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O’Neil Fortress. Several days had passed since the siege began.

After days of relentless attrition by the enemy, the entire fortress was severely depleted.

Inside a conference room in O’Neil Fortress, all the fortress’s officers, including Prince Noah, Count Fernando, and Earl Norwich, were gathered around a round table.

"Your Highness, we are running out of food, and the enemy has cut off our line of retreat.

The Griffin Knights who fought their way in earlier brought news. The Marquis has already ordered the armies on the Siriel Defense Line to begin a gradual withdrawal...

We might... not be getting any reinforcements." Earl Norwich’s voice was tinged with exhaustion.

After speaking, Earl Norwich placed a map of the Siriel Defense Line on the table and slowly unrolled it.

"Actually, I don’t think we should continue to hide the news of the siege," Count Fernando said, his brow furrowed.

"The enemy has us completely surrounded. We have no line of retreat.

I believe that revealing the news now would actually be a good thing," Count Fernando said.

"Is that the real issue? The point is that we’re besieged!

We have no reinforcements! Do you understand?" Earl Norwich said, his temper flaring.

It was understandable, really. As the Commander-in-Chief of O’Neil Fortress, Earl Norwich was a man of considerable skill.

Ordinarily, even for a strategic stronghold on the Western Front, O’Neil Fortress would never have attracted such a massive army.

Earl Norwich had hoped Prince Noah’s status would compel the kingdom to send reinforcements, but in the end, there wasn’t even a message from the Marquis.

"So what? The battlefield is our true home," Count Fernando said, looking at Earl Norwich.

In his view, Earl Norwich had simply spent too much time in the gentle lands of the south and had lost his courage. The battlefield is a warrior’s destiny, and Count Fernando held the martial spirit of the Frankish Nobles deep in his heart.

Earl Norwich glared angrily at Fernando, and the many nobles present began to murmur amongst themselves.

For a moment, the conference room was filled with unending noise.

"Alright! That’s enough!" Prince Noah roared, one hand on his forehead as he slammed the other onto the table.

The situation was dire, but everyone still listened when the Prince spoke.

Of course, this wasn’t just due to his status as a Prince; it was mainly because Prince Noah had a sizable Extraordinary Knight Order under his command.

"Have you all forgotten our situation? The problem now is the breakout! We need to find a weakness in the enemy lines and seize the opportunity to charge out!" Prince Noah declared.

Upon hearing this, Earl Norwich’s expression darkened.

Prince Noah made it sound easy—seize the opportunity to charge out. But the question remained: could they even break out? And how would they do it?

After a moment of silence, there was a knock on the door.

"Enter!" Earl Norwich said irritably.

It was a Blue Robed Mage.

"My Lord Count, there’s news! The Magic Communication was just restored!" the Blue Robed Mage said, panting. It was clear he had rushed. In fact, until Mages reached a certain level, their bodies didn’t change much physically.

"Magic Communication! It’s from the Marquis!" the Mage said.

"Communication? Wasn’t it jammed? How is it working again?" Earl Norwich asked with a frown.

"It’s a special kind of..."

The Blue Robed Mage tried to explain, but Earl Norwich gave him no chance, stepping forward and snatching the letter from the Mage’s hand.

"What is the news?" Count Fernando asked, looking at Earl Norwich. Prince Noah didn’t say a word, but his eyes showed that his anticipation for this letter was immense.

"Reinforcements! It’s reinforcements!" Earl Norwich’s face lit up with joy.

This news caused an uproar, and the nobles present broke into a flurry of discussion.

"How can there possibly be reinforcements now?" Prince Noah frowned.

Marquis Oscillate’s earlier arrangements had made his intentions perfectly clear. He had abandoned Prince Noah and was determined to protect Devil City at all costs.

"It says Earl Wei Man will come to our aid, but we need to hold on for nine days and break through the first layer of the encirclement ourselves," Earl Norwich said.

With that, Earl Norwich placed the letter on the table.

Prince Noah frowned and picked it up.

"Excellent! If this is the case, we really do have hope!" Prince Noah read the letter several times, confirming that it was indeed written in Marquis Oscillate’s hand.

"But even so, breaking through the first layer of the enemy encirclement will require a great sacrifice," Earl Norwich said, turning his gaze toward Prince Noah.

His meaning was clear: whoever had caused this problem should be the one to solve it.

Most of the Extraordinary Army in O’Neil Fortress now answered to Prince Noah, which was one of the reasons he still commanded so much respect.

Prince Noah rose to his feet.

"There is always a price, but when survival is on the line, that is of little importance.

When we break out, my Royal Guard Knight Order and I will charge on the front lines!

However, I trust that you, my lords, will not cause any problems," Prince Noah said.

The enemy had come for him in the first place. It was fair to say that Prince Noah was inextricably linked to the current decline on the Western Front.

Predictably, even if the breakout succeeded, Prince Noah’s reputation throughout the kingdom would suffer greatly.

For Prince Noah now, the most important thing was to seize this opportunity to perform well and earn back a better reputation for himself before returning to the capital.

For instance, by taking responsibility now.

"Of course. I, Norwich, am willing to charge alongside His Highness the Prince with my Knight Order." Learning that there were reinforcements, Earl Norwich breathed a long sigh of relief, and his attitude toward Prince Noah improved.

After all, they would have to work together after the breakout. It was best not to make things too tense.

Besides, the Prince’s proposal was not excessive. If they wanted to live, they had to fight for it.

"Since we have reinforcements, we should begin our preparations now.

A breakout isn’t something that can be done in an instant.

Especially with the common soldiers. We must make the situation clear to them, so that everyone from top to bottom is resolved to fight to the death," said Count Fernando.

"However, I still have my doubts.

Does Sirich City really have the strength to aid us now?"

"That is not for us to consider, sir. We have only one chance, and we must seize it!" Earl Norwich’s tone was forceful and resonant.

It seemed the news of reinforcements was truly morale-boosting; it even managed to dispel much of the exhaustion the Earl had accumulated over the past several days.

"In that case, let’s get to it.

We can’t afford to be lacking in our preparations," said Prince Noah.