Chapter 157 (2/2)

「What?!」

「The current Emperor had been pus.h.i.+ng for an appeas.e.m.e.nt policy. If the late King didn't invade them, he would've formed an alliance sooner.」

「But they were at war with the Kingdom just a while ago.」

「Emperor Kaglai is a man of character. A little dispute is nothing to him. With the King dead, the one obstacle to forming an alliance with Ponsonia is gone.」

The King was a.s.sa.s.sinated by Unken, a n.o.ble in the Kingdom. Ponsonia believed it to be mutiny by a n.o.ble. They hadn't connected the a.s.sa.s.sination to Quinbland.

Austrin didn't know Unken's motive, but part of him believed his father's death was something the King brought upon himself.

「You talk like you know him.」

「I've met Emperor Kaglai a few times.」

Igloo was telling the truth. Recommendations from several countries were required for one to become a rank A adventurer. While adventurers had their base of operations, high-ranked ones sometimes operated abroad as well.

「The Princess can mobilize 8,000 soldiers from the capital, 500 knights, and at most 2,000 troops from Margrave Grugschilt. But with Quinbland joining them, that's another 5,000. By the way, I got this information from your subordinates. In other words, if they chose to hole up within the city, Einbeast's army of 20,000 wouldn't be enough. How many soldiers do you command again?」

「…Five thousand.」Austrin answered

A lie. His “army” was comprised of officials from the public safety division. He barely gathered five thousand men. And since some of them had to maintain the city's public order, Austrin could only mobilize 2,000 at most.

「I see. Either way, it will be difficult to fight 15,000 men holed up in the capital with an army of only 25,000.」

「We can just lure them out, then.」Gotthold responded.「Nah, it doesn't even matter if they're staying inside. Ponsonia's army doesn't stand a chance against Einbeast's troops.」

The man just mocked the Kingdom's army. He didn't care that Ponsonians were before him. The n.o.bles didn't seem to mind, however, saying “That's rea.s.suring.”

「Sir Gotthold, the enemy is better at defending. They have the party Sweet Pleasure on their side, after all.」

「Are you saying they'll attack using bows and magic from inside? We can climb the walls of Leather Elka easily if we want to.」

「Sweet Pleasure's true fighting style isn't long-range attacks, but traps.」

「…Traps?」

「They were promoted to rank A after killing a Field Wyvern.」

The room went abuzz. Wyverns were known to be winged creatures. Sometimes, although rarely, an inferior subspecies was born. One of them was the Field Wyvern. A monster that walked on two legs, its large body covered in scales. It could run at speeds over 200 kilometers an hour, giving it the moniker Swift Fortress.

「They killed a Field Wyvern with nothing but a trap. We can't underestimate them.」

They say the strong knows who the strong are. Gotthold went silent because he knew Field Wyverns weren't an easy kill. The Polar Tiger could kill one, but some of its members would surely suffer grave injuries, or worse.

「May I ask what your plan is, Sir Igloo?」Austrin urged.

「First, they will surely occupy the satellite town of Pond. With its population of around 6,000, only about a thousand soldiers can stay there. They would deploy their troops in the surrounding plains. After all, if the place was taken, it would be like having a knife at the royal capital's throat.」

「Yes. We also think the battle will take place at Pond.」

「After fighting a bit, Ponsonia will retreat.」

「What?」

「That's their plan.」

「What do you mean?」Austrin was getting impatient.

Igloo smiled amusingly.「I told you. Sweet Pleasure is with them. If I were the Princess, I would set traps all over Pond. And once Einbeast's forces occupy it…」Igloo spread his arms out.

「I-I don't think Kudyastoria will do that…」

「When their backs are against the wall, humans will do anything. If they don't do that, we'll have an advantage. In a defensive battle, Ponsonia might have the upper hand, but they can't protect the citizens outside the walls. If they had to choose which one to abandon: the royal capital outskirts or Pond, they would probably choose the latter. No one wants the enemy to get close to them.」

Igloo probably got the information on Sweet Pleasure because they were both adventurers with the same position, Austrin thought. If we had the same intel, we probably would've arrived at the same conclusion.

「Let's a.s.sume Pond will be full of traps. What will we do?」the Prince asked.

「Take a detour. If they abandon Pond easily, that means there are traps set up. We'll be fine if we go around. It's a bit of waste, but we can't take control of Pond. The risks are too high.」

「What about the siege? You said earlier that while we outnumber them, we're at a disadvantage if they hole up.」

「Indeed. But…」Igloo's smile grew wider.「…you can leave that to us. We'll just destroy the walls.」

「Come again?」

「We'll destroy the walls. You may then invade. The royal capital is huge. It would be impossible for Sweet Pleasure to set traps everywhere. Anywhere around the gate should be full of traps, so we'll just bring down the wall. Once inside, we can win with numbers. Without Quinbland's troops and Margrave Grugschilt's forces, they number only 8,500.」

「No, that's not what I'm asking. How are the four of you going to destroy the walls?」

「Well…」Igloo looked confident.「We're rank A adventurers. We can do that without a problem.」

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