The Almighty Lord Caspian by Cath Nitfisch

Chapter 731 Withdraw Your Troops "Your Majesty, I've already seized Filren. The new King of Filren, Byron, was so terrified that he fled.

"Likewise, I've defeated Filren's troops until they're nothing but scraps. It's a perfect opportunity for us to take over the country. They're no longer a threat to me," said Caspian.

"I'understand you guys feel fired up and invincible now, but you're not in Diatoranian territory. If I supply you with millions of soldiers, how will all of you survive if something goes wrong?" Balthazar rebuked.

"I've already considered this, Your Majesty. You needn't worry about sending more soldiers now that we've claimed Filren's capital," Caspian

answered.

"What? Are you planning to disobey my orders? Or do you think my ability to judge the situation is inferior to yours?" Balthazar thundered.

Upon sensing the former's seething tone, Caspian quickly explained himself. "I can't possibly compare myself to your almighty presence, Your Majesty. However, you're far away in your royal residence, making you less aware of the situation here." "Caspian!" Balthazar growled. "You're still young and reckless. I can't allow millions of soldiers to risk their lives alongside you.

"I've brought out the royal scepter to summon your return to Dhord City officially. Yet, you haven't done so. Do you plan to disobey me till the very

end?" "Twouldn't dare disobey your orders with my humble status. I merely can't withdraw myself from this war.

"Besides, everything I do is for Diatoran. If I withdraw now, wouldn't the sacrifices of our fallen soldiers be in vain?" Caspian tried to reason with Balthazar.

"Since you claim to be willing to obey me, I want you to withdraw your troops now!" "Your Majesty, withdrawing now would only cause us grave losses. Not to mention, our current campaign won't be as successful," Caspian explained.

"That's enough from you. Quit spewing nonsense. I've considered

every aspect of the situation better than you.

"You're to bring your subordinates back now. Should you continue to resist my commands, I'll declare you a rebel!" Balthazar unequivocally brushed the former off.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Caspian had no choice but to nod upon facing Balthazar's unwavering resolve. He couldn't bear the consequences if he persisted and got branded as a rebel.

Little did he know Jerry had instructed Balthazar to say all those things. That was why Balthazar spoke differently than before.

Caspian found it odd, but it never crossed his mind that Balthazar would be under a spell. After all, most people

found witchcraft unbelievable.

Caspian's expression darkened once the phone call ended. - "What did the king say, Lord Caspian?" Sylvia asked.

"He's determined to have me withdraw," Caspian helplessly said.

Sylvia was dubious. "His Majesty was eager to deploy our troops back then, yet he's now asking us to withdraw? That's too odd." Even Macy was displeased. "Indeed, His Majesty's behaving strangely. It was challenging enough to claim Filren's capital, but all our efforts will be wasted now. What is His Majesty thinking?" "There was an assassination attempt

on His Majesty last night. Now, he's in such a rush that he used the royal scepter to issue an official order, making me withdraw. Something beyond our knowledge must've happened," Caspian stated.

"What do you mean, Lord Caspian?" asked a confused Macy.

Caspian shook his head. "I can't quite explain what's going on either. I just have some suspicions." ""'Should we withdraw, then?" Macy asked.

"The king is already furious. If we don't, he'll declare my insubordination as traitorous behavior. I can't do anything about this." Although Caspian didn't want to withdraw, he had no choice.

Sorrow struck Sylvia, Macy, and the others when they heard that.

Caspian suffered the most. He sighed deeply and exclaimed, "Millions of our soldiers fought hard to get us this far.

Alas, it seems like their efforts will all be in vain!" He had never experienced such a dilemma before.

Even when enemies surrounded Diatoran before, Caspian had never been in such a difficult position.

His soldiers had sacrificed their lives, and they'd given their everything to capture the capital of Filren. All of that was for naught because they now had to withdraw.

They would undoubtedly defeat Filren for good if they stayed.

Sadly, everything was about to crumble to nothing.

"Lord Caspian, we don't want to witness such a miserable outcome either. However, His Majesty has already given official orders. We can't defy him," Macy consoled Caspian.

"Yeah. We're only withdrawing for now. We'll be eventually back," Sylvia chimed in.

"Lord Caspian, we're already victorious. Filren wouldn't dare harbor any ill intent toward us anymore.

They'll take our current battle as a lesson," Ylra explained.

Immediately after that, Sylvia and Macy began issuing orders to withdraw.

The armored soldiers and Phoenix

Vanguard were guarding the city. They were confused when they received that order. Regardless, they obeyed and evacuated Filren's capital in an orderly fashion.

At that point, Filren's reinforcement troops had fled near the capital.

Caspian didn't plan on avoiding these people. He instructed his soldiers to beat up Filren's troops. His soldiers had to beat those troops to pulps even if they were retreating.

The reinforcement troops that fled back to the capital never thought Caspian's army would withdraw. They were already afraid of getting beaten up, so they didn't have the will to keep fighting.

"Everyone, charge! Defeat every one of these people!" Caspian instantly

ordered.

The armored soldiers and Phoenix Vanguard fired right away. i Those fleeing enemy troops were already terrified after getting beaten up. They didn't dare continue the fight, so they fled in all directions and didn't plan on fighting back.

At that point, Caspian no longer asked his subordinates to chase after the enemy troops. His army needed to return to Diatoran as soon as possible.

So, he led the armored soldiers, Phoenix Vanguard, and the million elite soldiers away.

Many were shocked at Caspian's sudden withdrawal despite staking claim over Filren's capital. No one

knew why Balthazar would give such orders.

Even the Filrenians were confused.

Byron had long escaped. He sighed deeply in relief once he learned Caspian's troops had withdrawn. Byron assumed Filren was doomed, but he never imagined Caspian would withdraw then.

Many of Filren's higher-ups felt they should deploy their troops to pursue Caspian's army at this moment.

Even so, Byron wasn't confident and feared it was a trap. He found the entire thing odd, so he dared not act recklessly.

The other War Gods of Diatoran were also baffled when they heard about

Balthazar's orders.

They were all War Gods and knew the situation was ideal. They felt Caspian should've continued attacking. His sudden withdrawal would undoubtedly lower their soldiers' morale.

The four other War Gods wanted to ask Balthazar why he made Caspian withdraw at such a crucial moment.

After all, Balthazar agreed to battle Filren during their first strategy meeting. His actions now were oddly contradictory.

Each of the War Gods received almost identical replies from Balthazar.

Since Balthazar was under Jerry's control, he dodged the four War Gods' questions. He insisted on Caspian's withdrawal without explaining why.

The War Gods couldn't fathom why he'd do that.

Caspian soon returned to the West Aridlands War Zone with his troops.