Chapter 97 The Devious Path Deep within her contracting pupils, a long, golden-red...
"What, Eleanor wants me to go back?"
Beside the tent, Alisa stared in surprise at the marigold token presented by the messenger, almost scratching her head in surprise.
She quickly realized what was happening, and angrily pushed the token away: "This is too childish! Tell her to wait patiently in Enlin for me to come home victorious."
Even a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders, let alone someone who is the emperor.
Eleanor is so presumptuous...!
Alisa turned her horse around and rejoined the army. Her pent-up frustration from years of suppression dissipated in the presence of tens of thousands of soldiers and quickly swelled into a kind of courage-like "kingly confidence".
Hehe, just think about the expressions on those people's faces back then; they acted like they didn't even see her.
Things are different now. Everyone's lives are in her hands. These soldiers and generals will follow in her footsteps, marching ever onward to victory!
laugh.
Alisa felt a strange pleasure looking at the messenger's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot.
She could almost see Eleanor through this messenger—a more respectful and humble Eleanor.
Is the wise princess, forged in gold, always right? She witnessed it, but she simply refuses to believe it.
Alisa imagined Eleanor crying, watching her cower and hug her waist, explaining the reasons for the retreat in the gentlest of voices.
And she herself would naturally straighten her back, pick up her wife, kiss her trembling lips forcefully, and shout, "Trust me!"
Sigh~ My lovely wife still doesn't understand military strategy and is a bit timid.
Alisa was convinced that Eleanor had only heard rumors and was terrified by the legend of the Pirate King, which was why she was urging her to withdraw her troops.
Withdraw troops? What troops does she need to withdraw?
Alisa looked around with amusement. She had specially selected the tribe's elite troops and reluctantly accepted the general recommended by Eleanor. In terms of troop strength, there was an absolute difference of almost six times.
With such a huge advantage, if she retreats without a fight, who knows how much ridicule she'll face? Some people will definitely say she's crazy!
"Set off!"
She brandished her long sword with great spirit and gave the order to her adjutant: "Pass down the order, march quickly today!"
"yes!"
In the following days, Alisa received several gifts and letters from Enlin, which she ignored.
As the leader of the army, she could not be disturbed by her wife's crying, as that would undermine morale.
......
There are many ways to fight a war between two countries, and the situations of attacking and defending a city are completely different.
In their letter of appeal, the nobles of Belai said they were willing to open three border cities to the army of Norlana, hoping everyone would join them in defending the cities.
In their letter, they stated that the greedy pirate king had openly promised during his coronation to lead his filthy pirates to conquer Norlana!
Regardless of the Pirate King's true strength, if her scimitar were to strike at the land of Norlana, it would inevitably affect the relationship between the two nations.
Alisa readily agreed.
Although she had no feelings for Norlana, she knew it was best to let the war break out on foreign soil.
......
Several days later, the border town of Ruya opened its gates wide.
The people lined the roadside waving bouquets, and the city lord led his men to the scene, humbly like a lowly soldier leading the way.
In order to easily defeat the pirate king, Alisa brought more than 60,000 reinforcements. These 60,000 men were to be distributed among three cities, as one city certainly could not contain them.
Therefore, she selected only one legion to enter the city together, preparing to assist in the city's defense starting the next day, while the rest of the legions were stationed outside the city.
Alisa left the messenger behind to discuss the specifics with the city lord, while she herself boldly led her personal guards into the city lord's mansion and nearby inns, filling all the best rooms.
......
As the sun gradually set, Alisa donned a magnificent cloak and strolled through the lord's back garden, humming a song.
Hey, all these people depend on me.
She looked at the flowers and stretched, thinking: "After such a long march, my bones are practically melting. I'll have to take it easy afterwards—"
rustling—
Suddenly, a strange noise came from the bushes.
Someone's there!
Alisa was startled at first, then smiled happily.
Ah, it must be the "little surprise" the city lord hinted at earlier, right? She was followed by several stunning beauties when she greeted her...
Sigh, the people from Belair really know how to handle things, coming up with all this romantic chance encounters~
Alisa raised her hand to wipe her hair from her forehead and turned around with the most elegant posture.
Turning around, he saw a young man with an ordinary appearance and no memorable features stand up from the bushes.
"His Majesty."
The other party's words made Alisa's heart sink: "The city lord has already defected; this city is a trap!"
......
As dusk settled, torches were lit beside the ruins of the camp, illuminating the panicked and angry faces of the people.
"You bastards, how dare you gang up on me?!"
Alisa sat in the tent, clutching her left shoulder and cursing loudly.
She believed the man's warning immediately, but it was too late.
Alisa had no acting skills or diplomatic maneuvering, so she simply grabbed a knife and ran outside, shouting for her guards to follow her.
This completely exposed their location, and the rebels hiding in the city lord's mansion decisively chose to concentrate their fire. A barrage of arrows rained down from the tower, piercing a hole in Alisa's shoulder.
What's worse is that the soldiers inside the city have already enjoyed the "delicious food" under the warm hospitality of the city lord's mansion!
Eleanor did treat her soldiers well, showing favoritism in policy and approving large sums of rations for every training exercise and special operation.
Unfortunately, Alisa's confidants were clearly adept at sifting grains, filtering them layer by layer until only bean porridge was left, enough to fill them up to about 70-80%, and they often went for days without seeing a single piece of meat.
The city lord's mansion opened its granary and brought in several cattle and sheep—a huge pot of meat was poured in, and the aroma of the meat was irresistible.
By the time the Marigold Merchant Guild's spies rushed over at the risk of their lives to deliver the news, the soldiers had already devoured everything, meat and all. Soon after, many were clutching their stomachs, writhing in agony, too weak to even lift their legs, let alone hold a knife!
The good news is that the Pirate King's side doesn't have any powerful poisons, and these people will recover from the poisoning after just two days of rest.
The bad news is—
"Charge! Kill!!!"
As soon as they fell, a group of people rushed out and started hacking at the soldiers on the ground.
Bang!
One by one, human heads rolled off, leaving behind scars the size of bowls.
......
Alissa sat in the tent, sweating profusely.
Damn it! We've lost 30% of our troops and supplies before we even got started! Maybe... we should just listen to Eleanor and go back? This pirate king is a bit wicked.
Whoosh—
As she hesitated, some arrows whizzed towards the camp, landing with a clatter on the ground. One even thudded into her tent pole, startling her.
"Chase after them!" Alisa gritted her teeth, snapped the arrow in half, and took the paper binding it from the arrow to examine it closely.
The guards chased after them like hunting dogs, but before they had taken two steps, they heard a furious roar of "Ah!"
Alisa ripped the paper in her hand into pieces and stomped on it wildly! The carpet and the pieces of paper were trampled into a mess.
The adjutant quickly gave someone a wink, then took another sheet and quietly opened it.
The drawings on the paper imitated the science textbooks created by Eleanor, using vivid little figures to mock Alisa from all angles.
First, they questioned her lineage, believing she was a "mixed-race child" adopted by King Hetuya from a pigsty.
Then they mocked her abilities, describing her as a baby swaying back and forth by Eleanor's skirt, crying "Mama Mama~ Waa ...
The painting depicts a pig-headed baby clinging to a princess's arms, crying loudly, accompanied by two lines of text.
What an incompetent fool! Just because you put on a crown, you think you're human?
Go back to your milk, you good-for-nothing!
At the bottom of the unfolded panel is a two-panel comic strip.
The left panel depicts a pig-headed figure wearing a crown, with an arrow pointing upwards that reads "Crown Storage".
The little pig-headed figure on the right has turned into a fragrant roast suckling pig, with its crown held in the hand of someone resembling Eleanor, and below it a bunch of hungry babies rolling around and crying.
An arrow points up to the top, with the message: "Anyone could be better than you!"
The adjutant was so frightened that she crumpled the paper and stuffed it into her mouth before swallowing it. Alissa, who was next to her, turned visibly red, her entire face turning the color of soy sauce, like a roasted suckling pig.
"I want to kill, I want to kill, kill her—get out of here! Get out of here!"
Enraged, Alisa dispatched scouts at top speed to reconnoiter the vicinity and gather intelligence on the other two cities.
The intelligence that came back was quite detailed, saying that although the two cities were a bit far from Norlana, they had not been turned by the Pirate King for various reasons.
However compelling the intelligence was, Alisa could no longer believe it.
As the redness faded, her intelligence regained its dominance.
After all, with so much of her available fighting force lost at once, if she were to casually enter some city lord's mansion and suffer another loss of so many soldiers... well, even if she managed to escape unscathed, Eleanor would take her life!
"Your Majesty, let's withdraw our troops!"
A strategist secretly approached her, knelt on the ground, and earnestly advised, "Princess Eleanor said that there might be something fishy about that pirate king...!"
These words shattered Alisa's wavering pride, and she swung her arm and slapped the person in front of her hard.
"Get out! If you dare to undermine morale again, I'll kill you... What's a mere pirate king? Even if she's a reincarnated war goddess, I can make her die back to her original state!!"
Alisa decided to trust her own wisdom.
She wrote a letter to the lords of both cities, ordering them to bring all their citizens out and hand over the task of defending the cities entirely to her.
War is dangerous; no living person is allowed to remain in the city. The livestock will be left to feed the warriors; this is our due reward for our aid to Belai.
After she finished writing the letter, she led the remaining soldiers to forcibly conquer the city that dared to fool her, and slaughtered all the able-bodied people in it who had the strength to wield weapons.
Fearing the grain in the granary might be poisonous, they simply burned it all.
The reply was a bit slow this time, but the two city lords eventually responded to King Hetuya.
A city lord politely declined her request, saying that they had decided to defend their own homeland: please go and support the others, or you can snipe the pirate king on the plains.
Another city lord wrote in his letter: "After some time of consideration, we have decided to obey your instructions and look forward to your arrival."
Alisa packed up the gold and silver jewelry she had stolen and happily went to the appointment.
She was much more cautious this time. She first sent scouts in to survey the city and only after confirming that the city was deserted did she send generals in batches to lead troops to garrison inside.
"Your Majesty, I still don't feel very safe. What if there are assassins?"
When Eleanor's advisor couldn't persuade Alisa, he quickly offered a plan.
She had one of Hertuya's guards put on Alisa's armor and enter the city first as Alisa, while Alisa stayed outside the city with the main force.
......
A few days later, one night, with a deafening roar, flames soared into the sky from the fortified city! At the same time, flames also broke out at the outposts outside the city.
The fire outside was quickly extinguished by the soldiers, but the fire inside the city was quite different. It not only spread everywhere along the buildings, but also crackled and popped as the flames rose.
The entire city lord's mansion and its inhabitants were burned to ashes. Those who managed to escape were severely burned and unable to keep up with the march.
"Ugh...pirate, pirate...Scarface?"
Alisa stood on the high hillside, speechless as she "admired" at least one legion being reduced to ashes, her heart pounding and her vision going black.
Bang! Bang!
Alisa punched herself hard in the chest twice, her face turning pale. Her long-standing inferiority complex finally caught up with her again, pressing down on her back with a smile.
It's over, it's all over.
She had received military training from the Hetuya royal family, so even under such circumstances, she did not completely lose her mind.
Alisa gritted her teeth, abandoning all the seriously wounded, and led the remaining troops back to the border of Norlana. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Marigold Merchant Guild's post station and boundary marker in the distance.
She's at least alive and going back... she just needs to figure out how to explain it to Eleanor.
Boom, boom boom.
The wind howled in my ears, the horses' hooves thundered, and a line of black dots spread rapidly from a line to a surface, obscuring the horizon bathed in the afterglow.
They're pursuers!
Alisa first stiffened and turned around, then quickly smiled: Haha, looks like there aren't many people.
The scout quickly returned, reporting—the enemy forces number approximately ten thousand!
It's just a mere ten thousand people.
Alisa silently calculated in her heart: their remaining soldiers, not counting the servants who were just filling in, numbered a full 15,000. The advantage of two against one was in my hands!
She is the Hetuya Wolf Queen born on the grasslands, while her opponents are nothing more than a bunch of fish and shrimp pirates who have come ashore!
A surge of ruthless heroism dispelled the unease in his heart.
"Everyone, follow me—"
Alisa brandished her blade, gathering her strength, and eagerly charged towards the approaching figure—
Thump-thump-thump!
The thunder grew louder and louder.
The galloping horses transformed into surging waves, and a figure emerged from the crowd like an orca, as if swimming in a sea of sand.
The legendary pirate king led the way, his clear silhouette reflected in Alisa's iris.
Deep within her contracted pupils, her long, golden-red hair danced like flames.
"And...La?"
A vague memory struck Alisa's heart; she thought she had forgotten, but in fact she hadn't forgotten at all.
The flickering flame of her youth ran towards her through the wild grass, and the shadow she had deliberately ignored yet was filled with envy leaped from her dream into reality.
No, that's not Andra.
Alisa refused to acknowledge that it was Andra, whether because of the twisted and ugly scar or because of her own fragile self-esteem.
That's the Pirate King, just a mere Pirate King... nothing more!
Alisa let out a ferocious roar and swung her long sword at her sisters who should have been dead.
-----------------------
Author's Note: [Three-Cat Cat] believes she can defeat Andra's Alisa with twice the troops... which is kind of cute in a way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
