Chapter 106 - The Rhine Kingdom’s Peril 2 (2/2)

Once Aiden had made his move, the other cavalrymen came to his support.

Cla-clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal hitting against metal echoed everywhere.

When the corpses of monsters began piling up, new soldiers appeared accompanied by the ringing of trumpets in the distance.

The main unit that was following Woohyuk and his group had arrived.

“Krrrr...”

Once they were outnumbered, the monsters began to fall back one by one.

They had only descended the mountains to destroy and pillage a few villages, so they didn’t number many in the first place.

“My Lord, what should we do?”

“Let them escape. We won't pursue them.”

There was a risk of being caught in a trap while chasing after them proactively, as he didn’t know when the demon kings of Ars Nova would make their move.

It was better not to get too close to the Corcas Mountains until the Spiritual Society arrived as reinforcements.

“Then should we camp here?”

“That seems like a good idea for now.”

They didn't know when the monsters would come down and create chaos again.

Moreover, he didn’t find it necessary to go to the central region of the Nelson March to kill the monsters personally.

“Thank you, Commander. I owe you my life.”

Once the battle was over, a woman hiding in the stables came out and expressed her gratitude to Aiden.

Aiden was a person who had been defending the Sirien region since a long time ago and was highly popular amongst the residents.

He was the person who could best reassure the civilians and erase their unease.

“Aiden, we need to talk for a bit.”

As the preparations for the camp were starting to be finished, Woohyuk took Aiden and headed to the commander’s barracks to listen to the reports about the local situation and to discuss a few tactics.

“What is the matter, Your Majesty?”

“If the monsters in the Corcas Mountains make a surprise attack tonight, what route do you think they will use to attack?”

On the table was a map of the Sirien region.

Aiden pondered for a moment and then touched the border between Sirien and Trevis.

“If I were their leader, I would use our blind spots to the fullest. The borders are generally somewhat neglected, and depending on the situation, they may move to another region.”

“That's right. If so, what would be the best solution to fight against monsters executing this plan?

Woohyuk had already made is own decision. However, he was asking Aiden for his opinion to test him.

Aiden stared attentively as if he had realized the objective behind Woohyuk’s questions.

“As you may already know, the number of residents in the Sirien region is not very high. Therefore, it would be best to send the soldiers and gather all of the residents here.”

For a commander with nerves of steel, this was a wise answer.

Woohyuk nodded in satisfaction.

“Excellent. But is someone as talented as you merely a captain of the guard camp?”

“This region is my homeland.”

Aiden's wife and son lived in Sirien.

Woohyuk, who heard the story, looked puzzled.

“Isn't Kallenoa much safer than Sirien since it has the Doria castle?”

“Our house cannot leave Sirien.”

It was a tragedy that befell upon their family in the past when one of Aiden's ancestors was framed by his political opponents. One of the punishments the house had received was being unable to leave their homeland.

Woohyuk wrote a pardon on the spot and handed it over to him.

“When this incident ends safely, I will entrust you with a serious responsibility. Instead, I will help you bring your family to Heidelberg, a safer city.”

He hadn't spoken of it yet, but Woohyuk wanted to appoint Aiden as the next commander of the 5th, since it was impossible to control Gaius forever.

Aiden's eyes wide open when he heard of the favor Woohyuk was about to do to him.

“My sincere gratitude, Your Majesty.”

“I look forward to your performance in the future.”

Aiden was definitely a valuable person that couldn’t rot in such barren lands.

Moreover, once they were to win this war, they would get both the Lydia Kingdom and the Dane Kingdom, and the Northeastern Guard Camp would significantly decline in importance.

Right now, it was more important to gather geniuses in the capital Heidelberg to cultivate their talents.

Suddenly Lee Jaesung's report arrived when Woohyuk was reviewing the strategy with Aiden in detail.

[Your Majesty, We have received the intel that the Witch Cult has infiltrated the free city of Media.]

[Did the 3rd Corps discover this fact?]

[The very first witness is part of the Rossio Merchant Group. The 3rd Corps was informed by Adorno, the head of the group.]

The Rossio Merchant Group was hostile to all forces related to the Golden Rose Society.

In the past, Bruno of the Cohen Merchant Group had tried to get rid of Adorno by joining them.

'Then I guess I’ll be receiving a report from the Free City of Landium as well.'

There was the Erica Merchant Group as well as the violent sea serpent led by the Barbarossa Pirates, so he didn’t worry about that city too much.

Woohyuk warned each of the clan members that were dispatched around the country and continued his conversation with Lee Jaesung.

[Those guys will be aiming for you first. So try to strengthen the barriers around the Ludwig County as much as possible.]

[Do you think the Witch Cult could actually reach this far? They’ve already been discovered.]

[We mustn’t underestimate them.]

Judging from his experience in the past 40 years, it was difficult to stop the Witch Cult with just a single legion if they were moving and fighting seriously.

Woo-hyuk pulled out a map of the Rhine Kingdom from his pocket and tried to picture the ideal path the Witch Cult would try to take.

'I'm sure they’ll try to focus on regions where the lord has recently changed.'

I had to think about the possibility that the daughter of Baron Ludwig, whose whereabouts became apparent, or the son of Count Ethan, would move with the Witches Church.

He had to keep in mind the possibility that the daughter of Baron Ludwig or Count Ethan’s son were working with the Witch Cult. Their locations were currently unknown.

They were the children of the former lords, so they were well aware of the local areas and could have bribed some nobles in the area to make them their accomplices.

'But their final goal will be Blackburn.'

An impregnable fortress built by the Black Dragon King Drakia.

The Witch Cult and the Golden Rose Society knew of a method that would allow them to take over the fortress with ease.