Chapter 328: Risks
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Is it because it’s a long story? Or because you don’t want to tell us?" Christian asked with a smile on his face. This was the first time he needed to take charge as a prince, and he was unsure of what to do. If Wester or Grandon had been in his place, he was sure they would have done a better job. However, he did not know that his attitude was even harder to deal with.
"You misheard me, Your Highness," Augustus said. "This time, the necromancers’ attack alerted every nation. Many people believe that the reason those creatures of death aren’t afraid of death will be the key to winning the war."
"I see," Christian said with a nod.
"Our spies in Country of Mercenaries had some new information. Unfortunately, they were attacked before they could deliver the information. His Majesty had assigned me to investigate this case. The best plan will be to send a few undercover teams into Country of Mercenaries and seek out the surviving spies."
Christian frowned. He thought it was a good plan and was not sure why the generals were all arguing about it.
"This involves the secret spies, Your Highness," one of the generals said loudly. "They should be able to take care of themselves."
"Those spies all have their own ways of communicating," another general agreed. "It’s easier to just send out other spies."
"They’re not wrong," Christian said, turning back to Augustus.
"The only way for us to communicate with Country of Mercenaries was two small communication portals," Augustus said. "Both portals were destroyed, so we cannot contact any of our people there. I’m sure the secret spy organization there would try and find the missing spies, but we have to provide assistance."
"Country of Mercenaries is too big," a general said, shaking his head. "This is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"If General Augustus thinks that those spies are vital to the war, then we should find all of our swordsmen and send them into Country of Mercenaries. Wouldn’t that be more effective?" another general asked. He was supporting Augustus, but in reality he was mocking him.
Christian glanced at Augustus. It seemed like Augustus had not yet won the support of every general. If it had been Baery or Miorich in Augustus’s place, the generals would all be supporting the decision of looking for the missing spies.
It was a known secret that Augustus and Constantine’s promotions were to pave the way for the princes. Augustus may have been a good man, but he had never led an army. The generals did not treat him as their equal.
"I would never back away from a fight against the necromancers, but Country of Mercenaries is infested with necromancers right now," an old general said, stroking his beard. "Going there with less than a full-size army would mean death." Just as swordsmen rely on their swords, the generals rely on their soldiers.
"We will not let our soldiers die in vain!" another general agreed.
"Be quiet!" Augustus bellowed. "Let’s not bicker in front of His Highness." It was hard being the General of Blackania City. He had to use Christian to calm the other generals down. He did not like being so powerless, but it was the only way. Yolanthe told him to solve the case but did not order the return of the spies. This meant that Augustus would not be blamed even if he did not send anyone. The other generals knew this, which was why they were all against the idea of sending men into Country of Mercenaries.
Augustus wanted to organize a dozen teams. Each team needed an intermediate swordsman and other elites in order to survive the necromancer-infested Country of Mercenaries. If Augustus really insisted on sending those teams, he would take away the core members of an entire patrol army.
"Can I see His Majesty’s order?" Anfey suddenly asked. He had a feeling that Yolanthe would not give such an important mission to border patrol soldiers, though there was an excellent choice located close to Blackania City: Alibaba mercenary group. He had Ernest, Entos, and Suzanna on his team. Each one was worth five common soldiers. Black Eleven was originally one of the leaders of secret spies in Country of Mercenaries and knew all the spies posted there. The only thing Anfey could not understand was why Yolanthe sent the order to Augustus and not him.
"It’s burned," Augustus said. "Protocol."
Anfey and Christian glanced at each other. Anfey knew that Christian had made a choice. Christian would become the Duke of Swordbury one day, but that "one day" may not come for years. If Christian didn’t have any achievements, Yolanthe might one day forget his promise to his youngest son. In the past, Anfey had ignored Christian, because he thought that Christian didn’t need any achievements since he was a prince. Now he understood that Christian need these achievements even more because he was a prince.
"I’ll take my people there and find those spies," Anfey said. He needed to go to Moramatch anyway. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.
"What? No," Augustus said, shaking his head.
"Why not? I’ve lived in that country. I know it better than anyone here. I have a piece of land there too. I have the advantage."
"No, no way," Augustus said, still shaking his head.
The generals remained silent. They were all staring at Anfey. They were glad that someone had volunteered, even though their feelings about Anfey may be different. Augustus was more torn than the generals. Anfey was Saul’s student. If something happened, who would be held responsible? Plus, this order was given to him in the first place and had nothing to do with Anfey.
"Don’t worry, we’ll be fine," Anfey said. "General Augustus, I want to put you in charge of Violet City while I’m gone. As you know, I have a lot of enemies there. I want someone I can trust to keep the city safe."
"Count Anfey, you have to think about this," Augustus said. "This isn’t something you can rush into. It is very dangerous."
"I don’t need to," Anfey said, shaking his head. He turned to Christian and asked, "Your Highness, what do you say?"
"It is done, then," Christian said. "Let’s go."
The generals all suddenly fell silent, then they all sprang up and began to speak at the same time. They could let Anfey risk his life and go to Country of Mercenaries because Anfey was of a lower rank. Christian, on the other hand, was a prince and outranked everyone. They could not allow him to risk his life. If something happened to Christian, the generals will all be blamed by Yolanthe.
"Silence!" Augustus bellowed. He turned to Anfey after the generals sat back down and said, "My lord, do you know why His Majesty did not order me to go in, but instead told me to make my own decision? It’s because His Majesty is hesitant as well." Augustus paused and waved his hand. "Bring me the map."
The servants hurried over with a large map and laid it down on the table. The map was covered with small black flags. Around each black flag were multiple grey flags. "Look, Your Highness, my lord. This is a map from this morning. Black flags mark the places already occupied by necromancers. Grey flags are their possible next moves. By now a lot of these grey flags are probably black flags. This is the Transverse Mountains. Do you think you can break through the necromancers’ line?"
The part of Transverse Mountains in Maho Empire already had three black flags and more than twenty grey ones. The flags had completely cut off any path through the mountains. The only way through was to fight. Augustus had made a decision, but he knew that it would be unlikely for those teams to survive the mission. However, the information those spies had was too important to be ignored.
The generals did not want to go, nor did they want Christian to go. Augustus thought that neither Christian nor Anfey should go.
Anfey stood up and walked around Christian. He stopped next to Augustus and whispered something to him. Augustus frowned, then shook his head. "You’re too stubborn, my lord."
"My team is the best candidate," Anfey said. "But I need your support, General Augustus."