Chapter 451: The King's Decision

After capturing Nasika Town and Pisa Town, Luoning and Ruidar entered a rest period according to their plan.

The many vacant houses in the small town were just enough to accommodate the soldiers.

They didn't even need to transport grain and fodder from Anbian City; the town's grain reserves were enough to sustain them for a while.

Luoning used Wind Wings to travel back and forth between the two towns, discussing and confirming the time to attack Yueguang City.

Although they had won a complete victory in the battles for the two small towns, the forced marches and intense fighting had taken a huge toll, and the army would need at least two to three days to recover before they could handle the even more difficult battle for Yueguang City.

Therefore, the time they finally settled on was to assemble their forces outside Yueguang City on August 24th.

Of course, this was only assuming the opponent stayed inside and held their ground.

If Hesusu took the initiative to lead his troops out of the city to attack, then their strategy and strike time would have to change accordingly.

However, according to Luoning's guess, Hesusu would likely not leave the city; after all, relying on the city walls gave them a greater advantage.

Jinyu Palace, Auduin Hall.

Meier, the Kingdom's Minister of Intelligence, was reporting to Bruno the news that had been circulating through the streets and alleys of Jinyu City over the past two days.

"The news that Earl Aosen of Wushan Territory became an alien race in the first half of the year has spread to every corner of the Kingdom, and all the nobles know of the evil and terror of the Witch Soul Clan."

Meier bowed as he reported: "Based on this perception, the fact that Hesusu is of the Witch Soul Clan is simply a bombshell. Wandering swordsmen, wandering poets, and many mercenary groups have branded Yueguang Valley as dangerous, and there are even voices demanding the Royal Family investigate the truth of the matter."

Bruno frowned, the faces of the high-ranking nobles who had been in the hall at the time flashing through his mind. Who could have leaked this matter?

He rubbed his brow, feeling troubled by his suspicions: "This news was spread by people from the Wushan Family, wasn't it?"

"His Majesty is wise; you guessed the person spreading the rumors at once."

"Among the nobles present that day, Wushan Castle is the most likely culprit."

Meier smiled and said: "To be precise, the people of the Wushan Family were not rigorous enough in their actions; I hardly had to investigate at all to find the source."

Bruno mused slightly, wondering if the other party had been intentionally not rigorous.

"What is their purpose in doing this?"

Just as he was thinking, a Royal Knight walked in, saluted, and said: "Your Majesty, Administrator Albert of Wushan Castle is outside requesting to see you. He says he is carrying a very urgent letter from the Marquis of Wushan."

Bruno had a bad premonition: "Go, bring him here to see me immediately!"

Step, step, step...

A burst of hurried footsteps followed as another Royal Knight ran over: "Your Majesty, the Intelligence Department has received a letter from Yueguang Valley, marked with the highest priority level!"

Bruno's heart couldn't help but panic a little.

Meier took three steps in two to reach the knight and take the letter. He immediately tore it open and read it, his expression changing drastically: "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Wushan has led troops to attack Yueguang Valley and has already captured Nasika Town and Pisa Town!"

"Lulansi..."

Bruno's brow furrowed into a 'chuan' shape. He walked down from the throne and took the letter, his inner anger rising the more he read.

"Wushan Territory, how dare they?"

In his projections, Yueguang Valley, Screaming Island, and the Vila Principality would surely invade Wushan Territory in the form of pirates or bandit groups, and the latter would send troops to suppress them as they had in the past.

Eventually, through the combined efforts of the three parties like Yueguang Valley, Wushan Territory would remain in a state of depletion regarding its low-to-mid-level combat power, even if it had many high-level combatants.

Without a foundation of good low-to-mid-level knights, relying only on a few Transcendental individuals, the threat to the Kingdom would be limited.

And in this process, Yueguang Valley, Screaming Island, and the Vila Principality would inevitably suffer losses as well.

With the four parties fighting each other, the Royal Family would be the final victor.

But Bruno never expected that Wushan Territory would actually take the initiative to attack and openly violate noble territory.

"Go, have Buluoer come here immediately!" Bruno growled.

Meier watched the knight run out and turned back to ask: "Is Your Majesty planning to dispatch the Griffin Knights to help Yueguang Valley and attack Wushan Territory?"

Bruno did not reply, but turned back and sat quietly on the throne.

If this matter had happened before the announcement of the marriage between the Royal Family and Wushan Castle, he could have considered sending troops to use force to pressure Wushan Castle, making them withdraw their troops and pay the price for violating Royal nobles.

Even, if Wushan Castle did not listen to his negotiations, he could have issued a judgment under the charge of treason.

But now, to be honest, his situation was a bit awkward.

Luoning and Blanche were to be married in less than four months, and Jinyu Palace was in the midst of heated preparations for it. If Bruno turned around and declared the Wushan Family traitors, wouldn't that be a joke?

If that happened, where would he put his face?

While he was pondering, the Royal Knight brought Albert into the hall.

As the Minister of Administration for Wushan Territory, Albert had seen many grand occasions, but this was his first time entering the palace to pay respects to the King.

However, although he was nervous, he did not lose his etiquette.

"Minister of Administration Albert of Wushan Territory pays respects to His Majesty the King!"

Bruno kept a cold face, his voice also icy: "Rise."

Albert smiled slightly. He knew that entering the palace this time was dangerous; he had even written his will and made arrangements before leaving Wushan City.

He took the letter from his bosom: "Your Majesty, this is a letter written to you by my master, the Marquis of Wushan."

Meier took the letter. Since it was not sent by the intelligence agency, he did not open it, but handed it directly to the Kingdom.

While Bruno was unsealing it, Albert said: "The Marquis told me that Earl Hesusu has become a pawn of the Witch Soul Clan and is harming the nobles around Yueguang Valley. Viscount Milke Lucio of Langtao Castle was persecuted by Hesusu, which is why Hesusu possesses the port of Langtao Castle."

"Yet at the founding ceremony, he continued to disguise himself as your brother, Your Majesty, deceiving you and many other nobles."

Albert said solemnly: "For the honor of His Majesty the King, for the safety of Wushan Territory, and even more for the safety of all the nobles and commoners of the Auduin Kingdom, the Marquis has resolutely decided to lead his troops to attack Yueguang Valley. Even if it means exhausting all his strength, he will slay the alien and capture Earl Hesusu to hand over to you, Your Majesty, for judgment!"

Bruno read the letter while listening to Albert's account, the expression on his face becoming visibly grave.

Meier rubbed the ring on his finger and thought to himself: "No wonder Lulansi wanted to spread the news that Hesusu is of the Witch Soul Clan; it turns out it was for this."

Such propaganda would only place Wushan Territory on the moral high ground; even if His Majesty the King wanted to oppose it, he could no longer avoid the matter of investigating Hesusu's identity.

So, whether Hesusu was an alien or a normal person.

I'm afraid that Dean Fasulei of the Royal Magic Academy's word won't be enough; it will likely require the Great Archmage Beiluola Xierwa to come forward and verify it to be convincing.

Beiluola was not loyal in the traditional sense, and on top of that, he seemed to have a fairly good relationship with Luoning, so he might end up speaking impartially.

Bruno's expression changed repeatedly, and finally, he slowly put away the letter; when he raised his head again, his previous coldness had receded quite a bit.

"Lulansi has listed in detail the evidence that Hesusu is of the Witch Soul Clan in this letter, and he has also enumerated the sins Hesusu has committed. It is hard to believe that my own younger brother has actually become an evil alien!"

He looked at Albert and recovered some of his smile, "The Thunder Marquis's loyalty to the royal family and his determination to uphold the royal family's honor move me!"

That Hesusu was an alien was a matter he already knew.

When he originally decided to cooperate with Hesusu, he had been somewhat worried; after all, seeking skin from a tiger carries the risk of being bitten by the tiger.

Judging from the recent actions of Yueguang Valley against the surrounding nobles, this tiger was indeed restless.

Aliens cannot be restrained by pure noble etiquette and laws.

Bruno saw the Kingdom of Teresia in great chaos and he had the potential to become a great emperor; he did not want to have matters like the King colluding with aliens damage his prestige at this time.

Therefore, it was time to abandon Hesusu.

Now that Lulansi had brought this matter into the open and even given him a way out, he could just happen to step down that way.

Moreover, for Wushan Territory alone to take Yueguang City would certainly require paying a huge price.

This was consistent with Bruno's goal of wanting to weaken the strength of Wushan Territory.

"It is very difficult for Wushan Territory alone to clear out Yueguang Valley; I have already prepared to let Deputy Commander Buluoer of the Griffin Knights go to provide support."

Bruno said, "Albert, you must be tired from your journey here, go down and rest."

Albert was somewhat surprised.

He could feel that His Majesty the King had been displeased before, so why was he suddenly so amiable?

This kind of thing was not something he could ask about; in any case, as far as he was concerned, this hurdle had been cleared.

After returning, his status as an Honorary Baron could be considered settled.

"Your Majesty, you are going to support Wushan Castle?"

He had just thought that the Griffin Knights were going to be sent to support Yueguang Valley.

Bruno nodded.

Support would certainly be provided, but it was uncertain when they would arrive.

The battle between Wushan Territory and Yueguang Valley would still have to be fought by them themselves. (End of chapter)