army.

Every day, the commanders in the military camp had to think about how to provide salaries and food for such a large force as soon as they opened their eyes.

Their grain requisition teams and tax collectors could not stop for a single day—this was the army's weakness.

"We can weaken this massive army by simply besieging their grain requisition teams and tax collectors."

Peter's assessment resonated with Hynek, who slammed his fist down in agreement. "That's right! I've been targeting their supply lines all along!"

"But your approach is wrong."

Peter's words suddenly turned sharp as he said to Hynik, "You burned down villages and robbed nobles—that has cost you all your potential friends."

He walked to the center of the crowd, his footsteps landing on the forest soil, and spread his hands. "Before the battle begins, we must distinguish between friend and foe. We must figure out who our friends are and who our enemies are."

Then make many friends and few enemies.

Let those who hate the Hungarian army become our friends.

This way, we can know when the Hungarian army goes out to find supplies, where they are, and how many men they have, allowing us to make targeted preparations in advance.

"Is that possible?"

Jessica nodded slowly, her fingers still tapping lightly on the hilt of her sword.

"The kidnapped villagers hate the Hungarians, but they will become our friends if we provide them with shelter."

The castle nobles who were extorted for protection money also hated the Hungarians. If we could defeat those grain requisition teams, they would become our friends for a short time.

The robbed merchants also hated the Hungarians, and as long as we didn't treat them like easy prey, they would be willing to be our friends.

"But unfortunately, Hynek, your previous actions of burning down villages, destroying noble estates, and plundering merchant caravans have alienated almost every potential ally you could."

"Then, what should we do?" Hynik scratched his messy hair, as if this was the first time he had thought about this question.

"I propose the formation of a knightly order."

Peter's voice echoed in the morning air, "Raid their supply convoys, harass their camps."

They would then keep a portion of the spoils for their own use and return the rest to the victims in order to gain their support.

We are like the wind, without a fixed base. A force of seven thousand men needs a massive amount of food and supplies every day. If we disrupt their operations a few times, we can throw them into chaos.

Our small unit has fewer needs; we can easily keep up with the supplies allocated to seven thousand men by taking just a small portion of the available supplies.

"We must let every village know: no taxes, no grain levies, and welcoming King Brunswick—this is their only way out from being exploited by the Hungarians."

"No taxes, no grain levies, let's welcome the King of Brunswick!"

Everyone was astonished as they pondered Peter's new slogan.

"I'm in!"

Hynik practically roared it out. He had failed before, so he was even more eager for revenge. He wanted to see if Peter could lead them to success. Kubinka, Adel, and János of the Drunkards' Legion echoed his sentiments.

Count me in.

Jessica stood up and agreed. His five old buddies beside him—Michael, Hurt, Zwick, Mark, and Perzel—also joined in.

Peter looked at these faces—resolute, wild, and bewildered—and let out a soft breath. He had finally tricked these people.

Although they haven't unlocked their character panels yet, Peter has plenty of ways and strength to subdue them once they're under his command.

Once you're in my hands, don't even think about running away.

"My lord, what is the name of our knightly order?"

"Jishka asked."

Peter thought for a moment, "I am a knight who seeks the path of redemption, so let's call ourselves the 'Silver Dawn Knights'."

"Okay, let's work together to find a path to salvation for this chaotic world, lead everyone through the darkness, and greet the dawn."

Jessica nodded in agreement.

The drunkard Hynik counted the current number of people: six on Peter's side, six on Jessica's side, and four under his command.

So he said, "We only have sixteen people now. Should we recruit some more? The Demon Cave Bar is full of robbers, bandits, and thugs who would kill for a piece of bread."

"No!"

Peter firmly refused, saying, "The Knights of the Silver Dawn are not an organization that cats and dogs can join. I only need people who agree with our ideals and are willing to fight for this country and change the current terrible situation."

As long as someone shares our beliefs, I will accept them even if they are disabled.

If someone doesn't agree with our principles, even if they are a nobleman, I will refuse to let them in.

Our team doesn't need scoundrels or cannon fodder either; they don't deserve it.

Jessica and the others looked ashamed. Back in Troski territory, they had recruited too many opportunistic Raven Army soldiers, who were incapable of fighting tough battles and were no match for the disciplined Lion Guard.

The four drunkards had just suffered a crushing defeat and understood that a rabble was of no use.

"You're right, sir. So what should we do now?"

"There are 60,000 people inside and outside the city of Kutenberg. They are gathering information on the enemy and looking for like-minded companions, but the first thing they need to do is equip each person with two horses."

I've heard that Malesov has a very good horse farm, but it's now occupied by Von Polgao. That kind of collaborator doesn't deserve so many warhorses; they should be used to help our Knights Order grow and prosper.

Peter smiled and stated the Knights' first goal after its formation.

Behind Peter, Black Bartosh sighed helplessly, "Lord Peter, can you please stop exploiting your former boss all the time? You've squeezed him dry."