Chapter 420: The Whispering Cards [Part 1]

"Well? How is the situation of the soldiers?" Armand asked. "Are they ready to march tomorrow?"

"The army was prioritized for healing, so more than half of our sick warriors have recovered," Virgil replied. "However, we simply do not have enough medicine. The clerics have even used up a lot of mana potions originally meant for military operations.

"The two generals are asking us to procure more mana potions to replenish their stock. In fact, I have come here to ask you, My Lord. How should we address this matter?"

"Hand over ninety percent of every potion we have in the warehouse," Armand ordered. "I don’t want to hear them complain that I didn’t extend my hand during their time of need."

If losing nearly all of his potions would allow him to save his reputation, then so be it.

The last thing Armand wanted to happen was for the two generals to blame him for what had happened to their soldiers.

The High Clerics had used Purification on the wells, clearing out any contamination. Four soldiers were then assigned to each well to prevent the incident from repeating.

As the victims of the incident, the guards took their duty seriously. The last thing they wanted was to get sick again.

However, there was just one problem.

The Commander of the Gryphon Battalion, Dominic, as well as his men, had already flown to nearby towns and cities to purchase herbs to craft medicine.

He had also sent an express courier to the King, informing the latter of what had happened in Stoneguard Fortress.

Since this was a major operation, the King decided to send every herb, as well as extra manpower, to Stoneguard City using teleportation gates.

Although the mana consumption of doing so was steep, they were on a tight schedule.

They needed to reach Eden by the time the Aurelion Empire began their siege. That way, the barbarians would be simultaneously attacked on two fronts, unable to focus on a single enemy.

Simply put, the moment they reached Eden, the barbarians would have no choice but to surrender or be annihilated.

The King’s messenger had also passed a message on to General Vogel, General Duran, and Commander Dominic.

"Those who have been cured of their disease should march by noon tomorrow at the latest," the King ordered. "The Aurelion Empire won’t wait for us. If they manage to bring down Eden without our help, we won’t be getting any of the shares that we have agreed upon."

Naturally, the three were reluctant to follow this order.

However, it was a Royal Decree.

In other words, none of them could ignore it.

"Hopefully a night’s rest will allow everyone to march tomorrow." Vogel sighed. "I just hope that this won’t be some kind of death march."

"Just think of it as the vanguard moving ahead of the main force," Duran stated. "Of course, if you are that reluctant to go, you can stay here for one more day. Dominic and I will head first."

Vogel pondered for a bit before nodding in agreement. "Fine. I’ll stay behind. I will follow you all a day later."

Since someone still needed to take command of the soldiers remaining inside the fortress, having a general around would ensure that the chain of command was followed.

Dominic also thought that this arrangement was good, so he didn’t oppose the idea.

Once their meeting ended, they returned to their duties and ordered their subordinates to pass the word on to other soldiers.

When night finally fell, an eerie silence fell over the fortress.

Soldiers no longer sat around the campfire and bragged about their glorious campaign against the barbarians.

No one could bring themselves to be merry, especially since a lot of their comrades were still sick.

They were not aware that a little flying squirrel had just climbed their towering walls and taken flight to enter the city.

*Squeak!*

"Don’t worry, Blitz. We will find him."

Blitz and Hassan had once again infiltrated Stoneguard Fortress to look for Leone’s father, Marco.

It had been a while since Leone had spoken to his father, so he thought this would be a good opportunity to do so.

Daedalus had informed him of a special item in the Arcane Store that currently had a 90% discount. It was none other than the Whispering Cards, a communication tool worth 10,000 BP.

The Whispering Cards allowed their users to talk remotely as if they were whispering right beside each other.

Since it was a pair, they could only communicate with the person holding the card. It was also a soulbound item, so only the one who was bound to it could use it.

The cool feature about these cards was that they didn’t need to open their mouths and talk.

In fact, they could talk through thoughts, preventing anyone from eavesdropping on their conversation.

It was a very convenient tool. However, these cards had one major drawback.

Their range of communication could only reach up to ten miles maximum.

The moment someone went past that distance, the cards would lose their effectiveness, preventing communication from taking place.

Still, when used properly, it would become one of Leone’s trump cards. It would bring him great advantage to know what was happening on the opponent’s side in real time.

Blitz jumped from roof to roof, while Hassan paid close attention to their surroundings, looking for the banners that belonged to the Frontera Family.

Unfortunately, the two started their search on the southern side of the city, heading toward the southeast.

It would take them two more hours before they would finally locate Leone’s father, who was currently sharpening his sword to pass the time.

Perhaps due to him concentrating on his task, he didn’t notice the squirrel that had appeared a few meters away from him.

*Squeak!*

Blitz called out to Leone’s father, but the latter kept on sharpening his sword as if he didn’t hear anything.

Not wanting to be ignored, Blitz tried to come closer.

But the moment it came within striking range of the sword, Marco finally moved and pointed his sword at the flying squirrel that froze in its tracks.

The sword tip was only an inch away from Blitz’s nose. If it had moved a little closer, its nose would have been poked through by a sword.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen. On top of that, it finally got the attention of Leone’s father, who had no idea that tonight would be the night that he would be able to talk to his son in private.