Chapter 496: Surrender

Melis ended her meditation; her depleted Magic Power and Mental Power had recovered significantly. She opened her eyes and surveyed this crude camp hall.

It was extremely crude, just like the castle of a down-and-out Baron.

If one were to discuss defensive strength, West Wind Hill was not as powerful as Watchtower.

But once both sides went to war, the battlefield would certainly not be here, but at Watchtower.

Discussing whether the fortifications of West Wind Hill were good or not was completely unnecessary.

"Ruidar, as the commander here, has left the camp now; I fear it is for some urgent matter."

She easily thought that the Auduin Kingdom was very likely about to take military action.

After all, with the Telixiya Kingdom having such a situation, if she were the one in command, she would not let this opportunity slip by either.

Just as she was pondering, she suddenly felt a palpitation, and her heart felt inexplicably stifled.

Before she could think carefully, she saw a tall and handsome man walk in from outside, that head of silver hair particularly eye-catching.

Melis hurriedly stood up, bowed, and offered a sincere greeting: "Melis Carmen of Watchtower, it is an honor to meet you, respected Marquis of Moonlight Valley."

"Ms. Melis, welcome!"

Luoning stepped forward and shook hands with her, "I had long heard that the Carmen Family of Watchtower had a young Magus; seeing you today, it is indeed true!"

"Compared to you, I am truly not worth mentioning," Melis said modestly.

The two exchanged pleasantries and then sat down.

Luoning took the initiative to ask: "Last time I spoke with your brother Pulaxiduo, although we did not reach a consensus, we did leave room for cooperation. I wonder what news you have brought me this time?"

Melis took a deep breath; she had already rehearsed this conversation many times in her mind, so she was very clear about what she needed to say.

"Two days ago, Count Wulaer, the Commander of Miwu City, sent an order requiring us to hold Watchtower with all our might and drag things out as long as possible until the Kingdom's reinforcements reach the front line."

Luoning was somewhat surprised, "Miwu City has arranged reinforcements for you again?"

Melis shook her head, "There are no new reinforcements at all."

Luoning laughed, "Then how do you intend to hold out?"

Melis sighed; what she was about to say next was the main point, and also the choice that would completely change the fate of their family.

Having reached this point, she had no hesitation left.

Melis repeated Count Wulaer's order, and at the same time, explained the situation of her family members in Dragon City.

"My Lord, in order to ensure the safety of my family, please forgive us; we cannot surrender to you directly, and there are external Knight Orders in Watchtower that are not under our complete control."

Melis said in a deep voice: "Therefore, this battle is unavoidable!"

Luoning understood; Pulaxiduo wanted to surrender, but due to his family and the fact that the Watchtower garrison was not a unified front, he could not directly open the gates to welcome them.

"Speak, how do you intend to fight?" Luoning asked.

Melis stood up and took a large piece of paper from her bosom, on which the floor plan of Watchtower was clearly drawn, along with obvious markings.

"This is the defensive plan my brother and I have already discussed, and this is the detailed troop distribution map."

Luoning walked over and looked at it carefully.

It had to be said that Pulaxiduo's mapping skills were excellent; it was clear he had received professional training.

Next, under Melis's introduction, Luoning gained comprehensive control over the overall defensive layout of Watchtower.

Although Melis did not say it explicitly, Luoning had already heard it: in terms of defense, Pulaxiduo had completely separated his own people from the supporting Knight Order and Magician squad from Miwu City.

To put it simply, their positions were scattered, and there was no situation where two Knight Orders or Knights and Magicians were cooperating with each other.

This was clearly done on purpose, and the goal was self-evident.

Melis worried that Luoning had not seen the trickery in it, so she spoke directly: "Although this war is unavoidable, I still hope that when you attack, you can look after the Watchtower troops and vent the flames of war onto the Knight Order from Miwu City."

Luoning laughed, "Are you preparing to use my hands to eliminate the uncontrollable forces in Watchtower?"

Melis did not deny it, "People will die in the end, and I also hope our people can die a little less; this is also beneficial to you. As for the Knight Order of Likade, their Regiment Commander Likade did not come at all; the one leading the team is just a squad leader who is a Golden Knight, not even a Deputy Commander."

Come to think of it, they had truly believed the other party's nonsense at the beginning, saying their Regiment Commander Likade would arrive before the war started; now it seemed it was impossible for the other party to come.

Therefore, Wulaer had long been prepared to let Watchtower and this supporting Knight Order and Magician squad be sacrificed.

It was precisely because Pulaxiduo saw through this, and under the influence of coercion, foreign races, and various other factors, that he finally chose to surrender and submit to Luoning.

And this method, in the eyes of the outside world, was different from betrayal.

If Pulaxiduo were to open the city gates wide and surrender voluntarily, he would undoubtedly be left with the infamy of betrayal.

If he were captured after being defeated and then surrendered, his reputation would sound a bit better.

But no matter which way, it was difficult to keep their relatives in Dragon City safe.

This was Pulaxiduo's helpless move.

He did not even know if his son and daughter were still alive now.

If they were already dead, and he and Melis became cannon fodder in this war, then the Carmen Family would be completely extinguished.

He dared not gamble.

After listening to Melis's explanation, Luoning nodded, "I understand, but the flames of war are ruthless; I cannot guarantee that your people will not suffer casualties."

Melis bowed, "Being able to preserve our troops as much as possible is already very good!"

Luoning sat back down; he was thinking about another question.

"I am curious, does your Carmen Family have a grudge against Count Wulaer?"

He asked: "Why would he rather let you be cannon fodder than provide you with troops or a temporary retreat?"

If it were Luoning, facing a situation with no chance of winning, he would have Pulaxiduo bring his troops to gather at Miwu City and concentrate his forces for a stubborn resistance, rather than letting Watchtower serve as cannon fodder.

Of course, the other party's excuse was to delay the pace of the West Wind Hill offensive.

Perhaps it could indeed delay them for a day or two, but then what?

Could it be that in these one or two days, the Telixiya Kingdom's reinforcements would arrive at Miwu City?

Melis shook her head: "We and Count Wulaer are both vassals of the Kingdom; theoretically, we are independent of each other, and there have been no conflicts or disputes over these years."

She and Pulaxiduo also did not quite understand why the other party would do this.

Moreover, according to her understanding, the other several positions had also received orders to hold their ground, though those positions could not yet be considered cannon fodder.

After all, they not only had Silver Moon or multiple Meteor Knights stationed there, but also lacked the terrifying Blazing Sun Knight and dragons, making their situation much better than Watchtower.

Luoning, however, had not figured out the key to this, so he could not help but carefully observe Melis's expression, pondering whether she was holding something back and playing a trick of feigned surrender.

"What is it, my lord?"

Melis was somewhat surprised when faced with such a scrutinizing gaze; could it be that he still wanted to play a game between a man and a woman?

She had heard that Luoning had only recently married the Princess of the Auduin Royal Family.

However, the side begging for surrender in a war is often accompanied by transactions of this nature, so Melis was not surprised.

"My lord, feel free to make any demands; I and the Carmen Family will do our best to satisfy you!"

Luoning withdrew his gaze and smiled, "Just do as you and Pulaxiduo planned."

Although he could not see any traces of a feigned surrender in her expression, he could not lower his guard once the war began; he would fight as he should. (End of chapter)