Chapter 418: The Real Battle Had Already Begun

It was the morning after Blitz and Hassan had accomplished their mission.

People went through their normal routines without a care in the world. They ate, they drank, and they made preparations for the war that would start in a day or two.

Most of the nobles had already gathered inside the fortress. Aside from a handful of lords, like the Viscount of Frontera, everyone was ready to march as soon as they were ordered to move.

"Man... I shouldn’t have drunk that much last night," a soldier said in regret. "I don’t feel so good."

"I don’t feel too good either," another soldier commented. "I feel nauseous."

Funnily enough, they weren’t the only ones who felt ill. A little talk let them know that most of their friends and acquaintances were on the same page as them.

Some even showed signs of weakness and fatigue, while a handful were already down with a fever.

Thinking they merely had hangovers, the two soldiers believed they would get better later in the day.

But it never did.

In fact, more people began developing the same symptoms as them.

"What is happening here?!" Armand Brook, the Commander of Stoneguard Fortress, asked his right-hand man, Virgil, to explain the bizarre illness spreading across the entire fortress like a plague.

"We are currently investigating the cause, My Lord," Virgil replied. "However, a few hours after I gave the order, even my men started to develop symptoms."

Armand’s expression turned grim after hearing his subordinate’s report.

"Is it a plague?"

"I am unsure, My Lord. But for your own safety, please don’t leave the residence until I get to the bottom of it."

Armand clenched his fists tightly. "What are the clerics doing? Can’t they handle this level of sickness?"

"The clerics are also sick, My Lord," Virgil answered. "But according to the latest reports, those treated by clerics have recovered. They are still weak, but they no longer show any symptoms."

Hearing that, Armand could finally sigh in relief. If the unknown illness was something the clerics could cure, all they had to do was wait. The situation would naturally be under control.

However, the thing that truly concerned him was the fact that the nobles, their private armies, and the civilians had all gotten sick.

This only meant one thing.

They were all exposed to the same disease.

"Have they determined if it’s some kind of infectious disease?" Armand inquired. "Is it airborne?"

If this were similar to a plague, then as long as one person was sick, the rest might relapse even if there were clerics around.

Little did he know that he got it half-right.

As long as people still used the water from the wells, whether it be for bathing, laundry, cooking, or drinking, they were bound to get sick once again.

The powers of clerics could only heal the present injury or sickness. This ability didn’t create antibodies. It simply wiped the state clean.

Armand understood that they were still in danger until the root cause was discovered.

Three hours later, one of the physicians working for him made a discovery.

"My Lord, it’s the well water," the Physician said. "It has been contaminated with an unknown substance."

With so many people suddenly becoming sick, those who specialized in treating people started to eliminate the root causes.

The first one was food, and the next was water.

Since everyone, including the soldiers who ate from their own rations, got sick, food was crossed out of the list.

The next was water, for most of what they used inside the fortress came from the wells.

The Kingdom of Britannia was not ignorant when it came to this kind of strategy.

After all, they had done the same to others.

That was why during war, they never allowed their soldiers to drink from well water in any village or town they had recently conquered. Doing so was just asking for trouble.

However, what made Armand’s body tremble in anger was the fact that the wells in his own territory were used against them!

He didn’t even suspect the barbarians for this incident, deeming it impossible.

There was no way those savages from the Borderlands could bypass the defenses of Stoneguard Fortress.

Plus, even if he considered that possibility, he couldn’t justify why they didn’t just poison the wells instead.

If they only wanted to kill people, using poison would have annihilated more than half of the people currently residing within his walls.

The mere thought of such a tragedy made Armand’s face turn beet red from both anger and fear.

Many high-ranking nobles, alongside their heirs, were currently inside his fortress city. If they were to die under his protection, his head would roll off his body the moment news reached the kingdom.

In the end, Armand could only thank whoever schemed against them.

If the ones responsible for this incident were truly vicious people, then the consequences would have been dire.

"Seal the wells immediately!" Armand ordered. "Then tell everyone who isn’t sick to gather water from the nearby river!"

"We’ve already done that, My Lord," Virgil reported. "Our men encountered the private army of the Viscount of Frontera while gathering water and informed them of the situation."

"They immediately sent the barrels of water they had in their possession to the fortress," Virgil continued. "They’ve also joined our men in gathering fresh water from the river."

Armand’s expression softened slightly.

At least someone was acting quickly during this crisis.

"Viscount Frontera?" Armand frowned. "Isn’t that the family whose son was exiled to the Borderlands a few months ago?"

"Yes, My Lord," Virgil answered.

"Hah... such irony." The corner of Armand’s lips rose up. "Perhaps he could reunite with his son if the young man is still alive after we conquer the Borderlands."

Armand wasn’t ignorant of the political battles that were happening in the Kingdom of Britannia.

He knew that the other nobles found the Frontera Family an eyesore due to their unshakable neutrality.

And so, they paid the price for their neutrality.

"When the Viscount arrives, make sure to have him and his men go to the spot we reserve for important people," Armand ordered.

"Understood, My Lord." Virgil bowed respectfully.

Now that the root of the problem had been discovered, all they needed was to deal with the aftermath.

’The campaign might be delayed for a day or two because of this incident,’ Armand thought. ’But there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m sure the three Generals will not want to make sick people march for the sake of convenience.’

Little did Armand know that the people behind this incident never had the intention of killing anyone.

Well, to be precise, they didn’t want to kill the innocent.

If there were only soldiers stationed inside the fortress without any civilians, Leone would have hardened his heart and ordered poison to be poured into the wells.

However, he didn’t do that.

He still remained humane despite the bloody battles that he had experienced in the Borderlands.

His goal was much simpler.

He wanted to weaken the forces gathered inside Stoneguard Fortress before the war even began.

And judging by the number of people who had already fallen ill, his plan had succeeded.

However, there was still one final piece to the plan that needed to be carried out.

Far away from the fortress, a flying squirrel was perched on top of a tree, eating some nuts as its snack.

It had visited the fortress earlier and confirmed that their mission had indeed succeeded.

Stoneguard Fortress remained unaware that the real battle had already begun.

And by the time they discovered who was truly responsible, it would already be too late to do anything.