Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Chapter 173: Karallant’s Plan
Chapter 173: Karallant’s Plan
Karallant was a wise man when it came to warfare. Other lords might have tried every means possible to storm the city.
But Karallant would not do that.
Besieging a city, in his opinion, was a strategy of last resort.
“Now, let’s discuss the battle plan. Please note that you may offer suggestions for this battle plan, but most will not be adopted. Be mentally prepared.”
Karallant surveyed the lords, ignoring their varied expressions, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
“The Pope may be powerful and wise, but unfortunately, he has no talent for warfare.”
“You can see this from the fact that he concentrated all his troops in Dragonflame City.”
Karallant struck his long sword onto the ground with a clang, his words revealing no hidden disgust or disdain for the Pope.
“My scouts have already figured out the defensive strength within the Royal Capital. The Pope currently has thirty thousand Crusaders, fifty thousand regular Royal Guards, and ten thousand Knights under his command.”
“In addition, there is a Mage Regiment of over six thousand, a Griffin Legion of two thousand, and over a thousand Templar Knights.”
“I can say with certainty that if they were to march out now, we would have to beat a hasty retreat.”
“Fortunately, they are completely unaware of our troop strength.”
“Our forces have just assembled, and the Pope’s scouts cannot infiltrate. Even if they do, they cannot send the information out.”
Karallant said, a cunning smile spreading across his heavily bearded mouth.
To the lords’ confused gazes, he turned to a carriage, pulled off the black cloth covering it with a single motion.
On the carriage was a crimson crystal, as large as a person. Lords with a bit of knowledge recognized it.
It was a terrifyingly large Anti-Magic Stone.
At this moment, it was emitting a faint red light, clearly activated. Its coverage was extensive, disrupting the magic power flow of mages. Under the influence of the Anti-Magic Stone, only scrolls with pre-stored magic power could be used.
No scout could transmit information through magic under the blockade of the Anti-Magic Stone.
Of course, if there was an eccentric individual who had inscribed low-level spells like Message on a precious scroll, Karallant would have to accept his fate.
A commotion suddenly erupted from the rear of the army. Several pigeons carrying copper tubes soared into the sky, but were shot down by archers behind the First Prince who were prepared.
“Foolish!” Karallant snorted, then roared loudly, “Kill these spies.”
Karallant did not need to urge them. The surrounding soldiers drew their swords and, with a few screams, terrified heads rolled to the ground.
The splattering blood stained the ground. The dark army, after a brief disturbance, calmed down again.
Karallant knew there were surely spies still waiting in the army.
But it no longer mattered. The entire area was surrounded by well-trained archers, and not a single flying creature could escape the encirclement.
He gave a cold laugh and ordered the mages behind him to tear open a scroll and set up a soundproof barrier, covering all the lords. Only then did he continue expressionlessly:
“We only have the Dwarf’s artillery and some ordinary catapults for our siege strength at the moment. However, one side of the Royal Capital’s city wall has dozens of Destruction-class Magic Cannons.”
“In the beginning, we absolutely cannot breach the city walls. Therefore, we need to devise some special plans to attack Dragonflame City.”
“Do you have any thoughts on this?”
Faced with Karallant’s question, the lords looked at each other. They thought for a long time, comparing the strength of the enemy and their own forces, considering the terrain of the Royal City. For a time, they were actually clueless.
After a while, one lord raised his hand. He bowed slightly and said hesitantly,
“We could lay siege to the Royal Capital and slowly wear down the Pope’s army.”
Karallant shook his head at the suggestion and rejected it without hesitation:
“Your idea is good, but it cannot deplete the enemy’s strength. If they come out to fight to the death, we still won’t be able to do anything about them.”
“Any other suggestions?” Karallant looked around at everyone.
“We could dig tunnels and attack Dragonflame City directly from the inside. The Pope would never expect it, and we could catch them off guard.”
A lord with a horse-like face raised his hand, looking smug, as if very satisfied with his plan.
However, he was met with Karallant’s disdain and reprimand:
“The armor you’re wearing seems a bit small. It appears to be hindering the blood supply to your brain. I suggest you change to a larger size.”
“…”
Upon hearing this, the lord’s horse-like face turned bright red. He retreated to his seat dejectedly. Even if he were ignorant, he understood that Karallant was mocking him as an idiot.
“I hope none of you will propose such foolish suggestions again. Digging tunnels? Can’t you see the wide moat? Do you intend to drown yourselves while digging a tunnel?”
“Then, Lord Karallant, could we poison the moat?”
“That’s a good idea.” Karallant cast an appreciative glance at the lord who made the suggestion, but he still shook his head and explained:
“Although the moat is the only water source for Dragonflame City, it is too wide. How much poison would we need to prepare to make the water lethal?”
“However, I am pleased that you have offered a big-picture perspective. We can, in fact, contaminate the water source without using poison. There is something more potent than poison, and it does not require large quantities to be effective.”
Karallant said, his brown eyes flashing with a cold light. He spoke in a low voice, word by word:
“That is plague.”
“Some may ask where we can find enough plague to be effective. In truth, we do not need to search. We have a master of plague right beside us, Lord Bobosa.”
The lords began to murmur amongst themselves, their gazes occasionally falling on the black-robed mage with expressions of disgust and fear.
Plague, a devastating disaster for every lord’s territory. It was a problem that even priests could not solve; even purification spells were only effective to a limited extent.
Only corresponding medicine, holy water, and the Life Water of the elves could completely eradicate the plague.
Why were mages who specialized in necromancy like rats scurrying across the street, hated by everyone?
Was it solely because they dealt with the undead daily?
Of course not.
Spreading plague and manipulating souls were the main reasons for their abhorrence.
“Quiet!” Karallant commanded sternly.
“Voice any questions you have, do not discuss them privately.”
“Lord Karallant,” a lord with a goatee, the Earl of Frostwolf, raised his hand. He performed a Knight’s salute courteously, looking directly at Karallant without subservience and questioned:
“I would like to know, if the plague breaks out on a large scale and even our soldiers are affected, what should we do then?”
Earl Frostwolf’s concern resonated with the other lords, who echoed his sentiments.
“Yes, the Pope has holy water, but we have nothing…”
“This method is not very good. Although effective, it is far too dangerous.”
“Lord Karallant, let’s think of another way.”
…
Faced with the lords’ questions, Karallant remained silent. The black-robed mage beside him, Bobosa, instead let out a sinister chuckle.
The eerie laughter sent a shiver down the lords’ spines, and their discussions quieted down.
“Heh heh… Holy water? Heh heh heh, how much holy water can they have? The worse the plague, the more holy water is consumed. They can only use the holy water on their core forces.”
“As for the other ordinary soldiers, I guarantee not one of them will be left alive, heh heh heh…”
Bobosa’s excitement grew, and he began to tremble all over.
He brought a pale, skinny hand to his mouth and gnawed on it with a “kaka kaka” sound. Dark red blood flowed from the small portion of his chin visible beneath his hood, dripping “pata pata” onto the ground.
He gnawed on his own finger, muttering indistinctly:
“You… kaka kaka, don’t be afraid, heh heh heh… kacha kacha… I have it, I have the antidote for the plague~ heh heh heh, don’t be afraid…”
