At daybreak, Betelune Port had become a sea of flames. Apart from scattered pockets of resistance, everyone else in the city had been permanently laid to rest amid the fires of war.
"The decoys we set up won't fool the enemy for long. They'll soon discover our true objective. Pass down the order: have the men destroy the port as quickly as possible, then withdraw immediately!"
Duke Daniel spoke with a grave expression.
The fact that he had personally led the operation made it clear that the true target of this surprise attack was Betelune Port. Launching raids in multiple locations at once had mainly been intended to distract the enemy.
As commander of the army, he had to consider not only carrying out the strategic surprise attack, but also the army's withdrawal.
A deep raid behind enemy lines was already fraught with danger. Once the enemy discovered their destination, even if they completed the raid, they could forget about retreating unscathed.
War was inherently contrary to human nature. The more impossible something seemed, the more likely it was to become the key factor that determined victory or defeat on the battlefield.
Launching simultaneous attacks on more than ten fortresses was nearly impossible from a military standpoint. A mistake at any stage could have caused devastating losses, yet Duke Daniel had done it anyway.
Aside from Betelune Port, which had to be taken, the rest were merely incidental targets. It was best if they could be captured, but it did not matter if they could not.
From the moment the plan was made, the various armies had been assigned a single role—feint attacks. Using the main army's siege as cover, they would send a small number of experts into the cities to burn the enemy's grain and supplies.
There were