City of Desire: Chapter 1067 Daring (Patreon)

Proofread by Thomas F

Ralhan Elmid

“It’s been four days since the battle. How much longer are we going to sit and wait?” asked Kava, just as I sat at my table.

I am so angry with this bitch that I want to kill her, but she has a powerful faction behind her, and they would not look kindly on it if she just suddenly disappeared.

I wish I could send her with those other three Lv. 40s I had to the armada laying blockade at Gailhorn, but her abilities would not be right.

She is powerful, but she is not versatile. I should have; it would have spared me from her irritating presence.

“Until we get the chance,” I answered.

I will not move the horde; they will remain where they are. It will keep Silver on edge; he might get impatient and end up making a mistake.

Like attacking us, that would be wonderful.

I have observed Silver’s battle, and he is very good at defending. In attacking, not so much.

People might not agree with me. Seeing the bastard just captured, Norke from us, before that Gailhorn and Panar, but these were battles that didn’t require any versatility.

Take the armada. He can’t do anything against it.

It is outside the range of his attack; only Great Mages and equivalent powerhouses could attack us from a distance, and that’s not enough to go against the armada, even if he brought his Great Mage and Shaman there.

I have people who could defend against their attacks.

I want them to come close to attack. So we could trap them and finish them off before attacking the city, and for it. I am willing to wait for days, weeks, and months.

My forces are prepared for such; Silvers are not, and eventually, he will make a mistake.

When it does, we will attack and slaughter every one of them.

I don’t want to wait, but other plans didn’t work. Viremont was soundly defeated, and it looked like Grimvale might make a deal, which made me want to curse the bastard.

Though he is searching for a way to attack Silver, I hope he finds a way.

It will make things much easier for us.

“I want to fight now!” She spoke like a spoiled child, bringing me back to reality. I wanted to glare at her, but I didn’t. Instead, I kept looking at the map in front of me.

It is because of her impatience that she got her entire team killed.

It is why her faction sent her here until the heat dies down and she earns enough merit to come back.

“If you are patient enough. I promise you, I will let you fight the golems.” I dangled a carrot, which I hoped would keep her calm for a while.

Hearing that, a smile spread across her face, while the knight looked worried. It is not part of the plan we had discussed, but plans change.

Besides, many things I told the Knight are lies; I don’t trust him or his order.

He is not a true believer in the kingdom's cause; his order is more like mercenaries for us, and mercenaries shouldn’t be trusted.

“I hope you won’t go back on your word.” She said, and I smiled. I have no intention. Her abilities are perfectly suited to fight against golems as long as she has the right partners with her.

“You know, we could attack the neighboring cities. It would be good practice,” she said; it’s not the first time she said it.

“No!” Absolutely not.

“They hate Silver. They won’t ally with him,” she said. “Necessity could turn even enemies into allies.”

It is for this sole reason I am not attacking any other cities. I have complete confidence in defeating them, but that might make them ally with Silver.

As for them being enemies of Silver, I wanted to laugh at that.

When it comes to survival, nobody is an enemy forever. I have seen it enough times; I do not want to make such a silly mistake. Once we deal with Silver, we will send our hordes across the region.

It won’t be much of a challenge to conquer it whole, even if Grimvale and Arenthal allied together.

…

General Trask

“They are not moving,” said Colonel Skarn, looking at the ships at sea, nearly invisible in the night.

“They will not.” 

It’s a blockade, and it will not be moved until we attack, and that is what they want. They have used this strategy in Mayhurst and reaped a lot of victories.

I would not give them one here.

“It's frustrating to watch them just hang there. We could go there and finish those bastards. Instead of waiting!” His frustration is understandable.

I am feeling the same, but that doesn’t mean we will act on it.

“It is what they want, Colonel. We will not give them that.” He nodded and looked ahead.

I walked around before reaching the purple-haired elf standing on the wall. Aside from when she rested, the woman had been on the wall constantly.

Her presence had been quite helpful in keeping people calm, and the divine spells she used every dusk.

Like she did earlier.

“Some seemed to be getting restless,” she said, looking at the army standing on the wall.

“That is natural when there is a threat like this sitting in front of us.”

There is nothing strange about it. I would have been worried if they had been overly calm. Still, one needs to be careful and monitor men, as some might become too restless and do something they shouldn’t.

It happens to even the most experienced soldiers.

“How are the preparations?” She asked, looking ahead toward the undead ships.

She is one of the five people who know about the plan. A daring, dangerous plan.

We cannot have undead linger here for weeks and months. It will bring the city to a standstill and destroy its economy. It will also affect the rest of the dominion, as Gailhorn is our only port.

In this city, we can move things or people freely, with no problems.

There are no obstructions like Deerpond or Riverbell that could stop the ship and check for goods. So, we need it opened as soon as possible.

Especially now, with the legacy opening in a few weeks.

“Nearly finished.”

She didn’t say anything other than nod. She knows about the plan, but not the timing or other details. Only one person knows about it, and that’s not me.

A few minutes later, I walked away from her and made a round. Cautious of my surroundings and presence.

There is a damned assassin, even though he has only attacked once. It had proved itself capable. It could get close to us without being sensed and even bring people with him.

“General, you have a meeting with the Governor in ten minutes,” informed my mage.

I nodded and walked off the wall.

A few minutes later, I reached the Governor's office. The guards opened the door.

I nodded and stepped inside.

There I saw the woman, looking more tired and sleep-deprived than in the morning.

She seemed to have given all of her rest charms to me.

Those things have been immensely helpful to my men. Better than skill, just as helpful as the divine spells of the Archbishop, but these charms could be activated everywhere; the Archbishop doesn’t have to be there.

She isn’t the only one; there is another person. Seeing that, I felt relieved.

“General,” I greeted, saluting.

“At ease,” ordered General Stone.

“When did you arrive, General?” I asked. Most had arrived, except for him and the people he had brought.

“A few minutes ago.”

I looked at the man; he looked slightly tired, but aside from that, he looked fine.

“I hope everything will be fine in Greltheaven?” I asked. I am talking about that army of a hundred thousand. It is risky to leave Greltheaven, with so few people to handle things.

The army might be secured, but such a number could create trouble. Especially if they feel there is a chance to escape or even take over the city.

That won’t happen, but it could create quite a bit of chaos if the news spreads that the General is not in the city.

“Greltheaven is secure; nothing will happen.” The confidence in his voice was unmistakable. It made me feel relieved.

“Is everything good on your end?” he asked.

“Yes, General.” There are many things about the plan I don’t know, but that’s how things are in the army.

Everything is on a need-to-know basis.

I didn’t know about the golems or the Great Shaman or the Great Mage. I don't know how many things they are hiding, but I am fine with it.

“The attack will commence an hour before dawn; our target is the lich and their top powerhouses.”

“If we inflict enough loss, we can force them to retreat,” he stated before explaining other intricacies of the plan; the more I heard, the more shocked I became.

I didn’t speak for nearly a minute before finally opening my mouth.

“I don’t think you should do it; it’s too risky,” I said. I don’t agree with the plan; we are taking too big a risk. If something goes wrong, the consequences will be felt not just in Grimvale, but across the dominion.

“It is indeed extremely risky, General, but we have made the preparations.” I know he is not telling me everything, but still I do not feel we should do it.

“That will be all, General Trask,” he said when I was about to object.

“I hope you have thought it through, General.” With that, I saluted and walked out of the office.

I do not agree with it, but I understand why he is taking such a risk. I wish I knew all aspects of the plan, but I do not. So, the only thing I could do is trust and be ready to play my part.

I will be.

…

Ina Knox

“I want to be a part of it,” I said as the door closed.

I am not being reckless. I have been training; I could fight, at least hold off an enemy for a while.

“No,”

He declined.

“It’s extremely dangerous, my lady.”

“You are capable, but we are going to fight a completely different battle; besides, this city is the best place for you, because if we fail. Then everyone would need to fight, including you.”

My mood turned somber hearing that. General Tras is right; we are taking an extremely big risk, not only with Gailhorn, but with Norke and Panar.

If we failed, we could lose all three cities, but there was also no other choice. We couldn’t just wait for them to leave, because the undead would not.

They would wait and strike the moment they saw the chance.

We cannot have that. Especially not at this time, when we need the port of Gailhorn open.

“Don’t worry, Governor. The plan might be risky, but there is a good chance we will succeed,” he said, before getting up and walking out of my office.