Masked Knight

Chapter 301: A Defeated General (2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Tiger sternly replied, "Yes. Your words are very logical! I feel that there would be a great change on the Roland Continent. Otherwise, His Majesty would not be so anxious to get us back in exchange for eight hundred warships."

Rody nodded. "This time, you have returned to your country. I am sure His Majesty will certainly need you in an important position. There is still a need for your abilities."

Tiger shook his head and replied, "Although I am a soldier, I am not a war maniac. If war can be avoided, it should be avoided. Once a war starts, there would be countless casualties."

Rody was filled with deep respect. He praised him, "You truly have a noble mindset."

Tiger smiled wryly for a moment then looked around with a hesitant expression before whispering, "Earl. If I am not wrong, His Majesty is anxious to get us back to prepare and fight against the Temple! You must also know this…but from your point of view, do you think we can win?"

Rody burst out laughing and he replied, "General Tiger, isn’t it unsuitable to ask me such questions?"

Tiger faintly smiled and said, "There is nothing unsuitable about it. Either way, we all already know this in our hearts. I also have such thoughts in my heart. However, the Sauron Kingdom lacks talent. It is rare to encounter a person proficient in military affairs like you, which is why I had no other option but to ask for your opinion."

Rody felt moved, causing him to smile. "General Tiger, I suppose His Majesty is the one who ordered you to ask me this?"

"That’s right!" Unexpectedly, Tiger did not deny it. "I do not understand His Majesty’s intentions for him to want me to ask you about this. He seems to place a lot of importance in your opinion. I was initially puzzled but after talking with you, I found that you really have extraordinary views about these things. If it is said that looking for you was an order from His Majesty, asking you these questions would be entirely out of my personal respect for you."

Rody squinted at Tiger for a while.

Rody did not have a good opinion of the King. It was obvious that the King wanted to make use of him one last time before his departure. However, he had a good opinion of General Tiger. This person dared to speak and act without any pretense. He was the kind of person Rody admired.

Rody thought for a moment and sighed. 'Forget it. Let’s be considerate to Tiger and not make things difficult for him.'

"General Tiger, if you really must listen to my opinion…" Rody sternly said, "to tell you the truth, I believe that you all may not win against the Temple even after uniting the dozen kingdoms on the Roland Continent!"

"Oh?" Tiger simply raised his eyebrows, but he did not seem too surprised.

Rody nodded and continued, "To make things clearer, the problem is the quality of the troops! I admit that if the dozen kingdoms were to unite, you would have the advantage in numbers! The knights of the Temple would only number about two hundred thousand no matter how they expand. On the other hand, it would not be too difficult for the other kingdoms to desperately gather together a million soldiers. However, the troops’ combat effectiveness does not lie in numbers. It depends on the quality of the troops!"

"That’s right!" Tiger sighed. "If we only compare numbers, we would not have lost to you. I learned later that your Lightning God’s Whip had only been reorganized before the war. The Central Cavalry only had fifty thousand soldiers active on the battlefield. However, those fifty thousand soldiers, along with the Northern Legion, had bested our army of eight hundred thousand!"

"Yes. The Holy Knights would also not lose to our Lightning God’s Whip. More importantly…" Rody thought for a moment then said, "It is also the aspiration of the people. The Temple has ruled the Roland Continent for too long. It does not matter whether it is the nobles or the commoners. Everyone has faith in the Temple. Even if the King declares war, it is difficult to say which side the public will support. I suspect that when the war starts, the rearguard will have an insurrection before the frontlines can even retreat."

"Yes." Tiger’s expression seemed gloomy. "This is also one of my concerns. The Temple has already won the hearts of the people through religion! If we do not win the hearts of the people during a war, it would become very terrifying."

Rody smiled and said, "It is not impossible to defeat the Temple. But…"

Tiger raised his eyebrow and sternly asked, "But what? If you have any misgiving, just say it out."

Rody smiled as he looked at Tiger. He slowly said, "I am afraid that once I say this, you would think I have selfish motives."

Tiger immediately replied angrily. "Don’t say that. I am also not a fool. If you propose a plan that would be harmful to me, I would be able to spot it!"

Rody gave a shallow smile. His smile then became stern as he said, "My method is to delay for time!"

"Delay?"

"Yes!" Rody’s eyes flashed. "Delay it! The longer the war is fought, the better! The best is to fight the war for three to five years, or even longer. Maybe even eight to ten years!"

"What?" Tiger finally showed a surprised expression. "Fight for eight to ten years? Do you know how much damage that would cause the Roland Continent?"

He fiercely glared at Rody in anger.

"I know!" Rody coldly replied, "The longer the war is dragged on, the more people will die. The Roland Continent would lose its vitality…"

"You know that, and you still gave me such a proposal?" Tiger squinted his eyes and coldly said, "Do you people of the Radiant Empire want us to destroy ourselves before sending over the Lightning God’s Whip?"

"Hahaha…" Rody burst out laughing. His laughter was filled with awe, making Tiger’s heart turn cold.

"General Tiger. I already said this earlier that you may not be able to take my advice. In that case, I will just keep quiet."

Tiger revealed a complicated expression. He hesitated for a moment before he bowed sternly. "I was too impatient. Please continue."

Rody coldly looked at Tiger and asked, "Didn’t you doubt my motives?"

Tiger replied, "I do! But I am thinking there must be more to it!"

There was a pause. The Sauron Kingdom’s number one commander continued, "From our discussion earlier, I can see that you have extraordinary talent. Even if you wanted to scheme against us, you would not say something that we can so easily see through. That is why I believe that you must have a deeper reason!"

Rody narrowed his eyes as he looked at Tiger. A sudden feeling surged in his heart. ‘If…if the Roland Coalition Army was not disunited during the war and had a centralized command, it would not be easy to defeat this person!'

Rody finally looked at him normally and said, "Alright…General Tiger, you must have analyzed the war between your country and the Temple. In your opinion, what weakness does the Temple have that could be utilized?"

"This…" Tiger hesitated for a moment and said, "I think the biggest weakness of the Temple is that the number of soldiers they have is too few. Although the Holy Knights are strong, if we take advantage of our superior numbers and slowly deplete them…"

"Hahaha…" Rody deliberately laughed coldly and pretended to be dissatisfied. "You are lying to me! I do not believe the number one Commander, General Tiger, to only have so little knowledge!"

Tiger turned red and gritted his teeth. "I…Fine. In my opinion, the Temple lacks foundation."

"Oh?" Rody was slightly surprised. He did not expect the man who was a pure soldier to also see that fact.

The Temple has ruled the Roland Continent for thousands of years! Its history was longer than many of the other small kingdoms. However, Tiger had just said the Temple lacked ‘foundation’.

Rody sighed. "I did not expect you to think of this as well."

Rody paused for a while. Since he decided not to beat around the bush any longer, he said, "If you want my opinion, I will speak freely."

Tiger nodded and looked around. He then pulled Rody to the edge of the pond and sat down.

Rody pondered for a moment before he spoke.

"Although the Temple is extremely influential in the Roland continent, it has a fatal weakness! It does not have its own territory! Even the weakest kingdom in the Roland Continent has its own territory, its own people, and its own farmland. However, the Temple does not have these!

"In other words, the Temple rules the Roland Continent by prestige. It relies on the tribute and taxes of the different kingdoms and the people.

"You also know that war costs money! Without land, there would be no land tax! Their Holy Knights are elites. However, as elites, their expenses are also frightening…

"At the beginning of the war, the Temple may have a lot of money to spend. However, it is impossible for them to keep using it forever. Besides that, the other kingdoms on the Roland Continent should also be financially more powerful than the Temple. The Temple may be able to win with their strong army at the start. However, if you were to guide the army steadily and keep delaying your opponent, the Temple would not be able to keep holding out!

"Once the war has started, the other nations will no longer give tax revenue to the Temple. Without tax money, the Temple will be like a large tree without roots.

"Why does the Temple have the aspiration of the people right now? I believe the worship of the Gods and even the blessings are all fake! Do you know this? According to my understanding, at present, a common family of the Roland Continent pays forty percent of their earnings as a tax to the kingdom. They must then give twenty percent to the Temple as the religious tax. The remaining money is their own. In fact, the ordinary people did not think too much. The Temple’s taxes are low while the kingdom’s taxes are high. That is why they felt that the Temple was better than the Kingdom.

"If it were me, I would immediately lower the taxes in the kingdom just before the start of the war! I would lower it down to an outrageous level! When the war starts, it would be inevitable for you to lose territory in the beginning. However, in order to receive funds, the Temple would definitely start to ask for tax money. This way, no matter how much taxes they ask for, they would inevitably lose popularity! Based on my conjecture, the Temple’s resources for fighting the rest of the continent could last for half a year. When it is exhausted, more taxes would be the inevitable outcome. As a result, the taxes levied will be bound to be higher than the kingdom because it would not be enough if it was low! People will then stop supporting the Temple!"

"But…"

Rody smiled and said, "People are selfish! If you were to ask an average person to pay twenty percent of their annual income as tax to worship the Temple, they may be able to accept. However, if you told them to pay half or more of their income, most people would not want to. For the sake of having a meal and staying alive, faith and religion are not worth mentioning!"

Rody then laughed very hard. "I know there are some religious fanatics that would donate all of their property. However, those kinds of lunatics are a minority. Having one of such lunatics out of every thousand people can already be considered good! Most, or rather, the vast majority of people are all ordinary people. As a result, this would become much simpler. The Temple would lose the popular feelings of the people. As long as you persevere for a long time, the final victory would be possible!

"The important thing to take note of is—the Temple only has two hundred thousand Holy Knights. Their only solution is to hope that they are able to rout your main force as soon as possible in a large campaign. That is why you should just give up some territory and avoid confrontation. If the Temple wants to occupy those territories, they would need to divide their forces to handle it. This would make them slightly weaker. You do not need to worry about military strength. Although the territories have been occupied, once they divide their forces, it can be taken back. The defenders in that small area would probably not be able to resist even if they were elite Holy Knights. In short, the objective is so that they are not able to collect the taxes so easily!"

Rody sighed. "In fact, the most difficult part of this approach is the early phase of the war! The guys at the Temple are not all fools. Some people will have thought of this and will inevitably find ways to end the war as quickly as possible. That is why the pressure will be immense at the start of the war. That is why persevering is the only way! If…if you can prevent yourself from being defeated for two years, things will start to improve!"

Tiger took a deep breath. He looked as though he was trying hard to digest Rody’s words. He then smiled wryly and said, "You are saying to reduce taxes during the early days of the war for the people. But our large army will also need money to support…"

Rody sneered. "With a dozen kingdoms, the Roland Continent’s financial resources would definitely be able to hold out longer than the Temple! If the time comes when the finances are not enough, there is still the Dwarven Kingdom! Those guys are not of the Roland Continent! You can easily impose high taxes there! The dwarves are also not your own soldiers and they are separated by the sea! Do you think the Temple can attack the dwarves? On top of that, the dwarves had been trading ironwood for hundreds of years. They are very rich!"

Rody paused for a while. He then cautiously said, "Even if you still require assistance in the end…Our Radiant Empire can consider lending financial support. Of course, we will not send soldiers to ensure our position and to prevent your side from getting restless!"

Tiger laughed bitterly. "This plan is too weird…But now that I think about it, this is the only way. But, I am not proficient in finance..."

Rody harshly rebutted, "The Roland Continent has so many kingdoms and nobles. Each family has many servants and are extremely wealthy. If you really lack money and provisions you can just threaten the nobles. I am sure the King has confiscated property before!"

Tiger, terrified of such a proposal, blurted out without thinking, "This cannot be done…"

Rody calmly replied, "These are dangerous times. Everything can change. If you cannot comprehend this truth, the King may be able to comprehend it!"

Tiger had a cloudy expression and seemingly hesitated. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Earl, I would like to first thank you for your advice! Although I have reservations about your idea, I will certainly convey this to His Majesty…Also…"

Tiger seemed to have finally made up his mind and then said, "I fully admire you. Is the Earl interested in staying on the Roland Continent and helping me? I promise to persuade His Majesty to give you the best treatment…I think…"

Rody faintly smiled. Tiger did not know his identity, but the King did. He straightaway refused though Tiger also did not give up. He even thought of an alliance and invited Rody to help him as an advisor. However, this was also rejected by Rody.

Finally, the commander of the Sauron Kingdom sighed and slowly said, "I did not expect the Radiant Empire’s Duke of the Tulip Family to have so many talented people under his command. Although I did not personally witness the Duke’s strength, today’s discussion made me gasp in admiration."

He paused for a while and sighed. "Looks like I will never have a chance of a repeat battle with the Duke! I am fully convinced of the strength of your country’s strong army and abundance of talented people!"

The man finally bowed to Rody then walked away with his chest held up straight.

Rody sighed in relief. He was about to turn back to the hall when he heard Nedis’ voice next to him.

Nedis laughed in a sharp voice. "Wonderful, Rody! I did not expect you to be so sinister as to give them such a plan! If the Roland people listen to your lies, even if they win the war, they will only be able to recover after a hundred years!"