Chapter 1279: Conspiracy

"Your Excellency, Frost Town is right there at the front."

A knight reported.

Marwayne Parker raised the telescope and observed the town. This town was situated at the southwestern border of the Kingdom of Everwinter and the Kingdom of Wolfheart, surrounded by mountains. One could see the view of the whole town anywhere from above. Due to the geographical advantage, the lord here did not build any castle in the town.

There were many towns like this one on the border of the two kingdoms. Marwayne would have paid it no notice in the past. But now, the town held a special place in his heart.

"Has the scout come back?"

"Yes. He only paid townsmen several silver royals for the information," the knight said triumphantly. "There's a unit of Graycastle soldiers here. Not many of them, only about 40 to 50 people, and they show up every now and then."

"Why aren't they stationed here?"

"The road beyond the border is treacherous, and it's rumored wild wolves often come out around that area. Refugees can't cross the border without guards."

Marwayne immediately knew what he should do.

The Red Mist did not spread out along the border. In fact, the area covered in the Red Mist was in the shape of a semicircle that kept expanding. Currently, the Red Mist originating from theKingdom of Everwinterhad traveled beyond the king's city of the Kingdom of Wolfheart. Therefore, Marwayne was more comfortable to conduct a battle in his own country than having an expedition.

Frost Town was on the border of the Kingdom of Wolfheart. As it was not very accessible to the public, refugees would seldom enter the Kingdom of Wolfheart from there. Compared to those major cities with advanced transportation facilities, Frost Town was as insignificant as a mosquito.

This was exactly what Marwayne wanted.

This meant that the Graycastle men would not notice his movement, and the information given by the scout also confirmed his theory.

Just like the old scholar had said, the demons would deal with those difficult Graycastle men themselves. What he needed to do was just to stab them in the back. Whatever the outcome of the battle would be, once people learned about his role in this battle, they would fear him.

Of course, the old scholar had developed more sophisticated plans to defeat the Graycastle men. If their schemes were successful, he believed that the Graycastle men would eventually slow down their movement, and then the Sky Lord would trust him even more.

"Let's head back. It's time to call a meeting and discuss the operation."

Within half a day, Marwayne had returned to the closest town and patrolled into the previous lord's mansion triumphantly. This mansion used to belong to an unknown baron who used to rule this area, but he had fled upon the arrival of the demons and the Red Mist, so Marwayne took his residence as a matter of course.

Although Frost Town was not under his jurisdiction yet since Marwayne only had the authority over the four cities in the Northern Region, he believed that the Parker Family would continue to expand their territory.

Soon, all the nobles gathered here and waited for Marwayne to break the silence.

The duke surveyed each one of them and memorized their countenances and expressions. There were 45 people in the room, most of whom were knights, although some were barons. The person with the highest rank in this room was the previous lord of the Northernmost Port, Viscount Narnos. These nobles lost their lands and subjects to the Graycastle men and immediately pledged allegiance to him after being promised that they would receive rewards. The number of the soldiers in this army had exceeded 300, including all the guards, squires and henchmen.

With so many people and a carefully-planned scheme, Marwayne believed this would be a perfect opportunity to defeat the Graycastle soldiers. More importantly, it was his first time using the enemies' weapons. The reason that the Graycastle men had flattened the nobles in the Kingdom of Everwinter was that they used weapons much faster and far more powerful than snow powder. Without the support of the Sky Lord, nobody would have been willing to fight the Graycastle men, even if the number of the soldiers doubled.

"I wonder if you've prepared yourself for the upcoming battle?" Marwayne asked after clearing his throat. "I think everyone has learned how to use the firearms, right?"

"We just need to load the gun, take aims and pull the trigger, don't we?" Viscount Narnos said indignantly. "Even savages know how to use them. I see no reason that we can't. The captives didn't tell us how to use the weapons until we tortured them. They were pretty reluctant to disclose the information. These weapons are really not a big deal!"

"That's right. The weapons are ingenius indeed, but they're much easier to use than swords," a knight rejoined. "I also interrogated the Graycastle men. They just joined the army two years ago, and it only took them a month to learn how to use the firearms. However, I spent five years learning how to use swords."

"Those low lives are foolish, and that's why it took them a month. I would only need three days to master it," another person spoke, and all the others guffawed.

"I'll let them know they'll be nothing without firearms!"

"They rely on witches to produce firearms. I think the King of Graycastlebeated the church simply because the church was too busy dealing with the Kingdom of Everwinter and the Kingdom of Wolfheart at that time."

Marwayne suddenly realized that those infuriated nobles were usable. They had been holding a grudge against the Graycastle men for a long time. Although he had only built this new army a week ago and hardly knew anybody, at least, they were acting in concert for a common purpose, and everyone was eager to seek revenge.

"But the number of the bolts named bullet is limited, so each of us only has a few," the knight said while spreading out his hands. "I hope that everyone could go easy on them and fire at a close range."

Marwayne cast the knight a glance of approval. His name is Fueler, a local from the Western Region. Marwayne knew that he was pretty smart, and it appeared that Fueler had already grasped the key to the victory. Marwayne was thinking of recruiting him later for his own use.

"Don't worry," Marwayne said confidently. "The Graycastle men don't have many bullets either. The northwestern part of the Kingdom of Wolfheart is mountainous, which restrains their mobility. Also, they'll let us approach them. Their goal is to get refugees out of here, isn't it?"

Everybody sneered.

That was right. Since the Graycastle men came here for people, they would definitely not abandon the lambs that voluntarily came up to them. However, they did not know that wolves could also hide among those innocent lambs. It only took a second for a hunter to turn into a prey. By the time the Graycastle men discovered the danger, it would have been too late.

Then, they could disguise themselves as the Graycastle soldiers and looted the towns on their way back. In that case, people would stop believing the Graycastle men, and this immigration campaign would, as a matter of course, fail.

"I've let the Graycastle men know that we'll go with them. I believe we'll soon hear back from them. Let's fight this battle out, and all the resources and food gained from this battle will be yours!" Marwayne proclaimed as he rose. "This is a great opportunity to avenge yourselves and gain lands and wealth! You have my words. It's time for the Graycastle soldiers to pay for what they have done, everyone!"