17 Preparations for the Expedition

The Royal Army facility in Windfall City had been unnaturally busy the past few days.

First, the newly crowned King Roland abruptly decided to make a visit the very day after his coronation, even bringing along all of the hundreds of nobles who were in the capital at that time.

Then, the princess of the Grand Wyvern Kingdom abruptly decided to make a visit the very day after she arrived in the capital.

As if that was not enough, now the newly crowned King Roland had once again decided to make his second visit in a span of six short days!

The Marshal of the Royal Army was feeling a little annoyed at this moment.

Was their Royal Army facility a tourist spot for sightseeing or something?

If it was not, then why were people so fond of visiting them? Just send a letter asking whatever they want to know and he could easily pen down a reply!

This way, both parties did not have to waste time entertaining each other with obligated pleasantries.

Still, the Marshal held genuine respect for the king, just like most soldiers did after what the king had shown during his previous visit.

He had shirked his responsibility of showing the king around the previous time, but this time he decided that he probably should personally welcome the king.

Such a change in attitude was due to two reasons.

Firstly, it was the change in his perspective of the king.

After all, prior to the king's previous visit, he only thought of the king as a wastrel, just like how most others did.

Secondly, it was because of the reason of the king's visit this time.

"Rise," Roland waved his hand to return the man's greetings, before taking a good look to observe the Marshal of the Royal Army standing before him.

Roland had heard a lot about the Marshal.

Marshal Dominic was an old man in his sixties.

Old, but strong.

Despite his current top ranking in the army, he had started out as a mere conscript. With his shrewd military mind and powerful individual strength, he scored achievement after achievement, rapidly climbing the ranks to reach where he was right now.

Even at his current age, not many would have the confidence to face him in a duel and emerge victorious.

"Take a seat, Marshal Dominic," Roland took his seat in the conference room before gesturing to another chair at the table. "Do you know the reason for my visit today?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I have already received word from the Chancellor. It must be to make preparations for the expedition to the East?" Dominic answered as he sat down at the table.

"That is correct, Marshal. I understand that the Royal Army has been greatly weakened from the great war, but I believe this is a necessary move. After all, we cannot ignore the plight of our people."

"May I ask what does Your Majesty require of the expedition troops?"

"Everything you can spare without compromising on the border security. Spare the inexperienced men as well. It would be best if there is a good mix of ranged attackers."

Roland had already pictured what he wanted the expedition troops to be comprised of. He was no master tactician, but as a true warrior, he had an innate instinct for battle.

This allowed him to roughly imagine how he wanted the troops to be deployed, and in which way would it be ideal for him.

"If that is the case, what do you think of this arrangement…?" upon hearing Roland's request, Dominic gave his own suggestions.

Even though Roland was relatively confident in his own ideas, he knew that he was but a stranger to the battlefield after all.

So seeing that Dominic was willing to discuss about the topic, he was naturally overjoyed!

When he had asked Erin and Ivan earlier, both of them had acted extremely deferentially, repeatedly insisting that what he suggested must have been the best plan.

Now that he could receive some quality advice from the most experienced war veteran in the Royal Army, what more could he ask for?

Roland seized the opportunity and asked Marshal Dominic about everything he could think of, varying from goblin combat styles to combat rations. The conversation drew longer and longer, gradually drifting from the upcoming expedition to previous battles as well.

Fortunately for Roland, Dominic seemed more than happy to share, or perhaps it would be more apt to say it was to boast about, his past experiences while serving under the previous kings, enthusiastically entertaining Roland's every question.

The day went by quickly as they chatted, but they eventually managed to return to their original topic. After coming to a decision, Roland then left the Royal Army facility for Dominic to make the necessary arrangements.

It took two days for the troops to be ready, and when he returned to the facility to inspect the troops, he was in for a huge surprise.

It was as though the troops had seen their idol, respect and admiration could be seen in their eyes. Every response to his questions was burning with fervour!

This was the passion that had shocked even Princess Olivia!

During Roland first visit to the Royal Army facility, he had already gained the respect of the soldiers by showing off that he was a well-trained warrior himself.

Right after that, his personal maid Rose actually completely destroyed the Head of the Tonquello family in a duel. At the end of duel, she even showed the capability to wield a level of magic beyond the means of everyone present!

This was the Tonquello Army, famed for being the mightiest among the nobles, said to be on par with even the Royal Army!

With that kind of description that accompanied the Tonquello Army, the soldiers of the Royal Army would naturally feel a sense of competition when mentioned in the same sentence as the Tonquello Army.

Yet the Head of the Tonquello Army had been completely crushed by the personal maid of the head of the royal family, the king himself.

How could the soldiers of the Royal Army not be impressed?

How could they not feel proud to be serving such leaders?

Seeing King Roland standing before them, preparing to personally lead them into battle, how could they not feel excited?

On top of that, it seemed like the monster maid was there as well!

How could they not have the utmost confidence regarding the upcoming expedition?

Spirits were high among the soldiers of the Royal Army even as they left the capital the day after, the burning passion within them enabling the expedition army to move at a pace much faster than usual.

It was a long journey to make.

None of the other members of the royal family accompanied them on the expedition, leaving only Rose who never left Roland's side, as well as Alexander whose duty was to guard the king.

Of course, that was excluding the thousands of soldiers in the expedition army, the hundreds of logistical officers, the dozens of servants, as well as the few other Royal Guards.

The weather was not cooperative with them, however.

Fine rain poured over all of the Great Manta Kingdom, as though foreboding the battle that was to come.

The bad weather originally meant that the expedition army was not going to be making optimal progress in their journey, but the overwhelming drive within each individual soldier managed to more than make up for this.

Seeing the soldiers' unyielding attitudes, Roland felt heartened.

While it was physically harsh on the soldiers to push them this hard, how could this hardship compare to the lives that could be lost as the goblins struck village after village in the East?

With that in mind, Roland simply could not bring himself to slow down the pace despite how guilty he felt for pushing the soldiers.

Thankfully, the other commanding officers of the Royal Army that came along with the expedition seemed to have realised that fact as well, and all refrained from raising the topic of slowing down the pace.

It took them a few weeks of journey before Waterfall City finally came into sight.

To the weary expedition army, it was like coming across an oasis in the middle of the desert!

Even though the soldiers were high in morale, the long journey still took its toll on them.

During this whole journey, the rain had hardly let up, only stopping for a short while each time before resuming.

In fact, the onslaught of rainwater on the travelling soldiers only grew heavier and heavier by the day, signalling the full arrival of the rainy season.

Now that they had finally arrived at their destination, there was obvious elation showing on their faces.

All of them were looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed for the first time in weeks!

---

A day after Roland marched the expedition troops out of the capital, his royal siblings were all gathered at the request of Princess Erin.

"Do you think Roland would be fine?" Helena sounded extremely depressed.

Even though she was still seated on a chair, she slumped so far forward onto the long table that the top half of her body was practically laying on it.

"I have told you many times. You need to change the way your address His Majesty," Erin chided from the side once again.

"Aaaaaaaahhh that is not the main issue here! He is riding into battle and you don't seem to be worried at all! You cruel person! Have you forgotten what happened to our father, and our elder brothers?" Helena sulked without turning to look at her.

Hearing that, Erin instantly shot a cold glare towards Helena.

"Our royal father aside, do not compare His Majesty with those useless elder brothers of ours. They are just trash in comparison!"

"Ah! I'm sure Helena was just worried about His Majesty!" Timothy tried to interject as he sensed the cold glare from Erin.

"Well it is true that this is dangerous! I know the enemy is different from the great war, but still, people could die!" Helena, on the other hand, seemed like she did not even notice Erin glaring at her.

"You underestimate His Majesty too much, Helena. Since His Majesty is heading there personally, I am sure that His Majesty's flawless plans will make sure casualties would be kept to a minimum!!"

"There is a concrete plan? But weren't the reports still quite unsure of the current situation?" a man's voice travelled over.

It was unknown when the Chancellor of State had joined in on the meeting, but the members of the royal family did not mind his presence at all.

Erin gave a smug smile as if she had the world spinning to her tune, "Do you really think that His Majesty would not be able to plan anything simply because of the lack of a bit of information? His preparations are so grand that even I was stupefied! In fact, I have already been told to start the preparations a week ago, even before the latest report arrived!"

"Even before the latest report?" Duke Ivan's eyes opened wide in disbelief.

"Such is the foresight and intellect of the king whom we are serving!" Erin's smile grew wider as she thought back to the first official meeting.

"In any case, the reason why I have gathered all of us today is to tell you that I will be leaving the capital along with Timothy to handle the final steps of the plan. So I will be leaving the official matters within the capital to you!"

"You are going to make preparations? Why didn't you go along with His Majesty then?" Duke Ivan was slightly confused.

"The place that I am heading to is slightly different from His Majesty's. That said, it is only because of His Majesty's hint that I am able to grasp the rough outline of the plan. So I must not fail!"

Hearing that, everyone turned to look at Erin in surprise.

"Ah! Are we not heading to the East as well?" even Timothy had no idea what was in store.

"Silly Timothy, I still have not told you the plan, have I? Instead of directly going to the East, we will be heading slightly North-East." Erin smiled kindly towards her only younger brother.

"North-East?"

"That's right. The place we are heading to…is the Great Manta River!"