Ironvine Territory (41)

In the central camp of the Yalori Valley, Victor sat in his tent, watching Viscount Ferry and Lenster adjust the sand table based on real-time battle reports.

Lenster had just received a battle report and looked surprised, "The Allied Army left flank launched a full-scale attack from the very beginning? They even had to fill in the trenches on the spot?"

Aren't they afraid of too many casualties and a mutiny?

As he spoke, Lenster handed the battle report to Viscount Ferry, Viscount Ferry took it, glanced at it, and then tossed it aside to continue adjusting the sand table.

"That gang of bastards in Hampshire has always fought like this. They don't care about the lives of Serf Soldiers. They like to use Serf Soldiers to charge first, using their lives to wear down the enemy's strength and weapons. They are utterly inhuman."

Victor sensed that Viscount Ferry's words were clearly tinged with personal emotion, probably stemming from his resentment towards his old rival. After all, independent nobles within the Grand Duchy all preferred to use Serf Soldiers as cannon fodder, with few exceptions.

In other words, the Northern Frontier nobles expanded their territories late, and the number of serfs in those territories was too small; otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many people who liked to use serfs as cannon fodder.

Just as Victor was pondering, another battle report arrived. Lenster was delighted after reading it. "The right camp has repelled the enemy's first wave of attack and has consciously controlled the casualties. They should be able to lure the enemy into launching another attack soon."

Based on the battle report, Lenster modified the right flank battlefield on the sand table.

Looking at the situation on the sand table, Victor said, "Isn't that Rusa, the Governor of Hampshire, right across from our central camp? He seems like a tough opponent."

Viscount Ferry agreed, saying, "Although this guy isn't a good person, dealing with him is indeed troublesome. According to our inside man, he has some idea of our plans."

Lenster was somewhat puzzled. The central camp had also been attacked by the Allied Army, though not as fiercely as the left camp, but not as cautiously as the left army. Why was it said that Rusa's troops would be more difficult to deal with?

Seeing Lenster's puzzled expression, Victor pointed directly to the position of the War Department opposite the central camp on the sand table and said, "Lenster, look at the position of the Allied Army main force, isn't it quite far back?"

Lenster nodded; he had set up the sand table himself, and he didn't think it was inaccurate.

"You should have noticed that the attacking troops are severely out of sync with their main force. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to ensure the smooth flow of military orders over such a long distance."

However, the attacking troops did not appear flustered, and these troops launched attacks from specific points rather than from a broad area.

Lenster pondered Victor's words, then suddenly realized something. "Could it be?"

Victor nodded: It seems Lenster has realized this. "This Rusa has directly divided his forces; the main force, which is truly the attacking force, should be here."

Victor simply grabbed a wooden stick and pointed it at the center of the camp and the Allied Army main force.

"That Rusa directly delegated command to the front-line troops, while he himself stayed behind with the main force to prevent any possible emergencies."

As for the frontline command posts, they were also nearby, so there was naturally no problem with the flow of military orders. In addition, since they were launching targeted attacks rather than area-wide attacks, they could achieve a relatively intense offensive with a small number of troops.

Lenster continued, picking up where Victor left off. "To put it bluntly, these attacking forces are just there to make us think they're still fighting us; they're just for show."

"It can't be called a mere decoration. After all, this kind of attack can also help us find out the weaknesses in our camp's defenses. At most, it will take a long time."

If, later on, Rusa discovers there are no traps, his army could likely press forward and exploit the discovered loopholes to attack our camp. This battle strategy is ingenious.

The most crucial point is that Rusa's troops were positioned on higher ground.

Lenster gasped, "If Rusa doesn't fall for the trap, doesn't that mean the battle plan might fail?"

Viscount Ferry and Victor exchanged a glance, then burst into laughter.

Viscount Ferry said to Lenster, "There's no such thing as a 100% successful plan in this world. We only need to ensure the success of a portion of it. Now that both the left and right flanks have been drawn into the battle, that's enough."

"What about Rusa's troops?"

Victor drew his sword immediately. "Let's settle this with swords. As long as the plan is successfully implemented, even if the results aren't perfect, we'll still have an absolute advantage."