Female Novel
Chapter 904 The Oncoming Storm (Part Two)
"Your Majesty, I have an idea," Zack said slowly. "The South Kingdom had just got past violent internalstruggles. Their queen, Catherine, is currently preoccupied in cheering her people up and upping theirslumping economy. With that, we know that we do not need to worry about the South Kingdomattacking us. I suggest we focus all our forces on keeping a close eye on the Great Jade Kingdom andthe Wonder Kingdom. Right now, Emperor Rolando is attacking the Dragon Pass, which means that hehad been intending to attack the Bright Dynasty for a long time now. He is well prepared, so we aresure that Dragon Pass is in grave danger. I also would like to volunteer to go to the north domain inorder to provide them any support they may need."
Hearing that, Maxwell turned to look at Zack in surprise. Zack was a thoughtful man who wasincomparable to anyone in the court, even his father. Indeed, if he was in the north domain, he, alongwith Shawn, who was more capable of fighting, might be able to resist the forces of the Great JadeKingdom.
"I would like to go with you," Maxwell offered once again.
After thinking about the proposals just laid out in front of him, Lucas thought that the combination ofShawn, Maxwell, and Zack might actually work in their favor. With a new highly feasible plan, heagreed to send the two men to the north domain, exclaiming, "Approved! The military situation we arecurrently faced with is urgent. Go back home and say goodbye to your families. Set off as soon aspossible."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
When Franklin and Isabella heard that Zack offered to go to the border to support Shawn in battle, theywere severely shocked. Zack was the only male heir of the Bu Clan, and he was a civil official who hadno background in martial arts or martial affairs. But now, he would be heading for the border to join anovelbin
war! If anything terrible happened to him, the Bu Clan would lose its sole inheritor and would definitelybe facing a desperate situation!
"Do you really have to go there?" Isabella asked, her voice full of worry and hesitation. "Can't yourefuse? The situation over there is very dangerous!"
"Mother, I must go. Prince Matthew is trapped in the Great Jade Kingdom and Shawn is guardingDragon Pass without anyone supporting him. If Emperor Rolando makes an appearance there anddecides to fight, Shawn would definitely not stand a chance against him. I must go there to support himuntil Prince Matthew arrives there," Zack hastily explained as he was packing his belongings. He wasin such a hurry that he did not even have time to raise his head and look at his parents.
"But why you? You are a civil official, Zack, not a military officer!" Isabella pointed out, sounding moreanxious than before.
"Isabella, stop it," Franklin said, trying to stop his wife from having a full-blown panic attack. "Zack maynot be a military officer, but he currently is the suitable person to aid Shawn in the war at Dragon Pass."
"That is not true, Franklin!" Isabella cried out, tears now streaming down her cheeks.
"Emperor Rolando is cunning, nuanced, and tactical. Shawn's plans are too straightforward, I'm afraid.He definitely is no match for someone like Emperor Rolando. If he failed to protect Dragon Pass fromthe oncoming forces, it would be a big problem for Bright Dynasty," Franklin explained, sighing heavily.Slowly, he turned to his son and said, "Zack, please. You must be careful. You must come back to us."
"Father, Mother!" Caroline cried out as she came in. As soon as she heard that Zack had offered to goto the border to fight, she came with her baby. "You can't let Zack go to the north domain! There is awar there!"
"Caroline, don't do this! This is an imperial order!" Zack pleaded. He immediately noticed thatCaroline's face had turned pale, probably because she just learned the news of his departure. He thentook the baby in her arms and explained, "I'm going to the north domain just to help Shawn. I am notgoing to die there, so stop acting like I will!"
"The north domain is now a battlefield, Zack! Please stay! Please stay away from that place!" The BuClan only had one heir, and that was Zack. If he died, the whole Bu Clan would be doomed and wouldhave no hope of flourishing!
"Do you really think I'm that weak?" Zack asked in a helpless tone. "Father, Mother, Caroline, andGeorge, please don't worry about me. I will be fine and I will come back. I promise!"
"My Lord, My Lady, General Maxwell is already outside. He said he's here to pick up Lord Zack," thesteward said as soon as he came in. Isabella's, Franklin's, and Caroline's eyes widened as soon asthey heard this, and they all turned to look at Zack. Their anxiety soared to unimaginable levels, butthey all knew that there was no stopping Zack.
"General Maxwell is here to pick me up. I should leave now," Zack said, in a firm, calm tone. Hepurposefully tried to look calm and collected in order to appease the fears his family was intenselyhaving. "You don't have to worry too much. I'm a civil official, so I will only serve as a militarycounsellor. I'm not going into the battlefield. I will just create tactics and suggest plans of action behindthe scenes. Our kingdom has so many capable soldiers. It would be a pity if they died just because ofwrong directions from their commanders," he said. With that, he gave his family a tight hug and headedout.
As he exited, he saw that Maxwell was riding a majestic horse. "Since this is an emergency mission,we have to ride horses. Carriages are too slow. Is this okay?" he asked.
"There would be no problem on my end," Zack replied. He then mounted his horse gracefully. Aftertaking one last look at his family, he quickly left with Maxwell and his troops.
Isabella tried hard to stop herself from crying her heart out. The moment Zack was out of sight, sheturned around to wipe her tears quietly. Franklin, who looked and acted rationally, also began to tear updue to sadness and worry. While he knew that Zack was the best person to take the job, as his father,he couldn't help but be filled with anxiety about his son's safety.
"He's a grown up, Isabella. He makes his own decisions now. Besides, he's just going to the northdomain to serve as a counsellor and he assured us that he will not be fighting on the battlefield. So let'sstop worrying and have some faith in him, okay?" Franklin said, in a bid to comfort his wife.
"I understand that, Franklin, but I just could not stop myself from worrying about him. The situation onthe battlefield changes every second. No one knows what's going to happen next and that's what I'mafraid of!" she said, continuing to cry hard. In the imperial capital, everything had changed overnight.The once carefree young boys and girls had started to leave their parents to face the oncoming storm,but their parents still weren't ready to let them go.
"Mother, don't worry. He will be fine!" Caroline said firmly. "He will be fine. I trust him!"
"Yes, he will be fine. He will come back to us safe and sound," Isabella repeated to comfort herself aswell. At that moment, she decided to be a vegetarian since that day and to pray for the safety of herson. She also hoped the turmoil would subside as soon as possible.
It was clear to George that the balance that kept the four kingdoms from destroying each other wasabout to be broken. He wanted to work for his country and to fight on the battlefield, but looking at hiswife and son, he knew he couldn't. He then murmured in a defeated tone, "Why can't I be more usefulinstead of being just a civil official?"
Hearing this, Caroline couldn't help but be shocked. She wanted to say something to her husband, butin the end, she elected to stay silent. He was an ambitious man and she knew that she wouldn't beable to stop him if he wanted to do something. But even if she could, she promised herself that shewouldn't.