Chapter 334 333. Doubt

Alama walked out of the communication room. As he left, the complex communication equipment behind him gradually dimmed and finally fell silent, leaving only the almost inaudible hum of the magic.

He was not optimistic about the proposal to incorporate the "Puji Division" system into the military structure, which was hotly debated in the parliament just now.

He is not like some of his colleagues who are worried about the potential risks of so-called "parasitism". His consideration is purely pragmatic.

In his opinion, although the number of Pujis that the Puji Division can control is huge, their individual strength is generally low, and at most they can only fill the combat power gap at the bottom of the army.

Admittedly, being able to effectively replenish the lower-level troops is not a bad thing. However, the problem is that these Pujis are not only weak in strength, but also have many troublesome limitations.

The most deadly point is the fungal mat.

Once out of the range of the fungal blanket, these seemingly convenient monsters will quickly die due to the depletion of magic power.

This means they are essentially limited to serving as a defensive force in a fixed area and are virtually unusable for any form of proactive attack or long-range deployment.

As everyone knows, the core of the Puji fungus blanket, "Mushroom City", is far away in the southernmost tip of the kingdom, while the "High Castle Fortress" he guards controls the throat of the northernmost border.

The two are so far apart, with the heart of the kingdom and the imperial army that could invade at any time between them. There is really no hope.

Because of this, he seemed somewhat bored and unable to muster any real interest throughout the lengthy parliamentary process.

Duke Alama walked up the thick walls of the High Castle Fortress.

His gaze passed over the wasteland scarred by war, and finally locked firmly on the hideous dark red building with scarlet spire on the horizon.

It was like a sword hanging over the kingdom, forcing Alama to stay here all year round.

"What's going on?" Alama asked.

"Sir!" The adjutant stepped forward and saluted, his voice muffled by the strong wind. "It's still just some ordinary small-scale skirmishes. Our scouts and observation crystals haven't detected any signs of large-scale mobilization of the Imperial army."

Alama's brows furrowed even tighter.

The lack of movement is not good news, as it goes against common sense.

He knew that the vampire Duke Eleanor from the Empire had also been sent to the front to assist Sigismund, and the army was stationed not far to the west of the spire, which could be seen from the range of the skylight released by the spire to block the sunlight.

With the reinforcement of the troops, according to Sigismund's temperament, he should have taken advantage of this momentum to launch a fierce offensive.

For this, Allama has made sufficient preparations!

The energy cores of the seven towering magic towers outside the fortress have been fully charged; the food, arrows, and alchemical potions stored in the warehouses are enough to support a siege lasting several months; he even dispatched a group of fresh troops when the situation on the northern front was tense, ready to face a bloody defensive battle at any time.

What's the result?

The opposite side was as quiet as a cemetery.

This abnormal calmness made Alama feel more uneasy than the beating of war drums.

He knew Sigismund too well, just as Sigismund knew him too well.

That enemy was despicable, insidious, cunning, cruel, and would do anything to achieve his goals, but in his dictionary full of conspiracy, the words "passivity" and "cowardice" were definitely not to be found.

The longer the imperial army remained inactive, the more Alama felt the turbulent undercurrent beneath the calm sea.

Sigimund must be plotting something, a deadly, invisible storm gathering strength in the shadow of the Scarlet Spire.

"Pass the word down," Alama instructed the adjutant behind him, "Raise all outposts to maximum alert. Tell the mages not to be stingy with their magic power and to continuously scan every inch of land around the fortress, especially underground! Also, have the knights be prepared!"

The adjutant looked up in astonishment, confirming in disbelief: "Sir, are you planning to... take the initiative?"

"I'm going to find out the background of the new vampire duke!" Alama said firmly.

"Sir, this is most likely a trap!" the adjutant hurriedly dissuaded him.

"That's better than being trapped in the city and not knowing the enemy's intentions." Alama did not give his adjutant a chance to dissuade him. He turned around resolutely and strode down the city wall.

At midnight, the vampires are at their strongest, but also the most relaxed.

Alama personally led his most elite Hemlock Knights, and under the cover of large-scale magic, raided Eleanor's position.

Then……

Big victory!

Eleanor's troops seemed to have never expected that they, the attacking party, would be ambushed!

Alama and the Hemlock Knights easily tore through the outer defense line composed of slaves and a small number of half-vampires and marched straight in.

They charged back and forth in the formation twice. Although they deliberately avoided the strongest central army camp, they still managed to turn half of the camp upside down and killed countless demons.

Finally, after a brief and fierce battle with the Blood Knights who had arrived late from the Scarlet Spire, Alama led his troops to retreat to the fortress in an orderly manner.

Looking at the knights who returned victorious and in high morale, the adjutant smacked his lips, feeling a little embarrassed.

However, there was no trace of joy on Alama's face.

The number of Hemlock Knights was limited, and although the raid was successful, it was far from enough to inflict any serious damage on the enemy.

More importantly, after this test, the doubts in his heart became even greater.

The personal strength of the newcomer, Eleanor, was unknown, but he was obviously a rookie in military command, which he had roughly figured out.

Future military operations can be mainly targeted at her. She can be both Sigismund's helper and his weakness!

What really puzzled Alama was...what exactly happened to his old rival Sigimund?

Why is the response so slow?

According to Alama's original expectation, when he led his troops into the position, the Blood Knights on the other side of the spire should have quickly dispatched to intercept, and the window for his retreat should have been very narrow.

But the result is not the case!

Moreover, in the brief confrontation with the Blood Knights, the other side gave him the feeling that they lacked a backbone, and their actions were slightly sluggish, as if Sigismund himself was not in command of the army.

However, given that Sigismund had a history of disguising himself as an ordinary knight to launch sneak attacks, Alama did not fight to the death to be on the safe side.

However, the doubts in my heart grew bigger and bigger.

Although this move might very well fall into a trap, after careful consideration, he decided to gradually increase the intensity of the confrontation and force the other party to reveal their true intentions.

…

"Sigimond!" The bloody smell in the scarlet spire was almost shaken away by the sharp roar!

Duke Eleanor angrily found Sigismund, who had never left the Scarlet Spire.

(End of this chapter)