When the main force of the association led by Joanna was fighting the decisive battle with Chloe's army in the Endless Grassland, the association's army in the Oakley Empire was storming Rock Castle.
In Skadi's mind, she recalled what her mentor had said. The Oakley Empire was the association's retreat, and she must open this retreat.
She learned the lessons from the previous siege and did not let Swarm blindly siege the city wall. Instead, she asked the highlanders to build siege equipment during the day, gradually consuming the energy and ammunition of the defenders on the wall.
At night, let Swarm use the bunkers on the ground to sneak attack the defenders on the city wall, while exploring the attack route with the least loss and the easiest attack.
After spending two days investigating, Skadi first led his Psionics mages to suppress the firepower at the top of the city and cover the Highlanders' siege. After controlling the losses, he feinted for a day.
At night, Swarm was sent to choose the best direction to launch a general attack, and captured the third wall of Rock Castle in one breath.
George was like a rat on a ship. He was the first to know when the ship was sinking. He left the dangerous place of Rock Castle on the pretext of going to the capital to move reinforcements.
Liszt is also a smart man. His reason is to state his interests to His Majesty the King in person, so he also wants to go to the capital.
The two men, who both harbored ulterior motives, looked at each other and smiled without saying anything, leaving only the adjutant to hold on to the fortress.
A few days later, news of the fall of Rock Castle reached the City of Fertility, the capital of the Oakley Empire. It happened that Liszt was reporting the recent battle situation to Darius III in the palace, exaggerating the enemy's threat and requesting reinforcements, otherwise Rock Castle would inevitably fall.
As soon as the news arrived, someone immediately stood up and accused Liszt.
"Liszt, as a general, your duty is to guard the Rock Castle for His Majesty, not to complain to His Majesty here. Now that the Rock Castle is lost, you have to take responsibility!"
"Yes! The generals who defended the city fled before the battle was the most important reason for the loss of the fortress. Liszt should be placed under military law."
Soon, there were endless denunciations of Liszt in the palace, and the accusations slowly implicated George. George had said so well that he would guard Rock Castle on behalf of the king, but in the end he only held it for a little more than a month, and he should have been dealt with by military law.
"When a large number of corpses and heads of Swarm monsters were sent to the capital, my lords did not have this attitude." George said quietly, "Do you want me to open a few books and have some faith?"
George's words made the most accusatory people in the palace choke. They pretended to be fine and coughed.
"When His Majesty was worried about the invasion of Warcraft and Highlanders, did you guys come up with any ways to relieve His Majesty's worries?"
George obviously didn't intend to let this group of people fool me, "When I recommended myself to guard the Rock Castle for the empire, you guys should have criticized me just like you did today."
"When the enemy's attack was repulsed and news of victory came, the praise and compliments given to me were no less intense than they are today."
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting awkward, the queen immediately spoke and began to smooth things over.
"Stop arguing. Your Majesty and I can see the loyalty of the ministers to the empire. George, please don't say any more. We will discuss the issue of accountability later. We should focus on the current issue of defending against the enemy."
"Are you right, Your Majesty the King?" the queen turned to Darius III and said.
But Darius III didn't seem to pay much attention to the queen's words and the noise in the palace. When he heard that Rock Castle had fallen and a large number of Swarm monsters were swarming in, he was frightened.
Darius III was not a competent king. He could neither suppress the ministers nor check the queen's strength. His own character was relatively weak.
Facing the corrupt situation, his spirit was first crushed. The queen called several times before Darius came back to his senses.
"Oh, ah, okay, it's okay, you can discuss it first." Darius III replied perfunctorily.
It was obvious that his attention was not on the meeting at all and he was not keeping up with everyone.
"Your Majesty, I am saying that now we should discuss how to resist those ferocious highlanders and the terrifying Swarm monsters." A hint of impatience flashed in the queen's eyes, but she still explained for Darius III.
"Ah, Swarm monsters, they are too scary. My dear, you must think of a way to stop them. You will chair the meeting first. I feel very tired and need a rest." After that, Darius III left with his attendants without waiting for the queen to answer.
This action, which did not care about anyone's attitude, not only made many ministers and generals speechless, but also the Queen and George were stunned.
George didn't know Darius III well. In his impression, this king didn't have great abilities, but he could still hold on to his inheritance. The queen knew that her husband was mediocre in ability and cowardly in character, but she didn't expect that he could pull him off on such an occasion.
The king is gone, but the meeting still has to be held. After all, the Rock Castle is gone, and the highlanders and Swarm monsters will go south. With the recommendation of everyone, the queen will preside over the next meeting.
After the queen presided over the meeting, the meeting overall became smoother. At least everyone no longer blamed or cursed each other. Instead, they really started to think about solutions, and George provided a lot of good suggestions.
The final solution that came up was to take advantage of the many rivers in the southern part of the empire to bring in the imperial navy to cooperate with the fortified city for defense. At the same time, the capital city of Fenghuo opened its treasury and began to fortify the city, recruiting various mercenaries, and prepared to defend it to the death.
Everyone realizes that field warfare is unrealistic and can only be spent on defense.
The specific arrangement allowed the meeting to last until the evening, and it ended belatedly after everyone had a meal in the palace.
Of course, the queen left everyone to eat, showing the generosity of the royal family was a pretense. From the eyes she kept secretly looking at George during the dinner, we could know that she had other intentions.
After finishing the meal, everyone left. The Queen, who was just over forty, but still had a charming personality, left George alone, saying that she was discussing the defense of Fengrao City.
Some people find it strange, and some people feel something but dare not say anything.
In the secret room of the palace, as soon as George closed the door, he felt something soft hugging his back. He restrained the tense muscles of his body and said in a gentle tone, "Your Majesty, it is a bit inappropriate to be in the palace with so many people and so many eyes."
"You bastard, you stayed in Rock Castle for more than a month. I sent so many weapons, but you just sent a few letters to express your gratitude and didn't come back to see me." The queen scolded.
Turning around, George hugged the queen, who was much shorter than him, into his arms, "Every moment I was in Rock Castle, I was thinking of you. Whenever those terrifying monsters climbed up the city wall, it was because you were the pillar of my soul that allowed me to persevere."
"In order to protect your safety, I dare to fight against any existence, even the ruthless Swarm monster."
After saying that, George lowered his head and kissed her.