After observing the worried king's response Scarlet stopped to open a leather bag strung over her shoulder.
She removed a large rolled up parchment from her travel bag and said, "After I had heard enough from the meeting between the Trareniel king and his upper-rank military officers I left the area. On my way out of the camp, I entered the Trareniel general's empty tent which was no longer guarded and looked through his documents for anything useful. I happened to find a map that marked out the invasion route into the Aregard Kingdom." Scarlet unrolled the map so that everyone there could see it.
[Continent Map]: [https://i.postimg.cc/q7fQ3V66/Eight-Kingdoms-Map.jpg]
This continent was vastly unsettled and 95% of it was untamed wilderness. The only roads in each kingdom led from one town to the next. The outer towns of each kingdom connected their roads with the closest neighboring kingdoms towns. This way traveling merchants could move goods from one kingdom to the next without much difficulty.
The border between the Trareniel kingdom and the Aregard Kingdom was guarded by a decent sized forest. It wasn't anything as impressive as the Wayward Woodlands that everyone feared but it would definitely slow down anyone who wished to travel through it by a few days to a week.
The only part of the border not blocked by this forest was far to the west where the road threaded between the Wayward Woodlands and this border forest. The other open route was near the continents eastern coastline.
The eastern road that left the Trareniel kingdom crossed the border to connect with a small border town just south of the Sandy River in Aregard. The Sandy River ran from the north-west to the south-east across the entirety of the Aregard Kingdom and only had two bridges to cross it.
If someone were to travel from Timbershield the capital of the Trareniel kingdom on the western road that skirted the Wayward Woodlands they wouldn't see another town until they crossed the northern Sandy River bridge and arrived at the Aregard Kingdom's capital Goldcrest City.
If they were to instead travel from Timbershield along the eastern coastal road into the Aregard kingdom they would pass through three of the Aregard Kingdom's four towns.
This was the route the Trareniel military would follow. They wanted to invade along the eastern route so that they could sack those three towns for food and supplies as they traveled toward Goldcrest City in the north. A large army used a lot of food so to save money they would sack the towns along the way.
The Royal Cultivator spoke up after hearing Scarlet's report on the invasion route.
"We could look at it as a blessing that they are going to sack each town along the way for supplies. It will give us a couple extra days to prepare for their arrival to Goldcrest."
"It will give us time, but I fear for our subjects in those towns. What if the Trareniel military plans to kill or enslave everyone in those towns and replace them with their own subjects after they conquer us. Even if we hold out and drive them back we will have lost a large part of our kingdom's population." The king said with regret as he looked at the towns along his kingdoms east coast.
"My heart bleeds for them Sire but we can only focus on Goldcrest. I hope Duke King will be willing to help stand alongside me in the defense of the city. Between the two of us, we shouldn't have too much trouble defeating their cultivators and the mage. We just need enough troops to guard our walls and keep the invading army from sacking the city while we fight against the enemy Royal Cultivators." Royal Cultivator Duven explained while looking toward Ben.
Everyone then stopped and looked toward Ben who had remained quiet this whole time. He was looking intently at the map that Scarlet had brought out.
"No, I have to disagree with you sir Royal Cultivator. We have another option to slow them down or possibly stop them and save the people in those towns." Ben said as he looked up from the map.
They all looked on with puzzled expressions wondering what he meant by this.
Ben continued to explain.
"Yesterday I had escorted three hundred and ninety elite troops into the city to give the local nobles a show of my strength in hope of squashing any future slanderous rumors. Twenty of those elite troops are experienced magi that I believe will be every bit as strong as the one coming along with the invading army."
Everyone around him gasped in amazement when they heard this! Twenty magi? Were there even twenty magi on the entire continent and Duke King had twenty of them under his command?!
Ben looked back down at the map and pointed at a small bridge just north of the most southern Aregard town that crossed the Sandy River.
"If I take my troops south and establish a defensive position at this bridge I can slow them down. Now if the Royal Cultivator were to travel there with me and help me to fight against the two enemy Royal Cultivators I think we could stop this invasion. Unfortunately, this small town to the south will still be sacrificed. My men are strong but there are not enough of them to fight out in open terrain around that town so we will have to make a stand at this bridge."
Scarlet then decided to speak up after hearing Ben's plan.
"Just so you know Duke King the invading Army will be made up of about three thousand troops. Even with twenty magi under your command are your three hundred and ninety troops capable of stopping three thousand enemy troops while you are engaged with those enemy cultivators?"
They all began to look downcast after they heard what Scarlet had said. It would be impossible for Ben's small force to hold back a wave of three thousand troops.
Ben gazed at the worried faces around him and said, "My troops are all trained professional soldiers and outfitted better than any army on this continent and if we fight the enemy with strategy and tactics I am confident we can hold off those three thousand untrained troops."
This part of Planet Victus was much different than Earth as far as militaries went. When a kingdom needed an army to attack or defend it was recruited from the local populace. A man who was picking carrots or chopping trees last week might find himself in piecemeal armor carrying a crude iron sword into battle to defend his kingdom. If you had enough men like this sure they could do a decent amount of damage but placing them up against trained soldiers would be a slaughter.
The archers who were often hunters who shot game for a living were generally the most skilled in these recruited armies because they used their bows everyday. This was why when a battle started most military officers would send the archers forward first to try and thin out the enemy ranks.
There were the exceptions like men who had gone through some training provided by the kingdom or had fought as mercenaries but these men generally went on to become city or palace guards.
The kingdom's normally had basic schools to teach men how to be military officers. These trained military officers would be the only full-time soldiers who were employed by the kingdom. During a war, the military officers would be given drafted men from the population to form divisions who would fight together as an army.
If there was time before a battle these military officers would drill the drafted men to familiarize them with their weapons but this was the most basic of training.
This was what the Trareniel Kingdom had been doing along their borders. They gave their drafted civilians a couple months of basic training and were now planning to secretly invade Aregard.
Ben knew if he dug in at the bridge and made the enemy troops come to him they would be funneled into a tight formation when they attempted to cross the Sandy River bridge.
The enemy troops wouldn't have the chance to bring their full force against his troops and would they could be picked off by his archers as they tried to cross the bridge.
If he could funnel them onto the bridge and shrink the size of their front line there was no way a bunch of farmers, miners, or lumberjacks could stand up against his troops.
If he made a front line with his one hundred fully armored knights across the bridgehead it would be like the enemy was sending their men into a meat grinder.
He also had other plans on how to deal with the enemy but when he had heard Scarlet mention that there were enemy spies in the royal palace he chose to not say anything more on how he would fight the enemy.
"Your majesty the worst that could happen is my men are wiped out and Royal Cultivator Duven and I have to retreat back to Goldcrest. Even if you do not believe I can stop the invasion at the least I can slow them down and provide you more time to gather your forces to defend Goldcrest. This kingdom is my second home and I have invested too much into Goldcrest to allow another kingdom to march in and take it all away. I will travel to the southern bridge and make a stand with or without the Royal Cultivators help." Ben said with determination as he looked at the king.
King Sletten turned toward his Royal Cultivator and raised his eyebrows.
"What do you think Brom will you stay here and wait for the invaders or follow Duke King south to delay the enemy?"
Brom Duven looked up at the ceiling in thought before turning toward Ben.
"I will travel south with you Duke King, if you think we can do more good down south instead of waiting here then I will believe in you. If it wasn't for your warning we would have been conquered before we knew what that bastard Trareniel king was planning." The Royal Cultivator answered with a wry smile.
"Father I wish to also go south with them!"
Ben and Brom both turned to look at the princess wondering where this was coming from.
"Alessandra you are my heir and will one day be the Queen of this kingdom. It is too risky to let you travel with them. By the sounds of it, our side will be seriously outnumbered and there is a chance the enemy could break through the lines and overwhelm them "
"Father I am an experienced swordswoman and I am now a second stage cultivator. I have no fear of being able to handle myself in combat against conscribed troops. As you said I will be the queen one day and I think participating in a battle will be a good experience for the future. I will need to learn how to lead troops into battle and the best way to learn this would be on a battlefield."
Princess Alessandra made a strong argument and Ben felt sorry for the king. He knew the king would want to keep his daughter from harm but this would also be a great learning experience for her as well. There were not many battles on this continent and this may be one of the few times she might get to experience one.
After some thought the king sighed and gave in to his daughter's request.
"Alright, I will allow you to go with them. Hurry now and go collect your armor and sword"
Princess Alessandra and the Royal Cultivator ran off to quickly prepare for the battle to come. Ben the King and Scarlet remained behind together in the throne room.
"Thank you for your great work Scarlet you will be greatly rewarded later. The information you have brought us has saved the kingdom from a devastating attack. You can return home now I need to begin preparing the kingdom for the possibility of the Trareniel military making it to our capital walls."
"I look forward to it your majesty. Good luck and may the gods favor us."
When Scarlet left the king turned to Ben and looked like he wanted to say something to Ben but wasn't sure if he should.
"Do not worry I will protect her from harm." Ben said quietly.
The king showed a worried smile as he nodded toward Ben as to thank him.
Princess Alessandra and the Royal Cultivator Brom Duven returned after a short ten-minute wait. Ben said goodbye to the king and led the two of them outside to his waiting carriage.
They climbed into the carriage and raced off toward the noble district. Ben had the carriage enter through the far end gate and they drove back into the secluded grove where his troops were camping.
Ben found generals Victor and Justinus and explained the situation to them.
"I know you haven't had a chance to fully train the troops to the extent I had set for them but we have an emergency. Ben bought a map from the System Store of the planned battle area and spread it out.
They briefly went over the invasion route of the southern kingdom and ran off to rouse the troops and magi. Ben had the Stable Hands begin to hitch the horses to the carriages while his troops began to pack up the camp. The knights brought out the lightweight horse armor and began to prepare them for battle.
Ben entered his Small Palace with Princess Alessandra and the Royal Cultivator following. He had to explain to Steward Hughes that they would be leaving and the musicians would remain behind for a few days. He told him to make sure the kitchen staff properly fed them and to show them the Restaurant and Recreation Center out back.
"I am sorry I can't show you two around my estate here. My troops should be ready to move out here shortly so we should travel south with all due haste." The two simply nodded as they were curiously looking around at the palace interior.
Once the carriages were ready Ben got into one with his two generals, the princess, and the Royal Cultivator.
They raced across the city with a train of thirty-eight carriages and fifty mounted knights and left through the main gate to follow the road that led toward the eastern coast of the Aregard Kingdom.
The road eventually turned south and as they traveled along Ben discussed how they would fight the enemy and the tactics he would use to hold them back. Ben's caravan made it to the second town heading south along the road just after the sun had set.
They stopped for the night and fed the horses a good portion of vegetables and fruits to help them recover their energy while his troops prepared a huge meal for everyone. Ben had pushed the poor horses along at a fast pace and the QI and Mana in the food he gave them would help them to recover by the morning.
They were camping outside again with the wagons circled just south of the second town which was located a still few miles north of the bridge they planned to defend.
Just as the sun was breaking on the horizon they were back on the road traveling south. It was just past noon when they reached the small bridge that crossed the river.
Ben walked over to the bridge without delay and began using his Raise Earth spell. Right in the path of the bridge, he made three walls fifteen feet high and eight feet thick in the shape of a letter "H".
The lower part of the letter H walls faced the bridge entrance and created what looked like a room with one wall missing. If you were to cross the bridge from the south you would find a wall to your left and right and a wall blocking you from advancing.
Ben had his one hundred and ten fully armored knights dismount and take up a defensive line inside the lower part of the H shaped Walls. His knights had a wall behind them and a wall to the left and right of them. There was no way they could be flanked and when the enemy came across the bridge they would have to attack them head-on.
On top of the wall that ran across the center of the H shaped fortification, he placed his three hundred Elven Archers. They were now lined up directly behind the knights but were fifteen feet off the ground. They could easily shoot out at any enemies that tried to cross the bridge and could not be directly attacked unless the enemy scaled the dirt walls.
Ben stationed the fairies toward the back of the walls and gave them permission to use the walls on the left and right of the knights to attack the enemy. For now, until the enemy was in range he had them stay back.
In the upper part of the letter H walls, Ben had the horses stationed out of sight there with them wearing their armor. A few horses were left out and remained hitched to a couple carriages. Ben wanted to leave an escape route for the princess and the Royal Cultivator if things went bad they could escape in the carriages. His horses could run at speeds of fifty mph there was no way the army could catch the waiting carriages once they took off.
When Ben had his troops in place he turned his attention toward the princess and the Royal Cultivator. He opened his fortress Warehouse and brought out Mythril chainmail leggings, Mythril chainmail tunics, and the Mythril plate armor he had made for the Elven archers.
The armor the princess was wearing was too limited in protection and left to many exposed areas that a sword or arrow could injure her. Ben had her strip off her decorative armor and placed a Mythril chainmail tunic, Mythril plate armor, and Mythril Chainmail leggings on her.
Royal Cultivator Duven was reluctant to wear the armor until he held it and found out how light and unrestricted it was. Even though his body was strong enough to defend against crude iron swords swung by normal troops him and Ben would be fighting against other cultivators and needed all the advantages they could get.
Ben wore his full suit of plate armor with one of the knight's visor helmets that covered his entire head and face. There wasn't a single exposed area on his body. Ben felt if he stood in an open field and allowed his archers to attack him with arrows he would be perfectly safe from injury.
When his preparations were done he opened his map and began to scroll south to look for the enemy. He found a huge mass of red enemy dots slowly leaving the Aregard Kingdoms most southern town which was a few miles south of their location.
As he looked over the town he noticed there weren't many gray neutral dots remaining in the town after the invaders had sacked it.
It looks like the king's instincts were right these bastards weren't happy with just sacking the town for food and supplies they just had to kill off most of the townspeople as well. Those that survived must've hidden through the attack and watched or listened as their loved ones were slain.
Ben's temper began to flare and he was no longer nervous. He wanted the invaders to hurry along so that he could pay them back for their brutal tactics.