Chapter 157: Speaking In A Foreign Tongue

"I apologise if my translation is terrible, but please do not worry. I promise that no harm will befall you," Victor said, speaking in adequate Simbarnese. The Gu soldiers were taken aback; they never thought a foreign monarch would take the time to learn their native language.

One of the Gu soldiers was brave and asked Victor, "You speak our language? How is this possible?" Victor offered a slight, warm smile. He wanted to act welcoming towards them; if he could succeed in swaying their opinion, they might be able to give Victor some insightful information.

"I am just a king with a few secrets, one of which is that me being able to speak your language. Please relax, I promise nothing bad will happen to you. All that I want is to have a conversation that can help me understand your kingdom and continent," Victor replied in a cheerful tone.

The Gu soldiers were sceptical at first. They would have been stupid to outright trust King Victor, but as their conversation with him continued, they felt more and more comfortable around him. Their conversation persisted for many hours, bearing all types of fruit for Victor.

Throughout their conversation, Victor was able to learn about Hunyuan's disdain for King Gu Tian. They despised him with every fibre of their being. He was a brutal bastard who personally executed their former king, King Zhao Fang, and his entire family. Many of their family members had died in the war against the Kingdom of Gu. They would have revolted, but they did not stand a chance against a whole kingdom.

This information was valuable for Victor. He potentially did not have to fight against the whole continent. If he could eradicate the Gu family, there was a chance that half the continent would stand down. However, that was merely a fantasy; there was still plenty to do to get to that point.

After talking to the prisoners, Victor returned to his quarters, preparing to deal with his summons. Victor was excited to gain more soldiers for the invasion force. Some of the newly summoned soldiers would replenish the 14th Corps ranks, while the rest would be assigned as garrison soldiers.

When Victor used the summons, a special unit card appeared alongside the usual plethora of options. In one of the selection squares was an infantry unit that Victor had never seen before.

These soldiers were adorned with red conical hats that had a tassel. They wore a quilted dark blue tunic fastened with brass buttons, a red sash tied at the waist, and loose brown trousers tucked into black cloth shoes. 

Their muskets were slightly outdated, and instead of a bayonet, they had a spearhead attachment that was equipped in its place. They also had a short schimtar tucked into their hips.

Usually, Victor would instantly recognise the units displayed in his options, but these were soldiers from a unit that he had never seen or heard of. The soldiers shared similar physical features to people from the Simbar continent. In Victor's mind, he was keen to take the risk. If there was a chance that these soldiers could speak Bulgartic and Simbarnese, it would be a game changer.

Victor selected the Simbarnese-looking soldiers for the first 10,000-Man Infantry Summon; the other one would remain unused until Victor saw his new soldiers. After redeeming the summon, Victor went to bed, looking forward to seeing the new soldiers.

As the new day began, 10,000 Simbarnese-looking soldiers marched through the southern gatehouse. They were wearing a similar uniform to what was displayed on their unit card, but it had been modified to look like the standard military uniform of the Luxenberg Army.

Victor was joyous to see them; they looked magnificent in their adapted Luxenberg uniform. Two of the soldiers stepped forward and began to introduce themselves in Simbarnese. The first one to speak was a man with long black hair styled in a ponytail, "Greetings, My Liege. I am Brigade Commander Den Yuu. I swear my eternal loyalty to you and your kingdom."

Victor smiled and turned his head to the other man who had stepped forward. He was taller than the other man and Victor. He had short brown hair and a thin beard. His voice was relatively deep as he introduced himself, "Greetings, My Liege. I am Brigade Commander So Sui. I swear my eternal loyalty to you and your kingdom."

Both men commanded 5,000 soldiers and were a step below the rank of general. Victor was pleased to meet them and began to speak in Simbarnese, "It is an honour to meet you, Den Yuu and So Sui. Is it possible for you to speak Bulgartic. I apologise if that is rude, I just do not want the onlooking soldiers to be confused."

Both men nodded and began to talk in Bulgartic. Many of the onlooking soldiers who were from Bulgar were stunned to see their king speak another language, but they grew more impressed when the Simbarnese soldiers were all speaking Bulgartic. Victor's wish came true; all of the summoned soldiers could speak two languages.

Victor was over the moon about his new summons, so much so that he used his other 10,000-Man Infantry Summon to get more Simbarnese soldiers. In his head, Victor had planned to use these soldiers as garrison troops in the meantime, but he had multiple ideas flooding his mind.

They could be used as saboteurs to infiltrate Gu cities or the army and take out key targets. There was the possibility of using them as rebels, going from village to village, riling the people to take arms against the Kingdom of Gu.

For now, Victor wanted to keep things simple and just have them in the garrison. There was no need for schemes just yet. The Gu army was beginning to muster. Victor would need all available soldiers to defend the city against their ginormous army. If Victor could repel the main Gu army, it would make the conquest of the continent so much easier.

The next four months were crucial for the Luxenberg Army; they needed to make the most of the time they had.