Chapter 378 - Three Steps Ahead
"Your Majesty, we heard that the enemy soldiers just left their camp and they are marching towards our camp! They will be here in no time!"
Aryan Tripas could feel his jaw drop to the floor when he heard General Arnet report! As such, he abruptly rose from his seat. "What are you saying? They plan to tackle us from the front?! Is the Masked Commander crazy?!"
"No matter what her reason is, this is an advantage for us, Aryan," King Declan said to the Nardodian King. "Let's gather the soldiers as fast as possible. Once they can be seen from our camp, we will start attacking them first."
"We can weaken them a lot even before they manage to reach our gate," Commander Favian chimed in.
Despite what the two men said, Aryan Tripas didn't make any movement and stood still.
"What's the matter, Aryan? We have no time to lose," the King of Alora said to his friend, feeling a bit confused.
Standing still for a few seconds while concentrating on his thoughts, Aryan Tripas finally turned to King Declan and said, "This is not her style. Why would she take such a huge risk?" He briefly paused and added, "The Masked Commander must still be young but in case of a war, she has so much experience. What she does now... even a fool would know that it's a dangerous move. I bet there is more to it."
Just when King Declan tried to speak up, one soldier dressed as an Azamet soldier walked inside the tent and bowed before the three men and then turned to his Commander. "Commander, a letter arrive for you."
Rising from his seat, Commander Favian took the letter and when he saw the seal that glued the letter, he raised a brow.
It's the seal of the King of Azamet.
Losing no time, the Commander opened the letter and read it. In an instant, his eyes grew wide in surprise!
King Aryan could feel how something wasn't right. "Is there a problem?" he promptly asked Commander Favian as he observed his expression.
However, before Favian could say anything, one soldier from Alora walked inside and handed a letter to his King. When King Declan read the letter, his expression was the same as the one on Commander Favian's face. No... it might be even worse!
"What is going on?!" Aryan Tripas grunted as he started losing his patience.
What the hell was happening?!
"Cedore will attack Azamet soon and they already deployed their soldiers to the border," Commander Favian said to Aryan Tripas. "His Majesty orders me to return with the soldiers right away."
Once again, Aryan Tripas was rendered stupefied!
Azamet will back off from the war? What nonsense was that?!
To make things worse...
"I have to return too," King Declan said in a firm voice. "My kingdom is in danger."
"You can't do this!" Aryan Tripas grunted, staring at his friend with rage.
"The Crown Prince of Aederin is all set to attack my Alora!" King Declan exclaimed. "Do you expect me to stay here while my kingdom is in danger of being conquered? It's Aederin I'm talking about!"
Aederin, the most powerful nation of the continent! freℯ𝓌e𝚋𝐧𝘰vℯl.𝐜𝚘𝗺
Aryan Tripas was sure that Iria was involved in the sudden movement of the Cedore Army towards Azamet. After all, she was the niece of Emperor Kalos Francia of Cedore!
In the case of Aederin... though Iria's cousin married the Princess of Aederin, no one expected Aederin to get involved in this war!
Just what happened?!
Why did Crown Prince Augustus Arille suddenly get involved?!
Little did he know all these happened because he managed to persuade the King of Jerivia to join him!
"This is all the Qalagon Queen's plan!" Aryan Tripas shouted. "She is planning to separate us so that she will easily crush us one by one!"
"I don't care about that, Aryan! If you were me, will you be willing to lose your kingdom just to aid me too?" He shook his head and said, "I don't think you will do that."
With that said, King Declan stormed out of the tent so that he could gather his soldiers and return to Alora.
When Aryan Tripas looked at him, Commander Favian slightly lowered his head. "I can't defy my King's order. I beg for your understanding."
Just like that, the Commander left the tent too.
When Aryan Tripas tried to go after the two men...
"Your Majesty, we will soon run out of time!" General Arnet said to him. "With just our soldiers, we won't make it even if the enemies tackle from the front!"
With Iria crossing her mind, Aryan Tripas clenched his fists.
Why did it feel like she was simply playing a game with him? She was always a step... no... three steps ahead of him and he could never predict her next move!
Now... he was in a huge predicament!
With Alora and Azamet withdrawing, the soldiers of Alewine Army, Qalagon and Zoris combined will be able to crush them easily as if they were ants!
Seeing how the soldiers of Alora and Azamet left the camp, several Generals rushed inside the King's tent, feeling somewhat panicked! However, when they saw the expression on Aryan Tripas's face, they didn't dare to say anything!
Aryan Tripas recalled all the years he spent to claim back Nardodia and revive it. No matter what, he didn't want his kingdom to fall into the hands of the Qalagon. Not again!
Though it was a crazy idea right now, he wanted to fight the enemies till the end! But...
Just when he was about to walk out of the tent, a soldier came inside and gave him a letter.
Just what more could happen right now?
Being convinced that the situation couldn't get any worse now, Aryan Tripas opened the letter. However, the moment he saw the handwriting, his eyes grew wide!
Emor? Wasn't this Emor's handwriting?!
He was still alive?!
While reading the contents of the letter, one thing crossed Aryan Tripas's mind.
If Emor was alive, then there was still hope.
"Your Majesty, if we don't move soon, the enemies will force their way inside the camp in no time," General Arnet anxiously reminded the King while all the other General's looked at their King with confusion.
Finally, Aryan Tripas put down the letter.. "I've made up my mind."