Chapter 534: Chapter 5: Urgent Military Order

(There’s an extra Chapter after this: The Count’s Worries)

The army returned to camp.

By the next morning, as dawn broke in the east.

A griffin was rapidly approaching from the southern sky.

Robson and Valentino, for once, slept in a little longer today.

Battle was a mentally taxing affair. Now that they finally had a moment of respite, Robson seized the opportunity to properly recover his strength.

The griffin circled in the sky, looking for a place to land.

Without a proper Griffin Platform, the griffin could still land, but the Knight on its back was in for a rough ride.

He was thrown from its back by the violent lurching.

Fortunately, the Griffin Knight was one of the squad leaders from the Edward family. His strength as a Silver Sixth Tier prevented him from suffering any serious injury.

Most of the Knight Lords were asleep for the night, leaving Robson’s troops to stand guard over the camp.

Upon seeing the unfamiliar griffin, a squad leader went forward to inquire about the situation.

"Your Highness!"

"Where is His Highness the Prince? I must see Prince Noah!"

The Griffin Knight, ignoring his own injuries, grabbed the squad leader and asked anxiously.

Earl Uman approached, and under his guidance, the Griffin Knight was brought to Prince Noah’s tent.

Prince Noah was also fast asleep.

A guard rushed into the tent to wake Prince Noah.

"Your Highness, Your Highness."

"What is it?"

Prince Noah woke with a groggy start.

"Someone from the Edward family is here."

"They say it’s an urgent matter."

"The Edward family?"

Prince Noah was still drowsy, but hearing the name "Edward" snapped him mostly awake.

His intuition told him the Marquis wouldn’t disturb him at a time like this unless it was something critical.

’What on earth could have happened?’

Prince Noah wondered.

"Let him in."

...

The Griffin Knight burst into the tent and, upon seeing Prince Noah, immediately dropped to one knee.

"Your Highness."

"What happened?" Prince Noah asked, perplexed.

"I do not know."

"The Marquis ordered me to deliver this letter to you."

The Griffin Knight stepped forward and presented a letter.

Prince Noah tore it open.

’Grantham has rebelled?!’

The letter was short and to the point, free of bureaucratic pleasantries. It described only one thing.

Marshal Grantham had rebelled.

’Rebellion... what an unfamiliar word. The last time it was heard with any frequency was a thousand years ago, during the collapse of the Third Empire.’

’Who would have thought that one day, such news would emerge in the Frank Kingdom!’

’This is bad...’

Prince Noah’s mind raced. He knew his own military talents were less than outstanding.

’I should discuss this with Lumian Knight Commander,’ he thought at first, but then reconsidered. ’In the end, I can’t rely on that foreigner.’

’Besides, I don’t have the authority to command them. There’s no telling what they might do if they find out.’

"Quick, fetch General Robson," Prince Noah said.

"As you command."

"Noah? What’s going on?" Princess Yifulei asked, puzzled.

"It’s nothing, my dear. Go get ready. We should be withdrawing our troops soon," Prince Noah said with a forced smile.

"Oh? So soon?"

"The army, you know how it is," the Prince said with a laugh.

...

A guard’s shouts from outside the tent woke Robson early in the morning. Valentino was still sleeping soundly in his arms.

It was the first time they had slept without their armor since coming to the grasslands, and both had slept remarkably well.

"Mmm..."

Robson’s movements stirred Valentino awake.

The Count’s eyebrows twitched as she opened her eyes.

"What’s wrong?"

"The Prince summoned me."

"I don’t know what for. You should get some more sleep," Robson said.

"Mmm..."

Valentino paused for a moment, then burrowed back under the covers. She stretched lazily, her body forming a lovely arc. Combined with her golden hair, she looked like a marmalade Persian cat.

’I had a Persian cat in my past life,’ Robson thought.

"I should get up too," Valentino said.

The two of them put on their armor.

However, Prince Noah had only summoned Robson, so Valentino did not go with him.

When he arrived at the tent, Prince Noah had already spread a map out on the table.

"Your Highness, General Robson has arrived," said a Personal Guard.

Robson walked in and was about to offer a salute, but Prince Noah grabbed his arm.

"Robson, you’re finally here! Quick, come and advise me."

"Hm? Your Highness, has something happened?" Robson asked, puzzled.

Prince Noah thrust the letter into Robson’s hands.

"Grantham has rebelled. The rebel army has already seized Riliman Fortress and is now launching a fierce assault on Bronze Pass."

"What?"

"Who rebelled?" Robson asked in shock after reading the letter.

"Marshal Grantham... has rebelled?"

The news was as unbelievable as the Holy See supporting a demonic cult, Algerians backing trolls, or Franks adopting Beastmen...

This was Grantham! A spiritual icon for countless people within the kingdom! The standard-bearer of the Franks’ war against the Beastmen.

The Marshal had rebelled?

"Never mind that for now. We need to figure out what to do next," Prince Noah said urgently.

Robson approached the table and looked at the map. Prince Noah had used various objects to scribble all over it.

Riliman Fortress was circled several times.

’It’s clear Prince Noah really has no military aptitude,’ Robson thought.

Without a word, Robson took a step forward.

Prince Noah thought he was going to add his own markings, but to his surprise, Robson simply folded the map up.

"Robson?" Prince Noah asked, confused.

"Your Highness, the situation is urgent."

"An army of two hundred thousand is now trapped beyond the pass. We can’t afford to delay. Our next move must be to return to the Marquis’s side immediately."

"We have two thousand Extraordinary elites here. I believe the Marquis must have moved the elite forces from the central line beyond the pass as well, correct?" Robson asked.

"Er... perhaps?" Prince Noah was uncertain; he hadn’t reviewed the military dispositions.

"Regardless, we must rendezvous with Marquis Oscillate at once. He needs our strength."

"But, what do we tell Lumian Knight Commander?"

"Explain?"

"Yes. According to our original plan, we’re supposed to be advancing deeper into the grasslands," Prince Noah said.

"We’ll say it’s an order from the Marquis," Robson stated.

"Huh?"

"Orders from the Marquis. He wants us to withdraw. As for why, we’re not clear on the details ourselves," Robson explained.

"For now, it’s just us who know the real reason, correct?"

Prince Noah nodded.

"That’s a good idea."

He immediately understood Robson’s plan. No matter what, the first step was to trick the Knight Lords into heading back. As for how to actually deploy them after that, that would be the Marquis’s problem.

"Sorry, my mind is a bit of a mess right now," Prince Noah said.

Robson’s plan wasn’t particularly brilliant.

But the news of Marshal Grantham’s betrayal had dealt Prince Noah a staggering blow.

"It’s understandable, Your Highness," Robson nodded.

The ability to remain unflustered when faced with a monumental crisis was something that required years of training.

And that was experience Prince Noah ultimately lacked.

"Go and assemble the army. I’ll go find Lumian Knight Commander right now," Prince Noah ordered.

Robson nodded.

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