Chapter 95 : Chapter 95

Chapter 95. Turning Their Scheme Against Them, an Invitation from Thorn City

Aika’s voice echoed through the study.

He repeated, word for word, the conspiracy he had overheard in Gray Crow Grove.

“...The assembly point for the three forces is Brokenspine Hollow. At dusk four days from now, they will begin moving toward Lucerne City.

They are expected to launch a feigned attack before dawn on the fifth day.

The moment Lucerne City sends out a plea for aid, or the moment there are signs of reinforcements leaving Obsidian Territory, the main force they have hidden in Windrest Plain will strike like thunder.

Their goal is to annihilate our relief force in the open field, then turn and strike straight at the weakened Black Territory and Lucerne.”

When Aika finished speaking, the study fell silent.

Eli sat behind his desk, his fingers lightly tapping against the polished surface.

After hearing the report, there was not the slightest ripple of surprise on his face. He merely gave a calm nod.

Then his gaze shifted to Ron, who stood beside Aika with a somewhat ashen expression.

“Sir Ron,” Eli said in a steady, powerful voice,

“I assume you saw it with your own eyes as well. The evidence is now beyond dispute, is it not?

In that case, you can now rightfully become my true ally in this battle.”

At the side, Ron drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

To see Winter’s stern face appear in the midst of a traitorous conspiracy with his own eyes had shaken him far more deeply than he had imagined.

This not only confirmed Sabda’s treason, but dragged a powerful count of the Western Frontier into the mire as well.

It had even made him waver, for the briefest instant, in his faith in Marquess Marcus, the military commander of the Western Frontier.

Now, hearing Eli’s words, he finally regained himself.

The unyielding will of a Gold-Tier Knight reasserted itself.

“My lord baron,” he said, “the Third Squad of the Gold Lion Knights stands ready to obey your every command. To annihilate the rebels and defend the Western Frontier is precisely the duty of us Gold Lion Knights.”

His declaration was firm and decisive, without the slightest trace of hesitation.

After a brief pause, Ron looked at Eli’s calm eyes and could not help asking,

“My lord... you seem to have known long ago that nobles of the Western Frontier would be involved?”

A faint, unreadable curve touched Eli’s lips, but he neither confirmed nor denied it.

Seeing that, Ron did not press the matter further. He merely let out a long sigh.

“Rest assured, my lord. Once this matter is concluded, I will report Winter himself, and everything connected behind him, to Sir Lucius word for word.

The Western Frontier has no place for such vermin!”

“Good.” Eli set down his cup of water.

“With the full support of the Gold Lion Knights, Sabda’s game is already decided.”

He then turned to Aika, who stood waiting at the side. “Aika, I’ll trouble you to make another trip. Go and summon Captain Buck and Estor at once.”

“Yes, my lord!” Aika accepted the order, and his figure quickly vanished through the door.

Not long afterward, Captain Buck was the first to step into the study.

Estor followed close behind, his face still carrying the faint weariness of someone who had been busy.

“My lord, you sent for us?” Buck pressed a hand to his chest in salute. Estor hurriedly bowed as well.

“Captain Buck, Estor.” Eli gestured for them to rise, his gaze passing over the two men.

“We now have the full picture of Sabda’s poisonous scheme.”

He briefly repeated the intelligence Aika had brought back.

He particularly emphasized the core of the enemy’s strategy: the feigned attack on Lucerne and the plan to besiege the target and ambush the reinforcements.

Buck listened in silence.

“This Sabda Medici may be young, but his heart is black enough, and his methods are vicious enough.”

He had to admit the cruelty and feasibility of the plan.

Had the intelligence not been uncovered in advance, both Obsidian Territory and Lucerne City would truly have been in grave danger.

At the side, Estor stared in shock, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg into it.

Then he suddenly grinned. “So what if he’s cunning? He still can’t beat our lord’s brilliant foresight!”

Buck ignored Estor’s chatter and looked at Eli.

“My lord, now that the enemy’s plan is clear, how do we respond?”

Eli slowly rose to his feet. “Since they want to strike Lucerne first, then let them strike.”

Buck thought for a moment, as though he had already caught Eli’s meaning. “You mean...”

“Exactly.” Eli’s finger landed outside Lucerne City.

“They want to besiege a target and ambush reinforcements. They want to swallow us on the road when we move to relieve Lucerne.

Then we will turn their own strategy against them. We will make their target into a real trap.

And we will make their ambush force into prey for our own hunt.”

He turned and looked at Buck and Ron. “Captain Buck, I want you to begin at once, and do so in complete secrecy!

Select the four hundred most elite soldiers from the Black Territory garrison, together with all the Black Crow Knights.

Move them to Lucerne City in concealed batches.

This operation must remain absolutely secret. Sabda’s scouts must not catch even the faintest scent of it.”

Buck instantly understood Eli’s strategic intent and nodded heavily.

As a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, he immediately grasped the essence of the tactic.

Ron listened from the side, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

His estimation of this white-haired baron’s tactical ability rose yet again.

He too nodded heavily and added, “My lord baron, this truly is the best possible response.

Sabda’s main force will be nailed in place at the prearranged ambush site, unable to move.

Then, once the force making the feigned attack beneath Lucerne City is crushed by the hidden elites inside the city working together with the defenders,

and the news reaches their main army, their morale will inevitably collapse and their command will descend into chaos.

At that point, our main force can strike out from Lucerne, while the remaining defenders in Obsidian Territory press from the opposite side. With both sides forming a pincer, Sabda will have no answer at all!”

“Captain Ron speaks truly.” Eli showed his approval of Ron’s judgment.

“So your Gold Lion Knights will also accompany Captain Buck. You are to enter Lucerne City in secret as well.

You will be the sharpest blade in this battle. The task of tearing open the enemy formation belongs to none but the Gold Lion.”

“At your command, my lord baron!” Ron straightened and saluted with a hand to his chest.

If they won this battle, it would not merely mean removing a menace from the Western Frontier.

It would also be a perfect opportunity for Ron Hohenzollern to step into the circle of Western Frontier nobility.

Ron suddenly seemed to remember something. The eager expression on his face faded somewhat, replaced by a trace of solemnity.

He looked at Eli.

“My lord baron, before I departed, Sir Lucius specifically gave one further instruction.”

Eli’s previously spirited expression froze for just a fraction of a moment.

“Oh? And what instruction did Sir Lucius give?”

Ron repeated it clearly.

“Sir Lucius said,

‘Once the matter of the southwestern rebels has settled into dust, and the situation has stabilized,

you are to bring Baron Eli Pendragon personally to Thorn City to see me.’”

“Bring me to Thorn?” Eli’s brows instantly drew together.

A summons from Lucius at a moment like this?

He had only just finished using the Gold Lion Knights as a blade, and now he wanted the one holding that blade brought before him in person?

The feeling... unavoidably made Eli think of a banquet with hidden knives.

Captain Buck asked in a low voice, “Sir Ron, did Sir Lucius explain the reason for the summons?

Is it to reward merit, or is there some other important matter?”

As a trusted confidant of Marquess Leon, he understood all too well the complexity of politics in the royal capital.

He knew that a man like Lucius would never act without purpose.

Ron shook his head, and there was a trace of puzzlement on his face as he tried to recall the scene.

“Sir Lucius did not state the reason clearly.

He only said... ‘It is a good thing.’”

“‘A good thing’?” The moment Estor heard that, a broad smile spread across his face again.

He spoke first. “Ah, just as I said! It must be something wonderful!

Sir Lucius must be delighted that our lord has won great merits one after another.

Summoning my lord to Thorn City probably means he’s going to raise his rank and grant him an even greater territory!”

The more Estor thought about it, the more delighted he became.

Although Ron felt Estor’s words were overly optimistic and blunt, based on his own experience, he too was inclined to think this was a favorable summons, most likely one meant to reward merit after the war, while also soothing and drawing in this newly risen power-holding baron of the Western Frontier.

He nodded in agreement. “What this steward says... is not without reason.”

Eli looked at Estor’s excited face and at Ron’s agreeing expression, but there was very little ease in his own heart.

He decisively cut off all such pleasant fantasies of reward.

Based on what he knew of Lucius, that man would never issue such a command merely for the sake of granting rewards.

“Rest assured, Sir Ron.” Eli suppressed the doubts in his heart, and calm returned to his face.

“Since this is Sir Lucius’s order, I will naturally obey it.

Once the battle here is concluded and the situation is stable, I will go with you to Thorn City and pay my respects to Sir Lucius.”

He paused, and his tone grew notably sincere.

“When that time comes, I will also speak well of Sir Ron’s valor and glorious achievements before Sir Lucius.”

At once, Ron’s eyes blazed with surprise and gratitude.

He had not expected Eli to be so tactful. Not only had he readily agreed to go to Thorn City, he had even voluntarily promised to speak on Ron’s behalf.

“Many thanks, my lord baron. Ron is deeply grateful.”

To the title he so desired, Eli’s promise was undoubtedly a tremendous help.

“There is no time to lose. Sir Ron, Captain Buck,

go at once and prepare the transfer of the elite troops. It must be done so secretly that not even ghosts or gods will know.”

Eli gave the order with perfect clarity.

“Yes, my lord!” Buck and Ron responded in unison, and Ron turned and left the study.

The heavy wooden door slowly closed, cutting off the sounds of the outside world.

Only Eli, Buck, Estor, and the wavering candlelight on the desk remained in the study.

Estor, still immersed in the joy of imagining his lord about to receive promotions and titles, also departed cheerfully.

Once only the two of them remained, Captain Buck’s heavy voice sounded with grave weight.

“My lord...” His brows were tightly furrowed as he cast a sharp look at Eli.

“Sir Lucius’s summons at a time like this... I fear... may not be quite as wholly good as Estor imagines.”

As a core retainer raised within the royal capital’s aristocratic circles, he understood far too well the twists and turns at the center of power.

Lucius’s move carried a depth of meaning that was difficult to put into words.

The faint smile slowly vanished from Eli’s face, replaced by a deep, bitter smile.

“I know, Captain Buck.

But before Sir Lucius’s will—or rather, before the balance of power across the entire Western Frontier—

do we... truly have the right to choose?”

The journey to Thorn City, whether fortunate or disastrous, was already inevitable.

The urgent task before him was to win the decisive battle ahead cleanly and decisively. Only by holding greater merit and greater strength in his hands

might he gain even the smallest measure of initiative when he stepped into the vortex of Thorn.