Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start - Chapter 270 - 269: Sacrifice to the Flag
Chapter 270: Chapter 269: Sacrifice to the Flag
Time ticked by, second by second, but the battle formation in the Alliance Army camp remained unchallenged.
“What’s going on?”
Marvin gazed toward the camp entrance. “Even if that Coren takes as long to get ready as a woman, he should have been here by now!”
“Don’t be anxious. Philip should be back soon.”
Just as he finished speaking, Philip rushed into the tent. “This is bad! Coren has sealed the castle gates. They aren’t even letting castle servants who were out on errands back in, and no one is coming out!”
Everyone was stunned by the news.
“Fuck! Who leaked the plan?”
Marvin roared, “Is there a mole in our ranks?”
Coren had clearly been tipped off, refusing to leave his fortress, so Marvin’s suspicion was only natural.
For a moment, the men in the tent eyed each other warily.
Besides Ronin and his men, the only ones present yesterday were Toru, Marvin, Philip, and Solstein. Even Tarren wasn’t privy to the plan.
If there was a traitor, it had to be one of those four.
The Alliance Army was already a loose coalition. If its leaders began to distrust one another, the situation would become dire.
Ronin spoke up at the opportune moment. “There’s no need to suspect one another. In my opinion, the person who tipped off Coren wasn’t one of our own. It could have been Amicus from Chishan Town. After all, with one of their key figures missing, it’s only natural they’d be on high alert.”
’Though he said that, he hadn’t expected the enemy to catch on so quickly, much less relay the information to Coren with such speed. It demonstrated a high level of trust and communication between them.’
’Ronin had to marvel at how quickly the situation changed. His plan for “Catching Turtles in a Jar” was now a bust.’
“Ronin has a point.”
The tense atmosphere in the main tent eased considerably.
They found themselves admiring the young man’s adaptability even more. ’If it had been Wiggin—no, if it had been us, our minds wouldn’t have been able to keep pace with the enemy.’
“Ronin, what’s our next move?”
Toru asked, “With the provisions of a typical castle, Coren can hide in Giant Stone Castle for ten to fifteen days without worrying about food. But we can’t. On this expedition, Giant Stone Castle was supposed to supply the Knight Squads from Wushan Castle and Wubei Territory.”
To put it simply, if Coren didn’t provide supplies, the Alliance Army would starve.
An army on empty stomachs can’t fight, and it would inevitably lead to panic.
“The food problem is easy to solve.”
Before Ronin could speak, Marvin offered a suggestion. “Giant Stone City is huge and full of people. If worst comes to worst, we can just requisition their grain.”
“Requisition” was a euphemism; in reality, it was simply looting.
“Our camp’s food stores should last four to five days. If that’s not enough, we can have the other nobles pool their rations, with a promise to repay them after we win the war. Right now, the most important thing is to figure out how to handle the enemy.”
Ronin said, “Giant Stone City is working with the Polante Thief Gang. Since they’ve already exchanged information, Amicus must be aware of Coren’s situation. As a critical ally, Amicus will definitely send troops to support him. We need to prevent a pincer attack.”
The others nodded slightly.
Solstein couldn’t help but ask, “Should we split our forces to resist them?”
Ronin pondered for a long moment before finally shaking his head.
’Doing nothing isn’t an option, but splitting our forces to counter them isn’t a good idea either.’
“Last night, we were too rushed to attack Giant Stone Castle, but now we can make an attempt.”
Ronin continued, “If we can take Giant Stone Castle before the enemy from Chishan Town arrives, we’ll not only have solved our supply problem, but we’ll also only have a single enemy to face.”
Marvin, his face clouded with worry, added, “But Giant Stone Castle is heavily fortified.”
“I have a way to deal with that.”
Ronin said, “The Marquis gifted me a Sixth-level Magic Energy Cannon. We might be able to use it to blast open the gates of Giant Stone Castle.”
“A Magic Energy Cannon? The Marquis was willing to give even that to you?”
Marvin’s eyes widened. He had begged and pleaded to buy a Magic Energy Cannon from Lurans at a slight discount, but the Marquis had never agreed.
And now, he’d just gone and gifted one to Ronin.
’An apprentice just can’t compare to a grandson, after all.’
The eyes of the others lit up as well. With the help of a Magic Energy Cannon, breaching the castle would be significantly easier.
“We’re closer to Giant Stone Castle. Even if the Thief Gang from Chishan Town marches immediately, it will take them a full day to arrive.”
A forced march, of course, would be faster, but facing a battle that could erupt at any moment, they needed to conserve their stamina and couldn’t possibly advance at full speed.
“We have one day. We’ll attempt to blast open the gates of Giant Stone Castle. Even if we fail, we must keep them bottled up inside.”
“Simultaneously, we’ll use the houses and other favorable terrain along the route the Polante Thief Gang will take to reinforce Giant Stone Castle to set traps and lay an ambush.”
’Since “Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole” and “Catching Turtles in a Jar” are off the table, we’ll have to besiege the castle and ambush their reinforcements. As long as they only had to face one enemy at a time, the Noble Alliance Army would still hold the advantage.’
With his plan laid out, everyone felt the chaotic situation suddenly become clear.
“Alright, let’s do it!”
Marvin clapped his hands, eager for a fight. “I’ll have Tarren take some men and eliminate Coren’s troops in the camp. Let’s make an example of them to rally our men!”
Among the men Coren had left in the camp, there were surely some who were innocent, but given the circumstances, not killing them would create a difficult problem.
Moreover, with a major battle looming, suddenly announcing that a key figure in the Alliance Army was a traitor was bound to cause unrest. Publicizing Coren’s evil deeds while executing his subordinates in front of everyone would be an effective way to control the narrative and rally the troops.
“Toru, Ridder, you two handle the matter of the traitors as well. Make sure the entire Alliance Army knows of the crimes Coren has committed and the full story of what transpired.”
Ronin then ordered, “Philip and Solstein, don’t reduce the number of scouts watching Chishan Town. Have them work in waves and in groups to continuously relay the Polante Thief Gang’s latest movements to us.”
“Yes, sir!” the two Vice Leaders responded firmly.
After the arrangements were made, the others departed.
“Macken, go and gather Joffrey, Rogner, and the other eight Transcendents. I have a special mission for all of you.”
“Yes, Lord!”
Macken had already witnessed the Lord’s command abilities and felt a keen sense of anticipation for this special mission.
Meanwhile, as Tarren and Marvin led the Knights to surround Coren’s men, a massive uproar swept through the camp.
The Barons, Knights, and leaders of the various family contingents couldn’t believe that the Baron of Giant Stone Territory would actually betray Wushan Castle.
They couldn’t understand it. He was already a Baron, held in high regard by the Marquis—what could he possibly gain by betraying Wushan Castle?
But with Toru’s explanation and the interrogation of a few of Coren’s knights, the truth behind the massacre at Chishan Town and Hahn’s death in battle finally came to light.
The soldiers of the Noble Alliance Army began to rail against the traitors, throwing stones and even drawing their longswords.
Amid a rising tide of cries to “Kill the traitors!” and “Avenge Hahn Knight!”, every member of Coren’s Knight Squad who had been left in the camp was slaughtered.
The Noble Alliance Army’s animosity toward Giant Stone Castle reached a fever pitch. At the command of Toru and the other leaders, the army, now reorganized into new units under their newly appointed captains, departed the camp and marched on Giant Stone Castle.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
