Chris received Major General Marlow's urgent letter inside Anvil Fortress at a little past two in the morning. After reading it, he could not stop shaking his head.
The letter had revealed another of Major General Marlow's shortcomings... he had little strategic vision.
The messenger escort had been an elite force of over a hundred players, all veterans who had fought in at least three campaigns and possessed more than a hundred reputation points.
Yet after traveling over forty kilometers through the night, only thirty-odd of those veterans reached Anvil Fortress alive.
The messengers had repeatedly been intercepted by enemies in the wilderness. Even the players' fighting prowess, decisiveness, and fearlessness could not prevent heavy losses in those frequent skirmishes.
Of course, there was no denying that a "small handful" of players had become so absorbed in killing that they forgot about completing the escort mission.
There was nothing wrong with sending a letter. When difficulties on the front exceeded a commander's ability to resolve them, requesting instructions and support from the leadership in the rear was perfectly normal.
The problem was that Major General Marlow should not have made such a spectacle of it. Sending over a hundred elite soldiers running back with important intelligence practically announced to the Retalians lurking in the shadows:
There was someone important from the Kingdom of Bagnia at Anvil Fortress!
Barring any surprises, the Retalia Empire's scouts would certainly be watching Anvil Fortress closely after tomorrow.
A Retalian force might even lie in ambush between the two cities, waiting for Chris before the fighting at Tavitsky had begun.
Unbelievable, Major General Marlow. Couldn't he have waited until tomorrow to send the letter, or sent a small team of just a few men?
Or he could have sent no messengers at all. Chris could