The Standoff at Fran City
Ten days later, the thunderous sound of Sauron army advancing south finally reached the Fran City.
Ulf personally led 15,000 elite Sparrow Corps soldiers, marching in a grand procession to the north of Fran City. On a wide, open hill only a few kilometers from the city walls, they brazenly set up a massive camp, their banners obscuring the sun, their imposing presence terrifying.
As the main army marched, when it passed near Carnford, a detachment of 1,500 men, consisting of 400 infantry, 200 cavalry, and 900 auxiliary troops, broke away from the main force and headed towards Carnford, as planned.
Just as this detachment approached the outskirts of Carnford, a minor incident occurred.
Several Carnford scouts attempted to get closer to observe the size and movements of the Sauron force, but were spotted and driven back by the Sauron vanguard.
The two sides did not engage in combat, but only engaged in a brief standoff and pursuit.
When the report of this little incident reached Ulf's ears, he was slightly surprised.
He stroked his chin, gazing toward the fortress of Carnford, its newly built walls faintly visible, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.
"This Karl... he's got some nerve," Ulf thought to himself.
Despite being outnumbered, the enemy did not choose to remain completely holed up; instead, they dared to send out reconnaissance cavalry in an attempt to gather battlefield information.
This posture itself demonstrates that this young Lord is by no means someone who is content with passive defense; his aggressiveness and initiative far exceed those of ordinary border generals.
This further solidified Ulf's earlier assessment that Carnford was a variable that needed to be closely monitored and that could not be taken lightly.
He immediately summoned a messenger and issued a further explicit order to Hermod, the commander of the detachment heading to Carnford:
"Order Hermod to immediately choose a favorable location upon arrival, construct a fortified camp, and completely block all access routes outside the Carnford City. Their mission is singular: hold out to the death!"
"To be anchored there like a nail, ensuring that not a single soldier from Carnford can easily descend the mountain, threaten our supply lines, or establish direct contact with Fran City."
He emphasized this point sternly. "Any form of proactive attack is strictly prohibited! Without my order, no one is allowed to approach their city walls within musket range! Our main objective is currently Fran City; do not waste precious troops on this tough nut. I have already requested reinforcements from Sorcerer Thor."
"Once Sorcerer Thor arrives, have him summon and command a large number of low-level Magic Creature to relentlessly attack Carnford's defenses day and night! Let those endless Magic Creature deplete the defenders' arrows, ammunition, stamina, and willpower! Once they are exhausted and out of ammunition, let Hermod seize the opportunity to strike."
"Yes, Corps Commander!" The messenger accepted the order and rode off.
As Ulf watched the messenger's departing figure, he thought to himself, "This should be enough."
Although using 1,500 men to lock down Carnford was a significantly larger investment than originally planned, it was worthwhile as long as it ensured the safety of the flanks and isolated Fran City.
More importantly, he still holds an ace in his hand.
Once Sorcerer Thor and his Magic Creature army arrive on the battlefield, Karl, let's see how long you can remain arrogant!
He could almost see it: endless, twisted, and hideous Magic Creature, like a black tide, relentlessly crashing against Carnford's seemingly impregnable walls day and night.
The defenders will run out of arrows and bullets, the soldiers will be exhausted, and their will will collapse under the relentless onslaught of terror.
Karl, you have successfully drawn my forces with the walls, but now they are destined to become the graveyard of all of you.
Ulf composed himself; in any case, he could now focus on dealing with the troublesome Earl Rochefort.
The outskirts of Fran City.
Ulf's choice of a camp location was extremely cunning, situated precisely within the clear line of sight of the defenders of Fran City. The massive, dark army and the Black Eagle banner created a strong visual pressure on the defenders on the city walls.
However, it landed precisely outside the maximum effective range of the heavy Cannon on the city wall, thus avoiding unnecessary losses.
Instead of ordering the digging of trenches and the erection of sturdy palisade camps as a conventional army, he had his troops form a large but somewhat loose cavalry encampment around the central command tent in a traditional tribal manner.
Outside the camp, a large number of scouts, like mobile ghosts, patrolled everywhere, monitoring all movements within a radius of dozens of miles.
This seemingly relaxed and unguarded posture is actually an extremely insidious trap.
Deep down, Ulf even hoped that the cautious Earl Rochefort would be angered by this "arrogance" and unable to resist sending his elite troops out of the city for a field battle.
Once the Broomflower army leaves the fortified city walls and enters open terrain, Ulf's seven thousand elite Sparrow Corps heavy cavalry, hidden behind the camp and already poised for battle, will launch a deadly flanking attack or encirclement like thunder, completely engulfing the attacking enemy forces in the open.
This was Ulf's true killing move: using himself as bait to lure the enemy into battle, aiming to annihilate Fran City's forces in open combat.
Meanwhile, Ulf dispatched several elite Skarn Light Cavalry detachments, which quickly infiltrated and controlled all the key forest passes and mountain passes west of Fran City.
Their mission was to completely sever all direct links between Fran City and the crucial Blackstone Pass front to the west!
Any messengers or scouts attempting to travel from Fran City to Blackstone Pass, or from Blackstone Pass back to Fran City, will be relentlessly hunted down.
As a result, information transmission between the two places is forced to take a long and inefficient route through the interior of the Great Wall, resulting in delays of several days or even longer.
Ulf's strategic intentions were very clear: he wanted to turn Fran City into an isolated island with no information, so that Earl Rochefort would not be able to keep up with the overall war situation, especially the enormous pressure faced by the main force on the western front, thus falling into passivity and suspicion and not daring to make any rash moves.
Ulf's tactics were both bold and cautious, seemingly chaotic, but in reality full of traps and deadly intent.
Of course, the Count who was stationed in Fran City was no ordinary person either.
He spent ten years dealing with the Sauron after taking office and was well aware of Ulf's tricks.
Before the Sauron arrived, he ordered all the heavy Cannon to be pushed to the ramparts, heavy Rolling Stone and Logs were piled up like mountains, and the defending soldiers were gleaming in their armor and their flags were waving.
All of this demonstrates their determination to be on high alert and defend to the death.
This is the most direct response to Ulf's provocation. No matter how much you provoke me, I will remain unmoved and will never easily leave the city to engage in reckless battle.
Meanwhile, the Count's most elite Fran City Cavalry was dispatched outside the city, their mission also being to infiltrate westward and engage in continuous skirmishes and harassment with the Sauron Light Cavalry blocking the passage.
This is a brutal battle for control of information, striving to break through Ulf's information blockade. Even if only a few key pieces of information can be transmitted back, it is of paramount importance.
The Count's most brilliant move was to mobilize manpower to cut down all the trees within a few miles of Fran City, and to demolish and clear away all the houses and ruins that could be used before Ulf's army arrived.
At this moment, looking out from the top of the Fran City, the view is extremely open, a completely unobstructed "no man's land".
This dead zone prevented Sauron army from stealthily approaching the city walls, and also made it impossible for them to obtain timber locally to manufacture large siege weapons, greatly increasing the difficulty and cost of their siege.