Tasa has been in contact with His Royal Highness once a day recently.
Despite witnessing many incredible things during his year as a royal guard, the new orders still made him feel unbelievable and... confused.
To portray the attack on the Royal Palace in the capital as Roland Wimbledon's punishment for Tiffeco Wimbledon?
When the militia that attacked the Western Territory was defeated and returned to the capital, he had heard the warnings they carried. Tasa originally thought this was just His Highness's bluff, or a feint to the east while attacking the west—taking advantage of Tiffeco's focus on vigilance and defense to send troops to attack other cities, just like Garcia did, looting his opponent before winter arrived.
However, subsequent orders from Border Town made him feel uneasy. His Highness seemed to be really planning to attack the capital, and asked him to prepare for propaganda. The latest order clearly stated that the attack would be launched on the first day of Mid-Autumn Festival, exactly the same time as notified in the warning.
Look at this sentence, portraying the attack on the Royal Palace in the capital as punishment, which means that His Highness will directly attack the inner city of the capital—but how is this possible? The capital has the most solid city walls in Graycastle, with a thickness that can accommodate two residential houses side by side. Even His Highness's artillery is difficult to destroy. Coupled with the Royal Knights, the Royal Guards, and the conscripted militia, it is difficult for any army with less than 10,000 people to enter the city.
Using witches to launch a surprise attack is also a fantasy. There are as many God's Stone of Retaliation in the palace as there are hairs on a cow, and giant God's Stone of Retaliation are set up in the main hall, bedroom, and other parts of the palace. As soon as a witch steps into the room, all her abilities will be taken away. This is also the reason why Tiffeco has been hunting witches so vigorously, but no one has retaliated—it is impossible to assassinate a royal noble in the palace.
Moreover, this method has a hidden danger. If Tiffeco Wimbledon really dies at the hands of a witch, the biggest beneficiary is probably the Church... With a little guidance, it can be confirmed that the Fourth Prince is trying to unite with the devil's minions to seize the throne. At the same time, the nobles will unite to resist his power. However, with the wisdom of His Highness Roland, Tasa believes he will definitely see this.
So how exactly will His Highness attack the inner city?
"Sir, what are your orders for calling me here?" Hill Fox walked into the living room, pushing open the half-closed door.
"Waiting for a new order," Tasa spread his hands and said, "Please sit down first."
"...Yes."
Seeing the surprised expression on the face of this former acrobat, he could only smile helplessly. Usually, he would receive the exact orders before notifying these people, but this time it was inconvenient for him to inform them of the task assigned by His Highness in advance—if the Royal Palace in the capital was not attacked, this seemingly absurd instruction could easily reduce the other party's trust.
But on the contrary, if His Highness really did this, it would definitely be an unprecedented shock to them, and it could also greatly increase the confidence of this group of people—especially witnessing His Highness being able to pose a real threat to Tiffeco's throne from thousands of miles away. Such a publicity effect is more effective than him exhausting his words.
So Tasa chose a compromise, first calling Hill to the inner city and waiting for His Highness to realize his warning. If it succeeds, everyone will be happy. If it fails, he only needs to lie that the messenger may have been delayed on the road.
"Have some tea," Tasa said with a smile, "Don't always have questions on your face. As an intelligence officer, the most important thing is—"
"Hide yourself, sir." He took the teacup, "By the way, there are many more patrols on the streets recently, and even the guard on the city wall has doubled. Could it be... are these deployments related to His Highness's orders?"
"Indeed, Tiffeco—"
Before Tasa could finish speaking, a thunderclap suddenly rolled over the mansion, the loudness of which made the window glass tremble. At the same time, the ground shook slightly, the tremor brief and clear. Caught off guard, Hill dropped the teacup in his hand, smashing it into several pieces.
"I'm sorry, sir... but," Hill stammered, "What... what's going on?"
"Come with me," Tasa said seriously.
The two ran out of the garden residence and were immediately
Attracted by a black column of smoke in the direction of the palace, obviously, the thunder just now came from there. He had seen His Highness's artillery and guns, and naturally knew that only alchemical powder could produce such a momentum like tiannu, and, such a violent tremor did not seem to be caused by shelling, but more like the explosive pack initially used to deal with heavily armored evil beasts.
Hill opened his mouth wide, almost unable to believe his eyes, "Could it be that the declaration in His Highness's warning is true?"
"That's right," Tasa finally felt relieved, he turned around and pretended to be profound, "This is also the new order His Highness wants to give you."
*******************
Tiffeco looked at the fallen chandelier in front of him with a livid face, unable to speak for a long time.
"Your Majesty, cough cough... Your Majesty, are you alright?" The Grand Premier coughed in the flying dust, "Damn it, what the hell happened outside?"
Tiffeco didn't answer, he just felt a terrible dryness in his throat. A knight in silver armor was pressed under the chandelier. He was reporting to him about the recruitment of refugees, but now his neck was broken by the fallen chandelier. If he had taken another step forward, he might have also...
Thinking of this, he felt his hair stand on end.
"Is this an earthquake?" The Minister of Finance said in shock, "We have to leave the castle quickly and go to an open space."
"That's right, Your Majesty, it's not safe here!"
"Shut up, all of you!" Tiffeco shouted loudly, but when he opened his mouth, he found his voice hoarse, as if someone was pinching his throat, "Sir Weimas, take me to the basement immediately!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." The Steelheart Knight also looked a little nervous, but compared to the performance of the other ministers, he was considered very calm. He came over to help Tiffeco up and walked downstairs.
Along the way, the new king saw broken glass all over the corridor. Through the broken windows, the Celestial Hall on one side of the castle was gone. Amidst the rising smoke and dust, only a few lonely stone pillars remained of this magnificent building. This was definitely not caused by an earthquake, but by the effect of a large amount of snow powder bàozhà!
Leaving the castle now would undoubtedly be courting death. God knows if Roland Wimbledon has planted snow powder in other places. Only the basement made of thick stone walls is safe enough.
Damn it, Tiffeco thought hatefully, why does the Fourth Brother also have this kind of alchemical weapon? Could it be that Garcia also gave him the recipe when she left Clear Water Port, so that he could use snow powder to fight him to a lose-lose situation!
But even so, how did he plant the snow powder in the palace? Even witches with extraordinary abilities cannot do this!
"Take the Knights and thoroughly search the entire palace area, especially the sewers, gardens, and warehouses where snow powder can be easily hidden!" As soon as he entered the basement, Tiffeco immediately ordered the Steelheart Knight, "If you find suspicious people, whether they are nobles or not, arrest them all first. All the servants and maids who enter and leave the palace must be thoroughly searched, not a single one can be let go!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After Sir Weimas left, the new king realized that his back was soaked with cold sweat.
Roland actually did it!
Regardless of how he did it, this time he can hide the snow powder in the palace, is it easy for him to put it in the castle next time?
The position you are in is not as safe as you think. At that time, everyone will see that your throne is already crumbling.
Thinking of this warning, Tiffeco couldn't help but shudder.
As the anger gradually subsided, he felt fear rising from the bottom of his feet, grasping his heart little by little.(。)