Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
When Han Jin came back from the hole, the knights had retreated; only Sunier and the others were still waiting. Everyone was used to Han Jin rising out of the ground unprompted, except for Ronning, who had just arrived, and looked very shocked when he saw Han Jin. “What’s under here?” Cessacioun asked worriedly.
“I met a few monsters.”
“Monsters? What kind of monsters?”
Han Jin gave a brief description. “They are minotaurs and evil-eyes!” Sunier exclaimed.
“Do they belong to Abyssal Race?” Han Jin asked. Though the monsters he had met were not that strong, they did possess some advantages.
“Yes!” Sunier paused. “Where are the monsters now?”
“I took care of them.”
She was startled but immediately said in a serious tone, “Raphael, next time you encounter such things, do not fight on your own! Your battle experience is… poor, and…”
“VERY poor, in fact,” Moxinke interrupted.
Both Han Jin and Sunier rolled their eyes at him. “And you don’t know their characteristics. What if some accident happened?!” Sunier continued.
“I had no other choice.” Han Jin shrugged. “This hole goes straight up and down. You can’t get down to help me.”
“Idiot… Sunier is concerned about you!” Moxinke patted Han Jin’s shoulder. Moxinke had been acting quite strangely lately. He seemed to be worried about Han Jin ever since he had found out that Sunier and Ronning shared lots of common ideas, and he would attempt to match-make Han Jin and Sunier from time to time. It might be that he didn’t want their fertile water to flow into others’ field.
“Where did the monsters came from?” Ronning slowly asked.
“They were subordinates of Zaganide.” Han Jin let out a slight sigh. “I didn’t expect that the underground city would be so vast! All of you should go back to town first. I still need to go down and wipe off the marks left they left.”
Sunier suddenly remembered something and said, “We must control the farmers. Do not let them leak out this news, not even a small bit! Otherwise, Zaganide will be sure to send his men here again if he finds out there’s a hole directly leading to Ninth Town!”
“But…” Reg was stunned. Then he worriedly said, “I had the soldiers drive the farmers away!”
“I stopped several farmers on my way here,” Ronning said.
Han Jin cast a glance at him. He had little contact with Ronning, and had never thought that he was such a meticulous man.
“That’s good.” Sunier let out a sigh of relief and continued, “The situation for us… will be more difficult in the future.”
“Why?” Moxinke was puzzled.
“Most of Zaganide’s troops are creatures of the darkness. This underground city will no doubt become a strong base of operations for him. We can’t defeat him in the darkness, but he can attack the cities on the ground selectively as he wishes.” Sunier slowly said, “If he has enough time, his military strength is sure to expand rapidly.”
Ronning paused for a moment and suddenly showed an ecstatic expression. “I have an idea, Young Marshal!!” he hastily said.
“What is it?” Reg was astonished. He seldom saw such an expression on Ronning’s face.
“For Zaganide, his fundamental goal is to protect the underground city, right?”
“Yes. So what?”
“If we know this, others such as Dismark of Holy Crown City, the four castellans of Beitman, and the current ally of Zaganide, Lord Malith of Depew City, must have realized this as well!” Ronning moved on, “No one would want to see Zaganide expand his strength unopposed! It is said that Lord Malith has abandoned his attack against the Holy Crown City so as to allow Dismark to concentrate his energy in dealing with Zaganide. I even suspect that Malith has secretly made an agreement with Dismark. Otherwise, how would it be possible for Dismark to launch counter attacks against the underground city so constantly?”
“What you just said has nothing to do with us, does it?” Moxinke twitched his mouth. He believed that this man, who dared to seduce Sunier, must be suppressed.
“No one wants to see Zaganide occupy the underground city. Under such immense pressure, Zaganide himself would be forced to put all his military forces in defense of his foundation!” Ronning looked more passionate. “In that case, who’s going to defend Black Raven City?!”
They were all shocked and kept silent.
“Young Marshal! We must expand our battlefield outside of here!!” His voice became louder and louder, “We are having a hard time here! Beitman has been divided for years and all the four castellans hold deep-rooted influence. If you rashly launch a war against any of them, you are sure to be denounced and rebuked by all the people. They will consider you Zaganide’s accomplice. If you take no action during this stalemate, neither you or me, can win them in terms of scheming. So why not play our strength?!”
“Expand our battlefield outside of here! Black Raven City is our hope!” His voice echoed in the grove. Apparently, he was extremely excited at this moment. “You have caused the four castellans quite a headache, but if you decide to attack Black Raven City, they will surely support you. After all, it’s a great opportunity to send you away so they could gain complete power here! In addition, everyone hates Zaganide’s Vampire Guards for their senseless slaughter. If you decide to attack Zaganide’s nest, both the soldiers and the people will stand by your side! Countless men and women will be grateful to and admire you. And when we come back someday in the future, even if they do not help us, they will not support the four castellans.”
“Black Raven City is a vast and fertile land, and should have been a very prosperous city if it were not for Zaganide’s cruelty and brutality! As long as we choose the right time to attack, we can not only occupy the city without making the slightest effort, but also occupy a large amount of resources hoarded by Zaganide. Times of war like this produces numerous displaced refugees. I am confident that we can restore the city to its former prosperity after a period of rebuilding!”
“Bravo!” Sunier applauded.
“Bravo!” Cessacioun followed.
“But there is still one thing I am worried about, Young Marshal.” Ronning heaved a long sigh and said.
“What is it?”
“Dismark clearly realizes the significance of the underground city and must have it under strict defenses. What I am wondering is: how did Zaganide find out about the secret of the underground cities!” Ronning paused. “If… someone leaked the news deliberately to Zaganide, I am sure he must be an extraordinary person! He must have great ambition, strong insight, and excel at planning. It is possible that he is also eyeing Black Raven City right now. Though the continent is in chaos, the influence of the various lords of the territories has been established for a long time, and there is very little living space for someone who aspires to carve out a territory of their own. Despite such circumstances, this person still managed to figure out a way to seize control of Black Raven City… He will be a formidable enemy, Young Marshal!”
“It’s true that someone deliberately leaked this secret to Zaganide,” Sunier said.
“You know about this person?” Ronning was greatly shocked.
“Yes. And you know him too. This extraordinary person you mentioned… is our prophet, Lord Raphael.” Her expression turned even more odd.
“You… you…” Cessacioun looked at Han Jin and then fixed his eyes on Ronning. “You are going a little too far with your deduction, Ronning. Raphael was…” He wanted to explain for Han Jin but suddenly lost his tongue. When Han Jin had told them about this, he said he just wanted to create more chaos. It was unlikely for him to have thought so far. But if what Ronning had said was true, then Han Jin really had a formidable mind! Cessacioun was not sure of this himself. Maybe Han Jin really did plan for all of this and simply didn’t mention it to them.
“I thought you were just a magician and a puppet manipulator. Never expected that you would also be an outstanding…” Ronning stopped. He wanted to call Han Jin a military strategist, but he looked to be no more than a leader of a small mercenary team, with his only shining spot being his close friendship with Reg. But neither could he believe that Han Jin knew nothing about military affairs. His plot was truly malicious but also clever. He had thrown a bait to Zaganide that Zaganidecould not refuse, and had created an opportunity that should not have existed. Really, only the word ‘miracle’ could be used to describe his planning.
“Ha…” Han Jin gave a dry laugh. He was not stupid and knew what Ronning wanted to say. But the fact was that he really had not thought so far ahead. Now, he couldn’t really deny or accept his compliment, which made the situation quite awkward.
“Please make the decision, Young Marshal!” Ronning’s eyes shifted to Reg. “This is the best chance for us!”
“I know nothing about how to fight a war, but I trust you.” Reg smiled. “Follow your judgement!”
“Understood, Young Marshal!” Ronning replied energetically. Since the day he had been saved by Reg, Ronning had been dedicated to planning for Reg. But he was frustrated about their future. They could not launch a war without reasonable ground, nor did they have the materials and resources to compete with those crafty castellans. Though those castellans seemed lacking in terms of military prowess, they were quite good at making life difficult for others. Now, Ronning finally saw hope for their rapid rise!
Reg shifted his eyes from Ronning to Han Jin. “Was it really you, Raphael? Did you leak the news to Zaganide?”
“Yes! It’s him.” Sunier, Cessacioun, and Moxinke simultaneously nodded before Han Jin could reply.
“And he told us that he did this just to create chaos! But he didn’t tell us what we should do after said chaos was created,” Sunier added.
“We had no power at the time,” Cessacioun said. “Even if he had told us this, it would have been meaningless.”
“You…” Reg was speechless. Ronning’s words were still ringing in his ears. It was hard to describe how shocked he was at this moment.
“I now understand why Raphael said… he wanted to become the lord of his own territory,” Moxinke muttered in a low voice.
“If what Ronning has said is true, and if you really had thought of all this, haha… you would be equal to the likes of the God of War Abraham if he they were still alive!” Cessacioun stared at Han Jin.
“Well, we should go back.” Sunier cast a meaningful glance at Han Jin and turned toward the town.
