"That old bastard Cumberland has led his cavalry out of the city?" Count Nar's expression was half relief and half regret. "Without that troublesome fellow, our plan's success rate will be greatly increased! But, not being able to wipe him out in one fell swoop makes me a little..."
Bai Ans tapped the floor with his cane, coughing loudly in his haste. "Cough! Cough! Enough of this nonsense! As the primary implementers of the plan, there are only three of us in this meeting. We must finalize the plan as soon as possible; we don't have much time!"
Rutledge tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said calmly, "Count Nar, I believe the Minister of the Interior is right. The most important thing right now is to seize the time and get the plan started as soon as possible."
Biance patted his chest hard, trying to catch his breath, and gestured for Rutledge to continue.
Rutledge nodded slightly to the old man and continued, "Cumberland took all the Knights' exotic cavalry with him this time. Considering the journey and the time spent fighting, even under the best-case scenario, we only have four days..."
Count Nar, his face grim, questioned, "Four days? We have six thousand troops at Silver Ring City! They have city walls, how could they possibly be defeated by a group of cavalry!"
Rutledge shrugged helplessly, as if he had heard the most ridiculous statement in the world.
“We have a lot to do in these four days,” Rutledge said, counting on his fingers. “First, we must take control of the camp; that’s the most crucial step.”
"There are four military camps in Muxi City: the Muxi Knights, the North Island Knights, the City Security Force, and the Kingdom Navy."
"Cumberland took away all of the Knights of Twilight's confidants, and there are already many people we've bribed in the remaining army. Before the plan is executed, all we need to do is replace the soldiers on duty at the camp gate, armory, and guard post, and taking control of the camp will be a piece of cake. So, the Knights of Twilight are not a problem."
"As for the city security force and the kingdom's navy, these two military camps are not as large or well-defended as the Twilight Knights, so they are easy to deal with."
"Only the North Island Knights are a bit more troublesome..."
Count Nar then asked, "The North Island Knights are nothing but a bunch of pirates who only know how to drink and fight. How could dealing with these good-for-nothings be difficult?"
Rutledge unconsciously drew an X on the table with his finger. "Those pirates from the North Island, their leader is a woman known as the Valkyrie, and their vice-leader is a berserker. They believe in the doctrines of the gods, and their loyalty to the Holy King is beyond our imagination. However, they are outnumbered and outgunned, so they shouldn't be too much of a problem."
Rutledge continued, "After taking care of the four military camps, the next step is to block the roads, both by sea and by land."
"On the sea, after taking control of the kingdom's naval camps, a coalition of eleven pirate organizations will cross the turbulent strait and storm directly into the port, completely blockading the entire sea area. As for the land route, the mercenary groups of the mountain tribes, our soldiers in the city's outposts, the city's garrison that has defected to us, as well as the private soldiers and guards of the Silver Ring's former retainers and merchant guilds, will each block different routes out of the city. Lord Baines already has a detailed plan regarding the division of labor, so I won't go into details here."
At this point, Rutledge let out a sigh of relief. "If things have progressed smoothly to this point, it means our plan is already more than half successful."
"Next, we will arrest all members of the current cabinet and their cronies, and take control of most of the important buildings in the city."
"Finally, and most difficult of all," Rutledge paused for a moment, then looked at Baines and Nar and said softly, "Attack the royal city."
"The palace where the Holy King resides—the capital of Muxi—is the center of power in this kingdom and the spiritual pillar of all its citizens. Only by taking the capital and killing the Holy King can we say that we have won; otherwise, it is all just empty talk."
Rutledge frowned and said seriously, "The Muxi Royal Palace is built at the highest point of Muxi City. The castle design and defensive structure were designed by Master Terence and hundreds of scholars. The royal city is divided into three parts: the outer city wall, the central area and the inner palace. The moat, arrow towers, military tunnels, traps... Muxi Royal City has all the defensive measures you can think of."
Seeing the other two looking troubled, Rutledge shook his head and said, "Do you think this is the end? The most terrifying thing about attacking the capital of Muxi is not the city defenses, but the garrison. The legion, entirely composed of alien guards, not only swears to be loyal to the king to the death, but also has combat power comparable to the Muxi Knights. Even the most ordinary guard can easily defeat a regular army squad."
Count Nar said somewhat dejectedly, "According to you, there's no way we can take the royal city."
Rutledge laughed. "We don't need to conquer the capital; we just need to kill the king."
Count Nar scoffed, "How can you possibly see the king if you don't conquer the capital?"
Rutledge looked at Baines, who nodded slightly to him.
Rutledge said in a deep voice, "The Dawson family has been funding scholars at Muxi University for years, helping them build laboratories, purchase equipment, pay assistants' salaries, and print their works free of charge. The biggest reason is not charity, but that these scholars possess what we want most—the architectural plans of the royal city."
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