C31: Talents Only I Can Recognize. Hidden gems (14)

Immediately after the fall of Linon Castle, the time when Erhin was in prison.

“General! General!”

Jend, the lord of the Bernese territory, came rushing into the conference room. He was out of breath for a while, from how long he had been running.

“Linon Castle has fallen!”

At this news, which sounded like a death sentence for the lord of Bern, Ronen, the general-in-chief, felt very dizzy, but managed to grab the desk to support himself.

“General!”

“Hayna is……

“A pigeon brought word that the chief of staff is retreating to the rear with the remaining troops.”

“What the hell was she doing instead of defending Linon Castle?

Ronen raised his voice as he slammed both palms into the desk.

It was no longer a matter of Bern Castle. If Ganen Castle and Linon Castle were taken, Bern Castle would be isolated. Without Linon Castle behind them, they would not be able to freely supply their troops with food.

“How can I fall to the enemy like this? What about the future of the Lunan Kingdom!”

Baron Jend, who had heard Ronen’s complaints about the worst of it, cautiously suggested retreating.

“I think we’d better retreat from Bern Castle for now…….If we don’t, we will be isolated and the country will be doomed. Shouldn’t we go to the royal capital before the enemy is ready?”

“Is that really the only way left?”

The general-in-chief, Ronen, shook his head. But it was true that if they continued to hesitate, it would be difficult to even retreat. If the enemy marched into the royal capital after isolating Bern Castle, they would really be unable to do anything and everything would be lost.

“Prepare for retreat….”

So there was only one decision that Ronen could make. He, the general-in-chief, was leading his own private army, the most elite soldiers in the many territories of the Lunan Kingdom.

Of course, the purpose of creating this elite army was not for war, but for maintaining power. If he was thinking of war, he would have raised a large army instead of a small elite one.

The Duke of Ronen led his army determined to protect the kingdom, but the enemy saw through this and took over the Ganen and Linon castles, leaving Bern Castle isolated.

Linon Castle and Bern Castle are adjacent to each other. Therefore, if they were delayed even for a moment, they might fall into the hands of the enemy. Ronen decided to abandon Bern Castle and retreat to the royal capital by passing through Linon Castle.

Being the only well-trained unit, they began to march rapidly. When they entered Linon territory a person appeared in front of the troops, it was Yusen.

“Who are you?”

He was wearing the same military uniform, but showed suspicious behavior and was immediately detained. After revealing his affiliation, Yusen begged to see Ronen because he had something important to tell him. Of course, it was outrageous for a centurion to ask to meet the general.

“Are you Yusen?”

Luckily, there was a commander who recognized Yusen; he had been in the military for twenty years.

“Commander!”

“Why are you here?”

“I have an important matter to discuss with you regarding the recapture of Linon Castle. It’s a matter of the utmost urgency, so can you at least allow me to brief the general?”

“Recapture of Linon Castle?”

The commander slurred his words, but Yusen still clung to him.

“Hmm …….If it’s about the recapture of Linon Castle, I can’t ignore it. Wait a moment.”

The commander decided to report everything to Duke Ronen.

“General! That centurion has something to tell you about Linon Castle, his identity is certain. It seems to be an important and urgent matter, and he insists on a face-to-face meeting with the general. He’s a former subordinate of mine, but he’s not the kind of guy who talks nonsense. It seems to be about the recapture of Linon Castle, what should I do?”

“Recapture of Linon Castle? I’m not sure.”

“He says he needs to speak to you directly.”

“Bring him to me at once!”

Things that would never happen in normal times are different in the tense moments of war. Ronen would have immediately cut off his head if he had been blocked from going to the royal capital by a commoner, but now it was different.

Curious about what he wanted to tell him, Ronen nodded, and soon Yusen was summoned. As soon as he came face to face with the general, Yusen immediately knelt down, banged his head on the ground and shouted.

“General! I’m sorry to barge in, but I have an urgent message!”

“What is it? Tell me.”

Once Ronen granted permission Yusen immediately began to explain.

“Earl Aintorian, commander of the supply troops, is fighting at Linon Castle. Earl Aintorian has asked me to inform you in person when the general will be passing through Linon territory.

“What? Earl Aintorian?”

Erhin instead of Hayna? A completely unexpected person, Ronen tilted his head at the mention of the name of the person who had told Hayna to get rid of because he was known to be incompetent.

“You think he foresaw me coming through here?”

“Yes, sir!”

When they heard the news that Ganen Castle and Linon Castle had fallen, they would naturally rush to the royal capital to avoid being isolated. This was something that could be fully expected since he knew the history of the fall of Linon Castle. And Erhin’s prediction was right on target.

“What do you mean by ‘fighting’?”

“That’s …….Earl Aintorian has infiltrated Linon Castle by himself. He is planning to open the north gate in the middle of the night, when most of the enemies are asleep!

“Nonsense!”

Duke Ronen shouted at the outrageous story.  Even though it was the middle of the night, there were still alert soldiers. They would wake up immediately and take charge of the defense, which is the natural thing to do.

“You’re just another one of the enemy’s schemers trying to draw my army into Linon Castle.”

Ronen raised his voice, rather suspicious of Yusen.

“No, sir. I’ve spent my entire life in the military to protect the Lunan Kingdom. I don’t care if I am suspected and lose my life. However, in order to ensure that Earl Aintorian battle is not in vain, I would like you to send soldiers to the open gates. That is Earl Aintorian strategy, here is the letter.”

Yusen shouted as he held out the letter, he had hit his head on the ground so hard that his forehead was bleeding.

Ronen read the letter first; he still couldn’t believe the content. It would be absolutely impossible for him to open the gate and fight alone.

“Earl Aintorian mana user, as long as he succeeds in opening the gate he can hold out for a while.”

Yusen insisted as he recalled Erhin power. Even if he had to give up his life, even if he had to commit suicide here, he was going to convey Erhin’s intentions. It was the least he could do to repay his favor.

“Count Aintorian being a mana user is such a ridiculous……!”

Ronen said this with a dumbfounded look on his face, and Elheat, the vice-captain who had been listening silently, opened his mouth.

“But, General! If the gate is really open, you can go…….We can’t let this opportunity pass us by. We can’t let the loyalty of those who fought so hard to open the gates go to waste!”

“Well…….Are the rumors about Erhin wrong?”

“Please, just check! If he succeeds in opening the gates, as the letter says, we are in a good position to take back Linon Castle!

“Well. That’s true…….”

Ronen nodded, touching his chin. He was troubled by the possibility that Yusen was an enemy agent, but that possibility seemed unlikely.

The enemy has already captured Linon Castle. Would they open the gates and call in my elite soldiers? No matter how many enemy soldiers inside the castle were armed with bows, it would be meaningless because my forces are far higher. The moment they open the gate, they will fall into danger. If the enemy uses such a reckless strategy, it’s our chance to retake Linon Castle.

“I’ll go check the gate, a smoke signal will be sent to let you know when the gate is open.”

Elheat, who had been listening intently to Yusen’s story, suggested. If they were really fighting to the death like that, he thought that even if the mission did not go well, saving his comrades was what he should do as a military commander of Lunan.

“Besides, if anyone can truly control mana, we need them in this war.”

Ronen thought about Elheat’s suggestion for a moment and then nodded, he thought it was worth a try. If the gates were closed, they could just keep marching towards the capital.

“All right. Go at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

After seeing Elheat off, Ronen ordered all troops to march.

“We march towards Linon Castle!”