Proofread by Thomas F
Thaddeous Stone
"It's a risky plan," I finally replied to the plan that Cardin had proposed. It is daring and could destroy us, but it could also weaken the enemy and strengthen us.
I turned to Lady Carla. "Lord Silver agrees with it," she replied finally.
It's extremely dangerous, and a lot of things could go wrong, but we didn't have much of a choice.
We have the fortress in our control, but we also want the Baronies, and this would weaken them, ultimately helping us in the Baronies.
It wouldn't be easy.
Lockridge has around thirty thousand men, Grimvale around the same, and Dane has fifty thousand.
Combined, they have the force of over a hundred thousand. A massive army that would crush the baronies, if it came together, and it will.
"They have arrived," informed Irab.
I nodded, and we walked toward the gallery. It is huge, with enchanted spyglasses that lets one see quite far.
We didn't have to look quite that far.
I looked through the spyglass and saw Dane's army stopping beside Grimvale's; it wouldn't take long before they march upon us.
…
Harrison Dane
I stopped at the tent before stepping inside.
There are two people, one of whom is a Knight in his mid-thirties.
Handsome, with pale blue hair and amber eyes, wearing pristine white metal armor of imperial knights. However, there is an imperial Sigal on it.
There are two sigils, one is of Grimvales and the other is his own house.
On his back is a long sword with purple fog, covering the blade. That's an artifact.
Beside him is a man in his early sixties with raven hair that has started to get grey. He is short and thin, but his brown eyes are as sharp as a sword.
"Commander Dane," they greeted. Just Commander, not Lord Commander, I noticed. "Knight Martas, General Vesbeil," I replied.
There was a silence; I hate these bastards, and they didn't like me either.
"We have a big army together, but it wouldn't be enough to breach through the fort," said Vesbeil, before his eyes turned even sharper.
"Unless you have a secret way that would lead us inside?" he asked. "No, secret way," I replied with gritted teeth.
Yes, there are secret ways, but Lawson knows them. He is the only person who knows about all of them.
I had kept many of them secret, but I told him about them earlier, before I left. I wanted him to know everything so that he could defend us effectively against the enemies coming after us.
Instead, the traitorous bastard had opened the gates and handed them the keys.
"So, what is the plan, Commander? I am sure, by now Stone would have replaced all the important positions with his men, and our combined army might be strong, but it is not enough to breach through it," he asked.
I had told them I had a plan to gain the leverage, and I do have a plan, but it's not as great as I had made it to be.
"It's a simple plan, we will march down to the fort with the huge army and incite my people in the fort to rebel against Silver," I replied.
I could see the disappointment and faint lines forming near the mouth as if they were stopping themselves from laughing.
"Only a small group of officers has betrayed me; the rest is still with me; they will listen to my words," I stated.
"Fine, we will do what he says, but you do not have much time, General. If you failed, we will march toward the baronies," replied Vesbeil.
I wanted to object; my fort is my priority, but I nodded. I may have a larger army, but I don't have a base. I have to listen to these bastards.
A few minutes later, we began to march toward the fortress, and soon, we reached the range of most of the cannons.
"They aren't attacking," said Vesbeil and looked at me. I didn't reply, but hope rose. I couldn't help but it fluttered in my chest.
They are my men; they are going to listen to me.
Once I get the fort in my hand, I will punish those who dared to betray me; I will not kill them, but they will beg for death.
We were marching toward the fort when something unexpected happened.
The massive gates of the fort begin to open, and the army begins to march out of it.
"They are coming out?" he asked as if not believing his own eyes. It is suicide, idiocy; we have twice the size of their army, there is no way they would stand a chance against us.
"It is going to save us a lot of time and trouble," I replied. A hope fluttered in my heart, bringing a grin to my face.
…
Leonas Cardin
"I am coming," said Lady Carla as the army of twenty-five thousand gathered in front of the gate.
We brought thirty thousand, but we are keeping five thousand in the fortress guarding the essential positions. We cannot fully trust Dane's men yet.
It is why we are not bringing them out; they might have changed sides, but that doesn't mean they are willing to fight their former boss.
It is a colossal gamble we are taking. It is why I was surprised by her words.
"It's too dangerous, my lady. There is a good chance that we will need to fight them," I replied. If something happened to her, Lord Silver would not forgive me.
"I am more than capable of defending myself, General Cardin, and I believe I could still be instrumental," she said, and I couldn't help but agree with it.
I remember the day a few weeks ago, when Lord Silver invited me for the spar.
I thought it was the regular one, until I saw her there. What happened that hour, I will never forget. So, there is no doubt in my heart that she could defend herself.
As for her help, it had been instrumental. We wouldn't have gotten the Hold without her.
I turned many to our side, but she turned that bastard Lawson; without him, we couldn't have taken the fortress so easily.
"Fine, but you will listen to my every word, my lady," I replied.
"Of course," she replied.
Soon, the gates fully opened, and I marched out with Lady Carla beside me and the army behind me. General Stone isn't coming; he will remain in the fortress to keep it under our control.
With us leaving, there will be five thousand of our people inside; there are four times more of Dane's there.
Soon, we stopped in front of the fortress; we didn't march too far. If things went south, we would need to retreat quickly. The enemies have three times our numbers; we cannot fight them.
It didn't take us long for them to arrive, and they kept coming closer.
Usually, we do not let the enemy come so close, but we need them close, and they need us as well. To quickly finish as many of us as possible, if we fight.
Finally, they stopped with less than a hundred meters between us.
I looked at three. I know three of them; although the knight, I have never seen. The old man, I have come across a few times in the empire, and as for Dane.
He could be considered an old acquaintance.
"Surrender, General Cardin, you are outnumbered," ordered Vesbeil.
"If you do it without resistance, we will treat your men respectfully, until they are ransomed back to the Governor of Greltheaven," he offered, with his voice reaching far and wide with the skill.
Deliberately using Governor, instead of Lord.
"Outnumber? I think our numbers are well matched, General Vesbeil." I replied with a smile. I didn't speak loudly, but Resounding Voice took my voice far enough for everyone to hear.
A cautious frown appeared on his face, while Dane began to laugh. It took a few seconds before he stopped.
"You were an idiot before Cardin, but it seemed like you had become an even bigger idiot after getting a little power in your hand," mocked Dane, and I smiled.
"It seemed like you do not believe me," I said, making a smile on my face, confident.
Dane glared before looking at the fort—especially the balcony where General Stone and his former officers are standing.
"Maras, Lucent, Kidal, and the rest. I know you have made a mistake, but I will forgive you. Open the gates of the fortress and let us in," he demanded, and I laughed.
"They are not your men, they never were. Lord Silver is the Lord of Greltheaven, and Mirador Hold is now his dominion."
"He had proved his mettle against the undead, while you, Dane, lazed here, calling yourself 'Lord Commander. '"
"You are no Commander, you are a coward. Your men recognized it. Not only those in the Fortress, but also those standing beside you.
"Many of them have already pledged their loyalty to their true lord," I said, to the surprise of the three, and I could see them becoming cautious.
Now is the most critical time; it must work, and we will succeed or fail and retreat to the fort, losing many of our people in the process.
"Come, leave the cowardly commander, who had already lost your respect, and embrace the one who will bleed for you and give you the respect you deserve," I called.
My heart beat like a storm as I looked at the people behind Dane; it might not work, and that will be bad.
Dane began to laugh again and loudly at that.
"You are truly an idiot, Cardin. If you think my men betray me. These people are my most loyal; they will never betray," he was halfway speaking when he suddenly stopped.
A few of his officers begin to move away from him and their people.
He was shocked, but the shock was nothing compared to the shock that Bray, standing beside him, also moved. Shocking him further, I am surprised by it myself.
We have tried to turn him, but he has rebuffed every one of our attempts; now he is moving toward us.
"You traitor!"
Suddenly, Dane roared with his aura blazing and unsheathed his saber before attacking.
It is a Lv. 40 attack. Infused with the power of the aura, making it even stronger. It brought fear to Bray's face and stopped him and others in their tracks.
I didn't move, nor did I have to, as the next moment. A beautiful emerald lance of aura materialized in front of me, or rather, Lady Carla.
It looks beautiful, and just as deadly. The moment it materialized, it shot toward Dane at blinding speed.
Dane turned with shock, and at the same time, the knight moved with an aura blazing, wanting to intercept it when he stopped.
Three more aura lances materialized and shot toward him.
I felt a faint envy seeing them; my control is not far enough to even start learning the aura method, but I am making progress.
Clang Clang Clang!
He unsheathed his artifact before clashing against the Lances one after another.
I turned to Dane, and he also defended against the Aura Lance, but unlike the Knight, who defended without much shaking, he needed to take a step back.
"Greltheaven has no intention to fight, gentlemen, but we will, if you dare to harm any of our people," warned Lady Carla, looking into the eyes of the three.
The expressions they showed were similar to mine when I first saw her methods.
I had thought Lord Silver was the only one who knew aura methods, but she knows them too, and also knows how to use them well.
She can fight and fight competently.
A moment passed, and the men began to move again with their confident steps. It isn't just those who took steps earlier, but also others who were advancing.
The little show changed their minds about which sides they wanted to be on.
"You are all making a mistake," Dane screamed, but he didn't dare to move. Dane is the least of the problems; our eyes are focused on the two.
Especially the knight; I have heard things about him. I have to give it to Grimvale that he recruited such a powerhouse.
"Welcome to Greltheaven, Lt. General Bray," I welcomed the man. He simply nodded and stood beside me, looking at others who were coming toward us.
It took us a few minutes before the wave finally stopped.
'Thirty-one thousand; it's far more than we had expected,' said General Stone telepathically. More than half of Dane's people had abandoned him.
'It is all because of Lady Carla's show,' I replied. 'It wouldn't have been possible without you, General Cardin,' she said.
Dane is now left with only nineteen thousand men. If we counted the men in the fortress. 75% of the people have abandoned him.
"It seemed like we had underestimated you," said Vesbeil finally. "Yes, our friends and adversaries tend to do that," I replied with a smile.
"You have brought a lot of your army here, General Cardin. Leaving Greltheaven unprotected. I wonder what you would say if we march with our army to Greltheaven," said Vesbeil.
When I heard that, I smiled, so did Lady Carla and a few other officers of Greltheaven.
"I would say good luck, even promise you, that we will not move even a single inch to stop you," I replied, making the expression on the old man's face worse.
"I would even declare that Lord Silver would not even call for reinforcement from Panar and Gailhorn," I added.
Hearing that, the old man glared, and Dane looked like he wished to fly in rage and vomit at the same time.
"Congratulations on gaining the fortress, Lady Salt." He congratulated before looking up. "General Stone, I hope you will not interfere in our business further," said the old man.
"We will not unless it affects our business, General Vesbeil," General Stone replied.
He didn't say anything further and marched away with his army. We have gotten the fortress, but things are far from over.
There is no doubt where this army is going. Even with their diminished numbers, when they meet with Lockridge, it will be an army of eighty thousand, which will be enough to sweep through the baronies.
It is something we cannot let happen.