The League of Hallstall is, in many ways, more developed than many Aszore countries. Each of their Nations is a functioning republic. But at the same time, their decentralization is a critical weakness that prevents them from fully utilizing their power and puts them on a back foot on the global stage.

~Dominic Black

Interlude: League of Hallstatt

THE MONTH OF NINSUM DAY 27 YEAR 675 OF THE SECOND HOLY CALENDAR

Edmund awoke feeling uncomfortable warmth right next to him. He sighed and set up. Glancing next to him, he saw the woman he had made love with the night before. She had intense body heat. The situation still felt unreal, as he woke up next to a different beauty almost daily. He showed a slight expression of discomfort that he would never show in front of his subordinates. He always had to be strong, confident, and capable, never showing weakness. After all, he was the newly appointed General of Puplona, the leader of their Armed Forces, and he wasn't permitted weakness or discomfort.

Such concerns would have been unthinkable 24 years ago when he died and was reincarnated as Edmund Felix Aurelius Acker. Its previous existence was just another office drone in the minutiae of an American corporation. He was 25 and a virgin until he was killed by a truck and spent speeding off to become a Noble in this strange fantasy world. Luckily, he was still shipped to a country quite similar to his own in more than one way. Although each state in the League of Hallstatt had a Prince, in truth, they were democratically elected, although the nobility chose the candidates. They even checked to balance their power by electing ten members to form a council.

The league operated similarly to the United States of America and its states, although with a lot more Authority given to the states. They would elect a grand Prince every five years to serve as the league's leader. In addition, each state elected two representatives, one to represent the council and one to represent the people, to form the grand Council of the league. They would meet at Colinium to discuss National policy, primarily foreign policy and state disputes, and the system worked remarkably well.

This was unlike the hereditary monarchies and oligarchies that surrounded him, making him grateful that he was in a country with politics he still could understand. On top of that, House Acker would not have risen to its current position of power under him without that democratic system. The Ackers owned some small agricultural land inside the Principality of Puplona, but their primary wealth and power came from Edmonds's father's position in the military. Edmond himself, with knowledge of strategy from his world and an unexpected talent for strategy and Magic, had quickly risen through the ranks of the military. Although some old school officers were concerned about his young age when the new Prince was elected, one of the people's demands for him was to make Edmund the new general. So Edmund became the general of the Principality of Puplona.

The door opened, and a woman entered. Her fiery red hair and eyes matched her military uniform, with red as the base color and silver as the secondary color. Edmond wasn't sure if you would call her good-looking looking, but she was striking. Of course, that was just Edmund's standards being thrown out of whack by this world. In this world, all Nobles could be considered above average in appearance due to the lack of physical flaws and good health caused by Magic.

“Lilia.” He murdered the woman's name with a touch of guilt in his tone, not that she seemed to notice. Lilia was one of his lovers; she didn't even react to the girl sleeping beside him. Of course, that was only natural, considering she tracked down the brothel for him. That was one of the things he couldn't get used to about this world, particularly his home nation of Hallstatt. Hallstatt was sexist; although it was close to a World War II level of sexism where women had the right to vote and own property, but we're still considered the inferior sex. However, what was strange about this country was that men needed to show their libido off. If one didn't have multiple lovers, wives, and frequent affairs, they became the subject of mockery. His wives and lovers accepted it, although he didn't understand why and it didn't erase his guilt due to his memories.

“I see you're already awake, so Sir Edmund.” He slid out of bed and grabbed his own military uniform, which was the same color as hers. If an army officer from the United States of America saw the bright colors of the uniform, they would probably die of a seizure. However, camouflage was much less helpful since soldiers were getting up close and personal. “Before you put that on.” She started slightly pulling up her skirt. He got a brief glimpse of her thigh and was somewhat aroused, but he had to stop her.

“Sorry, Lilia, but there's a strategy meeting today. I don't want to be late.”

“But we wouldn't want you to be distracted during that strategy meeting.” She finished pulling up her skirt in the middle of her sentence, revealing her white panties. The white-on-red combination was highly arousing, and she stared directly at the part of him that might get distracted. However, he was still hesitant. While it would be very manly in a certain sense to show up late because he was busy fucking, it wouldn't be very proper. Seeing this hesitation, Lilia walked directly over to him and kissed him full on the mouth, putting her tongue in. “hm, tastes good,” she murmured directly into his ear.

After pulling out of the kiss, she kneeled in front of him. Opening her mouth, she slid it around his already erect penis. He grunted in pleasure, his remaining hesitation melting away under her tongue and mouth. Her tongue crawled all over his penis as the inside of her cheeks pressed against his rod. Lilia was the type to give blowjobs only with the mouth and tongue. As a result, they were silent in the room except for his moaning and slurping.

He unconsciously thrust into her mouth as he neared his climax. When he finally exploded, he let out a moan of pleasure. She opened her mouth and tilted back her head to show him the contents before swallowing it all. He felt this dick getting erect again; she smiled triumphantly up at him.

After they finished, he actually got dressed, and Lilia glanced at the girl on the bed. “She's sleeping quite soundly. Even after all the noise we made, you must have really given her a workout last night.”

Edmond shrugged, “She's just a deep sleeper.” He glanced in the mirror; he was still sometimes confused when looking at this appearance. Edmund Acker was undeniably handsome, with sand-colored hair and light blue eyes, which complemented his tall and healthy physique with a perfect tan. In his previous life, he'd been average at best, but if he returned to Earth, he would probably be featured in many model magazines.

The two exited the room, heading down the hallway to the Breakfast Table. They were currently in a mansion in the league capital, Colinium. The capital was small compared to other nations' capitals. The city of Triton, the capital of the Kingdom of Triton, had an estimated population of 3 million. In comparison, the population of Colinium barely even reached 100,000; however, the city served more of a spiritual and administrative purpose than actually operating as a city. The town was home to the Grand Council chamber and the grand Prince of the league. In addition, it was where their armies gathered when preparing for campaigns. As a result, the city had 12 mansions reserved for the 12 generals of the 12 principalities when they gathered. As well as for their semi-annual meeting, which was held to discuss military strategy and the nation's future.

Each nation in the league chose a general or a Supreme Commander to manage its military forces. Those people were collectively known as the 12 generals of Hallstatt. This title could be confusing, as other people held the rank of General within their military. For example, the Principality of Puplona had 20,000 soldiers. They were divided into two divisions: the first and the second divisions. Both of these divisions were commanded by a Major General who a Brigadier General aided. Edmund also had another Brigadier General as his aide. Some of the larger principalities even had lieutenant generals and generals operating under the general. The title of Grand General could be given to them, but that title was exclusively reserved for those who led Coalition armies. The title of Field Marshal had also been proposed but ultimately failed due to the traditional status and powers given to Field Marshals, which included the right to make War and Peace. So, the title of General stuck, and most people specified the general or one of the 12 generals.

Guards from Puplona had secured the house. They saluted him as he walked down the hall, and he respectfully returned the gesture. Although the league abandoned feudalism, some feudal Customs remained firmly embedded in their culture in-laws. So, although technically, he didn't have to salute back, he did partly from the memories of his old life and partly because he depended on the soldiers to die for him. The least he could do was respect them.

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When he arrived at the breakfast table, he saw two people waiting for him. One was a tall man in his fifties with graying hair and sharp eyes. Robert Barnsley was a typical sergeant, which wasn't his official rank. This world needed to have the concept of NCOs (Non-commissioned officers). Despite not being a military member in his previous life, he understood the importance of NCOs, particularly discipline, due to his general interest in the military. As a result, he created the position of Sergeant at Arms. Due to his father's allegiance to an outlaw motorcycle club, he understood that the position of Sergeant at Arms was in charge of maintaining the club's rules. So, he created the position of each Brigade had one and each division had one known as the Senior Sergeant at Arms. This created less friction than building an entire NCO class, thus upstaging the existing commissioned officers, primarily Nobles.

The other man was Colonel Oswald Morgan. He had permanently tired eyes and a broad expression to match. Almost all Nobles could be described as above average, but Oswald had the unique distinction of being considered below average. But this wasn't because of his face but his lack of self-grooming. His hair looked like it didn't even know what a comb was, and he only shaved once a week, giving him what was close to a full beard or 3 o'clock shadow, depending on what day you met him on.

As he entered, the two men stood up and respected and saluted. Robert gave a full military salute with a grave expression. Two seconds later, Oswald stood up and gave a salute that screamed, “I'm only doing this because I have to.” Edmond gestured for the two men to sit down before sitting down at the head of the table himself. He asked Lilia, “Have you had breakfast?”

“No, sir.”

“Then please sit down and have breakfast now.” She would only sit after he gave her express permission. “So why are you two here? I thought you'd be handling things in the camp.” Although Edmond was allowed to stay in the city, that wasn't true for the armies of the principalities gathered outside. So he had left Oswald, his chief of staff, and Rober, his Sergeant at Arms, to handle Affairs in the camp and his absence.

“I think the problem of the sergeant in arms is more important than mine,” Oswald said and probably started looking towards the door.

“He's just hoping to get a free breakfast,” Edmond realized. "So what happened, Robert?”

“Our men got into a fight with the principality of Orvieto.” Edmond groaned. The principality Puplona and Orvieto hated each other in a rivalry that extended to the kingdom of Hallstatt when they were feudal territories. This was why Edmund had arranged explicitly for their camps to be on the opposite side of the principality of Orvieto.

“How did that happen? I thought I made camp on the opposite side from Orvieto.”

“You did, Sir. This fight happened in town. A few of our men went for drinks, and they fought with soldiers from the principality of Orvieto.”

“And who started the fight?” Oswald asked curiously. Robert glared at him furiously. Due to their desperate personalities, the two of them got on like cats and dogs.

“That's the wrong question to ask. The fact is that a fight happened.” Edmund more or less silently agreed with Robert. If the Orvieto men had started provoking his men, the emotionally mature response would be to walk away. But of course, this world didn't operate according to Earth's logic, nor was that generally going to happen, even at most times on Earth. It was solely a modern person's sensibilities that violence was never the answer, and after a few years in this world, even Edmund thought that that idea was completely wrong. Most people in this world, if provoked, would respond with violence, especially if they were in the trade of violence or Nobles. It was simply that the weak died in this world: Nobles, commoners, soldiers, or entire nations. The weak were destroyed and trampled on, and the strong survived. The only way to show your strength was with violence.

But from a discipline perspective, this still had to be addressed, so he turned to Robert, “I wouldn't think you would bother me with such a small matter.” Fights between soldiers happened all the time, and even occasionally, fights involved soldiers from another principality, but it didn't seem like something that was worth personally bothering The General, the supreme commander of the Armed Forces.

“The soldiers from the principality of Orvieto insulted you, General.” Edmund sighed, although he wasn't entirely sure if it was because of exasperation or admiration. Edmond was initially unpopular among the troops due to his harsh discipline, but they could now see him as the principality Guardian deity, they respected him as their Supreme Commander. One of the main reasons was that Edmund won. People liked to win, but soldiers especially wanted to win. Winning meant money in the form of booty and prisoners, which could be ransomed and Glory to brag about. On top of that, in defeat, more soldiers died between a general who brought them victory and a general who didn't. Even if one were harsher with his discipline, most soldiers would follow the General who brought them victory.

The principality of Puplona was middling in strength among the League. It neither had great agricultural lands nor wealthy mines and on top of that, it was on the front lines with the league's sworn enemy, the kingdom of Triton. However, Edmund had changed their situation. He had beaten the kingdom of Triton in several skirmishes and, later, significant battles. His victories had won the respect of the other principalities, allowing Puplona to secure its border for the first time in decades. During the war with the kingdom of Triton a few years ago, Edmund won and pushed to the outskirts of Triton and now infamously burned one of their flags outside their city walls. It was one of the most significant victories that the league had seen in centuries. However, it had its fair share of factors not affected by Edmund, such as the Antlatur invasion of the Kingdom of Triton. The principality was still safer, more prosperous, and more influential for Edmond's existence, so the soldiers respected him for that.

If it was confirmed that the soldiers from the principality of Orvieto personally insulted him, which he wouldn't be surprised about, then his handling he had to be even more careful in his handling of the situation if he punished the soldiers for picking a fight with other soldiers over protecting his honor that would lower the morale of the soldiers and his popularity. But if he didn't, it might be a diplomatic incident with the principality of Orvieto. Not to mention, it would reduce discipline among the troops, and they would pick a fight every time the soldiers of the principality of Orvieto insulted him, which he had to believe was quite often.

After silence, Edmond delivered his sentence: “They will fight on the front line in the next battle.”

“Is that even a punishment, General,” Robert asked. “These hot-blooded young men want to fight on the front lines.”

Edmund smiled but didn't reply. If they, instead, were forbidden from fighting on the front lines, suddenly, everyone would be picking fights with the principality of Orvieto or at least the ones who didn't want to fight on the front lines. But making them fight on the front lines would mean they wouldn't hold a grudge against him, and they might even thank him for it. Of course, some people might go out of their way to pick fights to be put on the front line, but those sounded like the type of people he wanted to fight.

After they finished breakfast, Edmund sent Robert on his way. Well, Lilia fetched his armor to finish his last preparations for the war council. The 12 generals had a very particular attire: a black cuirass and a black helmet over a red military uniform with silver adornments. Black, red, and silver were the colors of the state. Although the league recognized its member nations, the military was technically all one big army despite being divided according to its member nations. So, it presented the same flag and uniform to all its soldiers and officers.

“I noticed you were still here, Oswald.” He had eaten the breakfast and just sat there as if he belonged.

“There were some things I wanted to report to you, such as what you asked about,” Oswald said indifferently.

Edmund felt guilt in his heart even though he knew it was deserved. Softening his tone, he asked, “So what's up?”

“Well, regarding the Kingdom of Black and their ongoing War, I have some information that might surprise you. The Kingdom of Redtowers invaded.”

“Antlatur,” Edmund said, surprised.

“No, the Kingdom of Black, even crazier they lost. Although it's difficult to say the Kingdom of Black is winning, at least at this point, their chances have certainly gone up.”

Edmond sank into thought. “So it's safe to say the Golden Stallion won't be coming to our aid this time.” Although the league and the kKngdom of Antlatur didn't officially maintain a diplomatic relationship, they shared a common enemy, the kingdom of Triton. So often intentionally or unintentionally aided each other in their War efforts.

“Yeah, although the Kingdom of Triton is unfortunately not taking advantage of this golden opportunity to invade. That leaves us holding the dirty bag this time, which brings me to my next point.” Pausing for dramatic effect, Oswald delivered his news with theatrical flair: “The kingdom of Triton has assembled 200,000 soldiers.”

Edmund felt his mind go blank before restarting. The kingdom of Triton and its Affiliated allies probably had around 250,000 soldiers collectively. However, they had never raised them in one spot, partly because they had other enemies. On top of that, the front line between the league and the kingdom was quite long. As a result, most wars between them weren't settled in single battles but rather in a series of skirmishes along the border. Even if there were decisive battles, for the most part, they never exceeded 100,000 soldiers before. Edmond was at least slightly prepared for this result, as early intelligence had indicated that a larger-than-average group was gathering in the Kingdom of Hulon, an Affiliated Kingdom of Triton. However, he took larger than average to mean close to 150,000, not 4/5 of the alliance's total military capabilities.

“So they're going all out, huh,” Edmond said to no one in particular.