Meanwhile, on the Empire's side, the Soul Returner who received this top-secret military intelligence immediately became restless.
Led by [ Practice More If You're Bad ] and others, the members of the " One Heart Society " gathered in a tent and quickly began an intensive discussion.
Some time has passed since they marched south from the slightly northern border to this Riel Valley, and they are currently in a classic stalemate with the skeleton soldiers inside the fortress in the valley.
It's not surprising that Alfonso was overly cautious; as the second son of a military aristocratic family, Alfonso had some discernment.
After surveying the area from a high vantage point, he concluded that with his strength, he simply couldn't take down the sandcastle that was strategically located in the Riel Valley.
Even with reinforcements from his father, Alfonso's total number of soldiers at this time was only around two thousand.
That large fortress must have had nearly a thousand defenders, not to mention its overwhelmingly advantageous terrain.
So after arriving here, Alfonso decided to prepare a defensive posture and wait for the next opportunity.
As long as Lord Luokenuosuos i launches a full-scale attack, everything will be alright!
At that time, the best passage within a hundred miles north and south of Riel Valley will definitely change, and that will be my chance to make my move!
As an Imperial officer, Alfonso is still young and can afford to wait.
But the players can't wait any longer.
After receiving the urgent intelligence from [ Practice More If You're Bad ] that the Alliance was about to tighten its defenses, the player captains who were eligible to participate in the " One Heart Society " quickly reached a consensus and unanimously passed the proposal—[Act First, Report Later].
Of course, it's not necessary to finish everything before informing Alfonso; that would be too disrespectful to him.
After two rounds of discussion, [ Practice More If You're Bad ] decided to inform Alfonso of this matter after the players started taking action, essentially saying, "The dads have gone hunting, so remember to eat well and sleep well at home."
As for what the young viscount thought...
Does anyone actually care?
"Now that we've decided to take action..."
After discussing the pointless question of whether or not to pull off a heist, the first to question the details of the plan was [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ], who had also been promoted to centurion. During his rest time, he still enjoyed playing military simulation games, so he was very sensitive to terrain.
He pondered for a moment over the map he had drawn during this period and asked:
We can't just force our way into the city, can we?
"If we launch a direct assault, it's no different than not receiving any intelligence at all..."
He thought for a moment and then said:
"But if we wait until all those skeleton soldiers have withdrawn before attacking, it seems there's nothing more to gain besides occupying an empty city."
[ Practice More If You're Bad ] nodded:
"I understand what you mean, so there's no need for us to attack the city in this plan."
He pointed to the mountain range on the map that hadn't been completely weathered into yellow sand but was already barren of vegetation and said:
"According to intelligence, the retreat during the day would be too commotion, so the enemy is probably planning to retreat in unison tonight."
"It's only noon now, we still have enough time. We could actually... take a detour."
His fingers traced a curve along the mountainsides on either side of Riel Valley:
"Don't forget the Hoofed Beast. These things are almost as fast as real racehorses, and their endurance is far superior."
"Bring supplies and weapons, and send the Hoofed Beast at full speed. We can circle around to their side before nightfall."
"We'll stab them in the back from the side, and that'll definitely make headlines."
After listening to the idea that " Practice More If You're Bad," the players thought about it and nodded in agreement.
The World of Disorder is vastly different from the real world, and some tactics that are impossible in reality are not unfounded here.
The ideal plan of " the Practice More If You're Bad " is naturally difficult for the Imperial Army, but it is not a big problem for the elite Soul Returner.
It could even be argued that the biggest problem lies with the Hoofed Beast rather than the players. If the Hoofed Beast were to the point of exhaustion, it wouldn't be impossible for players with high strength to launch a "reverse cavalry" attack while carrying their own horses.
After most of the officers among the players agreed to the raid plan, someone else came up with a new idea.
This time, the speaker is [ Elderly and Children Fly First ]:
"If this kind of operation is possible, then I have an idea too."
"Oh, you have dreams too, right?"
[ Practice More If You're Bad ] pushed the map towards him:
Tell everyone about it.
[ Elderly and Children Fly First ] was not intimidating; he pondered for a moment and said:
"Assuming everything you just thought of goes smoothly, where would the skeletons that were intercepted run to?"
[ The Retreat Drum Player ] seemed to realize something and said with a smile:
"It's stupid and pointless, but if I were a skeleton, I'd definitely run back if I were hit like that."
That's right!
[ Elderly and Children Fly First ] Seeing that others shared the same idea gave me even more confidence:
"Then why don't we split into two groups? Half of the players can take a detour and ambush them, while the other half can go up the mountain in the middle and deliver another blow when they run back!"
Upon hearing this, almost all the players in the tent were stunned. After a few seconds, [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] was the first to retort:
"This mountain... I remember it had a pretty steep slope."
[ Elderly and Children Fly First ] nodded:
"I took a look before; although it's difficult, it's still possible to climb up using hardwood stakes."
Saying "[ Elderly and Children Fly First ]", he looked around at the crowd:
"Fellow ' Holy See Supermen,' are you really not going to give it a try?"
[ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] pursed his lips:
"You might as well say ' Theocracy to fly,' but that's a pretty good idea. I've always considered mountains a terrain obstacle, and it's amazing you came up with it in such a short time..."
"Then you'll have to ask Deng Ai."
[ Elderly and Children Fly First ] tapped on the table:
"What do you think of my idea? And I just realized there's another advantage—if I take half the group hiking, the other half can each ride two horses!"
Upon hearing this, the eyes of several players who enjoyed cavalry charges immediately lit up.
Previously, everyone was worried that the horses would be exhausted, but now that there are horses for changing riders, then...
That might mean each person could exhaust two horses to death.
However, having a backup horse does improve the win rate somewhat.
"That's a good idea."
[ Howling Pothos ] stared at the map for a while, then suddenly laughed and said:
"In that case, I have another idea for cooking this fish in three ways..."
The crowd gathered around again:
"Tell me quickly!"
[ Howling Pothos ] pointed to the fortress in the very center of the valley and said:
"Since we're going to send out all our forces anyway, why don't we also tell Alfonso this news and have his Imperial Army attack this empty city directly? It'll give him a sense of involvement."