Chapter 158. Progress
William nodded, then turned to look at the gathered Legends beside him. He had no intention of waiting passively.
Once the gears of war began to turn, they could not be stopped.
William turned and gave a low-voiced order to the ssenger knight.
“Transmit my command. All armies are to launch a full-scale assault on the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom. In particular, the forces attacking the Royal Territory under the main offensive of the Gold Legion are not to hold back. Take it as quickly as possible.”
He paused, then added, “Transfer all Legendary Combatants from Iron Skull Fortress. Every one of them is to reinforce the Royal Territory front.”
Xilan stood to one side, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes. Just as he was about to speak, William shook his head at him.
“Lord Xilan, the Demigod undead is being restrained by the Grand Elder, Lady Aiya, and the Ancient Council that will soon arrive. For the ti being, we do not need to divide our attention.”
“Our top priority is to take the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom and consolidate its resources. Whether we are nurturing more Royal Clan powerhouses or forming a Sky Legion in the future, we will need a sufficient foundation.”
Xilan looked at the decisiveness in William’s eyes. After a mont of thought, he smiled.
“Your Highness is right. I was overthinking it.”
He bowed and accepted the order.
“I will lead the team out at once.”
Very soon, the Legendary Powerhouses of Iron Skull Fortress finished assembling. Under Xilan’s command, they turned into streaks of light and flew toward the Silver Oakleaf Royal Territory.
Their auras were like drawn swords, instantly piercing through the oppressive heaviness hanging over the battlefield.
William stood atop the city wall, staring in the direction of the advancing army, his gaze sharp.
Since the Demigod undead was being held in check by stronger experts, they had to seize this opening and completely sever the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom’s foundations.
He would give them no chance to recover and regain their strength. Once he had annexed the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom, his next step would be to attack the Reinhardt Kingdom.
William looked down at the intelligence report in his hand, lightly tapping the map marker for the Northern Frontier with his fingertip.
At a ti like this, the Reinhardt Kingdom had actually chosen to interfere, sending legions to try to seize the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom’s Northern Frontier, forming a standoff with Duke Tuso’s forces. Clearly, they wanted to take advantage of the chaos and claim a share of the spoils.
“They certainly know how to pick their mont.”
He let out a cold laugh, then wrote a note on the report.
He ordered Duke Tuso to hold the line and not launch a proactive offensive, to prioritize stabilizing the territory already occupied, and to wait until the situation in the Royal Territory beca clear before redeploying troops for support.
After setting aside the intelligence from the Northern Frontier, he turned to the battle reports from the Western Frontier and Southern Frontier, and his expression eased slightly.
Progress in both regions was going smoothly. Fortresses were falling one after another, and the front lines continued to advance. At this pace, fully unifying the kingdom within three months would not be difficult.
As for the Royal Territory, although resistance remained fierce, the First Gold Legion and the Second Gold Legion were like two sharp blades. With the impact of the Monster Legions and the support of the Legendary Combatants led by Xilan, their offensive was steadily accelerating.
The Silver Oakleaf Kingdom’s remaining forces had been compressed into the area surrounding the Royal Capital. They were already at the end of their strength.
“We can begin preparing the resource consolidation plan ahead of ti.”
William spoke to the attendant at his side.
“Have the logistics departnt tally the mines, grain depots, and armories in the reclaid territories of the Western Frontier and Southern Frontier. Compile a list and submit it.”
The attendant accepted the order and withdrew.
William walked over to the war sand table and moved the flags representing the Kroll Legions several spaces forward, covering half the territory of the Silver Oakleaf Royal Territory.
He knew that Reinhardt’s little maneuver was only a sideshow. The true key was still to break through the hard bone that was the Royal Territory as quickly as possible.
Only by completely controlling the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom’s core resources could he gain a firm foothold in future plans.
Whether it was to face the possible return of the undead threat or to resist the covetous eyes of other kingdoms, only an elite legion forged from the resources of two kingdoms, along with more Domain-Level Powerhouses capable of standing on their own, could serve as the strongest guarantee.
Sunlight stread through the clouds outside the window and fell across the war sand table, as though foretelling that this land was about to welco a new order.
A month later, good news arrived from the Western Frontier.
Duke Lane had taken the last Main City in the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom’s Western Frontier. The remaining nobles had either surrendered or fled with their private troops toward the border shared with the Reinhardt Kingdom.
Marquis Peter was no less impressive in the Southern Frontier. Not only had he eliminated all resistance, he had also taken over several major ports in the southern part of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom, adding three new mariti trade routes to the Kroll Kingdom.
Only the standoff in the Northern Frontier continued.
Although the Reinhardt legions had not launched a direct attack, they had built temporary fortresses along the border, making it perfectly clear that they intended to swallow the Northern Frontier for themselves.
Following William’s orders, Duke Tuso strengthened the defensive line on one hand while sending light cavalry to harass the enemy’s supply lines on the other. The two sides traded blows back and forth, and for the mont, a fragile balance remained in place.
The war in the Royal Territory, anwhile, had entered its most deadlocked phase.
The remaining mbers of the Silver Oakleaf royal family had withdrawn into the Royal Capital, relying on the supplies stockpiled within the city and their final band of diehard loyalists to make a desperate last stand.
The Gold Legion had been repelled several tis in its attempts to storm the city. Corpses were piled beneath the walls, and even the air was thick with the stench of decay.
“William, the Royal Capital’s defensive magic array was reinforced with imnse effort by generations of kings. Forcing an assault would cost us far too many lives.”
There was a hint of weariness in Xilan’s ssage.
“Our Legendary Combatants have been fighting continuously, and three of them are already wounded.”
William looked at the battle report, his fingertip pausing for a mont over the words “Royal Capital magic array.”
He recalled the intelligence extracted from captured Silver Oakleaf nobles. The core of that array was hidden in the Royal Ancestral Shrine beneath the royal palace.
“Order the legions to rest and reorganize for the ti being.”
He picked up his pen and wrote his reply.
“Send the Shadow Guard into the Royal Capital. Find a way to locate the entrance to the Ancestral Shrine. There is no need to rush the siege. Wait for the Shadow Guard’s report.”
anwhile, the direction of Magic Serpent Fortress remained steeped in an eerie calm.
Although the intertwined glow of the golden barrier and green life force occasionally fluctuated, it had never collapsed.
The Ancient Council’s reinforcents had yet to arrive, but William could feel that the undead aura in that region seed to be slowly growing, like a lurking beast quietly gathering strength.
“Your Highness, a ssenger from the Elf race has arrived,” the attendant reported softly.
William looked up and saw an elf wearing garnts embroidered with green-leaf emblems walk into the council chamber, holding an ancient scroll in his hands.
“Lady Aiya asked to deliver this to Your Highness.”
The elf bowed.
“She said that because so problems arose on the Angel side, the Ancient Council only found out recently. They are expected to arrive at Magic Serpent Fortress within seven days.”
“And this is what you will need to do after you go to our holand.”
William accepted the scroll and unfolded it. The writing was in the Elven language, and its aning was that he was to use his talent to select suitable elves.
“Please convey my thanks to Lady Aiya for .”
William said in a low voice, “I will definitely handle the matter she needs done. Tell her to put her mind at ease.”
After the elf departed, William placed the scroll into his Spatial Ring, then turned once more to the map of the Royal Territory.
He knew they did not have much ti left.
They had to completely take the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom before the surrounding kingdoms could react. Otherwise, once the Kroll Kingdom found itself attacked from both front and rear, it would be plunged into irredeemable ruin.
Outside the council chamber, the horns for the assembly of the legions rang out.
That was the signal that the newly reorganized Knight Orders were about to head for the Royal Territory front. It was also the final ultimatum William was issuing to the remnants of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom.
No matter the cost, this war had to be won.
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