"The war is coming earlier than I imagined—" Brand replied.
"What?"
"In history, Sir Pallas was a cautious and prudent person. He wouldn't be unaware of his colleagues' disastrous defeat. This alone would make him slow down his plans and beco more careful—" he replied.
"Sir Pallas in history." Char repeated seriously from behind.
Brand glared at him. The young wizard quickly shrank back, fully accustod to his lord's peculiar way of speaking.
"However, this knight not only didn't hold back but has beco more active. This can only an that he has received a hint from Count Rangdenier, which is a precursor to war."
The forr Security Cavalry Captain murmured. A precursor to war? Of course, he knew Count Rangdenier would surely retaliate, but he hadn't expected it to co so swiftly; he hadn't even ntally prepared.
"Lord?" the Silver Elf Princess asked softly from behind.
Brand shook his head, indicating there was no need to be overly worried.
"What should we do?" Yulier beca sowhat anxious. His previous encounters with the highest-level nobles had only been with gentry from the local councils in Ridenburg. As for those on a higher level, he could only look up to them.
And Count Rangdenier's status was not even inferior to Duke Golan-Elsen. Soone at this level, Yulier couldn't even imagine— overall, crushing him would probably be like crushing an ant.
He couldn't help but look at Brand in surprise and uncertainty, wondering why this young man spoke as if it were sothing unrelated to him—as if he had offended not a powerful Privileged Earl, but so country bumpkin instead.
"Afraid?" Brand asked him.
"Not at all." Yulier quickly shook his head. Of course, he was lying; how could he not be afraid?
"Indeed, no need," Brand shook his head, "we could defeat Sir Min Tai, we can similarly defeat Count Rangdenier. An enemy is to be taken seriously, but not feared—"
Yulier nodded.
And the older sister among the Wild Elves who had been holding her notebook thought for a mont, then asked softly, "Is there going to be another war? How much ti do we have to prepare?"
Brand looked at the sky outside the hall and replied, "One month, at most two months. However, Sir Pallas won't give us an easy ti these two months, so priority should be given to preparations."
disha and Char both fell silent. They knew the upcoming war would be the greatest test for this newborn territory. If they survived this battle, they would gain the Royalist's approval.
And once they obtained the Royalist's recognition, the people's morale within the territory could be stabilized.
Otherwise, no matter how they tried to stabilize the people's hearts before that, it would always feel like rootless duckweed. In this ancient kingdom and even in this era of Vaun, legitimacy and righteousness were extrely important. The lower class might appreciate your kindness, but wouldn't necessarily stand by your side.
Brand was well aware of this.
But winning this war with almost no support might not be so simple. He had one to two thousand Human soldiers, and three thousand more Cave Dwellers to consider. Tajib couldn't possibly entrust the fate of the entire tribe to him alone, which ant if Cave Dwellers could commit half their strength, that was already giving him much face.
What could this ager force achieve?
Brand pondered. At this mont, he couldn't judge how much strength Count Rangdenier was preparing to deploy for suppression, but it certainly wouldn't be little.
Sir Min Tai's outco was an alarm.
Though a few defeats typically wouldn't cause serious harm to Count Rangdenier, in this special period, it might. Duke Anlek and the Princess were constantly applying pressure to this old fox, leaving him exhaustedly attempting to cope. If there were another fire in his backyard, it would be utter chaos.
At the very least, his reputation would be ruined.
But not too much; Brand assud Count Rangdenier couldn't afford that disgrace, especially since the Princess and Duke Anlek wouldn't give him the ti. After much thought, Brand realized the old fox would likely turn to external assistance.
He thought for a mont and turned back to ask, "What about Madara?"
"Still quiet," Char replied, "They seem to have retreated from Tonyger."
"Be cautious of those Bone Skeletons. I suspect they're already in collusion with Count Rangdenier," Brand shook his head. Madara showed a clear interest in Funiya, so by Instarlon's usual nature, they wouldn't easily give up. Moreover, if there's an agreent between Rangdenier and them, they would surely leverage it to enlist those Bone Skeletons.
He sighed again. Speaking of which, that kid Instarlon should thank him. If he hadn't helped Instarlon eliminate Kabais, there would've been even more undead exerting seniority in the army.
Brand knew this part of history and was aware that the newly-promoted Instarlon faced the greatest resistance from those Dark Lords in the army. If it weren't for Tagus's support, this young Black Lord wouldn't have achieved much in this war.
But the youth promptly shelved such unrealistic thoughts. If possible, he certainly would prefer being invincible first, then attacking the vulnerable enemy. Unfortunately, the opponent wouldn't provide such an opportunity. Brand asked Char about the people sent to investigate the remnants of the Southern Army of Erune, but the response was disappointing.
Char inford him those sent out either disappeared without a trace or returned with entirely useless information.
Thus, Brand's plan to rely on supporting the Southern Army to restrain Madara and focus on dealing with Pallas could only be temporarily shelved.
…
(PS: It's so fast, this volu has already written a hundred scenes. Seeking so support and encouragent.)(To be continued, to find out what happens next, please visit qidian for more chapters, support the author, and read genuine copies!)
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