Chapter 486: Only Me and My Subordinates!

“Gervas… Gervas?”

As they clearly saw the figure beside the Beast King, many nobles of all ranks stood frozen in place.

Among these people were the Commander-in-Chief and two Dukes.

Of course, the most emotionally stirred were Adamas and Mil and the others.

Mil stared blankly, rubbing his eyes repeatedly, “Heaven… heavens, am I seeing things, or am I dreaming? Eyn, pinch me hard and see!”

“Oh! Alright!” Eyn also stood dazed; hearing this, he instinctively pinched Mil’s shoulder with all his strength.

“Ah!” Mil let out a shriek—mainly because Eyn himself suspected he was dreaming, so he used full force.

Fortunately, Mil was now utterly focused on nothing else; upon feeling the pain, he immediately exclaimed in delight, “It hurts… I’m not dreaming, so that man up front is truly Gervas?”

“My friends! Long time no see! How are you all?” Gervas had clearly observed every reaction in the crowd.

He also learned through his intelligence network that the Beast King had faked his death.

Thus, he understood Mil and the others’ reactions.

“Gervas, is it really you? You’re still alive?!” Adamas finally reacted, rushing forward excitedly to get closer.

But before he could reach, several Beastman soldiers instantly blocked him.

“Adamas, of course I’m alive! How are you all?”

Adamas’s eyes instantly reddened, “Gervas, we’re fine! But earlier we received word of your death—we thought you’d truly… truly fallen in battle!”

“Is that so? Adamas, I’m sure there’s a fascinating story here! But let’s talk about it later.”

“Right now, we have something far more important to discuss: the future battle situation between the Kingdom’s army and the Beastmen’s army!”

Adamas knew what mattered most, “Understood, Gervas!”

Gervas nodded, then turned his gaze toward the Commander-in-Chief.

“Commander-in-Chief, Duke Hernade, please come over. We now need to proceed to the Beast King’s tent for negotiations.”

The Commander-in-Chief and Duke Hernade immediately responded, “No problem, Gervas!”

Then the two stepped forward.

This time, the Beastman warriors made no move to stop them, clearing a path for their passage.

At this moment, Duke Shirestone instinctively took a few steps forward, hoping to follow.

But the Beastman soldiers immediately blocked the path again, shutting him out.

Duke Shirestone frowned instantly, “What does this mean?”

Gervas acted as if he heard nothing, showing no reaction.

The Commander-in-Chief glanced at Gervas thoughtfully, then said to Duke Shirestone, “Duke Shirestone, it’s sufficient for me and Duke Hernade to go. You must remain here to oversee the main army.”

Duke Shirestone’s face flushed red then pale; finally, he withdrew with a dark expression.

Meanwhile, the Beast King wasted no more time and led the way toward his meeting tent.

Gervas deliberately lagged behind a few steps, for he needed to inform the Commander-in-Chief of the full situation before negotiating with the Beast King.

And he didn’t need to speak up himself.

Seeing the Beast King had pulled ahead, the Commander-in-Chief seized the opportunity and spoke up, “Gervas, what’s going on? Weren’t you captured by the Beastmen? How did you suddenly appear from the north?”

“Also, is this supporting army from the Western Region? How many ten thousand troops do they have? Who leads them? Is it the Western Region Viceroy?”

“Er…” Gervas paused, then his expression turned slightly odd.

Clearly, the Commander-in-Chief had misunderstood the situation.

But that was normal—after all, who could imagine that a mere thousand men could force the Beastmen to negotiate?

“It’s not the Western Region army? That’s impossible! Those eagle-riders just said they came from the west, so they can’t be reinforcements from the Eastern Region…” The Commander-in-Chief exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Gervas’s expression.

After all, in his view, Western Region reinforcements made far more sense than Eastern Region ones.

The Beast King clearly hadn’t anticipated that the reinforcements Gervas imagined didn’t exist at all.

Seeing this, Gervas no longer delayed, “Commander-in-Chief, actually… there is no army!”

“This… this can’t be! Are you joking, Gervas?” The Commander-in-Chief froze instantly.

Gervas’s expression grew slightly serious, “Commander-in-Chief, I wouldn’t joke about something this grave. There truly is no supporting army. From the north, only I and my subordinates have come—just one thousand men.”

“Only you and your subordinates—one thousand men?” The Commander-in-Chief widened his eyes, “Then what about those five griffins? And why is the Beast King willing to negotiate with us?”

“Commander-in-Chief, those five griffin riders are also my subordinates—I simply never revealed them before.”

“As for why the Beast King agreed to negotiate, that’s a long story—it begins after I arrived at Baron Kalle’s fortress…”

Gervas then recounted everything: how he was ambushed at Baron Kalle’s fortress, how he marched north, and how he “accidentally” learned of the royal tent’s location.

Throughout this, Gervas revealed everything he could without concealment.

Only how he obtained the intelligence remained obscured—he either claimed it came from griffin reconnaissance,

or that he’d acquired it unexpectedly after capturing enemy-held passes…

In short, there was no verifiable proof. Even if the Kingdom later investigated, no one could be found to answer.

Of course, the Commander-in-Chief and others had no time now to care about such trivial details.

Upon hearing Gervas’s account, he and Duke Hernade were left speechless with shock.

“Gervas, so you not only escaped pursuit by twenty thousand Beastmen, but also successfully stormed the Beast King’s royal tent!”

“And captured Princess Sukama and the Beast King’s youngest prince?” The Commander-in-Chief had no words left to describe his emotions.

“Yes, Commander-in-Chief. Originally, I only hoped to capture a few princesses to threaten Moral’s army and secure my escape.”

“But later I learned that Princess Sukama and the newborn prince meant everything to the Beast King, so I decided to risk heading south to see if I could save the army.”

“Turns out I was right—the Beast King truly cares deeply for Princess Sukama and the newborn prince,” Gervas replied with an earnest, humble expression.

The Commander-in-Chief and Duke Hernade were visibly moved.

What kind of spirit and character was this?

Gervas made it sound so casual—risking his life to head south and see if he could save the army!

Yet any misstep could have cost him the only chance he had to survive.

“Gervas, I always believed people were selfish—only to varying degrees.”

“But until today, seeing you, I realize there truly exist people who are this brave, this selfless!” The Commander-in-Chief’s gaze toward Gervas had transformed into that of an elder looking upon his own descendant.

And Gervas knew that at such moments, humility was paramount.

“Commander-in-Chief, I’m not as noble as you say. I merely thought—if I could save the army, the risk was worth it.”

“And now it seems I was right. So I was just lucky.”