A Demon's Journey

The Sinyalian Kingdom's forces at the borders were preparing to ambush the Glerian Kingdom's forces. However, Roman Alfornsen held a meeting with his strategists and the other commanders and delayed the attack.

The strategists and the other commanders were puzzled. They wondered 'Why is Roman delaying the attack? Does he have something in his mind or is he terrified of facing that kid? Can't blame him if he is scared. He is just a kid, and this was his first setback. Moreover, it was at the hands of someone much younger than him.'

They couldn't just sit there like that, even if they understood Roman's perspective. They believed that now was the ideal time for action, and they couldn't afford to miss out on this opportunity!

They naturally made their concerns known to Roman, "Sir, if we attack now, there is a big possibility that we can catch them off-guard. Ever since the arrival of that Heretical Paladins group, we have always remained on the defensive and they have been the ones to launch the offensive."

Roman remained calm and stared at the commander with an impassive look in his eyes, "What do you want to say, Commander Gary?" Commander Gary's demeanor remained unchanged even after hearing Roman's comments, which were delivered in a firm, confident tone.

Before Commander Gary could explain his thoughts, one of the strategists spoke out, explaining his reasoning to Roman, "Commander Roman, I believe Commander Gary is trying to suggest that this is the perfect opportunity for us to attack the Glerian Kingdom's forces. I have some theories to support this statement so please hear me out."

"Ever since the arrival of the Heretical Paladins, the Glerian Kingdom's forces have launched multiple surprise attacks on our encampment. Sometimes, they would even launch a night-right and deal significant damage to our forces."

"Fortunately, due to the trap we prepared for them, the Glerian Kingdom's forces have suffered significant loss. They were clearly not prepared for this kind of damage to their forces and thus hadn't requested any reinforcements."

"They must have called in for their reinforcements only after they suffered loss during their recent ambush. We have calculated the time it would take for their reinforcements to arrive based on the previous data. According to my estimation, it would take 2 more weeks before the reinforcements for the Glerian Kingdom's forces arrive." With a pleased and confident tone, the strategist concluded his statement.

Even Roman was lost in deep thought after he heard those words. At this moment, another strategist began speaking, "This isn't all, Commander. Our scouts have collected information and generated a map of the enemy's soldiers dispersed around its encampment."

The strategist took out a thin, rolled-up brown sheet right away. He unrolled the sheet, which had a lot of lines etched on it. It was, without a doubt, a map of the enemy's camp. The lines drawn around the encampment showed how the enemy's soldiers had been stationed.

There were two different colored lines drawn on this map. One was blue and the other was red. The red seemed to cover a wider range while the blue colored a rather small range. There were other markings on the map, but Roman didn't immediately understand what they were for.

The strategist then began explaining, "This red line depicts the Glerian Kingdom's defensive set up prior to their recent attack when they sustained such a significant defeat. The blue line represents their most recent defensive setup."

"Due to the loss of manpower, they had clearly shrunk the area but kept a similar defensive structure. This displays that the enemy has grown conceited and it's the perfect opportunity to launch an ambush on them! Can you see it, Commander Roman?" This strategist was pretty brave as he directly challenged Roman.

Roman stared at the map and analyzed it carefully. After dozens of seconds, he spoke with a calm tone, "I get what you mean. The adversary has yet to discover that, according to their defensive formation, the east gate is being guarded by far too few troops. This defensive formation previously succeeded because they had a larger number of soldiers, and each side was adequately defended. However, this is no longer applicable. It has become the weak point of the enemy's encampment."

The strategist was extremely excited to hear Roman's reasoning and spoke out, "That's correct, Commander Roman, but it doesn't end there! Their overconfidence is demonstrated by the fact that they did not develop a new defensive formation. Do you recall the soldier who claimed he wasn't afraid of us since he knew the Heretical Paladins would come to their rescue? This shows that the Glerian Kingdom's forces are actually counting on this group named Heretical Paladins."

Before Roman and any other commander could say anything else, this strategist continued, "My theory has already been proven when the Glerian Kingdom's forces actually launched an ambush on us without a proper investigation. If they had properly investigated us, they would have found out about our reinforcements and thought twice before ambushing us so soon."

Nearly all the individuals seated in the room were convinced by those words. A few seconds later, Roman spoke with a solemn tone, "Even if all you say is true and say we launch an attack on their weak point and managed to breach into the encampment. How long do you think it would take for the entire Glerian Kingdom's force to gather?"

"Do you think we can handle that force? Even if we are numerically superior to them, what do you think will happen if they slaughter commanders and leaders of our forces? The gains won't outweigh the losses!" Roman finished speaking with a firm tone.

Before anyone of them could ask him, Roman stated, "Yes, I am talking about that young kid who could utilize Sword Domain! Do you know what this means? In the entire Sinyalian Kingdom, there is no warrior who can utilize a Domain under the age of 50!"

"I'm not sure why the kid didn't use it right away, but I'm guessing he was just toying with me. Despite the fact that I have my own trump cards and would not easily lose to that kid, I will not be able to stop him from slaughtering all of you!" He nearly yelled at the end.

The commanders and the strategists were startled to hear this statement. They didn't think that Roman was so worried about them. They were a little touched to know that Roman cared about them and that was why he hadn't given the order to ambush the Glerian Kingdom's encampment.

However, this didn't prevent them from trying to convince Roman to change his decision!

"You can't miss on such a great opportunity, Commander Roman! We are ready to risk our lives for this operation. And if this operation succeeds, we would be one step closer to destroying this encampment completely and expanding our boundaries!"

A commander tried to convince Roman. He wasn't the only one. All the other commanders and strategists began to convince Roman.

After a couple of seconds, Roman shouted, "Silence!" His voice was cold and firm. And all those who heard it couldn't help but shut their mouths. The entire cabin was filled with silence.

Roman then spoke out, "I understand your point and also don't wish to waste this opportunity. I am actually waiting for a comrade to arrive. He is a 5 Star Warrior and my senior from the War General's Association. I received his message, and he is already on his way. According to the latest report, it would take him another 2 days to reach the encampment!"

A thin smirk appeared on Roman's face as he asked them, "You all understand what this means, right?" The commanders and the strategists instantly understood what he meant. A wide smile appeared on their faces as they knew that Roman was telling them that they would soon attack the Glerian Kingdom's encampment.

A solemn look appeared on Roman's face as he added, "We will launch an attack 3 days later. Make sure to keep your preparations for this ambush as discreet as possible. Otherwise, the enemy will prepare a trap for us."

"Yes, Commander!" With gleeful expressions on their faces, they all yelled. They could finally exact vengeance on the Glerian Kingdom's soldiers for the murders of their subordinates and comrades!

Roman dispersed this strategy meeting. He then organized another meeting. Alby and Sophie joined Roman for this meeting. Roman then informed them of his plan of ambushing the Glerian Kingdom's encampment three days later.

He also informed them that his senior brother Gilberd was going to join them soon enough. Upon the mention of their senior brother Gilberd, Sophie's expression turned a little ugly. She recalled that man had tried to court her multiple times.

Gilberd was a bit presumptuous in his courtship of Sophie. He'd barge inside the Array Association and try to spend time with her. Sophie despised his presence and had ordered her guards to ensure that he couldn't enter her chambers.

Fortunately, her father was Spencer Russel, the captain of the Royal Guards. He has dispatched several 5 Star Warriors to defend his daughter. As a result, Gilberd couldn't go too far in his attempts to court Sophie.

Despite Sophie's repeated complaints to her father about Gilberd, no harsh action has been taken. This was because Gilberd was the son of her father's best friend, who was also the president of the War General's Association. Furthermore, Gilberd had joined many expeditions under Spencer's command and left a lasting impression on him.

Spencer believed that Gilberd was a great choice for a son-in-law.. Thus, he wasn't very harsh with the boy since he believed that his daughter would see his good points eventually.