Cold Calculations Against Cyril

Back at the inn, Karl immediately locked himself in his room and summoned Roland and two other veteran soldiers.

They had all followed Richter since the City Defense Army days and were seasoned veterans of numerous border skirmishes.

Without a detailed map, he could only spread out the extremely simplified map of the Northern Border provided by the inn.

He quickly found the location of "Icewater Creek" on it.

It was indeed the only route to the Southwest Peninsula, a river not too wide but with a swift current, flanked by dense forests on both banks.

"Look here," Karl said, pointing at the map with his finger. "If I were a Sauron, I would choose to ambush here. When the convoy is crossing the river, with its formation stretched out and unable to defend both ends, I would suddenly attack. Those pampered soldiers' ranks would instantly collapse, and then it would be the pursuit and slaughter the Sauron are best at."

Roland looked at the map, his expression solemn. "My lord, are you saying... the Sauron might actually ambush near Icewater Creek? How did you..."

Karl interrupted him. "This is just a guess based on some scattered signs and my intuition. Let's treat this as a tactical exercise. Roland, now assume you have ninety elite cavalrymen, and the enemy could be lurking anywhere in this area. What would you do?"

Roland pondered for a moment and replied, "The enemy is hidden, and I am exposed. The Icewater Creek riverbed is long, and the forest is dense. The Sauron can attack at any point. To be safe, I can only spread the cavalry out in advance, dividing them into several groups to meticulously scout and guard along the riverbank forest, ensuring the flanks of the main army are safe, and striving to detect the enemy in advance, or at least be able to react immediately when attacked."

This was indeed the orthodox and safe approach, but Karl shook his head.

His thoughts ran deeper, and colder.

Cyril's convoy had nearly a thousand people. He had personally witnessed large-scale troop movements.

The convoy would stretch into a fragile long snake hundreds of meters or even longer.

Spreading out ninety cavalrymen would be like scattering pepper, unable to cover the entire front line, nor could they withstand the first wave of the Sauron's well-planned assault.

Moreover, he had no intention of letting these ninety elite cavalrymen directly confront the Sauron's first wave of attack and suffer unnecessary heavy losses.

They were Earl Rochefort's elite force, only temporarily pulled out due to Charlotte's connection.

These cavalrymen were a precious strategic asset and should not be wasted on protecting a useless person like Cyril.

More importantly, Karl looked at the area of the Southwest Peninsula on the map, his eyes cold.

Cyril von Eichberg had chosen the tip of the Southwest Peninsula as his territory.

The land there was relatively fertile and possessed several natural deep-water ports. Although they would be frozen in winter, they were navigable for most of the year, with immense trade potential.

If this fellow were allowed to develop peacefully, with his family's wealth, even as an overlooked son, he could gain far more support than Karl himself and could rapidly rise to become a force in the Northern Border that could not be ignored.

In the Northern Border, there could only be one person who truly rose, and that was him. There could only be one territory that became the true center, and that was Carnford!

The Southwest Peninsula... must be thrown into chaos, or... eventually fall under his control.

A plan to kill with a borrowed knife and achieve two goals with one stone quickly formed in Karl's mind.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Roland and the two veterans, his voice calm but with undeniable decisiveness. "My idea is different. We will abandon all forward reconnaissance."

"What?" Roland and the two veterans were stunned.

"We will concentrate the ninety cavalrymen and follow Cyril's large convoy from a distance, maintaining a sufficient distance to ensure they are not easily detected by potential Sauron scouts," Karl's finger traced across the map. "We will deliberately wait, wait for the Sauron to launch their attack!"

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "We will wait until Cyril's convoy is suddenly attacked while crossing the river, falling into complete chaos and collapse, until the Sauron are fully engaged in battle, begin to disperse in pursuit and looting, and their formation becomes scattered—"

Karl slammed his palm onto the map at the location of Cyril's convoy!

"—That will be our time to strike! The elite cavalry will charge with all their might, the target not to save the fleeing soldiers, but to crush the disorganized Sauron! Kill as many as possible, and after defeating them, disengage immediately, never to fight again!"

Silence filled the room.

Roland and the two veterans understood the cold subtext of Karl's plan.

They were not there to protect Cyril at all, but to deliberately use Cyril's convoy as bait and a buffer to draw out the Sauron's full assault, and then they would strike a fatal blow from behind when the enemy was caught off guard!

Cyril's fate was not within the scope of their consideration at all!

This plan was extremely risky, and extremely... ruthless.

Roland took a deep breath and spoke with difficulty, "My lord... this... isn't this a bit too..."

He wanted to say "cruel" but dared not speak it aloud.

Karl looked at him coldly. "Roland, remember our identities and our purpose. We are warriors of Carnford. Our primary mission is to protect our own homeland. These ninety cavalrymen are the Earl's elite, and also our potential future support. They cannot be wasted in pointless rescue operations."

"Cyril and his convoy are destined to be sacrifices, and what we must do is make their sacrifice earn us the greatest battle results, while also... weakening a potential, powerful rival."

He paused, his tone softening slightly. "Of course, if the situation allows, after defeating the Sauron, we can take the opportunity to gather some of Cyril's fleeing soldiers and supplies. Population and resources are equally important to us."

The two veterans exchanged glances. They were seasoned soldiers, accustomed to life and death and scheming, and found it easier to accept this cold realism than Roland.

One of them said solemnly, "Although this plan is risky, it is indeed a brilliant strategy to achieve the greatest results with the least cost and eliminate future trouble. However, it requires extremely precise timing."

The other also nodded. "Once Cyril's convoy collapses too quickly, or the Sauron's offensive is too fierce, we might miss the opportunity, or even be unable to protect ourselves."

"Therefore, execution must be decisive and swift!" Karl said resolutely. "You two immediately go and prepare, check all horses and equipment. Tomorrow, we will act according to the plan!"

"Yes! My lord!" The three took their orders and withdrew from the room with different expressions.

Karl stood alone before the map, his gaze falling again on the area representing the Southwest Peninsula.

Cyril, do not blame me. Blame this cruel world, and blame yourself for choosing the wrong place.