The Gap Between You and Me - Chapter 127
Maxwell bowed his head deeply and apologized. Of course, it wasn’t entirely his fault that things turned out this way. Judging from the conclusion alone, it was none other than the Crown Prince of Velicia, Siorn, who was in charge of the overall command of the battle against Butron.
But Maxwell was an experienced, seasoned knight. Even though he was helping Siorn by his side, he couldn’t prevent the situation from escalating to this point, so he had some responsibility.
Tick tock. The sound of the second hand on the table clock on the desk resonated throughout the quiet room. Bernard opened his mouth.
“Sir.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Do you know how many troops were there when they first captured Brimdel’s Bangola Fortress?”
Maxwell narrowed his eyes. It was because, by his standards, it seemed a little out of the blue. However, remembering that Bernard was waiting for an answer from him, he quickly replied with a flat face.
“I heard about 14,000.”
“Then, how many troops are known to have been lost before that?”
“It will be about 5,000.”
“5,000? Then Kustan has deployed a total of about 20,000 troops for this war.”
Bernard spat out meaningful words and fell into deep thought. Tap, tap. His long fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk.
Then Bernard pushed back his chair and stood up.
“Prepare to send a messenger.”
“A messenger?”
“Yes. If possible, ask for three or four people who can drive horses quickly.”
Bernard strode across the study toward the door. Then he picked up the overcoat he had hung on the hanger by the door and threw it loosely over his body.
“Are you trying to request reinforcements from the capital?”
Maxwell, who was standing behind Bernard, asked.
Velicia was never a small country. Although they had given 10,000 troops to Siorn, they could still gather more troops if gathered well.
If they ask for all those troops of the capital to be handed over, the situation will be reversed. No matter how strong the opponent was, it would be difficult to deal with over 15,000 troops at once. In Maxwell’s gloomy eyes, a spark of hope was kindled.
“Sir Maxwell.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“They say you should always look at the forest, not the trees, when making a strategy.”
Tree? Forest?
Hearing Bernard’s enigmatic words, Maxwell tilted his head. But that’s for a while. Soon, his expression slowly hardened.
“No way…… ?”
Maxwell’s face was stained with bewilderment.
“What Your Highness is saying now…… ?”
Maxwell, who belatedly noticed what Bernard was trying to do, blurted out his words. A strategy that was never even conceived from the beginning, let alone considered. His face went white.
“I will hit the forest. Not the tree.”
Bernard, who left a meaningful message, went outside.
* * *
There was an old fountain inside the fortress. There was a statue of a young angel holding a pitcher of water in the center, but no water flow was visible. Perhaps it had been a long time ago since it worked, the bottom of the fountain was dry.
Jonathan sat on the rim of the fountain, mending his weapon. Even though it was a simple task of making the bowstring flexible, his expression was very serious.
The difference between life and death on the battlefield was literally a slight tilt. The smallest thing could have decided whether they would survive or not. Knowing this well, Jonathan has not been neglecting his weapon maintenance.
“Sir Jonathan.”
A few steps away, someone called Jonathan. He looked up and saw a middle-aged man in a Velicia’s knight’s uniform, standing still and looking at him.
Henry Viatello. In terms of age and career, he was a senior who was far superior to Jonathan, but the rank in the knights was not much different from him. Nevertheless, Jonathan always treated Henry favorably, and Henry cared for Jonathan a lot.
Jonathan set his weapon down beside him and rose from his seat to take a knight’s salute.
“Sir Henry. It’s been a while.”
“I know. Was the last time when you saw Benji’s inauguration in the capital city?”
Henry also nodded to Jonathan, taking a knight’s salute. Henry approached Jonathan’s place and glanced at the bow he was mending. Then he laughed lightly.
“I heard that it will still take some time for them to reach this place, are you already refining your weapons?”
“Of course. No one knows when or where it will happen.”
“Anyway, whether in the past or now, you should know that thorough preparation is necessary.”
Henry exaggeratedly pretended to click his tongue. Knowing it was a harmless joke, Jonathan smiled silently.
“I heard a little bit about what happened. You must be very tired.”
“I think so, but it’s rather fine. Is it because of the tension or what?”
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders and replied.
“What about Sir Henry? I heard you fought before Butron?”
“What am I…… It was a bit difficult at first, but now it’s a lot better.”
Is it because it reminds him of the past? Henry’s complexion, which had been having a relaxed expression, darkened. He let out a long sigh.
“And in fact, the soldiers are more of a problem than me.”
“The soldiers?”
Unexpectedly, Jonathan asked. Henry nodded his head.
“Yes. Their morale has dropped a lot since the Butron battle.”
“…… I heard that there was great damage there.”
Jonathan said cautiously.
“6,000 troops were lost.”
“Yes. That’s a really ridiculous number. It’s a really unbelievable…….”
Henry murmured with a bitter smile.
“Sir Jonathan. As you know, I have been involved in many battles. But it was the first battle where I felt as one-sided as the Butron battle.”
“One-sided?”
Want to read more? Up to [24] advanced chapters are available on Patreon:
For update pings, novel discussions and/or to send mistake reports, join our discord server~!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
