Her Graceful War Song



Chapter 900

Barrett fell into thought, his mind wandering back to past events.

"It was my idea to burn the supply depot in Fawnrun City. At the time, Westhaven had already suffered several defeats in a row, and it looked like they were about to retreat.

"General Shane said that our battles with Westhaven have always been sporadic skirmishes. But when it comes to real fighting, both sides tend to hold back. So, when Westhaven retreated, we grew complacent. We didn't expect them to launch such a fierce offensive. It was during that battle that General Dominic was injured..."

"No," Carissa interrupted him once more. "When you first arrived at Victory Pass, my third uncle lost an arm in the chaos of war, proving that the battle was already intense. If both sides were holding back, there wouldn't have been a need for your reinforcements."

Barrett explained, "The fighting had always been somewhat restrained. The reason it suddenly escalated was because Marshal Liam pulled back from the frontlines, replacing himself with his brother, Marshal Leroy, who's much more ruthless and fierce. He changed tactics completely because he wanted to push us back and draw a new borderline.

"At the time, the situation at the Southern Frontier was critical. Troops were dispatched from Victory Pass, which left an opening for Leroy to exploit. That's when His Majesty sent me to Victory Pass with reinforcements. This is all on record."

Carissa knew this already. She looked at Barrett and asked, "So, when you thought Westhaven was retreating, was it because Marshal Liam had returned to command the battle?"

"Yes," Barrett replied, recalling the discussions he'd had in the command tent with Dominic and the others. "At the time, Uncle Shan... I mean, General Shane, said Marshal Liam's tactics were always like this-he didn't want a full- scale war or to sacrifice too many lives. Since we hadn't lost anything, we figured we could just hold our ground. But then, Marshal Leroy suddenly replaced Marshal Liam. They launched a vicious attack, catching us completely off guard."

Carissa listened carefully, analyzing everything he said. She pieced together that when Leroy took command, it likely meant that Liam had gone back to try to prevent the then Westhaven crown prince, Arthur, from going to the battlefield. By that time, Westhaven's king should have already fallen seriously ill.

If Arthur had stayed to stabilize the political situation, it would have been far safer. Instead, he went to the battlefield, which was a risky move.

Once Liam left, Leroy, as the temporary marshal, launched a brutal offensive. When Liam returned, Arthur showed up in Fawnrun City. It was clear that Liam hadn't been able to stop him, and the war had escalated. This conflict would undoubtedly have been reported back to Westhaven.

Liam hadn't wanted to escalate the war while the old king's condition worsened, fearing a prolonged conflict. So, after his return, he had ordered a temporary ceasefire.

But by then, Dominic had already been injured.

Leroy clearly didn't want to halt the fighting at such a critical juncture. If he were more self-serving, he might have sent Liam away and continued fighting with Starhaven.

That was, in fact, what happened. After Liam disappeared, Leroy ordered the attack to continue.

Barrett went on, "Westhaven's relentless siege continued, and General Dominic was injured. Everyone was scrambling to figure out how to slow things down so he could recover. He had been hit by an arrow; it nearly cost him his life. That's when I proposed leading a small force into Fawnrun City to burn Westhaven's supply depot. Without their supplies, we would at least buy ourselves another two weeks."Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

"And while you were sneaking into Fawnrun City, Marshal Liam had already returned to the battlefield?" Carissa asked.

"That's right, but we didn't find out until later." Barrett wasn't surprised Carissa knew that. "When I took the troops into Fawnrun City, Marshal Leroy was still commanding the battle."

"How many days did it take you to enter Fawnrun City?" Carissa asked.

"About seven days," Barrett replied.

"Then, why did you and Aurora separate? Wasn't the plan to burn the supply depot?'

"The supply depot was heavily guarded, but we were also worried about running into an ambush. Getting into Westhaven's territory was risky, so I had her lead a team to scout the area...

Under Carissa's intense gaze, Barrett felt like he was being stripped bare.

After a brief silence, he finally confessed, "I did want to protect her by doing that, but I was also thinking about the bigger picture. If I failed, she could still complete the mission. I never expected her to massacre the villagers. had no idea."

"So, you had no idea, which means when you reported back, you couldn't have mentioned it to General Dominic," Carissa said.

"Exactly. If I didn't know about it, how could I have told him?"

Carissa processed his words, replaying them in her mind before asking again, "As the commanding officer leading the troops to Fawnrun City, you truly didn't know what Aurora did?"

Barrett met her gaze without flinching. "I didn't know, but that doesn't matter, Commander Sinclair."

Carissa stood up. "Thank you for telling me. It may not matter to you, but it matters to me."