Chapter 263: A Distant Report

On that day, a female squire arrived at the Quardenze mansion in Levios, the royal capital.

Her name is Ledda, a servant of the Kuordenze family, She was one of the civil servants working in a department mainly involved in aristocratic diplomacy, and had visited the royal capital several times.

She said, “Isn't that Ledda? Why are you here?”

When Ledda enters the residence, a high-ranking official who is acquainted with her calls out to her.She decided it was convenient and answered shortly on the spot.

'I have a report for you from the military to give to the Master.

Even with the power of the Cousins, the Levios territory is a long way from the Kuordentse territory.

This is the reason why Reda, a civilian, was chosen to convey the information, despite the fact that it was military information. When considering the passage through other territories, a person skilled in diplomacy was more convenient in various aspects.

The high official, who instantly understood that Ledda had been sent, immediately took her to a back room.

The dignitaries immediately ushered her into a back room, where Reda began her report on her.

Gathered in the room were the lord, Quordenze Lukuse, and the high-ranking officials.It was too much for her, who mostly reports to her immediate superiors to her.

However, she must not hesitate to tell them about a big deal for Quordenze.

The Grand Master has drawn from the front line.

The onset of Gulphys' magical failure and the subsequent offensive by Spierzeig's forces was truly a nightmarish event.

Reda was relieved that he was able to make a report without stuttering to the end. She had been inwardly horrified by the murderous stares of the high officials.

What a……”

Even though the room was protected against eavesdropping, the content of the conversation was not something that could be spoken very loudly. One of the knights who was waiting in the room had no choice but to exclaim.

The other dignitaries were so astonished by the volume of information that Ledda had brought to them that they could not even open their mouths.

…… So far, huh?”

It was a muffled little murmur.

Lukuse, who had been lying on his back for a bit, noticed that he had caught the attention of the room and lightly waved his palm as if to say, “It's nothing. He then asked those around him for their opinions on the report.

What's Newnery's move?”

One high-ranking official asked Reda.

The followers are expected to arrive not long after. First of all, he asked me to inform the master.”

As soon as the bad news reached the city of Newnery from the front, Ledda was sent out to the royal capital. It was decided that rather than wait for Wilk and his team to decide on a response plan, it was necessary to send the first report first.

Let's wait for further news and start preparing for our return.”

One of the high-ranking officials advised Lukuse. It was not a good time to continue socializing in King's Landing. The people in the room agreed with him.

Considering the number of days until Ledda arrives here, it is highly likely that reinforcements from New Nellie have already arrived at Raishleif Castle. We do not know at this point whether or not the young master is on his way, but in any case, we need to hurry back to New Nellie and finalize our future course of action.”

In response to the opinions of his subordinates, Louxe spun his words with a grim expression on his face.

He said, “……Wilk is a bright boy in his own way.”

The most important thing to remember is that the best way to get the best out of your son is to be a good student. He is not able to honestly assert that he is an excellent student because of the many eccentricities he has been involved in.

He is not only able to listen to what is said around him, but he also has the courage he showed during Operation Serpent's Fang. So he should not be discouraged from supporting Raishleif.

Lukuse recalled Wilk's past actions his.

While his outlandish behavior is remarkable, he has the temperament to go ahead with a straightforward approach if you show him the way by explaining the logic. Unless he is very particular, he tends to follow the words of his predecessors in fields he does not understand Therefore, it is highly likely that the advice of the knights and military officers he left behind in Newnery will be accepted as is.

Wilk is on his way to reinforce the castle of Raishleif, that was the conclusion Lukuse came to.

If so, we must consider the future.”

The reinforcements might not arrive in time, and the defeat might be so great that they would be forced to abandon Raishleif Castle. Even if that were not the case, the way the people around him looked at Quardenze would surely change once he retreated to the castle of Reishleif. Gulfis's old age would become public knowledge, and the world would know that the Quordenze had weakened.

There is no doubt that future aristocratic diplomacy will be revitalized around Quordenze and Spierzeig. In order to be prepared for both the pattern of defending and abandoning Raishleif Castle, Lukuse wanted to lay the groundwork before leaving the royal capital.

He said, “Proceed with preparations for our return. Make sure to give them a heads-up so that they can move quickly between territories.

Ha, I will send out a messenger immediately.

Lukuse now has enough strength to easily attack one or two weak cities. He could press them, “I need to get back to my territory in a hurry, so allow me passage now. But that would not only cause trouble, it would also give a strong impression that the Quardensee family is outnumbered.

The efficiency of the move would be completely different depending on whether or not prior notice was given.The high official who responded was quietly making calculations in his mind as to which civilian officials to send to which territories.

First of all,” He said, “We must establish a tentative policy at this point. Then, tomorrow, I will go to the castle and greet the nobles on my return. As soon as we receive the second report, we will leave for King's Landing.

Lukuse thinks that some of the nobles attending the social should be given a heads-up. The news of the defeat of the Quardenze army has too great an impact. He wanted to contain any possibility that it might be taken more seriously than it really was .

In order to show the other houses that Kuordenze was not wavering, it was necessary to at least set a minimum direction.

Each of you, begin your actions. I will continue my deliberations here.

The dignitaries began to move in unison in response to Lukuse's instructions for him.

Some left the room to select civil servants as emissaries, while others stayed behind to participate in the policy review meeting.

Even as we speak, a fierce battle must be raging in Raishreef. While praying for the safety of father and son, Luke and the other dignitaries discussed the theme of foreign policy first.

The next morning, no one arrived to give the second report.

Louxée went up to the castle in the middle of the night, made contact with several nobles, and returned before dusk.

He returned before dusk. “Have they arrived yet?”

Those who remained at the mansion broke out in a cold sweat at their lord's frustrated question.

They were not sure if the policy decision in New Nelly was taking a long time, or if Ledda's move just happened to go smoothly, and in their current state, they were not even sure of that.

It was not until after dark that the two transport officers arrived at the Quordenze mansion, where the atmosphere was damp and unpleasant.

Pass them through to the back!”

The two were immediately ushered into the mansion by a high-ranking official who was waiting for them and asked them to report.

The messengers were a combination of civilian and military officials. The civilian officer seemed to be a support staff for the transfer of the territory, and only the military officer stepped forward and began his report.

The military officer alone stepped forward and began to report. The young master has decided to launch a surprise attack on the northern part of the Voigtland Plain to rescue General Garfis.

I had expected a report like that, that the young master had gone to reinforce the castle of Laishleif. We all could not react well to the completely unexpected start of the conversation. They were at a loss for words in a different way from that of Ledda.

The name of the operation is “The Jaws of the Serpent.

The military officer continued his report, leaving aside the other officials, who did not seem to react at all.

The mission was to use purification magic to cut through the Arknoa Contamination Zone, overcome the Amelia River with a fleet of ships from Nambonan, and attack the city of Vairdberg. Then, with the Blessed Child lurking in the Vaedberg Field, they would launch an offensive in both the directions of Laishleef and Othelloria.

The primary goal is to threaten the rear of Kindlore's army to make them give up the Raishleif offensive, but if they are about to fail, the plan is to concentrate on securing the city of Værdberg as a bridgehead for the invasion. Raishleif Castle would be truncated.

The Spierzeig forces are limited to capturing Raishleif, and they do not have the strength to move northward from there. Wilk has decided that as long as they can ignore the situation, there is no problem with giving up Raishleif Castle in the worst case. Course, the complete success of “Operation Snake Jaw” Is to prevent the recapture of Raishleif and to secure Værdberg City. The outer regions without incident.

The strategy described by the military officer was the Snake Jaw Strategy at the time of departure from New Nellie.

Wilk had learned that McInnis's army was participating in the Laishleif offensive after he had entered Spierzeig territory, and he had confirmed with his own eyes that the northern part of Vojstra was empty.

'…… And above are the details of the operation.'

Wilk was more than a little put off by the reinforcements to Rijsleif;he was completely ready to kill them.Lukuse was unintentionally holding his head in his hands.

I had a bad feeling about this.

What came to mind was the appearance of the magical beasts at the May Royal Party. At that time, Wilke had left the royal castle to defeat the magical beast, but Lukuse immediately regretted giving him permission to do so.

Had he known in advance the characteristics of the demonic beast Kramitis, he would have ordered Wilk to stand by. However, at the time he received this information, Wilke had finished his speech in front of the kingdom's nobility. In that state.

Once again, it just wouldn't stop.

This time, too, Rouxe was full of desire to keep Wilke back.

It was not only because of the danger.

Lukuse was working on a tentative policy based on the premise that the Raishleaf defense would take place. If Wilk would move here for a surprise attack, the way to follow up would also change. At the very least, most of Lukuse's socializing today would have been pointless.

However, there was no way to stop Wilk from King's Landing, since there was no way to stop him from the beginning.

It was a wise decision not to give … Any unnecessary information.”

The fact that we had only decided on the minimum necessary policy was a success.The other houses still only smelled the level of a prelude to a prelude, so it was still possible to change course enough now.

The first thing to do is to make sure that the city of Værdberg is secured in the first place. In the first place, can we secure the city of Værdberg, and the blessed twins,……”

Lukuse's thoughts were not coherent because of all the uncertainties. The first thing that comes to mind is that the two are not the only ones who have been in the same boat.

“Purification magic will pave the way,…… Win or lose, and this will be clear.”

Although he had his reservations about Wilke's arbitrary decision to go public, Lukuse thought that the purification magic would have to be used as a diplomatic card as soon as the Quardenze forces retreated. Big publicity campaign.

At the very least, they would succeed in purifying the Arcunoa contaminated area on the Quardenze side and marching on it. If they were able to reach the city of Værdberg, the impact would be even greater. It would be a double proof of the reality and usefulness of the purification magic.

It would be of great use in diplomacy with the Aterahan family, which borders the Misty Lands, and with the Zeldmitra family, which has many districts contaminated by the Filth. Poison of the Unholy Sword that still torments King Levios today.

But Louxe quickly reconsidered.

He said, “…… No, we should return to New Nellie first. It would be better not to move any further in King's Landing.”

Would they really be able to traverse the Arknoa Pollution Zone, cross the Amelia River, drop the city of Værdberg, capture the Blessed Child, put pressure on Raishleef, or force the Kindoroa army to retreat? Will the operation succeed or will it fail? If it will fail, at what stage will they give up and what will they do after giving up?

Depending on Wilk's judgment, the possibilities will spread out in multiple branches.

Tomorrow we will leave King's Landing at the crack of dawn.

Ha!

He received the second news, but decided not to make any new moves.I had a feeling that I was going to be swept away by Wilk's eccentricities his.

As long as Wilk was on the move, Lukuse decided that it was necessary to start by obtaining reliable information.

Once that was decided, they moved quickly.

By the time the sun began to rise, Quardenze's group had disappeared from the capital.

During the journey, Luke and his men did not rest.

They spent day after day and night in the carriage discussing the situation with the high-ranking officials and simulating how to respond to the Snake's Jaw operation, no matter how it would turn out.

However, the third news did not arrive easily during the move.

At this time, a number of messengers had departed from New Nellie City to deliver further news, but they were unable to join up with Lukuse and the others who were in a hurry to return home.

It was around the time when they entered the territory of the Kingdom's aristocracy of the Quardensee faction that they finally received the third news.

Sir!”

Waiting in the city was a Quardenze military officer.

Reda, who had returned to New Nerry City ahead of the others, had informed him of a suitable city to join them.

Report the situation.”

Suppressing his emotions, Luke asked for a report.

The military officer replied with a big smile.

Young Master, the Spierzeig forces have been successfully defeated at Reischlieb!

At that moment, all of the simulations that Luke and his team had been running all night became meaningless.

The initial goal of attracting the enemy forces and saving Raishleif Castle was met with the mysterious result of destroying the enemy forces. One of the dignitaries froze with his eyes wide open.

From the look of joy on the military officer's face, it was clear that things were not going badly for Quardenze. However, we cannot say, “Whatever it is, it's good anyway. If the situation changes, we have to reconsider our policy accordingly. .

Both generals McInnis and Kindoroa have been defeated! It is a great victory for our army, young man!

As expected, the report was several steps above what he had imagined. Lukuse unintentionally interrupts the report by pointing his palm at the reporting military officer.

He said, “…… Wait. Why is McInnis in Laichleaf, let alone Kindroa? And what do you mean by defeated? …… No, more importantly, is Wilk injured? And what about the magic residue?”

Here, the military officer in charge of communication understood that little information had reached Lukuse. No, he had heard beforehand from Reda that he had received only up to the second report. It had not occurred to him that there was such a gap in information.

The military officer in charge of conveying the information carefully explained the movements since the start of the operation. He reported that Shikinaon City had already fallen and that he was reorganizing his troops for the assault on Othelloría City.

Othelloria City……?”

Louxe exclaimed, this time.

The developments were happening so fast that his mind could not keep up.The information coming in at once was too dense for him to make an immediate decision on how diplomacy should be conducted.The same was true for the high-ranking officials.

The first thing to do, sir, is to return to New Nellie as soon as possible.

“I agree with ……. We cannot make easy decisions here.”

After pulling the military officer who was in charge of transport into the carriage, Louxe and the others began moving toward New Nellie City again.

I never thought it would end this way.

No, there must still be the city of Othelloria.”

Louxe, who had been silently listening to the exchange between the dignitaries advancing on horseback, couldn't help but laugh at the confident way they said it. The fact that they had been up all night and that they had heard the news of the victory had put everyone in a slightly strange state of tension.

Spierzeig must have been swept away by Waka-sama even more than we are now.

There was a slight feeling of fear in the high official's words as he muttered softly.

The image may have made him a little calmer, and he also expressed his concern.

'…… We must not turn Spierzeik Romilie into the Princess Aslisa that she once was.'

The Spiaseik family succeeded in keeping their family alive against the invasion of Emperor Zinkaen by presenting a princess named Spiaseik Asliza to the second Emperor Arginis.

Looking at Romilie's behavior her at the May royal social, it is quite possible that she will try to follow in the footsteps of that past.

We cannot afford to make a last-minute blunder.

We will check the situation in New Nellie first, but we are thinking of forming a reinforcement force with the main ancestor soldiers and sending them to Othellia. What do you think of this?”

The high official nodded in response to Luke's question.

The main ancestor on the Quordenze side there is effectively Wilk alone. Although he is in a position to pick up Oz and Ard, those two are very untrustworthy people in the eyes of Lukuse and the high-ranking officials. They were counted in the negative rather than the positive.

'I think it's a good idea. If I may add, I think the commander should be a knight of honest temperament.

And to prevent Wilke from starting up another strange and eccentric act in Othelloia, he should have an additional chaperone directly under the command of his master, the high official recommended.

He said, “Well, I think it's not too late. Now we can still make it to Othelloria in time for the battle of Othelloria.

There was a hint of anxiety in Louxe's ​​voice.