The Lord Of Blood Hill

Chapter 604: You Have Already Completed Your Mission!

Clifford finds Simon and Berkner. "Generals, I heard that Ogiro military personnel have come here to buy military equipment.""I assume that is only a rumor. After all, selling them weapons now is the same as selling them the rope that will hang us."

Simon admits it directly. "It is not a rumor. It is true. We did indeed conduct a military equipment trade with them."

Seeing Simon admit it so directly, Clifford is the one left unsure what to say.

After a moment of silence, Clifford says, "We are supposed to be allies. I do not think something like this should happen."

"Is there something we have not done properly? Or did our two sides fail to negotiate the conditions properly?"

"If your side has any demands, I can report them directly to Holy Lake City and ask the people above to reconsider your terms carefully."

Berkner says, "General, the cooperation between our two sides is an agreement signed by our lord."

"My lord's integrity is known throughout the continent."

"We would never violate my lord's wishes and do anything that damages his reputation."

"But I think you have misunderstood one thing. Our two sides are not allies. We are merely in an employer-hired force relationship."

"At this time last year, our two sides were still fighting to the death on the battlefield."

"Today, although the hostile war relationship between us has ended, that does not mean we are friends."

"Peace Haven has its own interests. We soldiers, and this supply convoy, all place my lord's interests and Peace Haven's interests first."

Simon continues, "Lord Clifford, perhaps this past year of contact has given you an illusion."

"Our friendliness toward you and your army is only because we have worked together. We can be considered half comrades."

"That is why we take special care of you and show no discrimination or hostility."

"But that does not mean we hold goodwill toward Lumir as a whole."

"In the Battle of Blood and Fire, the Fifth Legion, now the Death Herald Legion, was nearly wiped out."

"My cavalry legion also suffered real losses."

"As one of the members of the alliance that attacked us at the time, Lumir had no grudge or enmity with us, yet still participated in that war."

"We have never forgotten that."

"If not for Peace Haven's overall interests, we would not mind joining Ogiro in carving up Lumir."

Clifford is left speechless. After a long while, he finally tries to persuade them. "But now, we have joined forces. Ogiro is our enemy."

Berkner shakes his head. "We have no enemies. Whoever blocks our interests, blocks our development, and tries to harm us is our enemy."

"And we have no friends either, because everyone wants to harm us and strangle us."

"Before, Lumir gave us benefits, so we chose to no longer be hostile toward you."

"Now, Ogiro gives us benefits, so we likewise will not treat them as mortal enemies."

"And listening to you today, General, are you trying to obstruct our interests and make yourself our enemy?"

Seeing Berkner's cold gaze, Clifford understands that Berkner is not joking.

When the atmosphere becomes tense, Simon steps forward with a smile. "All right. General Clifford does not mean that. He simply does not understand why we are doing this. Once we explain it clearly, it will be fine."

Afterward, Simon explains to Clifford. "General, I know you badly want to go to the front line and fight for your country."

"But as you can see, the Gloomwood Knights have been following us the whole time."

"Once you leave the convoy, your path of retreat will quickly be cut off, and then you can only wait for death."

Clifford says, "But the order I received was to support the front line."

Simon asks another way, "What are you going to the front line for? To fight Ogiro's army, correct?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, Simon asks, "Then what is the purpose of your fighting? Or, to put it in more detail, what objective do you need to achieve?"

Clifford says, "The duchy needs my four legions to serve as the main attacking force."

Simon nods lightly. "To bite into the hard bone, then. It seems Holy Lake City has very high expectations of you."

After saying this, Simon points west. "The Gloomwood Knights are a hard bone, are they not? The two cavalry regiments following them are also well trained."

"Here, you have pinned down an entire Ogiro knight order and one cavalry legion. They do not dare support the frontal battlefield at all."

"On one hand, they need to monitor us. On the other hand, they are also here to block you."

"Your soldiers can pin down such a hard bone without fighting through blood. Is that not good?"

"You should know that once you reach the front line, that battlefield, like a flesh mill, will cost your soldiers dearly."

Seeing Clifford hesitate, Simon adds more fuel to the fire. "General, last time, for your training costs and equipment costs, you asked for eight hundred thousand extra gold coins."

"We all know you did not embezzle it, but gave it to the families of the soldiers who died under your command."

"You are a good general. The soldiers respect you, and you should live up to their trust."

Clifford gives a bitter smile. "You think too highly of me. I embezzled nearly a hundred thousand gold coins myself."

Simon shrugs. "That money was spent maneuvering for your own promotion in noble rank, and also so you could better take care of the families of fallen soldiers."

"Even if you truly embezzled it, compared with commanders who ignore their own soldiers completely, you are already good enough."

Seeing Clifford's dejected expression, Simon steps forward and pats him on the shoulder. "General, we are soldiers. We should not fear war. That is our path of honor."

"But as generals, we also must not yearn for war."

"Because what builds our fame and forges our path of honor is the blood and bones of countless soldiers under our command."

Clifford freezes for a moment, then sighs. "Well said. That goes straight to the root."

"Peace Haven truly is full of talent. General, you are so young, yet you command a knight order. You are indeed someone with both wisdom and courage."

Simon smiles and shakes his head. "I do not have such a good mind. My lord taught me all of this."

"Although the outside world mocks him as a war lord, he dislikes war very much."

"He once said that war is a beast. If you rely on it too often, the beast will go out of control."

"So we must understand why we fight, rather than blindly seeking battle and loving war."

Clifford nods. "Henwell is a wise man. It is hard for me to believe he is only in his twenties. He is not even thirty yet, is he?"

"Whether in personal strength, military and political ability, knowledge, or wisdom, he is an existence the younger generation can hardly hope to match."

Simon laughs. "Speaking of which, my lord only celebrated his twenty-eighth birthday last year. He will not turn twenty-nine until after this year's autumn harvest festival."

Clifford falls silent.

Henwell is only twenty-nine.

The top generals under his command are also around thirty.

In another ten years, those people will only just reach their peak.

And ten years from now, who among the younger generation will still be qualified to be their opponent?