Roddy and Dusko, who were in the manor, did not know about Akasha's shocking move. The two of them were sitting around the fire, thinking about how to answer each other's questions.
"The Kallon Kingdom has long since made preparations for war. We've gathered more than fifty thousand soldiers, and we've set up more than eighteen fortresses along the border. What about Augustine? Can he prepare tens of thousands of troops to fight us? "
Roddy spoke with a confidence that Dusko never had. Dusko was actually very envious of him. Roddy could be proud of fighting for the glory of his country, but what about him? Because he did not acknowledge the Tasman nobles at all, and he looked down on the humans as "lambs," Dusko was truly a "loner" without anyone to rely on.
But he obviously did not know that Roddy did not have "national glory" behind him, and the Kingdom of Karen would not endorse his actions. What he had was Elsen City, which he had conquered with his own fists and feet, and Efta, which was resisting the Orcs' attack. If he had known about this, Dusko would never have humbly asked for help.
However, Rody was already very familiar with the advantage of 'information asymmetry'. In terms of acting skills, Roddy felt that he could easily win an Oscar.
"I can't measure the gap between the military forces of your country and Tasman in the big picture, but their army has begun to attack. My subordinates are defending at the front, but the situation is not optimistic."
Dusko slightly embellished his own strength. "The situation is not optimistic" sounded better than "we can't beat them at all." To prevent Roddy from looking down on him, he added, "Augustine's forces in Tasman are not monolithic. We have now contacted the elders of the parliament. Some of them will provide us with some intelligence and resources."
Roddy secretly curled his lips, thinking that there were really hindrances everywhere. In the Kingdom of Karen, the likes of Charles II Milnor were such despicable people. He was not at all surprised that Lassman was in a similar situation.
But what is said at the political negotiating table is not to be taken at face value. Roddy knew that he had the upper hand, so he did not show any sign of being moved. Instead, he continued with a look of disdain. "Our Cullen's army is already on the way to Tasman. My team of 100 is just a scout. His Majesty Charles II has been planning this battle for a long time. If we don't teach that old man a lesson, will he really think that we are easy to bully? "
He pointed at the two captains of the Dragon Lance Knights who were standing guard at the entrance of the conference hall. "In the Kingdom of Karen, knights like them are not even worth a mention. Any three counts could bring two or three thousand knights and flatten this place. So, in principle, we do not need to cooperate with you."
How could they achieve their goals after taking the initiative in the negotiation? It was nothing more than 'coercion and bribery'. Rody had already demonstrated his strength in the previous battle. Now, no matter how much he boasted, Dusko had no choice but to believe him.
Dusko, who was nodding repeatedly, wasn't stupid. What did he mean by "in principle, we don't need to work together"? That meant he was leaving a way out for himself!
"Baron Roddy's troops are powerful, and we, the Awakened, are ashamed of our inferiority. However, Augustine is our common enemy, and I have over 50,000 humans under my command who are fighting on the frontlines. If we coordinate the battle, I believe it will be of help to both sides."
"You have humans under your command? Are they all under your control? "
Roddy pretended not to know. In reality, Natha had been scouting the outskirts of Kulka's castle for the past few days. He even knew how many soldiers there were in the castle.
Naturally, Dusko boasted about his control over the "lambs." "Their leader, Kulka, is a puppet that I personally nurtured. He listens to my orders at all times."
"Is that so? Speaking of which, our main force doesn't want to stay here for too long. After all, the logistics are too burdensome. " Roddy glanced at Dusko. "So, we hope to face Augustine's main force as soon as possible and engage in a decisive battle."
Hearing this, Dusko's heart was filled with excitement. Regardless of whether the humans could win or not, the most important thing was to quickly eliminate the undead that Augustine had brought. That way, the Awakened would have more space to survive.
However, he did not dare to show his excitement. He tried to control his expression and continued to ask, "Currently, Augustine's main force is about to come into contact with my subordinates. There might be more than 20,000 of them … It doesn't sound like a lot, but you might not know that Tasman has gathered a total of 50,000 soldiers."
"I understand that. Killing these 20,000 people will be enough for us to make Augustine reconsider his attitude towards the Kingdom of Karen."
Roddy had a confident look on his face that said, "Lord Dusko, I am very willing to cooperate with you. If this battle is successful, the Kingdom of Karen will consider providing you with a suitable identity."
"Identity? You mean … "
"You know that it's unrealistic to eradicate Augustine's forces in one go. We took the initiative to attack this time only to teach Augustine a lesson. But after teaching him a lesson, we have to leave something behind, right? For example … an even more powerful organization of the Awakened? "
Dusko swallowed hard. He realized that this might be a huge turning point for his future position. Without the support of a huge country, it was easy for the parliament to eliminate the Awakened. But if he had the support of the Kingdom of Karen, everything would be possible!
"Let's not talk about the Cullen Kingdom, the weapons, rations, and armaments are too much for us to store. So … if you can bring those guys to my designated location in five days, the future Awakened won't be a bunch of scattered soldiers who can't even gather basic armaments."
Roddy seemed to have prepared for this. He asked the knight beside him to bring him a military map and pointed at it.
Dusko did not dare to be negligent. After careful examination, he immediately realized that this was the threshold that Roddy had drawn for him. If he could not even do this, then he was obviously not qualified to be "supported" by Roddy.
But he was not a fool who would take it seriously. "We will try our best to cooperate with you. Of course, you must show enough sincerity."
"Did you see the battle between them and the undead heavy cavalry?"
Roddy was not surprised by his request. He pointed at a Dragon Lance Knight and asked a seemingly unrelated question.
Dusko nodded in puzzlement and said that he saw it clearly.
"The kind of charging lances that can kill heavy cavalry. Thirty of them with sixty crystals. Is that enough?"
Dusko opened his mouth and was stunned for a few seconds. The scene of the fifty heavy cavalry turning into ashes flashed before his eyes. Then he nodded without hesitation and said, "No problem!"
The negotiation came to an end. Dusko stood up and left with his men. But when he walked out of the manor, he saw Yogersa who was almost healed by Akasha. After Takris came up and said a few words, his expression changed. He was even more certain of the strength of Roddy and the Kingdom of Karen. He hurriedly left with his men.
Roddy only knew about Akasha's "feat" because of Merlinsera's reminder. He was also shocked. A priest of the Holy Light could heal the undead? This was not just a question of whether or not a spell could be cast. It was also related to the nature of the spell.
But Akasha was obviously the "self-taught" type. Faced with Roddy and Merlinsera's surprise, she looked a little helpless. "I really did it blindly in the laboratory …"
"I won't drag you to the Inquisition." Roddy smiled and pinched Akasha's cheek. Seeing her shy expression made his heart itch. But with Yogersa tied up, he knew that he was not here for a vacation. "Since Akasha can be healed, then let's interrogate her together …"
Yogersa, who had his voice removed, shouted himself hoarse for the next hour. The undead with long lifespans were all afraid of death. With Akasha's repeated torture and interrogation methods, Yogersa could not wait to report how many sewers there were in the imperial city of "Oldmanxius".
The information he provided had indeed benefited Rody greatly. Among them, the information regarding the 'capture of mutants' had made him even more vigilant.
Yogersa was able to leave the army and act alone because of Augustine's order.
Augustine had personally tracked and locked onto Teflin's location.
With these two pieces of information, Roddy immediately realized a problem. This group of Teflin that was labeled as a "demon subspecies" was far more important than he thought!
"Where's Luther? Call him over! "
Roddy turned around and walked into the conference room. He pointed at Yogersa and said, "Let him live. Augustine has too many tricks up his sleeve. I don't want to alert him."
This was also the lesson Rody had learned from his previous encounters with Augustine. Now, Rody was cautious with every step he took. His mind was even more active. He had realized a very serious problem. If Augustine valued Teflin so much, then Rody might end up fighting the leader of the undead head-on.
And facing an expert that surpassed level 60 was much more terrifying to Roddy than facing the undead army.
I have subdued Teflin. It's really like 'treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime' … As Roddy thought of this, he felt the pressure suddenly increase.
But if he asked himself, was he really willing to live in fear of Augustine for the rest of his life?
Sitting in the armchair, Roddy slowly exhaled. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with unprecedented calmness and determination. He looked at the somewhat helpless Teflin elder Luther and calmly asked, "I want to know … how the entire race became like this.
"What kind of secret is hidden behind your mutation?"
*****
"Let everyone retreat there … That's where Tellac Castle is."
Dusko, who had already left on his horse, was thinking hard about the plan for the next five days. The more he thought about it, the more he could not understand the location of the decisive battle that Roddy had chosen.
Tellac Castle's location was very special. It happened to be in the center of the area currently controlled by the Awakened. It was the largest castle built by the Lambs. The foundation of this castle was a natural rock platform that protruded more than ten meters from the ground. It was coincidentally at the bottom of Tasman's terrain. Looking at the terrain of nearly a hundred square kilometers, it was similar to the center of a basin.
Because the rock platform protruded from the ground, the walls of this castle were much taller than other cities. It could be said that it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. At the same time, the castle was spacious, so it would not be too crowded even if tens of thousands of people squeezed into it. But because of this, it was an isolated city with no way out. Once they were trapped here, they could only wait for the enemy to retreat or defend to the end.
"Is it intentional … or is it a coincidence?"
Dusko could not figure out the reason, but he knew that no matter what he thought, this matter must be done. If he did not do it, then no one would survive.
Whether or not the Awakened could continue to exist depended on this step!
****
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