The Herb King

Gustavo, the leader of the bandit group that did all sorts of crimes in Leone Empire was now standing nervously in the presence of Lexter Ford.

"Grand General, my group will join the main army as per His Majesty's commands." Gustavo said without daring to look at Lexter's eyes.

Lexter let out a strange smile when he heard this. "You came at the perfect time, Gustavo. Our frontline is in need of soldiers so I'll dispatch you and your people as part of them."

Gustavo inwardly cursed him when he heard his words. This guy wanted to use them as a meat shield! He slowly raised his head to look at Lexter, but just as he was about to offer a rebuttal, Gustavo saw a pair of horrifying eyes looking down at him. "I-I w-will follow your commands, Grand General..." He muttered weakly.

Lexter retracted his cold gaze and smiled faintly at the man. "Good. I have high hopes for you." He said while patting Gustavo's shoulder.

Gustavo could still sense the overwhelming power leaking out of Lexter's body so he didn't dare say anything. This man was so much stronger than he was and if shows a rebellious attitude, Lexter might use the chance to eliminate him. Their emperor, Ludwig Ford, wouldn't do anything about it especially after he failed his task.

After Gustavo left the tent, Lexter laughed like a possessed demon.

***

Prince Renz has just arrived in the meeting area of the main army's leaders. He noticed that Aethelwolf was also inside so he heaved a sigh of relief. 'Luckily that guy didn't reject my invitation...' He thought to himself.

Duke Baron stood up and started the meeting. "Since His Highness is already, let's begin the meeting." He then told everyone about what he heard from Ramiel and when they heard about it, the faces of the people in the meeting area turned grave.

"Chief, I don't mean to be rude, but how sure are you that this is the plan of the Ford Empire and the Dustin Empire?" A Legion Commander asked.

Duke Baron glanced at the Legion Commander and answered. "I'm a hundred percent sure of it." He was confident about this. At first, he was also skeptical, but upon thinking it deeply, he realized that it was the most plausible option that the two empires would do to successfully infiltrate the heavily defended Lion City.

The Legion Commander furrowed his eyebrows after getting his answer and he didn't ask anything afterward.

"Now that we know the plan of our enemies, we should come up with a counter strategy. I hope that everyone here will offer some suggestions." Duke Baron said as he scanned everyone in the meeting area.

The Legion Commanders and the Company Commanders were in a heated discussion after that. They tried to come up with a solution, but the Duke wasn't satisfied with what they had suggested so far.

In the midst of the discussion, Prince Renz sat on his chair with a pondering look. He couldn't come up with a strategy as well.

'If we don't send reinforcements to Vale City, it would definitely be destroyed by the Ford Empire's army of two hundred thousand soldiers, but if we send our soldiers to support them, Lion City would also be weakened and the Dustin Empire would certainly use the opportunity to attack us. Dammit!' Prince Renz rubbed his temples as he thought of a viable plan. In the end, he slumped into his chair with a heavy look on his face. He then noticed that Aethelwolf was the calmest person among everyone present.

"Sir Aethelwolf, your men were the ones who discovered the plot of the two opposing empires. Do you have any ideas on how we can deal with the situation?" Prince Renz asked in a loud voice that made everybody turn their attention to him.

"So it was Sir Aethelwolf's subordinates who discovered this. Impressive."

"The Lassiter Household has some capable people."

Aethelwolf calmly turned his head to the first prince and adjusted his sitting posture. He then let out a smile as he said. "I do have a plan, and it is actually quite simple." He deliberately paused and took a quick look at everyone before he stood up from his seat. "Who has a map of Vale City and Lion City?"

The commanders glanced at each other and one of them took out a big map from his space ring. "Sir Aethelwolf, I have a map that shows the two cities." He said as he handed the map to Aethelwolf.

"Thanks." Aethelwolf thanked the man. He then pasted the map into a wall and circled two locations. "The Ford Empire and the Dustin Empire would have to pass by these two areas if they want to reach Vale City and Lion City."

He pointed at one of the circled areas. It was a place that led to Vale City. Aethelwolf then said. "This one right here is a natural valley and it is a good place for an ambush. We should send out our best-ranged soldiers in the mountains to set up the ambush points..."

Aethelwolf pointed at the circled spot near Lion City and continued. "And this area right here is difficult to travel on foot because of the rocky paths and the steep slopes. We can set up a..."

The more everyone listened, the more their eyes brightened. Even the first prince who had a serious look earlier couldn't help but feel pleasantly surprised after hearing Aethelwolf's plan.

Duke Baron slapped his thigh as he exclaimed. "Brilliant!"

Aethelwolf smiled as he said. "I'm not familiar with the abilities of the soldiers so I'll leave the next part to the commanders. I believe that you guys know what to do." Truthfully, he could just use his observation skills to identify the skills of the soldiers, but it requires too much time. He could only trust that the commanders knew their soldiers' talents.

After telling them about his plan, everyone entered into another heated discussion, but this time, they were filled with anticipation.