Planning

"I see... "

I read a letter from Richard and frowned a little. It looks like the Vulux Kingdom is already hiring a group of magicians, and they have already appointed a new Grandmarshall. The new Grandmarshall is Marquess Garun, a war veteran who defends against the rebellion twenty years ago.

Not only that, but they are also beginning to march their army north. It looks like they decide to march their army fast before Richard's shadow could sabotage their food supply. I also cannot risk Richard and his shadow sabotaging the enemy's food supply with the enemy having magicians on their side.

"Give me some paper and a quill. Also, I need the fastest raven to be prepared. I need to send an urgent letter."

"Yes, my lord."

A few minutes later, the mayor I appointed came back with parchment and quill for me. I begin to write a letter for them to prepare their army for me to teleport to the Blue Moon City. We need to rally our army as the enemy is already moving.

"Here, Please send this letter to Ruby City, Black Lake City, Gajir City, and Likar City. Make it an urgent letter."

"Yes, my lord."

I look at the Blue Moon city from the window and sigh a little. It looks like there will be another battle soon, and this time I know that it will have big casualties. I open up the drawer and take out a map before I place it on the table.

"Hmmm. There should be a hill that can be used as a headquarters around here. However, I did not know where the enemy came from. I cannot spread my army too thin, but I did not know where the enemy was coming from. Argh! This will be hard."

This is the reason why I hate fighting in the south, especially in Greenfield county. Greenfield county is a flatland with a few hills and mountains. Because of this, the enemy can come from anywhere, and without a high ground, it will be hard to do a defensive battle.

There is a hill on the main road, but I know that the enemy will know about this hill as well, and they will also know that I would make my headquarters on top of this hill. After knowing about the location of my headquarters, they will use another route to either attack the city or surround us and try to retake the high ground.

I release a tired sigh before continuing to look at the map once again. There are five hills near the main road that can be used as forts. However, there is another route that needs to be watched out for.

The most eastern point of Greenfield county. There is no hill, forest, or even mountain in that area. Hell, the previous lord also did not bother to build a fort in that area. The area itself is a flatland that is filled with grass and nothing else.

I can try and fill the area with thick forest and let the Dark Elves handle the army that comes from there. Hmmm… That is a good idea, actually. However, I will wait for the other to arrive here first.

~One day later~

"Let the war meeting begin."

I sit down on the chair and look at the North Lord.

"First thing first, I want to say a good job on occupying the city."

The northern lord nodded their head, and I continued.

"Now, the reason why I call you here is because of the news I send to you guys. I get news that the Vulux Kingdom army is moving to the north, and their Grand Marshall is Garun Marilu, the War Hawk."

When I say that, the expression of the older lord becomes serious. Garun Marilu, the War Hawk, is a famous name. He is the lord that keeps pestering the previous king to declare war against the other kingdom to take their territory.

"Not only that, but they also get the help of a group of magicians from the Tower of Magic. For this reason, we will not get any new information about the army. I did not want to risk our spy getting found out by the southerners."

I take a deep breath before saying.

"Anyway, what I want to say is that we need to prepare for the incoming army. I want to ask you guys which strategy we need to use. Should we welcome them here, or should we push deeper into their territory?"

I look around the room and see the other lord thinking about this really hard. A minute later, it was my grandfather who said the first thing.

"I guess that depends on the enemy's movement. If they do not move in a week, that means they need to prepare some barriers around their territory. We cannot let that happen and I suggest pushing deeper."

"I disagree."

I look at lord Tobias Ekdal who disagrees with my grandfather.

"I think we should fortify our territory and welcome them here. We cannot get too deep inside enemy territory as we did not want a surprise attack or get surrounded."

"But! If we do that, we need to stretch our army too thin to cover all the land. If we do that, we will easily get defeated as not only do we have less army to welcome the enemy, but we also have a hard time to reinforce the other army because of how far away we are."

What my grandfather said is true. We cannot spread our army too thin and too far away from each other.

"Then what should we do, Lord Duchamp?"

"We need to gather the attention of the enemy. We need to siege a city and take it before fortifying it."

"We already did that. This city is proof of that."

"No, that is not what I mean. While yes, we already do that, we need to do that again, but this time, we need to take the biggest city."

Ah! I see….

"The Garuvardin City, the city of the river."

My grandfather looked at me and nodded his head. Garuvardin city is a city in the middle of a small island in the middle of a massive river. This is the biggest city in the Frederick Duchy and the most important city.

As its name suggests, the city is in the middle of a massive river, and that said river connects to most territory in the Frederick Duchy. Not only that, but the river from the Garuvardin also reaches half of Greenfield county.

What makes the Garuvardin even more precious is the gold mine on the mountain not too far away from the city.

"That is right. If we can occupy Garuvardin City, we will control the route to the north."

I nod my head and say.

"If we follow Lord Duchamp's plan, we need to do it fast. I can teleport us there and immediately do the siege, but before we do that, we need to prepare. I don't think they will not protect their most precious city."

The other lords nodded their heads in agreement, even Lord Tobias Ekdal nodding his head in agreement.

"There is also a rumor saying that Garuvardin City is protected by a barrier created by an Archmage in the past. Pre Built the siege weapon here as we want to take the Garuvardin as fast as we can. I will try to prepare for the battlefield. I will try to create a rune inside the river that will freeze up when we arrive there."

"Will it freeze up the entire river?"

"No. It will freeze up the river around the city to make a solid ground."

"I see."

"Yes. You did not need to worry, lord Duchamp."

"Of course, my lord."

"Anyway, we need to do it fast. Lord Metis, how long do you think the engineer will take to make the siege equipment?"

Lord Metis looked at me for a few seconds before saying.

"That depends, my lord. Do we need full equipment, or will you and Lady Lionheart be the one that destroys the wall?"

"Yes and no. I'm thinking of attacking the city from all directions. We let them think that we are attacking them from one direction, and when their soldiers are focusing on one direction, we will send the rest of the army to attack from all directions."

"I see. Who will be the bait?"

"I will. Before you guys say that I should not do it, I'm the perfect bait. I hate to say this, but I'm a perfect bait in this attack with my reputation and title. The enemy will think that we do the same thing as before. Attacking another city at the same time."

I sigh a little at their thinking expression. I know that I'm the leader of the North, but sometimes they worry about me too much. I know that an army cannot function without its head but come on! I feel like a precious vase that is ready to break with a gentle touch.

"With their attention on me, the other can attack at the other side of the city with ease."

The northern lord stays silent for seconds before suddenly saying.

"Aye!"

With that, another plan to besiege another city has been accepted and ready to be used.