Wizard Farming Guide

Chapter 46 Taking the Initiative to Declare War

The next morning.

The soldiers assembled on the road, searching for their teammates. After confirming their positions, they formed a neat formation.

Rhodes, who was ahead, turned his head and nodded after seeing the relatively stable reserve army.

It's clear that Holmes' week of training went quite well.

These two hundred serfs were already adept at finding their places.

This will prevent embarrassing situations such as someone running around aimlessly and mysteriously disappearing.

Standing in front of the reserve force were shield-wielding spearmen and cavalry, led by Rhodes and his two knights.

This is considered a normal configuration for a knightly order, with a few knights at the core, followed by squire cavalry and personal guard infantry, forming a mixed charging force.

"Let's go." After counting the soldiers and making sure no one was left out, Rhodes led the way and set off.

The destination is Knight Charles's territory in Dragon Ridge.

It is located northwest of Pingdingshan, about 30 kilometers away.

The straight-line distance is not far, but due to the harsh environment of the North, there are many steep slopes and rivers blocking the way.

Fortunately, previous caravans had scouted the route.

Following the map, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the team should arrive there in a day and a half.

This is where the importance of mounts becomes apparent, as Rhodes observed the slow marching speed.

If he had a cavalry of Snowfield Steeds, relying on the speed of the Snowfield Steeds, he could reach his destination in less than an hour.

That's what it truly means to come and go like the wind.

Without equivalent restrictions on superhuman units, the enemy simply cannot stop them and can only watch helplessly as their army is slaughtered.

After imagining that scene in his mind, Rod quickly shook his head and returned to reality.

Because of the brick and stone trade, the routes for traveling between them were very clear.

After a day, he entered the territory of the knight Charles.

"Set up camp here." Rhodes stopped and ordered his troops to build a camp on the spot.

He looked around and saw that many campsites and tents had already been set up.

A fluttering heraldic flag stands among them, representing the different identities behind the surface camp.

Judging from the different coats of arms, at least twenty noble private armies were stationed here.

The ravens circling overhead clearly showed Rhodes the number of people.

"The total number of soldiers exceeds four thousand, that's quite a large force," Rhodes remarked.

With the Northern Kings blocked by Dragonstalker Fortress, peace and harmony prevailed within the kingdom.

Large-scale wars involving tens of thousands of people have become rare.

Let alone tens of thousands, a noble war involving a thousand people is enough to alarm the nobles from all sides and attract curious onlookers.

Rhodes had only heard of it a handful of times during his more than ten years in Sword Tomb.

"Sir Knight, Lord Charlie requests your presence."

After the soldiers were settled in the camp, an attendant bowed and invited them in.

Rhodes nodded and followed in his footsteps.

Charles's castle was also built on a mountain, and when Rhodes approached it, he found that only the first and second floors were roughly completed.

Using the Eye of True Sight, it was discovered that construction had ceased for half a month, based on the traces.

With some doubt, Rhodes entered the castle.

"Sir Rhodes! It's been a long time. Thank you for coming, my dear friend." Dressed in a flamboyant red tuxedo, Sir Charlie stepped forward to greet him.

"Yes, it's been a whole week since we last met after we parted ways at the Temple of the Round Table," Rhodes greeted him with a smile.

At the same time, information about this knight came to mind.

The third son of the Mayfield family, at the young age of thirty, had already reached the pinnacle of knighthood, becoming the renowned Extreme Knight.

His preferred weapon is a Flameflow lance, which he likes to use to pierce the heart of his enemies during battle, burning it to ashes.

He was thus known as the "Knight of the Flameheart" in aristocratic circles.

This is not the humorous title that Rhodes has been teased about, "The Gardener's Knight."

Rather, it was a title of honor recognized by the nobility, just like his elder brother's "White Knight of the Sword Tomb," representing the honor and medals of a knight.

After exchanging pleasantries with him, Rod entered the banquet hall.

Many nobles had already gathered in the castle's banquet hall, moving around and chatting among themselves.

Although the Knight Charles had gathered everyone, he did not rush to discuss matters of alliance.

Instead, following aristocratic tradition, they first held a banquet that appeared to be quite nice.

Rod cut a piece of glistening roast meat and put it in his mouth, his expression unchanged, but inwardly he rolled his eyes.

Well, it just looks good.

Lacking essential seasonings like rosemary and black pepper, the bland flavor likely comes from just a sprinkle of salt.

Even the chef who grilled the meat was a complete novice, and the meat was dry with a slight burnt texture.

This is clearly overcooked.

After scanning the tables and finding no cakes or desserts, Rod simply put down his cutlery and turned his attention to the guests.

There were more than 30 people walking around in the banquet hall, four of whom were knights from the Round Table Council.

Except for a few people who were clearly hungry, no one touched the food much.

After a while, all the pioneer knights from each side had arrived.

Knight Charlie walked straight to the front.

He knew that the food at the banquet was just a cheap imitation, and he certainly didn't have the money to throw a grand banquet.

So, to avoid awkwardness and without wasting time, he went straight to the point, addressing everyone:

"Gentlemen, our intelligence has been acquired by the barbarians. According to reliable sources, more than ten wolf chieftain tribes have begun to unite and gather, and the location is the nearby ice city of Salko!"

"There's no time to hesitate! If we don't want to be picked off one by one, we must unite and strike first!"

"Before winter arrives and the Wolf Chieftain's tribe is fully united, we must join forces to breach the Ice City of Salko. Only in this way can we guarantee the safety of our entire territory!"

"Therefore, I propose that we establish an allied army here and, effective immediately, attack the Ice City of Salko!"

Knight Charles shouted in a resounding voice.

The meaning is simple: the appearance of the pioneering knights brought together the various small wolf chieftain tribes.

Once the wolf chieftain tribe unites and launches an offensive, individual pioneer knights will have no chance of resistance and will be annihilated in the blink of an eye.

Since that's the case, they decided to strike first and launch an attack.

After hearing his words, Rod thought it was a good idea.

Currently, most of the defensive facilities in their territory are incomplete.

Rather than waiting for the enemy, this move of turning the tables and taking the initiative is a good strategy.

Rhodes knew that the location of his territory had already been exposed. If he allowed the wolf chieftain's tribe to gather, given the extent of his family's ridicule, he would definitely be among the first to die!

The alliance is exactly what he wanted.

This Knight Charles seemed to know a bit about military strategy, which gave Rhodes more confidence in the alliance.

Knight Charles was ahead, delivering his manifesto with great enthusiasm and persuasiveness.

But Rhodes noticed that the Byrne Knight beside him wasn't very interested.

As a fellow Knight of the Round Table, this knight, born into the Viscount Adrian family, shook his head and whispered an explanation to Rhodes:

"Charlie has taken in a large number of wandering knights, declining baronial families and knightly forces. His financial burden is about to bankrupt him. He has no choice but to take the initiative to start a war."

Building a territory requires a lot of gold coins.

When many pioneer knights could no longer afford the responsibility, they would choose to join other powerful pioneering forces and become vassals.

That being said, these external forces are of varying quality, and misusing them could easily drag you down.

Rhodes, recalling the work stoppage outside the castle, fell silent.

It turns out that the reason Charlie was so eager to start a war was because he was out of money!

(End of this chapter)