Chapter 220
A Ghost spotted the signal which was given by Marsh and men from the western castle . Watching the signal the Ghost immediately reported to John as he was looking out for it for the whole day, "Lord, it seems Amber and his men are chasing Prince Hector and their army . What do we do?"
John thought a bit and immediately gave his orders, "We will back off, for now, Tell Arlen to support Amber and Marsh from behind . We can't be overconfident while chasing Irwin and his men . They might have laid traps for us if we invade them further . There is also the eastern port from where they can attack us . This battle will be a good enough message for everyone present in the Kingdom . Meanwhile, Chase these men till the borders and head back . "
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Western Castle,
Very soon Amber was chasing Hector and his men while 60 percent of their army was eradicated .
Hector and his men very soon reached the gates of Dolores as they headed inside without a hitch .
At this time Amber ordered his men, "Bring in the cannons, we are invading Dolores . "
The surprised soldier asked Amber cautiously, "Is it ok Milord?"
Amber smiled and answered as he looked at the big walls, "Yes, I especially got orders from the top to invade them if we were attacked today . You don't need to worry . "
Meanwhile at the Castle in Dolores occupied by Prince Hector,
Alistair smiled as he decided to raise up the ante against Antonio for the first time as it aligned with the interests of Prince Hector, "Milord, I think we should escape Dolores and head towards Gritos . I have a bad feeling currently after watching their march . "
Hector furrowed his brows as he asked in an angry manner, "What are you saying?"
Alistair smiled and spoke to both Norman and Hector in a grave tone as he watched the Cannons that were being lined up Amber, "Look over there, Milord, they are planning to invade Dolores . At Gritos we would be safer . I don't think you would want to lose more while defending this place . I think you know what happened at the Mercenary Camp when our men decided to resist . We have barely been able to escape with 5000 men after losing 10000 men . I don't think both of you would want to lose more men . Additionally, Count Johns men are not prepared to invade us deep inside Duke Norman's domain by the looks of their invasion and their lackadaisical attitude . "
Antonio was immediately angered, he fumed as he heard Alistair and his plan, "What are you saying? Prince Hector and Duke Norman promised to defend Dolores in case of a crisis . We made a solid agreement . "
Alistair smiled, as he looked at Antonio and answered with a cunning smile, "No, we only agreed to provide you the ballistas . Don't you remember? you insisted that you wanted the ballistas, not the men when we negotiated . You can have them . We are not violating any terms if we escape to Gritos with our men . You see the lives of 40,000 men is more important to Duke Norman and Prince Hector Politically than a small Dolores . Don't you agree, Duke Norman? Look they are already preparing to invade us . It seems they are bringing some more weird weapons to the frontline . "
Duke Norman was immediately alerted as he saw the intention of Count John's men who wanted to invade Dolores .
He shivered as he remembered about the massacre of Mercenaries that eradicated them fully .
Amber roared on the sound stone as Duke Norman and Prince Hector heard him, "You guys should be prepared to be invaded since you dared to invade us . Handover Prince Hector and you might escape this invasion . "
Before Prince Hector could respond, Alistair spoke immediately, "Prince, don't be angered, they are deliberately trying to anger you so that you stand your ground and retaliate . "
Duke Norman understood that if he lost more men here then he would face the ire of all the lords who participated in this campaign with him .
Duke Norman looked at Amber and his men as he spoke with a resolve, "Yes, we should leave . After ignoring Alistair's warning several times we have already lost more than required . I would not risk the lives of 40,000 men over some promise not to mention we aren't even violating the terms . We should have heard Alistair when he recommended us to wait before we attack and we might have escaped this invasion . Now Look, that scout also came with his report from the southern end . Speak, what did you see there?"
Scout thought about the massacre and answered with a sigh, "It was a massacre, Milord . Commander Johnson and most of all of his 30000 Templars were killed without any hesitation by that Barbarian Commander, Anak . Lord Irwin too has sustained a lot of Injuries . Currently, Lord Irwin and his army are heading for Gritos immediately . Commander Irwin feels that General Anak would most likely invade Dolores and try to kill them off if they don't escape . "
Prince Hector and Norman were scared after hearing about the massacre of both Irwin and Johnson's army in a single day .
They shivered as they already knew about the Acts which General Anak did previously .
Almost immediately, Norman asked gravely, "How many of them survived and what are their casualties?"
The scout nodded and answered, "29000 Templars and 10000 Men of Lord Irwin's Army died in the previous Battle . The enemy this time had weird weapons which had incredible power, they have 10 times or more power than their ballistas . Lord Irwin's Short sword too suffered damage just by facing two attacks of the enemies . While Templar Johnson died in 3 attacks . Commander Irwin feels that General Anak deliberately targets the commanders of the enemies to reduce morale and claim decisive victories . "
Prince Hector remembered the previous attempt on his life which was made by Marsh as he heard the Scout and agreed .
He signaled him to continue, "Continue . "
The scout nodded and answered, "There is another Explosive news, General Anak announced the decision of Count John's Secession from Aelius kingdom after being unfairly treated by the Royal family and the other aristocrats (especially Prince Hector, Duke Norman, and Duke Fjord . ) . Here is the letter of their Statement Milord . "
Hector was stunned as he heard the Scout, He immediately snatched the letter as he spoke with a stunned face, "What did you say? They announced their Secession?"
Hector slapped his forehead as he heard the scout .
He thought as he was stunned, 'Was this because of me? If he secedes, this means a civil war will erupt . Did I corner them so much that he finally decided to snap? But how the fuck did he get those monstrous weapons? No, it was all his plan from the start . If we knew that he had such weapons then no one would have attacked them in the first place . That guy deliberately baited us for the whole 6 months . I hope I ain't targeted by the ministers for all this mess . Yes, that bufoon Antonio will do . '
He roared as he read the letter given by the scout, "FUCK . "
Alistair looked at Prince Hector and his dilemma as he thought, 'As expected, Count John is seceding . It seems big powerplay is taking place . It looks like everyone including Prince Hector were manipulated by that Count from the start . I guess King Lionheart would be more pissed after hearing the condition of Lord Irwin's army and the fact that they played into Count John's hand . This situation is worse than the time when Lorr family possessed those swords . This matter can't be solved politically after that Count announced secession . The biggest thorns for us would be those weird weapons . '
Duke Norman too was stunned as he heard him and murmured, "How did that small count get such guts? Was he always planning to secede from the start?"
He continued, "No, now is not the time to ponder . "
Suddenly everyone heard the sound of an explosion as Amber decided to fire the cannons at the walls .
Alistair smiled as he heard the explosion and again gave his proposals, "Even Commander Irwin is leaving for Gritos and the borders . I call this is a strategic retreat, Milord . We don't have much time . We can simply leave the ballistae in their professional care . What do you say Duke Norman? I can see that they are out for blood and I don't think we would want to erase their thirst for blood by our bodies . "
Duke Norman immediately ordered his men without even consulting Prince Hector, "Yes, We are leaving immediately . We have already ignored enough warnings by Alistair . I don't want to die because of that Count's sudden anger for blockading the eastern port . "
"Mary, We are leaving Dolores immediately . Army, prepare for our departure . "
Prince Hector too nodded after looking at the facts and the current condition of their army .
Antonio had a pale face as heard Duke Norman and Prince Hector's decision . In anger, he almost immediately pounced on Alistair .
He thought as he pounced in anger, 'This is all because of this slave . He did this maneuvering against me for his grudge and manipulated them . '
Alistair smiled as he sidestepped and gave a slap to him sideway, Antonio, immediately fell down .
Alistair slowly approached him and murmured into his ears with a cunning smile, "You see this is what happens to guys who cross me . I would like to see how you flail like a fish without water . You are dead . "
He smiled and continued, "Well, I will give you another advise, if you are able to defend this town then you might be able to escape the whole ordeal or else you will face the music whether you are in Aelius or in Sky .
It seemed Alistair already recognized Sky as regional power after the previous powerplay by Count John .
With a stunned face, Antonio saw the departing figure of Alistair who was leaving behind Prince Hector and Norman .
Prince Hector and Norman didn't even pay attention to Antonio when Alistair assaulted him . Without giving any heed to Antonio they gave orders to their men as they left for Gritos with cold faces .
It was at this time when Antonio remembered the words of his Father, "You are naive, you don't understand politics . "
He roared hoarsely as he continuously felt humiliated, "Damn, what do I do? I can't fight such monstrous weapons . No, I can't die here . That guy certainly wants me to die here . "
Alistair smiled and left as he watched the eyes of Antonio which was full of horror .
