School Transmigration: I, Chosen as the Saint by Dragons at the Start-Chapter 179 --The Infiltrating Demon

For many years, Kistan had been responsible for defense matters and was acutely aware of the city’s vulnerabilities.

His typical solution involved deploying more personnel and equipping them with the finest weapons available.

Owen’s approach, however, demonstrated a superior tactical insight, such as solving issues by simply rearranging the positions of neighboring catapults and ballistae.

Kistan admired this greatly, silently lamenting his own inability to match such genius.

Despite being rendered powerless, Dawson still made his way to the city walls for inspections, finding everything as usual.

He grew increasingly fond of Owen, thinking that if not for the impending war, it would be the perfect time to arrange Anna’s marriage to him.

This thought bolstered his confidence in overcoming the looming crisis.

Owen, unaware of the lord’s considerations, remained deeply concerned.

Everything was too calm.

Unnaturally calm.

Several days had passed since the battle in Termination Forest, and the demon army had made no move, surely a sign of some sinister plot.

Today’s smooth evacuation of the villagers by Kistan also struck him as abnormal.

What was the demon army waiting for?

"Owen!" Lost in thought, Owen was snapped back to reality by Visto calling him from across the way.

"Brother Visto."

Visto smiled, saying, "I have a favor to ask of you. I would like to borrow the troop that Lord Dawson assigned to you."

"Oh?" Owen’s brow furrowed slightly.

Lord Dawson had previously assigned a troop to protect Owen.

Although Owen felt he didn’t need such protection, Dawson insisted, unwilling to let the saint of dragons come to any harm on human race territory.

"In the southwest of the human race’s Charlotte Kingdom, near the border with the Plateau Kingdom, a large group of wild beasts has recently appeared, taking over the area where I used to gather herbs," Visto paused before continuing, "If not dealt with promptly, they will migrate northward, endangering the lives of the people living on the border."

Owen appeared somewhat troubled.

"Under normal circumstances, Brother Visto, the troops would be at your command with just a word from you. But with the enemy at our gates..."

These men were a crucial force in a critical moment, and Owen could not justify reallocating them for personal reasons.

Visto replied, "The area inhabited by the wild beasts lies north of the transverse mountains. I suspect their restlessness might be related to the demon army. Perhaps we might uncover something?"

"You make a sensible point," Owen conceded after a moment’s thought and agreed to the proposal.

"However, I must still seek approval from the lord."

"Thank you. I know you’re busy with military affairs, so I won’t keep you any longer," Visto said, turning to leave.

Watching Visto’s departing figure, Owen pondered that Visto might have other motives, though he couldn’t guess what they might be at the moment.

However, based on their interactions over the past few days, he found Visto to be reliable.

With no further thoughts, Owen turned to report to the lord.

For reasons unknown, the lord did not object.

The decision to hand over the troops to Visto was made, but when it came to choosing a leader, the lord faced a dilemma.

Visto, lacking military experience and rank, naturally could not lead the troops.

The captain of the thousand riders was an old boozer, and none under his command were reliable.

As the lord hesitated, Anna walked in.

"Father, let me lead the troops."

"Alright," Dawson immediately agreed to his daughter’s proposal, realizing it was a way to keep her away from the battlefield.

"We’ll set off immediately, the sooner we go, the sooner we return," Anna said before hastily preparing to leave.

She didn’t want to leave with the great battle approaching.

Yet, she had to, especially since Visto had just informed her that this journey was to cure her ailment, and it would be too late if they delayed any longer.

She couldn’t miss this opportunity, or else she might have to wait for another lifetime.

Her only hope was to be healed quickly and return to help her father defend the city. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Dawson, unaware of Anna’s condition, watched her depart and then asked Owen to see them off.

After Owen left, the lord summoned one of his personal guards.

"Take a bottle of fine wine..." he pondered a moment before continuing, "and deliver it to the old boozer of the thousand riders. Tell him not to travel too hastily."

Having issued these instructions, Dawson settled back into his chair, relieved of his concerns.

This time, he didn’t contemplate where Anna could flee if Ironblade City were to fall.

Emotions sometimes prevent one from considering the bigger picture or acting with "true kindness."

Anna was a strong leader, arguably more important to Ironblade City than a thousand riders.

Yet, Dawson failed to consider this.

Perhaps he was deliberately overlooking it, driven by his emotional nature.

Owen was deep in thought.

Regardless of Visto’s true intentions for leading the thousand riders away at this time, he trusted that his benefactor would only engage in righteous deeds.

He was also pleased that the lord’s daughter could depart with Visto, believing that a teenage girl should not have to fight on the battlefield.

Owen prepared a fine horse for Visto and a specially crafted lightweight sword, even though Visto claimed a walking stick would suffice.

Owen insisted, placing the sword in Visto’s medicine basket anyway.

As the sun dipped low, the thousand riders readied themselves for departure.

The villagers sheltered in the northern military camp emerged to witness the spectacle.

The force was not at full strength, comprising only a few hundred men and fewer than ten horses.

Visto and Anna each rode one, with the remaining mounts allocated to the captain and a few lieutenants.

However, the old boozer and his deputies, rather than mounting their horses, stood leaning against them, sharing jokes and laughter.

The rest of the soldiers appeared reasonably disciplined.

Owen climbed to the top of the city wall, watching the departing troops until the last person vanished from sight.

After watching Visto and his group depart, Owen descended from the city wall.

Leading his horse, he slowly made his way towards the southern part of the city, his mind occupied with thoughts of the city’s defenses and pondering any possible oversights.

"Lord Saint, wait for me," Kistan called out from behind, catching up to Owen just as he was nearing the southern city gate.

Kistan, who was supposed to rest at home after reporting back, found himself restless and unable to settle, his thoughts constantly returning to the city’s defenses.

He had eaten dinner in haste and rushed to the southern city, coincidentally running into Owen.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Kistan inquired, "I heard that the young mistress led the thousand riders on a beast eradication mission?"

"Yes," Owen confirmed.

"It’s probably for the best that they left at this time," Kistan said with a smile.

Considering that even the famed armies of the dragons were annihilated under the siege of the demon army, they feared their fate might be similar.

"Did you notice anything unusual while evacuating the villagers in Endsville?" Owen suddenly asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, it went smoothly," Kistan recalled.

"Just that the town sign was missing. I asked about it and was told it fell due to disrepair a day ago, along with its frame, damaging a nearby house."

"They didn’t mention anything about changing the town’s name?"

Owen remembered suggesting to Visto that they change Endsville’s name to Startville, considering the former to be inauspicious.

Kistan paused, then replied, "Change the town’s name? No."

"This is bad, those villagers must be impersonated by the demon army!" Owen mounted his horse in haste.

Having been deceived before, he knew the demons were full of tricks.

"Loudly, he commanded, "Kistan, quickly muster the troops to surround the camp, I’ll go ahead."

With that, Owen sped towards the northern part of the city.

Seeing Owen’s urgent reaction, Kistan didn’t ask for reasons but hurried to the nearest guard camp to call for troops, while sending someone to inform the lord.

The horse was swift, and its rider even swifter, arriving at the northern part of the city in no time.

Owen didn’t head for the military camp but directly to the northern city gate, where he urgently requisitioned three hundred soldiers for city defense.

The lord trusted Owen immensely, granting him the highest authority to mobilize all the city’s military forces.

This was a necessity; if he couldn’t trust Owen, the saint of dragons, then the city truly was without hope.

Owen left only a few dozen guards to watch over the city walls.

With the demon army in the south, it would take a significant amount of time for a large force to circle around to the north, and they would be vulnerable to attacks from within the city during their march.

Therefore, the lord and Owen had agreed to station heavy forces at the other three gates, leaving only about three hundred men at the regular guard for the north gate.

Should the demon army attempt a flanking maneuver to attack the north gate, the guards from the south gate would be redistributed to the east and west gates, and from there, to the north gate.

This strategy was devised to inflict maximum casualties on the demon army, but they hadn’t anticipated the enemy infiltrating the city, especially not in the north.

With the situation being critical, Owen had no choice but to mobilize the city’s defenders, instructing those who remained to aim their bows and crossbows inward, with orders to shoot to kill anyone attempting to approach the city walls.

Owen, leading three hundred guards, hurried to the military camp where the Endsville villagers, now under the guise of the thousand riders, were stationed.

The camp, bustling with these "villagers," was eerily quiet, devoid of excessive chatter.

Though rundown, the camp was enclosed by sturdy stone walls.

Therefore, Owen did not enter but instead formed a blockade at the entrance.

With a smile, he addressed the nearest "villager," saying, "We are from the northern city’s third defense battalion. From now on, this camp will be under our guard. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

The man glanced at Owen, then at the soldiers behind him, and offered a grin.

While tapping his wooden stick on the ground, he slowly backed away, prompting the "villagers" behind him to orderly assemble into squared formations.

"How did you discover us?" he asked Owen.

Owen, taken aback, hadn’t expected his ruse to be so quickly detected.

The two shared a knowing smile.

Owen replied, "As villagers, you were too quiet. Not a single person made noise watching the troops depart, an event usually met with commotion."

"I overlooked that," sighed the demon army leader.

"Was that all it took for you to see through our disguise?"

"No, there was another crucial detail. Endsville was renamed to Startville several days ago, and the sign at the town’s entrance was recently replaced. Yet, when you took over Endsville, you conveniently destroyed the sign. When our forces inquired, you claimed it fell due to disrepair and failed to mention the name change. That was a giveaway."

"It seems we’re quite unlucky then."

"Yes, now it’s your turn to explain," Owen said.