Third Food War (9)

After hearing Phil's description, Belserion suddenly remembered the strange behavior of the opposing camp.

"Could it be that the enemy's troop deployment is not to head to the sea to pick up the grain transport team, but to prevent me from sending troops north?"

Thinking of this, Belserion hurriedly asked, "Chief Phil, how many enemy troops are besieging the North Camp?"

"There are approximately four thousand people!"

"Four thousand men? That means they transferred half of the troops from the other two camps to the North Camp, leaving only a small number of people to guard the camps."

That should be it!

At this moment, Belserion sensed an opportunity to drive the enemy out, so much so that he completely forgot the instructions left by Sordil before his departure: hold the camp and do not engage in battle.

Seeing Belserion's excited expression, Phil naturally knew what the other was thinking, because this was something every Ishgar member participating in the war would think about. However, besides that, there was something even more important for him to do: bring back reinforcements to save his friends.

"Sage Dragon, time is of the essence! You should quickly send troops to aid the North Camp!"

Thanks to Phil, Belserion finally snapped out of his delusions of victory. The Sage Dragon, now fully awake, patted Phil on the shoulder and reassured him, "Chief Phil, don't worry, I'll send troops to your aid immediately."

"Thank you, Lord Sage Dragon!"

After instructing the medical staff to take good care of Phil, Belserion left with his messenger and returned to the central tent.

As they approached the Main army tent, Belserion turned to the messenger beside him and said, "Go immediately and inform Sacred Dragon and Xizhalansa that I have important matters to discuss with them, and tell them to come to the Main army tent as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey!"

Main army tent

Belserion returned to the main tent when two figures followed closely behind him. Before the Sage Dragon could even sit down, one of them grabbed his shoulder and twisted him 180 degrees. Immediately afterward, a loud voice echoed through the tent.

"Bell, what happened that made you so Huo Huo to call us here?"

After rubbing his aching shoulders and ears to make himself feel better, Sage Dragon beckoned to Sacred Dragon. When Sacred Dragon leaned closer, Sage Dragon whispered in his ear at the same volume, "The North Camp is surrounded by the enemy and has sent people here for reinforcements, which is why I've gathered you here to discuss countermeasures!"

"Hey! Just say it, why are you yelling? You're going to rupture my eardrums!"

"You know that shouting like that can rupture your eardrums? Then why did you shout like that just now?"

Seeing the two old rascals start their usual banter, in order to avoid being dragged into it, Xizhalansa quickly steered the conversation back to its original direction.

"Sage Dragon, you sent messengers to inform us of this important matter, is the siege of the North Camp by the enemy?"

Upon hearing Xizhalansa bring up serious matters, Belserion put aside his friendly match with Acnologia and began to explain to the two what had just happened and his speculations.

A moment later, Xizhalansa and the other person finished processing all the information.

"Sage Dragon, do you mean that the enemy surrounded the North Camp in order to create a breach in our defenses and force Prince Sordil to withdraw his troops?"

"That's right, that's what I think!"

"While Bell's idea makes a lot of sense, I don't think the enemy's objectives are that simple!"

"Whatever the enemy's objective, we cannot abandon North Camp!" (Sage Dragon)

"That's natural! (Sacred Dragon)"

"My lords, since that's the case, then I will lead the First Division to support the North Camp!"

"No! The enemy has four thousand men, while the First Division only has one thousand. The difference in strength is too great. You won't be going to rescue the North Camp; you'll just be feeding them. (Sage Dragon)"

"Well... Bell, how many people do you think should be sent for the rescue? (Sacred Dragon)"

"I think it would be safer for you and Xizhalansa to lead the First and Second Divisions together." (Sage Dragon)

"No! If we do that, only the 700 men of the Third Division will be left in the camp, which is far from enough to guarantee the camp's safety. (Sacred Dragon)"

"My lords, why don't we transfer three hundred men from the Second Division to the Third Division temporarily, so that the Third Division can be made into a complete division?"

"Hmm! That's a good idea! (Sacred Dragon)"

"Let's do it that way then!" (Sage Dragon)

A jungle on the outskirts of Godeswet Mountain

Fine rays of sunlight filtered through the leaves of the jungle, casting shadows onto the uneven, scaly ground. A patch of ground then began to slowly slide forward at a visible pace, finally stopping in front of a small mound.

"Lord Delsd, we just received a message from Kelsu: the fish has taken the bait!"

"I understand! Go and tell everyone that no one is allowed to move an inch until the fish is completely inside the net!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey!"

Perhaps because they had been ambushed once before, Xizhalansa was extremely cautious this time, leaving his soldiers with ample energy to deal with any situation on each advance. Even though they had now reached the outskirts of Godeswet Mountain, Xizhalansa continued to advance steadily and slowly, without rushing forward recklessly.

"Stop advancing!"

Looking at the jungle not far ahead, Xizhalansa suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he were not in the Godeswet Mountain, but on the hill where he had been ambushed. Disturbed by this feeling, Xizhalansa immediately ordered his troops to halt their advance.

"Commander, we're almost at North Camp. Why did you order the troops to stop?"

Xizhalansa turned his head to look at the person who spoke, and then asked, "First Brigade Commander, don't you think that jungle ahead is unusually quiet?"

"Hey! Commander, with so many of us approaching the jungle, all the birds and beasts will surely be scared away. How can the jungle not be quiet?"

"Hmph! I think you just want to have some peace and quiet in the Prisoner of War Camp on the Western Continent again, don't you?"

"Commander, what do you mean by this?"

"What do you mean? I mean, we've come back to that same mound from a year ago!"

"Commander, you mean..."

Xizhalansa nodded to his subordinates, indicating that they had guessed his meaning.

"Commander, what should we do? Should we go around it?"

"Go around? I'm afraid that won't work! First, the purpose of our operation is to rescue North Camp, and time is of the essence; we can't afford to waste time. Second, we have no idea how large the enemy's ambush is, so we can't determine how far we need to go to be safe. Third, even if we manage to get out of the encirclement, the enemy can abandon their camouflage and launch a pincer attack on us."

"Huh? Then we're stuck here?"

"That's how it is for now! But once Lord Sacred Dragon and the Second Master arrive, perhaps we can come up with a solution to this problem."

In the jungle

Looking at the motionless line ahead, everyone, including Delsd, became extremely tense.

"The guy leading the other team is such a coward! He's too scared to even cross a patch of jungle!"

"Lord Delsd, could it be that the enemy has already seen through our disguise, which is why they have stopped advancing?"

"Hmm... we can't rule out that possibility! After all, they've been ambushed before, so they're quite experienced in this area."

"So what do we do? We can't just sit here and wait, can we?"

"Hmph! What's so difficult about that! Go to the North Camp right now and make some noise over there to force them in!"

"Understood! I'll go right away!"

Seeing his subordinate preparing to stand up, Delsd kicked him, sending him back to the ground.

"Idiot! Don't reveal our ambush position! Leave quietly!"

Yes! Yes!