Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 155 The Hundred Years' War between England and France (First Update)
(I was so tired from updating so much the past two days that I slept for ages yesterday. I'll continue with three updates today!)
Warfare has never ceased on the continent of Europe. In the end, the empire that once reigned over all of Europe and turned the Mediterranean into its own inland lake crumbled because... the barbarians arrived.

On the steppes of Eastern Europe, the Hun, known as Attila, led his tribe in numerous battles against the Roman Empire, ultimately tearing away the last veil of the weakening empire. After him, the western part of the Roman Empire completely collapsed. The Germanic tribes of the north, who had once served as mercenaries for the Roman Empire, now became the main culprits in its destruction, repeatedly plundering Rome and ravaging its original homeland.

However, these barbarian tribes that occupied Western Europe accepted official positions from the Roman Empire, and at least for a long time, Western Europe was nominally part of the empire's territory...

Charlemagne, who inherited the Frankish kingdom from his father, eventually became the Christian emperor under the coronation of the Pope. He once tried to request the Eastern Roman Emperor to be crowned the Western Roman Emperor according to the custom of having one emperor on each side of the Roman Empire. For this, he was willing to give up the conquest of southern Italy and stop at Rome.

However, the Eastern Roman emperor only promised him the title of emperor, without mentioning the position of Western Roman emperor, which infuriated the ambitious Frankish emperor.

While Charlemagne was alive, he had the opportunity to unite all of Europe into a single empire forever, but he died before he could accomplish this...

When Charlemagne died, his descendants inherited his vast empire, which was divided into three parts in a series of incessant struggles: the East Frankish Kingdom, the Middle Frankish Kingdom, and the West Frankish Kingdom. These parts became the prototypes for later France, Germany, Italy, and numerous smaller states.

……

The kingdom rose and fell, and within just a few generations, Charlemagne's descendants lost the throne. In France, the last descendant of Charlemagne, King Louis V, breathed his last, and the Carolingian dynasty, which had once ruled over all of Europe, came to an end.

In their struggle for the throne, the French nobles ultimately decided to make Hugo Capet, the Count of Paris, a man of good reputation, King of France. They believed that he was too weak to threaten the powerful princes, and that he also had a Carolingian princess in his family, which met the requirements for royal succession.

Because of its weak power, it could hardly influence anyone except its own city of Paris. So much so that people at the time jokingly called Paris "Île de France" and the French king "Count of Île de France," because the French king could only stay on this "island" and could do nothing.

Thus, this initially unremarkable Count of Paris proceeded with extreme caution, skillfully navigating the complex relationships among the various powerful princes. The forbearance of several generations of kings finally paid off, and he became the true King of France. However, the Capetian dynasty also encountered the same problems that had plagued the Carolingian dynasty…

No heir.

In 1328, Charles IV, the Capetian king of France, died. With the old king gone, a new king had to be chosen, but the problem was that Charles IV had no male offspring, and the Capetian line ended.

Charles IV's father, Philip III, had three sons, with Charles IV being the youngest. However, Charles IV's two older brothers had both died young. Besides his three sons, Philip III had only one daughter, Isabella, who became Queen of England and the mother of the current King Edward III of Great Britain.

Therefore, as Philip III's grandson, King Edward III of England declared his right to inherit the throne of the Kingdom of France.

However, the French nobles disliked the Englishman and instead chose Philip VI, Charles IV's cousin, as King of France. An enraged Edward III, and after several unsuccessful negotiations, the longest war in history began between England and France…

The Hundred Years' War between England and France thus began.

……

1419 October.

The village of Domrémy in Lorraine, to be fair, wasn't entirely French territory, as the Holy Roman Empire also claimed it. The two most powerful empires in Europe had fought several wars over sovereignty of Lorraine. Ultimately, the conflict ended in a temporary French victory, but everyone knew that the Holy Roman Emperor would never relinquish this region and always coveted it.

However, for Jeanne, who was born here, she did not consider herself to be related to the Emperor Sigismund from Luxembourg, because most people in Lorraine speak French, and the similarity between languages ​​makes most Lorraines identify as French rather than German.

Jeanne Acre, whose father was a local gentry with over fifty acres of land, and whose ancestors even served as tax collectors for the King of France, was ultimately just a country girl.

For a country girl, going out to play is a perfectly normal thing, but... that doesn't mean now is the time to play.

Behind the hill, a little boy and a little girl were crouching, carefully concealing themselves, while English soldiers galloped along the path in their line of sight.

The English soldiers, numbering less than a dozen, dressed in leather armor or thick leather armor, as well as various types of iron armor, were chatting as they marched forward in small columns.

These were small English units, either sent on reconnaissance or raiding missions, but the two children naturally wouldn't know that much; they only knew...

"The thief from England."

The little boy looked at the soldiers with disgust. In his memory, these Englishmen always came and just looted their things, which made him extremely disgusted with them.

But the little girl beside her was calmer and spoke softly to the little boy next to her.

"Bernard, hurry back to the village and report the news."

She had come out to play with her friends, but unexpectedly encountered these English soldiers. She knew that if these soldiers went to the village, they would probably rob her again. "And what about you?"

The little boy looked at her with concern.

"I'll keep watch here, hurry up."

Turning to look at the boy beside her, the little girl spoke urgently. Without further ado, the little boy nodded, tiptoed away, and ran back.

……

However, in the end, the little girl watched as her familiar village was burned to ashes in front of her.

Even though the little boy, relying on his familiarity with the roads, rushed back to the village before the Englishmen and told them the news, the farmers only had time to take the essentials. The houses built of wood and dry grass, which they couldn't take with them, were inevitably burned down by the Englishmen before they left.

It's easy to imagine that this winter will be tough for many people...

Staring blankly at the raging fire before her, the little girl knelt down in despair, gazing at the sky above, her hands clasped to her chest, murmuring a prayer.

"Lord, when will this end..."

But she didn't realize that, along with her voice... in the heavens above, a pair of eyes opened.

The god lowered its head and looked down at the mortal world, already having made up its mind.

"This time... we're sure to succeed."

……

Inside the underwater temple, on the cold throne, a monster that has slumbered for a hundred years awakens once more.

He lifted his eyelids, revealing those cold and indifferent vertical snake eyes.

"Is it happening again?"

Looking at his sharp fingertips, a deep and composed voice echoed in the temple.

An invisible aura slowly spread from the monster's side. Strangely, looking at that ethereal black shadow, one felt a deep chill and fear, making it hard to breathe with just a glance. But when a sense of awe and reverence unconsciously arose in your heart, looking at that deep darkness inexplicably gave you a sense of warmth...

That feeling is as if your heart is filled with something invisible, a deep sense of satisfaction and happiness arises, making you not want to go against it at all, but only want to obey it.

After all, it was so beautiful.

A tyrannical, indifferent being atop a cold throne, he is like a god overlooking all things, breathtakingly beautiful.

Over these thousands of years, gods and demons have clashed countless times, and the traces of their clashes have even been etched into history, forming numerous legends.

Like King Arthur of Britain, she was chosen by God to appear in this world as a woman, even conquering Rome and dominating Europe, but ultimately died at Camlann, driven by the devil. Or like Charlemagne, or Attila…

Numerous monarchs and heroes became pawns in the battle between gods and demons, with humanity caught in the middle, constantly shifting between light and darkness.

And this time...

"Hmm? A saintess? Interesting. Let's see how you intend to manipulate this mortal's fate..."

Inside the ancient temple, the low laughter grew louder and louder.

(End of this chapter)