SSS SKILL: DUPLICATE

Chapter 64 Preparation for War

On the border between Maginev and Morowind, a huge disturbance suddenly happened outside the stronghold of the Maginev Empire.

A lightning beam suddenly fell from the sky to the ground.

Boom! A very loud explosion startled the soldiers in the stronghold. Nearly fifty meters of broken ground appeared on the site of the explosion.

Aktor, the Marshal of the Morowind Empire, is at the center of the broken ground. His body and huge hammer are clad in a purple aura. Lightning is flashing all over his body and hammer. He is wearing purple armor and holding a silver hammer with magic runes.

"Hahahaha, chickens! Come out! Let me entertain you while your Marshal is out! Hahahaha." Aktor shouted while laughing.

The shield of the stronghold is activated. At the wall of the stronghold, the apprentice of Bartos looks so fierce as he stares at Aktor. He is clenching his fist so hard. He is biting his lips as he holds his anger within. He punched the wall without putting an aura on his fist, and then a crack appeared on the wall.

"Morowind Empire! You despicable shit!!!" Their army on this border cannot mobilize because Aktor and his army might attack. If there is no movement from Aktor, they might pull out an army and peak levels with an embryonic form of concept to join the attack on Baynard Kingdom, but their hope is now crushed. Aktor's timing of attack is good, and he can't help but think that a secret agreement between Morowind and Baynard happened.

Within the new territory of the Baynard Kingdom, a caravan is traveling quite a distance from the border. A man observes his surroundings sometimes. The chubby business owner riding on a brown horse notices the suspicious action of the man. He touches his mustache while thinking. He clapped his hands after thinking.

"Did we not buy a rare item from the Maginev empire? Let us go to the city and try to sell it to the RAISE branch! If the price is high, half of it will be divided among all of you!" said the chubby owner.

"Yeah!" The workers cheered when they heard the business owner. The suspicious man also cheers to avoid acting out of place. He is oblivious that he will never see the sunlight of two suns again tomorrow.

"Hahahaha, you did a good job. You caught quite a big fish. We are able to pry useful information from him. He even has drawings of terrain on our border," said the city's police chief as he is holding a big cigarette between his fingers. There is a claw scar on his right cheek. The chubby business owner is rubbing his palms as if expecting something.

The police chief laughed as he saw the action of the chubby man.

"That spy is worth two thousand gold. Here is your money." The city's police chief put a small bag that contained the gold on the table. The chubby business owner took the bag and opened it. The gold coins have denominations, and they also have unique shining runes when exposed to the sun or light. Edgar denominated gold and copper, then he put unique runes to prevent forgery. All the money circulating in the market is backed by gold. Citizens have confidence in the currency and the reputation of the Royal Court.

The chubby business owner has a look of joy on his face. Two thousand gold is worth three months of his profit. Spies of the Maginev empire are being caught everywhere. The Baynard kingdom has warned the citizens to report suspicious behavior. They will be rewarded a lot if the reported individual is proven to be a spy. It is reported in TV and newspapers how to spot a spy.

A man is walking on a street. His face is sweating, and his back is drenched with sweat.

"What the hell is wrong with this kingdom?! How can people be so alert?! I only ask a few things, but many eyes suddenly stare at me." asked to man to himself in his mind.

A little boy with a wooden sword suddenly blocked the road in front of him.

"Uncle, are you a spy?" the boy innocently asked. Everyone stopped walking and?what they were doing. Everyone's eyes are on the man. The man looks so nervous that more eyes are staring at him.

"N-n-nonsense! B-boy, how did your parents teach you?!! Do you not know how dangerous wrong accusation is?!!" Furiously shouted the man. His heart is beating fast.

Flop! A huge hand patted the man's shoulder. A giant man wearing gray armor with a police crest appears behind him. His face looks fierce.

"We will know if the accusation is wrong or not," said the giant man.

"F-finish," thought the man.

Within the Maginev Empire, more beggars and homeless people appeared in cities in the last few years because of the war with the Morowind Empire. Although Baynard has difficulty luring high officers or officials of the empire, they have been able to easily penetrate the bottom, especially in the past two years. The economy of the empire is too depressed, causing many of its citizens to become displaced.

In a private room of a high-end restaurant, officials are talking with each other. An official touches a rune device in the room, and magic suddenly appears.

SOUND BLOCKADE

The shield reaches every corner of the room, but there is an inconspicuous tube hidden within a floral design connected to a hearing device within a secret room in the cellar of the restaurant. A man is listening to the conversation of the officials, and then a smile suddenly appears on his face. He wrote the encrypted information on a piece of paper, hid it on some left-over food, and gave it to the beggar. The beggar gave the paper to a villager who owns a street stall. The villager took the paper out of the city at sundown and gave it to the man hidden in the underground in his house. The man communicated the information with a crystal ball. Communication is possible because there is a crystal tower disguised as a huge tree in a lush forest near the city. Crystal towers disguised as huge trees are all over the empire.

"A blitz attack led by Marshal Bartos? As we expected, they could not mobilize a large army and support a long war with us. They were able to squeeze out a small amount of money that could only last for a very short time. Roy did a good job in convincing the Morowind Empire to hold back their army in the west. We will focus on defense. It isn't the right time for an all-out war with the empire," Calmly said by Edgar. He, the commanders, and his trusted ministers are sitting around a sand table that shows the map of Baynard and Maginev. Elena is also sitting there because she will hold the helm of the Royal Court with Roy while Edgar is leading the war.

"Your Majesty, how do we distribute our peak 3rd level aura masters? We do not know where Marshal Bartos will attack! He has so much destructive power that if you or another peak level can't arrive on time, our navy or army might suffer devastating losses," said Wilder.

"Flute will accompany the navy with two peak 3rd level. Marshal Frey will guard the border in the northwest with two peak 3rd level. A king's field with two peak 3rd level can defend from 4th level for a while until help arrives. We have crystal balls that can immediately call for help," said Edgar. Marshal Frey and Flute nod. Flute looks calm, but sweat appears on Marshal Frey's forehead. They sparred with Edgar and knew the true power of concept. Marshal Frey doesn't know if he can stay alive until help arrives.

"Actually, I have a way to force Bartos to attack near me," said Edgar with a smile.

Everyone is surprised when they heard Edgar and waited for him to continue to talk. Edgar moved a flag on the border in the northeast and pointed at a marked city on the map.

"A few kilometers from our border in the northeast, the most prosperous city in their empire is located, the City of Sunrise. It is the largest trading area because of their sea trade. That place is under the rule of the most powerful Duke, the father of the Queen, grandfather of the crown prince. Their empire cannot afford to lose that place. I will guard the stronghold near that city and let it reach the ears of the Duke and Queen."

"Hahahaha, what a wonderful strategy!" said Marco while laughing. Many ministers and commanders have smiles on their faces. Elena looks at Edgar with a smile. She is satisfied to even stay as his maid, but he actually chose her as his queen. She can't help him in battle, but she can do her best to not let him worry in his backyard. She will make sure that the Royal Court will be fine while he is gone.

Marco is as straightforward as ever. He was very shocked when he knew that Edgar had reached the fourth stage. He felt proud and boasted to everyone that he taught Edgar with aura, and he was the one who insisted on using the royal family's rare medicines for Edgar's cultivation. Everyone praised his sharp vision.

"Implement the strategy we formulated earlier." Ordered by Edgar

"Yes, Your Majesty!" answered the commanders and ministers in the meeting room.

Three months after Baynard's annexation of the two kingdoms, a hidden army of the Maginev Empire secretly departed from army camps. They did not know that their actions could not escape the eyes of many people at the bottom who were displaced by the long war initiated by Maginev itself. They sold the information to survive. They don't have a guilty conscience. The empire doesn't care about their lives. They have a family to feed.

When morning came, a shocking declaration pulled everyone's eyes in the world to the east of the central continent.

The Maginev Empire declared war on the Baynard kingdom.