The warm sunlight shone through the gap of the curtains into the room. The white-haired Dukes Of Angmar turned his head and put down the parchment in his hand. He stood up and opened the curtains. Then, he reached out and pushed the window open.
The cold air poured into the room, and the warmth created by the fireplace was expelled in an instant. Old Duke frowned slightly. The cold made his mind clearer, but the message he received in the early hours of the morning made him unable to calm down.
After taking a few breaths, Angmar started coughing. His maid, Julie, hurried over to cover him with a cloak and whispered to him to leave the window.
"I'm old … old."
Tightening the cloak on his shoulders, Angmar waved his hand, but his eyes were looking at the north wall of Houllier. Under the light of dawn, he could vaguely see a group of people leaving the city.
"I hope we can make it in time."
He sighed. Then, a servant rushed over and asked in a low voice, "Bishop Benjamin is downstairs, asking to see Master."
As if he had expected this, Angmar replied in a low voice, "Let him come up and talk."
Not long after, Benjamin, who was dressed in a bishop's robe, came in front of Angmar. The bishop did not say anything but bowed deeply in apology. He said in shame, "There is a traitor in the church … I really can't do anything."
"Apologizing now won't help him."
Angmar held him up. He did not have the intention to turn against him. He wanted to say something, but he coughed instead.
Benjamin raised his hand and wanted to use the Holy Light Magic to heal him, but was stopped by Old Duke. "With … cough … the bad habit from the war, using too much Divine Art is not good. I … cough … I know this."
Having said that, Benjamin naturally would not continue to cast spells. After a moment of silence, he continued, "I tried my best to block the news, but in the end, I still found out that someone leaked it … There was no other way. I could only send the team on their way as soon as possible. Hopefully, we can make it in time …"
"Plans can't keep up with changes. There's no point in blaming ourselves." Although he said that, Angmar's face was still gloomy. Although he did not say anything offensive, it was obvious that he was really angry. "Roddy stood in front of all of us old men. A few days ago, he even killed the Blighters and the mastermind behind it. Such a great merit, and we gave him this kind of 'help'? I know it's not your fault, but … it can't be justified. It really can't be justified … "
"I'm already old, yet I still have to rely on such a junior to stand up for me. I'm ashamed."
Although the words were light, they were heavy. Benjamin's old face flushed red. He was so ashamed that he could not even lift his head. Although he had expected such an outcome when he came to apologize, he was already an old man. Saying such words was not something that could wash away his pride.
"I'll try my best. If this matter can pass, then let it pass. If it can't —"
Angmar shook his head and sighed. He did not say anything more. He just looked down and said, "Go back and make arrangements. No matter what, it's time to clean up Efta."
Benjamin seemed to be finally relieved. He bowed his head and apologized again, then left silently.
After he left, Angmar coughed violently again. This time, he coughed for a long time and more violently. Maid Julie hurriedly came over with warm water and patted Duke's back. When Angmar raised his head, his originally pale face was very red because of blood congestion. It took a long time for him to recover.
Julie wanted to call Bishop Benjamin, who had just left, back, but Ankama waved her off. He endured the pain in his chest, came to the desk, picked up a quill, and continued to write the letter.
"… There's actually a traitor … How shameful …"
*****
At the same time, Earl Owen faced the cold wind blowing from the forest with a sneer at the corner of his mouth …
"No wonder he's been holding back. It turns out that he's waiting for Number 12 to make his move."
The letter in his hand had just arrived this morning. The source was naturally the "Rose Cross" Monastery in Hollier City. No matter how confidential the news was, no matter how sealed it was, it could not stop a traitor …
And because of the existence of this traitor, Roddy's plan to catch all the "traitors" in Efta territory in one fell swoop had completely lost its effectiveness!
Although his layers of plans were meticulous, they could only be called a "conspiracy". But once the conspiracy was known by the opponent, all his advantages would collapse in an instant!
"Baron Sodelor … sixty knights and twenty infantrymen under him? This ratio of troops is really ridiculous — there's even someone called Roddy? I've never heard of such a person … "
Recalling the contents of the letter, Earl Owen was actually quite disapproving. An army of less than a hundred people … In front of him, it was just a group of weak scum that he could crush at any time.
Originally, he thought he could avenge Lord Ansadin with his own hands, but now it seemed that the two barons he had sent in advance were enough to solve all this.
He looked up at the sun, guessing the fate of this "Baron Sodelor" — perhaps it would not be long before his head was brought to him, right?
However, before this thought disappeared, a few figures on horses running frantically appeared in his field of vision. When they approached, Owen found that these people in front of him looked a little familiar …
"Help … Help!"
"Lord Owen, we need support!"
A few minutes later, Earl Owen's eyes widened as he listened to the knights' story. He even suspected that he was hallucinating.
60 knights and more than 130 infantrymen, and only a few of them came back after an encounter?
Earl Owen was not stupid. He immediately asked about the battle in detail. After analyzing the words of these knights, he frowned deeply.
Sodelor actually built a line of defense in the forest?
Such a thing gave Duke Owen a headache. He knew very well that if he rushed up with his troops, he would probably end up no better than the two barons who had already died.
"Pass down my order. Immediately increase the scope of the patrol around Giger Town. Report any unusual movements immediately. If you see any unidentifiable team, be on your guard!"
Increase the scope of surveillance and gradually squeeze out Sodelor's range of action. From a military point of view, Earl Owen was clearly well-versed in the art of war.
His approach was extremely correct, because according to the spy's information, the "Rose Cross" team that was trying to destroy him would need another two days to arrive here. Before that, he could monitor all the surrounding areas and look for opportunities to destroy them one by one!
With the initiative to grasp the information, Earl Owen immediately stood in the position of "active manipulation". However, this reversal of the situation was not over. Not long after the reconnaissance order was carried out, a message came back from the forest, which made the Earl's lips curl into a sinister smile …
His scouts had discovered an unfamiliar team heading in Sodelor's direction.
*****
When it was close to noon, the battlefield outside the forest was basically quiet.
The strong smell of blood filled the air, but after a long time, it was no longer as disgusting as it was at first. Inside the line of defense in the forest, the resting soldiers had just had a simple lunch and were resting at this time. Akasha, on the other hand, walked among the soldiers and kept casting Recovery Spells on the injured scouts.
"Thank you, Priest Akasha."
"You're welcome."
Swords had no eyes, and injuries were inevitable. The soldiers were not machines. They had a fear of death and felt pain when they were stabbed. This was something they had to experience. However, Akasha's existence greatly alleviated their pain. Therefore, they all respected this beautiful priest from the bottom of their hearts and spoke very politely.
Feeling the sincere greetings of these soldiers, Akasha felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction in her heart. In the past, studying divine spells was just pure "research". Now that she saw that divine spells saved the soldiers, she naturally felt that she had done a good job.
But when she returned to Roddy's side, Akasha was directly scolded.
"Who told you to do this? The battle is far from over. Using up all your magic power is a big taboo! Don't do this without my order in the future, do you hear me? "
After being scolded, Akasha was suddenly at a loss. She pursed her lips and wanted to refute, but in the end, she lowered her head and endured it. She mumbled, "I understand."
She felt very wronged, and even tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's good that you remember. Take it."
In her field of vision, a blue crystal bottle was stuffed into her hand. Then, she heard Roddy's gentle voice. "The effect will be better if you take it slowly. At least, keep more than half of your magic power at all times."
"En … Thank you."
Akasha lowered her head and held the bottle of magic power potion tightly. Most of the grievances and dissatisfaction in her heart dissipated, but then she found that Roddy's face was a little gloomy. She summoned her courage and took the initiative to ask, "Didn't … didn't we win? Is there something else?"
"Hurry up and recover your magic power. You won't understand even if I tell you."
Roddy had no intention of explaining and completely treated her like a child. This made Akasha very unconvinced, but when she saw Sodelor walking over with a solemn face, she gave up the idea of continuing to talk. She walked to a nearby place and sat down to meditate.
But from afar, she could vaguely hear the conversation between the two.
"According to the plan, Natha should be here …"
"… I just sent someone to investigate, but the report said that the number of spies outside the town has suddenly increased … It seems to be a little strange …"
Before they could finish their conversation, a guy covered in wounds ran over with the help of a scout. Akasha knew this person. His name was Buffon, one of the two mercenaries that Roddy had saved.
Seeing Buffon's blood, Akasha instinctively got up and wanted to cast a divine spell. However, Buffon ignored the pain and said something that shocked everyone with a trembling voice:
"Our team was besieged. The village chief of Ayesha Village is also in the team. He and Miss Natha are all … surrounded by the team that suddenly appeared …"
"… It's useless for the Holy Knights to report their identities. There are hundreds of them. We can't beat them at all …"
"Henry asked me to run here to report. They helped me stall the pursuers …"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
