Free Web NovelChapter 257: Doomed to Fail? (I)
’So this is what the second test is.’
’Resist being conquered by a powerful kingdom that just happens to outmatch you in every possible aspect... while having all your own personal strength locked away too.’
White mused, rolling his eyes before he rolled up the scroll.
"What do you say, Commander Mallory?"
The King asked, his voice cutting through the noise as White put the scroll away.
He could see the fiery gazes of the Chiefs.
Nothing he said right now would get through the convictions they had already formed in their minds.
And he was well aware, discussing anything with people who had already closed their minds out of fear of their impending doom would be a waste of time.
He needed someone cool-headed to discuss this with, and an image appeared in his head.
Still, he had to at least put the kingdom’s royalty at ease, or they might just lose before the enemy even showed up.
"King Ludwig, and the wisdom of the Igasus Kingdom."
He called out to them.
"Our kingdom is indeed facing the most precarious situation in all of its history, and it does seem as though there is little hope for us to prevail against this."
"But I believe, as do we all, that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel."
"Our invaders have given us an ultimatum of four days before they bombard our walls. And this is the second day."
"I, as the Commander of our Kingdom, assure you all that by the earliest dawn of tomorrow, I will bring you a map to the end of this dark tunnel we’ve found ourselves in."
"It might not be an easy way out. In fact, I can almost guarantee it will be difficult."
"But you can rest assured that there will be a path out of this by the earliest dawn."
He said, and at his words, he could see the frowns on the Chiefs lessen slightly.
"So, a night, Commander Mallory?"
The King asked.
"That is all I ask for, Your Majesty."
"Very well, then!"
He declared.
"Tomorrow at ten in the morning, we shall all meet together and settle this once and for all."
"We will be, once more and as always, expecting your brilliance, Commander Mallory."
---
As White stepped out of the palace, he jumped back onto his horse and made his way back to his residence within the kingdom.
A castle second only to the King’s in grandeur.
The maids were waiting, and White ordered them to prepare a feast for all the soldiers.
There were laughter and music, not a single one of them aware of the horror that would descend upon them in just a few days.
White made no mention of it.
Instead, when he saw that they were relaxed and distracted, he summoned the hefty-looking man whom he had eventually recognized as his right-hand man.
He was an older man and looked not only capable but knowledgeable.
White summoned him to a quieter upper area of his estate and began to question him.
He didn’t start the discussion by dropping the bombshell immediately.
Instead, he began by asking everything there was to know about the Hellwrath Kingdom, and as expected, the man did not disappoint.
The clarity with which he provided information was almost suspicious almost as though he were a spy, yet no spy would reveal such vital information so freely.
When White had learned all there was to know about the Hellwrath Kingdom, though his chest sank with faint horror, he did not allow it to affect him and moved on to his next line of questioning.
That was understanding the Igasus Kingdom itself.
Asking such questions might make him seem unusual, but he couldn’t worry about that right now. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
The man, as always, held nothing back.
He explained everything to him, even going as far back as how the Igasus Kingdom had first come into existence, how much it had developed over the years, and where it stood right now compared to the Seven Kingdoms.
All of it was vital information.
Unfortunately, the they were far from positive.
Still, after learning everything, White asked him,
"Juntar, say there ever happened to be a war between the Igasus Kingdom and the Hellwrath Kingdom..."
He paused.
The hefty man remained silent for nearly twenty-five seconds before finally answering.
"Our chances of survival are abysmally low."
He continued. frёewebnoѵēl.com
"Not only do we have absolutely no allies who would help us fight against the Hellwrath Kingdom, but even we were to face only a quarter of the Hellwrath army, every single one of our warriors would still be easily overpowered."
"It takes five warriors to bring down a single man-eating barbarian, afterall."
He added.
"They’re simply overkill. But we’ll never have to fight them. We’re an unimportant outer kingdom after all,"
He never completed his sentence.
White stretched out his hand toward him, revealing the scroll.
Juntar’s brows furrowed. He accepted it with a slight bow and unrolled it.
The more he read, the wider his eyes became until it seemed they might pop from their sockets.
He raised his head to look at White, who merely turned his gaze aside and silently stretched out his hand.
Juntar returned the scroll.
The two of them remained seated for nearly ten minutes before the silence was finally broken.
"I am at a loss for words, my Lord."
He said.
"So am I, Juntar. But something must be done."
White replied.
Juntar tried. He truly did.
He considered every conceivable possibility, but in the end...
"May I ask you to tell me your ideas, my Lord? And I will tell you how plausible each one is."
He said.
In essence, he was asking White to come up with solutions while he judged how effective those solutions might be.
The good thing was that even though White’s power had been taken away, the intelligence he had gained from fusing with the Aether Orb remained at its peak.
He had already begun thinking of ways out of this predicament.
And so, he began laying them out to Juntar.
