Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 903 The Oncoming Storm (Part One)

Instead of returning to the imperial capital of the Great Jade Kingdom, Rolando headed for the border as soon as he left. As he did, he ordered his men to chase after Matthew and kill him right away. He also ordered Harper to be followed, but not hurt.

At that time, Toby was already at the border of the north domain, leading an army of three hundred thousand soldiers towards Dragon Pass. Shawn and his army were also in the vicinity, but even though they were ready, they were still taken aback when Toby decided to launch a sudden attack against them.

"General, they have an army of three hundred thousand men while we only have two hundred thousand. What should we do?" the deputy general asked Shawn as he wiped the sweat on his face. "The enemy has appeared overnight and it seems like they are fully ready for battle. I'm afraid the Great Jade Kingdom had planned this a long time ago."

Shawn was standing on the gate tower, blood still dripping down the sword in his hand. As he looked out, he answered, "We will not go out and fight them head-on. We only need to protect Dragon Pass from inside. We need to make sure that they won't be able to enter."

"But if they keep advancing and attacking our forces, I'm afraid..." the deputy general asked in a worried tone.

"Have you seen their leader?" Shawn asked, as he skimmed the scene outside. Soon, his eyes laid on the person who seemed to be serving as the enemy's leader. Another moment passed and he was able to see the person's face clearly. Upon doing so, however, he became confused. 'Is that Toby, the seventh prince of the Great Jade Kingdom? Why is he here and why is he leading troops towards Dragon Pass? If he had such power over a large army, shouldn't he be attacking Rolando instead? Aren't they fighting for the throne, still?' he thought.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"It seems to be Prince Toby of the Great Jade Kingdom," the deputy general answered with uncertainty. Everybody knew that after Rolando returned to the imperial capital of the Great Jade Kingdom, he either killed or imprisoned all of his brothers. He had no mercy on any of them, and so it would not be an exaggeration to say that every prince of the Great Jade Kingdom hated him to the extreme. But out of all of them, Toby was the one who hated Rolando the most. So why would he spend his time in Dragon Pass instead of just obliterating his merciless brother Rolando? And why wasn't he afraid that Rolando would just come out of nowhere and ambush him and his men?

"We were fooled. Rolando fooled us all!" Shawn said coldly, more to himself than the deputy general he was talking to. "It looks like Toby had defected to Rolando's side a long time ago. Since it is no easy job to bring an army of three hundred thousand soldiers here, Rolando must have had this attack planned a long, long time ago. The coronation ceremony of the empress is nothing but a trap! He just intended to lure Prince Matthew to the Great Jade Kingdom to trap him!"

"General, I don't understand. Prince Matthew is extremely capable and powerful. How would Emperor Rolando be able to trap him? Wouldn't the entirety of the Great Jade Kingdom be in danger of being destroyed by Prince Matthew himself?" the deputy general questioned. He truly couldn't understand the fears Shawn was having. In his eyes, Matthew was a furious God of War. No country with sane leaders would invite him to come to their shores because he would only bring disaster to their land, especially once he became enraged.

"Prince Toby's presence here means that Emperor Rolando is very likely to have already trapped Prince Matthew. Send a message to His Majesty at once. Tell him that we've already lost contact with Prince Matthew and Lady Harper, and that the Great Jade Kingdom is going to attack us very soon. War is coming!" Shawn ordered at once, his eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed. 'Today is the day of the coronation ceremony, yet Emperor Rolando chose to send an army to conquer Dragon Pass. The two countries have been at peace for a long, long time. Why is he trying to start a war?' he wondered.

The news of the Great Jade Kingdom's armed advancement against the Bright Dynasty spread all over the four kingdoms like wildfire. When Lucas heard the news, however, he wasn't surprised. Instead, he became extremely calm. "The Great Jade Kingdom is provoking us to start a war against us. What do you think about it?"

"Your Majesty, Marquis Shawn is very experienced in battles. We have two hundred thousand strong warriors at Dragon Pass. From my point of view, I don't think we have to worry about this issue too much," a civil official said at once. "So I beseech you, Your Majesty. Please issue an imperial edict to ask Marquis Shawn to fight back. Hopefully through our resistance, we will send a message to the Great Jade Kingdom that it is a bad decision to offend our Bright Dynasty."

"Zack, what do you think?" Lucas asked.

With a serious look on his face, Zack started to explain, "Your Majesty, the Great Jade Kingdom chose to launch the attack against us on the day of their empress's coronation ceremony. I'm afraid the said event was just a lure intended for Prince Matthew so that he would travel to the Great Jade Kingdom. While I am aware of Prince Matthew's capabilities, I think that he is in grave danger. And apart from that, once the two countries begin to fight, Princess Lilian could also be in danger."

How could Lucas not perceive this evil plan? Back when Lilian claimed that she would go to the Great Jade Kingdom and marry Rolando, he had warned her that she would become the first victim if ever the Bright Dynasty and the Great Jade Kingdom fought. Despite this, Lilian still insisted on going. She wasn't a kid anymore, and so she must be responsible for what she had done.

"When she decided to marry into the Great Jade Kingdom, she should have already known what she would have to face," Lucas said as he sighed sadly. Then, his tone became serious. "What I'm worried about is Uncle Matthew. Now that Rolando had him cornered in the Great Jade Kingdom, where he wanted him to be, it would only be more and more dangerous for him if he doesn't escape right now."

"Your Majesty, while the Great Jade Kingdom launches an attack against us in Dragon Pass, we must also pay attention to the South Kingdom. Also, although we do not share a border with the Wonder Kingdom, we still have to take precautions against them in case they decide to join the Great Jade Kingdom in attacking us," Maxwell added. "I am well aware that Marquis Shawn has served in the army for many years, but I am afraid that he is not very experienced on the battlefield. Hence I volunteer myself to go to the north domain and help him with the management of our troops."

"Carlson is already guarding Birch Pass in the south domain, so I'm not very worried about that. Indeed, I am more worried about Dragon Pass in the north domain. If Rolando decides to show up there, Shawn would not be able to resist him, no matter how hard he tries. In the unfortunate instance that Rolando takes Dragon pass, it would be easy for him to take the next ten cities. Because of that, it is crucial for us to win the brewing battle at Dragon Pass. The place is essential in our kingdom's security," Lucas said. He then began to feel a nasty headache coming on. With everything that was happening, he began to realize how dependent on Matthew he had become. As a result, his absence had rendered him clueless about what to do, which was unfortunate, since this time around, their enemy wasn't exactly weak.