Chapter 657: Protection End

Proofread by Thomas F

Ashton Harbor

“One more day, and we could finally attack,” said the man with the staff.

One could feel the joy in his voice as he spoke.

“We have waited too long. It’s time to attack!” the armored man said with a smile. However, a moment later, his expression turned serious.

“Any movement from Dustorn Fortress?” he asked, and the man with the staff shook his head.

The island had asked them to be careful. There is a high chance that the man in the fortress might interfere this time.

Even if he personally didn’t come. He has people powerful enough to deal with them.

That is why they are extremely careful. They wouldn’t want to do anything that would provoke that man. Vris’alud is powerful, but so is the empire, even in its current state.

The man didn’t interfere in their business except to provide small help, but he is leaving the region now, and that changes things.

That is why, out of caution, they will take back Panar first; they have already sent the force in Almin, which will attack Panar when the protection expires.

Once Panar was conquered, they would move Greltheaven and the jewel of Renwell.

Velvet Garden.

…

City Wall, Greltheaven.

“We are ready. If the undead come, we will fight them,” said Stone as he appeared beside me.

I didn’t turn. I kept looking at soldiers outside the city laying out the mines. We had not sealed the city yet; people were still coming and going, mostly going.

Though they are using the port, a minority of them use this route.

Still, we had marked the boundaries and kept the soldiers on watch, so none would accidentally wander into the mines.

“Let’s hope Panar is also ready; they will be the first to fight them,” I sighed.

We have received intelligence that they will first attack Panar. The horde that will do it is building at Almin, while the horde that will attack Greltheaven is in Ashton Harbor.

“We are taking too much of the risk with Panar; we shouldn’t keep our best people there,” said Cardin. It wasn’t the first time he said it.

“We should at least call back, Colonel Axseer,” added Cardin.

He is right; Axseer, Barb, and Uram are there. All three have great potential. It is risky to keep them all in Panar, but we are doing that.

“Let them bathe in the blood of the enemies; it is the only way through which they will reach their greatest potential,” replied Stone.

Stone and Cardin are so different from each other.

One was a regular guard before he had to fight with everything he had and survive the undead invasion that took everything from him. At the same time, the other was a lifelong officer who preferred a cautious approach.

“I would have liked at least one of them in the city, but they are needed at Panar to have the hope to defend it,” I said.

I don’t like this, but I know it is necessary. Most of our powerful are in Grelteaven, along with powerhouses like Stone, Trik, and others.

I want Panar to fight the undead and survive. If I didn’t have confidence, I would have emptied the city already.

I captured Panar to become a wall between Greltheaven and its enemies. I had prepared for it, investing innumerable resources.

So it could stand strong when the enemies come.

I turned toward the east, the other side of the river, activating three spells. Instantly, the blurry becomes clear, like I am standing on the other side.

The construction activity was booming a week ago, but now there is none.

I closed it down yesterday. It is too dangerous, especially when there is no army to protect it. I have focused all my efforts on protecting the city.

I wish I had half a year more. It would have been much better then.

I had not even opened the plots to sell. It would have generated money for the city.

Valentina had asked me to open them a few weeks ago, but I held off until certain infrastructure was in place. Now, completing that task will be much more difficult.

I pushed those thoughts away and turned off the spells before leaving the wall.

Soon, I was in my carriage, moving toward important places. I was moving toward the barracks, and then it would be hospitals and a few other sites.

I have time till the afternoon before I will get swamped by the meetings.

“Anything?” I asked. To that, Zela shook her head.

Valentina and Robin have been in the Dustorn Fortress for days, lobbying for protections. There is some progress, but not as much as we would like.

They are keeping us hanging.

I would have liked to have Valentina back; she is an excellent asset in the battle.

Although our chances of success are small, we need to keep trying. Time will give us a greater chance of survival.

Hours passed, and I completed the checks of the barracks, hospitals, and a few other things before returning to the city hall.

“Ask Ina to call me,” I said to Zela.

A few seconds later, I felt her connection. She has an amazing skill called Brief Call. It lets her talk to me live, and using the skill for communication is more secure than using the spell.

‘Master Silver,’ she greeted.

“How are things, Ina?” I asked. The name of the skill is a Brief, so we didn’t have much time for pleasantries.

‘Good. We are ready for the enemy,’ she replied. I could feel the steel in her voice.

I didn’t ask her to come back to the city. She is the governor and needs to be in her city, but I wouldn’t have stopped her if she had asked to return.

She didn’t; I don’t think it even came to her mind.

“Have you checked everything?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “I personally inspected the supplies and made rounds at the hospital. Everything is as it should be.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but smile. I trained Ina well; she verified everything with her own eyes.

In the war, even a small thing could result in countless casualties.

“Good, be careful,” I said. “Thank you, Master Silver,” she replied, cutting the call while I lay back on my chair with my eyes closed.

I want to practice the aura, but I barely have a few minutes before I have to leave for the meeting.

“Deerpond and Port Midlet had finalized their alliance,” informed Zela. I didn’t open my eyes as I heard that, but I sighed.

In the immediate term, the alliance is useless.

They can’t send their forces to each other; that would be suicide. They will not help if one gets attacked because the undead have enough force to send another horde at them.

The locations of the cities and the distance between them also make things difficult.

That doesn’t mean the alliance is useless; it’s far from it.

It would help them tremendously in the medium to long term. They could share information, practice together, and share resources, which would be very helpful.

I am surprised that they could sign the deal so quickly, given that they are not friendly to each other.

Everybody has ambition. Lord of Deerpond had publicly stated that he wanted the whole region under him. Zanav replied with similar words, albeit using crass language.

It created a short diplomatic incident between the two cities not long ago.

I opened my eyes and stepped out of my office; the next few hours were a whirlwind of meetings after meetings.

It was past ten, and I had some free time when Carla appeared.

“You didn’t have lunch today,” said Carla as dinner appeared before us. “I was busy,” I replied with a smile.

“Avoiding lunch wouldn’t help you much. You need to eat to be in a perfect state to fight against the undead,” she said, her gaze pointing.

I didn’t reply to that.

Since I am wrong, arguing wouldn’t be wise; besides, I want to have a peaceful dinner because I don’t know what my next meal will be like.

I finished the meal and talked to her for a few minutes before she left, while I, too, had left for the meeting.

Time passed, and soon, it was only a minute to midnight.

I am sitting in a conference room with the military’s top brass, waiting with bated breath.

Nobody spoke; everyone looked at the clock as the seconds ticked by until it was twelve.

“Protection has expired,” I stated.

…

Reja Harbale, Dustorn Fortress

Click!

As the guards opened the door, I walked inside and saw the Marquess standing at the window.

“The preliminary agreement is finished,” I informed him, and handed him the file.

I have been negotiating it with Imperial’s teams for the past four days, spending nearly fifteen hours on it. Both parties want it finished so Marquess can return to the mainland as soon as possible.

The Marquess and Imperials need to approve this. If they do, it will be signed tomorrow, and we will move toward the main agreement.

I don’t think that would be a problem.

“It’s good,” he said a few minutes later, and I felt relieved. Though I knew he would accept it, there was a worry in my heart.

I took the file and looked at him. He is looking toward Ashton Harbor.

The undead are attacking today before dawn, if the intelligence is to be believed.

“The region’s cities are waiting for your response,” I said. The city representatives had been in the fortress for a couple of days.

They all want one thing: to stop the undead.

While some want Marquess to vanquish them outright, others just want him to stop them from attacking till he leaves the region.

Vanquishing is out of the question.

We could do that; Marquess didn’t even need to lead the army personally, but the consequence of doing that would be grave enough that even Marquess wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Vris’alud is not to be trifled with.

The second option is much easier; the undead would be wise to listen if he spoke.

“You should stop the undead; it wouldn’t look good on us if they captured any city,” I added.

It was fine since they didn’t cross the river, and our responsibility was against the Tabes, but now things are different.

Soon, we’ll be entrusted with defending one of the empire’s most critical fronts. If he allows even a single city to fall to the undead, it will reflect poorly on him. Some mainland people are already accusing him of inaction against the undead threat.

Even the crown prince had said that to his close advisers.

“We will, but first, they have to show us they are worthy of our protection,” he replied finally, while I just shook my head and sighed.

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