Chapter 195 : Chapter 195

A trap wrapped in praise.

A naked, shameless trap wrapped in praise.

Morton’s move was viciously dirty. First, he elevated Logaris to the lofty position of “a pillar of the kingdom,” then used “the greater good” and “the lives of civilians” as moral blackmail. If he refused to go, then he would be standing by and letting people die, defying a royal order. But if he did go...

The southeastern border was the power base Second Prince Carlisle had cultivated for years. If the Northern Territory’s army went there, it would be like a dragon stranded in shallow waters, or a tiger brought down onto open plains.

And once the strongest fighting force of the Northern Territory was transferred away, would this place not be left empty all over again?

What a fine move—luring the tiger away from the mountain.

Sylvia took the document, but did not open it. She merely rubbed the wax seal lightly with her fingers, her brows drawing together ever so slightly.

She was weighing everything at high speed.

Refuse?

Impossible. That would be handing the Royal Capital a blade to use against her.

Cry poverty and weakness? Claim that the Northern Territory had just come through a great battle and lacked the strength to send troops?

Sylvia’s gaze swept across Morton’s seemingly benevolent yet actually vicious old face, and she sneered inwardly.

If she truly dared to show weakness now and admit that the Northern Territory could not even gather a respectable relief force, then this old fox would absolutely seize the chance at once and bring up again the proposal to “take over the city defense” that Logaris had just beaten back by force.

“Since the Northern Territory is so weak that it cannot even fulfill its obligations to the kingdom, then for Your Highness’s safety, would it not be more prudent to let the Royal Griffon Knights take over the defense?” She could practically imagine the triumphant look on Morton’s face as he said it.

It was a perfect closed loop of open coercion.

Either send troops and be weakened, or show weakness and lose authority.

There was no way forward and no way back.

Morton had clearly come prepared. On his wrinkled old face, he squeezed out a kindly smile so revolting it turned one’s stomach. From his sleeve, he produced another list and lightly pressed it atop the transfer order.

“Your Highness need not be overly troubled. His Highness the Second Prince cares deeply for the Northern Territory. How could he possibly let his own people lose heart?”

Morton’s gaunt finger tapped the list, his tone brimming with temptation. “This is the requisition list for the first batch of military supplies. So long as the Northern Legion sets out, enough grain and fodder to feed ten thousand men for half a year, along with all kinds of magic crystals and repair materials, will be shipped immediately from the Royal Capital. Full reimbursement. No delays whatsoever.”

This was not merely a transfer order.

It was a piece of honey smeared with deadly poison.

Just as Sylvia fell into silence, as though she were locked in fierce inner struggle, Logaris—who had been leaning lazily against the back of his chair, spinning a steel pen out of sheer boredom—suddenly let out a laugh.

“Master Morton, I have a rather immature suggestion.” Logaris pushed up his glasses, and the gaze behind the lenses turned sharp as a blade.

“Since you are a Sixth-Tier powerhouse and a pillar of the kingdom, and you seem to have plenty of time on your hands, why not lead the force to the southeastern border yourself? With your strength, dealing with a few magical beasts should be effortless. That would also spare us ‘crippled remnants’ of the Northern Territory from going over there just to get in your way.”

Morton’s smile froze on his face.

“Insolence!” he barked furiously. “My duty is to supervise the execution of royal orders and assess the kingdom’s overall magical security! Not to go charging into battle like some common soldier! Those are the rules!”

“Oh?” Logaris’s tone grew even more mocking. He spun the steel pen once around his fingers and caught it cleanly. “So a master’s duty is simply to move his lips and send other people’s children off to die. I had thought a ‘pillar of the kingdom’ was meant to hold things up. I did not realize it was only for decoration. I stand enlightened.”

“You—! That is sophistry!” Morton trembled with rage, yet for a moment he could find no words with which to refute him.

At that razor-edged moment, Sylvia’s fingers stopped rubbing the wax seal. She had been staring at the map on the wall the entire time, and now her gaze seemed to pass through it altogether, as though she were already seeing the Great Howling Rift thousands of miles away.

A wild and daring plan rapidly took shape in her mind.

“Logaris.”

Sylvia spoke at last, her voice so calm that it was almost frightening. She did not look at Logaris. Instead, she turned her gaze toward Morton.

“Since this is for the sake of the kingdom, and since it is a token of my second brother’s good intentions, the Northern Territory naturally has no reason to refuse.”

Her voice was calm to an almost excessive degree, and there was even a faint smile on her lips. “We accept this order.”

“Sylvia?”

Logaris froze for a moment and turned toward her instinctively. Behind his lenses, his eyes were filled with confusion and astonishment.

This was no different from jumping straight into a pit of fire.

But Sylvia did not look at him. Beneath the table, she merely patted the back of his hand lightly, telling him without words to remain calm.

She lifted her head and met Morton’s crafty old eyes with a composed smile. “However, Master Morton, moving troops is not child’s play. The food, lodging, transport routes, and logistical support for tens of thousands of soldiers all require detailed planning. Surely you must give us some time to draw up a deployment plan?”

Morton stared at Sylvia for several seconds. Though he was surprised by her sudden shift in attitude, his goal had already been achieved. He held the greater cause in his hand, and he had a materials list as bait. Surely she would not dare openly defy a royal order.

“Very well.”

Morton rose to his feet, smoothed out his mage robe, which still carried a faint scorched smell, and regained that lofty arrogance of his. In his mind, he had won this round on the political front.

“Tomorrow morning, at eight o’clock, I expect to see a stamped deployment plan. And remember, the transfer order states it very clearly. What is required is the Northern Territory’s main force.”

Morton placed heavy emphasis on the words “main force,” his gaze sweeping meaningfully across Logaris. “Do not try to fool the council with the old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled. That would not reflect well on anyone.”

With that, without even glancing at Logaris, he lifted that gleaming bald head of his and strode out of the conference room like a rooster that had won the fight.

As the heavy oak door swung shut behind him, the conference room fell into a brief dead silence.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Logaris looked at Sylvia in disbelief. “The southeastern border is the Second Prince’s territory! The supply lines and the intelligence network are both in his hands. If our army goes there, we’ll be deaf and blind. This is obviously sending them to their deaths.”

“And if we refused, then what? Start a war with the Royal Capital right now?”

Sylvia shot back, her tone still calm. “Or would you prefer that I go and cry to that old bastard about how pitiful the Northern Territory is? Do you believe that if I showed even the slightest weakness, he would not immediately use it as an excuse to shove that failed ‘take over the city defense’ plan right back onto the table?”

Logaris choked on his own words. Irritated, he rubbed at his brow and dropped heavily into his chair. “Even so, we can’t just agree to it like this. That old bastard is clearly trying to grind down our effective forces.”

Sylvia said nothing.

She merely walked back to the enormous map in silence.

Her finger traced along the red lines across the map, then finally stopped and pressed down hard on that black circle—

The Great Howling Rift.

“Logaris.”

Sylvia’s voice suddenly became somewhat distant, carrying with it a strange rhythm. “Do you still remember the report Victor gave yesterday on the training results of the new recruits?”