Free Web NovelChapter 122: Chapter 120: The King’s Order
Meanwhile, in Devil City.
Count Noeman clutched a document as he hurried toward Marquis Oscillate’s manor.
"Earl."
"My lord..."
No one stopped him along the way; instead, they greeted him constantly. After all, everyone knew the status Count Noeman held in the Marquis’s heart.
He arrived at the Marquis’s bedroom.
Though it could also be called a sickroom.
"Come in."
Noeman hadn’t knocked. With Marquis Oscillate’s power, he had sensed Count Noeman’s arrival long ago.
Upon entering, he saw the entire room was bathed in the light of Holy Oil lamps. These were gifts from the Southern Holy See, said to be beneficial for one’s health.
The Marquis, who should have been recuperating, was instead reclining in a chair, staring at a map hanging on the wall.
Although Marquis Oscillate was no longer managing affairs publicly, daily reports were, in fact, still delivered to his desk.
He had originally intended for Count Noeman to handle minor matters, but the Count was utterly incapable of distinguishing between what was minor and what was major.
"My lord, this is bad." Count Noeman seemed anxious as he handed the document to Marquis Oscillate.
Marquis Oscillate took it. It was a letter from the King.
Count Noeman watched Marquis Oscillate nervously.
Viscount Vischield was someone the Marquis had spent great effort training. Moreover, although Marquis Oscillate currently maintained the appearance of a middle-aged man, he was, in truth, several years older than the King.
Now that Louis III was using Viscount Vischield to threaten the Marquis, Count Noeman had no idea what to do.
The Marquis read for a long while without responding.
"My lord, how should we respond? Do we need to tell Viscount Vischield to take refuge?" Count Noeman asked, looking at the Marquis.
Viscount Vischield was not currently at the front lines.
Marquis Oscillate put down the document and looked out the window.
"Sigh..."
"No need. He brought this upon himself," Marquis Oscillate sighed.
"Is there anything else?" Marquis Oscillate asked, looking at Count Noeman.
Count Noeman pulled out another document from behind his back. It was an order from the King, addressed to him.
"The royal Standing Army has arrived at Devil City. This is the order the King gave me. After the Magic Barrier was breached some time ago, many fortresses received this order," Count Noeman said.
The moment he heard the words "King" and "order," a bad premonition arose in Marquis Oscillate’s heart.
He flipped it open and read. Just as he’d expected.
At the top was the King’s own signature, and below were the seals of Marquis George and the Kingdom Council.
All soldiers are to immediately seek to rescue Prince Noah.
"Nonsense! What are they saying in the capital? With the grain we have on hand, we can clearly still hold out. They should be sending reinforcements! That is the correct way to rescue the Prince!" Marquis Oscillate’s blood boiled as he stared at the document.
"It is said... that His Majesty and Marquis George drafted it together," said Count Noeman.
"Drafted it together?" Marquis Oscillate found this strange.
"An absurd directive from two men who have never commanded a large army! Shameful! This is treason!" Marquis Oscillate rebuked furiously.
Count Noeman didn’t dare respond. Marquis Oscillate had the standing to curse the King; others did not. freewёbnoνel.com
Even though no one else was listening, when navigating the court, one had to make a habit of such things.
"Well... it is said that His Majesty and Marquis George have already begun mobilizing forces within the kingdom..." Count Noeman said.
"Mobilize? Have their brains been cooked? Has yours been cooked too? Which of our front-line troops aren’t already on the battlefield?"
"Mobilize now? Give them a month! After a month, will their army even be able to set out? And us! If we leave our fortresses, we won’t last a week!" Marquis Oscillate cursed.
Of course, Marquis Oscillate was speaking in anger. At the very least, the King’s army could certainly set out after a month.
However, it would be impossible for them to arrive at the precise location at the precise time, as stipulated by the King and the Marquis.
Louis III and Marquis George were commanding this grand army as if it were comprised of front-line troops, but the key issue was that this plan was far too demanding even for a front-line army.
Even for front-line troops, it was inevitable that incidents would occur during a march.
What’s more, basically all the elite front-line units had already been dispatched to the front.
"Is no one trying to talk some sense into Louis?" Marquis Oscillate asked.
Count Noeman did not answer.
The answer was clearly no.
In this world of guarded knowledge, the art of commanding large armies was a restricted discipline. Most experience was passed down orally and by example, though some of it was written in books.
But the most important thing was practical experience!
And now, those who truly understood how to command armies were almost all at the front. It wasn’t that no one below them had objections, but the crucial point was that Louis III would not necessarily listen to them.
"Block Thermopylae? And what if they fail? If they don’t block it, everything is lost! Louis is sending Frank to its grave!" Marquis Oscillate was clearly still fuming.
"My lord, the reinforcements His Majesty sent earlier have been eager to rescue the Prince.
I have been keeping them in check, but now with people from the royal court arriving, the soldiers are in an uproar... What should we do now?" Count Noeman asked, looking at Marquis Oscillate.
"Have the orders been sent out? Did Wei Man receive them?" Marquis Oscillate asked.
"Reportedly, His Majesty has ordered all troops to take action within seven days," said Count Noeman.
Upon hearing this, Marquis Oscillate thought to himself, ’Just as I expected.’
’That brat Louis, he’s really regressing with age! He’s getting old, and his mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be.’
Although he had a thousand things to say, Marquis Oscillate knew this was not the time for complaints.
He looked at the map on the wall.
"Tell Wei Man to slow the pace of his assembly. I will take the heat from the King for him.
Spread the word that I have fully recovered from my illness and will be taking full command of the operation to rescue Prince Noah.
No, there’s no time to wait. Go find the Mages right now. Have them send a message: all fortresses of Devil City are to attack the Beastmen to the south and, if possible, quickly move closer to Devil City."
"Attack to the south?" Count Noeman was taken aback.
"Yes. In the current situation, we can’t hold the front lines. We need to fall back and rely on a few cities to make our stand. Oh, and have someone inform Grantham. Tell him everything," said Marquis Oscillate.
"What should I say?" asked Count Noeman.
"Tell him everything, exactly as it is. Let’s see what ideas he might have," said Marquis Oscillate.
"As you command, my lord."
After Count Noeman left, Marquis Oscillate continued to stare at the map, which depicted the kingdom’s Western Front.
Three cities stood at the foot of the Beastman Plateau, with a wide river flowing before them.
Around one of the cities, countless routes were drawn, connecting it to the river and the string of fortresses in front.
This city was labeled with the name Deville. It was rumored to be the place where the Knight King had launched the first great counterattack against the Beastman Empire, once pushing all the way to Widam Mountain.
"Sigh..."
"I hope there’s still time."
