Blood Dragon

Section 150 V Design

"Your Excellency," the guard at the door came in to compatriots. "Master Essien is back."

"Let him in!" Byron finally suppressed his anger and turned his attention to the latest news.Before, he sent someone out of the city to inquire about the news. This was a dangerous task. Among his subordinates, only Essien volunteered.

A few minutes later, Essien came to Byron.Essien obviously reported the news to Byron in a hurry as soon as he came back, so he was dressed like an ordinary mercenary at this time, wearing a set of rusty mail.

"Your Excellency." Essien bowed and saluted Byron.

Byron nodded.

From an objective point of view, Essien put forward correct opinions at the military meeting before, and now the facts have proved Essien's inference, so Byron should reuse him.Even if it is not important, at least look up to him, and ask him for advice on military issues.But in fact it is not the case.Out of the despicable instinct deep in the human heart that refuses to admit his mistakes, Byron did not take any action to value Essien.In other words, Essien's current situation has not changed in any way, and he is still the marginalized and marginalized officer.

If it hadn't been for this time that Essien stood up again and mainly asked to accept this dangerous investigation mission, he would not have the qualifications to enter Byron's meeting hall at all.

"How's the situation? Any big news?" Byron asked.I don't know why, when he saw Essien, he remembered that when Essien retreated in Falcon City, he took the initiative to ask for a break.This young man is actually very loyal. Maybe it is a chance to promote him when the main officer is completely wiped out?

No, the next instant Byron himself denied the idea.Although Essien is considered loyal and has some ability, now is not the time to promote him... The military situation is urgent now, and because the main force has collapsed, there are no suitable military vacancies for Essien to fill.

Essien looked at Byron, and he noticed that Byron's eyes were flickering, he should be thinking about something.If it was the past, Essien would have thought about what Byron was thinking, or managed to tap the side to know it.But now, Essien is too lazy to think about it.

"As far as I know, the Lauder family has betrayed you," Essien said. "The old man Lauder himself knelt in front of the queen, who was younger than his granddaughter, hugging her feet and crying while kissing her boots. That scene has become a big joke that people relish."

"What..." Byron himself was surprised that he didn't feel angry or surprised.Lauder is one of his subordinates. He owns two fortified family castles, and the territory is also located at a traffic hub.He originally thought that Lauder could not rebel, because strictly speaking, the Lauder family was Byron's distant relatives and a branch of the Byron family. "So... what kind of judgment did that little girl make?"

"She forgave him. Lauder temporarily kept his territory, title and wealth." Essien replied. "Although the scene was unsightly, it was indeed effective. The little queen promised not to pursue his crime for the time being, and asked him to take the crime and make meritorious service. Many people thought that she would definitely not let Lauder go, but she did it anyway. Lord Duke, I think that little girl... I am afraid that all the hatred will be concentrated on you alone."

Byron took a deep breath to calm himself down.Although he had known the result for a long time—the rebels would either succeed or die, and there was rarely a third way to go—but at this moment, he still felt a surge in his heart.

"Is the way out going smoothly?" Someone asked from the side. "How is their defense alert?"

"When we went out, the enemy was still in chaos, and there were still many loopholes to exploit." Essien replied. "A few of my subordinates and I disguised ourselves as a mercenary team and slipped out smoothly. But when we came back, their defenses were much tighter. I had to separate from my subordinates. I found A businessman who provided military supplies for the army got a job as a caravan guard with a sum of money, so he was able to come back again."

"What about the others?" Byron frowned.

"I don't know," Essien replied. "I came to see you as soon as I got back to the city, and I didn't make any stops."

Byron nodded, in order to obtain outside information, this is an acceptable loss.He has arranged enough eyeliner and funds in Falcon City, and he can use magic communication to convey various news back.But in his own territory, he did not make such a comprehensive arrangement.This is not to say that Byron didn't arrange manpower, but that he couldn't keep the eyeliners loyal under such circumstances.Even the most trusted vassals have defected, and those eyeliners have fallen and scattered.

It doesn't matter if those eyeliners are still loyal, and now it's during the siege... using magical communication to keep the news from inside and outside is a staggering expense (message scrolls are not cheap).Things changed too quickly and Byron didn't arrange the money.

"Aside from the Lauder family, is there any other big news? I mean, how many people are still loyal to me?"

"Your Excellency, according to my inquiries, your two castles still hold high the banner of loyalty."

What Essien was talking about was the frontier castle of the territory that Byron had been strengthening before.That place was the battlefield where Byron had planned to fight the little queen—of course it was no longer.Both castles have thousands of elite defenders, and they have hoarded enough food, grass and supplies to survive the siege for a long time.It's just that at present, the little queen directly ignores these two castles.She prepared a small force there to monitor the defenders.The defenders did not make any field attempts because of Byron's previous order of "holding the castle as the first priority".

"Very good, very good." Byron breathed a sigh of relief.He still has money.

In fact, he really didn't expect the situation to be so bad.At the beginning, Byron knew the news of the destruction of his main force. Although he gritted his teeth and was full of anger and hatred for being teased, he did not have that sense of crisis in the true sense.This is because his strength is indeed very strong.Even if his main force of 5000 disappears from the world, if he can gather his vassals and gather his remaining troops, his military strength will still be no less than [-].In addition, due to sufficient combat preparations, all the castles and cities in his territory, including Fornoros City, have sufficient defenders and supplies, and defensive operations alone can drag the little queen to death.

Purely from the perspective of military statistics, even if Byron's main force is destroyed, he still has a certain advantage.It is a pity that war has never been a game that relies solely on numbers.The news of the defeat directly disintegrated the fighting spirit of his subordinates - because no matter what, the little girl was the open and legal monarch of this country, while Byron was just a traitor.The reason why they supported Byron in the past was entirely because they believed that Byron's strength could win this victory.

But once this concept changes... people will immediately overestimate the queen's power.In the logic of ordinary people, there is no chance of winning against the queen with a Fornoros city.No matter how strong and loyal the city may be, it is still only a city.Yes, Fornoros is a big city.But in Gruene, there are still a dozen or so cities that are comparable to Fornoros City.

"Other things, I have written a report for you to read at any time." Essien said.

"Essien, you did a good job." Byron praised.

"It is my honor to serve you." Essien bowed again and thanked him.

"Okay, you can retire now. You must be tired, go take a rest." Byron replied.Essien was a little stunned by this answer, then he came back to his senses and looked around.He saw Byerheim next to him, Byron's eldest son, who was looking at him with a mocking smile.

Carrying out such a dangerous mission, only in exchange for a "well done" evaluation... It must be this person who is playing tricks behind the scenes.However, who made them father and son?Although Essien is capable, can he be comparable to Byerheim in Byron's heart?The answer is clearly no.

Essien smiled slightly, saluted again, then turned and left.

"By the way, Your Excellency the Duke." Essien seemed to think of something before going out. "I forgot one thing just now."

"Oh, what else is there?"

"My lord, I met an old acquaintance in the barracks when I was entering the city."

"Old acquaintance?" Byron was very interested.He knew that Essien was a mercenary, so he knew that Essien's "old acquaintance" refers to friends he met during his mercenary career.It was not uncommon for mercenaries to have two friends on different sides of the battlefield.This will hardly affect their loyalty, but will allow them to bond in between battles.

"Yes, an old friend. He was a middle-level officer under the little queen's command." Essien said. "I thought it might be an opportunity."

"What kind of opportunity?"

"Well... Your Excellency the Duke, he owes me a great favor." Essien said. "If possible, I believe...he will let me go. In other words, if you still need someone to go out to inquire about information, you can let me go again. I believe he will let me go through the barracks."

"Oh..." Byron seriously thought about this new harvest, considering various possibilities.

"If it's a small amount of supplies, I don't think it will be a problem with his help."

"I see." Byron nodded to Essien, indicating that he could back down.

After Essien left, Belheim immediately said, "Father, I think there may be something wrong with this Essien."

"why?"

"A whole team of people went out, but now he is the only one coming back." Byerheim said. "There is no such coincidence in the world. He may have betrayed, as a traitor..."

"Byer, you don't need to think too much about this," Byron said. "Essien's reliability is beyond doubt."

"Why are you so sure!"

"Before, he was the little girl's bodyguard. But I sent him...and another one named Cleo, who was responsible for going to the palace to arrest the little girl. Essien can't turn back, because the queen can't forgive him... That's all for the others, but Essien...I'm afraid that little girl will hang him directly when she sees him, and won't even give him a chance to speak."