120 – mutual purpose
It was just early dawn.
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Kellag had just woken up and was about to put on his clothes when his men rushed into the quarters without warning.
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Kellag, who had been in a bad mood since the morning because he had a hangover from being quite drunk the day before, frowned and looked at the hunched-over man in front of him.
If it’s not very urgent news, I’m going to go straight to the middle of the day.
“What’s going on?”
“Sorry for coming in so suddenly! It’s nothing else, the news that the soldiers of the Loveheim family have moved… … !”
“… What?”
At the unexpected news, Kellag’s face hardened as his hangover quickly began to evaporate.
At most, five days had passed since he presented the condition that if he wanted to save Yulken, he had to surrender the symbol of dominion.
It was a moment when I thought that the other side would be quite confused because there was no news, but rather, the Loveheim family made a move first?
‘Does it matter what happens to Yulken?’
It can’t be.
Although the information network is weak and they are not very quick about the situation of the Loveheim family, they also have ears, so they have heard the story.
The current successor of the Loveheim family must have been the young lady who had just undergone the coming-of-age ceremony.
Moreover, since the succession of the heir had not yet been completed, Yulken’s existence was still strong in the Loveheim family.
It meant that kicking him with his own feet was something the Loveheim family could never do.
“Bring Negir. We need to talk right away.”
“Yes!”
Negir was Kellag’s most trusted counselor, and she was also a woman who had been active since her predecessors.
Although he is quite old and unable to run on the battlefield on his own, he has always acted as an advisor to Kellag.
The man who hurriedly left the room took Negir and returned to his quarters.
The old man, whose hands were quite wrinkled, greeted Kellag with a gaze as if he were looking at his son, and asked why he had called him.
“I’m sorry for telling you to come early. Negir.”
“Hall, no. As I get older, I get less sleep in the morning. But what are you doing?”
I was neggir, with an age difference of almost thirty with Kellag, but my attitude towards him was extremely polite.
“They say that the Robeheim family is currently bringing in soldiers. There is no way to know if Yulken’s life is worthless or if something has been planned.”
“Are you saying it came out that way? This is really troublesome… … .”
It was the same with Negir, who was embarrassed by their fairly aggressive response.
As it was originally, the plan was practically over when it succeeded in attacking Whitewood and took Yulken’s life.
Negir also thought that they couldn’t attack recklessly unless Yulken’s life was a waste.
“Then it must mean that they have learned the true purpose of this side.”
“A symbol of domination? But I guess that’s something you’ll find out anyway.”
At Negir’s answer, Kellag responded with a puzzled look.
Since what he offered as a condition of exchange with Yulken in the first place was a symbol of dominance, wasn’t it something that the Robeheim family would eventually notice?
I couldn’t understand why they thought it was a problem that it was known now.
Since he was a heavy warrior who hadn’t had a good head in the past, Kellag looked at Negir with eyes asking for an explanation.
“Not really. If they were a little late, they wouldn’t have noticed.”
Even if the letter reveals what they want, it’s unclear if that’s their primary goal.
It is not uncommon to take prisoners in wars or quarrels between countries, and depending on the extent of the prisoner’s existence, the price that can be offered to the other party increases.
In other words, in this case, it’s a matter of priorities.
The other side could have mistakenly thought that the captive captured from this side wanted the symbol of dominion ‘coincidentally because it was Yulken’.
However, the fact that they can push in like this means that they have clearly grasped the side’s goal of ‘attacking Whitewood and capturing Yulken in order to obtain the symbol of domination’.
With that alone, one advantage is lost.
“If they didn’t know our real objective, that would have been enough to sway them, but now that advantage is gone.”
“Then I have no choice but to kill Yulken?”
“It comes down to the worst choice. Even if we lose in battle, that’s the only way we can stop them… … .”
It was the difference in information power that allowed them to invade Whitewood and destroy Yulken.
Because there is no case to expect that the opponent who always punches, let alone kicks, has been honing his swordsmanship.
No matter how much Yulken was, this method had no choice but to be defeated, and that was not the realm of carelessness.
And, in other words, it also means that if there is no gap between them, they will surely lose in an all-out war.
Besides, the means used at the time of destroying Whitewood cannot be used twice, so this time you have to push through with only your own strength, but that will be even more unanswerable.
“First of all, we will need to find out their purpose on this side as well. If they decide to give up Yulken’s life and take this opportunity to strike our side, we must retreat.”
“That sounds as if their purpose may be elsewhere.”
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Kellag questioned Negir’s words.
It was his idea that the fact that they had gone all-out like this meant that Yulken’s life was practically thrown away.
Otherwise, he might kill Yulken from this side, so how could he stand out so confidently?
“It is. It’s like a gambler, so to speak.”
“Gamblers?”
“Anyway, from their point of view, both Yulken and the symbol of dominance have considerable value. Wouldn’t you like to get both if you could get them?”
At that, Kellag let out a low exclamation and nodded.
Realistically, even if they win the battle, Yulken’s supply and demand will be taken from this side, so getting both is an unrealistic story.
Is there a way to take both at once in such a situation?
It’s understandable… … .
“I’m sure they’ll try to steal it by surprise or steal it.”
“It is. However, since they will also learn the existence of the barrier through intelligence, the possibility of a large-scale surprise attack seems to be greater… … .”
“I don’t know which side it might be, so let’s get ready for now. Then, would it be better to hide Yulken?”
At Kellag’s question, Negir shook his head lightly.
Hiding Yulken can be a method of its own, but sometimes it’s a good tactic to lure rats by using tasty bait.
For that, you have to smell something.
It may be somewhat risky, but there is nothing in the world that does not take risks.
Hearing all of Negir’s words, Kelaag immediately summoned three of his trusted subordinates and gave them orders.
From early in the morning, lights began to leak from all over Whitewood, which they occupied.
* * * * * * *
Edgar arrived in Whitewood a day earlier than the arrival of the Loveheim family army.
His gaze would be drawn from the other side anyway, and he was relatively free to act because he was not on the target of their attention unlike the others.
“This is a coniferous forest. This is also the place that got the name Whitewood.”
A man named Lars who accompanied him pointed to a large forest outside the castle and said,
Although half of it had already disappeared into ashes, its majesty remained intact.
As much as the expression Whitewood fits perfectly.
“It looks like he used chemical weapons according to the prior information.”
“It seems so. However, we do not know how it was possible to work in a land covered with snow like this… … .”
“It should be revealed gradually, but… Anyway, since I checked it with my own two eyes, let’s go to Whitewood.”
Obviously, compared to the fact that the aliens were not proficient in magic, that absurd sight was a phenomenon that could not have been achieved without magic.
Perhaps that unexpected situation was also a factor in Yulken’s surprise attack.
Edgar decided to discuss this matter later, and once he had properly gathered information, he hurriedly moved to Whitewood.
“First, we need to find out where Her Highness is.”
“There is a place to point out about that part.”
“Oh, really?”
When Edgar was delighted with the good news while listening, Lars nodded and pointed to the top of the castle wall.
I meant to go up there and talk.
Surprisingly, the vigilance was not strict, perhaps because the overall atmosphere was still chaotic.
Quite a few immigrants wandered around, filling in the walls and doing repair work, but that didn’t stop others from coming up.
At this point, Edgar could guess what kind of character their leader was.
He must be a person with a rather big-hearted personality who doesn’t even care about the parts he considers insignificant.
Otherwise, there would be no way the vigilance would be so lax even though the battle has not been over for a long time.
“Still, it’s nice to see the panoramic view here, right?”
“Yes, so during wartime, the scouts tend to keep a keen eye on this starting point… It seems they don’t know that far.”
As Lars said, this place was a place where you could see the inside as well as the outside of the castle at a glance.
Edgar thought that this would be a good place to catch up on trends, so he paused and took a quick look around Whitewood.
At that moment, a rather raucous voice came from the lower left.
“Take me quickly!”
A man was leading a group of people at the forefront.
Behind them, people in rags were following one after another, looking like cattle being led to a slaughterhouse.
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Lars looked the other way, and Edgar’s eyes widened as he watched them.
‘found.’
It was because it was discovered that Yulken, the target of this mission, was mixed in the crowd.