Chapter 908: An Unreliable Battle Strategy
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Before Miles could barely rest his legs after finally arriving in Worchester, he was assigned and sent out again by Benjamin.
"I need the most detailed intelligence on the royal army!"
The breaking through of Crusader Gateway had rewritten the situation in the Kingdom of Helius on a very large scale, indeed. However, the Church might not change their intentions to attack just because of that. After doing some calculations on the journeys, the royal army could arrive in Worchester after just a few days. This was the most pressing problem before them now.
Although they had already decided to withdraw, he still needed more information.
In addition, Miles was a precious resource that must not be wasted; he had to be utilized well. Benjamin even felt that it was rather a pity; if only he had been around as well when the Church had attacked previously, the losses suffered by the Black Nightmare Army would have definitely not been so heavy due to insufficient intelligence.
Thus, Benjamin took a deep breath after sending him off. He stood on the city wall, remaining in deep thought for a long time. Suddenly, he summoned those few Wood family knights left in the Black Nightmare Army.
"You guys should’ve already heard about the incident at Crusader Gateway, yes?"
Hearing that, those few knights seemed to be rather doubtful. However, they still nodded their heads.
Seeing that, Benjamin continued to speak. "Including Duchess Elizabeth, the entire Wood army is now stationed in the gateway. Do you wish to go there?"
Immediately, the knights became even more hesitant.
"We..."
"You don’t have to worry about the situation here." Benjamin smiled, saying, "We were going to move out and abandon the city originally anyway, so it doesn’t matter even if you leave. Moreover, they are your masters. It’s reasonable and fair for you to return and serve her. I won’t be angry."
Having heard that, those few knights looked at each other. Finally, all of them lowered their heads.
"...Thank you, sir. It has been the honor of our lives to have had fought alongside you."
Benjamin shook his head, laughing.
"Then set off as quickly as you can, in case the situation changes and you become unable to leave again." Saying thus, he took out a letter from his pocket and passed it to those few knights. "Also, when you set off, bring this letter with you at the same time and hand it over personally to Duchess Elizabeth."
The knight in front put the letter away and nodded. "We understand."
Subsequently, they turned around and left the city wall. As Benjamin watched their backs while they left, his heart settling down quite a bit.
Perhaps this had also been within Duke Collin’s calculations, but... he had still decided to join forces with the Wood family.
Both parties had always been allies, as they had the same enemy. In addition, with the Black Nightmare Army being in such a terrible situation, it was naturally even more necessary that they used everything they could. At the very least, if Elizabeth was willing to send her soldiers out to help them, they might not even have to give Worchester up.
It was quite a pity to give up such a good domain.
"I think you guys should just slip away quickly." On the contrary, the System turned its nose up on his thoughts. "How can they make it in time? The Church is already reaching soon, and Crusader Gateway is such a long distance away. By the time they send reinforcements, the daylilies would’ve already cooled off!*"
"With the Runic Defense Technique, we can still delay things for a bit," Benjamin replied in his heart, "moreover, they can outflank the royal army from their way of escape and cut the enemy’s supplies off, forcing the Church to have no way to launch a full-scale attack. Then, Worchester would be kept safe."
"Such complicated battle strategies, and you wish to clarify them by relying on just a single letter?"
Benjamin shook his head helplessly.
Having had buckets of cold water poured onto him, he could no longer be bothered squabbling with the System. Without a doubt, requesting for help was an alternative plan that could definitely work. He had selected this option while also making proper preparations for a retreat. Only then could this be claim to be the best solution under the circumstances.
Half a day later.
"How long more before the troops can reach Worchester?"
The sun was setting. The royal army was forced to find a place to set up camp. Grant watched the final rays of the sun shining from the horizon, and suddenly posed the question.
The bishop on his side replied hurriedly. "One day! One day, at most. Don’t worry, Your Highness. This time tomorrow, we’ll definitely have reached Worchester with haste, surrounding that bunch of rebels and killing every single one of them, until not a single piece of their armor is left*!
Grant seemed to be slightly displeased, however. He glanced from the corners of his eyes.
"I’m not asking about us."
Hearing that, the bishop was stuck for words at first. After that, he came back to his senses, and lowered his voice, saying, "This... has all been arranged for. They will be rushing and arriving at the same time as we do. I can guarantee that the Black Nightmare Army won’t be able to escape, no matter where they run."
As though he had finally heard a satisfactory answer, Grant nodded before turning around to return into the tent.
The bishop followed him in as well.
In the tent were soldiers that had just hurried over from the Town of Crewe. They had brought intelligence on another army, and were currently looking rather shaken up. Shivers ran through their bodies involuntarily when they saw the Pope walk in; at lightning speed, they knelt on one knee, one after another.
"Your Highness the Pope..."
Grant waved his hand. He still seemed to be in a stable mood. "I cannot consider it to be your fault that Crusader Gateway has fallen. I won’t be pursuing the matter because of it."
"Thank, thank you, Your Highness the Pope!" As though they had just received a great pardon, the soldiers then fought to be the first to give their reports. "The situation... The situation is like this, a traitor had slipped into the gateway! There must’ve been a traitor who suddenly opened the gateway by taking their chance in the middle of the night, and then a bunch of mages had immediately rushed in! We were unable to retaliate at all, and only a few of us managed to escape in the end..."
Hearing that, Grant narrowed his eyes slightly.
"A traitor, huh..."
The bishop, who was standing on the side, captured another crucial point. He asked, "A bunch of mages? Just how many were there?"
"Hundreds, at least!" The soldier answered hurriedly. "We aren’t sure about the actual numbers as well, but after taking over the gateway, they’d conquered the Town of Crewe successfully and stationed themselves there. The entire army looked to be at least tens of thousands of men! Furthermore..."
Hearing his words, the faces of Grant and the bishop fell in unison. After that, the bishop suddenly gave a start; this stress was just too much for either him or His Highness the Pope! Because of that, he hurriedly gave the soldiers a look, causing them to quickly shut their mouths and refrain from speaking any more.
Grant’s face remained downcast, as usual. He did not speak, and seemed to be thinking about something.
The bishop and the soldiers could only wait cautiously on the sides, observing the changes in Grant’s expression carefully. They were ready to react at any moment. Who knew whether His Highness the Pope would suddenly decide to vent his anger and kill two of them, or make an irrational decision based on a sudden impulse? The bishop, especially, had to keep the emotions of His Highness steady for the future of the Church. His mental state became even more intensely nervous.
His Highness... What on earth would he say after his contemplation was over?
They were on tenterhooks for approximately five minutes. Finally, Grant stopped mulling, and lifted his head.
"Who is that?"
At that moment, he turned to look out the window of the tent. Under the stunned gaze of the others, he flew out with a whoosh.