Yasof Village.
The afternoon of the next day arrived and the array appeared right outside the attacking territory. Hundreds and hundreds of forces had lined up, prepared to enter as soon as the instructions were sent.
Ladon, the lead force of this war and the head military advisor of the lord, looked at the forces with a complicated expression. However, he did not show any doubts, knowing it would do nothing to help with the momentum.
His eyes turned to the Lord who was watching not too far away.
The lord nodded and Ladon took it as the signal to begin the war. "Let’s go, men!" he yelled, and he disappeared into the array, followed by various groups of their forces.
Lord Yassop watched on with a blank expression on his face, though his heart was heavy. Uckit, his advisor, couldn’t help but look at him worriedly. "Are we really attacking Alterra?"
"We are attacking a strong village, but we have been trusted by the master territory to take it down before it gets any stronger."
Uckit pursed his lips, eyebrows furrowed in worry as more and more of their slaves and citizens headed into the array, unknown whether they would be able to get back at all.
"We do not have a chance against Guia, let alone the territory that beat it," he said, as quietly as he could, but loud enough for the lord to hear him clearly.
He was there during the meeting with the Basset Town lord. Uckit had advised his Lord against this war. At the very least, he must redirect the task to someone else. Obviously, the other village lords were far greedier than his own, and they’d have been happy to get the job.
Then again, this was probably one of the reasons why their lord was sent instead of the others. Unlike how it would be with the others, the Basset Town lord was certain Lord Yassop wouldn’t rebel and bite back using the new territory instead.
They hadn’t said it during the meeting, but they had also sent people to take a look at Alterra. Those without families and assets in their territory did not return, while those who returned moved out with their families soon after.
This was an easy testament to how different that place was. They had managed to get some information as well as what that Fargo person said, and it was clear this was a war meant to be lost.
The Lord shook his head. "We’re the strongest among Basset Town’s Level 3 Village subsidiaries. We are also fairly close to Alterra," Yassop said, though he was explaining more to himself than to Uckit. "Objectively speaking, we are the most practical option."
"I’m afraid we’re just here to intimately test out Alterra’s strength," Uckit responded, uncomfortable.
The Lord sighed. "Perhaps," he said, eyes dark. "But you know what happens when a subsidiary disobeys Basset Town."
The standard subsidiary oaths were only valid during the contract period. However, even those with the foresight to add non-betrayal oaths outside of the contract were not entirely exempted from betrayal either.
After all, those former subsidiaries could just attach to another rival, and let that rival attack instead.
A few cases had happened before, each one successfully serving to stifle the rebellious thoughts amongst subsidiaries.
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