Marquis Vanden, who had descended at full speed along with the reinforcements, heard of the news about Sherwood City before getting there.
The report was that the Southern Army had surrendered to the Symphonia Kingdom.
“W-what the hell? Count Darland put up the white flag?”
“That is true. I myself witnessed the white flag rising from the manor which at the north of the river. And the magic communication between our nation and Sherwood City has been lost.”
Marquis Vanden had a long face at the report of the communication wizard.
“Kuak, if the Southern Army surrenders, there is no reason for me to go support them!”
It was the worst result for Marquis Vanden.
When he arrived at Sherwood City, he planned to sneak an attempt on the rear sided camps of the Symphonia army.
And if things went well, he would be able to defeat the enemy by sandwiching them back and forth. And that would make the siege of Symphonia difficult to proceed.
“Those stupid men! Defending themselves is better than giving themselves to the other nations. How couldn’t they even last for three days! The title of Star of the Battlefield is a waste! It is just a waste!”
His real anger was for some other reason, but Marquis Vanden, who knew about nothing, threw his anger at Count Darland.
“Sire, would you like to head back like this?”
When his lieutenant asked, Vanden realized that his men were full of enthusiasm, and if he wasn’t careful, things could get bad only for him.
Vanden shook his head after thoroughly thinking things through and said, “No, we are going in like this.”
“Sire, but Sherwood has already fallen…”
“Huh, the lost city will be taken in once again! We will wait here for a while and then scout.”
Would Emperor Rudolf ever accept if Vanden went back with the news of the Southern Army’s surrender?
Never.
That was why Marquis Vanden decided that even if he wasn’t going to get Sherwood City back, he would at least try to achieve something.
For example, cut down the throat of the enemy commander.
In any case, he decided to take a rest and then wait for his men to recharge.
But right then, the lieutenant came back again.
“Sire, will our current number be alright?”
“What do you mean to say?”
“The enemies are more in number than our allies, and they have the Sherwood City in their hands, which is a great defense place. I feel that we should call the Emperor and ask for more troops to be sent.”
At the words of his lieutenant, Vanden couldn’t hold back his anger.
“There is no need. I have a plan in mind, so don’t contact Your Majesty yet.”
“But…”
His lieutenant, who tried to speak up, shut his mouth when Vanden’s fearsome glance fell on him.
“Do you mean that you want to cause more trouble to His Majesty who is already troubled with those traitors at the Libiya Kingdom? And if we relay this news to him, have you thought how he would feel?”
“I-I just wanted…”
Vanden’s eyes became angry with his lieutenant’s attempt to speak out again.
“You just need to follow me, so don’t go around speaking out of turn!”
“I-I understand sir.”
Vanden shut his lieutenant’s mouth and visited the communication wizard.
He wasn’t compelled to earn more merit with the task, yet he wanted to complete the task that was handed to him.
“The expeditionary troops captured Sherwood City!”
“Ohh!”
Luke and his officials were delighted at the report brought in by Sebastian.
Everyone knew that Sherwood City was known for its impregnable defense, which was why they knew that capturing the city was tough, and that was why they felt glad.
“They did it a lot faster than I expected.”
“Yes, it was said that they used the Crabs very well.”
“Was that so? Surely, they couldn’t keep their hands off the lightweight Gigant.”
At Luke’s word, Prime Minister Hans and the others nodded their heads.
In general, when people thought about Gigants, its high output, its huge size, and its thick armor were the things that entered one’s mind.
However, a good weapon had no specifications.
If one was a good weapon and a good Gigant, then it could be used in the right place for a favorable outcome.
Hans spoke with a bright expression, “By occupying Sherwood City, the target of our expedition, we have opened the way to the middle of the Baroque Empire.”
“Yes, this is a fatal blow to the Baroque.”
During its war with the Libiya Kingdom at the west, at the north with the Volga Republic and the Holy Empire in the east, they now had to prepare for any possible attacks from the Southern side—the Symphonia Kingdom.
The greater the threat of war, the more burdened the empire would feel, and the more their power would decrease.
And it was the worst for the Baroque Empire.
“The question is, will Rudolf stay still? I am sure that he will try to get Sherwood back.”
“That will happen. But for Rudolf, the Libiya Kingdom, which questions his legitimacy, is the top priority.”
The Baroque Empire was most possibly not going to point its sword at Symphonia Kingdom unless Symphonia decided to push further deep.
Check level disputes and invasions would happen at a regular level.
Maybe, they could use a foreign nation, just like the Milton Kingdom ended up using the Grenada Kingdom.
“Anyway, we will have to prepare thoroughly to avoid any problems for the expeditionary force and the management of the territory,” said Luke while immediately shaking his head.
“Well, I’d better go and take a look for myself, sooner or later.”
“Your Majesty, Sherwood is a distant place.”
“I don’t think that Your Majesty has to act on it. It can be left to the other commanders.”
In spite of his retainers trying to convince him, Luke didn’t stand back.
“If I use teleport consecutively, I will be able to get there in two days. And if I go there directly to congratulate them, the morale of the troops will increase, and it will seep into great public sentiment. I think it will help us stabilize our positions.”
“Surely that would happen, but if there are assassins of the Imperial Army sent for you, won’t it be a huge mistake to move?”
“Huh, that isn’t something you need to concern yourself with.”
Luke already had control of the assassination organization Hydra in his hands, and he wanted to see other people who would attempt to assassinate him.
Yet, he couldn’t ignore the advice of his men, so he decided to move along with a few guards of the 1st squad.
