Word of Prince Noah’s actions had now spread along the Western Front, and even Robson had received a letter from the Prince.

It was hard to say if the Prince had penned it himself, but officially, it was from him, bearing both his and a Marquis’s seals.

Delivered alongside it were the previously promised military funds.

Robson now stared at the two large chests of Gold Coins before him.

Of the several hundred thousand in military funds on the books, only a little over two thousand made it into Robson’s hands. Who had siphoned off the rest to "handle matters" was anyone’s guess.

"Only what’s in your hand is truly yours. For it to be sent so quickly, it seems the Prince is quite desperate." Viscount Fuman’s eyes lit up.

Ever since becoming Robson’s Quartermaster, Viscount Fuman felt he had aged several years.

Even back at Sunset Fortress, all he had to do each day was sign some documents, occasionally approve things with a single stamp, and while doling out favors, he could skim a little off the top for himself.

But after coming to Qimo Fortress, Viscount Fuman started worrying about every last grain of rice the moment he opened his eyes, deeply afraid he couldn’t keep up with the speed at which Robson burned through money.

Never mind skimming a little for himself; these days, anyone who dared to pilfer supplies was showing a complete lack of respect for him, Fuman.

But as for giving up and leaving, Viscount Fuman couldn’t bear to do it. Earning military merits under Robson was just too easy, Robson’s Soldiers were elite, and the nobles of Qimo Fortress sure knew how to flatter.

If things continued like this, his son might just be able to snag a Barony for himself by the end of the war. Although Bo Yang was set to inherit the family’s title, there was no rule that said you could only inherit one.

Which of the great nobles didn’t have a whole string of titles? This was the foundation of a family’s prestige.

Now, this batch of military funds from Prince Noah would be just enough to let the Soldiers in Qimo Fortress upgrade some of their equipment and stockpile more food.

Although Robson had previously solved most of the grain problem through his deal with Viscount Luke, they still had a large shortage of oil and meat according to Robson’s standards.

Not to mention the issue with the army’s equipment. When Valentino delivered the troops, she never promised to fully outfit them with swords, leather armor, and the like for Robson.

Currently, the only fully equipped troops in Robson’s army were still his old guard.

"My lord, everything has been delivered," the messenger said with a smile. "His Highness the Prince has long heard of your great renown and hopes you will display your former prowess on the battlefield."

"For the Kingdom, for His Majesty, it is my bounden duty!" Robson said with a laugh.

In any case, the money was finally in his hands. He wouldn’t have to worry about supplies for a while.

’As for Prince Noah having heard of my renown? Pure bullshit. A Prince’s daily schedule is packed to the brim.’

But it didn’t matter; the words coming out of Robson’s mouth weren’t exactly the truth, either.

He was indeed duty-bound to the Kingdom, but when the time came, he would have to analyze the specific situation.

As for the Prince’s intentions, Robson’s stance was that he would offer every form of support imaginable—except for actual help. He would, of course, join the fray when the opportunity was right for him.

’There’s no shame in it. The fact that the Prince sent the letter personally shows just how little confidence he has in this war. Everyone else is probably playing it the same way.’

’Better to lose face than to lose your life.’

For now, agreeing on the surface would also intimidate the nobles of Qimo Fortress and stop some of them from getting sticky fingers and trying to pick Lord Robson’s pockets.

Judging by the expressions on the faces of the surrounding Qimo Fortress nobles, his little display had likely been a great success.

....

「At this moment, not far from the Beastman Camp.」

Marin, whose troops had long been assembled and ready to depart, frowned as he watched the belated arrival of Daimon.

The importance of this battle to Marin was self-evident. The Fox Race had never been highly regarded within the Beastman Empire. If it weren’t for the fact that the Fox Race were reasonably intelligent, they wouldn’t be much better off than the Kobolds.

His father had served by Prince Kase’s side for so many years just to earn Marin this one chance to prove himself.

Normally, forget about a joint command with a representative of a powerful race like Daimon; he wouldn’t even be qualified to command an army by himself.

"General Daimon, you’re late," Marin said, frowning as he looked up at Daimon, who stood a full head taller than him.

Daimon looked down on the short Foxman youth, feeling equally displeased.

He was young and full of pride, with ambitions that reached the heavens. For the Fourth Prince to make a mere Foxman his equal was a grave insult to the honor of the Centaur Clan.

"Late? Who decided that? This general has arrived at the perfect time," Daimon said, looking down his nose at Marin.

"You don’t seriously think you two-leggers can outrun my Centaur kin, do you?" Daimon scoffed.

"General, we have a long road of cooperation ahead of us. I advise you not to take it too far," Marin said, his face grim.

Even within the Foxman Race, Marin had his pride.

What’s more, the bulk of the expeditionary force was under his command.

Although it wasn’t officially stated, it was self-evident who the true commander of this battle was.

"The future? You actually think we have a ’future’ together?" Daimon said with a look of astonishment.

"What do you mean by that, General?" A sense of foreboding suddenly washed over Marin.

"Do you think this rabble of yours can outrun the four legs of my Centaur Clan?" Daimon said disdainfully. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He had never intended to move with Marin in the first place. Feeling insulted was only part of it; the main reason was to seize the military glory for himself.

Before setting out, he had used various channels to discover that the idiot from the Northern Bear Race had nearly taken Qimo Fortress before his death. Even several sections of the city walls had been brought down.

With such weak defenses, attacking Qimo Fortress didn’t require this many people at all.

In Daimon’s opinion, the best course of action was to force march to the walls of Qimo Fortress and breach the city with lightning speed before they could react.

If they did as Marin planned and brought along a pile of dead weight, the enemy would have reacted long ago. Why would they just sit there and wait for him to come and pick them off?

Therefore, Daimon had already conspired on a plan with some Gnolls: the Gnolls would ride the Centaurs, and together they would force march and launch a surprise attack directly on Qimo Fortress.

Daimon believed that with his elite troops, he wouldn’t even need the Gnolls to be able to storm the city. As long as those Gnolls could open the city gates, what awaited the humans would be a slaughter.

Marin hadn’t anticipated this scenario and, for a moment, was at a loss for words.

’If things really go as Daimon planned, I’ll be left with nothing.’

’Let him go. Do you really think the humans are such pushovers?’

Just as Marin was about to retort, a chilling voice echoed in his mind.

After hearing this, Marin suppressed the urge to argue.

The source of the voice was a soul he had discovered while exploring the ruins of an ancient empire.

According to it, he came from an Ancient Human Kingdom called Olm and was a Great Mage of that kingdom.

Marin, of course, didn’t believe any of this.

Although he was born in the Beastman Empire, he had a basic understanding of the powers on the continent, and he had never heard of a Human Kingdom called Olm.

’Ancient? Did the Human Race’s recorded history even go back five thousand years?’

But the entity certainly had its ways. Otherwise, even with some talent for Magic, Marin would never have gained the attention and support of his race.

As for his father? Marin had twenty-two brothers in total.

But under this Great Mage’s tutelage, he became a 5th Rank Mage in just a few short years, and only then did he slowly come to everyone’s attention.

"Heh, then let’s wait and see," Marin sneered.