After much deliberation, Ed finally came up with a preliminary plan.
However, he still needs a little help to make this plan a reality.
A wisp of consciousness shifted to a solitary tree whose canopy moved erratically even without wind, as if waving its arms.
Soon, the mechanical creation, shaped like a woodpecker, landed on a branch and tilted its head to wait.
Just over ten minutes ago, it was this woodpecker's constant pecking at the tree trunk that drew Ed's attention to the news from the Great Labyrinth City.
Now, Ed is actively shaking the tree canopy to discuss the next steps with the woodpecker.
Can you hear me?
Ed uttered the "signal detection keyword" that would be standard in another world.
The woodpecker nodded, while Ed said seriously:
"The intelligence should be true; everyone in the Hall knows that the battle will take place soon."
"I have a plan for this that will benefit both of us."
Seeing the woodpecker's puzzled expression, Ed began to explain in detail...
In the southern part of the continent, at the border between the Starlight Empire and the Skeleton Alliance, a fierce battle is underway.
Unlike previous skirmishes and ambushes, this time both sides were genuine cavalry.
The story begins a week ago:
With the powerful assistance of his demon servants, Alfonso Lange's forces are being replenished at a visible pace.
The viscount outwardly sent out some trusted men to recruit soldiers, but in reality, it was just for show.
Just as the demon Duma promised, since the day the demon contract was signed, many people have been coming to his camp every day to choose to join.
Whether they were scattered groups of two or three, or in large groups of ten or eight, the guards at the camp were no longer surprised by it.
Whenever they see someone dressed strangely but with an excited expression, they will approach them and ask for their name.
Upon hearing those awkward and meaningless syllables, they would know that these were the new northern mountain people recruited by the Viscount, and would then allow them to enter the camp.
Although it seemed that there were more and more barbarians in the camp, the local imperial troops were not annoyed by this, and there was no exclusion or discrimination.
The reason this happened in the past was because some of the older Imperial junior officers, led by Centurion Atli, were being controlled by the will of the overlord.
Looking back now, it's hard to find any reason to bully them.
After all, apart from their names being a bit hard to pronounce and their lifestyles being a little different from everyone else's, these people are all good people, almost exactly what everyone's ideal self is like.
Moreover, each hundred-man squad is now a mix of native soldiers and Soul Returner. After spending some time together, the NPCs have found that these guys have pretty good personalities, and even if they want to pick a fight, they have no reason to bully each other.
Besides, you can't beat a bully anyway...
But no one could understand what exactly the Viscount had promised these northern mountain people.
They all arrived fully armored, some even riding their own Hoofed Beast, and some carrying enough weapons and supplies for several people.
Everyone joins the army to make money, but what's going on with you guys? You're "paying your own way to work"?
Such a configuration would be considered among the best of the best even among the Empire's battle-hardened elite troops, let alone the Empire's border army, which was rife with bandits and convicts.
As a result, all the NPCs in the Imperial Army showed extraordinary enthusiasm for these "self-funded" allies, and the two sides quickly got along very well.
Despite the losses from the previous night raid, the 100-man team of [ Howling Pothos ], [ Elderly and Children Fly First ], and [ Retreat Drum Player ] quickly began to replenish their ranks, and the number of Soul Returner exceeded 50% within a few days.
With fresh blood joining the team, Alfonso naturally had to find things for them to do.
The Sandcastle Number Fourteen Guardian Knight, who had long been his adversary, naturally became his primary target.
What Alfonso didn't know was that he had immortal demon servants, and the Knight Colin who was fighting against him also had immortal Soul Returner mercenaries.
Both sides were evenly matched in this round, and after several probing exchanges, a battle that could no longer be called a mere skirmish broke out.
At dusk that day, the scout cavalry unit of [ Elderly and Children Fly First ] and the light cavalry patrol led by [ Western Sharpshooter ] officially encountered each other near a sand dune.
On the Imperial side, [ the Elderly and Children Fly First ] was specifically leading newly joined players out to familiarize themselves with the terrain, so a total of 120 players with their own warhorses followed behind them.
On the Skeleton Alliance side, [ Western Sharpshooter ] had just been promoted to captain of the light cavalry patrol team, with more than sixty players riding skeletal horses and nearly a hundred skeleton soldiers behind him.
The two sides each stood on two adjacent sand dunes, with the valley between them.
From a distance, they recognized the other side's faction and roughly figured out how many players were involved.
If [ Aluode ] and [ Practice More If You're Bad ], both adept at navigating social situations, were here, they would most likely choose to avoid each other, or perhaps stage a fake match.
Unfortunately, the leaders of both sides today are [ Elderly and Children Fly First ] and [ Western Sharpshooter ].
The former is a well-known battle-crazed player, the kind of player in professional teams who likes to go all out.
The latter, on the other hand, has always believed that the blood of the brave and resourceful Western cowboy flows in his veins, and he would never bring shame to his ancestors.
After roughly confirming the size of the enemy force, both sides quickly began their pre-battle mobilization.
On the [ Western Sharpshooter ] side, with a considerable number of skeleton cavalry supervising his work, his words were even more fervent than before:
"Mercenaries, tell me—whose food are you eating? Whose pay are you receiving?"
Many players were thinking, "They brought their own food, why are you advertising it here?"
However, the money did indeed come from that skeleton knight, and with many skeleton soldiers watching, he gave them face and shouted:
"It's Lord Colin!"
"It's Knight Colin!"
[ Western Sharpshooter ] nodded and corrected:
"That's right, we are Lord Colin's mercenaries. We've been paid to do what we have to do. Right now, those are those despicable imperialists. Come with me and charge them!"
"If anyone retreats, the rear guard will cut down the front guard!"
"Rush!"
The crowd immediately erupted in clamor, while on the opposite sand dune, the pre-battle mobilization message of " Elderly and Children Fly First " was far more practical:
According to the Imperial military regulations: Kill one enemy, receive one gold coin; kill three enemies, your entire family is exempt from military service; kill five enemies, and you will be promoted one rank!
"Brothers, follow me!"