Chapter 422: The Loyal Betrayer
People always have a certain inertia of thinking, and always feel that the longer someone follows them, the more trustworthy they are.
This is self-deception caused by emotional factors. No one can escape the fog of sensibility, and Li Ang is no exception.
Just like now, even though Leon has guessed who Zakar's accomplice is, he is still reluctant to believe his own judgment...
In fact, after determining Zakar's goal, it was easy to judge the insider - Zakar was not here to plunder, but to occupy. So, if Zakar captured Changhe City, how would he keep the victory?
With only two thousand soldiers, even if they could sneak into Changhe City, they would not be able to defend it.
Changhe City is the capital of the new Pendor Kingdom designated by Leon. Even if he abandons all other places, Leon will definitely launch a counterattack with all his national strength.
Unless Brave Shield Castle and Fletcher have cooperated with the Jatu people, allowing the Jatu people on the grassland to continuously and directly enter Changhe City... there is no other possibility .
It was Charles, and he was conspiring with Zakhar.
Yes, it would only be Charles.
He was familiar with the border of Jatu Grassland and the entire Changhe County. He had been to Kwen Village and knew the ancient base of the Griffin Knights. He also understood the military deployment of the entire New Pendor Kingdom...
He is also the only one who can mobilize the horn to summon the rangers, mobilize the longbowmen under Godric, and mobilize the defense of Braveshield Fort.
At the same time, Charles was the only one who had the opportunity to stay in close contact with Zakhar.
Charles' fief was Fletcher, and after Hereward's death, he inherited Braunshelter Castle and became the sole lord of Braunshelter.
The Jatu people began to take action after Hereward's death.
First of all, the entire Horn of the Rangers was summoned to BraveShield Fort... This was as it should be, as Hereward was the sergeant major of the Ranger Regiment's sentinels and the senior commander of all the Rangers and Sentinels. They should indeed go to BraveShield Fort to attend the funeral, and at the same time guard against the Jatu people taking the opportunity to move south.
Then the Jatu people "fought" with Charles' troops in Fletcher. This seemed natural. There were a lot of people in Brave Shield, so the Jatu people would of course try to attack Fletcher.
And the time for this battle was probably the time for Charles and Zakar to discuss cooperation - it would not arouse suspicion and would allow all the military forces in the east to gather at the border.
So the Jatu people passed through the empty Noldor Forest, then bypassed the White Hart Keep and headed west, hiding in the ancient garrison of Kwen Village to ambush - this route happened to be a route with neither troops nor people. The only obstacle was the Owl Knights of Troublen, and it was the Owl Knights who discovered the Jatu troops.
Zakar then led his people to migrate between Lion Lake City and Fletcher, and half-faked a feint to attack Lion Lake City. At the same time, he was able to pose a threat to Fletcher and Brave Shield Castle, forcing Leon to dispatch troops from Changhe City for rescue.
As a result, the hinterland of Changhe Town will become even more empty, and the Jatu people hiding in Kwen Village will have the opportunity to conquer Changhe City.
At the same time, this could also create an illusion for the entire New Pendor Kingdom - most people would think that the Jatu army was alone in Changhe City with no way to retreat, and that they would not be able to hold Changhe City even if they captured it, and the entire kingdom would likely slowly mobilize troops to encircle and suppress them.
But in fact, the Jatu people will continue to enter from Fletcher. Since Charles has cooperated with the Jatu people, the entire eastern region will fall into the hands of the Jatu people, and they can defend them all...
In addition, as long as Charles spreads false information, the Horn Summoning Rangers will likely fall into a trap and be in danger of destruction!
After figuring it out, Leon felt very uncomfortable. He didn't understand why Charles did this?
"Zakal, the defense of Brave Shield Castle will be changed soon. I have let Earl Leofric take charge of Brave Shield Castle again. Charles can't cooperate with you anymore, so your original plan will definitely not be implemented..."
Even though he was unhappy, Li Ang still had a smile on his face, as if he had everything planned out.
This is a scam.
Leon did not request a change of defense at Brave Shield Castle. Before leaving, he only ordered Leofric and Darion to lead their troops to Changhe City to prepare for battle.
Dallion is in Sava River Castle and Leofric is in Karen Deer Castle, both of which are a bit far away. Sending messages and marching take time. It is estimated that Leofric has not yet arrived in Changhe City.
However, there was an expression of 'everything is under control' on his face.
Zakar was stunned.
He looked at Leon's calm expression, and stood up suddenly as if frightened, looking at Leon with eyes full of awe: "You...how did you know? Charles...could he be..."
"How should I know...haha...you can guess - you can first guess why Charles has the courage to cooperate with you...he is my sworn knight!"
Li Ang laughed loudly, looking very proud.
But in fact, his heart was bleeding.
Ma Dan.
He wasn't completely sure at first, but now he is sure that it is Charles.
"This... was actually arranged by you on purpose?!"
Zakar stared at Li Ang blankly, clenching his teeth and saying, "What a great move!"
"Zakaar, you should have heard that I am the son of prophecy... You should also know that I once gave Charles a lot of help. Why do you think he would betray me?"
Li Ang stared into Zakar's eyes and said with a smile.
In fact, Leon was also thinking about this question in his heart - Charles, why did you cooperate with the Jatu people?
Zakar gritted his teeth and remained silent, his eyes flickering.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Zakar sighed and sat down opposite Leon again: "His acting is good... So, my troops have probably fallen into your trap? Can they... come back?"
"Whether they come back or not is entirely up to you, Zakar."
Li Ang smiled casually and continued to eat the mutton. He said as he ate, "I am a businessman. I don't like fighting and killing people. And I have brought you a good business. But if you don't want to do business with me, then maybe you can go to Singal and buy back some of them in the future... It's your choice how to do it. I will accept it."
Life is like a gamble. When you have bad cards in your hand, you don't necessarily have to pass. Occasionally, you can try to bluff - if you have more chips than your opponent, you can go all in to scare your opponent.
After all, it is unlikely that your opponent has a royal flush.
Leon now has to go all in and take a gamble, otherwise he is not sure whether Zakar will kill him here - if he cannot trick Zakar , then Zakar can indeed kill Leon and then continue to implement his original plan.
Of course, killing Leon is not a good option - this will cause the three countries of Sarleon, Noldor and Bacchus to go all out to encircle and wipe out all the Jatu people at all costs, and the two sides will completely turn into a racial war to the death. Zakar must know this.
And if Zakar could be frightened, not only would Leon's safety be guaranteed, but the problems of the Jatu people could also be solved.
Now, it depends on whether Zakar dares to go all in...
Li Ang knew that he had a great chance of succeeding in stealing the chicken.
Because Zakar has fewer chips than Li Ang, and the cards Li Ang shows look bigger.
Most importantly, Zakhar is not a fool, nor is he an impulsive man.
If all this was indeed instigated by Leon, and if Charles was pretending to surrender, then the Jatu troops who entered the village of Kwen would most likely not come back, and it would be equivalent to giving Leon four thousand war horses.
If what Leon said is true, then after losing these elite troops, they will have to fight a racial war with the New Pendor Kingdom...is it worth it?
Zakar really didn't dare to gamble.
"Your Majesty Li Ang, I will withdraw to the grassland tomorrow. I hope you can release my people..."
After a long silence, Zakar asked quietly, "Also, what are your specific plans for the mutual trade zone you mentioned?"
"Five sheep for one man, three sheep for one horse. That's a fair price, isn't it? I'll give you a discount. Send 20,000 sheep to Fletcher, and I'll release your troops."
Li Ang ate the meat without even raising his head - mainly because he was afraid that Zakar would see his successful stealing expression: "As for the mutual trade zone, I will make a list of goods for you, and then we will go to Fletcher to set the price together. I guarantee that the prices will be very cheap and you won't suffer any loss."
…
The next morning, Zakar began to withdraw his troops.
Li Ang also led his men back to Changhe City. Of course, nominally, he wanted to "hurry back to prepare for the mutual trade zone to avoid unnecessary friction between the soldiers of both sides"...
However, there were fewer people on the way back...
Raphael and the few Horn Rangers he brought with him were not in the team, and neither was Sigismund.
Raphael was not useful as a translator this time, so he was given another mission - to rush to BraveShield Castle before the Jatu people reached Fletcher, let the Horn Summon the Rangers to take over BraveShield Castle and capture Charles back.
Li Ang really wanted to know why Charles would collaborate with the enemy. When he still had the system, Charles was marked as "favorability 100" by the system. Even if the favorability was full, he would betray and collaborate with the enemy? Li Ang couldn't figure it out.
Only Sigismund actually wanted to go to Fletcher to prepare for the mutual trade zone.
On the way back, Li Ang was in a hurry.
Because he also had to quickly seal off the two thousand Jatu people hiding in Kwen Village.
When it comes to bluffing, once it's successful, you should immediately make it real - in fact, this is the difference between a low-level charlatan and a big boss who gets something for nothing.
Cheating and stealing are used to buy time and space. Lies should serve the truth rather than cheating for the sake of cheating.
Only by seizing the opportunity gained from fraud and turning fake things into real things can you get real results.
In order to return to Changhe City quickly, Leon galloped towards the south on his horse after he was out of the sight of the Jatu people - the south was the big lake behind Changhe City, Changhe Lake.
Several brothers who were good at swimming put together a simple raft by the lake, and in just half a day, they paddled across the long river and lake that was dozens of miles wide.
This is the fastest way to return to Changhe City from the northern wilderness, but it is also the most tiring way - the makeshift raft and oars are not easy to control, and several brothers' arms were almost cut off, which can be regarded as non-combat casualties.
Leon arrived just in time, as Dallion and Leofric had just returned to Changhe City.
The Griffin Knights were all cavalry, and they had more than enough horses - they had captured a lot from the Snake Cult, and now they had two horses per person, so they could march faster. Although the Sava River Fort was farther away than the Karen Deer Fort, they arrived at about the same time as Leofric's troops.
Leofric was immediately appointed by Leon as the governor of Yongshield and chief of military affairs in the east, and led his troops to Yongshield Castle again.
The Griffin Knights will work together with the Silver Hand to deal with the two thousand Jatu people in Kwen Village.
…
At this time, Brave Shield Castle.
When Raphael rushed back to BraveShield Castle on Pegasus, the Horn Summoning Rangers were no longer there.
Ralph wasn't there either.
The defenders of Yongdun Castle are all Charles' men.
As the Jatu people had already entered the country, Charles divided the Horn Summoning Rangers and Sentinels into several teams on the grounds of "ensuring that there was no danger in the Changhe City area" and sent them to Erminede, Changhe City and Maixiang Territory respectively.
Charles currently holds a high position of authority within the Horn's Call Rangers - everyone considers him to be the heir to Count Oden.
The sentinels in Changhe Town obeyed his command, the rangers would not refuse his arrangements, Ralph trusted him very much, and even Godric who stayed in Changhe City trusted him very much - if it had not been confirmed that Charles was cooperating with the Jatu people, Leon would have trusted him very much.
Charles was the first knight under Leon to have a fiefdom, and from the very beginning, Charles had complete autonomy in his fiefdom. Leon did not impose any restrictions on Charles' fiefdom, and he could seek Leon's help when he encountered difficulties - this was the highest level of trust.
And Charles' performance in the past few years has always been worthy of this trust.
He has always been upright and low-key, never causing trouble, but never afraid of trouble.
He once faced the army of the Three Prophets without batting an eye, fought loyally alongside Godric against a larger force, and chased down a murderer for thousands of miles with Darion for the sake of justice.
He is not lacking in courage, loyalty, and righteousness, and can even be considered a role model for most knights.
But why at this time, when Leon had already established the new Pendor Kingdom, when Charles was already in a high position of power and controlled a county, when he had almost achieved the same status as his father, Earl Oden, did he still want to collaborate with the enemy?
Raphael didn't understand.
But no matter why, we must first complete the task assigned by Li Ang.
Now that Ralph and the Horn Call Rangers are not here, Raphael can only do it on his own.
Sometimes pressure makes people grow. Raphael was originally a straightforward and brave young man, but now he is forced to become a gangster who hits people in the back with a club...
In the Lord's Hall of Yongdun Castle, Raphael drove away Charles' guards on the pretext of delivering Leon's secret order, and then took advantage of Charles's unpreparedness and knocked him unconscious with a chair.
Then, he pulled out a large sack from his arms, put the unconscious Charles in it and carried him out - everyone in Yongdun Castle knew Raphael, and no one would interrogate him.
Then, before Charles' guards discovered him, Raphael fled from Braveshield with the sack on Pegasus, intending to head south through the Noldor Forest and head straight for White Hart Castle - a place where Charles' men could not interfere.
"Raphael?...You...why?"
In the forest, Charles woke up and seemed very tired.
But looking at Raphael with a murderous look on his face, Charles seemed quite calm.
"Why do you say that? You should first tell me why you colluded with the Jatu people... Charles, honestly, I don't understand. You have power, status, and reputation now, and you are still so young... Why do you want to destroy your future? And you are His Majesty Leon's first sworn knight!"
Raphael had tied Charles up tightly and was adjusting the saddle beside him.
"I...ah...Raphael, if I say I was forced, would you believe me?"
Charles did not argue, but sighed deeply.
"Forced? Do you think I believe it? Everyone knows that your relatives are no longer alive. How could you be forced?"
Raphael shook his head.
"Take me to see His Majesty... You won't believe me even if I tell you. I can only confess my crime to His Majesty in person... But, Raphael, I did not betray His Majesty."
Charles stopped talking and closed his eyes.
