Novel Full Chapter 185 - Sneaky (7)
In the end, the enemy army suffered another crushing defeat. After being ambushed by the cavalry, they killed three thousand soldiers while they only killed around one thousand. They still had the backing and the almost full power of Neles state left. Still, they had already lost five thousand of their original fifteen, and three were injured and won't be able to fight for at least a week. As for things on the defenders' side, they had lost three thousand, and the other three were wounded. So, they had the upper hand. Thanks to that, Jean invited the Captains and the leaders of all units to have a talk. It seemed like serious business between the important people, so Billy didn't have anything to do with it, or so he thought... Marie had other plans.
"Come with me, kiddo," Marie said.
"Why?" Billy asked.
"You look like someone who has a good memory, so you will explain to the others the contents of the meeting," Marie replied. "That would be too much of a pain to me."
In the end, Billy sighed. It wasn't like it was big news for Marie to be too egocentric. Still, she should learn to have some restraint… the life of a guild master where many obeyed her didn't do well with someone with such personality. Nevertheless, Billy went with her. He wanted to hear what Jean was thinking. However, he didn't have any brilliant plan.
"We have been winning some important battles, so I was planning to send a message and negotiate the terms of a truce," Jean said. "While it looks like we have the upper hand, we can't just attack the enemy and capitalize all those victories. It is a bit soon, but the enemies' faith in their victory must be pretty shaken."
Some of the soldiers of the Toles state might be, but the others from Neles state wouldn't. Besides, given how much they trained monsters, they must have some experience dealing with monsters to tame them…
In any case, some of the Captains and leaders of some units didn't like that idea. Since some of these best friends and allies were killed by the enemy. They wanted to eliminate all the enemies since they started two wars as well. It was comprehensible, but Jean didn't change his mind about his idea. Nor did he get a better idea from them.
When he returned, he explained what happened to the others, and Alexander also seemed pretty angry… It was understandable. While that move would save many lives if it worked, the people that Alexander really wanted to save were no longer alive.
"Alex, what would you do in his place?" Nikola asked while patting his son's back.
Alexander couldn't reply… he knew the answer, but saying it out loud would make him feel like he was betraying his fallen friends. For the rest of the night, he stayed silent, but he returned to be the usual Alexander when morning came. He is either was good to change gears, or he was good at hiding his feelings now. Nevertheless, even after breakfast, they didn't notice any changes in the enemy army, so Jean hesitated in sending a messenger.
"Let's wait and see for a while longer…" Jean said to his Captains.
Billy reunited with the other guild masters to check what they were thinking about the situation. However, they had no idea what was happening. Given Ignace's behavior in the last few years, even if he had some leeway with supplies and time, he wouldn't waste a single day giving Jean's army time to rest and recover, even if his army would benefit most from it.
Around noon, some crazy movements began to happen in the enemy's camp. Still, it wasn't the movements of an army being mobilized. It was confusion a d discord among their own ranks. It seemed that some soldiers began doubting Ignace's leadership and actions after losing his right-hand man.
"I don't like this…" Marie said. "Something stinks.
Billy wanted to say that he just farted, but it wasn't time for jokes. In any case, the commotion died down after a few hours, and the enemy's army sent the signal that they were going to send a messenger. Now Billy could understand why Marie said that something was stinking… was that some sort of trick to kill Jean? That was low, even for the enemies' standards. That being said, the best soldiers and adventurers reunited around Jean while a single messenger was approaching their camp. It was one of the beastmasters… he didn't have his crossbow and whip with him, but he had three bags on his back, and they were kind of wet while dripping some liquid… Billy didn't like that. So, he glared at the enemy the whole time.
"Lord Jean, my name is Pablo, and I am the messenger of our leader," Pablo said and bowed slightly. "First of all, our leader says that he regretted his past actions in taking sides in this conflict. As a sign of his sincerity, he sent some gifts…"
After that, the man dropped the bags on the floor, and three heads began to roll, making everyone show disgusted expressions. They belonged to Ignace, his son, and the former Count Fabrice.
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After hearing about Manuel's death, Ignace broke everything inside his tent. He had spent so much money to raise him into a good commander, and he couldn't take down a single brat… the invasion was over. After two defeats like that in a row and losing his right-hand man, his ally, the Neles state wouldn't back them anymore, and now they were at their weakest… all because of some wildlings… his son and Fabrice were in the room, but they had yet to believe that had happened. As if things weren't troublesome enough, one of the commanders of the Neles army was coming to talk with them.. In the end, there wasn't much talk… he just cut their necks.