Infinite Dragon Beast: Taming Ice Dragons with SSS Ranked Talent-Chapter 130: Morning Strategy

"Didn’t you say that all the bandits were completely defeated?" asked Aiden, Feyd nodded.

"That’s right. They’ve been defeated in some places, but not the area close to the Yixia border. There, they’re still swarming and threatening people," Feyd replied, explaining as he downed the wine in his glass.

He and Aurora took a sip of each other’s wine, Aurora admitting that the flavor of the wine she tasted was much better than other types of wine Aurora had tasted.

Aurora thought she should buy a bottle or two of this type of wine for later. Aiden didn’t mind at all, considering Amber and Rachel were quite fond of wine, unlike Joe or Aiden who had no taste at all.

"There are several small bandit groups ruling the area close to the Yixia border. If I remember, there were about 7 to 9 small groups in total. One small group consists of 10 people," Feyd explained.

Feyd handed his wine bottle to one of the members. He smiled and invited Aiden and Aurora to go to the second floor, they nodded in agreement.

On the second floor of the house, there were several people partying and relaxing. In fact, there was a sighing sound coming from one of the rooms, close to Feyd’s room.

"Ignore that sound," Feyd asked, Aiden and Aurora nodded in agreement.

They entered Feyd’s room, quite a neat and unique room, with a large bed in the center. There was a woman sleeping there, covered by a blanket that closed her body.

Feyd introduced the woman to Aiden and Aurora. She was Feyd’s wife, Naomi. Aiden was shocked, at first he thought Feyd was a typical playboy asshole who had many women.

"I thought you were a perverted bastard who had many women," Aiden said, surprising Feyd.

"Woah, language! I heard that not just from you, but from everyone I’ve met. They think the same as you," Feyd explained.

"Putting that aside, you have more women than I do," Feyd said. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Aiden paused, explaining that he considered Amber and the others as friends. However, it was different with Aurora. He thought that Aurora had a special place in Aiden’s heart.

"Haha!"

"No offense, Aiden. I was just joking," Feyd replied.

He was standing right in front of a large bulletin containing a map of the Arcanis Kingdom. There, there were red pins stuck in several places, Feyd explained that the red pins marked areas that the bandit group had discovered.

Aiden gasped at the sight of the red pins, not knowing that there were so many, especially in remote areas far from big cities.

But Aiden’s attention was focused on Dourstad City. Once they left this city, there were two paths they could take to arrive at the Yixia border.

The first went through the initial intersection, then took the route to the left. The second goes south, passing through the small town of Lon, until they reach the administrative region of Pompo.

Of the two paths available, only the western path was not infested with bandits, the southern path being the fastest, but filled with bandits that might endanger them.

"If you want to reach the Yixia Border quickly, you can take the southern route," Feyd explained.

"However, if you want to be safe, then choosing the western route could be the solution," Feyd said.

"Now, it’s up to you. Whether you take the quickest but dangerous route or the longest but safe route is entirely up to you," Feyd said.

Aiden and Aurora nodded, fully understanding what Feyd meant. Aurora went back to enjoying the wine, while Aiden was still focused on the map in front of him.

"What do you think?" asked Feyd, sitting with Aurora on the sofa in her room.

Aiden cleared his throat, he looked back and said clearly that they would take the route south, it was because speed was better for them.

Feyd nodded. He said that since Aiden and Aurora were his friends, then he would help them.

"Don’t worry. I’ll send my men to the south and scout the area there. The pins on the map are updated every six months, I don’t know the exact number of bandits there today," Feyd replied.

Aiden nodded, that would help him a lot later when escorting the 17th Mage Group. He only wished that Feyd and the rest of his group could have told him earlier, before the strategy meeting.

Aurora stepped up to Aiden, both hands carrying the two bottles of wine she wanted. When Aiden was about to pay with gold pieces, Feyd refused.

"You helped us with our mission yesterday. The two bottles of wine are my thanks," Feyd explained.

Aiden smiled, thanking Feyd. After their business was over, the two said goodbye and left the place. Feyd simply escorted them through the second floor balcony of his house.

"Did you call for us, Captain Feyd?" someone asked, stepping closer.

"Yes. You go with three people to the southern route. There, you need to ascertain how many bandits are on the loose," Feyd replied.

"Okay. We understand."

He and the three people left the place, leaving Feyd alone on the balcony of his house while sipping his wine.

***

The next day.

Hurd Family residence.

"Where’s Aiden?" asked Allana.

"He’ll be here soon, you can relax, Allana," Neil replied.

That morning, they gathered to strategize before departure. They had to organize the distribution of people in each carriage and their response if faced with a life-threatening situation.

The door to the Hurd family residence opened. Aiden came in with his team members, they looked much more prepared than Neil and his team members expected.

"Am I late?" asked Aiden, Neil and Allana shaking their heads.

Aiden took a seat in the Hurd family hall, with Neil starting to display his digital map. Neil opened the meeting with the path they would take.

"We will take a route to the west, passing through several cities until we reach the Pompo Administrative region. Reportedly, that route is the safest route for us, that’s because it’s also the inter-city transportation route to the Pompo region," Neil replied.

"Obviously, we’ll go there to take the best path to reach the Yixia Border soon."

"But, the western route takes five days to reach, while the southern route only takes one day," Aiden explained.

"Then what do you propose? Go by the southern route?" Allana asked, and Aiden nodded.

"Yes, because speed is important in troop mobilization."