Chapter 52: His own troop (2)
As soon as a third royal carriage appeared, Brandon and Evan turned around. Weren’t all the princes outside?
Had the eighth brother decided to get involved in this?
That would be problematic for both of them. Brandon and Evan were excellent fighters and schemers, but when it came to searching, none of the nine brothers could match the eighth.
His puppets are strategically scattered throughout the city. He makes good use of his status as a prince and his army to guard the entire city. He could perhaps give the king 100% assurance that he would bring back that treasure.
Luckily for them, the eighth had decided to stay away from the castle’s missions, but now that the throne was up for grabs... he might decide to get involved.
That’s why their stomachs felt queasy.
But the face they saw was not the one they expected.
The army was too small to be that of the eighth brother, the soldiers’ faces were all unfamiliar, and the prince...
’Ninth brother?’ Evan was stunned, but a royal command token finally adorned Ryan’s clothes at that moment.
’Was he finally recognized as a True Royal Prince?’ They thought in shock.
Cecily smiled when she saw him arrive like this; for some reason, she felt proud and walked towards him.
"I was waiting for you," she said, smiling a little.
"I hope I didn’t take too long," he said and looked at his two brothers. He didn’t speak to them; he just stared at them.
The Second and Third, two of the most powerful princes with the largest army. The Second was an important member of the Alchemist Tower, and his support was immense. He also had a very good relationship with the Fourth Prince, Aster Zeggler’s chief disciple, his greatest enemy. And the Third was his new enemy.
Both allies in the same mission in which he was competing. Among them, Brandon had mysterious allies, who could even be the thieves themselves, and a giant army.
It will be challenging to fight them.
Despite that, Ryan simply nodded to them and returned to the carriage with Cecily.
The two of them watched the carriage leave and frowned.
"It seems that the ninth brother is finally spreading his wings," said the second, surprised by his own words, but interested in what he had said to his father to be granted that status finally.
He looked at Brandon when he noticed that he was very quiet. "Third?" he asked, surprised to see him with such an unusually horrible expression on his face.
Brandon immediately returned to normal and smiled at him. "Yes, it seems he will finally become a competitor now," he said, returning to the carriage.
Although he appeared normal on the surface, internally, he was filled with murderous thoughts.
--
After driving through much of the city, Ryan and his people stopped in a special section: the urban region of the wealthy.
Only nobles, businesspeople, and very high-ranking military personnel lived here. In particular, most of the retired military high command lived in this area, so everyone found it strange to stop here, except for Cecily.
This area was the least militarized because only important people lived there. They had their own security forces, and the royal guard usually only patrolled the outskirts.
What were they doing here if they were on a treasure hunt mission?
They stopped in an empty courtyard, and Ryan got out.
"Soldiers, I know very well what you think of me. That I am not worthy or that I will only fail in the face of my brothers’ great army. After all, they are strong and have the numbers. How could I possibly defeat them?"
"But let me tell you something. Numbers are just numbers. They take up more space than we do, but if their leaders don’t use them wisely, they will fail to achieve their goal," he said.
Eben sneered inwardly. ’You think you’re smarter than the second and third princes? Dream on, hahaha! You’re just going to fail again, as always. The king already saw this coming.’
"On many occasions," Ryan remarked. "Even intelligence is not necessary, and our world is an example. Do you think we are less intelligent than the Kazaks? The human race and other allied races are many times more intelligent than the Kazaks, but then why do we keep losing, if we also have more numbers than them?"
The soldiers frowned, including those skeptical about this guy. This time, they had to agree.
They could respond that they were losing because of the Kazaks’ great power, but that would be telling themselves that they were weaker than the rest of the Royal Guards.
They would never allow that, so they had to remain silent.
"Seeing the world in this way, it becomes possible for us, with only 400 soldiers, to defeat my brothers who have more than 2,000 together. Perhaps it is wrong for me to boast of my abilities, so I will not do so, and I know you will not believe me. I am not as arrogant as you think." He said, stepping aside to introduce Cecily.
"Instead, I will say that she is the source of the current strategy, our brain in this mission. I think several of you already recognize her. She is Cecily von Larsen, one of the most prominent puppeteers of this new era," he said.
His words silenced even the breathing of those present, but suddenly a murmur rose among them.
"I knew it..."
Everyone had heard about Miss Larsen before. She was troublesome and arrogant, but very intelligent, powerful, and talented. Her arrogance was well-founded in her talent and strength, so seeing her in person was great.
They felt almost the same as when they first saw a renowned prince, and the murmurs did not cease.
"Silence," Garner shouted suddenly, when he realized that these guys were not paying attention to what Ryan wanted to say.
He was wholly immersed in his role as commander, for which Ryan was grateful. It was nice not to have to yell at them every time he needed something.
"As royal guards, you must all keep in mind that focusing on the mission is paramount. Unless you want to fail in front of the rest of the soldiers," he said, smiling at several who were thinking negatively about him. "You’ll think that if we fail, it will be my fault, right? That this will be my failure and mine alone, but the reality is not so simple for you."
"My strategy was formulated with the help of Cecily, someone you all know, who is impressive in the strategic field. If we fail, my father will understand that the strategy is not bad; the soldiers are. So, if you don’t try hard, I won’t be too upset, but I hope you can maintain your place as the elite." He gloated.