Although the Royal Capital and the front line were far apart, the existence of Magic meant that Marquis Oscillate was generally aware of the concessions the King had made.

Looking at the news in his hand, even Marquis Oscillate couldn’t help but sigh. ’Louis has truly grown old. He’s lost his youthful edge. Now, he’s indecisive about everything, completely devoid of his former drive.’

Now, the King wasn’t just sending the Kingdom’s Standing Army to the Western Front, he was even easing his suppression of the Southern Nobles.

Oscillate walked to the window. Looking at the scenery outside, he couldn’t help but recall the time he and the newly crowned Louis III rode together across the Beastman Grassland.

It was always disconcerting to see how much an old friend had changed.

After a moment of reflection, the Marquis returned to his desk.

’Since the King is showing me such consideration, I should naturally set an example in return.’ ’I, Oscillate, am the King’s most loyal subject—utterly different from that swarm of vermin, the Northern Nobles.’

’Calculating the time, it should be about right for the Beastmen’s second wave of attacks. I can arrange the next phase of our defensive preparations.’

The matter of Prince Noah’s accomplishments also needed to be arranged.

Of course, the Marquis couldn’t personally step in to endorse Noah; at most, he would tacitly approve of the Prince’s actions.

For him to get personally involved, Louis III would have to lead the campaign himself.

...

While Prince Noah needed war to bolster his prestige, Kase was currently having a difficult time himself.

The conflict between Dor and Kase had long been spreading like wildfire through the army, and a controversy over taking sides had even begun to erupt in the military camps.

You have to understand, Kase was the commander-in-chief. Logically, everyone in the army should have been firmly on his side. Even if they were going to choose a faction, they shouldn’t do it so openly!

But there was nothing to be done. Kase’s losses at Sunset Fortress had been too great—not just in terms of his Extraordinary forces, but also his reputation. Even the Beast Emperor had sent a letter to question him personally.

This directly gave Dor an opportunity to exploit. After a series of maneuvers, Dor was even acting as if he were Kase’s equal.

This was a terrifying situation for an army. If the commander-in-chief’s word wasn’t law, the troops would be difficult to lead.

Regarding the struggle between the two, the chieftains and nobles in the army acted in a very typical Beastman Empire fashion.

A clash of the strong; the victor becomes king!

The custom of the Beastmen was to worship the strong and eliminate the weak. If Kase, who held every advantage of time and place, couldn’t even handle Dor, then forget the Beastman Nobles in the army—even the Beast Emperor himself would begin to question Kase’s competence.

This led to the competition between Bro and Eric.

To this end, Kase had even specifically maneuvered to have Bro attack the relatively easy-to-conquer Qimo Fortress.

At first, Bro kept sending good news back to Kase. The situation in the army was improving, and everything seemed to be developing in the right direction.

Just as Kase was preparing to help Bro land the first kill on the Siriel Defense Line, Bro suddenly went to meet the old Beast God himself.

Anyone with eyes could see who had sabotaged the operation. Eric could have retreated at any time, but he chose to do so just as the battle reached its fiercest point.

Yet Eric had done it flawlessly, leaving Kase unable to find any fault. And Dor was protecting Eric closely.

In the end, Kase had lost this round. Now, Dor held grand banquets in his tent every day.

Although not many Beastman Nobles attended, they still trickled in, a few here and there, every day.

The root cause of this situation was his declining prestige; some people were already starting to get ideas.

After all, compared to the stingy Prince Kase, the generous General Dor was clearly a better prospect.

Dor wasn’t a Prince of the Empire, nor was he the commander-in-chief. If something went wrong, he wouldn’t be the one taking the fall. So, he was free to make whatever promises he could.

These tricks couldn’t shake Kase’s foundation for the time being, but this feeling of being slowly carved up by a dull knife was unbearable.

"Your Highness, General Daimon is waiting outside the tent," a messenger reported.

"Let him in!"

Prince Kase stood up.

’Letting Dor continue to carve me up like this is not an option,’ he thought. ’As the saying goes, you get back up right where you fell.’

’I’ll put other matters aside for now. I, Kase, will reclaim the face I lost at that little fortress. If I don’t make a move soon, some people might forget that I am the commander-in-chief, a Prince of the Empire.’

This time, Daimon was the man Kase had carefully chosen.

It wasn’t that Daimon’s military talent was anything special. Anyone familiar with him knew he was just a second-generation type coasting on his brother Bega’s influence. The man had only recently arrived at the battlefield.

But using Daimon could secure Bega’s support, and with it, a sufficiently powerful force of Centaurs.

The flap of the tent was pushed open, and a tall Centaur warrior walked in, curiously looking around.

"Insolent! How dare you gawk in His Highness’s tent!" Kase’s attendant snapped.

The Centaur warrior frowned, stopped his surveying, and turned his head to look at Kase, who was seated on a high platform.

"Daimon of the Centaur Clan greets the Fourth Prince," Daimon said.

"When you see His Highness, why do you..." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"It’s fine." Kase raised a hand, cutting off his attendant, and looked curiously at the Centaur general before him.

’This man doesn’t have the best reputation in the Centaur camp; he’s always been known for his arrogance. It seems the real person is even more outrageous than the rumors.’

"I hear Your Highness has an important task for me?" Daimon asked.

"Oh? And who told you that?" Kase raised an eyebrow, quite surprised. ’The idea of breaking through a Human fortress has been on my mind for a while, but I’ve never put it into action. Who could possibly know about this?’

"My older brother told me," Daimon said.

’His older brother? Bega?’

A trace of displeasure arose in Kase’s heart. No one likes having their thoughts guessed by others, especially when they guess correctly.

Daimon, at this moment, had no idea that he had just unwittingly thrown his brother under the bus.

"The Empire has an important task for you. The Empire needs you to break through a fortress," Kase said bluntly.

"Qimo Fortress?" Daimon said, uncertain.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kase’s face darkened another shade.

"My brother said that Qimo Fortress won’t be so easy to breach. I will need Your Highness’s support," Daimon said.

At this, Kase’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. ’So, Bega’s got a good head on his shoulders, does he?’

"What else did your brother say?" Kase asked.

"My brother told me that Your Highness would fully support my efforts to breach the Human fortress, that I should go all out, and that I just need to make sure I don’t fail to live up to Your Highness’s expectations," Daimon said.

"Bega usually seems so slow-witted. I never expected his mind to be so sharp at a critical moment," Kase said.

"My brother has always been the wiseman of our clan." Daimon, still oblivious to the hole he was digging for his brother, spoke with a proud expression.

"That’s right. What your brother said is perfectly reasonable and aligns completely with my own intentions. So, are you telling me you’re confident you can accomplish this?" Kase challenged.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness!"

...

Watching Daimon depart, Zarik didn’t know what to think.

’I’ve seen brutes before, but never one so good at getting others into trouble.’

"Your Highness, is it truly... appropriate to entrust this entire matter to General Daimon?" Zarik ventured.

"I am well aware," Kase said, his mood having calmed. To be honest, compared to a scheming warrior like Dor, he much preferred a subordinate like Daimon, who was all muscle and no brains.

After all, Dor would steal his prestige. With Daimon, Kase just had to provide him with three square meals a day and maybe worry if the man would get himself killed doing something stupid.

"I hear someone from your Fox Race named Marin has been performing dazzlingly lately?" Kase asked, as if it were an idle thought.

Zarik froze for a moment, then snapped back to his senses and bowed to Kase.

"Thank you for your immense grace, Your Highness! Thank you for your immense grace!"

Zarik was not just familiar with that Marin—Marin was his son, one of the few talents in the Foxman Race with shamanistic abilities.

Why had Zarik stayed by Kase’s side all this time? Wasn’t it precisely to accumulate resources for himself and for his descendants?

Others might not have known, but he, Zarik, knew with perfect clarity.

To conquer that small fortress, Kase had put in a great deal of effort, even arranging for three Magic Crystal Cannons. Besides the Centaur Tribe, the fighting force included nearly ten thousand Gnoll infantry, not to mention other preparations like the Vassal Army, of which there was more than enough.

How could Zarik not be grateful for such a golden opportunity, which was practically a guaranteed achievement?

"Go and prepare. This young general of the Centaur Clan doesn’t seem like the type to stay put. Tell your son that the main objective of this mission is to conquer that fortress. I don’t care about anything else."

"As you command, Your Highness."