The Medallion

Chapter 1965 A Head-on Confrontation

Two days later, the escort army led by Israel smoothly delivered the water and food to the military camp of the royal army near the exit of the Red River Valley. After a few days of relying only on dew to quench their thirst, this timely delivery had undoubtedly helped improve soldiers' morale.

In preparation for the attack on the border of Enoch's fief, Zain immediately ordered to send every soldier a bag of water. Since this batch would only last them about three days, they must take at least one border city so they could replenish water before they ran out. Otherwise, they would still lose.

At this moment, Israel went to Zain's tent and took this chance to report what happened. Of course, he deliberately exaggerated how he had gone through all the difficulties to break through Enoch's army just so they could successfully escort water and food. He even added that Gilbert and Rocky made it more arduous when they let their fear of death put him and the escort army in danger while covering for them.

"Thank you for your hard work, Israel. I will keep your reward in mind. When we return to the Royal Land after ending this rebellion, I shall ask my father to reward you generously. You have my word," Zain nicely expressed. Although he was sure that Israel was embellishing the truth, he also knew that it was only because he wanted to make his contribution sound outstanding. He believed it was only natural, so he simply turned a blind eye to it. Besides, he would need his talent and loyalty for his future plans of replacing the current fief leaders. Since Israel had better knowledge in judging situations than the current leader of the Primitive Fief, Zain had listed him as a candidate to replace him.

"I cannot thank you enough, Your Royal Highness." Israel couldn't help but beam with joy. Then, he bowed and hurriedly left.

The other commanders followed him out, leaving only Adrian with Zain inside the tent.

"Your Royal Highness, please help me understand something." Adrian, who had become Zain's confidant, spoke as soon as Israel was out of sight.

"Alright, let's hear it." Surprised at what he heard, Zain looked at Adrian.

"I'm certain you find Odin to be quite an asset. Why don't you try to persuade him to work for you? As I see it, not only does he possess good medical skills, but he is also resourceful. I believe his skills and talent would prove useful if you can get him to serve you as your right-hand man when you become the king of the Shura Race in the future, Your Royal Highness,"

Adrian earnestly suggested.

"Alright. I might as well tell you since I trust you. Odin and I have a deal, and I promised him that no one else would know about it. In order to avoid any trouble, I have to feign indifference to him. To be honest, I still have some doubts about him, though. He seems very ambitious. He's already a Godly Genius of the royal family, with a status that's higher than Gilbert, yet he still shows Gilbert the kind of respect that he has no intention of challenging him. It only proves that he is shrewd enough to deliberately stay in the background. He'll only expose his true nature when necessary," Zain disclosed soberly.

His previous fights with Rocky had taught him what kind of a powerful person Rocky was. He learned that it would not be wise to provoke him. In any case, his deal with Rocky allowed him to pretend that he was restraining him and Gilbert.

"So that's how it is. I was afraid of the possibility that Enoch could poach him, so that's surely a relief to hear. It could definitely cause us trouble if he ended up becoming an enemy!"

Apparently, it was Adrian's intention to amplify Rocky's importance to Zain, as well as to test if he would suspect that Rocky had cooperated with Enoch.

"Don't worry. There's no way my uncle would do that. I doubt he's forgotten that it is Odin who has exposed his plot and taken away the Purgatorial Tripod. Besides, my uncle is not on a level with the

royal family. If Odin really is smart, there's not a chance that he'll choose to go with him," Zain claimed confidently.

Adrian sneered in his head. What he heard had just confirmed why Zain was not a match for Rocky at all—he was so puffed up with conceit thinking he could control everything that he failed to realize he was playing right into Rocky's hands.

Of course, Adrian couldn't help but admire Rocky for having calculated Zain's thought process. That was why he had no problem coming up with a big plan and executing it smoothly.

Meanwhile, Enoch received a message from the leader of the Elite Fief, saying that an army had entered the Red River Valley with water and food to support the army of the royal family.

"Huh. That's strange. Didn't Odin say that he would prevent that from happening? Why are there escorts bringing water and food to help the royal army?" The news bothered Enoch. He remembered that Rocky did not specifically explain how he would cut off the supplies of the royal army, so he wondered what could have happened.

If Rocky's plan didn't work, those provisions would definitely boost morale, giving the enemy a chance to attack the border city and put them at a disadvantage. Obviously, Enoch was worried.

At any rate, the only thing he could do now was bet on Rocky.

"Guards, tell the soldiers to get ready. We are going to head back to the Red River Valley! It's time to fight them head-on!" Enoch ordered firmly after careful considerations.

As their water supply could only last for three days, Zain and his army had to seize a border city of Enoch's fief within that time. Then, after a day of rest, he also commanded the royal army to get ready.

Upon confirming that the exit of the Red River Valley was free from traps and a possibility of an ambush, he led the army out of the valley and towards the designated target.

At the same time, Enoch had led his army back to the exit of the Red River Valley through a secret narrow path. With this, he managed to avoid Zain's spies and finally intercepted the army of the royal family.

Therefore, at this point, the two armies met at the exit of the Red River Valley.

"Didn't you say that there was no army at this exit?" Zain, who was leading the army, looked extremely sullen the moment he saw Enoch in person, riding on a dark green diabolic beast.

"Enoch's army must have come from some other path that we don't know," Adrian immediately explained, trying his best to feign ignorance.

"Damn it!" Initially, Zain thought he could attack the border city as soon as possible. However, with Enoch's sudden appearance, his plan was instantly ruined.

Fortunately for Zain, the royal army had the advantage in terms of military strength. Hence, if it was going to be a direct confrontation, they should not suffer tremendous losses. However, he had to consider that about sixty thousand soldiers of the royal army hadn't recovered their strength yet because of the previous poisoning. Once they went to battle right now, their strength would surely be reduced.

But even with this handicap, the royal army still had a considerable advantage. Therefore, in the end, Zain had no plans of avoiding the head-on confrontation with Enoch's army.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.