Chapter 97: Sakaki's Three-Pronged Plan
On the way back, Alan looked down at the red headband. It was a Focus Band. He tucked it away and used Extreme Speed to rush back to the Johto region.
When he arrived at the palace, Liz was not at dinner. He found her in the study, frowning over several letters.
"What's wrong?"
"Alan, welcome back. The situation on the front line isn't good," she said, holding up the letters. A few days ago, she had sent scouting parties to the Silver Mountain Road, the main pass connecting Johto and Kanto, only for them to encounter teams from the Earth Kingdom already stationed there.
"What surprises me is... the Earth Kingdom seems very eager to start a war with us."
A question mark appeared over Alan's head. The Earth Kingdom was still recovering from internal conflicts; it made no sense for them to initiate a war now. If he were King Sakaki, he would stall for as long as possible.
"However, this is exactly what I want," Liz said, her voice firm. "If they want to start a war now, we should seize this opportunity."
'I feel a bit uneasy,' Alan thought. 'Sakaki is no idiot. He must have some hidden confidence. I plan to go to the front line to take a look.'
On the other side, in the Earth Kingdom's Royal Capital, King Sakaki's four great generals were gathered.
There was Ares, the God of War, a mountain of a man and the strongest of the four. Hephaestus, the God of Fire, a red-haired young man with a warlike temperament. Hermes, the God of Commerce, a clever strategist and businessman. And Artemis, the God of the Hunt, a lithe woman with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
"Artemis, how is the mountain road construction going?" Sakaki asked from his throne.
"My King, the road can be cleared in at most another week."
"Ares, take your team and help her. Clear it within three days," Sakaki commanded. "Any later, and that Johto Queen might notice something is wrong."
"Hermes, how is the aerial unit?"
"Ready to depart at any time."
"Very good," Sakaki nodded. "That unit is the most important part of our operation."
"As expected, my King," Hermes said with a sly smile. "You guessed that the Queen would be in a hurry to start a war. When it begins, our aerial unit will bypass the battlefield and directly attack her capital, taking the Dragon Tamer Clan and her citizens as hostages. With her personality, she will surely be thrown into disarray."
Sakaki was ruthless. He knew he couldn't win a direct confrontation. Victory required a more treacherous path. His plan was a three-pronged attack.
First, a frontal unit would act as bait, luring the Royal Dragon army deep into the vast Viridian Forest.
Second, another unit would use a secret tunnel they had spent two years and thousands of lives digging through Mt. Silver. They would emerge behind the Royal Dragon army, cutting off their retreat and any reinforcements.
Finally, the flying unit, led by his own prized Beedrill, would bypass the entire conflict by flying over the sea. They would descend upon the defenseless Royal Capital, capture everyone, and end the war in a single stroke.
"Three-pronged attack. Let's see how they parry," Sakaki grinned. "Mobilize the entire army. We will decide the outcome in one go!"
"Yes!" the generals roared.
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