Translator: b4Y6Y033Y
As the night deepened, the banquet in the royal palace finally drew to a close.
After bidding farewell to the guests, Queen Isa turned to see Duke Modewen standing stiffly in the shadows.
âYour Majesty, I did everything as you requestedâ¦â Queen Isa greeted him with a smile: âVery well.â
âBut⦠Charlieâ¦â
âWilliam, you are my son. Thus Charlie is naturally my grandson. But this grandson is too mischievous. Of course, I need to help you discipline him. So, in the coming days, Charlie will stay with me. You donât need to worry.â
The scene of Queen Isa referring to William, who was older than her, as her son was indeed eerie, but it was the truth nonetheless.
Duke Modewen wore a pained expression, but he dared not defy Queen Isaâs will. He merely nodded obediently, bowed, and then retreated.
âDidnât expect you to become a grandmother, â Colin teased as he walked over.
Queen Isa gave Colin a coquettish glare and said teasingly: âAre you suggesting Iâm getting old?â
âHow could I? I even suspect that your elven bloodline is so strong that you might become one of the âEternalsâ.â
Queen Isa laughed heartily, shaking her head: âA Half-Elf canât become an âEternalââ
Then, she restrained her laughter and asked somewhat worriedly: âIs it really appropriate to let William handle such a matter? He is⦠not very intelligent.â
âPrecisely because he is ânot too intelligentâ, I chose him,â Colin said with a chuckle, âThe lies of an honest person are like fish bones in rice â hard to detect yet capable of piercing your throat unexpectedly.â
After pondering for a moment, Queen Isa nodded in agreement: âYouâre right. So, what should we do next?â
âNext, of course, is to open the city gates and warmly welcome Marquis Vincent into Silver Moon City.â
Three days later, Viscount Auston left Silver Moon City and arrived at Red Maple Manor.
At this point, the Red Maple Manor had been requisitioned by the forces from the East and had effectively become a large army camp.
Viscount Auston made his way into the manor and found Marquis Vincent enjoying dinner in the restaurant.
âLord Marquis!â
âViscount Auston, you must be tired from your journey. Letâs eat first.â
âYes.â
After quickly yet elegantly finishing their dinner, Marquis Vincent asked: âHow did the trip to Silver Moon City go?â
âOn the surface, everything went smoothly. Queen Isa has agreed to both of your conditions, even Viscount Angler expressed his willingness to pledge loyalty to the East.â
âOh?â Marquis Vincent raised his eyebrows, âWhy would Viscount Angler betray the North Territory?â
âAccording to him, he discovered that Duke St. Hilde was willing to sacrifice Vera to initiate an invasion on the Half-Elf Kingdom. Since Vera is the love of Viscount Anglerâs life, he developed resentment towards Duke St. Hilde.â âJust because of a woman?â Marquis Vincent asked doubtfully.
âYes. Moreover, Veraâs survival at the Half-Elf Palace also owes to Viscount Anglerâs efforts. Naturally, he is worried that his actions will anger Duke St. Hilde and he might even be blamed for losing the Half-Elf Kingdom.â
âHmm, that sounds a bit more reasonable,â Marquis Vincent mused but promptly asked, âThen why did you say âeverything went smoothly on the surfaceâ?â
âBecause I discovered that Viscount Angler is still hiding something from us.â âWhat is he hiding?â
âHe is hiding the fact that there are still eight thousand survivors of the Dark
Cavalry in Silver Moon City!â
âThe Dark Cavalry?â Marquis Vincent immediately sat upright, with a serious look on his face.
Although they had just wiped out the main force of the Dark Cavalry, Marquis Vincent had already developed a psychological shadow towards this frightening North Territory army.
In the inherently advantageous situation of Shadow Gorge, the Pegasus Army had paid nearly twice the casualties to win that ambush.
With such a result, Marquis Vincent felt no joy of victory, only deep humiliation and fear.
Thatâs why he chose to continue leading the army northward, hoping to achieve a satisfying victory in Silver Moon City, to wash away the shame of Shadow Gorge.
But unexpectedly, there was still a remnant force of the Dark Cavalry in Silver Moon City.
âWho gave you this information?â
âWilliam Modewen. â
âDo you trust him?â
âI know William, he shouldnât lie to me. Also, Iâve asked several other half-elf nobles who are friendly with the Eastern Territory, and they all said theyâve seen a squad of the Dark Cavalry entering Silver Moon City.â
âWhat about Queen Isa? What was her attitude?â
âIâm afraid sheâs a puppet set up by the North Territory, what she said may not be reliable.â
Marquis Vincent nodded and frowned, âWhich means they were pretending to surrender to us, trying to numb us with it?â
âIt probably is.â
âHa, how arrogant!â Marquis Vincentâs face distorted with fury, âHow many troops are there in Silver Moon City now?â
âWilliam told me that the Silver Moon Guards of the Half-Elf Kingdom had just undergone a coup and suffered heavy losses. Although they hastily added a batch of recruits to rebuild the strength of thirty thousand. But among them, there may only be twenty thousand veteran soldiers with real combat capabilities.
Apart from that, thereâs only the remnant of eight thousand Dark Cavalry.â
âIâm not worried about the Silver Moon Guards.â Marquis Vincent waved his hand dismissively.
But then, his tone became solemn again: âThe key is the eight thousand Dark Cavalry.â
Viscount Auston nodded in agreement, âYes. William also told me that those eight thousand Dark Cavalry are not actually in Silver Moon City.â
âOh? Where are they then?â
Auston walked over to the military map hanging on the wall, pointed to a place on it, âTheyâre hidden on this hill southwest of Silver Moon City!â
Marquis Vincent squinted and studied the map for a while, then laughed, âSo the North Territory is planning to trick us into entering Silver Moon City, and as we let our guard down, they would control us, and their Dark Cavalry hiding outside the city would suddenly launch an attack from behind and shatter our army.â
âDuke, youâre wise!â
Marquis Vincent snorted, disdainfully saying, âSuch a crude scheme, huh, it seems that the rumored Viscount Angler who studied under Marquis Garcia isnât that great after all!â
âOf course!â Viscount Auston sycophantically said, âMore importantly, even
Marquis Garcia lost to you, what can a mere Viscount Angler stir up.â
Marquis Vincent lifted his chin, with a visibly conceited face, he ordered aloud:
âIâll give you forty thousand men, march towards Silver Moon City tomorrow, and encircle it from outside once you arrive, no matter how the Half-Elves and the North Territory tempt you, donât enter the city.
Seal off Silver Moon City for me, not allowing any soldier to come out!
I will personally lead sixty thousand troops to surround and annihilate the remnants of the Dark Cavalry hiding outside the city.
This time, I want the Dark Cavalry to completely disappear from this
continent!â
âYes, my lord!â