Knights and Magic Wand
Chapter 491 - 491 230 The Curse of the Snake

491: Chapter 230: The Curse of the Snake 491: Chapter 230: The Curse of the Snake The disgraceful defeat of Archer’s forces has sparked much discussion among the Urians in the Southern Army’s main camp in recent days.

The straightforward and outspoken Alliance Leader Alkin even stated bluntly that his troops would no longer serve as the vanguard for the army unless accompanied by an equal number of Kantadar Cavalry.

Sailing smoothly into the Ustato Territory, only to suddenly lose over a thousand elite cavalry—each of them highly trained and valuable—was an immensely severe blow even to a large Urian tribe.

Ablo gazed at the Urian leader demanding compensation, knowing that the man was already contemplating retreat.

He had no choice but to suppress his annoyance and offer conciliatory words, allocating provisions and compensating with wealth to momentarily diminish the urge to withdraw.

Fortunately, the massive riches found in Kantadar Royal City still held considerable allure for the Urians.

Returning his focus to the map, Ablo calmly analyzed the military intelligence funneling in from different directions regarding the upper-stream tributaries east of the forest.

The vanguards sent earlier encountered large Orland forces crossing the river upstream to actively engage them.

This indicated that there was definitely a crossing point allowing rapid transit in that region.

To maximize the advantages of their current forces, deploying enough troops upstream as quickly as possible was imperative to probe for vulnerabilities in the defenses on the North Shore.

If the enemy sent four thousand troops upstream, he would dispatch ten thousand of his own.

If ten thousand weren’t sufficient, he’d send twenty thousand.

He was determined to see how the Orland people planned to handle both ends simultaneously.

Quickly finalizing the deployment strategy, the Southern Army’s three camps decided to split into two forces and advance northward simultaneously from the eastern and western sides of the forest.

Yet no sooner had the army begun its movement, within two days, the Lion Scorpion Knights repeatedly reported sightings of large-scale troop movements on the North Shore.

While unable to approach recklessly, the observations from far away suggested that the sheer number of people exceeded prior estimations of Orland Army’s size.

Fearing the Orland people had mobilized additional reinforcements from the North, Ablo summoned his recently prominent intelligence advisor for questioning.

Two days later, he finally received the advisor’s report.

“…Recently, reports from the North Shore indicate that the Orland people, under Prince Caso’s name, have been extensively recruiting civilians to travel upstream to the eastern section of the river, with numbers exceeding ten thousand.

However, my men have not seen weapons distributed to them; it seems they are merely mobilizing laborers, potentially to establish defensive outposts near the upper eastern tributary.” The intelligence officer hesitated as he conveyed the information.

“Potentially?” Ablo’s face darkened.

“…What I need is not your speculation, but precise details.

Starting a large-scale project involving over ten thousand people at this time and effort—why wouldn’t the Orland people simply fortify their existing castles and towns?

With all the gold and jewels I’ve provided, you promised me you could quickly infiltrate the Northern Army’s internal intelligence network…

yet recently, your team seems to have shown no progress.”

The intelligence officer bowed his head deeply, displaying an expression of fear.

However, in truth, he felt no terror, only regret for a miscalculation.

The funds he had extorted from Ablo were merely a cover.

Relying purely on bribery could never uncover high-level military strategy during a war of this scale.

He had long already sent coded messages and signals comprehensible only to “Dark Claw,” aiming to contact colleagues stationed near Earl of Buck on behalf of Bai Shou.

But after all this time, the spy embedded near General Trolsa of the Northern Kingdom for years had remained silent.

It was either because the Dark Claw disguised as an attendant had failed to arrive…

or had already perished.

Regardless of the reason, the intelligence officer knew he could no longer fulfill his earlier promises.

“I sincerely apologize, my Lord.

Our operative’s identity was exposed and was secretly executed by the Orland people.” The intelligence officer “confessed” to Ablo.

“…Very well then.

Have your men continue their investigations and ascertain the Orland Army’s objectives as soon as possible.” Ablo frowned, suppressing his impatience, dismissing the officer without pressing further demands.

This intelligence officer had proven his loyalty and competence since the very inception of Ablo’s campaign, greatly aiding in his swift consolidation of the leaderless East Expedition Army.

Ablo was not inclined to punish him excessively for a single failure.

With covert operations faltering, Ablo could only pin his hopes on overt reconnaissance.

He convened a military council and ordered the former royal Lion Scorpion forces’ “Knight Commander,” who had pledged loyalty, to dispatch more personnel to survey the eastern upstream, where massive labor mobilizations were occurring.

However, this order placed the Knight Commander of the Lion Scorpion Knights in a difficult position.

Through repeated probing in recent times, he had largely figured out the airborne deployments of the Northerners.

In the western airspace of Ustato, relying on sixty Scorpion-tailed Lions, his forces had managed to suppress the enemy’s Flying Dragons and twenty Pegasus Knights, rendering the King of Orland hesitant to act rashly.

But in the eastern airspace, the remaining Lion Scorpion Knights available for routine dispatch numbered a mere five.

If this small team of five ventured boldly into reconnaissance, the twenty Pegasus Knights stationed in the East would undoubtedly be an insurmountable obstacle.

What’s worse, the Orland forces in the East included a Griffin Knight in command.

Even if the five Scorpion-tailed Lions traveled as a group, they would stand no chance against a Griffin combined with twenty Pegasus Knights.

Yet if more Lion Scorpions were reassigned from the main camp to the East, any power imbalance created would leave their frontlines vulnerable should the Northerners’ Flying Dragons initiate aerial combat prematurely…

Maintaining equilibrium in the skies pre-battle could not be risked lightly.

Dispatch too few and they wouldn’t break through the Griffin-Pegasus formation’s blockade, and rash actions could lead to further losses of their precious airborne knights.

Dispatch too many and facing the Flying Dragons directly at the main camp would become challenging.

Having listened to the Knight Commander outline these concerns, no one in the military council blamed him.

If not for the disappearance of the main contingent of Scorpion-tailed Lion forces alongside the King, the current airborne knights—scrambling together remnants from various lords—wouldn’t be reduced to a mere quarter of their original force, nor would the remaining Lion Scorpion Knights be so cautious.

“One of my knights has already fallen to the enemy’s Griffin Knight wielding magic, Ablo.

If we lose more riders before the battle even begins, I fear it’ll be impossible to continue effective surveillance of the enemy’s movements across the board,” said the Knight Commander with helplessness.

Ablo absentmindedly tapped his fingers on the armrest, realizing that increasing manpower to investigate the enemy’s Eastern movements would necessitate first weakening their aerial strength.

Between Flying Dragons and Griffins, the latter was undeniably easier to eliminate.

“…It seems we’ll need to find a way to take down that Griffin.” Ablo set his sights on a target.

He then turned to the various lords gathered and sought their advice for strategies.

Hunting a Griffin would be no simple feat, especially considering its rider might be a spellcaster with magical prowess.

Regrettably, those powerful Black Robes had also vanished alongside the King; his current ranks included only a handful of local wizards, whose capabilities would be needed in direct confrontations later.

Whether to deploy them here left Ablo hesitant.

At that moment, Earl Arsene, who had remained silent throughout, suddenly glanced toward the Knight Commander of the Lion Scorpions, his eyes filled with contemplation, then asked, “Did the Lion Scorpion Knights who retreated that day recognize the identity of the enemy Griffin Knight?

Was it Earl Nos of Orland North, or Baron Allen of Sate County?”

Noticing the meticulously groomed elder looking in his direction, the Knight Commander dared not treat this famed Great Knight with indifference.

“Neither.

My men glimpsed a faint emblem resembling the shape of the Feathered Sword on the Griffin’s armor; this didn’t match the insignias of either of those two Griffin Knights.”

Earl Arsene nodded and then turned to gaze at Ablo.

“My Lord Duke… let me handle that Griffin Knight; I may have a personal vendetta with them.”

Ablo was astonished and elated upon hearing this.

It was the first time Arsene had actively requested to fight.

This distinguished elder had traveled with the army throughout the campaign yet little involved his troops in combat, seemingly content merely to add to the spectacle.

Nonetheless, as the bearer of his own supplies and one of the Kingdom’s most celebrated Great Knights, Ablo had refrained from pressing demands, simply grateful to have such a prestigious figure among his ranks.

But he was curious—what had prompted Lord Arsene to suddenly show fighting spirit against that Griffin Knight?

In response to Ablo’s curious inquiry, the old Earl replied calmly, “Several months ago, my illegitimate daughter, who had married elsewhere long ago, returned to my domain with her child.

Her husband had been slain by the Orland people; their family members butchered entirely by Northerners, leaving only my daughter and her grandchild escaping by sheer luck.

She mentioned the one who killed my son-in-law was a young Griffin Knight, known as the ‘Snake Slayer,’ celebrated even in poetic songs.

While I can’t confirm it’s this rider, having encountered them now, ignoring this matter is simply not an option…”