As Ang left the conference room, the other commanders filed out as well, and the atmosphere remained oppressive. Marquis Yaglu watched them leave one by one, the exhaustion on his face becoming ever more apparent. His deputy walked over and asked in a low voice, "My lord, what do we do now?"
Yaglu slumped into his chair, his gaze vacant as though he could not find a suitable response. That silence weighed upon the whole room like soundless despair. After a moment, Yaglu slowly said, "These nobles never came willingly to provide aid. They are only here to cope with pressure from the guild and the council. They bear the title and duty of reinforcements, yet none of them takes my orders seriously."
His deputy froze for a moment before hesitantly saying, "But, my lord, can't we simply order them to carry out the mission? Or issue it as a military command..."
"What do you take them for? They did not come willingly. Unless Duke Panston of the Northern United Council gives the order, they will not obey our command at all!" There was anger in Yaglu's tone, but even more helplessness. Faced with nobles who had powerful backing, he had little room to maneuver.
"Then what should we do? If we cannot even send this force out, and Baron Ang really goes alone, what happens if something goes wrong? Wouldn't we know nothing about the situation outside the city?" his deputy asked anxiously.
"Let me think." Yaglu's voice was low, his brows tightly furrowed. He rose and walked to the window, gazing into the darkness beyond the city as though searching for an answer.
Meanwhile, Wade arrived at Ang's residence. After knocking on the door, he heard Ang's voice from inside. "Come in. The door's open."
Wade pushed the