A moment before Miss Liar pushed open the door, Valen was still offering Qin Ran advice-
"My lord, we should pull back our defensive lines and concentrate all the soldiers from the outposts in the barracks, then hold off Golden City's forces here!"
"Of course, we can't let them reach us unimpeded. We can send small cavalry units to harass Golden City's main force along the way!"
"We don't need to kill them, just exhaust them and slow their advance to buy ourselves more time... there may not be many reinforcements, but every extra man will help!"
"Fortunately, we have ample supplies. Even if our numbers doubled, we wouldn't need any resupply for three months."
Standing before a detailed map, Valen explained everything thoroughly.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Qin Ran. Rather, he trusted Qin Ran so much that he hoped Qin Ran could achieve perfection.
A powerful general who won his very first battle was someone truly worth rallying behind.
"Mm."
"Proceed as you suggested, then send out two groups. The first will carry a request for reinforcements to Dawn City in my name."
"The second will scout the surrounding area. I need them to ask along the way whether anyone has seen an enormous fellow who doesn't look human."
"Remember, the people you send must be both reasonably strong and extremely alert."
That was what Qin Ran said.
He neither opposed Valen nor expressed agreement.
Qin Ran had his own plans.
After learning of the upheaval in Dawn City, Qin Ran no longer intended to linger near the Supreme Road.
It wasn't just because of Mimosa. The Broker's pawn should already have infiltrated Dawn City, and the recent series of changes there should all have been connected to that person.
However, that was only Qin Ran's conjecture.