Guerrilla Tactics Deployed (Part 2)

Standing up, Montedoss first organized his thoughts, carefully crafting his words and preparing his speech before speaking, "Kelsu, we encountered two ambushes during our journey to the Western Continent Western Continent to transport supplies. The first attack occurred en route, but they only made brief contact with us before retreating immediately, so our ambush was ineffective."

"At first I thought they were afraid of our strength and that's why they retreated. But when you sent someone to inform us that the main camp had been attacked and that we needed to recall the covering troops, I realized that the previous attack was actually a test of our troop deployment, in order to render our arrangements ineffective so that they could take advantage of the chaos."

"Therefore, upon our arrival in the Western Continent, I immediately reported this situation to Lord Olibuk. Upon receiving the news, Lord Olibuk promptly transferred his own guards to replace the original members of the supply convoy. Following that, Lord Olibuk contacted Lord Shideweig, and after discussing the matter, the two lords selected a group of powerful warriors from various secret realms to form a new cover force."

"To be on the safe side, Olibuk even gave our supply convoy a batch of laxatives disguised as grain, so that we would go ahead to attract the enemy's attention, while the real grain was hidden in the center of the covering force, guarded by heavy troops all around."

Upon hearing this, Kelsu turned around abruptly and asked in bewilderment, "If Olibuk's arrangements were so meticulous, how did you manage to have half of your food supplies destroyed and so many soldiers lost by the enemy?"

"Us..."

Just as Montedoss was about to recount what happened next, Goodpes interrupted, saying, "Kelsu, we should settle the wounded and store the rations that have been brought back first, and then discuss the details of the attack. Otherwise, I'm afraid something else might happen!"

Seeing that Goodpes's gaze was intentionally or unintentionally sweeping towards the opposite camp, Kelsu instantly guessed his old friend's concerns. Although he himself felt that the other party would not dare to attack his camp rashly, Kelsu still agreed to Goodpes's suggestion for the sake of safety.

"Well... in that case, Delsd, I'll trouble you to arrange for the wounded and the provisions!"

"Alright, I'll handle the physical work, and you can do the mental work. But remember to recount the whole story and the decisions you made to me later."

"No problem! Zakro, you stay here to help Delsd. You two come back to camp with me and Goodpes and tell them the whole story."

"Yes, Kelsu!"

Moments later, on the Chigengster Plains, at the Western Continent Camp

"Now, you two, tell me everything that happened afterward, in detail, without omitting any details!"

"Yes, Kelsu!"

After bowing, Montedoss stepped forward and continued recounting what he hadn't finished saying.

"Since leaving the Western Continent, we have been slowly making our way to the main camp as Olibuk has arranged. At first, everything went smoothly, but when we reached the vicinity of the Principality of Galacore, we were suddenly attacked by that mysterious force. Moreover, for some reason, the enemy saw through our plan and directly attacked the real supply convoy."

"Hmm? How could the enemy have seen through your plan?"

"This... this... this subordinate doesn't know either!"

"Hmph! Even if the enemy saw through your plan and launched a surprise attack on the real grain transport convoy, you shouldn't have lost so much grain, right? Did you expect the guards you deployed around the grain transport convoy to just stand there and watch the show, letting the enemy carry out sabotage?"

"Kelsu, you are unaware of the fact that the enemy's target this time was very clear: the grain we were transporting. Therefore, when they launched the sneak attack, they abandoned close combat and used wide-range attack magic throughout in order to destroy as much grain as possible. Moreover, they used magic to create a grayish-black smoke, preventing the guards from getting close to the battle position to support the trapped grain convoy. Later, they even used this black smoke to completely isolate the guards from the grain convoy."

"The brothers of the guard tried to rush into the smoke to rescue them, but they lost their lives before they could even see the supply convoy. Helpless, the guard had no choice but to surround them and wait for them to run out of magic before killing them. However, just as the encirclement was about to be formed, the enemy detonated the black smoke, forcing the guard to retreat and escaping the scene in the chaos."

"When we led the main force to the scene, the enemy had already fled, leaving behind only wounded soldiers and scattered food everywhere. At that time, my men were completely out of their minds and had no idea what to do. It was Chief Feldroka who spoke up in time and brought my men back to their senses. We then split into three groups: Chief Feldroka was in charge of taking care of the wounded, Chief Zakro was in charge of collecting the food scattered in the sea, and my men were in charge of searching for traces of the enemy."

"My men searched the surrounding waters, but we couldn't find a trace of the enemy. We had no choice but to return and rejoin Chief Feldroka and the others. Afterwards, we took stock and found that twenty men were killed, more than a hundred were seriously wounded, over a thousand were lightly wounded, and we only had a little over half of our food left!"

"Bang!"

After Montedoss finished speaking, Kelsu slammed his fist into the ground, then glared at the opposing camp with resentment. Just then, another piece of news revealed by Feldroka darkened Kelsu's already gloomy mood even further.

"Kelsu, before we set off, Lord Olibuk has something he asked me to tell you."

"What did you say?"

"Olibuk said that this shipment of grain is the last batch of grain stored in the main camp. Regardless of whether any accidents occur during the transport, the main camp will not be able to replenish the main camp with grain in the short term!"

"What?"

As soon as Feldroka finished speaking, Kelsu and Goodpes both cried out in surprise. Faced with the two powerful figures' cold gazes, Feldroka felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his entire body chilled to the bone. But remembering Olibuk's instructions before his departure, he could only muster his courage and say:

"Lord Olibuk said that he will be unable to supply the camp with food in the short term, and we need to find a way to get through this crisis on our own!"

At this moment, Kelsu and his companion's faces were so dark they could practically drip water, but reality was right in front of them, leaving them no choice but to accept this devastating news.

"There's no use complaining now; let's quickly come up with a solution!" (Goodpes)

"Now that things have come to this point, what can I do?" (Kelsu)

Upon hearing their conversation, Montedoss immediately knelt down on one knee before them and cried out passionately, "Lord Kelsu, Lord Goodpes, I am willing to atone for my sins by raising provisions for the army!"

Kelsu glared at Montedoss, then said irritably, "Now that things have come to this, what means do you have to gather food?"

"Kelsu, since the enemy can come here to plunder our grain, why can't we go to their territory and steal their grain?"

"This..."

While Kelsu hesitated, Goodpes was very impressed with the plan and praised it.

"Although this plan is somewhat risky, it's a good idea given our current situation!"

Although Kelsu was inclined to refute Montedoss's plan, as Goodpes had said, it might be the best solution given the current situation. Just as he was about to side with the one in favor, Feldroka offered him a safer alternative.

"Kelsu, Lord Goodpes, although Chief Montedoss's method sounds very good, I still think it's too risky!"

"Oh? Do you have any good ideas? (Kelsu)"

"Kelsu, I have seen humans catch fish in the sea to satisfy their hunger before. I think we can follow their example and catch fish for food to get through this crisis."

"Hmm! That's one way to do it! Goodpes, what do you think?"

"Heh, Kelsu, do you think we still have a choice?"

"Alright! In that case, let's form ten-man squads from all the best fighters in the army and send them behind enemy lines to collect food, while the others will go to the sea to catch fish and increase our food reserves!"

Chigengster Plains, Ishgar Camp

"Ha ha"

"Ha ha"

Seeing Sordil almost laughing himself to death, Igneel gently nudged Yelibell in the back and asked curiously, "Little sister Yelibell, what did you hear? Why is Brother Sordil laughing like this?"

"We just heard the supply officer on the other side reporting to his superior. The supply officer said that we killed more than 20 enemies, seriously wounded more than 100 enemies, and had more than 1,000 people slightly wounded."

Is this true?

"That's absolutely true! And that's not all. According to the grain transport officer, we destroyed more than half of the grain this time!"

Upon hearing this, Igneel's eyes widened in disbelief. He felt as if the delicious food, soft bed, and fine wine he had longed for were beckoning him. So much so that he didn't even register the good news Yelibell was about to share.

"But none of these are the most important things. The most important thing is that the enemy's main camp no longer has any extra food to transport to Ishgar. Therefore, our battle plan will soon succeed!"

After excitedly finishing her story, Yelibell raised her right hand, ready to give Igneel a high-five behind her. But when she turned around, she discovered that Igneel had somehow floated to Sordil's side, demanding her 'sincerity' for forgiving him earlier!

"Brother Sordil, now that things in the Western Continent are settled, when can I expect to receive your 'sincerity'?"

"Brother Igneel, after I tell Belserion the follow-up action plan, we'll go back to Dragunov to celebrate!"

"Alright, Brother Sordil, I'll be waiting for you!"

"Um!"

Sordil nodded to Igneel, then walked toward the central tent.