Chapter 35: Frontline Command Post

Time returns to the early morning.

At the front lines, within the military camp of Wanghu City.

Inside the fortress command center.

Lien and Kecha, who had left Riverbend Town last night and ridden hard to reach the front lines, were currently reporting inside the command room.

In addition to the Count and the officers whom Kana had met previously, there was also a male noble standing at 1.9 meters tall, clad in full plate armor with a solemn expression.

There were several spots of blood on his armor that had not been fully wiped clean, clearly indicating he had recently experienced combat.

The Count was currently reading a letter.

This was the letter Kana had written yesterday and entrusted to Lien and the others to deliver.

After reading the contents, the Count frowned but said nothing.

Instead, he passed the letter to the others, allowing everyone present to read it.

As the others read, the Count looked toward Lien and Kecha and asked, "Did my nephew do anything in the town? Did he behave out of line?"

Although the Count believed his nephew had put on a facade during his time in the Royal Capital, he still maintained a certain level of vigilance toward him.

At a time like this, it was impossible to determine whether this Fourth Prince of the Royal Family was merely a probe or a contingency plan tossed aside by the monarchy.

In such an uncertain and urgent situation, the only option was to leave him in the rear under certain surveillance.

"When His Highness arrived at the town, his behavior was quite normal—perhaps even a bit... unlike a noble," Kecha added from the side. "He first took a boat to the opposite bank to communicate with the fishmen there."

Before he could finish, the burly, bearded knight, Udo, interrupted, thinking he had misheard.

"You're saying His Highness... was communicating with fishmen? The kind of fishmen I'm thinking of?"

Seeing that the lords were as surprised as he once was, a slight smile tugged at the corners of Kecha's mouth.

He nodded. "Yes, he can indeed communicate with them fluently. Furthermore, there is a Fishman Prophet in their village. A Fishman Prophet is their leader; they can speak and communicate with us. Moreover, His Highness seems to understand them very well; they even asked for his help."

Once Kecha finished, a silence fell over the room.

This prince did not just fail to meet their previous impressions; he had completely overturned them.

The Count rubbed his temples. "Continue."

"On the second day, people died in the town, and a child was abducted. The victims were killed by a type of large rat, which His Highness identified as Skaven. The fishmen asked the Prince for help because they wanted him to drive those ratmen away. His Highness seems to be very knowledgeable about these ratmen as well, even knowing how to fight them."

The two men wanted to explain what "ratmen" were, as they had been quite shocked at the time.

However, seeing the expressions of the lords before them, they realized the others likely already knew. They silently suppressed their urge to explain and proceeded with a detailed narration.

During the narration, the others interrupted from time to time to ask for specifics, only allowing the two to leave once everything had been said.

After they left, the command room became somewhat quiet.

"It seems I will have to get to know my useless nephew anew," the Count remarked.

Beside him, the solemn knight placed Kana's letter on the table.

The Count turned to the group. "What do you all think of this letter?"

The solemn knight frowned. "The earlier parts are relatively accurate, but as for what he says later and the suggestions he makes... heh."

He gave a dry laugh to express his opinion.

The Count looked to the others.

"While his actions over the past few days have somewhat changed my view of the Prince, his understanding of warfare is perhaps still a bit naive."

"Haha, true. Perhaps His Highness believes war is exactly as he has read in his books."

"Many young commanders make such mistakes. We should be understanding of the youth."

Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, the Count looked back at the solemn knight. "Richard, what are your thoughts on the proposals in this letter?"

Richard, or Richard Klee, was the most esteemed knight under the Count's command.

It could be said that aside from the Count, he held the highest status, and correspondingly, he was the strongest in combat after the Count.

He was also Blake's father, responsible for commanding and managing the majority of the soldiers under the Count's banner.

"Once these monsters have gathered their armies, we truly will not be able to stop them. In fact, we are already finding it difficult," Richard stated, describing the current situation.

He continued, "As for his suggestion to build ships—I must say, while His Highness has certain ideas and insight, he is still too green. If we want to build ships, we have at most a month left; it is simply impossible. As for his suggestion to build rafts... heh, he underestimates the lower reaches of the Wedell River far too much."

As officers and nobles of some standing, they knew well the scarcity of mana in their country.

Near the mountains where the lower reaches of the Wedell River flowed, mana had begun to recover.

However, the areas where the river passed to the right of the mountains had almost never been developed; they were filled with magical beasts and various wild monsters.

The level of danger there was no different from crossing the country in its current state, if not more dangerous.

Furthermore, in the section of the lower reaches leading to the estuary, the aquatic monsters were countless.

To them, aquatic monsters were far more difficult to deal with than land monsters; in other words, they would rather walk through the area than take a boat.

Let alone a raft—one wrong move and everyone would fall into the water, leaving no hope of survival.

Such a level of danger was not even a consideration.

Thus, the people present treated Kana's proposal as a joke, believing the Prince likely made such judgments because he was unaware of the local conditions.

"As for what His Highness said regarding the possibility of the enemy cutting off the canyon to the southwest—it is possible, but unlikely. The Stone Fist Legion of the Kingdom of Koen and part of our own forces are there guarding our rear. It won't be easy for them to bypass our front lines, pierce through our retreat, and surround us."

Richard's analysis was logical and aligned with their ongoing operations and preparations.

It was infinitely better than Kana's proposal.

However, at the very least, Kana's image in their eyes had shifted from that of an unlearned person—or even a potential enemy—to that of a young man with some knowledge but lacking experience.

Having finished his analysis, Richard treated the rest as small talk. He looked at the Count and asked, "Since the probability of him being an enemy has decreased, should we move Blake to the front lines? Joniel is enough to keep an eye on him; that old knight is cautious enough."

Hearing this, the Count looked at Richard's solemn expression and sighed with a hint of helplessness.

Blake was the only child of his most important subordinate and friend. As a former member of the Royal Family, the Count knew exactly how dangerous their resistance against the Blood Clan was.

He did not wish to see Richard's only child fighting on the front lines alongside his father.

He believed Richard would understand his intention, but Richard still insisted on having his child fight in the fray.

His rigidity and seriousness were so extreme that the Count felt a sense of helplessness at how harsh he was on his own descendants.

"Very well, I will transfer him here."

Richard bowed respectfully in thanks.