The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Chapter 583: Contest of Patience

Chapter 583: Contest of Patience

One hundred thirty thousand.

That was the number of troops currently operational in the Imperial Army.

The right wing was made up of thirty thousand troops, and they had lost about twenty thousand.

The situation was quite grim.

Being in enemy territory, the imperial soldiers were unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain.

Moreover, the distance between them and the main force they should return to was considerable.

Therefore, only around ten thousand soldiers could make it back.

The remaining twenty thousand had not all been killed, but at the very least, they were not back on the front lines.

In addition to the twenty thousand, they had lost the generals and their close aides.

It was a great loss, even considering a retreat.

Still, the enemy army had one hundred thousand, and the Imperial Army had one hundred thirty thousand.

The Imperial Army still held the advantage in terms of forces.

"Let's send out a surprise attack unit and ambush the enemy main force!"

In a war council where the leadership gathered, the proposal for an ambush on the enemy main force was made by General Zandel, who had led the left-wing unit.

Originally, he was a general in the southern part of the Empire and was still in his mid-thirties.

He was older than Harnish, but he was young for a general.

He had no chance to go to the front during the civil war, but he was bought for his loyalty to the empire and had been defending the area around the Imperial Capital.

At Zandel's words, Harnish muttered in irritation.

"Is that not exactly what the enemy wants? Can't you see that?"

"What did you say?"

"Just as we watch the enemy, the enemy watches us. The only reason they could slip past our gaze was because they had the advantage of the land. We don't have that. Try to send out a surprise attack unit. They will be defeated one by one! That's exactly what they want. It's clear they intend to reduce our forces and strike where we are weak, isn't it?"

"So what do you propose we do!? Should we just take this kind of loss lying down!?"

"We strike when we should! But we don't strike when it will result in loss! Don't make suggestions just because you want to do something! It's the soldiers who will die!"

"Are you implying that I don't value the lives of our soldiers!?"

"Yes, that's right. You're not only undervaluing the soldiers but the entire Imperial Army. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to suggest a surprise attack unit. This is enemy territory, isn't it? We couldn't even notice the approach of a unit of ten thousand. How do you propose we launch a surprise attack on such an enemy? Can you tell me, General Zandel?"

"Fine. You seem to want to say I have no plan, but I do have a strategy."

With that, Zandel picked up a piece from the map spread out on the table.

It was one of the pieces representing the Imperial Army.

Zandel moved it backward and then toward the north.

"We indeed lack the advantage of the land. But those in the north have it. Select a surprise attack unit, move them back, then join forces with Lady Leticia in the north. From there, slip past the enemy's surveillance network and ambush the enemy's main force. As a signal of that ambush, the main force will begin to march. We will push the enemy forces back to the fortress in one fell swoop!"

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Harnish sighed at Zandel's strategy.

And then.

"Can you guarantee that the surprise attack unit will reach the enemy's main force? We are unfamiliar with the terrain. But the enemy knows it well. Just because the defensive conditions are different, it doesn't guarantee the success of the surprise attack, does it? And how many days will it take? If we engage the enemy in the meantime, we will only lose more forces."

"You've been complaining from the start! If you have complaints, then present an alternative! We can't just wait here!"

Zandel threw the piece he held at Harnish.

But Harnish was a frontline general. He easily caught the piece.

Zandel hadn't expected Harnish to get hurt, but seeing Harnish catch the piece nonchalantly, he grimaced.

"Both of you, remember where you are."

"My, my apologies, Your Highness."

"Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Chided by Theodore, Zandel hastily bowed his head, and Harnish quietly bowed his head.

Leo, who had been silent until then, spoke.

"It's not bad to be passionate. You both can argue more. The proposal of an ambush allowed us to recognize its risks. I appreciate both General Zandel's aggressiveness and General Harnish's calmness. However, from the current discussion, it seems that an ambush will not be as simple as we thought."

With that, Leo chuckled lightly.

Seeing the supreme commander showing no signs of stress, both Zandel and Harnish relaxed.

Seeing the two calm down, Leo slowly took a deep breath.

This was not the time for allies to be at each other's throats.

In order to break through this situation, they yearned for a visible victory.

However, such a desire could lead them into a trap.

This was a time to endure.

That's what Leo kept telling himself.

However, this time it was a bit different.

"Here too, I suppose."

Ever since the war began, they had been constantly enduring.

The other side was waiting for them to lose patience.

But Leo had been prepared to endure even before the war began.

The enemy general Ansem, who displayed overwhelming power on the battlefield, seemed to have no weaknesses.

From strategic maneuvers utilizing a vast field of view to the valiant command at the frontline, he displayed power in every position.

However, even if Ansem himself had no weaknesses, the kingdom did.

From the beginning, Leo intended this to be a contest of patience.

And his opponent was not Ansem.

Leo's opponent in this patience contest was the crown prince of the kingdom.

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