Chapter 568 What is a Speed Race?
The manor where Marcus lives is naturally the secret manor of the Thorn family.
No one except the core members of the Thorn Family would know about this place.
At this time, two guards in blue uniforms were wiping the doorpost relief with deerskin, and the amethyst ball on the thorn relief was polished to a translucent finish.
The rose maze in the south courtyard was trimmed with sharp edges, and the deep red dragon blood roses and cream moonlight roses were intertwined into arcades. Three gardeners were trimming excess branches with silver scissors.
Marcus was sipping black tea on the second floor of the main building behind the courtyard.
In terms of the level of luxury enjoyed, Rand's holiday villa cannot compare with the heritage of the Thorn Family.
As an old ducal family, the Thorn Family is not only influential within the Frost Moon Kingdom.
The Thorn Family has at least seven or eight manors of this kind, which are so luxurious that Rand can hardly believe it.
However, Marcus not only likes this secluded manor, but also the lively place in the holiday villa.
Marcus likes the tranquility here, but that doesn't mean he hates the entertainment in the resort that is a bit cheap compared to Marcus' noble status.
For someone like Marcus, whether it is cheap or not is not a big deal.
Even if Marcus only wore the linen clothes of the villagers, no one would think that Marcus was poor or had low taste.
It's the same as Rand never having to prove its military capabilities again.
So Marcus is also very interested in new and interesting things.
"Did Rand reply to the letter?" At this moment, Marcus certainly had no intention of admiring the magnificent scenery of this peaceful manor.
When I learned that Rand had broken through all the defenses of the Kingdom of Bolen except the royal city in such a short time.
Marcus's originally leisurely life of fishing was obviously coming to an end.
Now Marcus had to wait anxiously for Rand's reply.
"Not yet, Your Majesty," the intelligence officer replied helplessly.
He had long served Marcus, the always thoughtful lord.
The last time I saw Marcus so anxious was during the first civil war within the Frost Moon Kingdom.
At other times, His Majesty Marcus always managed to keep his composure.
And today, Lord Marcus was so anxious again.
But it is true that when he, an intelligence officer, learned about these things, he was completely stunned. He verified them repeatedly several times before he dared to come and report.
"Did Rand reply to the letter?" Marcus asked again not long after.
Just as the intelligence officer was about to reply again, a magical carrier pigeon flew through the ivy-covered porch and passed over the decorative armor beside the marble steps.
Came to the main building of the manor.
The ochre-red sandstone exterior of the main building was also covered with ivy, and velvet curtains hung on each diamond-shaped window frame. The oak-clad copper door of the main entrance was half open, and apprentices could be seen wiping the armor on both sides of the spiral stone steps - the armor of ancestors from past generations was maintained with goose oil.
Go up the spiral stone steps to the second floor, and then walk through the violet corridor under the colorful light reflected by the glazed windows, and you will find Marcus.
Of course, Marcus also noticed the magic pigeon.
He didn't have the patience to wait for the intelligence officer to check the letter, so he walked over and took the letter out from under the claws of the magic pigeon.
Then, he opened the letter under the vigilant eyes of the guards around him - the letter from the magic pigeon might be poisoned or set with some magic traps, but it was extremely difficult to intercept the magic pigeon and do these things.
There was nothing wrong with the letter.
Marcus opened the letter and saw Rand's family emblem, wheat ears and a sword and shield.
Marcus quickly cut the lacquer seal and opened the letter.
The letter contained crooked handwriting, which in short was Rand's handwritten reply.
To be honest, Rand's handwritten reply showed his importance, but Marcus, who was a very elegant person with a family tradition, was really disgusted by Rand's ugly handwriting.
When Marcus first met Rand, he knew that Rand's handwriting was very ugly. Marcus also knew that Rand practiced writing frequently, but so far Rand's handwriting seems to have not improved at all.
I don’t know what level of calligraphy Rand has reached.
But at least I can understand it.
Marcus squinted at the letter.
The content of Rand's letter was very detailed, and Rand had nothing to hide regarding strategic deployment.
It’s all written out and explained.
In short, it's the right time, right place, and right people, and a dual attack of the mind and the physical.
Marcus was able to understand the contents related to these strategic deployments.
Marcus was also quite knowledgeable about military affairs, but he preferred to be a hands-off boss, so he seldom led the army himself.
But I couldn’t understand it after reading it.
What does it mean that the enemy's command is in disarray and they are defeated as soon as they engage? What does it mean that the enemy goes out of the city to fight a decisive battle, but when they flee, they don't even have time to close the city gates, and they are directly attacked by the gates?
What does it mean that the enemy's arrows are too weak to penetrate our armor?
What does it mean that the enemy wizard is slow to react and is destroyed by his own arrows and magic before he even starts casting a spell?
What does it mean that the enemy's walls were in disrepair and collapsed in a short time because of our siege equipment? What does it mean that in order to compete for merit, we held a speed competition on the enemy's territory? If the above military deployment seems reasonable, the logic in all aspects is also understandable.
Then the subsequent battle reports were completely illogical and bizarre.
Marcus did not think that Rand was just trying to fool him. Once the contents of the battle report were "resurrected", they would soon reach his ears. Besides, the Thorn Family was actually participating in this war, so it was impossible for Rand to falsify the battle report.
But let Marcus believe that these war reports are true...
Did Marcus feel that he had lived in vain at this age? Could it be that this world was not what he had lived in the past, but a different one that he had never seen before? "Damn it, damn it, forget it, prepare the horses." Marcus ordered.
Before receiving the letter, Marcus still had some hope.
Now it seems that his time of slacking off is really coming to an end, and now he must go to the Dukedom of the Moon Phase to confirm the situation.
And deal with the follow-up matters regarding the Kingdom of Bolen.
These were originally military issues, and he could leave them to Rand without a second thought.
But the military problem was solved too quickly by Rand.
What follows is more political problems.
In fact, Marcus felt that Rand could also handle political issues.
But Rand is only a newly promoted duke after all. Although his abilities are enough to convince the people, his qualifications are not enough.
If Rand comes... Marcus still believes that Rand can handle it, but Marcus is very worried that Rand will learn from him and pretend to be dead and disappear.
Then it will be Marcus' turn to be in trouble.
So now that he realized the situation had reached such a point, he had no choice but to "resurrect".
And the royal city of the Kingdom of Borun has not been conquered yet.
There is also the issue of the Boren Kingdom Navy that needs to be dealt with. If he comes out to help now, it won't make Rand too resentful.
"Oh~." Marcus sighed. The original six-month vacation was shortened to one month, which was really hard for him to accept. Although it was a good thing that the war would end quickly, it was not good for Marcus' mental health.
…
And Rand was finally no longer in charge of the overall situation at the resort.
Previously, Rand did not go to the front line in person, but stayed in the holiday villa, which gave the Kingdom of Bolan an illusion.
They thought that the formal attack would only be launched after Rand himself arrived and all the troops were assembled.
But now that all the tactics have been successful, and the siege will not be easy, there is no need for Rand to put all the burden on Taner.
Rand will personally participate in the siege of the Kingdom of Bolen.
Just as Marcus attached importance to the subsequent treatment of the Kingdom of Bolen, Rand also attached great importance to this.
Although the army of the Kingdom of Borun was indeed vulnerable.
But at least for now, the Kingdom of Bolen has no intention of surrendering.
As for why the army on the front line was defeated so suddenly and quickly, the Kingdom of Bolen still did not think of surrendering.
That is naturally because the nobles and royal family of the Kingdom of Borun are well aware that this war of plunder by the Kingdom of Frost Moon against the Kingdom of Borun is not a random looting war, or a battle for some individual land.
This is a real war between countries, and a war of annihilation with the determination to destroy countries.
Under such circumstances, Rand was actually reluctant to allow the Kingdom of Bolen to surrender.
No matter how many promises the Kingdom of Bolen made or how much it was willing to give, no matter how tempted Rand was, it would be the same.
Because at this point, it is no longer Rand's problem alone, but the matter of the entire Frost Moon Kingdom.
In this incident, Rand's identity to the Kingdom of Bolen is no longer the Duke of Moon Phase, but the Hand of the King of the Frost Moon Kingdom.
If Rand's identity is the Duke of the Moon Phase, then he can deal with the affairs of the Kingdom of Bollen at will, whether it is occupying land, plundering people, or coexisting peacefully.
Rand has absolute sovereignty over the land of his Lunar Dukedom, and he can do whatever he wants with it. This is one of the reasons why Rand was reluctant to let the situation develop to its current point in the past.
And if Rand serves as the Hand of the King, then he represents the interests of all the nobles and royal family of the Frostmoon Kingdom.
Before the war broke out, the nobles and the royal family all expressed their determination to strongly support the war.
Then, while waiting for the war to begin, the nobles and royal family of the Frost Moon Kingdom actually contributed real money, food, and military strength.
Without the support of the nobles and royal family of the Frost Moon Kingdom, Rand would not have the confidence and military strength to carry out such a military operation.
Therefore, Rand would not attribute all the credit for this war to himself. He attached great importance to and acknowledged the support of the nobles and royal family of the Frost Moon Kingdom.
Here we need to briefly mention the issue of the royal family of the Frost Moon Kingdom. Marcus cannot fully represent the royal family. He is more of a member of the Thorn Family. However, the royal family's direct bloodlines are all in the Rand Territory. Therefore, in this case, the royal family can only choose to support this war.
In short, the nobles of the Frost Moon Kingdom are now thinking about dividing the Borun Kingdom.
It was impossible for Rand to accept the surrender of the Kingdom of Bolen against the will of all the nobles.
The people of the Kingdom of Bolen are obviously well aware of this, so they will put up a desperate resistance, that is for sure.
Because if the country is destroyed, it is obvious that the Frost Moon Kingdom will greedily devour the entire Bolun Kingdom.
Their long-standing families would be destroyed, their family crests would be crushed, and they would no longer be able to hold noble status.
They could be massacred or become no different from the lowly villagers.
This is something that all nobles absolutely cannot accept.
Rand had arrived at the military camp not far from the capital of the Kingdom of Bolen.
The first person Rand saw was Taner, whose eyes were already bloodshot. It was obvious that even with Taner's top physical condition, he could not sustain commanding the battle for such a long time.
Rand and Taner hugged each other and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Taner just grinned as usual. Taner has always been so calm and steady. Although his eyes were bloodshot at this time, Taner's mental state seemed very excited.
Maybe commanding such an unprecedented battle would make all commanders as excited as Taner? "What's the situation now?" Rand asked Taner.
"As you expected, the resistance of the forces participating in the Kingdom of Bolen is very fierce." Taner's voice was as dull as ever.
As the general of the Sanctuary, Taner has followed Rand for many years.
Even Taner is still not used to calling himself a sanctuary force rather than a hideout.
Now Taner is no longer too worried about his identity as a mole being discovered.
In fact, Taner didn't want to be a traitor. He already wanted to join the Holy Land. I believe the Torch Goddess would definitely forgive him.
He was also very clear that what he had done was irreversible. He could deceive anyone but not himself.
So he had to bear the identity of the traitor and continue like this.
And he is not without flaws.
If we analyze Taner's past behavioral logic, it is possible to find out that Taner is actually a traitor, and not someone who really wants to join the Sanctuary.
At least it was at first.
The capital of the Kingdom of Borun is a city that is difficult to be besieged.
Because a considerable part of this royal city is facing the sea.
The Kingdom of Bolen can deliver supplies via its fleet on the sea, and can even use the fleet's firepower to assist in city defense.
This makes the royal city impregnable and difficult to break through.
Although the nobles and royal family of the Kingdom of Borun may never have thought that they would face a battle to defend the city under such circumstances.
Now they finally understood the situation from the messy and sporadic information.
Although they don't understand why the current situation has happened.
But they knew that if they could not defend the royal city, they would die.
This is a bit difficult for Rand, because the warriors and knights of the Kingdom of Bolen are not weak.
When Rand dealt with the Knights of the Kingdom of Boren, he was faced with a fight to the death.
On the contrary, there are some weak elements among the nobles of the Kingdom of Borun, but the current situation does not allow their nobles to be weak.
"Then let's press on step by step." Rand narrowed his eyes, "There must be no city in this world that cannot be conquered."
(End of this chapter)
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