Lord: I Grind EXP with Warband Panel

At O’Neil Castle, the pressure had recently eased significantly with the arrival of winter, coupled with Prince Kase moving the bulk of his forces to the front lines at Devil City.

However, even with the reduced pressure, the military supplies in O’Neil Fortress were insufficient for the nobles within to hold out much longer. Moreover, according to reports from Devil City, the situation there was also dire.

Prince Kase was clearly preparing to cut off Devil City’s supply lines and might even launch a surprise attack on Thermopylae with a special detachment.

At that point, Devil City would truly be in no position to help Prince Noah.

The allied forces meant to relieve O’Neil Castle were already on the move. This relief force was likely Prince Noah’s last hope. If the breakout failed, he would not retreat back into O’Neil Castle. Such an act would be meaningless and would only cause more trouble for the Kingdom.

As a man of royal blood, Prince Noah would use his own life—his royal blood—to inspire the nobles of the Western Front to fight to the death in their breakout attempt.

By dying in battle against the Beastmen, he would compel the Algeria Kingdom to increase its aid, and King Louis III could leverage his sacrifice to secure greater benefits for the Frankish Royal Family.

Prince Noah had already thought all of this through. He had been raised on such lessons since childhood.

"Your Highness, the Royal Guard Knight Order has been accounted for."

"The Sofia Knight Order has been accounted for."

"The griffins have taken flight and are now circling at a low altitude. Earl Norwich is ready."

"Count Fernando is readying the fortress army. The Count will draw the enemy’s attention from the rear for us."

After hearing his aide’s report on the situation, Prince Noah nodded.

It was not Prince Noah’s idea for Count Fernando to create the diversion; the Count had volunteered for the task himself.

Although this defeat was inevitable, when the time for reckoning came, no one would care what difficulties he might have faced.

For Count Fernando, his political career was already over. His career could end, but the Venister family’s drive to secure their title of Count could not be broken.

The Venister family had striven for this for many years. Since the time of Fernando’s great-grandfather, they had invested immense manpower and resources. Their progress could not be derailed by the failure of one man.

As it happened, Prince Noah’s breakout required a leader of sufficient weight, conviction, and loyalty, and Count Fernando was precisely that man.

The Beastmen would never imagine the humans daring to use gold as cannon fodder to draw their fire, and thus wouldn’t question the importance of a Count.

Therefore, Count Fernando chose to offer his ultimate loyalty to the Frankish Royal Family. In exchange, he sought their protection, ensuring that the next generation of the Venister family could inherit his title and continue their path as great nobles.

"What about the relief force? What is the word from Earl Wei Man?" Prince Noah asked.

Earl Wei Man was the key to this breakout.

Across the entire Western Front, Earl Wei Man was the only one in a position to come to Prince Noah’s rescue.

To conceal his true objective, Earl Wei Man was currently marching toward Devil City in an attempt to mislead the Beastmen.

This approach had its pros and cons. For now, the Beastmen’s defenses were lax, but Earl Wei Man was very close to the enemy and far from Prince Noah. Furthermore, Prince Noah had to act quickly.

If Earl Wei Man lingered in one place for too long, he would surely be discovered.

It was foreseeable that Prince Noah’s breakout would be fraught with difficulty. Earl Wei Man might even have to take the offensive to absorb the immense pressure on Prince Noah’s behalf.

"The Earl says he is ready, but he needs us to move quickly," the aide said. "If he lingers for too long, it will lead to irreparable losses."

Prince Noah’s gaze followed the light of the early winter sun toward the endless Beastman Camp in the distance. The disparity in their nations’ strength was made manifest at this moment. Most of the Beastman Army had already left to besiege Devil City, yet the forces left to watch over them still swarmed over the landscape, a seemingly infinite sea of enemies.

He looked down at the hilt of his sword. It was one of the twelve Holy Swords of the legendary Knight King. It had been with the Knight King on Mount Vidal, witness to the Beastman Army’s crushing defeat and flight to the Northern Territory.

Back then, everyone believed the war was over, that the Beastman Empire had been permanently exiled to the Northern Territory. The Human Alliance had even discussed establishing new nations on the Beastman Grassland.

But who would have thought? Just as humanity had its heroes, the Beastmen were not lacking in champions. While interacting with the ancient, alien races of the Northern Territory, the Beastman Empire discovered the power of a grand, multi-racial coalition. Within a few short years, they had returned with a vengeance.

The Human Third Empire collapsed, plunging the continent into a long and chaotic war. The Frank Kingdom fought back but slowly abandoned its allies on the Beastman Grassland. The last of these, the Vida Duchy, was annihilated by the Beastmen three hundred years ago.

’I wonder what the Knight King would think if he were reborn to see the Frankish Royal Family in such a pathetic state?’

’But it’s hard to pass judgment on rights and wrongs, achievements and failures. The Knight King had the mighty Elanshiri Empire supporting him back then. The Frank Kingdom is getting pummeled by the Beastmen now, but that’s a consequence of humanity’s prolonged infighting.’

"Tell Fernando to prepare the attack," Prince Noah said with a sigh.

Whether or not Prince Noah managed to break out of the Beastman encirclement, the damage to the Royal Family’s interests would be immense.

To rescue Prince Noah, King Louis III had issued a royal edict to the Western Front, completely exhausting the military prestige he had spent years building through political maneuvering.

Marquis Oscillate, in particular, had all but refused to comply. It was foreseeable that in the future, the Royal Family would have little say over the armies not under their direct command.

They would even have to cede positions within the kingdom’s Standing Army to the southern faction, both as an apology and a sign of gratitude.

After all, King Louis III was now strong-arming the noble lords on the front line, and they were no pushovers. Once the war ended, they were certain to come and cause problems.

King Louis III no longer had the time to continue his struggles against these nobles. The only thing he could do was place his hopes in the wisdom of future generations.

Meanwhile, Prince Noah’s reputation had taken a spectacular dive in the eyes of all Franks. Although the root of his failure lay in the Frank Kingdom’s weakness, the furious populace would not listen to such excuses.

Originally, King Louis III had intended to use a few minor victories, coupled with some propaganda, to bolster Prince Noah’s popular influence over that of Prince Samon. Now, that plan had clearly failed. The already murky succession crisis was now shrouded in even more uncertainty.

"As you command!" The aide received the order.

"Earl Norwich, you may begin your preparations," Prince Noah said, turning to the earl at his side. "One hour after Count Fernando launches his attack, my Royal Guard Knight Order will charge out of the city gates. I expect you to provide timely support then."

"Of course," Earl Norwich replied with a nod.