Thanks to the intelligence gathered from the surrendered Knights; Nightingale easily disintegrated all the troops left in the stronghold’s castle. After killing the captain on the spot, more than 100 militiamen fled in panic, blindly running into an ambush the First Army had set up at the gate.
Later, Roland’s men found the captive Petrov in the castle’s dungeons. He looked haggard, probably caused by his worry and anxiety, but because of his identity as a noble of the Honeysuckle family, he hadn’t suffered through inhumane treatment.
After nearly three months, the Prince saw the Acting Duke once again.
“Being able to see you safe and sound is truly good news, Your Royal Highness,” Petrov’s uneasiness finally relaxed, then he went through his experiences of the last days, “I did not know that Timothy’s envoy… ”
“They all died,” Roland leaned relaxed against his chair and said indifferent “Most of the 1500 people they brought to Border Town have died, and the rest are currently locked in the stronghold’s prison.
When Petrov heard about the complete annihilation of the envoys, he somehow looked a bit surprised, “Your Royal Highness, with this, I am afraid that the new King… no, your brother will see you as a thorn in the eye.”
“So, do you mean I should have deliberately lost the fight, and obediently went with them to King’s City, begging for his mercy?” While asking, Roland looked him directly into the eyes.
Not able to face his view, the latter involuntarily lowered his head, “No, Your Royal Highness…”
“The moment he set foot in the Western Territory, he became my enemy,” the Prince declared in a calm voice.
“It seems that in order to seize power, Timothy Wimbledon is becoming more and more desperate. He is urgently in need of land and titles to divide between the other nobles to ensure their support. In case all you wanted was to live a life in pleasure, why would you want to manage the stronghold for me? You should already be aware of the point, only when I become the King of Graycastle will your position as the Lord of the Western Territory be set in stone.” Roland paused for a moment and then said, “To prevent this from happening for a second time, I need to form an army to guard the stronghold.”
“Army?” Petrov asked shocked.
“Yes, without any Knights, only built out of civilians, a permanent army.” Roland slowly explained his plans, “You have to pick out 300 people who live inside the stronghold, who will be trained by my subordinates on how to fight. The requirement for the 300 people is: They have to be civilians, they must not be guilty of any crime, they aren’t allowed to be followers of the Church, and lastly, they have to be between the age of 16 and 30 and without any physical disability. During the training, they will be living in Border Town, and I will provide them with weapons. From now on, your Knights and patrols will only be responsible for urban security, I have written down further details on the parchment,” with this, he handed a piece of paper to Petrov, “you can announce a recruitment order and follow through with the screening according to the previous terms.”
If he wanted to have the control of the city garrison in his own hand, it was evident that stationing his own army here was the most appropriate approach. But the scale of the First Army was too small, they weren’t even large enough to defend Border Town, so not even mentioning splitting the force to guard Longsong Stronghold and Border Town. The only possibility and best compromise was to let the other side provide the manpower, while he would carry out the training.
With Nightingale’s ability to detect lies he could guarantee the loyalty of the group, and together with new military training methods and ideological education, it should be possible to form a fighting force soon. As for their weapons, he would equip them with the rapidly outdated flintlocks, so even if they got captured by the enemy, it wouldn’t be a problem for him. Moreover, the army could also take over the task of information gathering and transmission, so as long as someone tried to attack the stronghold, Roland would be the first to receive the message.
“I understand,” Petrov nodded.
“I will review the people you select, so I can only encourage you to not try placing spies among them, because it would be a meaningless act.” Roland warned, “You have already sent spies, and by now, they all have gone to the mines. If there is ever something similar again… ”
“No, Your Highness,” the other wiped off the sweat on his forehead. “I promise that won’t happen.”
“Then there’s the matter of the church,” the Prince said while once more leaning back in his chair. “You probably do not know that the stronghold’s church has been burned down by Timothy’s men and that they even killed the High Priest. There is only a ruin left now.”
“They have burned the church?” Petrov became startled by the news, “This… I have to report it to Hermes as soon as possible.”
