[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-reborn-king":3,"chapter-the-reborn-king-the-reborn-king-chapter-327":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Reborn King",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1100984,1437,"Chapter 327: Malbork Castle","the-reborn-king-chapter-327",327,"\u003Cp>Sasha stood outside the door to Roch’s office and gently knocked. Waiting a minute, the door opened, and Roch looked at her with a flat expression. She didn’t wait for him to let her in and pushed past, taking a seat on a random chair. Roch sighed but ignored it, taking a seat at his desk, returning to work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The clock is ticking, Marquess,\" Sasha said coldly, picking up a random ornament and playing with it. Roch clicked his tongue but shrugged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can’t trust your words. It’s not like I have the Emperor’s approval in writing.\" He paused and put down his pen. Staring deeply into her eyes, he smiled, \"Besides, why did you think I would betray my homeland. I am loyal to the Commonwealth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sasha could tell he didn’t lie with what he said, but after being around Roch for a few days, she understood what type of man he was. \"That is the reason I offered. Do you honestly think the Commonwealth can win against the Empire?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roch scoffed and spun around in his chair. Looking out the window, he saw the sea in the distance. The ships of the Empire docked, with their black flag waving arrogantly like it always did. \"No. If Henryk hadn’t betrayed us, then maybe, but as of now, no. Unless a miracle occurs.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And do you think you will get that miracle?\" Roch chuckled and shook his head. \"I’m offering you a chance to make sure the Empire doesn’t butcher your home. Have power in the coming regime.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know how your Emperor acts. Maybe I’ll have power at first, but then something goes wrong. Maybe it was my fault, maybe not. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll be killed for it. He’s a paranoid tyrant.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sasha frowned and stared coldly at him. \"Did you figure this out from the rumours spread in the Commonwealth. The ones your King started. The one our enemies spread.\" Roch spun back around and looked at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So he never killed men just because of a hunch. I don’t believe it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And Snowid is better.\" Sasha countered. \"He never killed traitors, imprisoned his enemies, or made people who opposed him disappear.\" Roch’s lips curled into an annoyed smile, knowing what Sasha said was true. He opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped as Sasha continued. \"A ruler is either strong but cruel or weak and kind. Snowid is the former, much like the Emperor is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roch looked at her in silence, tapping the armrest of his chair. \"I don’t want to die,\" Roch said quietly. \"But I don’t want to be a traitor.\" Looking at Sasha, he smiled, \"If I don’t bend the knee, I will die. If not that, at least lose all my wealth right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sasha coldly nodded. \"Neither is good.\" Roch lowered his head and grabbed his chin. He wanted a way out that didn’t involve betraying his home. Despite the respect he had gained for the Empire, the Commonwealth was still his home. But he also knew it was going to be conquered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It would be a shame if my rights as a noble were ignored right now,\" Roch said just loud enough for Sasha to hear. He didn’t want to die or lose his power. But he also didn’t want to betray his home. If he had been imprisoned during the war and put to work afterwards, he would have never betrayed his people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sasha understood what Roch wanted and dryly chuckled. \"Sorry.\" Roch was confused as to why she apologised, but she was quickly answered by being punched deeply in the gut. \"It has to be believable.\" Quickly following up, she hit Roch’s chin with all her might, knocking the man out. His head bounced off his chair before crashing into the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stepping out the door, two soldiers were waiting for her. \"Take him to the prison.\" The guards looked at each other in confusion, but did as ordered and quickly took Roch. Collapsing into a chair, she slapped her cheeks and grabbed a pen and paper from Roch’s desk. Writing a letter to Alfred about the situation, she wondered if it would even reach him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were deep in enemy territory, and it was times like this she wished for ways to communicate that didn’t require a messenger. She couldn’t even use her own messenger birds right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malbork. The crossroad fort. Alfred was amazed at how big the castle was, one of the largest he had seen in his life. Even compared to his old world, it would rank up there. Charles came over and whistled at how grand the thing was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s gonna be tough to break through.\" Alfred looked and only nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We will,\" Alfred said confidently. \"Any word?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Snowid hasn’t sent anything to Jaslo yet. If he has, then it was small enough for us to miss and nothing to worry about.\" Alfred nodded. Looking at Malbork, he couldn’t wait to watch the walls collapse. His hate and anger for Snowid for what he ordered were slowly consuming him. It took everything he had to speak to Charles in a calm voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you think we have enough?\" Alfred asked the one question he was scared of getting an answer for. If he didn’t have enough, it meant he had to order William to send more troops north, delaying the assault and giving Snowid time to reinforce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charles sighed. \"It will be hard. We have enough, but if Snowid gets reinforced, then I don’t know.\" Charles scratched the back of his head in annoyance, \"The only thing we can do is attack it and find out. He will be worrying about Jaslo for now, so it’s the perfect opportunity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine. Prepare the men for a siege.\" Alfred said coldly and walked off. Charles watched and sighed, seeing the young man’s hand gently bouncing on and off his sword, waiting to pull it out. He could tell Alfred was doing his best to keep himself in check.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snowid watched from the inner wall as a massive boulder flew towards the castle. His face didn’t show any change in emotion as he patiently waited to see how the fort his ancestors built would hold up to a siege.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malbork and the three others first said it had never been tested. They were a final line of defence for a reason. The boulder flew in the air, ripping through the wind as it did. Behind the arching artillery, he saw a few ballistas move forward. The large bolts were carefully loaded and aimed towards the towers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snowid couldn’t help but take in the sight before him. Thousands of soldiers all neatly lined up, under the beating sun, as numerous pieces of artillery fell for him. This was nothing like the first war they fought, where each side only had around a thousand soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was different. This was two kings fighting for a crown, but two nations fighting for what they believed in. The Empire’s relentless desire for conquest; born from the arrogant hubris of one man. And his homeland’s unyielding defence of its sovereignty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clash of ideals. A war that would shape the very future of each nation. If he lost, the Commonwealth would cease to exist in name. The Empire would get the confidence it needed, which proved they were destined to be conquerors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Empire lost, the spell might be broken on its people. They would see that Alfred was just a man, not a divine envoy. That belief that the Ammary people were destined for greatness would crumble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snowid’s thoughts were broken by the crashing of the boulders into the castle walls. A cheer erupted around the castle walls as his men saw the strength of their defences. A ballista bolt shot through the air, narrowly missing its target, flying off to who knew where.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaning on the stone wall, he smiled. The walls wouldn’t last forever, but it was enough. If they held, reinforcement would come. Now was the matter of securing a supply line whilst they hid away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alfred frowned, watching the first shot miss. It was a single attack, but from it, he could see how long this siege would take. If it were over in half a year, he would be lucky. By then, maybe William would come to support him, or his army would be defeated. It was too long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s not good enough,\" Alfred said angrily, and Charles frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean?\" Charles sighed and watched the second volley fly towards the castle walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s too weak. Haven’t we got something better?\" Charles shook his head, making Alfred click his tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Maybe I should just invent gunpowder.’The thought flashed through his mind. If he had a cannon, he could easily deal with this. He knew how to make gunpowder. He wasn’t a great inventor nor knew everything from his old world, but gunpowder was so revolutionary that it was one of the things he learnt to make.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’It would be easy. We have the materials in the Empire. Then a cannon. If we have the best blacksmiths wo...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your grace.\" Charles interrupted Alfred’s thoughts, \"Is everything okay? I’ve been calling for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry. I was lost in thought.\" Alfred flashed a kind smile that Charles instantly knew was fake. Since he got the news about Edwards, he hadn’t properly smiled. He knew Alfred well enough to know that his smile wouldn’t come back until Isra confirmed Edward was okay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As I was saying, we can speed up the siege by starving them. The only problem is if reinforcements come, then we may end up losing a lot of men.\" Alfred nodded, his mind going back to his old world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Siege warfare came in many forms on Earth. Looking at it, his eyes flash with a cruel light.’If I can’t use gunpowder, then I will use something that I can use.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Charles.\" Afred looked at him, his eyes full of cruel cunning. \"How many bodies can you gather?\" Charles was stunned by the command, and Alfre could see that. But he said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he wanted was dangerous, and he knew that. He couldn’t control disease, especially with medieval technology, but he didn’t care. He wanted the siege over, no matter what.\u003C\u002Fp>",1722,"2026-06-03T11:17:48.775Z","2026-06-03T11:17:51.400Z",1,"novelbin.me","e4c30896221708d399212dd6f8bf28d01cb0f720008fe6b3150fb4ca8914e104","the-reborn-king-chapter-328","the-reborn-king-chapter-326",487,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-reborn-king-cover.jpg"]