After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

My stomach cramped.

"Your Highness, you are welcome. This is my responsibility and the reason I came here."

Trying hard to suppress his twitching face, Aize put on a businesslike smile and responded:

"Rather than this, rushing in with such a large force, what do you mean by that..."

"That's what you meant, Lord Aize."

The prince raised his head, his facial features like a sculpture, without any hesitation.

"I'm going to discuss this matter with Marquis Karside now. If you don't mind, you can come along."

"of course."

Aize nodded.

Rosalyn's matter was certainly important, but the Empire's current expedition was no less crucial. Both were crucial to the overall war effort and the fate of humanity.

Of course, you should first choose the one that is delivered to your door.

As a result, more royal guards poured in from the streets and immediately took control of the entire castle.

The accompanying combat magicians learned from their previous lessons and once again used monitoring techniques to check all creatures in the castle, even horses and military dogs were not spared.

Afraid that the chicken would be stolen by the faceless men who sneaked in again.

Aize and others, together with His Royal Highness the Prince, Marquis of Karlsade, and Rosaline, who was invited by the messenger as a representative of the church, sat in the reception room of the castle.

"Everyone, time is running out, so there's no need to waste time on polite conversation. Please allow me to get straight to the point."

The prince said nothing more, but stood up from his seat and walked to the center of the room.

The guards who accompanied him unfolded a large map behind him to make it easier for his master to speak.

"This full-scale counterattack has been confirmed to launch at noon three days from now, as originally planned. The first phase will be divided into three groups according to the original plan. The central line of the Royal Guards, the Church's Crusade Army, and the troops under Marquis Karside will advance all the way to occupied Lilbas."

"We must capture it within three days. This will split the demon army's battle line west of the central mountain range into two, north and south, making it impossible for them to support each other. The northern and southern troops will take this opportunity to maneuver around and seize the mountain passes within their respective target ranges, blocking the demon army's logistics and retreat routes."

"The specific arrangements are as follows. The northern front will be led by Duke Walter's Royal Guards Corps as the core, supplemented by..."

Compared to the rough version I heard in casual conversation a few days ago, this plan is much more detailed while the general direction remains unchanged.

How to attack, how to command, how to coordinate between the various routes, and various alternative plans when encountering obstacles, etc., are all included in detail.

Just looking at the plan itself, it is extremely excellent, to the point that even Aize would applaud.

If the information had not been leaked in advance.

"The above is the current plan. Do you have any opinions on it?"

After patiently waiting for the other party to finish speaking, Aize raised his hand first.

This was within Adrian's expectations, so he didn't show any displeasure:

"please say."

"Aside from the added details, this plan is essentially the same as the previous one. The demons are already fully aware of the impending expedition, and the Faceless Ones' previous infiltration has undoubtedly led to further information. May I ask how the demons are responding?"

Aize had calculated before that the Empire had a slight advantage over the demons in overall strength.

But after all, they are the attacking party. If the strategy is fully understood, the effect will inevitably be greatly reduced.

Not to mention the so-called "Church Army" led by Rosaline, which is not a combat force at all and is purely a burden.

Still executing the strategy according to the previous plan is basically seeking death.

The prince seemed quite relaxed about this:

"I have already considered what Lord Aize said. Currently, the various demon armies that have entered the west of the Central Mountain Range have already begun war preparations, so the time is set for just two days later. This way, they won't have enough time to prepare."

"As for intelligence leaks, there's no need to worry. Such a large-scale operation has already taken the possibility of leaks into account. The nobles carrying out the plan in various locations were not informed of the details of the plan beforehand. They only knew the general area of their responsibility. The detailed plan was delivered to them by royal messengers several hours before the battle."

In a world without telephones, internet, and remote communication magic, being able to achieve this level of coordination is already considered excellent.

What he said does make sense.

But the problem is-

"I believe the demons in other places don't know the specific attack plan. But Lilbas is a strategic node and the main attack direction, so they must know it. Under such circumstances, the remaining orc troops in Lilbas' direction have not reacted at all. Don't you think this is strange?"

The prince crossed his arms, a look of displeasure on his face.

But he still answered patiently:

"No, there is a reaction. The spies reported that the orcs have been reinforcing the city walls since last night. They have also been abducting humans as slaves to assist in the defense. Isn't this a reaction?"

It's a reaction, but not entirely.

The main force of the orcs was first defeated by Aze more than a year ago, and before they could recover, they were defeated again by Aze in Tafia. The elite combat effectiveness of the entire tribe was almost wiped out.

In this situation, there was no way they could stop the Imperial Army on their own.

We must ask for support from other demons.

But in fact, they were just pretending to strengthen their defenses as if in a playful manner.

It's more like: it would be too fake without any action, so we just do it symbolically.

When laning against a moba game, it's the same as pretending to make a positioning mistake to lure the opponent into a fight, but in fact there is a jungler hiding in the bushes behind you.

Aize frowned:

“This is too fake.”

"I also thought there might be a trap, so I sent a large number of spies to search the area around Lilbas, but we didn't find any suspicious signs."

The prince nodded slightly.

"Lord Aize insists there's a trap. Could you please tell me where it is?"

It would be nice if I could tell him.

Seeing Aize speechless, Adrian looked a little proud, and continued with a slight smile:

"That's reasonable. Due to the tragic loss of their main force and the death of their chieftain, the orcs are now in a very awkward position within the demon clan. They're even at risk of being kicked out of the Thirteen Clans."

"Lilbas is the most important city they occupy within the human realm, and it's also their capital. Therefore, they dare not allow other races to take it over, preferring to risk their lives to keep it in their own hands. This has led to the situation we see now. Doesn't it make sense to think this way, Lord Aize?"

"Aren't you judging others by your own standards?"

Aize cursed in his heart.

Chapter 67 Pre-War Meeting (2)

The situation of this imperial expedition has developed to the point where it is difficult to back down.

Going down to the lower levels, after the riots in the Holy City, the God’s Chosen Warriors, chosen by the Goddess herself, led her followers to rush thousands of miles to assist the empire.

The news was so widespread and its content was so inspiring that, as time went on, it would inevitably transcend the boundaries of the empire and expand to the entire continent through word of mouth, making every human being shrouded in the shadow of the demons proud of it.

Speaking of the higher-ups, when the expedition was about to start, Adrian, as the highest person in charge, had to leave the front line for several days to deal with internal issues.

This shows that the factional struggle within the empire has developed to an irreconcilable point.

The nobles who supported the prince were eager to fight and mobilized almost all their strength so that they could defeat the demon enemy while also getting closer to the future emperor of the empire and seeking a higher status.

Needless to say, the nobles who opposed the prince were eager for the expedition to be launched immediately so that they could be hit head-on and knocked to the ground with bruises on their faces, so that they could make use of the situation to make trouble.

All human beings, regardless of status or nationality, have or will turn their eyes here.

Adrian was literally being roasted on the fire at this moment.

There was no way he would back down, much less give up.

Aize knew this very well, so his opposition was not very fierce. He just wanted to remind the other party of the potential risks in the expedition.

But unfortunately, His Royal Highness the Prince seemed to have lost his mind with his red eyes.

Expecting the enemy to act according to one's expectations and making plans based on this premise is a military taboo that is too unwise.

But no way.

In the absence of evidence, Aize has few chips to use to convince the other party.

Even literally speaking, the prince's statement is not completely unreasonable.

What else can be done?

"...Since His Royal Highness has said so, it would be inappropriate for me, an outsider not directly involved, to say anything more. So let it be."

Aize sighed softly and then added:

"However, please allow me to accompany you as an advisor during the expedition."

The prince was able to handle things beautifully by himself, and his reputation has since surpassed Aize, and he can even rise to the top and directly integrate all human forces - if he can really achieve this level, Aize will not have any objections.

However, you must also ensure that you can clean up the mess if the worst happens.

The same goes for the princes.

Although achievements are important, he would never refuse if Aize had the ability to back him up.

He nodded, forced out a standard fake smile, saluted and said:

"Of course. It is an honor for the Empire to receive assistance from the renowned hero Aize."

This is quite humorous.

Aize rubbed his temples and sat back in his seat.

Before he could come to his senses, Rosaline, who was sitting next to him, stood up impatiently, put on her signature smile, and said slowly:

"Your Highness, could I and my Crusade Army take on the mission of attacking Lilbas?"

If Aize's previous speculation is true, then every idea that Rosaline puts forward now while smiling has nothing to do with her, but is the result of the influence of the belief network.

Under the combined influence of popular emotions such as devotion to faith, anger towards the demons, pride in their status, and so on, these fanatics fell into an extreme war frenzy.

It cannot be stopped and cannot be explained.

Sadly, they had no idea what the battlefield meant or what they were about to face.

On the other hand, the prince's expression was very subtle.

"Lady Rosalyn, your Crusade Army...will you serve as the vanguard?"

Several days have passed since the arrival of the Crusade led by Rosaline.

These believers, who are full of enthusiasm but skinny and ragged, do not shy away from their current situation. They go in and out of cities and villages, carrying out various preaching activities, sparing no effort to promote their own sect.

As a result, Adrian's spies must have told him in advance what these so-called "holy war troops" were.

No one had expected that the so-called elite of the church, whom the prince had placed high hopes on, were just a group of armed men who were not much better than beggars.

The moment Adrian knew the truth, his expression must have been quite interesting.

It’s a pity that Aize couldn’t see it.

Therefore, in the battle deployment he formulated, he placed them in the back, responsible only for clearing the rear and maintaining order after the imperial regular army advanced to the front line.

It's waste utilization.

Fighting orcs head-on—even just the remnants of an orc army—would not end well.

Rosalyn didn't show any strangeness about this:

"Yes, that's why we're here. The believers are already impatient. Please, let us take the lead in the first wave of attack!"

It didn't matter that they sent themselves to die, since they didn't expect it to be of any use anyway.

But at the beginning of the war, facing an enemy far weaker than themselves, they had to face the situation of losing the first battle, which would deal a big blow to the overall morale.

So, it’s really difficult.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. With our devotion and courage, we will surely complete our mission and make a statement for all humanity trapped in despair!"

"Please believe in us... no, believe in the awareness and ability of the believers. I, who have always listened to their voices, know this clearly."

……

……

……

All kinds of beautiful words, like chanting scriptures, come one after another.