Chapter 231 - The Calm Before the Storm (2)

Chapter 231 - The Calm Before the Storm (2)

“Well, to be honest, it's not a foolproof plan that will guarantee victory...” warned Henry. He was serious.

Henry was aware that his plan was too simplistic to guarantee victory. His strategy was to infiltrate the capital of the Aenia Empire and bring back Arthus’s head while the Allied Powers engaged in melee combat against the one hundred thousand imperial troops.

McDowell, who had been quietly listening to Henry, burst into laughter and said, “Hahaha, man... you’re nuts!”

However, McDowell wasn’t mocking Henry, quite the opposite. He was strongly complimenting Henry and his bold plan.

Valhald and Von also expressed their agreement.

“I couldn’t agree more with McDowell. I think it’s a great idea, Henry. You can leave Zipan to us. In the meantime, you do what you can do.”

“I agree too.”

The top swordsmen of the Allied Powers showed their support. Lore, who had also been quiet the entire meeting, spoke up as well.

“I knew you would come up with something like this, Archmage. You’re the only one capable of pulling off such a plan.”

Despite the unanimous support, Henry asked once again, “So how does everyone else feel about this?”

In reality, it seemed unnecessary for Henry to ask once again if everyone was on board; he merely did it out of courtesy.

Hela smirked and replied, “Since when do you require our approval...? Do as you will.”

“I also have complete faith in your plan, Sir Henry.”

“Same here.”

Everyone took turns to express their approval.

To Henry, things couldn’t have turned out better. He laughed and waved his hand on the table. Soon after, two familiar severed heads appeared on the table.

“These are...!”

The heads of Batz and Kinless were on the table. Of course, Henry didn’t have to worry about their blood making the table messy as he had already drained them ahead of time.

Henry then looked everyone in the eye and said, “These are the heads of the two corps commanders who attacked the Sore Empire, Batz, and Kinless.”

“Ohho, does this mean...?”

"Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. We’ve succeeded in defending the Sore Empire against the thirty thousand imperial troops. In addition, the Sore Empire has sustained almost no damage, so it will join the rest of us as soon as its army reorganizes itself.”

This was very good news because everyone had been feeling uncomfortable about the fact that they hadn’t been able to aid the Sore Empire.

Henry continued to explain.

“I also want to say that I took down these two all by myself, so you don’t have to worry about me. You just have to deal with the imperial troops here while I raid the capital. I’ll make sure to return with Arthus’ head and hoist our flag in victory.”

If the leader of an army fell, there was no point in continuing the fight. It was even more so if the emperor himself fell. New novel chapters are published on

As Henry promised victory, the room lit up with excitement.

However, Doyle, who had been quietly observing the magic strategy map, said, “Hmm... Then I guess the key element would be how quickly Sir Henry can assassinate Arthus. We also need to take into account how fast the Sore Empire and Deucekain can join us in the fight.”

Hearing this, Herarion spoke up before Henry had the chance to.

“That is true... Is there something in particular that you wish to say, Sir Doyle?”

Doyle wasn’t trying to go against the whole plan. Rather, he just went over it one more time. However, the way he said it suggested that he had something more to say.

Henry felt that Doyle had something to say about his plan. Before he had the chance to ask Doyle to elaborate, the elder spoke up again.

“Just as I mentioned earlier. Even if Sore Empire joins later on, the difference in numbers will still be forty thousand troops. And before they join, we will have a total of fifty thousand troops. What I’m saying is that we initially would have to hold off against the imperial army with half their numbers. You did mention that we will have around eighty thousand troops, so I’m assuming that Deucekain will be joining with around two thousand troops. Did I get this correct, Archmage?”

"I see merit in your viewpoint, and I acknowledge that both the Empress and His Majesty Herarion have valid perspectives as well. But I do want to say this. Simply being afraid will not accomplish anything. What I’m really trying to say is, could you please have faith in me and give me a chance?”

Henry then looked into Doyle’s eyes. The elder felt the strong confidence and sincerity in the eyes of the Archmage.

For a few moments, the room was completely silent.

Eventually, Doyle sighed softly and responded, “Alright...”

“I’m grateful for your faith. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that I will fulfill the promise I made to all of you in the beginning, no matter what happens.”

Sometimes, a sincere look carried more weight than words. After Henry persuaded Doyle, he also mentioned the other tricks up his sleeve, such as Alfred and Balak, to bring more credibility to him and his plan.

“Then, from now on, we will divide the troops and appoint commanders accordingly.”

The preparations for the final battle had just begun.

***

Kington Foram, the commander-in-chief of the imperial army.

Allen, the leader of Faesiling and the current Mercenary King.

Walker, Allen's one and only lieutenant, also known as the Master Spearman.

Masila, the genius advisor and Allen’s most precious treasure.

Logger, the veteran leader of the Paladins among the three Sun Troops.

Irenae, the only female Saint of the Church of Peace, also referred to as the Living Blessing.

Last but not least, Ananda, the last Sun of the Church of Peace, the monk who was considered the role model for all the other monks.

The seven corps commanders all gathered in one place, their objective simple: annihilate the enemy troops in the Herrerne plain and conquer Zipan, the thorn in the empire’s side, which was located in the middle of the plain. The plan was to attack at sunrise.

The sun was rising. Although they had been exhausted from the arduous march, the soldiers immediately set about constructing a mud tower without even realizing that they were exhausted due to the ultra-wide area of effect healing spell Irenae had cast on them.

As the construction was in full swing, the seven corps commanders came together and began their first strategy meeting, initiated by Kington.

“We’re finally here, but to be honest, I don’t think we have much to talk about. I think we can just sweep them away. I can just tell that we have a lot more than they have and that our soldiers are better.”

Kington was the only member of the imperial palace among the corps commanders. Despite his confident assertion, Masila, the only advisor of Mercenary King Allen, made an objection.

“I believe that is a dangerous claim. They have wizards and even illusionists over there. Going on an all-out war in a situation like this is no different than jumping out of the frying pan into fire.”

Masila couldn’t help but frown. She abhorred arrogant and foolish people the most. However, Kington was currently her superior, so she tried her best to somehow maintain a neutral expression, but she just couldn’t let the previous statement slide away without making a face.

Kington frowned slightly in response and said, “Yeah, okay, unlike us, they have wizards and illusionists, so I say we should be cautious. But to build a mud tower right after the march? Don’t you think you’re pushing my soldiers to the limit?”

“I believe you agreed on that part during the march, no? And it has already been proven a long time ago that Irenae’s recovery spells are excellent for relieving fatigue.”

Every time Kington complained, Masila had a counter-argument based on logic.

However, Kington already knew how Masila felt about him. At any rate, he was the commander-in-chief, while she was just a subordinate commander. Kington really disliked Masila’s hostile attitude because it disrupted the chain of command.

‘Tsk, coming at me for everything I say. This is why I didn’t want to have bullshit mercenaries involved.’

Kington trash-talked Masila in his head. However, the ironic thing was that Masila was also aware of how Kington actually felt about her.

As a hostile atmosphere formed between Kington and Masila, Allen, the Mercenary King, stepped in to mediate the conflict.

“Haha, how about we stop fighting? We’re on the same team after all... How about we split up sections now? Herrerne is an open field, so even a five-year-old child could tell that closing in from all directions is the way to do it.”

“I know that, which is why I wanted this meeting,” replied Kington. “Since we’re on the topic, let’s decide who’s going to be in charge of where and how we’re going to redistribute the troops.”

The Allied Powers and Empire Forces.

Both sides were having a meeting at the same time, discussing how to annihilate each other.