Novel Full Chapter 452: Mount Tirad
Chapter 452: Mount Tirad
Giovanni didn’t say anything. He just turned around and left while waving his hand.
“Still acting tough.” Alaric chuckled while shaking his head.
He then went back to his position and told his subordinates not to worry. He didn’t tell them about Leighnard’s plan to prevent information from leaking.
Some of them felt that he was hiding something, but they tactfully chose to remain silent.
There was only one person who dared to question him and it was Yvanna. “So what really happened out there?”
Yvanna was trustworthy and she tight-lipped so he didn’t mind sharing this information with her.
“It’s like this…” Alaric told her about Leighnard’s plot and it surprised her.
“So the crown prince of Astania is this capable… No wonder he was appointed as the crown prince despite being weaker than his younger brother.” Yvanna commented with a thoughtful look.
Alaric nodded in agreement. He also felt that it was better for Leighnard to inherit the throne. If it were Giovanni, the empire might fall into ruins in just a decade.
As for himself, Alaric still hadn’t thought that far. His only goal for now was to ensure the safety of his people.
“You should get some rest. We will be marching early tomorrow.” Alaric suggested.
“I’m fine.” Yvanna shook her head.
Hearing her response, Alaric shrugged and walked away. “Then I will go find something to eat.”
…
The next day before sunrise, the army marched, but this time, they took a different route.
The sudden change in the route surprised many people, but no one dared to question the Venerables’ commands.
At this moment, Alaric was on his horse, leading the warriors of House Silversword.
Just then, he saw Caecus riding towards him.
Seeing him, Alaric gently squeezed his legs, urging his horse to move a bit faster.
“Did you find something?” He asked.
Caecus nodded his head. “The enemies who ambushed our advance party last night have already been killed. They were killed by the crown prince’s personal guards.”
Alaric had already anticipated this so he wasn’t surprised.
“What about the spies? Have you found out their identities?”
Caecus shook his head.
“They are quite meticulous so I only managed to discover one of them.”
Alaric raised an eyebrow.
Last night, he sent Caecus to investigate the spies and to find the people who had ambushed their advance party.
He didn’t have much hope since there wasn’t enough time, but Caecus did more than he had expected.
“Who is it?” Alaric asked in a low voice.
Caecus calmly responded. “It is a man named Steven. He works for the crown prince.”
“I saw him secretly leave his tent to send a messenger bird. This is the message he tried to send last night.” He took out a small rolled paper from his inner pocket and handed it to Alaric.
Alaric glanced at the letter and noticed that the seal was still there. He removed the seal and opened the letter.
Interesting…
In his past life, Steven betrayed the crown prince and defected to Giovanni’s side.
(Author’s Note: Steven was already mentioned before. Check Chapter 313 for reference.)
That would have happened again, but things were a lot different now.
Giovanni had changed and become a slightly reliable guy. The conflict between him and the crown prince had also disappeared.
Although there were still some minor disagreements, their relationship was a lot better now compared to what it was in Alaric’s past life.
I thought that you would change now that the situation is different, but you are still the same traitorous bastard that you were in my past life… Steven, oh Steven… Leighnard is not the man you want to be enemies with. He is much more terrifying than you can imagine…
Alaric sneered as he burned the letter using his mana.
“Leighnard will take care of him. Don’t mention this to anyone.” He reminded.
Caecus nodded indifferently.
The army traveled for another week without encountering any issues, but when the eighth day came, there was finally resistance from Harune’s side.
In front of them was a towering mountain called Mount Tirad and on top of this mountain was a mega fortress that housed more than a hundred thousand troops.
The steep slopes of the mountain made it almost impossible for ordinary war horses to climb. To reach the fortress, only the cavalrymen with highly-trained war horses could ascend, while the others would have to climb on foot.
“Is it necessary to take over that fortress?” Yvanna asked.
She was unfamiliar with the terrain so she couldn’t understand the decision of the Venerables.
Alaric had already received a heads-up from Leighnard so he was aware of the importance of this mega fortress.
“The quickest route to Atarkan is to pass by Mount Tirad so if there are enemy reinforcements, they would have to go through this path.”
“If we go straight to Atarkan, the warriors in that fortress will definitely attack us from behind. Once we are flanked, there will be confusion in our troops. We cannot let that happen.” He added.
“I see… Then, how are we going to attack the fortress when the terrain is against us?” Yvanna inquired.
Alaric chuckled. “Have you forgotten that we have three Venerables on our side?”
Lucas Silversword had arrived a few days ago. His arrival eased the worries of the troops and everyone also became more confident with him on board.
“That’s true…”
Boom!
At this moment, an ear-splitting explosion suddenly rocked the mountain.
“It has begun,” Alaric mumbled as he lifted his head.
He could see a huge cloud of smoke and dust above the mountain.
The only person who could deliver that kind of powerful attack was Ignatius.
In the next moment, terrified screams and the sound of mana cannons being fired resounded.
“It seems like we don’t even have to do anything.” Alaric smiled faintly.
From the intense fluctuations of mana, he detected that it wasn’t just Ignatius who had attacked.
Lucas and Dominic had also made their moves.
Other than the three of them, Leighnard even sent ten thousand imperial cavalrymen to clean up the escaping enemy warriors.