Chapter 430: Familiar Scene!

"Gervas!"

"This… this is impossible!" Minister Weilade's face turned ashen, his expression filled with disbelief.

Of course, upon hearing Solit say this, he had already sensed it deep inside.

It was just that the killer of his son was so capable—this enormous disparity was something he could not accept!

"Minister Weilade, I actually learned about this matter some time ago. Of course, I didn't intend to conceal it from you—had Duke Lieshi not informed us, I too would have been kept in the dark."

"In the previous vanguard campaign, everyone believed Mil had achieved great merit and stolen the spotlight."

"In truth, behind Mil, the one who claimed the most orc heads each time was always Gervas!"

"But Gervas is extremely cunning. To avoid drawing too much attention, he convinced Commander Lyon to conceal his deeds—even the Supreme Commander, upon hearing Lyon's report, tacitly approved!"

"Roughly estimated, since the campaign began, Gervas has taken at least a thousand orc heads!"

"A thousand orc heads? Including the auxiliaries?"

"Of course not—including auxiliaries. Honestly, I've never seen a minor noble perform so excellently!"

"Fortunately, he himself grew too arrogant—he dared offend the Second Prince, so he absolutely cannot be allowed to live!"

"And my recent idea not only eliminates him, but also gives us an excuse to secure promises from the orcs outside the city, just in case!"

Minister Weilade's face alternated between pale and flushed.

After his last contact with the orcs, he had always lived in fear.

He feared that if the Supreme Commander and others found out, he would be finished.

Originally, as time passed, this fear had faded—but he never expected Solit would propose doing it again.

"Minister Weilade, doing it once is the same as doing it twice!"

"Besides, last time there were no accidents—so this time, it certainly won't go wrong!"

"And with last time's lesson, I'm certain the orcs won't allow that brat to escape again!"

"Moreover, don't you see the current state of our army? Reinforcements could arrive at any time—or not at all—while our grain supplies grow ever scarcer."

"The soldiers are starving every day, too weak even to stand—how will they fight the orcs then?"

"Under these conditions, our army faces only two fates: either starve to death, or be overrun by the orcs before we even starve!"

"Whichever happens, if we don't prepare now, none of us will survive to return!" Solit, as a distant branch of a power-hungry family, naturally prioritized his own interests above all.

So, kingdom, honor—nothing mattered more than his life.

"Then what do we do? The walls are heavily guarded inside and out—even sending someone out is impossible now." Under Solit's goading,

Minister Weilade's once-cautious heart slowly faded.

True—if death was inevitable anyway, better to fight for a chance.

But this time is different from last time.

Last time, the army was outside the city, with plenty of room to maneuver.

This time, we're trapped inside—entering or exiting is extremely difficult, let alone secretly contacting the orcs.

"Weilade, don't worry about that. You only need to find reliable messengers, just like last time!"

"As for entering and exiting the city, I'll handle it—I can ask Duke Lieshi for help. After all, we only need to say this is to eliminate Gervas. I'm sure Duke Lieshi will gladly assist us!"

"Good!" Minister Weilade nodded.

If a figure as powerful as Duke Lieshi truly lent a hand, getting in and out of the city would be no problem.

Soon after, Minister Weilade and Solit began their actions.

Weilade was responsible for finding trustworthy messengers.

Solit went to Duke Lieshi and half-truthfully revealed their plan to target Gervas.

Both tasks proceeded smoothly.

First, Weilade had served as an inner council official in Eagle City for so long—he certainly had no shortage of loyal subordinates.

After making promises and offering rewards, he quickly found a suitable messenger.

As for Solit, when Duke Lieshi heard they wanted to use the orcs to kill Gervas, he did not stop them.

He merely warned: the operation must be clean.

If discovered afterward, Duke Lieshi would offer no assistance.

Thus, on the night of the next day, Solit led a figure clad in a linen cloak and hooded cap up onto the city wall.

The section of wall tonight was guarded by the Lieshi family's troops.

The Lieshi soldiers had already been instructed and showed no surprise at Solit's arrival or that of the linen-cloaked figure.

"Quick—the rope is ready. You can return before dawn without issue!"

"Yes! Yes!" The linen-cloaked figure nodded eagerly, then stepped into the basket and was lowered outside the wall with the soldiers' help.

Stepping out of the basket, he locked onto the orcs' campfires and sprinted swiftly toward them.

"Roar! Who goes there?"

"Orc lords, don't kill me! I'm here to deliver a message—I wish to see the Orc King!"

Before he even neared the orc camp, the linen-cloaked figure was spotted by the orcs.

He dared not delay—he immediately shouted his purpose.

The orcs, who had already gripped their weapons and prepared to swarm him, froze in surprise—and did not immediately slash him down.

……

In the Orc King's tent, the linen-cloaked figure trembled as he knelt before the Orc King.

The Orc King held two letters, examining them carefully.

After a moment, he set the papers down.

He pondered for a while, then said, "Moral, come take a look!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Moral had already found the scene before him strangely familiar.

When he examined the letter, he immediately realized he truly recognized it.

Wasn't this Weilade noble the same one who delivered the message last time?

Of course, the only difference was that this letter claimed Mil was not the key figure behind their beastfolk army's previous defeat.

The real key was a man named Gervas.

And those spear infantry and swordsmen who could stand up to beastfolk warriors were all Gervas's subordinates.

"Well, Moral?" The Beast King's voice came.

Moral glanced at the man in the linen cloak kneeling inside the tent.

The Beast King naturally understood what it meant, since the letter had already made clear he must not be told too much.

After ordering his subordinates to temporarily take the man away, Moral spoke.

"Your Majesty, this Weilade once contacted me before, and the information he provided last time was indeed accurate!"

"He gave me the precise locations of Mil and those spear infantry."

"But strangely, a large human army arrived just before our forces could annihilate Mil and his nobles."

"Not only did they ruin our plan to kill Mil and his people, but they also caused over a thousand of my beastfolk warriors to return with only a hundred survivors!"

"So, I've never been certain whether that incident was a human conspiracy or something else!"