Chapter 561
Chapter 561: I Always Trust Your Judgment (1)
Count Bifenbelt was keeping a close watch on the movements of the Allied Forces even while waging war against the Kingdom of Grimwell.
“Our royal castle has been captured.”
At the news brought by the messenger, Count Bifenbelt nodded.
It was as expected. It had been occupied faster than he thought, though.
He asked the deputy beside him, “Is the ceremony completely over?”
“Yes.”
Count Bifenbelt truly could not understand what Gathros was doing. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to follow Gathros’s stubbornness as he was a loyal subject of Duke Leinster.
This had resulted in the war continuing unfavorably, nonetheless.
He was wasting too much time here because of that so-called sacred relic. He needed to move quickly.
Count Bifenbelt went straight to Gathros to ask what they would do next.
Gathros welcomed him warmly and asked, “Ah, Count Bifenbelt. What shall we do now?”
“……”
Until now, he had been devising strategies and moving towards the goals of the Salvation Society. Yet now, Gathros was asking him instead.
Count Bifenbelt sorted his thoughts and opened his mouth.
“Isn’t there anything more urgent to do?”
“Now that we have the relic, we must find our king.”
“And how do we find him?”
“Well, that’s something we don’t know either. We couldn’t find a guide in the Ruthania Kingdom.”
“……”
“But don’t worry too much. Now that the relic is in our hands, we will eventually find the king. We just need to wait for that day.”
“Just waiting…… is that all we can do?”
“Yes, whether we find him or he finds us, it will happen someday. That is the prophecy and the promised matter.”
Feeling a contradiction in those words, Count Bifenbelt hesitated for a moment before asking, “The Kingdom of Grimwell and the Ruthania Kingdom both possessed sacred relics. Even though they had them for a long time, they couldn’t meet him. Can we really just wait?”
At this, Gathros broke into a cheerful smile.
If it were someone else, they would have immediately smashed his head for such an impudent question, but Bifenbelt was a person of worth.
“Haha, first of all, the timing was not right, and second, they weren’t qualified.”
“Timing…… and qualification?”
“Yes, they are not believers of our church. What qualification do they have when they cannot even awaken the light of the relic properly?”
“……”
“And our king has appeared in this era, so now all that’s left is for him to meet us.”
“……”
“I know it’s hard to understand. Leave the church’s matters to me, and you just need to focus on the war.”
“Then…… can I focus on the war now?”
“Yes, indeed. We need to reduce those unruly Allied Forces as much as possible until we find the king. From now on, do as you wish.”
“Understood. I will prepare immediately.”
Count Bifenbelt took a deep breath.
Until now, it was evident that things were heading in a bad direction, yet he could do nothing but lead the war in that direction.
However, seeing Gathros speak like that, it seemed he no longer needed to engage in this incomprehensible act.
After all, even if the Salvation Society presented a different purpose, he could no longer waste time on that. The Allied Forces were advancing toward them anyway.
Count Bifenbelt promptly summoned his staff.
“What’s the situation?”
“Currently, the remaining lords of Grimwell are stationed at a considerable distance and are waiting.”
“Why aren’t they moving?”
“They’re probably waiting for the Allied Forces.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
Since they had only targeted the royal castle, the local lords of Grimwell still had significant forces remaining. Their gathering constituted quite a formidable military strength.
They could rush into the capital at any moment, but they hadn’t moved. They had received a message from Ghislaine advising them not to act rashly.
For them, the Kingdom Army was in a precarious position, making them wary of fighting the Army of Atrode directly.
After staring at the map for a while, Count Bifenbelt said, “The Allied Forces will soon come here. We need to finish our preparations and move before that.”
“How should we proceed?”
“I’ve heard Duke of Penris is exceptionally fast?”
“Yes, it’s rumored he’s the fastest on the continent.”
“The fastest on the continent…… that’s a bit of an overstatement.”
Count Bifenbelt tweaked his lips and continued.
“The enemy, apart from the Ruthania Army, is essentially a rabble. From now on, we need to catch them off guard.”
He revealed a new strategy to his staff.
Duke of Penris had earned the title of the undefeated lord, placing him among the top strategists on the continent.
The mobile warfare that prioritized speed was indeed his forte.
Count Bifenbelt intended to utilize that confidence.
“There’s no need to clash head-on with their main force. Even if we win, it will come at a significant cost.”
Though he was collaborating with the Salvation Society, his loyalty lay not with them but with Duke Leinster, the rightful sovereign.
“It’s an army for his majesty. We cannot waste it senselessly.”
To conquer the continent, they needed to preserve as many troops as possible.
“It’s about time I used my ‘hidden blade.’ This war may be our last.”
He had been preparing for a long time. That was why the Salvation Society was able to lead numerous rebels and fight against the continent.
Now was the time to stake everything in a real fight against the Allied Forces.
Count Bifenbelt emitted a chilling glare.
“Duke of Penris, let’s see how fast you really are.”
*
The Allied Forces united and advanced into the Kingdom of Grimwell. Their confidence seemed to reach the heavens.
Since the Ruthania Army had joined, the previously chaotic command structure had been organized, leading to their continued success.
Upon arriving in the Kingdom of Grimwell, Ghislaine frowned at the surrounding area.
“They’ve scraped everything knowing that supplies would be cut off.”
The path left by the Army of Atrode had become hell. They committed massacres wherever they went and commandeered all resources.
Since they had no intention of occupying and ruling over Grimwell immediately, this was possible.
Dead bodies from starving to death littered everywhere. Thanks to Ghislaine, some had survived the plague, but they could not withstand the army’s ravaging.
The expressions of the Allied Forces commanders grew grim.
“This is too much.”
“Those are truly devilish guys.”
“We should have killed them sooner.”
Most nobles squeezed the residents of their territories dry, but they wouldn’t go this far.
Going this far was equivalent to saying they all should die together.
Ghislaine clicked her tongue and said to Claude, “Distribute food to the survivors.”
“Understood.”
The remaining lords of the Kingdom of Grimwell were not in a position to take these people in. They, too, were in a state of resource scarcity due to the ongoing war.
While providing relief efforts, Ghislaine constantly called Claude to assess the situation. Now that they had entered Grimwell territory, they needed to be on high alert.
“What about the remaining lords of Grimwell?”
“They are currently setting up a separate base and waiting for us.”
As a once-powerful nation, the military strength of the lords was considerable. That was why they had been able to nearly drive off the rebel forces allied with the Salvation Society.
However, the current circumstances were not favorable enough to be resolved solely by the lords’ strength.
“Tell them not to wait. Have them come this way. We’re heading there too.”
It wouldn’t be beneficial for them to fight the Army of Atrode first. It was much better to join forces and move together.
Doing so would elevate the overall strength of the Allied Forces, allowing them to push the Army of Atrode back with overwhelming power.
But the Army of Atrode moved quicker than them. New reports reached the advancing Allied Forces.
“The Army of Atrode is on the move! They’ve divided their forces and spread out in about ten directions. Each unit is estimated to have around 20 to 30 thousand troops!”
“The waiting lords of Grimwell were ambushed and were quickly annihilated!”
“We can’t discern their exact destination or intentions! They are moving at tremendous speeds! Scouts are currently in pursuit!”
Ghislaine furrowed her brow at the consecutive reports, and the top brass of the Allied Forces fell into confusion.
“What on earth is happening all of a sudden?”
“Splitting their forces in front of this large army! Are they insane?”
“It seems they’re trying to escape! This is great news! Let’s take them down one by one!”
While the commanders of the Allied Forces yelled in excitement, Ghislaine did not think so simplistically.
“Count Bifenbelt, what are you planning?”
Staring at the map for a long time, Ghislaine soon realized something.
“The supply lines…… have become too long.”
The reason the Allied Forces could maintain their large army amidst this chaos was that they were being supported by kingdoms with sufficient resources centered around productive Ruthania.
Since most of the surrounding kingdoms had fallen into the hands of the Allied Forces, there were no threats to their supply lines.
Yet, for safety, they had established three supply routes, and the newly occupied Kingdom of Atrode would serve as a new supply route.
However, the more the Allied Forces advanced, the longer their supply lines inevitably became.
Ghislaine also pondered over that.
“Count Bifenbelt wouldn’t miss such a weakness. Could he be aiming for this?”
The other side was experiencing dwindling supplies as well. Therefore, their strategic choices were likely limited.
Ghislaine closed her eyes and fell into contemplation about what she would do if she were in this situation.
“We wish to end it with a single battle, but…”
Both the Allied Forces and the Army of Atrode were confident in their main forces.
For the Army of Atrode, facing a shortage of supplies, it was better to resolve things in one fell swoop.
However, the enemy had not made such a choice. They had already divided their army and begun fighting.
Count Bifenbelt enjoyed tactics similar to hers. She needed to consider that.
“If I were in this situation…”
Ghislaine always maneuvered her enemies in the direction she wanted. That was how she created situations where it couldn’t be helped.
When there are multiple supply lines, the Allied Forces can eat plenty, but the number of places the enemy can attack also increases.
“Claude, what do you think our weakness is right now?”
Claude brushed his hair back with an arrogant expression.
“With me and you together, we are ‘invincible.’ There’s no weakness. Ah, this war is so boring.”
“……”
Ghislaine glared at him, and Claude quickly bowed his head and began to think.
It was strange to look for weaknesses with such strength. But if he had to find one…
“Our army is vast, so our speed is slow. We probably can’t easily catch the scattered enemies. Also… the supply lines have become too long.”
“What do you think the enemy’s intention is?”
“It seems they are avoiding direct confrontation. Since we have a large army, if they block all our supply lines, we cannot help but be disadvantaged.”
Ghislaine nodded. It was a strategy that the disadvantaged side would aim for. However, Count Bifenbelt wouldn’t aim for just that.
The Salvation Society’s main force couldn’t be said to be that disadvantaged in the first place. If they were to clash head-on, it was uncertain who would emerge victorious.
In other words, their movements had another intention behind them.
“Is that all it seems?”
Claude immediately shook his head.
“They are moving too overtly. At this rate, anyone with half a brain would know. They likely want to divide our forces and engage in localized battles in each area.”
Ghislaine nodded again. Her thoughts matched his.
Not a one-shot victory, but multiple battles to win repeatedly.
“It’s certainly possible with many extraordinary individuals on their side.”
Afterwards, if they regrouped, the Army of Atrode would possess much stronger forces.
The Allied Forces, apart from the central Ruthania Army, did not have much combat strength.
“They’ve created a situation where we are bound to be dragged along.”
Easier said than done, this strategy could lead to being picked off one by one if they were not careful. In reality, commanders who led troops were averse to facing a small power with a large army.
It was a dangerously risky strategy, yet Count Bifenbelt boldly executed it. It signified his confidence.
“To think he would bait us so openly.”
If the Allied Forces failed to respond properly, Count Bifenbelt would certainly take a further step. He would sow chaos and division within their ranks.
The method to do so was simple. They would strike at the homeland of the distracted Allied Forces. It would surely create a massive uproar.
Hence, this was a war about how quickly they could move against each other.
Having finished her thoughts, Ghislaine broke into a fierce smile.
“Dare you challenge me with mobile warfare?”
Not with any other strategy but the one she excelled in—mobile warfare.
This was both a bait and a provocation; he openly showed his cards and dared her to stop him if she could.
It seemed the opponent’s confidence had grown overly inflated.
