"Hey, Bloed. Were your words true?" Gerald asked after the meeting ended.
Bloed looked at him indifferently and shrugged. "Why would I lie about something like this?"
"That is true…" Gerald nodded. "Anyway, thank you for the information. I'll make sure that father takes it seriously."
"Good." Bloed nodded and boarded the carriage followed by Liu Ying and Regina. "I'll go to make my preparations for tomorrow's battle."
Although Gerald wanted to talk with Bloed a bit more, he did not have an excuse to keep him behind. Thus, he could only watch Bloed and the others leave.
"… I hate that hypocrite." Liu Ying sneered inside the carriage. "How I would like to punch him in the face. At least once, no, twice."
Bloed smiled. "Me too. But we can't be rash. Punching the city lord's son is the same as putting the entire city against us."
"Master, if you want, I can kill them."
Bloed rolled his eyes. "Were not supposed to hide your strength? You are not putting effort into it."
"Hmph, I was not going to let that old man humiliate master. Besides, the city lord already witnessed I using this level of strength. There is no point in hiding it anymore."
Bloed smiled wryly and heaved a sigh. "Anyway, I hope they truly pay attention to my words and don't ignore them. In fact, the ideal would be if they evacuate the city."
"Evacuate the city? So serious?" Liu Ying was surprised.
"Liu Ying, do you think this town has the strength to fight against a wave of fifty thousand monsters? Even with a demigod, the will unable to protect the entirety of the city walls. And once a monster gets inside the city, even a C-Rank one, the number of casualties on the population will be immense."
Liu Ying fell silent. She could see the truth behind Bloed's words.
"… Then, the city lord…"
"He probably will not evacuate the population."
"Huh?"
"… There is simply too little time. Besides, if the population evacuates there is the possibility that some practitioners will take the opportunity to desert. The best conclusion is the city lord leaving behind a special team to take care of the monsters that break through the defensive line."
In the end, Bloed could only wish for the best.
"… I hope not too many people die this time."
…
At night, in the city lord mansion.
"… Mr. Sebastian, it's an honor to have you here."
"Don't be so courteous, city lord. I'm here in orders of the king."
The city lord smiled, but he kept a respectful and humble attitude. "To be honest, I'm surprised. When I heard that the king was going to send a demigod here, I was not expecting The King's Right Hand himself."
Sebastian just looked briefly to the city lord and ignored his obvious attempt to flattery.
"… How is the situation?" He asked.
The city lord then proceeded to explain everything to Sebastian.
Sebastian frowned. And when he heard that the estimate of enemies was between twenty thousand and fifty thousand monsters, he scowled.
"Twenty thousand or fifty thousand? How can your intelligence to be so inaccurate."
The city lord smiled wryly. "In fact, our intelligence indicates that the number is around twenty thousand, but… This morning, someone can here and told me that the number is actually fifty thousand."
"Someone? Is that person reliable?"
"… I think so." The city lord nodded. "However, I have been unable to confirm his words."
Sebastian furrowed his brows. It seemed that it was right of him to come here.
Sebastian was the right hand of the king, he could be considered as the kingdom's butler. He was the demigod that took care of the most secretive matters in the kingdom.
Thus, he normally would not be sent to this kind of mission. This time, however, he was nearby taking care of another matter for the king, so he decided to come in passing.
But hearing that fifty thousand monsters were about to attack the city, even he could not remain calm.
"Have you evacuated the citizens?"
The city lord turned embarrassed. "We were too short on time. Besides, I didn't want to cause chaos."
"... I see. I need to know tomorrow's defensive strategy. But first, I will take a look at the situation and confirm the number of enemies."
"I understand." The city lord bowed respectfully.
At that moment, though, he put on a hesitating expression.
"… Mr. Sebastian, can I make you a personal question?"
"Hm? Do ask."
"… Does the surname Norman rings a bell?"
"Norman? That is an unusual surname." Sebastian then fell silent and started to think. "Norman? I don't remember any demigod or hidden family with that surname. At least, there is none nearby."
"Is it so?" The city lord fell deep in thought.
"Why the question?"
"Huh? No, nothing. I was just curious about something."
…
That night, Bloed stayed until late at night in his laboratory.
Although he was a bit tired, Bloed did not care. He was completely focused on the work he was doing.
Finally, after a few minutes of anxiousness, Bloed smiled.
"… It's done."
Looking at the gloves in the table and wiping off the sweat on his forehead, Bloed could not hide his excitement.
His preparations for tomorrow were done.
...
P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels