Outrageous Intelligence

"Commander, this enemy force is no ordinary one."

"Their ranks are orderly and their fighting strength is fierce. They're definitely an elite enemy unit!"

"From the information our scouts gathered, we suspect it's the Holy Glory Empire's Third Army, with a total strength of over ten thousand."

Lancaster answered, sounding somewhat uneasy.

Benefits did not come for free. To claim a share of the spoils, he had to demonstrate his value.

Unfortunately, the enemy had remained on the outskirts of the Dragonbone Mountains. The scouts they sent out could not get anywhere near the enemy camp, so they could only piece together intelligence from scraps of information gathered here and there.

"Commander, the intelligence our White Fox Tribe gathered is much the same as the Black Bear Tribe's."

Sanders quickly chimed in.

No one could say how much of that intelligence was reliable.

The White Fox Tribe knew very little about the enemy, but he could hardly tell Commander Jeremiah that he knew nothing at all.

If they appeared too incompetent, they would get no share when the spoils were divided later.

"That's right. The intelligence we gathered is much the same."

As if taking a cue, the other tribal representatives all chimed in.

Since their own tribes had gathered no accurate information on the enemy, going along with everyone else was their best option.

Besides, Lancaster had chosen his words carefully. He had said they "suspected" it was the Holy Glory Empire's Third Army, not guaranteed it.

Even if they got the enemy's designation wrong, it would be no great matter. They were certainly an elite force, at least.

"Is that all the information you have?"

Commander Jeremiah asked with a frown.

Determining the enemy's designation and strength was important, but on the battlefield, that was only the most basic information.

To know themselves and their enemy, they needed to gather more intelligence.

At the very least, they needed to find out what types of troops the enemy had and exactly where their main force was stationed.

If possible, they also needed to gather information on the enemy commander.

"Commander, the enemy is very cunning. Their command camp has remained hidden in the mountains.

"Our people have a hard time getting close, so they could only scout out information on the troops the enemy has on the grasslands."

Lancaster steeled himself and explained.

The Goshawk Tribe and the Cors Tribe had been wiped out at almost the same time, and deep down, they had greatly exaggerated the enemy's military strength.

Subconsciously, they had decided to stay farther away from the enemy.

To avoid becoming the third unlucky tribe, none of the neighboring tribes dared go and provoke the enemy. They were all waiting for a neighbor to stick its neck out first.

Their calculations were sound, but everyone else was just as clever.

At a critical moment, each was quicker-witted than the last, and none was willing to take the risk.

Even when gathering intelligence, they only sent scouts to observe from a distance. They had never considered capturing prisoners.

If they had not encountered survivors from the two tribes, they would not even have known the enemy's strength or designation.

The survivors had been so focused on fleeing for their lives in the panic that the intelligence they brought back was bound to be inaccurate.

After comparing information from several survivors, the Third Supplementary Army had become the main Third Army, and its strength had grown from six or seven thousand to over ten thousand.

"Mm!"

"You were right not to provoke the enemy. The Holy Glory Empire has only ten main combat armies, and every one of them is renowned across the continent.

"The khanate previously paid a painful price to wipe out three main armies of the Northern Frontier Corps.

"Against an enemy like that, you can never be too careful."

Commander Jeremiah spoke with a grave expression.

Only those who had actually fought them knew how difficult the enemy's main forces were to deal with.

With equal numbers, he could not be certain of victory against any of the enemy's main armies.

"Commander, something's not right!"

"If the Holy Glory Empire still has a main army on the grasslands, why didn't they return to help when the fighting at Dragon Spine Pass grew desperate?"

"With another main force in the battle, we might not have been able to take Dragon Spine Pass. At the very least, we couldn't have won so quickly!"

Knightley, his deputy, raised the question from beside him.

The role a main army could play on the battlefield was beyond anything an ordinary cannon-fodder force could match.

If the Northern Frontier Corps Duke Alvin had previously led had possessed one more main army, the trap they had set might not have been enough to wipe out the enemy.

Even if a lack of information had caused them to miss the earlier decisive battle, the enemy should certainly not have been absent from the battle for Dragon Spine Pass.

"Deputy Commander Knightley, could it be that the enemy's communications were poor and they didn't know Dragon Spine Pass was in danger?"

Lancaster offered the explanation, sounding somewhat flustered.

One lie required more lies to cover it up.

Deep down, he already regretted speaking out of turn.

Why had he stuck his neck out for no reason? It would have been much better to leave the chance to make an impression to a neighbor!

"That's highly unlikely!"

"The Holy Glory Empire doesn't assign army designations at random.

"The first ten army designations represent their ten most elite armies.

"An elite force like that, operating deep behind enemy lines, couldn't possibly lack a way to communicate with the rear."

Knightley shook his head, rejecting the idea.

As their enemies, they had a general idea of what the Holy Glory Empire had at its disposal.

Although flying magic beasts were difficult to tame, the empire could still equip its elite troops with a small number for carrying messages.

"If that's the case, it can only mean the enemy has a more important mission, one even more important than returning to defend Dragon Spine Pass!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Commander Jeremiah's expression turned grave.

An elite force with a special objective going into the Dragonbone Mountains was no small matter.

With the Third Army's strength, even setting strategy and tactics aside, simply wreaking havoc on the grasslands could cause rivers of blood to flow.

Yet aside from the Goshawk Tribe and the Cors Tribe, which had run into them, the enemy had done nothing else. It was simply incredible.

"There are quite a few legends about the Dragonbone Mountains. Could there be something where the enemy is stationed?"

Knightley could not help speculating.

The Pannosia Continent had no shortage of strange occurrences, and some terrifying things there were even capable of destroying a nation.

They had previously used the undead calamity to wear down the Northern Frontier Corps, and the enemy could do something similar.

If there was some kind of seal and they released a horde of monsters to attack the grasslands, they would be in serious trouble.

"Deputy commander, we don't know much about the Dragonbone Mountains.

"It's been less than ten years since we were assigned this pasture, and nothing major has happened in those ten years.

"As for the more distant history, we don't know."

Tristan was the first to state his position.

Their tribe had migrated here later and knew nothing about the history of the area.

What information they did know consisted of widely circulated stories whose truth could not be verified.

"Although the Black Bear Tribe arrived several hundred years earlier, our knowledge of the Dragonbone Mountains is just as limited.

"Even when disaster forced us into the mountains, we only dug up wild vegetables around the edges and occasionally hunted a few animals.

"Because of the magic beasts, our people have never ventured deep inside."

Lancaster quickly followed with an explanation.