A Daring Plan

As night fell, the Lord's Hall in Carnford was brightly lit, yet the atmosphere was heavy.

The crackling fire in the fireplace illuminated the tired and serious faces of the people sitting around the long table.

Karl sat in the main seat, with Charlotte, Brendan, Richter, Old Morrell, Edgar, and several important officer captains all present.

After a brief silence, Karl spoke first, his voice steady. "Gentlemen, we have temporarily repelled the Sauron's attack, but this is only the beginning. We need to immediately assess the situation and decide on our next course of action."

Old Brendan took a deep breath and was the first to report, his voice heavy and hoarse. "Sir, the preliminary casualty statistics are in... the situation is not optimistic."

"The death toll... is fifty-five, including five soldiers who succumbed to their wounds. Forty-three are seriously wounded and incapacitated, requiring a long period of recuperation. Almost everyone has minor injuries, but most are still able to continue fighting, which means..."

He paused, his tone growing even lower. "At most, we have fewer than a hundred soldiers left who can still take up arms and go to the defensive line, and they are all wounded and extremely exhausted."

This number made everyone present feel a sense of unease.

With fewer than a hundred men, they faced the menacing gaze of at least five hundred elite Sauron soldier outside, including those fearsome Berserker.

Richter then reported, attempting to bring some good news. "On the enemy side, based on the corpses left on the battlefield and estimates, their casualties should be slightly higher than ours, around seventy to eighty men, mostly their elite soldiers and Berserker. We also captured four wounded prisoners they couldn't take with them during their retreat, and we are interrogating them."

Old Morrell pushed several lists on the table. "Regarding the spoils, we recovered more than twenty suits of Sauron- style iron armor and over a hundred weapons of various kinds from the battlefield, including some excellent ones, which will help us replenish our equipment losses to some extent, but... none of this can immediately make up for our huge manpower shortage."

Silence fell again, all eyes fixed on Karl, awaiting his decision.

With such a large disparity in troop strength, defense seems to be unsustainable.

Karl surveyed the crowd, his gaze sharp and calm. He slowly spoke, dropping a bombshell. "According to reliable intelligence I possess, Earl Rochefort has learned of the siege of Carnford by the Sauron army."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly looked up, their eyes gleaming with disbelief!

"The Count has already sent reinforcements!" Karl's voice was resolute. "An elite force led by his trusted general, consisting of two cavalry battalions and a reinforced infantry battalion, totaling about 1,200 men, is on its way at full speed! As early as... tomorrow afternoon, their vanguard cavalry will reach the outskirts of Carnford!"

"Very good!"

"The Count has not abandoned us!"

"There's hope!"

An uncontrollable murmur of excitement erupted in the hall, sweeping away the atmosphere of despair and replacing it with the ecstatic joy of escaping death.

However, Karl's next words instantly froze everyone's joy. "But our mission is not yet complete."

His gaze swept over the crowd, his tone becoming extremely serious. "We cannot simply passively wait for reinforcements. The Sauron are not fools; they must have deployed a large number of scouts on the outskirts. Once they discover the Count's army approaching, they will definitely retreat without hesitation! With our current forces, we are simply powerless to leave the city to pursue or stop them."

He slammed his fist on the table with a dull thud. "I don't want to repel them, I want to annihilate them! I want to coordinate with the Count's reinforcements from within and without to completely stop these Sauron elite troops outside! I want them to pay a bloody price for today's attack!"

This audacious, even insane, plan left everyone breathless.

Brendan was the first to object, his brow furrowed and his tone urgent. "My lord! This is too risky! We only have less than a hundred men capable of fighting! And we have to divide our forces for defense! How can we possibly hold off more than three hundred of Sauron elite for a whole day?"

"What if... what if the Count's reinforcements are delayed on their way, or the Sauron launch a desperate attack? We could be overrun before the reinforcements arrive! Then it will all be over!"

Richter added worriedly, "Moreover, as you said, the Sauron scouts are not just for show. Once they spot reinforcements, they will retreat immediately. Our forces are too weak to possibly break out of our fortifications and hold them off."

"This 'inside-outside' plan relies on our ability to 'restrain' the enemy, but that's precisely what we're least capable of!"

Silence fell in the hall once more; after the initial excitement came a deeper sense of unease.

Karl's idea was certainly tempting, but the reality was incredibly harsh.

Karl was silent for a moment, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, a sharp glint in his eyes that seemed almost like a gambler's gamble.

Suddenly, he raised his head, looked at the crowd, and slowly said, "What if... we give them an irresistible reason to choose to stay and launch a frenzied attack on us? A reason that makes them believe victory is within their grasp, thus ignoring the potential risks?"

The group looked at each other, puzzled.

Karl's gaze turned to the west, as if he could see through the wall to the small, blood-soaked stone fortress. "I'm going to abandon the stone fortress on the west side."

"What?"

"Abandon the fortress?"

"This won't do!"

These words shocked everyone present! Brendan, Richter, and others almost simultaneously voiced their opposition!

"My lord! Absolutely not!" Brendan jumped to his feet in alarm. "That stone fortress is a crucial flank of our defenses, its strategic location is extremely important! If we lose it, our flank will be completely exposed! The Sauron could easily outflank us from there, or even directly attack the residential areas! This is too dangerous!"

Richter shook his head repeatedly. "Moreover, abandoning the fortress would severely damage our morale! Our soldiers shed so much blood to defend it! What will they think if we give it up now?"

Edgar also raised objections from a logistical perspective. "There are still plenty of arrows and defensive equipment stored in the fortress; abandoning it would mean giving them to the enemy..."

Despite the fierce opposition from the crowd, Karl remained unusually calm.

He waited until everyone quieted down a bit before calmly analyzing the situation. "What you all say makes sense, but please think about it, with our current troop strength, can we simultaneously hold both the main defensive line and that isolated stone fortress?"

"The Sauron suffered a loss today, and tomorrow they will definitely concentrate all their forces to launch a fierce attack on one point, either the main position or that stone fortress. If we divide our forces to defend, the result will likely be that both places will be breached."

He paused, then continued, "Abandoning the stone fortress may seem like a retreat, but it's actually a trap."

"We can destroy most of the useful supplies before retreating, leaving only an empty shell and some insignificant items. What will the Sauron think when they 'easily' occupy it?"

"They'll think our forces are exhausted and we can't even defend our flanks! They'll think Carnford's defenses are on the verge of collapse and victory is just around the corner!"

"This greed and delusion will bind them like chains, making them desperate to capture the main position before reinforcements arrive! They will attack frantically and will not retreat easily!"

"What we need to do is use this empty fortress as bait to ignite their greatest greed and desire to attack! Then, on our strongest main positions, we must withstand their final, and most frantic, attack! Just hold out until tomorrow afternoon..."

Karl's gaze swept over everyone, his voice filled with unwavering determination. "Victory belongs to us! The credit for annihilating this Sauron elite force will also belong to Carnford!"

The hall was completely silent as everyone digested Karl's bold and risky plan.

This was undoubtedly a high-stakes gamble, with the lives of everyone in Carnford at stake.

After a long silence, old Brendan slowly sat down, his graying brows furrowed tightly. Finally, he sighed heavily, "... It's too risky, but... my lord, if your mind is made up... I will carry out the order."

Richter and the others nodded silently, though their eyes were still filled with worry.

Karl looked at everyone and knew they had accepted this difficult decision.

He stood up, his tone resolute. "Then it's settled! Make secret preparations immediately! Evacuate the West Fortress garrison in an orderly manner tonight, taking all important supplies with us. Carry out limited destruction, making the Sauron think we were forced to give up after exhausting our strength! At dawn, 'give' this empty fortress to the Sauron!"

The order was given, and a strategic deception operation of life and death was quietly launched under the cover of night.