Certainly, if Prince Wales were still the person he once was, he would never have issued such an order.
However, the unfortunate reality is that the current prince is no longer the real Wales but rather a puppet given false life by the "Ring of Andvari."
The suggestion of the Albion general might indeed have been more advantageous for the subsequent rule over Tristain, but what does that matter to Sheffield?
The mission she received from her master, Joseph, was to bring both Albion and Tristain to ruin. What happens to Albion and Tristain afterward is of no concern to her.
Letting Henrietta and the others go? That was never an option!
More than Henrietta's royal status, what Sheffield is truly concerned with is her identity as an inheritor of the "Void."
Wood holds the title of "Lífþrasir," and since Henrietta is his master, she is naturally regarded as one of the inheritors of the "Void."
No one understands the power of the "Void" better than Sheffield. Just like how she, Sheffield, uses the power of the "Jormungand" to toy with the entire kingdom of Albion, manipulating it at will.
To prevent any other inheritors of the Void from threatening Master Joseph, both Wood and Henrietta are on Sheffield's kill list!
As for the other Void user and their legendary familiar in Tristain, the Viscount Wardes she arranged should have already made his move by now.
Under the dark night sky, a force of forty thousand Albion soldiers was pursuing a small cavalry unit, with Sheffield herself commanding this army.
In terms of mobility, although the Albion soldiers were numerous, they could not match the speed of Wood and his group, who were fleeing on horseback.
However, having more soldiers comes with its advantages. After a night of relentless pursuit and blockading, Wood and the others were eventually forced into a forest.
Sheffield ordered the Albion soldiers to encircle the entire forest, steadily tightening the noose around Wood and the others, limiting their movement.
"Sir Wood, before the enemy completely surrounds us, take Princess Henrietta and leave."
Wood and the others had been fleeing all night. Their horses had run until they dropped dead, and with no way out and the fear of Albion's aerial units, they had no choice but to seek refuge in this forest.
With the dense foliage acting as a barrier, Albion's airships and dragon knights would find it difficult to engage effectively in such an environment.
However, entering the forest also meant entering a deathtrap. Now, there was no other option but to engage in close combat with the enemy.
Facing an army of 40,000 with just 1,000 men, even though these soldiers were the elite of Tristain, there was virtually no chance of victory.
With no other place to hide or escape, the Queen of Tristain once again offered to serve as a decoy to draw the enemy's attention, allowing Wood to take Henrietta and flee before they were completely surrounded.
"Your Majesty, your order puts me in a difficult position. Princess Henrietta wants me to save you, and you want me to protect the princess and escape. But whether it's saving you or the princess, leaving the rest of the soldiers behind as sacrificial pawns seems rather unfair."
Wood was sitting on the ground, resting with his eyes closed, as if the dire situation they were facing didn't concern him at all. His words, however, touched the hearts of the soldiers around him.
The hierarchical structure of this world was deeply ingrained. Even though the Queen of Tristain's suggestion showed no regard for the lives of the soldiers, they saw nothing wrong with it.
Commoners are expected to serve the nobility, and the nobility, in turn, is expected to protect the royal family with their lives. It was all just the way things were.
"If there's a chance to survive, who wouldn't want to live? But the reality is that if you don't plan to leave, then none of us will make it out alive.
I know that the soldiers here are true heroes, but that's all the more reason for you to protect Princess Henrietta.
Otherwise, even if they all die here, who will ensure the honor and rewards they fought for?"
The Queen's reasoning was simple. If either she or Henrietta survived, then those who died here would be remembered as true heroes.
Otherwise, even if Tristain won the war, who would ensure that the new ruling family would remember the sacrifices of these soldiers?
"Your Majesty, as I've said before, I won't abandon anyone because all lives are of equal value, regardless of whether they're commoners, nobles, or royalty.
If I save either Henrietta or you, the other will regret it for the rest of their life.
So why not give it one last fight? Besides, given our current situation, it's not necessarily a death sentence."
Facing an army forty times larger would be hopeless on open ground, where they would be swallowed up by the enemy in an instant.
But here in the forest, although the enemy had overwhelming numbers, the terrain limited their ability to overwhelm them all at once.
Under Wood's direction, the remaining 1,000 soldiers quickly formed a double-layered circular formation.
The outer ring, composed of sturdy and heavily armored commoners, was responsible for defense, while the inner ring, made up of nobles who could wield magic, also focused on defense. At the very center were Princess Henrietta and the Queen of Tristain, being protected.
The choice of this formation wasn't due to the typical hierarchy but rather because the trained common soldiers were more suited to frontline defense than the physically weaker mages.
This was akin to the strategy of tanks protecting mages in battle, except here, the mages just happened to be nobles.
Wood, however, did not take a position within the defensive formation. Instead, he remained outside, ready to act freely.
Given the terrain, only a few thousand Albion soldiers could attack at a time.
Even though the Tristain soldiers were elite, they could not withstand an endless barrage of assaults, so Wood's task was to reduce the number of Albion soldiers charging at them as much as possible.
As the Albion encirclement tightened, the sounds of approaching footsteps grew louder, and the Tristain soldiers, now in formation, began to sweat with nervousness.
Wood, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them the moment the first Albion soldier appeared.
"The battle begins now!"