Chapter 110: Strike First to Gain the Advantage
The old man watched Donald speak angrily with a smile, then clapped his hands in approval. “Indeed, great courage! You truly live up to being someone the king values. As long as you’re in the North County, a man like Macbeth won’t be able to cause much trouble for long! As for the Crown Prince, I think he hasn’t gotten involved yet. Likely, he’s just left Macbeth to deal with you as a potential threat. If Andrew gets involved, even Messer probably won’t be able to protect you!” Although Donald thought the old man was exaggerating, he still asked humbly, “So your bad news is that the Crown Prince plans to deal with me personally? I’m also a legitimate hereditary noble and haven’t violated any laws of the kingdom. Even if he’s a prince, what can he do to me?” “Of course not. You think that way because you don’t know how terrifying Andrew is!”
The silver-haired old man spoke with a hint of fear and deep regret. “Not to mention his hidden strength, just the forces under his control—there are at least five Silver Rank warriors, and he’s also connected to some powerful foreign forces. Any of my men sent to the continent who managed to gather information would disappear without a trace. This shows that the forces behind him must be extremely strong, and there’s surely some terrifying secret involved. Perhaps because the surface situation seems stable, he dares not touch those high-ranking nobles, but for a local noble like you, the disappearance of one or two won’t affect the overall situation. Even Silver Rank warriors can deal with you effortlessly!” Donald, who had never seen the old man look like this, had no doubt about the truth of his words, but he was also shocked by the hidden strength of the Crown Prince. Before he could sort out his thoughts, Ongge added another surprising secret: “There’s one more secret I need to reveal to you. Aside from me and a few others like the king, not a single word about this has leaked out. I suspect Andrew himself is already at least a Silver Rank warrior!”
“What?”
Donald couldn’t believe it. He had seen Prince Andrew before. From a distance, he seemed to have roughly the same strength as his brother, both just entering the Bronze Rank. Even if they had some hidden techniques, they shouldn’t exceed the limits of the Bronze Rank. To become a Silver Rank warrior, under normal circumstances—even with great talent and starting training from a young age—it would take at least in one’s thirties. Although the Crown Prince was about ten years older, he was still far from that age.
This is true for both mages and swordsmen alike; without a solid foundation, it’s impossible to reach heights like the Silver rank. Of course, there are exceptions like Donald, where external means can also lead to rapid advancement, but the conditions required for such methods are undoubtedly extremely difficult to meet. It’s not something that can be bought with money—even a prince needs luck, and he must also have a certain foundation in training to achieve his goal. Donald was deeply skeptical of this. The old man continued, “Although he has never shown himself in front of outsiders these past few years, and no one knows his strength—because those who knew have all died—based on my intuition and various pieces of intelligence I’ve gathered, I’m 70% certain that Andrew, in addition to practicing the royal family’s secret techniques like the second prince, possesses other abilities as well. He just hides them so well that he hardly ever reveals them, so I can’t obtain accurate information!” “Since I’ve tried so many times to uncover his secrets, Andrew must have noticed as well. It’s easy for him to guess that it was me. If it weren’t for His Majesty’s support, with Andrew’s ruthless methods, just based on this suspicion, my life would likely already be lost!” “His Majesty is also aware of all this, and even knows more than I do! But since Andrew hasn’t done anything harmful to the kingdom yet, he’s been allowed to build up his strength. His Majesty believes that as long as he competes fairly for the throne without using any vicious tactics, having some power at his disposal as a future king is a good thing for Selt!” Hearing this, Donald suddenly gave Angwa a meaningful look and asked, “Old man, do you think the same way?” The silver-haired old man, impressed by the young man’s sharp thinking, felt even more admiration for him and said, “To be honest, although I am loyal to His Majesty, I don’t agree with his view. But although Andrew’s mother was just a trivial lover of His Majesty’s in his youth, and her pregnancy was an accident, Andrew is still his first son…”
Donald continued, “Are you worried that the father-son relationship might sometimes obscure His Majesty’s perception?” Anguva sighed and said, “Exactly. It’s also a difficult challenge destined for us Celts. If His Majesty had only Andrew as his son, or if the second prince hadn’t been so outstanding, Andrew might have ascended the throne smoothly, and things might have been better. But because his mother was of low status and passed away early, Andrew was subjected to much scorn and mockery from a young age, which made his temperament rather gloomy. Of course, His Majesty sees that as a sign of steadiness. But ever since a case over a decade ago, I’ve begun to doubt this prince!”
“At that time, I was just one of the palace guards by His Majesty’s side. Thanks to my alertness, I was assigned to investigate the disappearance of the maids. During the investigation, I discovered a strange secret: the missing maids had all spoken ill of Andrew’s mother and had a poor relationship with her. And when those maids disappeared without reason, only the ten-year-old Andrew lacked a solid alibi. But what could a ten-year-old do? So no one thought to consider that possibility. Moreover, those maids disappeared outside the palace, as the young Andrew wasn’t allowed to leave it.” “I’ve kept this secret deep in my heart, not even telling His Majesty. I don’t know the full details, but my doubts forced me to arrange for one of the maids to spy on the crown prince secretly. Yet a year later, just as she had uncovered some clues and before she could report to me, Andrew found an excuse to execute her. From then on, I knew this boy’s soul was far removed from kindness and justice.” “Now that both the military and the Ansel family are supporting the legitimate Duri, Andrew doesn’t stand a good chance in a direct confrontation. So I’m worried he might go to extreme measures, using forces beyond the kingdom’s limits. Once he crosses that line, whether he succeeds in ascending the throne or not, those of us he sees as obstacles will be ordered to be eliminated in advance—our fate will likely be tragic!”
Learning so many secrets at once, Donald sighed and said, “I didn’t expect that even though I’ve tried to stay low-key, trouble still finds me. It seems I need to prepare more. As for the Silver Warriors, as long as they don’t send more than five at once, I think I can handle them!”
Seeing that he had said so much yet Donald still held such confidence, Ungwa couldn’t help but doubt whether he had declined in his intelligence work—otherwise, how could he fail to uncover all of this young man’s secrets?
“I’m saying this just to prepare you mentally. Andrew is currently busy fighting for power and probably can’t bother with minor figures like you and me who have little influence on him. But once the king leaves, many strongmen who joined the royal family only because of him will stop serving them, and then no one will be able to hold back his ambitions. Although the Ansel family has the ability, they won’t interfere too much in royal affairs; at most, they’ll ensure the safety of the queen and the two princes to maintain stability in the kingdom!”
Donald nodded in understanding. Though he disliked such scheming, it didn’t mean he couldn’t comprehend it.
“Now, let me tell you the bad news!” “Based on my analysis, Macbeth’s frequent actions these past few days suggest he’s likely decided to eliminate you as a threat!” “So you mean these minor harassments are just to confuse and distract me?”
“Damn it! I can’t gather information about Andrew’s hidden forces, but Macbeth’s crude tactics are nothing to me. Every move their family makes is under my surveillance. I know Macbeth has sent people to the mainland several times and has connections with an assassin organization. Two days ago, he sent someone to the port to pass messages before starting these harassment tactics against you. So I estimate the actual action will happen soon—be careful these days!”
“It’s okay. Thank you for coming to inform me personally. Although our relationship stems only from a deal, with Andrew as a threat, we’re practically in the same camp. So if there’s any difficulty, I’ll definitely do my best to help!”
The silver-haired old man nodded.
“I’ll keep everything you said in mind. The road ahead is tough, but I’m optimistic about you. I’ve already placed my bets on you, so don’t give up. I even plan to buy a manor in the North County once everything settles down and become your neighbor!” With that, the two exchanged smiles and parted at the street corner.
After returning to the lord’s manor, the men who had gone out to suppress the riots came back and gave a brief report. As Angewa had said, it was all minor disturbances, and the culprits had been arrested for interrogation. Most of them were local vagrants and ruffians from the North County, many of whom confessed that someone had paid them to cause trouble.
Once this matter was settled, Donald ordered Barnthik to retire, and Mage Russell also advised him to rest. Only Uther and Kelthas, the two heroes summoned, remained in the room.
Donald recounted the news brought by the silver-haired old man to his two subordinates, then asked, “What are your thoughts on this?”
Although these two were usually quiet around strangers, they were wiser than ordinary people and could be considered Donald’s right-hand men.
Uther thought for a moment before saying, “Andrew will likely take some time before getting involved. We can ignore the threat there for now. In another month or two, I should be able to rise to the silver rank. If we find a few trustworthy bronze-tier warriors and use the power of the Book of Truth to elevate them to silver strength, then that second prince should no longer pose a military threat to us. The only concern is if they resort to other methods to endanger our territory. As for Macbeth…”
Kelthas coldly took over, uttering five words: “Strike first!”
The blood elves had always been merciless toward their enemies.
Donald clapped his hands and said, “I think the same way. The Macbeth family has always been a threat. I originally planned to confront them head-on; with our territory’s growing strength, we could wear them down over the years. But it seems they can’t wait any longer. Since they’re pressing hard, there’s no need to tolerate them any further. I’m not the kind of person who waits passively while being attacked and still tries to reason with them.”
“Uther’s idea seems feasible. I already have a rough plan and candidates in mind. Once we deal with the current threat of Macbeth, we’ll start implementing this plan. At the same time, we need to significantly strengthen our territory’s strength. This time, we’ll try not to summon new warriors but instead improve those we already have. As for their loyalty, you two need to keep a close eye on them to prevent any from turning against us!” Uther and the other nodded solemnly in agreement. Then Donald looked up at the sky outside the window and said, “There’s no time to lose. We’ll take action tonight to prevent the enemy from getting ahead of us!”