|3rd POV|
It is almost five months since Gerrald came to this world, and a lot has changed to the canon timeline. The most obvious one? There are a lot more Star of Destiny among the Loyalist Army. Other than Freyjadour, Gerrald is also actively recruiting people in his free time.
Not only that, he was also busy capturing many waifus. With the help of Chiyome, Gerrald manages to capture a lot of waifu on the wanted list.
The only people that he has yet captured are the one that is too powerful and Gerrald, afraid of them noticing Chiyome, or the one that is an expert in the same job as Chiyome, like the former member of the Nether Gate Assassination Group that joined the prince.
Because of this, he managed to gather more than fifty points in his pocket from this capture alone. Other than that, he gets another ten points from helping recruit more than twenty Star of Destiny before Frey can recruit them.
Gerrald also made sure the loyalist army was well-fed by creating a semi-agreement between him and the Lord of Nirva Island. What is the agreement between them? Gerrald will supply them with weapons, and they will supply him with a steady supply of food.
This happened because Nirva Island managed to defend itself against the pirates without the help of the Island Nations Federation. The reason for this is because of the lack of strong weapons and armor that can protect them.
There is no good blacksmith or leatherworking that can create good armor for them. Not only that, they did not have an iron mine to produce iron for their armor and weapons. However, with Gerrald supplying them with weapons and armor, they can fight back without losing too many men in the process and even win the battle.
Other than food, Gerrald also brought money for the Loyalist Army. A charismatic leader and right cause can bring a lot of people to a single banner, but money is still the one making sure they stay with you.
Without him knowing, Gerrald became one of the pillars that kept the Loyalist Army stay strong.
As for Freyjadour, he already cleared his name after the bandit problem in Sable. Not only that, he also managed to get support from the Island Nations Federation after his visit to Nirva Island. With their support, the Loyalist Army managed to increase their number to almost thirty thousand strong.
With this new number, Lucretia decides it is time to go on the offensive. She gathers all the high-ranking people to the war room and says.
"With our new number, we are finally ready to fight on an offensive. We cannot attack Stormfist nor can we attack Sol-Falena. Those two places are the strongest fortress that many cannot pierce through. However, we can attack one of the key points that can hurt Godwin the most."
"Doraat Fortress."
Lucretia nods at Boz's answer.
"That's right. It is an ancient fortress built to hold against the invasion of Nagarea and prove its worth when it manages to hold against more than a dozen sieges against the invading nation."
"And how can we occupy that, Lucretia?"
Freyjadour cannot help but ask that question. He knows about Doraat and knows how it is a fortress that will be hard to occupy without massive numbers.
Lucretia smiles at him and says.
"Well, thanks to your highness, we manage to recruit a group of people who can help us occupy that place."
"Huh? Me?"
"Yup! Sometimes brute force is not a way to go, Your Highness. If we cannot get the gate open up from the outside, we can open it from the inside. We can use the bad reputation the Godwin currently have and make the people of Doraat open the gate for us."
As if something just clicked inside his brain, Frey widened his eyes and said,
"You want to use the rumor of the burning of Lelcar to make the people of Doraat open the gate for us."
"You get that right, Your Highness. We will send someone to spread the rumor and make sure to create something that will trigger their fear."
The others nod their head in understanding, but Lucretia is not done yet.
"However, we cannot just wait for them to open the gate for us. We need to make sure they open the one we need and know that the Godwin does it after they are losing. Because of this, we still need to fight them."
Boz and Dinn walk forward and say.
"Leave them to us, Your Highness! My unit will crush them and put fear into their very being!"
"And my cavalry will make sure their infantry run in fear!"
Lucretia nods her head and says.
"We will leave them to you two. We already have enough food and material for this campaign. Depending on how fast the rumor spreads, we can launch our attack as early as seven days from now on. Before that happens, please prepare and have enough rest. Is there anyone else who wants to add something?"
Gerrald walks forward and says.
"Lucretia, can you bring someone to perform the task of spreading rumors and sabotaging Godwin?"
"Eh? What do you mean, Gerrald?"
"Chiyome, show yourself."
The Queen's Knight that follow Freyjadour (Georg, Kyle, and Lyon) takes out their weapons and prepares to attack when Chiyome appears next to Gerrald and Freyjadour. Lucretia might not show it, but the appearance of Chiyome also spooks her.
The most affected people were the former assassins of the Nether Gate, Sagiri, and Shigure. They cannot even sense the presence of Chiyome. Of course, they cannot sense her. Chiyome is in her spirit form, and even when she is not in her spirit form, Chiyome's presence concealment skill is one of the highest among the servants in Nasuverse. If the two of them manage to detect her, it can be called a miracle.
"G-Gerrald, who is she?"
Freyjadour asks Gerrald as she nervously looks at Chiyome. His entire body screamed to run away from the shorter woman beside him. It is as if a giant snake is looking at me with its glowing red eyes, ready to swallow him whole.
"This is Chiyome Mochizuki. Chiyome, please introduce yourself."
"Yes, Lord Master! My name is Chiyome Mochizuki, I hail from Kai Province. I am a Kunoichi that serves Lord Master Gerrald until this one life ceases to exist."
"U-Um… What is a Kunoichi?"
Chiyome looks at the prince and says.
"Kunoichi is a female version of Shinobi. We are what you call an Assassin. However, unlike them, we only serve one master, and if our master wants us dead, we will kill ourselves happily. That is what makes us different from any Assassin."
Hearing her words, the prince cannot help but swallow his saliva and nod his head. Gerrald decided to lighten up the mood by saying.
"Right! Lucretia! Can you tell her the plan? She will perform it flawlessly."
"If this is what my Lord Master wants, please give me your order. I will give my life to complete this mission."
Gerrald can only facepalm at Chiyome's phrasing and hope that everything is going well.
If you want to read more and support me, you can visit my P@treon: P@treon.com/Luxvondeux