Differences of Opinion, Strike First

"We eagerly await your return, Lord." A mouse hopped up to Peter and bowed respectfully. "We are devoted to you with all our hearts."

"Oh my god, he's so cute," Lucy couldn't help but say.

"Who said that?" The mouse angrily drew its sword, seemingly disgusted by the word "cute."

"I'm sorry," Lucy apologized, feeling embarrassed.

Upon seeing that it was the Queen of Gunnarnia, the mouse's attitude immediately changed, and it bowed politely, saying, "Your Majesty, please hear me out."

I believe that 'bravery,' 'politeness,' or 'chivalry' would be more fitting for a Narnia knight.

"At least we know that some of you are skilled swordsmen," Peter said half-jokingly.

"Yes, I have recently become more skilled in weaponry, acquiring weapons for your army."

"Yes, because we need every single sword."

"Then you might want yours back," Caspian said, handing Peter's sword back.

"Excuse me for asking, are those the weapons you're referring to?" Aaron pointed to a centaur with a large bag of iron swords slung over each of his left and right shoulders.

"That's it," the rat said smugly. "Just last night, I took a few brothers and secretly took enough weapons and armor for two legions from the Telmarine, and also left our greetings."

"Two legions?" Aaron frowned slightly. "Not all of them?"

"A thousand sets of equipment are enough for us to use."

"Yes!" Aaron gave him a peaceful smile. "If Miraz could just turn his head a little, he could roughly calculate the Narnian, no, to be precise, the number of Narnia warriors."

Upon hearing this, the rat was greatly alarmed. "This... I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I really didn't consider this point."

"It's alright." Peter shook his head gently, comforting them, "Whether they know our numbers or not, they will still press in with their troops. This tough battle is inevitable."

Besides, we have more than just two legions.

With weapons and equipment, Narnia's army was barely formed.

Caspian led the group to a bunker, which served as a temporary defensive position.

The men and horses raised their Longsword and lined up in two rows to form a ceremonial guard to welcome the king and queen, with the rest of the people following closely behind.

The Narnian worked tirelessly to remelt the stolen Beast weapons and armor, forging them into equipment that fit their own sizes to prepare for the upcoming war.

"It might not be the same here as before, but the defense is still decent," Caspian said.

"Not bad. How did you know about this place?" Aaron asked curiously.

"This isn't a forest, there's nothing we can't come here for."

My teacher was fascinated by the culture of Narnia and, by chance, discovered these ruins.

"Peter, you might want to see this," Susan said, pointing to the wall.

Peter walked over, picked up a torch, and used the light to see the murals on the wall.

These murals record their story, from their arrival in Narnia to riding lions to the battlefield, and finally to Cair Paravel's ascension to the throne.

"Is this Aslan?" Aaron said, pointing to the lion on the wall. "It looks no different from an ordinary lion."

"It needs to be bigger," Lucy said. "We've grown a year older, and he's grown quite a bit along with us."

"Where is this place?" Susan asked Caspian.

"You didn't know?" Caspian asked in surprise, but then he thought it was normal, since several weeks had passed and the bunker was probably built after they left Narnia.

He led the way with a torch, passing through a tunnel, and stopped at a grand hall.

The torch was extended into the groove on the wall, and the flame ignited the lamp oil, illuminating the entire hall.

Only then did the group get a clear look at the environment of the main hall. There were no magnificent decorations. In the center was a broken stone platform, and in front of it was a mural of a lion.

Lucy stroked the stone platform, as if she understood something, and turned to look at the others. "He must know all of this."

"Aslan?" Aaron asked thoughtfully. "He's not planning to help us willingly, is he?"

"The same thing won't happen again," Lucy murmured, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"That's not necessarily true." Aaron shrugged. "There's a saying in the Bible: 'What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again.'"

"You know about this?" Susan asked.

"I don't understand the Bible very well, but my ancestors agreed with this statement."

They generally endorse profound truths and maxims.

Peter looked at the mural of the lion, pondered for a few seconds, and said seriously, "I think we have to rely on ourselves."

The half-goat man on guard outside spotted the patrolling Telmar soldiers and immediately reported the situation to several kings.

Peter summoned the representatives of the various races of Narnia to the Great Hall. The fauns, centaurs, bulls, dwarves, and talking animals all sat around the steps, forming a temporary council.

"Hurry, Miraz's army and weapons are arriving soon, which means these people can't defend their castle," Peter said.

"What do you intend to do, Your Majesty?" the mouse asked.

"Strike first, strike hard." Aaron snapped his fingers. "I support that."

"This is too incredible; no one has ever taken that castle," Caspian said hastily.

"There's always a first time," Peter said.

"They'll never expect this," said Tumnus. "We can catch them off guard."

"However, we have an advantage here."

"If we are well prepared, we might be able to hold this place," Susan agreed with Caspian's opinion.

"Maybe?" Aaron smacked his lips, "This word is a good choice and very appropriate.

If I may be so bold as to ask, can we hold out once, twice, or three times?

The Telmarine had several times the number of Narnian, and with a kingdom serving as a supply depot, they could lose many times over, while the Narnian could not afford to lose even once.

Of course, this is just my personal opinion; take it with a grain of salt, but don't take it too seriously.

"I appreciate everything you've done," Peter said to Caspian, "But this isn't a bunker, it's a graveyard."

"Yes," Edmund said. "If they are smart enough, the Telmarine can trap us and let us starve to death."

"We can store nuts," the squirrel said without hesitation.

"We can also throw Telmarine," the rat said speechlessly. "Your Majesty, I think you know I'm on your side."

"Shut up, you two cuties." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Don't say such ridiculous things."

"Who are you calling cute?" The mouse immediately drew its sword and pointed it menacingly at Aaron.

Aaron raised an eyebrow, slowly moved his feet, and stood behind Lucy.

The rat's breathing quickened considerably. "If you're so capable, don't hide behind our Queen. Stand up and fight me one-on-one."

"Forget it, Reepicheep." Badger shook his head. "You Nikabrik in just two moves."

"Trof, I'm not a dwarf."

"He's only about the same as me," Nikabrik said dismissively. "In a one-on-one fight, you wouldn't be a match for him either."

Peter looked at the centaur leader and asked, "If I help you infiltrate, can your men handle the guards?"

"I swear to complete this mission, Your Majesty."

"People who say things like that are usually prepared to die," Aaron remarked. "Nine out of ten chances of survival, is that right?"

The centaur leader slowly lowered his head, tacitly agreeing with Aaron's words.

"That's exactly what I was worried about," Lucy said calmly. "You all seem to have only two choices: die here or die there."

"You may not have heard me clearly, Lulu," Peter said patiently. "We have no other choice; staying here means certain death."

"No, your sister is smarter than you."

"We have a third option," Aaron said meaningfully. "The best course of action is to retreat, or rather, a strategic withdrawal."

Actually, I've thought about this path too, but I think most Narnian wouldn't want to take it, after all, they've been hiding for hundreds of years.

Moreover, Miraz wouldn't stop until he achieved certain results; at the very least, he needed to clear obstacles for his son. In other words, the prerequisite for escaping was handing over Caspian.

Caspian:...

"Even so, Miraz might not spare the Narnian," Tumnus said in a deep voice. "When I was captured, he promised the elders of the Council of Telmar that he would kill all of us Narnian to fulfill the last wish of our ancestors."

Therefore, he wouldn't mind cutting down an entire forest.

"What I mean is to retreat first, we can wait for Aslan," Lucy said anxiously. "He knows all this, he will definitely show up."

"We've waited for him long enough, hundreds of years!"

"Now we must take on the responsibility of being king." Peter said earnestly, then led the others to formulate a battle plan.

"Peter still doesn't believe me," Lucy said, her eyes red and a little aggrieved. "But I really did see Aslan, and I dreamed about him."

"I believe you, I believe you more than anyone else," Aaron said very seriously.

"Thank you!" Lucy felt a little relieved. "Oh, by the way, Aslan also asked me to remind you not to go too far with your actions."

Aaron:...

Is this a warning?

This is clearly a warning, isn't it? A warning from a suspected high-ranking Saint Mage.

Aaron forced a smile. "Okay! He warned me—no, reminded me that he received it."

You should find a place to get some sleep first!

"No, I am the Queen of Narnia, and I must participate in the battle plan."

"Hehe!" Aaron thought to himself, "Kids shouldn't get involved." A serious expression appeared on his face. "You have even more important tasks to complete."

Sleep, and in your dreams find Aslan's hiding place.

"But didn't we try it this morning?"

"Let's try anything, even if it's a dead end! If we lose, Aslan will be our last hope."

As for Peter and the others, I will try my best to take care of them.

Lucy seemed to feel a strong sense of mission, nodded vigorously, and found a place to lie down and count sheep.

As Aaron walked out of the temporary Meeting Room, he felt a little guilty and touched his pocket, where he found a bottle of red Potions. "Kids these days are really hard to fool."