Chapter 502: Intervention
TL: Rui88
Edward paced around the room anxiously, the floorboards creaking under his feet. He constantly swung his arms, making various gestures, and his lips moved up and down as if he were muttering to himself. Perhaps this could make him feel a little better.
Sanel watched Edward, remaining quietly silent. He felt it was best not to provoke the great pirate chief at this moment.
His eyes shifted slightly, turning his gaze toward the other superior in the room.
Lady Mariana still maintained her usual elegant demeanor, sitting leisurely in a wicker chair. She held a coffee cup in her left hand and stirred it unhurriedly with a small spoon in her right.
It was as if the events unfolding in Horn Bay had nothing to do with her.
The sound of someone climbing the stairs echoed from outside, and a moment later, there was a knock on the door.
Sanel walked quickly to the door, opened a small cover on it to reveal a peephole, and glanced outside before opening the door.
Nathan appeared outside. Mariana, who was drinking her coffee, looked at her son.
Nathan gestured inside. “Everyone, I’ve brought Sita over.”After speaking, he stepped into the room, revealing the tower-like giant behind him.
Sita had an honest and simple look on his face. He ducked his head slightly and squeezed through the doorframe.
Edward asked with some amusement, “Did you run into any trouble on the way?”
Nathan shrugged his shoulders and replied with an interesting expression, “Other than a good deed, everything went smoothly. Nothing major.”
He briefly described the incident of stopping the carriage on the street earlier.
“The owner of the carriage was probably a noble, but we left in time, so he didn’t see us.”
Edward looked at Sita, who remained silent, just like a simple farmer from the countryside who works quietly without saying much.
He knew the man’s personality and directly asked Nathan, “How is the Horn Bay Alliance? Have those noble lords come to a decision?”
Nathan, who had just looked carefree, now had an annoyed expression.
“Don’t even mention it!”
“The Council is still arguing.”
From Nathan’s frustrated account, everyone learned what had recently happened among the Alliance’s leadership.
After learning that the Crusader Army had taken a “detour” through neutral nations to attack their vulnerable northern allies, a fierce argument broke out among the Alliance’s high command. One faction believed they should ignore the north for the time being and immediately concentrate their forces to attack the Church’s territory as planned, heading straight for Collins. The other faction argued that they should withdraw their troops and move them north to deal with the flanking Crusader Army. The two factions of councilors were now deadlocked in the Council, each sticking to their own argument. The army, which had already assembled at the border, had not received clear instructions. It had neither advanced into the nearby Church-controlled areas nor moved to reinforce its northern allies.
Edward said through gritted teeth after listening, “Since the Church’s forces have appeared in the north, it means their territory facing the Horn Bay Alliance must be lightly defended. You should take this opportunity to strike!”
Nathan disagreed with his view. “Those northern neutral nations are too weak; a single detachment could handle them. What if the Church’s attack in the north is just a feint, and their main force is actually waiting to the east of the Horn Bay Alliance, ready to rush in once the Alliance moves its main army north?”
Edward said, “Whether you strike east into the mainland or go north to rescue your allies, both are better than just sitting at the border doing nothing.”
Nathan’s expression was rather helpless. “The most critical thing is that those northern countries that are under threat have already ordered their troops, who were supposed to rendezvous at the Horn Bay Alliance border, to withdraw back to their own countries. The New Protestant Army is on the verge of falling apart.”
“Then let us lend a hand to the northern nations.”
Lady Mariana, who had been leisurely drinking her coffee on the side, suddenly spoke.
“Help? How can we help?”
Mariana’s words greatly surprised everyone.
“Ahem! Are you saying we should donate a sum of money to them so they can recruit more soldiers?” Nathan waved his hand. “That’s useless. These countries aren’t short of money.”
“No,” Mariana denied. “I’m saying…we intervene directly in the war using the power of magic.”
For a moment, Nathan thought there was something wrong with his mother’s head. Speaking of which, if measured by a mortal’s age, she really was not young anymore.
Nathan said with difficulty, “Well, it’s not that I disagree… Although we have a precedent of cooperating with a mortal regime like Jars, that was built on several years of cautious mutual contact and understanding. The current situation is so critical, there’s no time for that. Not long ago, these countries were frantically hunting and killing spellcasters alongside the Church. If we rashly appear before those in power and reveal our identities, are you sure they won’t tie us up and burn us on the spot?”
Mariana smiled at her son and said, “If it were anyone else, of course, it wouldn’t work. But I happen to know a ruler in Horn Bay who has sufficient understanding and tolerance for spellcasters. Moreover, his country has considerable influence among the coastal nations.”
“There’s such a person in Horn Bay?”
Everyone in the room was greatly astonished.
Nathan said indignantly, “Then why didn’t he stand up for spellcasters sooner? Mortals are all the same.”
Mariana said with a mix of helplessness and understanding, “As the ruler of a country, one cannot resist the collective will of the people. At that time, the populace was deluded by the Church. Even if the monarch was a rational person, there was nothing he could do. Even if he had the ability to persuade his own people, he would have faced isolation and even hostility from all the other Horn Bay countries. The only choice was to endure and wait for the right moment…when everyone was pushed to their limits by the Church’s perverse actions.”
Nathan still asked with some disdain, “Oh? And who is this monarch with sufficient understanding and tolerance for spellcasters?”
Mariana replied, “The ruler of the Duchy of Eton…His Majesty Ettiot Cabre.”
“The Duchy of Eton? Isn’t that the country we’re in right now?”
Nathan was surprised. Coming to Hydra, the capital of Eton, was his mother’s decision, and it was precisely at this moment when the Crusader Army was closing in on Eton.
Could it be that she had planned this all along?
“Then…” he asked, “how do you know he has a sufficient understanding of us spellcasters?”
“Hehe!” Mariana smiled. “Because his wife…the current Grand Duchess of Eton, Her Highness Helen…is a spellcaster.”
“Do you know this Grand Duchess Helen?”
“Of course. Because she is my student. I was the one who led her onto the path of magic.”