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Chapter 231 - The Calm Before the Storm (2)

“Well, to be honest, it\'s not a foolproof plan that will guarantee victory...” warned Henry. He was serious.

Henry was aware that his plan was too simplistic to guarantee victory. His strategy was to infiltrate the capital of the Aenia Empire and bring back Arthus’s head while the Allied Powers engaged in melee combat against the one hundred thousand imperial troops.

McDowell, who had been quietly listening to Henry, burst into laughter and said, “Hahaha, man... you’re nuts!”

However, McDowell wasn’t mocking Henry, quite the opposite. He was strongly complimenting Henry and his bold plan.

Valhald and Von also expressed their agreement.

“I couldn’t agree more with McDowell. I think it’s a great idea, Henry. You can leave Zipan to us. In the meantime, you do what you can do.”

“I agree too.”

The top swordsmen of the Allied Powers showed their support. Lore, who had also been quiet the entire meeting, spoke up as well.

“I knew you would come up with something like this, Archmage. You’re the only one capable of pulling off such a plan.”

Despite the unanimous support, Henry asked once again, “So how does everyone else feel about this?”

In reality, it seemed unnecessary for Henry to ask once again if everyone was on board; he merely did it out of courtesy.

Hela smirked and replied, “Since when do you require our approval...? Do as you will.”

“I also have complete faith in your plan, Sir Henry.”

“Same here.”

Everyone took turns to express their approval.

To Henry, things couldn’t have turned out better. He laughed and waved his hand on the table. Soon after, two familiar severed heads appeared on the table.

“These are...!”

The heads of Batz and Kinless were on the table. Of course, Henry didn’t have to worry about their blood making the table messy as he had already drained them ahead of time.

Henry then looked everyone in the eye and said, “These are the heads of the two corps commanders who attacked the Sore Empire, Batz, and Kinless.”

“Ohho, does this mean...?”

"Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. We’ve succeeded in defending the Sore Empire against the thirty thousand imperial troops. In addition, the Sore Empire has sustained almost no damage, so it will join the rest of us as soon as its army reorganizes itself.”

This was very good news because everyone had been feeling uncomfortable about the fact that they hadn’t been able to aid the Sore Empire.

Henry continued to explain.

“I also want to say that I took down these two all by myself, so you don’t have to worry about me. You just have to deal with the imperial troops here while I raid the capital. I’ll make sure to return with Arthus’ head and hoist our flag in victory.”

If the leader of an army fell, there was no point in continuing the fight. It was even more so if the emperor himself fell.

As Henry promised victory, the room lit up with excitement.

However, Doyle, who had been quietly observing the magic strategy map, said, “Hmm... Then I guess the key element would be how quickly Sir Henry can assassinate Arthus. We also need to take into account how fast the Sore Empire and Deucekain can join us in the fight.”

Hearing this, Herarion spoke up before Henry had the chance to.

“That is true... Is there something in particular that you wish to say, Sir Doyle?”

Doyle wasn’t trying to go against the whole plan. Rather, he just went over it one more time. However, the way he said it suggested that he had something more to say.

Henry felt that Doyle had something to say about his plan. Before he had the chance to ask Doyle to elaborate, the elder spoke up again.

“Just as I mentioned earlier. Even if Sore Empire joins later on, the difference in numbers will still be forty thousand troops. And before they join, we will have a total of fifty thousand troops. What I’m saying is that we initially would have to hold off against the imperial army with half their numbers. You did mention that we will have around eighty thousand troops, so I’m assuming that Deucekain will be joining with around two thousand troops. Did I get this correct, Archmage?”

“Yes, you are absolutely right, Sir Doyle,” said Henry as he nodded at the elder’s comments.

Hearing this, Herarion added, “But we have wizards and illusionists.”

“The presence or absence of specific forces also applies to the imperial army. Just as we have special forces that the Imperial Army doesn’t have, they probably also have forces that we don’t have, am I wrong?”

“Such as?”

“I’ve come to know that the Sun Warriors from St. Hall, the former religious city of the Eurasian Empire, have joined the Imperial Army.”

“The Sun Warriors?!”

The Sun Warriors of the Church of Peace.

There were three kinds of Sun Warriors of the Church of Peace. One of them was the Paladins who fought against evil, the second were the priests who embraced everything, and finally, the monks, who sacrificed themselves for the greater good.

As Doyle mentioned the Sun Warriors, Herarion went silent. Then, Doyle broke the silence once again.

“Archmage, I do not know how strong the newly formed imperial army is. However, I do know that our soldiers are inferior to the enemy troops. Our soldiers have spent their entire lives focusing on agriculture rather than military training. Archmage, do you believe the Allied Powers can withstand an attack from the imperial army?”

Doyle had a point. It would take at least three to four days for the Sore Empire to come to Zipan after they finished collecting their spoils of war.

As for Deucekain, it would take them even more time to get there because they didn’t have a teleporting gate connecting them to Zipan.

Despite that, the fight was already in the front yard of Zipan. If the battle started at that moment, the Allied Powers could realistically mobilize around fifty thousand troops.

On top of the big difference in the number of soldiers, Doyle also wanted to emphasize the gap between the quality of the two armies.

At that moment, Hela, the Iron and Blood Empress of Amaris, intervened, “Tsk, this is why men are all the same, whether they’re old or young.”

Hela got up from her seat and leaned toward Doyle with her hands on the table.

“Old man Doyle, are you that scared?”

“It’s not about being scared... We’re talking about a war here. I’m talking about the reality Zipan is facing right now.”

“I think you’re just saying the same thing over and over again. You’re saying that Zipan invested in farming, not military power. And because of this, you’re afraid to engage in direct combat with the imperial army that has twice as many troops. Am I wrong?”

“I won’t deny it.”

Hela spoke in a somewhat aggressive tone, but she nonetheless stated the facts. She touched her temples before continuing with her explanation.

“They do say that you get more timid as you grow older. Hey, old man Doyle, I get your point about the war, but this isn’t just a game of who has more soldiers. I think you have a big misunderstanding somewhere; even though we’re technically talking about melee combat, in reality, this fight is to protect Zipan’s huge castle. What I’m trying to say is that we can overcome the difference in numbers for at least a few days.”

“But...”

“But what? Please don’t tell me you’re still afraid and intend to run away even when we have the advantage of a huge castle. The imperial troops might have the Sun Warriors, but we have wizards. Let’s not piss our pants when we haven’t even done anything yet.”

With that, the room went silent. Just like Doyle, Hela also made a good point. The huge Zipan castle could indeed make up for the difference in numbers.

Nevertheless, the Allied Powers were having a strategy meeting that needed to come to a conclusion. In order to do so, each leader had to come up with something more than simply their opinion. All of them had to come up with significant contributions to the plan so that they could reach a consensus.

Hela had used her charisma to make a point, shutting down Doyle’s concerns.

Herarion broke the silence to support Hela’s argument.

“The Empress is right. Above all, this battle is to protect the castle, and we’ll do so from inside. I believe we can hold off their larger army for a couple of days. In addition I don\'t think it will take Henry that long to assassinate Arthus. Am I wrong, Sir Henry?”

Just like Hela, Herarion also made some good points.

The room was now even more animated than before, and Henry didn’t think of this as something bad. He knew that the different perspectives and respectful questioning would eventually lead to the most optimal conclusion.

As Henry listened to everyone, Henry turned to Doyle.

“Sir Doyle.”

“Yes, Archmage.”

"I see merit in your viewpoint, and I acknowledge that both the Empress and His Majesty Herarion have valid perspectives as well. But I do want to say this. Simply being afraid will not accomplish anything. What I’m really trying to say is, could you please have faith in me and give me a chance?”

Henry then looked into Doyle’s eyes. The elder felt the strong confidence and sincerity in the eyes of the Archmage.

For a few moments, the room was completely silent.

Eventually, Doyle sighed softly and responded, “Alright...”

“I’m grateful for your faith. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that I will fulfill the promise I made to all of you in the beginning, no matter what happens.”

Sometimes, a sincere look carried more weight than words. After Henry persuaded Doyle, he also mentioned the other tricks up his sleeve, such as Alfred and Balak, to bring more credibility to him and his plan.

“Then, from now on, we will divide the troops and appoint commanders accordingly.”

The preparations for the final battle had just begun.

***

Kington Foram, the commander-in-chief of the imperial army.

Allen, the leader of Faesiling and the current Mercenary King.

Walker, Allen\'s one and only lieutenant, also known as the Master Spearman.

Masila, the genius advisor and Allen’s most precious treasure.

Logger, the veteran leader of the Paladins among the three Sun Troops.

Irenae, the only female Saint of the Church of Peace, also referred to as the Living Blessing.

Last but not least, Ananda, the last Sun of the Church of Peace, the monk who was considered the role model for all the other monks.

The seven corps commanders all gathered in one place, their objective simple: annihilate the enemy troops in the Herrerne plain and conquer Zipan, the thorn in the empire’s side, which was located in the middle of the plain. The plan was to attack at sunrise.

The sun was rising. Although they had been exhausted from the arduous march, the soldiers immediately set about constructing a mud tower without even realizing that they were exhausted due to the ultra-wide area of effect healing spell Irenae had cast on them.

As the construction was in full swing, the seven corps commanders came together and began their first strategy meeting, initiated by Kington.

“We’re finally here, but to be honest, I don’t think we have much to talk about. I think we can just sweep them away. I can just tell that we have a lot more than they have and that our soldiers are better.”

Kington was the only member of the imperial palace among the corps commanders. Despite his confident assertion, Masila, the only advisor of Mercenary King Allen, made an objection.

“I believe that is a dangerous claim. They have wizards and even illusionists over there. Going on an all-out war in a situation like this is no different than jumping out of the frying pan into fire.”

Masila couldn’t help but frown. She abhorred arrogant and foolish people the most. However, Kington was currently her superior, so she tried her best to somehow maintain a neutral expression, but she just couldn’t let the previous statement slide away without making a face.

Kington frowned slightly in response and said, “Yeah, okay, unlike us, they have wizards and illusionists, so I say we should be cautious. But to build a mud tower right after the march? Don’t you think you’re pushing my soldiers to the limit?”

“I believe you agreed on that part during the march, no? And it has already been proven a long time ago that Irenae’s recovery spells are excellent for relieving fatigue.”

Every time Kington complained, Masila had a counter-argument based on logic.

However, Kington already knew how Masila felt about him. At any rate, he was the commander-in-chief, while she was just a subordinate commander. Kington really disliked Masila’s hostile attitude because it disrupted the chain of command.

‘Tsk, coming at me for everything I say. This is why I didn’t want to have bullshit mercenaries involved.’

Kington trash-talked Masila in his head. However, the ironic thing was that Masila was also aware of how Kington actually felt about her.

As a hostile atmosphere formed between Kington and Masila, Allen, the Mercenary King, stepped in to mediate the conflict.

“Haha, how about we stop fighting? We’re on the same team after all... How about we split up sections now? Herrerne is an open field, so even a five-year-old child could tell that closing in from all directions is the way to do it.”

“I know that, which is why I wanted this meeting,” replied Kington. “Since we’re on the topic, let’s decide who’s going to be in charge of where and how we’re going to redistribute the troops.”

The Allied Powers and Empire Forces.

Both sides were having a meeting at the same time, discussing how to annihilate each other.