My Kingdom Building Done Right!

"What happened?" Vogel asked in a serious tone. "Why are you all back so soon? And why are so many people injured?!"

Duran could only click his tongue and tell the Vermillion Bird General this wasn’t the place to discuss the matter.

Their arrival surprised the civilians just as much. Why had the proud army, which had marched out just a few hours ago, returned to the fortress with many wounded? The battle couldn’t have been finished that quickly.

Even Armand, the Commander of Stoneguard Fortress, hurried to the gates to get a better understanding of what was happening.

"Take all the injured to the barracks," Duran ordered. "The clerics have already given them first aid, but they should still be given more intensive treatment afterwards."

Duran gave orders to his subordinates, and they all went to carry them out without question.

"Where is Dominic?" Vogel asked. "Why is he not with you?"

"Let’s go to the command center," Duran replied. "I’ll answer all of your questions there."

He was starting to get irritated at Vogel for asking questions he couldn’t answer in a public setting.

News of what had happened would leak out eventually, but he preferred to follow protocol and keep the news among the leaders of their war council.

As soon as they arrived at Armand’s residence, Duran finally recounted the story of what happened after they left the city.

"You were ambushed, and Dominic’s battalion was wiped out?!" Vogel looked at Duran in disbelief.

"They weren’t wiped out," Duran corrected. "All of them are alive, but they lost all their Gryphons to the enemy. I also don’t know the full story, so you will have to wait until Dominic returns to the fortress. I sent out the Viscount of Frontera and his men to look for them and escort them back to safety."

Vogel and Armand’s expressions turned grim after hearing this report. First, the ambush.

How could the main army be ambushed with the Gryphon Battalion scouting from the sky?

Next, after Duran had been ambushed, how did Dominic lose all their Gryphons when they were capable of flight?

The two could understand that they would suffer losses if Dominic and his men were also attacked. However, if that were true, then some of them would have definitely escaped and returned to the fortress by now.

And yet, not even a single one returned.

This only meant one thing.

Dominic’s report of having lost all their Gryphons was real.

"Just what in the world happened?" Armand was still unable to believe that everything Duran said was true. "Just who did this? I refuse to believe the barbarians plotted it. The Barbarians are boorish and couldn’t possibly pull off something so elaborate."

Duran sighed. "I have no idea who else could’ve done it. This is not how barbarians operate. Besides, how can a group of savages bring down all the Gryphon Battalion so fast that not even one managed to escape? That is simply impossible."

Armand and Vogel nodded in agreement.

The barbarians couldn’t possibly launch a surprise attack like that without being detected by their scouts.

Also, unlike the normal soldiers, they knew what was really going on behind this war.

The plan was for the Aurelion Empire and the Kingdom of Britannia to attack the Sacred City of the Barbarian Race, Eden.

The Britannian Army would march from the north and travel southward, annihilating any tribes they came across on their journey.

As for the Aurelion Empire, they should be mobilizing in a few days, putting pressure on the barbarians while the Britannians were stabbing them in the back.

There shouldn’t be any force strong enough to defend against their army.

Most importantly, no one knew about their plan to attack the Borderlands.

All of this was kept confidential. Plus, no one had left the fortress city to warn the Borderlands.

So, how did this all happen?

"Do you think the barbarians have a spy inside this fortress?" Vogel asked in a solemn tone.

"I can’t rule out the possibility, but I highly doubt they have a spy here," Armand replied. "The southern gates have been shut tight before the armies had even congregated inside this fortress. There is no possibility of an information leak... or at least that is what I believe."

Now that the impossible had happened, they could only assume that someone knew about their invasion and decided to ambush them.

But who among the barbarian tribes even had that ability?

The high-ranking tribes were in the southern parts of the Borderlands.

Only the low-ranking tribes were on the northern side.

Duran didn’t even entertain the thought that a low-ranking tribe could face them in battle. He didn’t dare believe it!

He had fought many barbarian tribes in the past, so he already knew that none of them could have pulled off this flawless attack.

"We need to wait for Dominic," Duran said calmly. "He is the only one who got a good look at our enemies. Until then, we will implement martial law. No one may leave the fortress until we give the order."

Armand nodded in understanding. "I’ll see to it that it is done."

Since he had already heard Duran’s side of the story, staying wouldn’t matter too much. He would once again hear the story when Dominic was safely back inside the fortress. Until then, he needed to maintain order within his territory.

The moment Armand left, Vogel heaved a sigh. "Should we report this to His Majesty?"

"Let’s wait until Dominic returns," Duran replied. "We need to get a better understanding of our enemies."

"But why did you send the viscount and his men to look for them?" Vogel asked. "Aren’t they supposed to serve as our logistics?"

"They’re unharmed after the ambush," Duran answered. "Also, they have horses. Letting them look for Dominic was the right choice."

Vogel sneered at his words. "You really hate him that much, huh? The main army just got attacked, and yet you think that sending the person you have a grudge against is the best choice. This doesn’t sound like a rescue mission at all. It sounds more like a suicide mission to me."

Duran shrugged. Making an excuse wouldn’t get him anywhere.

But Vogel was right.

The Black Tortoise General didn’t care if Marco and his men died. In fact, he was hoping that whoever had ambushed them would attack the viscount as well.

Unfortunately, his plan was doomed to fail from the start.

After all, there was no way that Leone would hurt his own father.

All the other nobles and their private armies could die. However, not a single soldier from the Frontera Viscounty would be harmed.

And with the addition of three hundred Gryphons within their ranks, Leone’s elite army had literally grown wings overnight.