Chapter 163 Plans... And Emergency Quest?

Roderic’s mind began churning.

’I’d expected a siege of sorts,’ he thought. ’But for them to go all-in like this?’

He shook his head slowly.

That was completely outside his expectations.

’They played their cards so badly, we could probably finish them off tonight.’

But that was only if they wanted to.

Unfortunately, Roderic didn’t want the war to end just yet.

’If we wipe them out now, who knows who’ll come charging in next?’

A war they could end whenever they wanted, without having to worry about other nobles interfering.

That was what Roderic had been looking for.

’Now that our victory forced them back, they’ll probably continue according to what I’d originally expected.’

’They’ll surround us and try to starve us to death.’

Naturally, Roderic had long been prepared for that.

In fact, they had enough food stored to last throughout the entire winter.

’’That’s the perfect time to grow our own forces,’’ he mumbled. ’’With this victory, I’m sure hundreds of civilians will sign up for our army.’’

And if he just so happened to implement a new method to find knights from his Archive during this time?

Their growth would be immense!

’’Of course, during this time I’ll prevent Aldric from getting his supplies,’’ he continued slowly. ’’That’ll leave them even weaker for when we do attack.’’

With the forests trapped, they wouldn’t be able to hunt on their own either.

And best of all?

Neither the Ironharts nor the Second Prince would be able to do anything about it!

The First Prince would be investigating the Ironharts for their unpaid taxes any day now.

They’d be far too busy dealing with that first.

’’Once we’ve grown strong enough during the winter...’’ he started, his grin widening. ’’We’ll wipe out Aldric and conquer his castle.’’

’’Maybe we’ll even be strong enough to take out the Ironharts right after!’’

Before he could continue thinking about his plans, a red screen suddenly popped up in front of him.

DING!

[Emergency Territory Quest Detected!]

Roderic blinked, completely caught off guard.

’Huh?’ he thought. ’What the fuck is this now?’

Another red panel popped up in front of him right away.

[WARNING!]

[The Whitemane Barony is facing an imminent threat!]

[An enemy army led by Baron Aldric Deres is preparing to besiege Whitemane City together with Ironhart reinforcements.]

[Emergency Quest: Defend Whitemane City!]

[Objective: Successfully repel the invading Deres army and protect Whitemane City.]

[Reward: ???]

[Failure Penalty: Severe damage to your territory and future ambitions.]

’...’

Roderic stared at the screen.

Then he slowly turned his head towards the battlefield.

In the distance, he could still see the remnants of the Deres army retreating.

He looked back at the screen again.

’...’

His eyebrows began twitching.

’’You useless piece of shit,’’ he cursed under his breath. ’’The siege is already over, goddamn it!’’

As if responding to his words, several more notifications appeared.

[Error!]

[Unexpected discrepancy detected.]

[System recalibrating...

Time remaining: 00:59:59]

Roderic’s expression darkened.

’’You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,’’ he muttered, shaking his head. ’’This broken piece of shit...’’

There was nothing he wanted more than to strangle the system.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.

’’Whatever. At least it’s only an hour’s wait.’’

He let out a sigh and dismissed the windows.

Roderic couldn’t be completely upset with the system either.

It’d saved his life just a few minutes ago, after all.

’I didn’t have enough aura to slice through Aldric’s wave again,’ he thought. ’Without that tower shield, I would’ve been a goner.’

For a moment, his gaze moved over the city streets.

Without another thought, Roderic pushed himself off the ground.

’Time to get to work,’ he thought, his muscles aching. ’There’s a lot left to do.’

The first thing that came to mind was the wounded soldiers.

Not just their own, but those belonging to Deres as well.

’We should’ve captured quite a few of them.’

And considering what he had planned for the Deres Barony, keeping those men alive would be far more beneficial than letting them die.

After all, once he conquered their territory, those soldiers would become his subjects too.

’Heh. Let’s start earning their goodwill.’

And who better to spread word of his ’gracious deeds’ later on than soldiers who’d already accepted their deaths?

With that in mind, Roderic made his way down the wall.

It didn’t take long before he spotted several officers overseeing the removal of the wounded.

’’Hey!’’ he called out. ’’You there!’’

The officers immediately turned towards him.

’’Young Master Roderic!’’ one of them exclaimed.

Without hesitation, they lowered their heads respectfully.

Roderic calmly approached them and gestured for them to raise their heads.

’’Who’s in charge of the wounded?’’ he asked.

An older officer stepped forward.

’’That would be me, Young Master,’’ he replied politely.

Roderic nodded once, a small smile on his face.

’’Good,’’ he said. ’’I want you to make sure the wounded Deres soldiers receive medical treatment as well.’’

The officer blinked in surprise.

But then, a look of hesitation flashed across his face.

’’Of course, Young Master,’’ he said slowly. ’’Those with insignificant wounds have been taken care of. Only those gravely wounded have been abandoned.’’

Roderic nodded slowly.

’’Understandable,’’ he said. ’’But I really want to save as many of the gravely wounded as possible too.’’

The older officer exchanged a look with those standing behind him.

Then he spoke up again.

’’Young Master... our doctors are already struggling to treat our own. If we add these people to that...’’

A hint of realization flashed across Roderic’s face.

’So there aren’t enough doctors here, huh,’ he thought. ’I’ll take note of that.’

Then his gaze flickered back to the older officer.

’’Naturally, our own men come first,’’ he replied warmly. ’’But try to save as many soldiers as possible after that.’’

The older officer nodded.

’’Understood, Young Master.’’

Just as Roderic was about to head over to the next thing, another thought shot through his mind.

’’Also, make sure any treated enemies stay as prisoners for now. I don’t want any of them released without permission.’’

The older officer lowered his head respectfully.

Roderic finally walked away, a smile covering his face.

’Well then,’ he thought. ’Time to see what Finn’s been up to.’

After all, he’d given the assassin a rather important task before the battle began.

His smile grew wider just thinking about it.

’I wonder how much trouble he’s been able to stir up.’