As Argus said this, all of the other captains looked stunned, as abandoning the city was never a part of the plan.
Still, some of the less moral ones began thinking that this was a good idea. Sure, the kingdom’s army may ransack or even burn the entirety of Valenhart to the ground, but they could do the same to the capital and kill the king.
However, before things went any further, Lyra stood up her rage not controlled in anyway, as she yelled, “Argus you bastard! You would have us abandon my city. I do not take my position as duchess lightly. I will stand with my people to my last breath, even if no one else will.”
Seething with anger, Lyra was pissed that Argus would even make this suggestion, since it was her that gave her word that their army would protect this city and free it from unjust rule.
If they were to abandon it at this point, even if they won, how would they be any better than the kingdom..
“Oh, it appears that you even believe in your own righteousness now. Did you not join the rebellion originally just as a means to get revenge on the king for killing your parents? You did not care about the people then, so what is the difference now?” Argus said, egging Lyra on.
Yet before things escalated, Marek clapped his hands together to draw all of the attention towards him.
He then stood up and said, “Both of you calm down. Right now, we are just throwing out ideas, and we should not become angry over any of them. Still Argus, I understand that your motivations are simply for retribution for being locked up, but our goal is to stabilize the kingdom. So, letting this city be burned to the ground so that we can take the opportunity to do the same would be counterproductive.”
With Marek’s intervening, Argus just held his hands up in defeat and sat down, while Lyra did the same.
Though the anger she felt was still evident on her face as she glared at Argus from time to time.
After Lyra and Argus’ little squabble, the captains continued planning and began picking out locations to defend, where to set up further fortifications, and troop placements and movements.
“The only problem left is what to do with the army that is being commanded by great knight number six Felcia. We are already spread thin dealing with everyone else.” Kazimir said once they had assigned all of their strongest combatants and their forces into their roles.
This showed that they were simply outmatched by the troops that the kingdom was sending, and even with the advantage of being able to use the city’s defenses, it was going to be a tough battle.
“I suppose that using both myself and Argus to take on Cibor was too greedy. Argus you and those under your command will face off agist the army under Felica’s command instead. I will hold out against Cibor the best I can.” Marek said a grimace on his face.
He was certain he could not win against the strongest man in the kingdom and even holding him off for a long enough time to matter was going to be difficult.
However, Marcus who had been quiet since his earlier ignorant comment, spoke up and said, “There is no need for that. I can handle Felcia and her entire army myself.”
Hearing this everyone looked towards Marcus stunned, some wondering if he had multiple screws loose in his head.
Not even Argus who was their strongest fighter would say he could take on Felcia and her entire army alone. She was not ranked as the number six knight for nothing. She was incredibly strong.
Not to mention she would be accompanied by at least one elite mage, and plenty of other high-level adjutants that worked directly under her.
“Jed this is not the time for joking. We are need serious ideas for how we are going to deal with this upcoming battle.” Francis said trying to admonish Marcus.
Except Marcus just stared resolutely at the other captains and said, “I am not joking. I have more tricks up my sleeves than any of you know. I can hold off Felica and her army on my own. Naturally, I do not think I will be able to win, but I can assure you that I can cause enough chaos in their ranks to prevent them from advancing.”
Still, even after Marcus said this, most of the captains looked at him like he was crazy, but Marek and Lyra who knew more about Marcus thought that maybe he could pull it off.
With his abilities he could easily move around undetected, and very few people had any real way to hurt him.
“Very well, I will trust in you Jed. You will take on Felica’s army on your own.” Marek said agreeing to Marcus’ proposal.
He knew that this was their best way to have a chance at victory, since if both he and Argus could focus on Cibor, they may even be able to defeat him, and at least drive him back.
Of course, nearly all of the other rebel leaders protested Marcus’ huge role, saying that it was foolish to entrust something like this to one man.
“I have already made my decision. Jed has already proven himself to me, and while most of you may just know him as the liaison to Borealia, his strength is the real deal. Without him we would still be hiding I the woods only being an annoyance to the kingdom. Now I ask all of you to trust my judgment on this matter.” Marek said taking control of the meeting.
And with his stalwart support, eventually everyone fell in line and reluctantly agreed to let Marcus take an entire front of the war on his shoulders.
“Now we only have around two weeks before the kingdom’s forces reach our borders. We must use this time to prepare. Now go, and good luck to you all.”