After hearing Sean's words, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel immediately seemed to grasp the idea and probed, "Sean, you mean... using that previous attack..." Seeing the smile on Sean's face after he spoke, he pondered briefly before asking, "Tell me what you have in mind."
"My lord, you are correct. We can indeed make use of the water bandits' attack..." Sean smiled as he confirmed Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's words, then looked at Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and the others with confidence. He continued, "My lord, suppose their attack succeeds. What will the leader of the Water Bandit Group do next?"
"Stall for time..." Sean stated with certainty, as though speaking to himself. Then, as if elaborating on his previous words, he said, "Delay until the Garrison runs out of provisions and has no choice but to retreat..."
Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and Major Sunny could not help nodding in agreement with Sean. Sean continued, "We now know that the Water Bandit Group still has more than four hundred bandits. With such strength, they have no chance whatsoever of facing the Garrison head-on. Whether in troop numbers, weapons and equipment, or actual combat power, they are completely outmatched. Their only advantage is their familiarity with the swamp's complex terrain. They can use the terrain and constant harassment to wear down the Garrison until its supplies are exhausted."
After hearing Sean's words, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's eyes gradually brightened. He hesitantly began, "You mean..."
"Yes, my lord. We need to actively split their forces and create favorable conditions for a surprise attack on their camp and the rescue of the trapped Noble Cadets." Before Lieutenant Colonel Merkel could finish, Sean smiled and affirmed his thought.
"Hmm... Tell us the specific plan." Lieutenant Colonel Merkel felt a trace of embarrassment, but naturally concealed it.
"Very well, my lord. First, we must do everything possible to prevent the water bandits who fled during the previous attack from returning to their camp." Sean smiled and nodded at Lieutenant Colonel Merkel before continuing, "At the very least, we must delay their return by no less than three days. Otherwise, no matter how convincingly we pretend our provisions are running low, the water bandit leader will immediately know that the grain raid he arranged has failed."
"To achieve this, I suggest sealing off the swamp between the attack site and the Water Bandit Group's camp. Increase patrols. Even if we fail to capture the bandits who escaped earlier, we must force them to take a wide detour and spend several extra days returning."
Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and the others immediately nodded in approval after hearing Sean's words, then stared straight at him.
"As for how to let the leader of the Water Bandit Group know... no, make him believe that we are short on food?" Sean chose his words carefully. After speaking, he looked at Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and the others and saw a hint of uncertainty in their eyes. He hesitated slightly before saying, "Besides putting on an anxious front, we can arrange a few performances for the water bandit scouts to see. As for..."
"A performance? How?" Lieutenant Colonel Merkel immediately interrupted and pressed for details.
"My lord, we already know the locations of the sentry posts around the Water Bandit Camp. We can deliberately have the searching soldiers approach those posts and loudly complain about things like, 'We're not getting enough to eat,' or, 'In a few days, we can return to the city,' while making our blockade of the attack site obvious." Sean gestured as he spoke, half explaining and half improvising.
Once Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and the others showed thoughtful expressions, Sean continued, "If we carry this out alongside the anxious appearance I mentioned earlier, the water bandit leader will be left half-believing and half-doubting. It may not make him fully believe us, but it will be enough to hold them in place for several days. At the very least, they will not immediately abandon everything and flee deeper into the swamp... As for using a double agent... I'm afraid Vinson might reveal a flaw... and ruin everything..." Sean analyzed the matter calmly, but hesitation appeared on his face when he mentioned using an agent.
The four people present all understood that if the Water Bandit Group abandoned its camp and vanished into the vast swamp with its food supplies and hostages, then with only twelve hundred soldiers, finding the Water Bandit Group again in the Southern Wilderness Great Swamp, which covered more than three thousand square kilometers, would be like looking for a needle in a haystack...
If things ultimately developed in that direction, they would have no choice but to accept the judgment that they had been incompetent—unable to rescue the hostages or destroy the Water Bandit Group.
The Water Bandit Group had existed in the Southern Wilderness Great Swamp for many years and understood the entire swamp far better than the Garrison's soldiers. Unless they were surrounded in some dead end, even if many people were sent to track them, they would easily shake them off.
"Mm... We'll do as you say. As for using a double agent... that does require careful consideration." After weighing the matter over and over in his mind, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel finally agreed to Sean's suggestion. Then he immediately asked Sean how he intended to split the enemy's forces.
"My lord, since we know the exact location of the Water Bandit Camp, we can pretend to send troops to slowly search in that direction. Tell me, when the water bandit leader learns that troops are slowly searching toward his camp, what choice will he make?" Sean analyzed the situation with a smile before turning the question back on everyone.
"If the force we send is too large, I'm afraid... they will flee immediately. But if there are too few men, then they will be..." Lieutenant Colonel Merkel muttered to himself after hearing Sean's question. Suddenly, a sharp glint appeared in his eyes as he looked at Sean. Smiling, he said, "Sean, you mean neither too many nor too few—enough that they cannot swallow them, but not enough to frighten them into fleeing immediately."
"My lord is truly wise..." Sean flattered him with a grin. Under Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's irritated gaze, he continued, "My personal recommendation is... one company at a time. A hundred soldiers should be enough."
Lieutenant Colonel Merkel gave a soft grunt of approval through his nose. Sean continued, "A company of soldiers is not something the entire Water Bandit Group can wipe out in a short time with a few quick blows. Therefore, in order to keep their camp's location from being exposed, I believe the water bandit leader will have only one option: find a way to lure away the searching soldiers. Then how many water bandits will he send to draw away a company of soldiers?"
Without waiting for an answer, Sean immediately smiled and said, "To reliably draw away a company of soldiers, the bandits they send must likewise be neither too many nor too few. I think there should be at least sixty or seventy."
After gaining Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and the others' agreement, Sean continued, "After doing this two or three times, the number of water bandits remaining in the camp will be greatly reduced. Accounting for those on guard duty, changing shifts, and scouting outside, there should be only around a hundred left in the camp. That will be the best chance to organize elite soldiers for a surprise raid on the camp and rescue the kidnapped nobles."
"My lord, why not lure the water bandits into splitting their forces from the beginning?" Sergeant Jason, who had been listening from the side, suddenly asked. Very quickly, he felt Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's gaze become extremely stern, as though the man were calling him an idiot. It made him very nervous...
"Jason, what we have been discussing all along is how to dispel the Water Bandit Group's idea of fleeing without a fight. Only after they see hope of victory will they actively act in the direction we want." Sean smiled as he summarized his earlier words, while also helping Jason out of his awkward predicament.
After a pause, Sean continued with a smile, "Without the earlier steps, the Water Bandit Group would turn and flee the moment the search parties showed any sign of approaching."
"Ah... I was thinking too simply. Thank you, my lord..." Sergeant Jason was not especially clever, but he was quite adept at dealing with people. After speaking, he immediately realized he had likely said something foolish. Just as he was worrying over how to smooth things over, Sean spoke up to help him. Naturally, he immediately put on a humble, teachable expression and respectfully thanked Sean.
Sean smiled at Jason, then continued to Lieutenant Colonel Merkel, "My lord, we can set up an encirclement in advance and wait to launch our attack on the Water Bandit Camp. According to Vinson, the hostages are being held on the edge of the camp, far from the Water Bandit Group's Granary. We can first send men to secretly infiltrate the outskirts of the camp. When the night is quiet, they can set fire to the Granary and create chaos. That will draw the attention of the vast majority of the water bandits still in the camp, making it easier for us to directly rescue the hostages and withdraw quickly..."
"Haha, good! Very good, Sean." The moment Sean finished speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel immediately realized that Sean's plan had a strong chance of succeeding. He could not help laughing as he praised him.
"Sir, the fire in the Granary at night can also serve as the signal to launch the general assault..." After humbly demurring several times, Sean smiled and reminded him. His words immediately made Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and Major Sunny laugh happily.
Afterward, the three of them spoke in turn, refining certain details based on Sean's plan. They unanimously agreed that the plan should be carried out within three to four days if possible. This would prevent unforeseen complications, since the longer they waited, the more likely the water bandits would see through their deception and cause the entire plan to fail.
Finally, they discussed the selection of the elite squad responsible for breaking in to rescue the hostages and create chaos. After repeated discussion, they settled on roughly twenty to thirty men, chosen from the finest soldiers in the entire army.
When the discussion turned to who would lead them, Sean considered it carefully. Then, under Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's expectant gaze, he took the initiative to propose that he personally lead the group.
Once all discussions had concluded, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel immediately ordered Sergeant Jason to relay his order to seal off the area between the attack site and the Water Bandit Camp. He then had Major Sunny select reliable soldiers to subtly leak news of the army's food shortage to the Water Bandit Group.
Sean, meanwhile, obtained Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's permission to give the soldiers participating in the infiltration mission some basic training. He then bid Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and Major Sunny farewell. After leaving the Command Tent, Sean returned to his own tent.
Watching Sean leave, Major Sunny said to Lieutenant Colonel Merkel with heartfelt admiration, "What an extraordinary young man. What had seemed like a very troublesome matter became immediately clear after listening to his simple analysis."
After savoring Sean's manner and tone from earlier, he continued with a smile, "My old friend, you originally told me that he possessed knightly talent so terrifying it was almost unbelievable. Now he has displayed such meticulous thinking as well... Congratulations."
Lieutenant Colonel Merkel did not answer his old friend Major Sunny. Even he had to admit that once he understood Sean's design, the first feelings that flashed through his heart were jealousy and fear—the terrifying knightly talent Major Sunny had mentioned, and the chillingly meticulous mind.
He had to admit that Sean was a genius capable of making others despair. Fortunately, their ages and seniority were far apart, making it impossible for them to become rivals. Besides, whether it was the great figures of the Imperial Capital or himself, they had always dealt with Sean with the intention of supporting him and forging ties early on. Thinking of this, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel could not help smiling happily.
Of course, his earlier hint that Sean should take on the infiltration mission had merely been a final test. After all, in any world, there were people who sounded invincible when talking, but were full of holes when acting and ultimately accomplished nothing.
Lieutenant Colonel Merkel was very satisfied with his arrangements and waited to see what sort of answer Sean would deliver.
Before you continue