A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

216. Chapter 216

"Is His Highness here?"

"Are you in there?"

"Prince! I'm waiting to see you!"

In front of the huge camp, several generals shouted loudly.

These three people are all generals who came to the Crown Prince's command in response to the Crown Prince's summons. Today, they came here early in the morning and wanted to see Garlan.

However, dozens of guards stood firmly around the camp, prohibiting them from approaching, and refused to enter the camp to inform them. They just stubbornly repeated the words "The Crown Prince is resting and does not see anyone" over and over again.

The more these guards behave like this, the more unsure these generals feel.

Thinking of the scene in the camp at this moment, and the terrible possibility, they became more and more restless, and they simply got upset and started shouting at the entrance of the camp.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Please—"

"You rude fellows, how dare you make a noise in front of the Crown Prince!"

A dark-skinned general came over and glared at these people.

Seth happened to have something to report to Caijos, whose camp was nearby. Before he could reach there, he heard the noise here.

Turning around, he saw that these people were making a noise in front of Garlan's camp. Being loyal to Garlan, he immediately came over and angrily scolded these rude people.

The generals looked at each other, exchanged glances, and the leader answered.

"I also know that our behavior is quite rude, but we are eager to see the crown prince, but the guards are unwilling to inform us."

"Didn't they already tell you that the Crown Prince is resting and that you have something urgent to do to disturb His Highness?"

Seth's eyes scanned these people sternly.

"But we have been requesting an audience with the Crown Prince since noon yesterday."

The person who answered kept looking at the tent door, as if he wanted to see inside the tent through the thick curtain.

"In this situation, we are all very confused."

He said in a pleading tone, "We just want to see the Crown Prince once, just one face. Only the Crown Prince's majesty can make us feel at ease."

He said, "It would be fine if we were asked to apologize to His Highness for our rudeness."

The man's tone softened and he still used a pleading tone. Seth, who was originally angry, couldn't say anything.

"If you want to apologize, just apologize here."

Suddenly a voice came from behind. Everyone subconsciously followed the sound and saw the one-eyed knight walking from the side.

Caihos was dressed in armor, and the golden lion badge on his chest that belonged to the cavalry commander sparkled in the sun.

As one of the few remaining cavalry commanders of Aaron Landis, as the commander of the first legion, the king's guards, he is the highest-ranking general here.

As soon as he appeared, everyone looked stern and bowed their heads in salute.

"Interrupting His Highness's rest will only add to the crime."

Keyhos looked at the generals expressionlessly and said, "After your apology, you guys should retreat immediately."

"But……"

The leading general seemed unwilling to do so.

"It's nothing, but His Highness is very busy and has no time to appease you, so please get out of here quickly!"

Kehos's voice turned stern.

Realizing that they had made the cavalry commander unhappy, the generals quickly retreated obediently.

But before leaving, they glanced suspiciously at the Crown Prince's tent, which was surrounded by the guards, as if they were suspicious of something.

Caijos stared at the leaving generals, not knowing what he was thinking, and frowned slightly.

Then, he turned his head and set his sights on the camp door.

There was a heavy look on his face, like worry or something else. The look passed by in a flash. Seth didn't notice it, but the general who kept looking back frequently saw it.

Suddenly, the general's heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, the Crown Prince is also............?

It is said that the Crown Prince met an infected woman that night...

He didn't just leave, but waited nearby.

Not long after waiting, he saw Seth coming out.

He immediately went to meet him.

"Sir Seth, have you seen the Crown Prince?"

He knew that Seth, who came from Tozes City, was quite favored by the crown prince, so he tried to get some information from him.

Seth, who was stopped just after leaving Caijos, was startled. He looked at the unfamiliar general in confusion and shook his head.

"I told you that His Highness is resting, so why should I disturb you?"

"Your Excellency Seth, it seems that the crown prince has not left the camp in the past two days." The general lowered his voice, approached Seth, and asked in a low voice as if to test: "Could it be that... the crown prince is ill and accidentally infected... …”

"presumptuous!"

Seth was furious.

With a clang, the sword on his waist was unsheathed and placed on the man's neck.

"How dare you say such a thing?!"

How dare this guy curse His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with such words!

Are you still spreading such remarks wantonly to shake the morale of the military?

"No, no, I didn't mean that."

Unexpectedly, Seth suddenly rose up and drew his sword. The general with the sword on his neck suddenly became a little scared and quickly waved his hand to explain.

"I'm really just worried about His Highness... After all, in the camp now, uh, I haven't seen His Highness for a few days. I'm very worried... There's no other reason, really!"

"Next time you dare to say such nonsense, even if I will be executed by military law, I will cut off your head first!"

After the general's desperate defense, Seth reluctantly took back his sword.

He said a cruel word to this person with lingering anger, stopped paying attention to this person, turned around and left.

Seth didn't notice that when he left angrily, the general looked at his back with a gloomy expression on his face.

Another day passed, and people came to see Garlan one after another, but they all got the answer that "the crown prince is resting and doesn't see anyone."

And this matter was also inquired into by some interested people.

The atmosphere in the camp became increasingly tense.

The soldiers who kept vigil changed from rotating duty among various armies to all being kept vigil by the Guards.

All soldiers were strictly ordered to stay in their own area and not to move around at will.

A small number of military doctors are constantly checking the physical conditions of the soldiers in different areas every day.

The bonfire burned day and night, constantly boiling water, and filled the entire camp with a strange smell.

Although the superior commander wanted to keep the matter secret, he could only hide it from ordinary soldiers, and even the generals with a slight status were aware of it.

It is said that the Tasda and Elson female warriors accepted the secret order, so they left Aaron Landis's army.

However, it is hard to say whether the soldiers from these two countries left the army because of secret orders or because they had to avoid the camp because of... other things.

The crown prince did not appear in public for two days in a row.

Uneasiness began to spread among the generals.

The generals who were the first to be unable to hold back finally made up their minds after several unsuccessful attempts to see the crown prince.

Late that night, they went together to see the commander of the army, Kalleni.

"You want to leave?"

The veteran with increasingly gray hair on his temples was sitting on a wooden chair with his back straight, making him look even more burly.

A square face has clear contours and firm lines.

He was not angry at these people's requests.

He sat there, looking calm and majestic.

"Excuse me for being rude, Mr. Kalleni, but you and I both know what the situation is in the camp now."

Being stared at by those piercing tiger-like eyes, everyone felt a little nervous.

But when I think about my own purpose, and that terrible...

The leading general—the same general who was angrily scolded by Seth that day—spoke in spite of Kalieni's eyes as cold as a blizzard.

"Lelgana has arrived here. Even if we continue to stay here, the result will not change."

He said, "Wouldn't it be better to let me leave and save some strength for Aaron Landis?"

Lergana.

This is a god that makes all the people of Aaron Landis change their minds when they hear about it.

God of decay and pestilence.

Wherever he went, plague and death followed.

Therefore, when a certain place is hit by a plague, people will say, "Lelgana has come to this place."

"If you insist on leaving us where Lergana is, then we have the responsibility to tell our subordinates the truth."

The general spoke in a low voice.

He was threatening Kalenni. If they did not let them go, they would spread the word about the plague to the entire army.

"Even...the crown prince has been approached by Lergana...about this matter."

He saw the sudden change in Kalleni's face, and became even more determined, becoming more determined to leave this dangerous place.

He was already prepared for the veteran, who always had a strong temper, to be furious and scold them severely. However, what surprised him was that although Kalieni's face was tense, he was not as angry as they expected. Like getting furious.

After a second thought, he understood again.

Kalieni was afraid that they would reveal the secret, so he suppressed his anger.

Thinking of this, he suddenly became more proud of his decisiveness.

"I understand. Now that you have made up your mind, leave quickly."

The old general's face was expressionless, and he scanned the crowd with a pair of tiger eyes.

That look in his eyes was inexplicably terrifying.

"Go away, the sooner the better."

He looked down at the people in front of him with contempt and disdain in his eyes.

"The Crown Prince has no need of you guys who have no loyalty."

Although he was angry at the look in Kalleni's eyes, the general said nothing. After bowing perfunctorily, he immediately left with the others.

What's the point of arguing with an old man who's about to die?

He thought as he walked away quickly, snorting coldly.

So what if you are scolded by the world for running away from battle in the future? After all, life is much more important than reputation.

Anyway, they were not very willing to respond to the summons at the beginning, but when everyone came, they had no choice but to be dragged to Rudas City.

You know, wherever Lergana comes, there are corpses everywhere, and not a single living person is left.

If he continues to stay here, his life will be lost. The name of loyalty is of no use!

The general who was cursing in his heart did not know that after they all left, a man came out from the depths of the camp.

He was a veteran no less than Kallieni. Although he was short in height, his body was very strong. With his messy brown hair like a bird's nest, he glanced disdainfully in the direction of the camp door.

"Those bastards are finally gone?"

If Kalieni is just a strong-tempered but calm person, then the veteran is a person with a fiery temper.

He used the vulgar words above to express his disdain for those people just now.

"Um."

Kalleni still looked expressionless.

"What, you're here to say goodbye just like them?"

The veteran, who was already in a bad mood because of what those guys said, was about to explode at the moment.

"Kaleni, what nonsense are you talking about, you old guy! How can I run away? Even if everyone is dead, I will carry you here!"

he cursed angrily.

"How dare you compare those cowards with me! Those greedy bastards will lick my toes even if they are dirty!"

After cursing for a long time and losing his temper, the veteran sat down on the chair looking at the cold expression on Kalleni, his old enemy from his youth till now.

"Kaleni, I know that you are dissatisfied with me because I did not respond to the crown prince's summons from the beginning."

"But you should know that what we people are most afraid of is meeting a guy who doesn't know how to fight but likes to give blind orders." He sighed, "You know how much I suffered because of this incident. ...Sigh, I was really worried that the crown prince was young and energetic and would lose all our troops. In that case, Aaron Landis would really be hopeless."

He shook his head.

"So, you don't have to test me with words anymore. You know, I have never been afraid of death."

"I don't believe in rumors, I only believe in my own eyes, and I have already seen that the Crown Prince is good, and that is enough."

The old man's voice was low, but loud.

"For Aaron Landis, even if I die here, I won't take a step back!"

Kalieni did not speak, he turned his head and stared at the night sky outside.

The firelight reflected on his gray hair and cast a shadow on his side cheeks.

After a while, he said: "Tonight is destined not to be peaceful... After this night, how many people will come to me tomorrow and say the same thing as those people?"

Kalieni's deep voice seemed to reach the endless darkness outside the window.

It seemed like a question, but also like a sigh.

The veteran standing in front of him was also silent at this moment, casting his gaze into the night.

Everybody knows.

If this army is defeated by the Gastards, Aaron Landis will no longer be able to resist foreign enemies.

Soon, they will be destroyed by the Gastards.

But, so what if you know?

Human nature is always selfish.

After tonight, how many people will be willing to stay here?

In this final moment that decided Aaron Landis' fate.

…………

That night, after receiving Kalleni's permission, the generals couldn't wait to lead their troops and left the army, looking as if they were running away.

The news of these troops leaving naturally alarmed other people.

After a brief period of astonishment, all the generals became thoughtful.

Sleepless night.

The next day, three more armies left one after another.

Everyone already knew it, and everyone was silent.

Everyone believed that the fourth and fifth armies would leave soon.

However, something shocking happened.

No.

No one leaves anymore.

Everyone was sighing at their own stupidity, thinking that someone would leave.

However, until night fell, no one left.

For a moment, all the generals - whether familiar or unfamiliar - looked at each other.