This Giant Dragon is So Powerful!-Chapter 98 - 91: Schemes of Their Own

On the third day of the human army’s entry into the Wilderness Plains, they finally found traces of the Centaurs.

"General, we have discovered a large number of Centaurs on the plains west of the Dark Forest." The soldier, who had been scouting the front lines, reported solemnly to Duke Elcan at the main camp.

Duke Elcan nodded slightly and walked to the center of the tent to stand before the magic sand table map.

The magic sand table was over ten meters in length and width. On the table, the northern area of the wasteland was occupied by numerous green flags, while the southern area was covered in numerous blue flags. The green flags represented the Kingdom behind Elcan, and the blue flags represented the Duchy.

"Place a red flag here to represent the Centaurs." After Elcan spoke, the accompanying mage waved his magic staff lightly, and a small sandy red flag instantly rose in a small area near the western Dark Forest.

Duke Elcan rubbed his prickly chin and then pointed separately at two regions on the outskirts of the Dark Forest to the left of the Centaur’s red flag and said,

"Place a black flag here to represent the Queen of Darkness, and place a white flag there to represent the Wild Dwarves."

The mage’s magic staff flickered, and black and white flags instantly rose from the sand table.

Looking at the current map of the sand table, Duke Elcan appeared thoughtful and murmured to himself,

"What will these Centaurs do next?"

From the sand table map, it could be seen that the Centaurs were essentially cornered. South, North, and East were thoroughly blocked by the Kingdom army and the Duchy army, while in the west, the Queen of Darkness and the Brown Forest Wild Dwarves Clan were deeply rooted, making each force formidable.

This doesn’t even count the presence of Advanced Demons around the outskirts of the Dark Forest and the possibly existent Top-Level Demons (equivalent to Master-level Professionals).

"According to many knights from the Blood Flower Knight Order who personally witnessed the incident, an Adult Black Dragon aided the King of Centaurs in that war. This Adult Black Dragon should be none other than the Queen of Darkness."

"If the Queen of Darkness and the King of Centaurs unite... No, if we human army choose to invade the Dark Forest, perhaps our opponents would also include the Wild Dwarves Clan."

After analyzing, Duke Elcan furrowed his brow slightly.

Yet soon, his expression relaxed, even showing a hint of smile.

Since the invasion would rally so many troublesome enemies against them, why invade at all?

Not only should he refrains from invading the Dark Forest, but he should also abandon the contest for the plains area near the Dark Forest.

"Issue orders for all military divisions to halt expansion towards the Dark Forest," Duke Elcan said to the accompanying mage, "If any have already reached the outskirts plains of the Dark Forest, they should evacuate quickly. Finally, build a War Castle one hundred kilometers from the area."

The mage nodded slightly, took out a crystal stone, and chanted an incantation.

Soon, the commanders of the Kingdom’s army received Duke Elcan’s orders. Some seemed thoughtful, others gloating, while...

The commander of the army, which had just approached the outskirts of the Dark Forest plains, looked visibly perturbed upon receiving the order.

"The Duke has actually ordered us to abandon the contest for this land?" This commander, standing behind another Duke of the Kingdom, was visibly upset and couldn’t resist cursing.

Everyone knew that the plains near the Dark Forest were prime territory. It could attract countless adventurers by building a town there, allowing them first-hand access to demon materials, magic plants, and numerous resources, along with enormous tax revenue... As adventurers increased, various lucrative industry chains such as Charming Street, weapon shops, taverns, and casinos would emerge, leading to immense wealth at a glance.

The commander was able to lead the army here to acquire land, involving sacrifices of many interests both by himself and the Duke standing behind him.

Yet now, Duke Elcan’s singular order demanded they forfeit this valuable piece of cake?

Absurd! Ridiculous!

"Get in touch with the Duke." The commander made up his mind.

He took out a communication magic crystal from his pocket and sent a message to Duke Hopkins behind him.

Soon, Duke Hopkins responded.

"Duke Elcan is currently the nominal commander of the Kingdom’s army; his orders must be followed. You should immediately lead the army back."

"Duke? But..." The commander hesitated slightly.

"Heh, why are you in such a hurry? I told you to lead the Kingdom’s army back, but I didn’t say you should leave behind your private army for seizing the land."

Upon hearing the Duke’s words, the commander’s eyes lit up, silently praising the Duke’s cunning strategies.

The Kingdom’s army indeed needed to adhere to Duke Elcan’s orders, lest they be labeled as rebels, but leaving behind the territory’s private army posed no issue.

Under the feudal system of the Kingdom, a certain saying circulated widely.

"The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."

The meaning is simple: if the king enfeoffs a duke, on paper, the duke would be the king’s vassal, owing allegiance to the king. However, the duke’s vassals, nominally have no association with the king, not needing to pledge allegiance, and the kingdom can exert no control over the duke’s vassals; even if they were to rebel, it would be the duke’s responsibility to manage it, and outsiders cannot intervene because that would equate to a challenge against the duke.

Thus, despite the Kingdom’s overall strength being far greater than the Kas Duchy, new King Ivan can only wield as much power as the Duchy.

Those Kingdom nobles with territories far from the Wilderness Plains might deploy their private armies to contest the benefits in the Wilderness Plains; but how could they compete against nobles whose territories are already close to the Wilderness Plains?

Even if they do contest, those nobles residing far from the Wilderness Plains would likely only send family scions to test the waters, hoping to leave some imprint, earning themselves a small territory. This would slightly enhance the family’s overall influence, but it’s practically impossible to send the territory’s main force into the war.

The composition of the ten thousand strong Kingdom army reveals this: excluding the king’s own men, the remaining, 80% come from Southern Kingdom nobles, around 15% from Central Region nobles, and less than 5% from the northern border nobles.

With turbulent changes seething beneath the surface within the Kingdom’s army, even with varied intentions, the Duchy’s side still sincerely collaborated under Purple Thorn Duke’s march.

"The Kingdom’s army is building a War Castle?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Standing in dark blue armor, exuding grandeur, Purple Thorn Duke furrowed his brow while observing the magic sand table, then sneered,

"Elcan, indeed you plan well. Issue orders for the entire army to halt, and immediately build a War Castle one hundred kilometers away. The army must not actively approach the plains where the Centaurs reside."

"Yes!"

The mage chanted incantations, and through the magic crystal, transmitted the commands from the Duke.