Chapter 100 A Storm is Brewing, and Only Betrayal Is What Andra Will Never For a Second...

Ah, Andra reined in her warhorse, and standing on the high hillside, she gazed at the fortresses stretching like a mountain range, a smile she couldn't help but share.

Eleanor, who did you learn all this from?

She was quite certain that no one in history had ever built a defensive line like this.

After all, everyone prefers to fight with their strong bodies and passion, so who would waste their time and effort building tall and sturdy "fences"? It's time-consuming, laborious, and ineffective.

But the fortress Eleanor built was completely different from the fortresses of the past.

Not only are they taller and sturdier, but they are also equipped with teeth-grinding traps. What's even more absurd is that these fortresses are close enough to form an interconnected network.

Even though Andra couldn't look down at the earth from the sky, she could still sketch out a simple chessboard structure in her mind.

If she were to bypass one or two troublesome strongholds using her past tactics, the fortresses on the flanks would immediately launch a surprise attack, creating an extremely dangerous pincer movement.

If the two armies are evenly matched, Andra will definitely be excited to accept the challenge. She will readily fight from the first to the tenth, the hundredth, fully enjoying the thrill of dismantling her enemies with each punch.

But at this moment... Andra clearly saw Eleanor's intentions.

[Use superior numbers to overwhelm the weak, and proceed with steady and methodical tactics.]

No wonder Eleanor, who always cherishes the people's resources, would play such a wasteful and costly move.

This kind of formation, densely packed like a fence and piled up like boulders, is best suited for annihilating a small number of elite troops inside.

The Norlanans, fighting on home ground with convenient supplies, reportedly maintain a large number of off-duty soldiers with Eleanor's support, making them a formidable fighting force.

Although she had conducted two rounds of recruitment and recruited some Hetuya cavalry, and the pirates' combat strength was still considerable, they were ultimately at a clear disadvantage in terms of numbers and cohesion.

This group of people could never possibly storm the fortress while suffering huge casualties.

This must have been Eleanor's idea.

Because no general would be willing to openly admit, "I can't beat you, I'm going to overwhelm you with sheer numbers and horrible fortifications," before the war has even begun.

But Eleanor...it wouldn't be surprising if she did something like that.

For a fleeting moment, Andra truly wanted to crush her head-on and demonstrate his superior tactics to the princess. Unfortunately, he couldn't.

I can't lose, Eleanor.

Andra raised his hand to stop the eager adjutant. "Ignore these nails, let's take another route."

"yes."

......

How despicable, Andra!

Eleanor stared at the sand table, nearly grinding her teeth to powder.

With only a month left, time and resources were extremely limited. In order to block Andra's elite troops, she couldn't cut corners on the construction of the fortress.

Therefore, she could only set up fortifications in the most critical locations and on the main roads, abandoning some unnecessary side roads.

Eleanor had planned to slowly repair the rear fortresses while Andra attacked the front ones, but Andra didn't take the route that was being prioritized for construction!

"call......"

She had planned meticulously, but this hastily constructed defense was bound to have weaknesses. The biggest weakness was exploited right under her nose by Andra.

That is the city-state itself.

The sun blazed outside the palace, but Eleanor only felt waves of coldness coursing through her body.

She was not unaware of this: it was still a slave society, and the state was a loose alliance of many city-states, so she could not expect to have absolute dominance in every city-state.

But she really didn't expect these nobles to be so shameless.

"What exactly did Andra promise you?!"

Eleanor slammed her fist on the table. "Foolish! Do you really think she'll keep her promise once she breaks in?!"

"Andra, how could you even promise to give away a mine?"

In her memory, Angie shook her head at Anya, while Anya simply picked up the quill pen on the table, tossed it up, and caught it again.

"It's okay, I'll be back soon anyway~"

Andra's promises will always be "fulfilled," but those who receive her rewards must continuously prove their worth to the king. Otherwise, they will suffer misfortune, having to vomit up everything they've taken for various reasons, with interest.

Greed? Sure, the more money in your pocket, the better.

Cruel? They're adorable; they can help deal with many tricky people and situations.

Infidelity... betrayal is the only flaw that Andra will not tolerate for even a second.

Eleanor gradually calmed down, and she could roughly guess the price Andra had offered.

【future】

She must have promised the nobles of Norlana a brighter future, and promised to gradually relinquish the interests of Hertuya and Belial.

She might sweetly promise to make the "Princess of Norlana" her most honorable queen, and to make that future heir the sole king of the three kingdoms, ending all meaningless conflicts.

They might have promised other positions, more princesses? More courtiers? Anything would be welcome; who would want to miss out on this rising star?

In short, Andra gained the support of a number of city lords.

They actually allowed their army to secretly pass through the city, perfectly bypassing the not-so-dense fortresses!

Utterly foolish.

Cluck, cluck cluck.

Eleanor's teeth chattered; she hadn't expected Andra to dare to gamble so recklessly.

The nobles were not afraid of her burning, killing, and looting when she passed through their territory, nor were they afraid of the nobles turning against her in the city.

The "relationship" between these two groups was so sweet that it made her want to laugh.

Andra rushed to the capital, and the nobles trapped there might even think she was the savior of the noble bloodline!

No...no, this can't go on, she'll lose!

Eleanor pushed open the door to her study and ran toward her former bedroom, which had been connected to another palace and transformed into a research room and royal library.

"Princess Eleanor?"

"Your Highness."

The scholars bowed and watched with concern the princess, who was panting heavily. She was pale and seemed about to collapse and fall into a deep sleep at any moment.

Eleanor straightened up and looked around, her shoulders slowly drooping.

She still has many cards to play.

The capital city and the Manju family's city-state also house newly crafted weapons and equipment, including fine steel weapons, armor, and even horse armor and new horse tack.

Scholars have developed even more powerful gunpowder bullets, and their first appearance should be quite startling.

Many generals are still willing to pledge their allegiance to her—the princess of Norlana. Perhaps she can successfully ambush Andra in the wilderness and end this war once and for all...

She hasn't lost yet, but she must be prepared to lose.

Eleanor raised her head and softly addressed her followers who had come from all over the world: "Gentlemen, please take your research records and disperse with your apprentices according to the pre-arranged plan. If we win this war, I will reconvene you all."

If we cannot win, consider the advance research funding and the gold in the scroll box as my farewell gift to everyone.

The scholars remained silent for a moment.

Some people immediately turned around and began packing their things, but others remained where they were and asked softly, "Your Highness, why must this war continue?"

Now it was Eleanor's turn to remain silent.

She knew that everyone was influenced by misinformation, believing that Andra's bringing a mere 20,000 to 30,000 people into Norlana was a subtle "courtesy."

When Andra held the knife to their necks, they thought Andra was the performer who stuck his head into the lion's mouth.

"Please believe me, Andra is far more dangerous than you see."

She paused, then emphasized, "Think about it carefully, Alisa was responsible for the deaths of 60,000 people!"

This statement was very persuasive, and more and more scholars began to pack their belongings with their apprentices.

When the crowd had mostly dispersed, Hudora quietly approached her and whispered, "Your Highness, please come with me. Someone wants to see you."

Upon hearing this, Eleanor instinctively shuddered.

Could it be Andra again? Does she have teleportation abilities?

"Your Highness?"

Eleanor shook her head, banishing the absurd idea from her mind: Impossible. If Andra could really do such a thing, she would just break off all the petals on her neck instead of playing with time travel!

She nodded and followed Hudora across the long bridge into the sky garden—

*Slap slap*

A figure fell from the treetop and tumbled into the bushes.

Mysella stood up, her head covered in leaves, and shook off the petals like a big golden retriever.

She bent down exaggeratedly, pursed her lips, and said in a playful tone, "Good afternoon, my dear sister~ Long time no see, looks like you haven't been doing so well?"

Mysella has lost weight and gotten darker.

Her entire body was tanned to the color of toasted bread, and even smelled of caramel. She wore a set of studded leather armor, with a dagger hanging on her left and a short sword on her right, and an unidentified water jug ​​slung across her back.

Why Mysella? What can she do here?

Eleanor looked at Hudora in confusion, who had retreated into the corridor, leaving the scene to the reunited sisters.

"Lily, you're so cold to me~ Aren't you ignoring me?"

Mysella pressed down on her shoulder and said helplessly, "Alright, alright, I know what you were thinking back then."

......

What do you know?

Eleanor never expected Myrcella's forgiveness.

Her sister retained her "innocence" throughout all her lives: simply enjoying life and naively yearning for the throne. How could she possibly understand a sister who would "betray herself for the throne"?

Even though time was of the essence, Eleanor couldn't help but ask, "Really? Then tell me, why did I send you away back then?"

"cut!"

Mysella pouted unhappily: How can you call that being sent? She was clearly escorted to the ship by a dozen strong women, and almost ended up on the other side of the ocean playing in the mud with monkeys!

She glanced at her sister and said reluctantly, "You must have anticipated that Andra wasn't dead yet, and you were afraid she would come and wipe us all out, right? At least leave some bloodline."

Well, it's not quite right, but it's not far off either.

"Sister, did you wake up with memories of your past life?"

Eleanor looked at her with the eyes one would expect from a time traveler, which infuriated Myrcella so much that she grabbed her sister's head and rubbed it frantically.

"Silly Lily! I'm not dreaming!"

She and her sister laughed and joked for a while, then she suddenly grabbed Eleanor's wrist and whispered, "Let's run away together? Let's forget about these people."

Eleanor looked into her emerald eyes, her heart filled with emotion.

What did my sister, who sat on the throne in her past life and thought herself invincible, experience in this life that made her run away without hesitation?

"What? You don't believe me?"

When Myrcella didn't get a reply from her sister, she anxiously increased her strength.

Eleanor smiled and shook her head.

"Running away won't help; you came back anyway."

"Uh." This sentence shut up Mysera's mouth.

This is, of course, a lie.

Rather than trusting Mysera's "proven" abilities, it's better to trust yourself.

Eleanor thought for a moment, then put her arm around her sister's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Do me a favor."

"Alright! Assassinate Andra?"

"...No, gather intelligence. You go after Andra, and report to me every little thing that happens each day."

......

More than ten days have passed, and Andra is still galloping freely across the land of Nolana, where he is greeted by nobles wherever he goes.

It seems the house arrest has had limited effect; the family members remaining in the area can still make decisions for the patriarch. If this continues, Andra will eventually be able to invade the capital.

By the time she gets close to the capital, the tide will be over, and even a two- or three-fold difference in troop strength will be of no use.

Eleanor pressed the necklace around her neck and gently wiped away a streak of blood.

Before the first bloodstain had dried, she wiped away the second one—she wanted to test the limits of bloodstains.