Chapter 567.
Chapter 567: Anxiety
Unlike the joyful atmosphere in the Eton Principality’s capital city, Hydrari, there was a dreary atmosphere within the Horned Bay Alliance’s capital city, Fort Ness, which was also another member of the Protestant Alliance.
The Horned Bay Alliance had assembled a well-equipped army and united with the allied armies that had come to gather, intending to fight a great battle with the Church’s army. However, the surprise attack of the Protectorate Army from the north disrupted the deployment of the alliance. The Convocation debated whether to continue along the planned route or to return to the rescue of the allies.
As soon as they argued here, the armies of the allies that had come to support them left to return to their own countries to defend their homelands. This made the size of the frontline troops originally used for the attack to be reduced by a circle.
Inside Speaker Marcus’ office, a depressing atmosphere filled the small space.
Marcus was shrinking in his chair, smoking his pipe without moving, the light of the burning tobacco flickered alternately in the pot, just like the mood of the Speaker.
“Eaton’s victory puts us in an awkward position.”
Senator Foster, sitting across from him, broke the silence.
“It will shake our position as leader of the coalition.”
“It’s more than that, my old man.”
Marcus pulled a letter out of a drawer and handed it to Councilor Foster.
“This is the secret letter that came with the war report.”
Foster hastily opened the envelope and just a few lines into it his eyes went round.
“What is Cabrera doing, recognizing the legitimacy of wizards? Is he crazy?”
He continued to read, “Hmph, so the Etonians’ victory on the battlefield was achieved through the power of sorcerers. I guess the so-called recognition of the legitimacy of spellcasters is some sort of quid pro quo.”
Marcus spread his hands helplessly, “Apparently, judging from the wording of the letter, he’s informing us rather than asking for our opinion. Perhaps in Grand Duke Cabrera’s opinion, informing us in advance with a secret letter in order for us to prepare for the onslaught with all the measures we need to take is already very considerate of our alliance.”
Foster frowned and said, “Eaton, being one of the top ranked and important members of the Protestant Alliance, doing this will undoubtedly create huge ripples, and may even make some people think that this is the decision of the entire alliance.”
Marcus and Foster were furious at their ally’s unauthorized action, but they couldn’t accuse him of it; Eaton’s situation at that time was already as critical as it could be, and the Horned Bay Alliance, which should have been its biggest reliance, couldn’t be relied on, and choosing the forbidden power in the heat of the moment was also a choice that had to be made.
Marcus said dejectedly, “If this news from Eaton spreads, it will completely eliminate the possibility of us making peace with the Church.”
Although the Protestant Church and the Old Church had split, they still believed in the same god, and now that the Protestant Church had accepted the “great irreverence” of witches, it was hard to imagine how furious the Church would be. Foster asked bitterly, “So? What should we do?”
Marcus said with a grave expression, “We will not respond to Grand Duke Eaton’s decision for now, and wait until he makes a public announcement to see how the other allies react. But on the battlefield, we can’t continue to wait any longer, we must take the initiative.”
“But our attacking force is one third less than the scheduled plan, and many of the allied forces have …… all run back.”
“Then we must also attack, send up the reserve forces in the rear, first knock down three or four forts on the opposite side, we must show our power, we can’t just let Eaton make a fool of himself. The Horned Bay Alliance must give a strong image to the outside world, make the enemy realize who’s in charge in the opposite camp, show those trifling allies that they’re just the icing on the cake, not the missing link.”
He instructed his old friend, “Foster, you and I must mobilize those legislators whose positions are similar to ours and make a strong statement, to make those guys with vague positions understand that the leadership of the alliance will be in jeopardy if they continue to vacillate like this.”
Marquis Foster nodded heavily, “Marcus, you’re right, I’ll do my best.”
……
Sigitas, the frontline zone where the Horned Bay alliance army and the Protectorate Army were confronting each other, the army’s Commander-in-Chief, Xaluba Vasquez, inspected the defenses along with Councilor Horace, who had come to deliver the orders, and they were accompanied by Councilor Foster’s second son, who had been called up for service in the army, Quiller Foster.
Finally, they climbed up an elevated tower temporarily built with wood, which was used to observe the enemy situation, Councilor Horace put his hand on the roof, and looked at the Protectorate fortress located not far away from the due east, the walls were made of boulders, solid and tall, on top of it, crossbows, catapults, falling stones, and all kinds of defensive equipment, as for the outside of the fortress, circle after circle of gullies surrounded the fortress, although it was not clear to see it, but it was unnecessary to think about it to I know that the gullies must be full of spikes.
Councilor Horace kept hissing, as if he had a sore in his mouth, although he was a war activist, but when he saw such a tightly defended enemy fortress, the tragic situation during the siege still came to his mind.
Finally, he frowned and said to the general beside him, “General Vasquez, the Convocation has reached a unanimous opinion, asking the army to make sure to fight one or two victorious battles, even if the difficulties are great.”
General Vasquez’s eyes flashed with a hint of dissatisfaction, this bunch of losers who stayed in the rear are only now coming up with a final decision. He painfully recalled that it was the Convocation’s dispute over whether to launch an attack or rescue their allies that had left the troops at the front also indecisive and afraid to act rashly. General Vasquez was suggesting to launch an immediate attack, as long as the Protectorate was beaten here, the detached division that had taken a detour to the north would have to be transferred here to support the main battlefield, and wouldn’t the allies’ peril be naturally solved?
Now, the opposite side of the army to take advantage of this time to build fortifications, the allies of the army also ran a large number of, so that the difficulty of attacking the city rose exponentially exponentially.
Alas, perhaps at that time he should have just ordered the attack regardless of the tug of war in the rear, so thought General Vasquez, but did he really dare to give the order if he was given a new chance? The Horned Bay Alliance was quite severe in its punishment of army generals who acted without authorization.
“I will carry out Nisborough’s orders with determination.” General Askarth said, “I just hope that this situation of not knowing whether to move forward or backward won’t happen again in the future. At a special time like now, orders from the highest level should be efficient and error-free, rather than leaving the army out to dry to have a fight of their own first, during which time they are not allowed to make any autonomous moves, wasting war opportunities.”
“I …… will convey your opinion to the Convocation.”
Horace promised awkwardly.
(End of chapter)