Conspiracy in Advance
Laurent paused, his gaze sweeping across the resolute faces, then his voice rose sharply, carrying an undeniable resolve. "But as long as there is a sliver of hope, we must get there! For our compatriots still fighting valiantly in Carnford! For the trust placed in us by Earl Rochefort! For the last hope of the kingdom's Northern Territory! Let's go!"
There were no grand pronouncements, no farewell toasts.
Five hundred elite knights silently and swiftly stepped onto the perilous ice surface, heading resolutely towards the unknown, war-torn land on the opposite bank.
Their figures quickly disappeared into the deepest darkness before dawn and the endless paleness of the icy plains.
These five hundred men may not be able to directly confront an army of one hundred thousand, but they represent the limits of effort and unwavering will that Fran City can muster.
They are a spark, a surprise attack; perhaps, at the most critical moment, they can bring a faint but enough glimmer of hope to that isolated fortress on the verge of collapse, a chance to turn its fate around.
However, the chances of survival were too slim, and the road ahead was too treacherous.
No one knows whether they will be able to reach their destination successfully, or whether they will actually change anything.
But in any case, they had already embarked on their journey, entrusting their fate to the cold winds of the Northern Territory and the even more brutal bloody battle that was about to begin.
Inside the Sauron camp, the commotion had temporarily subsided, but the air was still thick with the smell of smoke, blood, and tension.
Under the overseers' hoarse shouts and the soldiers' gleaming swords, the slaves and craftsmen, still reeling from the night raid, were forced to resume their work, cleaning up the mess caused by the explosion and working even harder to reinforce and repair the arrow tower, which was clearly leaning and covered in charred marks in the dim light of dawn.
Harald stood quietly on a small earthen slope not far from the arrow tower construction site, his back to the morning light, his figure appearing exceptionally upright and austere.
He looked up, expressionless, watching the craftsmen busily working on the arrow tower's frame like ants, his gaze deep and lost in thought.
Last night's successful counter-attack was entirely within his expectations and control. It was not a fluke, but a carefully planned scheme he had devised days in advance to lure his prey into a trap.
Through several direct confrontations and probing contacts with Karl in the past few days, Harald has astutely figured out his young opponent's fighting patterns and personality traits.
Karl, this young man, disliked following the rules in warfare. Instead, he was extremely adept at taking unconventional approaches. He could often unexpectedly create an opening in a stalemate or unfavorable situation and launch some tactics that caught people off guard.
This flexibility and creativity certainly caused a lot of trouble for Sauron army.
Harald realized that instead of passively waiting for Karl to make a move, it was better to proactively create a "stage" for him that he couldn't refuse.
Therefore, he chose the seemingly conventional but actually deadly action of "repairing the arrow towers".
He deliberately mobilized manpower and materials in a high-profile manner, making no attempt to conceal his intention to pose a direct threat to the Carnford City.
Harald understood the psychology of generals like Karl very well; he would never stand idly by and watch his opponent build a fatal offensive stronghold right under his nose.
Given Karl's unwillingness to be passive and his adventurous nature, he would surely send out elite troops to harass the enemy under cover of night, and even attempt to destroy the unfinished arrow tower.
That powerful sorcerer was the most crucial piece he had planted in advance for this game.
He concealed himself among the reserve team not far away, keeping his aura restrained, intending to deliver a fatal blow to Karl's elite squad just as they were about to succeed in their trap.
According to the original estimate, with this sorcerer's strength, dealing with a regular night raid team, even the best under Karl's command, should have been more than enough to take them all down.
However, the plan ultimately encountered its only variable, which nearly caused it to fail.
He certainly hadn't anticipated that Karl's team actually contained a knight with a strength reaching the third tier!
A master of this caliber would be a core commander in any legion, yet he willingly chose to remain in a remote corner, undertaking such a dangerous mission behind enemy lines.
This Third-Order Knight's explosive power far exceeded expectations. Under his desperate charge, the assault team almost broke through the sorcerer's interception and completed the mission of destroying the arrow tower.
Recalling the violent explosion and shaking that came from the arrow tower base at that moment, Harald's fingertips paused for a moment; that was indeed the most dangerous moment in the plan.
However, although the process was somewhat bumpy, the final result still led in a direction that was favorable to our side.
In order to create an opportunity for his companions, the Third-Order Knight forcibly confronted the evil magic, inevitably suffering extremely severe backlash and internal injuries, greatly diminishing his combat strength.
The Second-Order Knight who accompanied him must also have been seriously injured. After this battle, the high-end combat power of the Carnford garrison has undoubtedly suffered a heavy blow.
In the ensuing direct siege, the defending forces, having lost the support of top-tier military strength, will inevitably suffer a significant drop in their will to resist and their defensive resilience, thus easing the pressure on the Sauron warriors.
In the end, this isn't a bad deal.
At that moment, a soft footstep sounded, and Elaine, the sorcerer whose black robes were stained with dust and whose face was paler than usual, silently walked to a spot slightly behind him, bowed slightly, and spoke with a barely perceptible weakness and respect:
"Great Chieftain... I made a mistake and failed to capture that Third-Order Knight, allowing the enemy's core fighting force to escape and destroy the arrow tower. Please punish me." He paused, his tone filled with regret, "I originally thought they had at most one Second-Order Knight, but I didn't expect... they also had a third-tier expert hidden among them. My intelligence was wrong, and my judgment was flawed."
Harald didn't turn around immediately; his gaze remained fixed on the arrow tower. After a long while, he slowly withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Elaine.
To Elaine's surprise, Harald's face showed no anger, but instead a very faint smile appeared.
"Punishment?" Harald's voice was calm and even. He started walking slowly down the slope, and Elaine quickly followed. "Elaine, you've done enough."
He spoke as he walked, his tone as if stating a simple fact. "At least our arrow towers haven't collapsed; their foundations remain. Repairs are only a matter of time. More importantly, you severely injured that Third-Order Knight, didn't you?"
"Another Second-Order Knight was also sent flying by your attack, his fate unknown. Carnford lost two generals overnight, especially that Third-Order Knight. This blow to their morale is far more severe than the loss of some materials and slaves we suffered."