Chapter 509: The Demolition Experts

Inside Stoneguard Fortress...

Helen looked at the fortress that served as the Kingdom of Britannia’s shield against the barbarians of the Borderlands.

It had crumbled in less than an hour and was now held by the very people it was supposed to repel.

Thousands of them occupied the stronghold, more than enough to make the neighboring cities tremble in fear.

However, none of these cities knew that it had already fallen. They went about their usual daily routine, unaware that their peace could easily turn into a nightmare depending on Leone’s whims.

While there was tension in the air, there was one person who was completely immune to it.

This was none other than Elizabeth, who was currently having some snacks with a big smile on her face.

The little girl was being doted on by Yuni and Aria, who found Leone’s little sister too cute to resist.

Leone had already told Blitz to return to Stoneguard Fortress with Hassan since his mother had already been recovered safely.

"What do you plan to do now, Leone?" Helen asked his son in private.

"Mother, I plan to save Father," Leone replied. "But I’ll ensure his safety will not be compromised."

He then explained his plan to move northward, conquering every territory on his path.

Leone also mentioned that he had sent a delegation to the Barbarian King of the West, asking if they would be interested in collaborating with them and forming an alliance to invade Britannia.

Helen smiled. Her son had grown into a truly capable young man. Although she missed her sweet and innocent child, she also liked this version of Leone very much.

"What will you do if they reject your offer for an alliance?" Helen inquired. "I heard that the current Barbarian King is a very proud and arrogant person."

"Whether they agree or not, the result will still be the same," Leone answered.

"Then, although it is unlikely, what will you do if they decide to treat you as an enemy?" Helen crossed her arms over her chest. "I already told you that the current Barbarian King is very proud. He might look down on the barbarians of the Borderlands and force you all to submit."

Leone didn’t answer his mother right away. Instead, he pondered this possibility. Right now, the Barbarian King of the West and the Beast Kingdom had formed a joint invasion in the lands of Britannia.

While the territories they conquered were in the far west, and Leone’s army would be moving from the south, the chances of meeting them in battle were very low.

In his mind, the Kingdom of Britannia only had two choices.

Choose the lesser evil or make peace with the lesser evil.

After a few minutes had passed, Leone came to a decision.

"If they try to get in my way of saving Father, I’ll make sure that they will regret their decision," Leone stated. "I may not look like it, Mother, but I am still the de facto Barbarian King of the Borderlands. I didn’t come here just to play. If they want war, then I’ll give them war."

"Good." Helen nodded with satisfaction. "You really did inherit all my good traits."

Leone couldn’t help but smile after hearing his mother’s words. It was then that Daedalus gave him a report.

’The Barbarian King, Alaric, refused to form an alliance with us,’ Daedalus said.

’I see.’ Leone then glanced at his mother and asked her to follow him to the conference room, where a map of the Kingdom was laid out on the big table.

The room was empty since Leone had asked everyone to rest and prepare for their battle the next day.

It was there that he told his mother the result of the mission that he had entrusted to Godwin, Hagen, and Lord Azar.

"How did you know he refused an alliance?" Helen asked with genuine curiosity. "Could you hear the discussion all the way there?"

"No, but Daedalus can," Leone answered.

Helen glanced at the grimoire strapped to the side of his son’s waist. Truth be told, she was very curious to know what other abilities the grimoire possessed. But she also understood that some secrets were meant to be left alone.

"Mother, my goal is to hit the Kingdom where it hurts the most," Leone said as he looked at the map. "The moment we make our move, the King will discover that the Borderlands have invaded the southern region of his kingdom.

"Can you tell me which places are of the utmost importance to Britannia? I will target those places as I make my way to the capital city."

Helen nodded in understanding. As someone who had created an intelligence network in the Kingdom, Helen was the perfect person to ask about where to strike first.

"If you wish to reach the capital as soon as possible while making the King bleed just as much, you should head northeast."

Helen then pointed at the map, moving her fingers across the lands that served as Britannia’s coin purse.

While the western lands were fertile and perfect for farming, the eastern lands were rich in resources.

Gold mines, silver mines, copper, iron, mithril, and other important mining areas were nearly all located in the eastern lands.

In fact, the Frontera Viscounty had a silver mine, which was why their lands were more well-off than others.

"Mines, huh..." Leone smiled evilly. "Yes. This is perfect. This will really hurt that bastard."

"Even your smile looks like my smile when I’m thinking of something bad, Leone." Helen giggled. "Since the defenses in those places are almost non-existent due to the war, taking them will not be too difficult. Those places are also far from where the invaders and the Britannian Army are fighting.

"If we destroy the teleportation gates on top of that, the Britannian Army would have no choice but to traverse mountains before they could even get to those lands."

Now that the Gryphon Battalion was working for Leone, the Kingdom had no means of bringing its army into the territories that Leone planned to strike.

"Mother, I think it would be best if we send a team to destroy those teleportation gates before we start our invasion," Leone stated. "That way, even if the King were to hear of our invasion, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it."

"Do you know people who are capable of doing that?" Helen asked.

"Of course, Mother," Leone answered. "In fact, the two of them are just about to arrive."

A few miles away from the Stoneguard Fortress, Blitz was gliding through the sky and preparing to land.

It was then that the little guy suddenly sneezed.

Not once, but twice.

"Leone might be missing you, Blitz." Hassan chuckled.

*Squeak!*

At the thought that its Master was missing it, Blitz flew faster. Anyway, it wanted to see Leone right away.

The Flying Squirrel wanted the young man to praise it for a job well done, which Leone would be more than happy to do.

By now, Hassan and Blitz had earned themselves the title of demolition experts.

And as expected, Leone had another important task prepared for the duo.

This time, their mission was to destroy the Kingdom’s teleportation gates, cutting off the Britannian Army’s ability to reinforce the territories that he intended to conquer.

Once those gates were gone, the King of Britannia would have no easy way of stopping the invasion.

Even if the news eventually reached the royal palace, Leone was certain that the King couldn’t do anything about it. He even smirked at the thought of that old man coughing up blood when he realized that the person responsible for everything had come knocking on his door like a debt collector out for his life.