A semi-transparent document, written in a style somewhat different from that of the Kingdom and the Tree Worship Church, slowly unfolded before Ed.
The jumbled text gave him a slight headache. After a moment of hesitation, Ed gently pressed his temples and sent a message to Duma through the Root Network.
" Son of God..."
The devil's magnetic, fervent voice echoed in my mind.
"Yes, I've already read your military report."
Ed told a lie with a straight face:
To avoid any ambiguity, please give a verbal report.
"Yes, sir."
The devil's enthusiasm remained undiminished as he began to earnestly recount to Ed what he had been doing recently, based on what he had written, while Ed, like any mentor, offered timely comments.
Even Ed had to admit that the devil's efficiency was indeed outstanding.
Even if you listen to his report with a critical eye, you'll feel that he has already done the best a native demon can do.
Ed wanted to make some rather wicked comments, like "So you haven't done anything all week?" or "Where's the innovation in your plan?"—things reminiscent of otherworldly cultural heritage—but the demon's work was indeed quite good, so he could only keep agreeing and expressing his approval of Duma's achievements.
"... In summary, after Duolin's intelligence gathering, we now have information on the two towns in Fitz Province closest to Fir City. If you agree, I will launch an attack on the two towns within a week."
Duma's voice continued to ring out, Ed forced himself not to yawn. He thought for a moment and asked:
Tell me about the situation in these two towns.
"Yes."
With Ed's permission, Duma gained the ability to create a virtual whiteboard and began to paint a rosy picture for her boss:
The two Fitz Province towns located south of Fir City are ' Ginkgo Town ' and ' Laurel Town '.
" Ginkgo Town is located in the west and has seventeen villages under its jurisdiction. Originally, there were no city walls here, but since the existence of the Second Holy See is no secret, there have been signs of groundbreaking after the recent thawing. Currently, a Holy Crusaders Knight Order should be stationed in the town."
"The latter is located to the east, surrounded by twenty villages. As early as last autumn, city walls were built to defend against possible Blood Corpse. Some Soul Returner have seen two different Holy Crusaders Knight Order flags nearby, suggesting that two knightly orders may be stationed there."
Ed nodded and pressed on:
So what are your plans?
Duma's illusory consciousness resides in the walled Ginkgo Town.
"I plan to launch a feint attack here."
Ed immediately perked up:
"You're launching a feint attack on just two towns?"
Duma nodded solemnly:
"Yes, sir. I will always keep your teachings in mind. I will not harm innocent natives unless absolutely necessary. In order to carry out your ideas as much as possible, I plan to set the battlefield at the border of the two towns. There is plenty of land there and no need to worry about civilians being affected."
Oh, so it was a plan to relieve the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao.
Ed understood Duma's strategy; it was indeed a good method: attack the town without walls first, and if another town came to their aid, sabotage them on their way.
but...
Ed thought about the fighting power of the Soul Returner.
The only difference between the current Soul Returner and Blood Corpse is that Blood Corpse lack the ability to think.
Even a forced march would take a whole day to travel between the two towns. Facing these Blood Corpse from another world, Ed had no idea that the seemingly ordinary Ginkgo Town could withstand them for a whole day, especially without city walls.
So he asked the question that had been bothering him:
"I don't think Ginkgo Town can hold out until reinforcements arrive."
Duma nodded with considerable certainty:
"They definitely won't last long, so I plan to have Ginkgo Town build its city walls first."
The demon's idea sounded rather far-fetched, and seeing Ed's slight confusion, he let out a sinister laugh:
"My lord, if you want to plunge the enemy into the deepest despair, you must first give them hope."
"If Ginkgo Town didn't have city walls, who knows how many enemies and civilians would have escaped. But with city walls, they have nowhere to go."
"Now that I am aware of the power of the Soul Returner, I will naturally utilize them to their fullest potential, so please rest assured."
Ed nodded, having roughly grasped Duma's train of thought.
Just like in the literary works of my past life--
Even if it were tens of thousands of pigs, if they were running all over the mountains and fields, the enemy would have to capture them for several days.
But now Duma wants the enemy to build a cage themselves, and then he can just steal the key. His thinking is indeed quite unique.
Ed hesitated for a moment and then asked:
"What if they don't fall for it? What if the Holy Crusaders of Laurel Town refuses to send support?"
As if a switch had been flipped, Duma immediately began to introduce the product with great enthusiasm:
"It doesn't matter if they don't fall for it; it's just a feint that turns into a real attack. Taking Ginkgo Town shouldn't be a problem."
"As for Laurel Town, even if this attempt to lure the enemy fails, it's alright; many synchronized plans have already begun to be implemented."
Tell me about it.
Duma's tone became quite confident:
"The first plan is to relocate civilians. The Soul Returner have been clearing out the villages near Laurel Town these past few days. I have had the Half-Tree people build a batch of temporary houses on the outskirts of Fir City to house these civilians. We will not silence the Laurel Town scouts who have seen this. They will report this matter when they return. If they really can't resist sending troops, the area around Laurel Town will soon become a deserted village."
"The second plan is to have some Soul Returner who are used to coming to accept missions at night go to the vicinity of Laurel Town to harass the people. They will circle around the city walls, and make gestures as if they want to attack. After tormenting those people all night, they will leave without actually launching an attack."
"The third plan is to dig a tunnel near Laurel Town under the cover of a plan to disrupt the peace; it's currently halfway done..."
Ed listened intently to Duma's series of outrageous ideas, sensing that the priests and Holy Crusaders of Fitz Province were suffering terribly.
During the day, they constantly hear reports of civilians being abducted, and at night they are disturbed by night owl players, with enemies appearing at any moment...
He had only seen similar tactics in some documentaries. It could only be said that Duma's tactics were quite similar to those of nomadic tribes in the era of cold weapons, and he was very skilled at combining feints and real attacks.