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Chapter 518
Chapter 518
Chapter 518: The Duke's Army
"Prince Julio! Are you safe?"
"Raul! I'm glad you made it!"
Julio greeted Raul as he entered the fortress. Following him, a few nobles walked in.
"Prince Julio! Count Pinto and the other frontier nobles will join your cause."
"Your decision is appreciated Count Pinto. I promise you will be rewarded after this battle."
"Thank you."
After such an exchange, Count Pinto turned his gaze toward me.
"You must be Prince Arnold."
"Indeed, I am Arnold. What brings you here?"
"Your uncle, Duke Bergevine, sent a message."
"What does he say?"
"He said not to get hurt."
Typical of my uncle.
Even though we're about to head into battle, he casually warns me not to get injured. Well, I guess it means not to overdo it.
"I see. Then, I'll try not to get hurt. Can I entrust my safety to you?"
"Leave it to us; we will certainly protect you!"
"I like your spirit. The reinforcements of two thousand won't fit into this fort. We'll have to set up camp outside. Let me explain the location. Follow me inside."
We, who have only half the number of the enemy, should not divide our forces. But there's no point forcing everyone into the fortress either.
A thousand in the fort. The reinforcements of two thousand will set up camp at a location where they can keep an eye on both the fort and the Duke's army.
That's the best course of action for now.
If the enemy isn't stupid, they will leave a small group to keep an eye on the fort and attack the two thousand reinforcements outside. Well, if that happens, we just have to strike back.
"What fools."
I mutter at the unexpected actions of the enemy.
The Duke's army, for some reason, placed an equal number of two thousand to keep our reinforcements in check, choosing to storm the fort with the remaining four thousand.
They probably reasoned that if the fort fell, the battle would be over.
Indeed, both Julio and I are in the fort. Maybe they thought they could trample over just a thousand?
That's short-sighted. After all...
"They should know better than to think taking the fort will be easy."
Saying that, I look up at the sky.
Something we have that they don't - aerial support.
The enemy dislikes the kingdom's interference and didn't bring Marcel along.
So, they don't have the Gryphon Knights.
But, we have my bodyguards here, who can freely attack from the sky.
"May we intercept!?"
"Target only the siege weapons. That will break their morale."
"Understood!"
Fin, who had descended nearby, ascends higher upon hearing my instructions and starts firing thunderbolts from his staff.
His targets are the siege weapons intended for storming the fort.
The Duke's army was earnestly hauling these large machines, but now they were being struck by lightning.
Weapons collapsing. Weapons burning.
Chaos spreads rapidly throughout the Duke's army.
Countless lightning bolts raining down from the sky probably feels like a natural disaster to them.
"And they thought they could siege the fort when we have control of the sky..."
I sigh in disbelief.
Did they forget about Fin's existence or did they simply underestimate him?
The Duke's army is thrown into disarray, and their frontline collapses.
They are forced to retreat.
The two thousand troops they'd assigned to keep our reinforcements in check also started to withdraw.
In the end, they only lost their siege weapons.
At least they could've moved at night or shown some ingenuity.
"The level of your Royal Guard is indeed impressive..."
"He's not my Royal Guard. He's my father's. Besides, Fin is still on the tame side, you know?"
Under the unique conditions of the sky, Fin holds unparalleled power.
However, several Royal Guards have the power to reign supreme regardless of the conditions. The reason the Grand Duke wanted to gauge the Empire's seriousness was that the deployment of the Royal Guards significantly increases the Empire's chances of winning.
My father has an undefeated record in battle, but many Royal Guards accompany him on his expeditions. It's harder to lose with that level of power. That's his personal opinion. The threat posed by the Royal Guards that show up on the battlefield is just that significant.
"And you say Fin's performance was tame... He just single-handedly repelled an enemy force of four thousand..."
"The threat level changes depending on who is leading those four thousand. Stay vigilant. The Duke will undoubtedly go crying to Marcel. Once that happens, the pitifully retreating four thousand will probably transform into an elite force."
"...Why is Your Highness so wary of Ambassador Marcel? I understand that Marcel is formidable, but..."
"I sense a familiar scent from him. He's a big liar. The type who will deceive others and even himself if necessary. That's why I am cautious."
"A liar...? What kind of lies would the ambassador tell?"
"You could generally guess."
His attitude towards me is too overbearing. He has three Gryphon Knights for his guards. Just from this, you can have a rough idea.
Moreover, the Duchy of Albatro is a key point that the kingdom absolutely must secure. If we bring the Duchy of Albatro over to the kingdom's side here, it would threaten the southern part of the Empire, and a decline in their naval forces can be anticipated.
The Empire could potentially get stuck in a quagmire, just like in the previous war. If that happens, the Empire won't stay silent.
In recent years, they haven't been able to stand up to my sister Lize's ironclad defense, but if the Empire were to engage in a quagmire war with the Kingdom, they would look for an opening.
The strategic point, that is the Duchy of Albatro. I wouldn't leave this to my subordinates.
"Well, the Duke will be frightened and immobilized for a while. In the meantime, let's rest. Pass the word to the nobles to rest as well. They must be tired too."
I relayed this to the messenger and retreated back into the fort.
We have three thousand, they have six thousand. But the morale of the six thousand is low, and there's an annoyance amongst them.
We're outnumbered, but it's either an even match or we have the advantage. Time is also on our side.
"Shall we observe their performance then?"
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