Chapter 28: The Open Conspiracy

Chapter 28: The Open Conspiracy

After a friendly chat with Komit, Airael left his tent feeling quite satisfied, accompanied by Arthur.

On their way back, Arthur watched Airael, who strolled ahead with such ease, and felt a storm brewing inside him.

Once they reached their tent, he couldn’t hold back any longer and quickly stepped forward, saying, “Ailia, do you think we were maybe a little… too blunt just now?”

He could see that Komit wasn’t too happy about their chat.

Given the situation, it seemed that Komit’s agreement was hardly sincere.

“What do you think we should’ve done instead?”

“I think we should have been more tactful.”

“But it’s too late for that now.”

Airael innocently replied, “Honestly, I believe being straightforward is better. It saves effort, worry, and time.”

Arthur sighed, “While it makes things easier for us now, it might lead to some tricky situations later on.”

“Athur, you shouldn’t overthink it. Haven’t you realized? When dealing with people like General Komit, you can’t talk about morals. They’re all about personal gain. Only when it doesn’t contradict their interests will they discuss ethics with you.”

Arthur fell silent.

He knew all this very well.

Airael didn’t say anything more and sat down by the bed.

Then she looked at Arthur, who still stood frozen in place, and said, “Having a sense of morality is good, but when it comes to things unrelated to ethics, if you inject morals into the mix, the only ones who will get hurt are you and those around you. So sometimes, you have to be ruthless in your actions.”

“I get it, Ailia.”

Arthur sighed again.

His heart felt tumultuous.

Even though he’d prepared himself beforehand, it seemed his preparation was far from sufficient.

Ailia was right; there was no room for kindness in political skirmishes.

If you stick to morals while others don’t, you might end up suffering.

Seeing that Arthur had changed somewhat, Airael appeared indifferent on the surface but let out a deep sigh inside.

What she had said to Arthur was also a reminder to herself.

Morality doesn’t mean you must abandon it completely; it means that when it’s necessary to let go, you should let go, and you can always pick it back up later.

To the victor belong the spoils!

As long as you win in the end, the specifics of how you got there aren’t that important.

The next day, Komit publicly announced the conclusion he arrived at after careful consideration.

Naturally, Arthur’s legion would be the main assault force, while the other legions were responsible for supporting him in the attack on Malong Fortress.

The mages from the Tower of the Archmage, led by Andrew, were also dispatched specifically to assist Arthur’s legion.

He had put all his chips on Arthur and his legion, hoping they would bring him victory.

After understanding their respective duties, the legion commanders all returned to their own camps.

Although some were quite reluctant, there wasn’t much to say anymore.

Komit and Andrew supported Arthur, and with Arthur’s own capability, they had completely lost their chance to compete.

If they couldn’t be the main attackers, they had to settle for being support.

Even if they couldn’t feast on meat, at least they could sip some soup, right?

If they couldn’t even get soup, then this trip would have been truly pointless.

After returning to their camps, each legion commander began holding meetings with their subordinates.

With battle strategies changing, it was necessary to make sure not just every soldier but at least the lower-ranked officers understood.

Only then could the commanders effectively direct the troops in battle.

Once the battle started, passing down military orders would become very challenging.

In such times, if certain things were discussed beforehand, it could save a lot of effort during the battle and greatly improve their combat efficiency.

Three days zipped by in no time.

Today was the scheduled day for the attack on Malong Fortress.

Thus, early in the morning, countless pots were boiling in the camp, and soldiers woke up early, eagerly awaiting breakfast.

After filling their stomachs, the soldiers were gathered by their divisions and set off for the battlefield.

“Bang bang bang!…”

Noticing the humans’ movements, the orc on duty immediately rang the old alarm bell hanging on the city wall.

The alarm echoed, causing the orcs and dark elves within the fortress to tense up instantly.

After merely three leisurely days, they were understandably a bit less vigilant than before.

“Hurry up! You lazy idiots, get to your positions!”

The orc officer in command shouted at the slow-moving orc soldiers.

In contrast, the dark elves appeared to be more civilized.

While they too urged their soldiers to hurry, at least there weren’t any unpleasant curses flying around.

However, hearing the orc officers’ foul language, some dark elves felt quite enraged, even though they knew the insults weren’t directed at them.

Rude!

Putting banter aside, while the human army was arranging themselves, most of the orcs and dark elves on the city wall had already taken their positions, with the remaining ones quickly on their way.

Gazing at the grand fortress ahead, Komit finally issued the order to attack after all his divisions were ready: “Relay the order to all divisions to launch an immediate assault on Malong Fortress.”

After the order was transmitted through the messengers, all divisions sprang into action.

Although they were all moving, Arthur, as the main attacker, didn’t rush into an assault on Malong Fortress.

His attack timing had been strategically arranged to be later.

Prior to that, it was essential for the supporting forces to draw as much fire as possible.

The more fire they attracted, the easier his appearance would be in the future.

However, Arthur’s legion wasn’t completely idle either.

The mages who were supposed to assist them temporarily redirected their efforts to other legions.

It turned out that having mages assist in the offensive or defensive operation was indeed beneficial.

On defense, various magical shields sprang up without fail.

As for offense, the mages unleashed powerful magic attacks against the enemy without needing to place themselves in the line of fire.

“What are the humans up to?”

Observing the human armies flanking from both sides, the Beast King asked Mork beside him.

Although both sides had been active, the middle had yet to make a move.

“Are they attempting a flanking maneuver?”

To the Beast King, it seemed as though the humans were concentrating their forces on the sides, with many troops gathered there.

“No! They’re playing a grand scheme.”

Mork shook his head in response.

The Beast King looked at him with confusion, waiting for an explanation.

“The assaults on both sides are likely feints, but if we allow them to go unchecked, those feints will quickly turn into main attacks.”

Mork explained.