Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Intelligence
Duke Edmund was sitting behind his desk, reviewing thick war reports while listening to the low voice of the military officer reporting.
"The Snow Oathholder outposts had been purged smoothly, with five of the seven outposts in Bingnan Ridge already cleared..."
He nodded lightly, not surprised, only feeling it as a matter of course.
Exterminating the Snow Oathholders was a plan he personally devised, mobilizing all of the Northern Territory to cooperate with the strategy wholeheartedly.
He even led a team a few days ago himself, beheading a Snow Oathholder elder, whose head still hangs on the city wall to this day.
Everything was under control.
"These wild dogs are finally going to be wiped out."
Just then, a Gale Bird with blood-stained wings flapped its wings and crashed onto the window ledge.
Along with the letter, came a strong smell of blood.
He frowned as it was a letter from Snow Eagle City.
"Snow Eagle City? Didn’t they just send a distress letter before? Saying they were surrounded by two thousand Snow Oathholders, hadn’t I already sent reinforcements? How can it be again..."
A sense of foreboding rose in Duke Edmund’s heart as he unfolded the letter.
Upon reading the third line, he suddenly stood up, his face changed dramatically, and the glass in his hand shattered to the ground.
"Snow Eagle City has fallen, Count Fors has perished, and the defending troops have been completely wiped out..."
As Duke Edmund read this, he was silent for a moment, then let out an angry roar.
"Are you f*cking kidding me! Three thousand men defending the city, just three days?!" He slammed the table with anger.
"Even three thousand pigs piled there would take three days to kill, yet they couldn’t hold it?! What the heck was that old Fors doing!"
The military officer beside softly reminded, "Sir, the old Count Fors passed away two years ago, the current Count Fors is the old Fors’ son."
"Hmph, no wonder..." Duke Edmund held his forehead, turning his anger into a cold sneer, "If we don’t send aid back, the Snow Oathholders will use Snow Eagle City as a springboard to continuously invade southward, it will be very troublesome then."
The strategist said gravely, "But a strong attack to retake it would require at least five thousand troops, and once the main force is mobilized, other battlefields will be left vulnerable."
"I know." Edmund gritted his teeth, "But we can’t completely give up, we have to figure out a way."
He tried to plot several reinforcement routes and then crossed them out one by one, none seemed reasonable.
"Three thousand defending the city, fell in just three days, this group of useless are not even as good as a bunch of dogs." Unable to figure a way out, Edmund cursed again.
At this moment, an eagle’s cry came from outside the window and another Gale Bird descended into the courtyard.
He turned his head to look, his expression tense, "Another urgent letter?"
He grabbed it and unfolded the letter to read immediately.
He was stunned, then his eyes flashed with a gleam, ecstatic with joy.
"Qingyu Ridge has been seized?!"
The letter clearly stated that a young noble, Louis Calvin, led over two hundred men on a surprise attack on Qingyu Ridge, smashing through the Snow Oathholder defense line, beheading two hundred warriors, and taking the strategic point!
"Louis?" he murmured the name, having some impression.
Wasn’t he the kid who traded fish for a knighthood?
"That Calvin family kid, not with high cultivation, so young to accomplish such a big feat! Truly a talent!"
Duke Edmund clenched the letter in his hand and laughed wildly, "Hahaha! Well done, boy!"
At that moment, he had already made a decision.
"Since Snow Eagle City can’t be kept, then we don’t want it either! Let them be trapped there!
We’ll encircle but not attack, cut off their supply lines! As long as Qingyu Ridge stands, no supplies can get through, and the Snow Oathholders will eventually starve like dogs!"
"Send this letter to Bond." he instructed his attendant, "Let that Louis kid defend the passage at all costs! Don’t retreat even half a step!
First, mobilize fifteen hundred knights as the vanguard, let Gibson lead and head to Qingyu Ridge to reinforce as fast as possible."
......
Bond received the letter from the Gale Bird in the early morning.
It was an urgent military order personally signed by the Duke.
After tearing open the seal, when he unfolded the letter, his eyes changed sharply.
Snow Eagle City had fallen, Count Fors had perished, all three thousand defenders were exterminated.
Moreover, the enemy forces were advancing aggressively towards Qingyu Ridge, intending to reclaim it.
"How could this be..." he murmured lowly, fingers trembling slightly.
He understood very well what this meant.
Qingyu Ridge had already become the last stronghold to block the main forces of the Ice Sea County Snow Oathholders.
It was conceivable how fierce the fighting would be in this place next!
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and quickly walked towards the central tent.
Inside the tent, Louis was writing and sketching something on a map.
"Sir, I need to speak with you alone." Bond said in a deep voice, his eyes heavy.
Louis dismissed the others, turning to him, "Speak."
Bond handed out the letter, speaking in a low tone, "I am a secret envoy sent by Duke Edmund. I was ordered to observe you, and now officially deliver the Duke’s battle orders."
He paused, his voice growing heavier.
"Snow Eagle City is overrun. Now it has become the only barrier blocking the main forces of the Ice Sea County Snow Oathholders.
The enemy is redirecting their main forces towards here. Sir, the Duke’s order is to defend Qingyu Ridge at all costs."
He stared into Louis’s eyes, his heart full of anxiety.
He knew the nature of this order.
To have a young noble lead over two hundred men to withstand the elite counterattack of the Snow Oathholders...
It was almost a death sentence.
But Louis merely glanced at the letter before setting it aside on the table.
He nodded, his tone calm, "Understood."
Bond was stunned on the spot, momentarily forgetting to speak, "Ah? You... are not surprised? Worried?"
"Worrying won’t help." Louis turned around, his demeanor unruffled, "As long as we hold them, right?"
"You’re not asking anything else?" Bond couldn’t help but inquire.
Louis shook his head slightly, "No need."
Bond gazed at him, a storm surging in his heart.
What on earth is up with this person?
With Snow Eagle City just fallen and enemy forces attacking, the situation was extremely perilous.
Yet this young man was calm throughout, not even a single eyebrow frowning.
As if hearing something he already anticipated.
Is this arrogance, or confidence?
Of course, he couldn’t know that just yesterday morning, Louis had already foreseen the entire course of the battle through the "Daily Intelligence System."
Including the mobilization directions of the Snow Oathholder main forces, and intelligence that Qingyu Ridge was about to become the new battlefield.
Even the exact number, path, and arrival time of the enemy movements were clear to him.
Moreover, he had already prepared all the battle tactics.
So since yesterday, Louis began setting up ambushes, deploying scouts, marking ambush points, and planning retreat routes...
And when Bond brought the "urgent military report," he was already reviewing the details of step seven in his plan.
Eight hundred Snow Oathholder elites, such a scale of enemy forces, indeed put some pressure on him.
But Louis did not intend to clash head-on with the enemy here, nor did he plan to gamble on luck waiting for reinforcements.
He did not want to squander his soldiers and knights needlessly here either.
Because he had already found an opportunity.
An opportunity to wipe out the eight hundred Snow Oathholder elites in one fell swoop.