“You have to hide as much as possible, trying to fulfill your duties in such a way that the other side doesn’t perceive you.” Roland points to a wide area on the outskirts of the canal, south of the pier, “Here, the land should be covered with crops, making it very suitable to hide at. There you should also find a high point, which allows you to establish lookout to scout out the pier. The soldiers responsible for providing support will disguise themselves as caravan guards once more and help the already treated people to get on board. I will write merchant Margaret a letter, asking her to provide me with as many ships as possible, not only the two fleets which are already involved with the transportation.
“Whether it is Longsong Stronghold or Graycastle’s capital, there are only a few big cities’ patrol forces who can cover the surrounding area, most of the time their investigation and warning area depends on how far they can see when staying on the city wall. So, the area south of the pier should be outside of their patrol area, when we then locate our troops at this point, it is unlikely for them to raise the city guard’s attention.”
“How do you want to treat the sick?” Iron Axe asked.
“This task will largely depend on Lily’s replica,” Roland roughly explained to them the young woman’s unusual ability. “Making it unnecessary to walk into the fugitive camp to heal these people. In other words, since any microorganism can become a replica you only have to collect the river water and let her purify it steadily. Afterward, you only have to give it to those who are sick to drink.”
“Like… that?” He gawked at Roland, totally disbelieving.
“There are two points you have to take note of,” the Prince raised two fingers, “First, you have to ensure that every person on board had drunken the purified water and second, you are absolutely prohibited from boiling the drinking water to clean it. In fact, the dirtier the water, the better it would be. It would contain more microorganism which means that the number of replicas in it will also be more. You might be unable to understand this, but as long as you do what I told you, everything will be okay.”
“What about the patients in King’s City, will we treat them the same way?”
“Almost, but the medicine cannot be delivered by our people, that would be too obvious. This task will fall under Theo’s responsibility,” Roland decided, “As long as they get their money, the street rats’ work efficiency will be very high.”
“Your Royal Highness, those street rats aren’t reliable, as long as it’s profitable, they may stab you in the back at any time.” Carter objected.
“Therefore the second part is only to prevent it as much as possible and isn’t necessary to be completed,” the Prince stood up, “The moment you sense something amiss, the First Army must immediately protect the witches and withdraw. As long as we are able to receive the refugees smoothly, it’s already our victory, regardless of how many people we were able to save in King’s City. Undermining the Church’s plan isn’t possible to achieve by just relying on purified water, as long as we can disprove their claim that ‘Only the Holy Elixir can repel the evil spirits’, their set game has already failed.”
“Finally, I will now declare the people who will travel to King’s City,” he shouted, “Iron Axe!”
“Yes!”
“You will lead 240 soldiers who will be responsible for protecting the witches and controlling the canal, for this eliminating every potential threat. Be sure to bring back the witches and the refugees.”
“I will do as you bid, Your Highness!” Iron Axe stood straight and saluted.
“Brian!”
“Yes!” The young Knights stick out his chest.
“You will lead sixty soldiers disguised as mercenaries, and you will be in charge of the medicine delivery, and make sure that the refugees will maintain order when boarding the ships.”
“As you command, Your Highness!”
“Next are the witches, this time leaving to King’s City by ship will be Nightingale, Echo, Lightning and Wendy.” Roland’s voice slowed down, “Your task will be somewhat unique so that I will explain it in a little while. Now it is only important to note that you always pay attention to your own security, ensuring your safe return.”
“Rest assured, Your Highness,” Nightingale patted her chest, “I will be with them.”
Roland nodded, “In that case, we come to the final point, which is also the most important aspect, after arriving in King’s City, the army can stay there for three days at most. After these three days, no matter how the actual situation is, you must return to Border Town.” He emphasized every word, “In case the Church plans to destroy the resistance of Graycastle, they certainly won’t spread the disease only to King’s City, most likely the Western Region will also be one of their goals. So you cannot stay in King’s City for longer than these three days, do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Highness!” Iron Axe and Brian answered in unison.
“Very well, then let us carry out this plan.”
