Grand Duke Fernandez had crammed a great deal of military knowledge, so he was no complete novice.
Standing at a carefully selected observation point, he pointed his riding crop at Birch Castle.
"This place is roughly five hundred paces from the walls. Even the strongest archers can only shoot a little over four hundred paces, so this is the best observation distance.
"And you have cavalry positioned for support, with infantry formations standing by, so there is no need to fear a surprise attack.
"Wouldn't you say I'm right?"
"Your Grace is wise. That is exactly so. There is nothing special about these matters in the army; it all comes down to experience.
"Once you experience it personally, you will understand everything."
"Hahaha, no flattery. I still have a long way to go."
Grand Duke Fernandez was somewhat pleased. His hardships had not been in vain; he truly had learned a great deal.
At the same time, Adrian spotted Grand Duke Fernandez and his party not far away from atop Birch Castle's walls.
There was no need to think about it. They were definitely a big catch, and Grand Duke Fernandez might even be among them.
The Holy Cross Kingdom's generals were not idiots without any experience. Their arrangements were extremely thorough.
Based on past experience, that distance truly was very safe.
The elite knights inside Birch Castle could only shoot a maximum of four hundred and twenty paces even with drawn bows.
But crossbow bolts could reach the astonishing distance of seven hundred paces.
And this deadly weapon, the crossbow, had never appeared in this world before.
That meant past experience was now completely useless.
A distance of five hundred paces was still within effective killing range.
Although producing crossbow bolts was still somewhat difficult for the moment, it