Valgard's hands trembled as he stared at the battle report before him in disbelief.
Delin City had fallen, the army's route of retreat had been cut off, and a third of Delin Province had fallen into enemy hands.
At that moment, only two paths lay before him.
The first was to lead his army against the approaching heretic forces, defeat them, then reclaim the lost territory of Delin Province on the strength of a great victory.
The second was to turn back now and retake Delin City before the enemy could secure its foothold.
Whichever he chose, however, he risked being attacked from behind.
Seated before a low table, Valgard pondered for a long time before finally choosing the second path.
The heretic army approaching from East Luoyan Province numbered over two hundred thousand. Though he commanded four hundred thousand troops, most were garrison troops drawn from local forces, so their actual fighting strength was considerably lower.
As for the enemy in Delin City, they had come through the deep mountains and could number no more than twenty or thirty thousand. If he attacked relentlessly, day and night, he would surely reclaim the lost ground.
Having made his decision, Valgard issued several military orders in succession.
A detached force of roughly sixty thousand men was left behind to maintain the appearance that the main army was still in camp.
The remaining army of over three hundred thousand split into several forces and withdrew in different directions.
To prevent the enemy from learning of the withdrawal, the army massacred every town it passed through while replenishing its supplies.
It was not until three days later, inside the Ninth Legion's command tent on the East Luoyan Plain, that Doxius looked at the intelligence submitted to him and immediately realized he might have