Hearing Lord Macht dismantle his plan like that, Lord Kite for a moment felt he really could not stand the simple and straightforward Lord Macht.
He wished the man could have kept shut for just a little while, perhaps even only until Lord Parker had left the room.
It made him feel like snapping at the man.
But what was done was done.
While seeing Lord Kite's 'brilliant' idea get shot dead in the water, Lord Parker's eyes suddenly turned menacing, growling in a furious voice,
"What about taking the city by force? Or at least the manor?"
Lord Kite who was standing by the side was stunned hearing this. He could not believe what he was hearing.
Take the entire Margraves family as hostages?
This could no longer be called a last resort desperate move but a suicidal detonation.
At least now, even if they lost, they would be able to make a comeback in some covert form after a few years.
Just as Alexander said, the Heeats were not going to let this go just because they lost once.
But if they did this and Alexander still broke through, they would not be welcomed on this island for at least the next hundred years.
And winning might not be that much better either.
Even if they succeeded, their alliance would be shattered with the Margraves likely showing very little gratitude.
Puppeting them would prove difficult, with the nobles who suffered at the native barbarians blaming them and Miss Linda.
'By that point, we might as well kill all of them and annex these lands for yourselves.' Lord Kite thus said to himself in resignation, feeling like they should go all the way should they choose to proceed.
However, unlike his counterpart Lord Machtt, he kept those thoughts to himself.
Some words just could not be said willy nilly, and he did not want to start giving Lord Parker new ideas.
"It is too late." The one to answer Lord Parker's query was none other than Lord Macht, who was perhaps the only officer to contemplate this insane ask seriously.
And while contemplating on it, the veteran warrior frankly revealed,
"I have already looked into this. But after Alexander, the Margraves have strengthened their security. Taking the city might be possible, but taking the manor will be very risky. If we mess up or get delayed... we might have to fight through the entire Margraves army. The results will be unpredictable."
Lord Macht had a clear trace of regret as he made the statement as if he was really sorry that he could not do this.
"....." The rest of the officers in the room were stunned into silence hearing this.
They could not decide whether they should be impressed by how bold this warrior was or curse his lunacy.
If the two forces started fighting, it would certainly not end as amicably as Lord Macht was suggesting here.
Lord Kite even wanted to chide the veteran man for his foolishness and utter disregard for politics.
Who knows what could happen then?
The walls might still hold but would the defenders really fight to protect it till the last man standing?
Lord Kite greatly doubted that.
Seeing their forces get thrashed, and the Heeats nowhere to be seen, the scant few Miss Linda defenders in the walls could very likely assume they had been abandoned by the cowardly ducal family and thus choose to surrender the city.
Alexander who had Lady Miranda as well as the other family elders certainly had the political capital to pull this off.
Lord Kite could even easily imagine those powerful, known faces appearing before the defeated garrison and promising them general amnesty in exchange for them opening the gates.
If that happened, Lord Kite was willing to bet his entire fief that the green levied men up in the walls would choose to bend the knee over getting them and their families slaughtered once Alexander broke through.
And at that point, the game might be very well lost for the Heeats.
It would take them at least a day to respond and by then the walls would be manned by 20,000 men who would have their morale soaring by their recent victory.
This was Lord Kite's first and most significant concern.
While his second one had to do with supplies,- namely that it would be completely dependent on the mood of the Margraves inside the city.
Lord Kite intended to use boats to supply themselves via the river that ran through Caira.
And given that this river ended in the nearby sea, the family basically controlled the mouth of the river.
Thus they controlled whatever entered its 'guts'.
So what if the Margraves won and then quickly shut off that artery?
Would not the entire contingent of 9,000 elite Heeat infantry and 2,000 cavalry get stranded in the wilderness, forced to live off the land?
The relationship between the two families had certainly deteriorated to the point such extreme moves were a possibility, a rather small one for sure, but it still existed.
However, despite his two misgivings, Lord Kite kept all such thoughts to himself.
Under the current circumstances, this was the best course of action.
And luckily no one managed to point out the flaws.
So after a week of waiting, the Margraves and Heeats finally moved out.
Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!
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