Chapter 1983 - Unfilial Son, Burden!

"Your Majesty, this is the statement by the officials in the military. Judging from the statement, it seems that the second prince used hypnotic magic on them to put them under control. That was how the northwestern allied forces were deployed under your name to start the war against the orcs and elves," a courtier said respectfully after walking into the Royal Study with a thick stack of papers.

Andre flipped through the report on top, and smacked the table hard as he raged, "A bunch of useless fools!"

That courtier shuddered, and lowered his head even more.

"Keep those from the military locked up. Don't release any of them, and none of this news should be leaked." Andre regained his composure very quickly. He said in a deep voice, "Get all the magic casters Josh met in Magus Tower that day under control, and tell Richard to come to me."

"Yes." That official left quickly.

"Very well. After so many years, you're finally coming up with something different. I do want to see what exactly you want to do." The door to the Royal Study closed slowly, and Andre sneered.

He was the one who caused his two sons to vie for the throne. The road to the throne had always been filled with blood and thorns. This could increase a person's strategic thinking and courage, therefore grooming a powerful, cold-blooded king.

That was how he got the throne back then. Therefore, he was giving Josh a chance, and also presenting Sean with a threat.

All these years, Sean had been managing the military, and had contributed a lot at the northwestern frontline. Therefore, he had gained support and respect from the army.

Meanwhile, Josh had become the disciple of the president of the Magus Tower, and had been shining brightly in that aspect, earning support from the courtiers.

However, despite the two being rather on par with each other, Andre did not think that it was enough. It was a far cry from how he defeated his older brothers one by one on his route to the throne as the sixth prince.

But Alex's assassination and Sean's arm being chopped off as well as Josh's plan did shock Andre.

Back then, Alex was overpowering him, and was rather close with Sean. Therefore, Andre was a little worried about Alex. This was why he did not stop Josh, and even secretly helped him remove some obstacles.

What he did not expect was that Sean actually became Josh's accomplice in that operation, and that was how the assassination on that rainy night happened.

This caused Andre to abandon his suspicion of Sean, and also discount Sean's bravery and strategic planning inwardly.

If, on that rainy night, Sean had saved Alex at all costs, he would probably have been the one sitting here now.

Josh did not kill Alex in the end. Instead, he maimed him, and allowed him to leave. This caused the situation they were facing today as father and sons against this strong enemy. It was also an utterly foolish move.

However, even if Alex was very powerful, he was not undefeatable.

As long as Josh stayed in the palace, Alex would not dare to barge in to kill. His death threat was not a checkmate to Josh.

But at this moment, Josh actually made use of the chance while Andre and Sean were in Chaos City for the peace meeting to wage a war on the orcs and elves, with the order to slaughter all of them at that. What was his reason for that?

Andre could not understand despite thinking about it for a day and a night.

Catching the orcs off guard was successfully grabbing the opportunity. If Josh had deployed the troops from the other military zones beforehand and come up with a better plan, they might really have been able to take down the entire Twilight Forest with this sudden attack.

But what was the reason for attacking the Wind Forest?

The elves were one of the Roth Empire's few allies, and they were the only ones with a good relationship with the Roth Empire for thousands of years.

But the attack on the City of Life this time had completely ruined this relationship, pushing the elves to the side of the Peace Alliance.

Be it war or negotiations, Josh had already thrown his best card out too early.

"Unfilial son, burden!" Andre let out a heavy sigh.

***

"Scoundrel! Scoundrel! Scoundrel!" Auster smashed a table after hearing the report on the number of deaths and casualties of the orcs.

Most of the tribes at the border were tribes standing with the Aug Tribe for war. They had had various exchanges with the Roth Empire for years, and had maintained their fighting ability.

However, with the Roth Empire's invasion this time, tens of orc tribes were massacred, and that caused the number standing for war to decrease significantly. Even the Aug Tribe almost fell.

"We did not have powerhouses to guard the place, so we were unable to resist their cavalry'¦" an injured orc chief said softly.

"Shut up!" Auster glanced at him coldly.

The orcs in the tent all pulled a long face, hesitating to speak as they looked at Auster.

Auster was afraid of Alex. That was why he'd brought all the 10th-tier powerhouses and even some of the 9th-tier powerhouses with him to the peace meeting as his guards.

This caused the orc tribes to have insufficient powerhouses to fight off the Roth Empire northwestern allied forces' invasion, and there was even no one to facilitate a fight, causing all tribes to be on their own, which resulted in their fall.

"Why don't we join the Peace Alliance too? The Roth Empire is too strong, and we have suffered really heavy losses. We are no longer able to fight against them." One of the chiefs broke the silence.

"I agree too. The orcs are currently split into two groups. The pro-peace group is stronger than us now. We might not be able to defeat the dwarves and goblins. What do we have to fight with the Roth Empire?" another chief quickly chimed in.

"I refuse! The Roth Empire has killed so many of our people, and massacred so many of our tribes. If we were to join the Peace Alliance, are we not taking revenge for them anymore? I won't be able to take such humiliation lying down even if you can!"

"Exactly. We can also form a group of powerhouses to launch a sudden attack on the Roth Empire, and massacre tens of their towns to take revenge for our people!"

Voices of objection sounded.

The pro-war and pro-peace were quickly engaged in a fervent debate. Some even pulled out their weapons, as though they were going to fight it out if they did not have their way.

Auster knew he had a part to play in this, and his face darkened as he watched the chiefs slowly go out of control.

***

In the Falk Tribe, there were tens of horse-drawn carriages carrying different things parked at the central square.

"Bring these items to the Uto Tribe immediately. They have suffered great losses from this battle. I will get three healing magic casters to go along with some medicine," Connie told the leading orc as they stood before one of the horse-drawn carriages.

"Yes, Chief. I will definitely ensure that the resources are sent over safely," that orc said respectfully.

"Also, this batch of resources is for the Kila Tribe. Their settlement has been damaged, and requires rebuilding," Connie said as she pointed at two horse-drawn carriages at the side.

"Chief, the Kila Tribe is a pro-war tribe, right? Why are we helping them?" The orc looked at Connie with bewilderment.

"When war comes, the enemy will only attack any orc tribe they can attack. They will not distinguish between a pro-war tribe or pro-peace tribe." Connie looked at that orc with a shake of her head, and said, "No matter where we stand, we are firstly all orcs from the same race."

That orc fell deep in thought before nodding in agreement.