Chapter 472: A Perfectly Planned Suicide Mission

Leone brought Hyacinthe to the villa reserved for the VIP guests of the Aslan Tribe.

Oisin, who was staying there, saw Hyacinthe. He then gave his acquaintance a wry smile.

Although he had no evidence, he had a hunch as to what had caused the Aslan Tribe’s warning bells to ring. The leader of the Orion Troupe must’ve tried to infiltrate the Aslan Tribe’s fortress.

"I’ll just ask to be certain, but was it you?" Oisin inquired.

"...Yes," Hyacinthe answered.

After hearing his reply, Oisin nodded and joined the two in whatever they planned to discuss together.

Leone didn’t mind having Oisin around, assured he was an ally that he could trust.

"As you have just experienced, infiltrating our fortress is not a walk in the park," Leone said calmly. "So please, don’t do it again in the future. If you want to see me, just ask the guards who regularly patrol the city."

"Alright," Hyacinthe replied.

He was already caught red-handed, so there was no point making things complicated. However, he still wanted the answer to the question bugging him.

"How was I discovered?" Hyacinthe asked. "I admit I might have underestimated the defenses of the Aslan Tribe, but I made sure to be as stealthy as possible."

Leone smirked back. "Do you really think I would tell you how you were discovered?"

"It was worth a try." Hyacinthe shrugged.

Even now, he was still trying to figure out how the Aslan Tribe discovered him. He believed his stealth and infiltration abilities would get an upgrade once he found a way to counter them.

Unfortunately, it was impossible.

He might be able to bypass the squirrel network.

However, nothing could bypass Daedalus’ security checks.

The entirety of the Aslan Tribe, as well as Eden, was part of Leone’s territory.

This meant that Daedalus had complete access to its security network, flagging suspicious individuals as soon as they set foot in its domain.

Even the most slippery thief and most competent spy were no match against the grimoire, which could easily detect them no matter how hard they tried to slip unnoticed.

"Well then, let’s talk about the real reason why I called you here," Leone said in a serious tone. "Two days from now, we will head to the secondary base located three days away from the City of Eden. I want the Orion Troupe to be there to act as our support against the Aurelion Empire."

Hyacinthe nodded. Right. This was the reason they had traveled all the way to the Borderlands.

Leone then told him about the estimated number of enemies that they had to face.

"Over seventy thousand?" Oisin’s expression turned serious after hearing the number of troops the Aurelion Empire had mobilized for the invasion of Eden. "Those are some serious numbers."

"Right," Hyacinthe agreed. "And how many are the troops on our side?"

"Around fifty thousand," Leone replied. "Take note that the fight won’t be inside a fortress. We’ll fight outside of it."

"Huh?" Hyacinthe frowned. "Why not fight them inside a fortress? The defenders will always have the advantage in a siege as long as the disparity between the two armies isn’t that high.

"Fifty thousand versus seventy thousand is still manageable. Why are we not using that to our advantage?"

"It’s because there are individuals who can overcome sheer numbers," Leone answered. "And to be honest, my plan will lead to fewer sacrifices."

The young man then explained his plan of allowing the Aurelion Empire to seize Eden. Once that was done, they would then give them a surprise attack after a week had passed.

"Let me get this straight." Hyacinthe scratched his head after listening to Leone’s plan. "You want to let the Aurelion Empire capture Eden, allow their seventy thousand soldiers to settle inside the city, and then attack them with fifty thousand warriors after seven days?"

"That’s the general idea," Leone replied.

"And you expect us to support this operation?"

"Of course."

Hyacinthe closed his eyes.

For a moment, he wondered if he should ask Oisin to help him pack their belongings and flee as fast as they could.

If so, they could leave the Borderlands tonight, travel somewhere far away, and pretend this entire conversation had never happened.

Unfortunately, he knew that wouldn’t work.

He and his men were sent by their Master to assist his great-grandson in a battle that would decide the fate of the Borderlands.

While Hyacinthe wasn’t a strategist, those who truly knew how to strategize would probably ask Leone a question after hearing his "perfect" battle plan.

"Did a donkey kick your head when you were a kid?" Hyacinthe asked in a serious tone. "You might have suffered a serious head injury in the past, which caused a permanent impairment in your decision-making abilities."

"I haven’t even seen a donkey in my life," Leone answered. "Our domain only has horses."

"Then you must be some kind of genius." Hyacinthe frowned. "I’ve never seen such a perfectly planned suicide mission. Basically, what you wish to do, Lord Leone, is to smash an egg against a rock. Unfortunately, we are the egg, while the Aurelion Empire is that rock."

Even Oisin looked troubled. Just like the leader of the Orion Troupe, he believed this was indeed a suicidal mission.

"Don’t worry," Leone said with a smile. "What you are thinking will not come to pass. I have a sound reason behind asking the barbarians to leave Eden and allow the Aurelion Army to occupy it. Although I can’t tell you the specifics, know that on the seventh day... Eden will bury those who dared to enter its gates uninvited."

Hyacinthe glanced at Oisin, to which the bard simply shrugged.

"Let’s just observe, shall we?" Oisin sighed. "I’m sure the Young Master has something prepared for the Aurelion Empire’s army."

Suddenly, Leone got a message from Daedalus, detailing the current situation in Eden.

"If you like, you can stay here overnight," Leone stated. "I’m sure you and Oisin have lots to talk about."

After saying those words, Leone bid goodbye and asked Boris to head directly to the Hidden Valley.

Several minutes later, Leone’s clone and Boris crossed over to Eden, where they picked up the Black Hawks that the Gryphons kept under their watch.

Seeing that he had new playmates to play with, Boris looked exceptionally excited. In fact, he even stayed in the Hidden Valley to educate the newcomers, telling them that he was the "Big Boss" in this area.

Since Astravor was not around and was currently helping the Guerilla Squad, the Drake Sovereign thought that this was the perfect opportunity to assert its dominance over the recruits.

Of course, it would only take the Black Hawks a few days to know that Boris had lied to them.

Once they discovered Astravor’s existence, any thoughts of rebellion and resistance would immediately die inside their hearts.

As Leone’s consciousness returned to his body and rested for the night, the Aurelion Army found themselves unable to sleep properly.

Otto’s role for that night was to make their lives difficult.

Despite the presence of the Wind Guardian, the Horizon Archer still managed to land some kills.

How?

Gundar had personally stepped in to join the night raid, forcing the Wind Guardian to focus his attention on him.