Chapter 1462: Chapter 1460: Midnight Fireworks
Mario witnessed all of this, first feeling relieved, then furrowing his brow.
The complete death of the Black Knight gave him some relief, but their behavior of dying completely left him puzzled—he couldn’t understand why the Shalin side insisted on doing this.
For so many days, whether they sent out small groups of dozens of Black Knights or large groups of hundreds, the result was always the same: they died in battle.
He doesn’t have much command talent and doesn’t know how to accurately describe the situation, but he always feels that instead of these infiltration attacks wave after wave, it’d be more effective to gather and launch one large offensive.
"What’s the point in such a straightforward act of dying?" Mario couldn’t help but mutter. The Black Knight burnt the grain depot and left him hungry for half a day. Although he was somewhat annoyed, he didn’t find it unbearable.
The captain of the Red Maple Cavalry Group heard these words from not far away, turned and looked at Mario, expressionless, and said: "No matter what the point is, don’t think about it. General Soron said, Shalin fights Shalin’s battle, we fight ours—if Shalin wants to die, let them die; we’ll just follow the plan."
"Uh, yes." Mario bowing his head, responded quietly.
The captain of the Red Maple Cavalry Group no longer paid attention to Mario and looked toward the distant battlefield. Confirming the complete death of the Black Knights and that there’s no possibility for their group’s intervention, he sternly called out, "Alright, looks like they won’t need us here, let’s enter the mountains, as vanguard, to see what other tricks Shalin has waiting for us."
"Yes." A chorus of voices from the Red Maple Cavalry Group responded.
"Move out!" The captain spurred his horse forward, followed quickly by the other cavalrymen, Mario included.
...
Night.
Inside the temporary staff tent on a flatland in the Chaotic Mountain Range.
"General, our troops have already entered the mountains." A blue-eyed adviser reported to Military God Soron.
Soron glanced at the adviser, asking, "Any reaction from Shalin?"
"They..." the adviser with pale blue eyes flashed them slightly before responding, "It’s very odd. Since our central forces entered the Chaotic Mountain Range, their infiltration attacks not only did not increase but significantly decreased, almost to the point of nonexistence."
"Nonexistence?" Soron stroked his chin, looked at the adviser, questioning, "What’s the staff department’s conclusion about this?"
"The staff department’s conclusion is that perhaps Shalin has already accomplished its combat objectives, which is why the infiltration attack frequency has so evidently reduced." The adviser said, hesitating a bit, "But the key is, we still don’t know what Shalin’s objective is. As of now, our troops haven’t suffered great losses or significant changes.
The only difference from before is that we entered the Chaotic Mountain Range, and the rear forces are in place, greatly boosting our combat power. Previously someone speculated that Shalin might want our rear forces to consolidate, then use some secret weapon or special large spell to heavily damage us. Whether this is achievable or not, we’ve already dispersed our forces again as per your instructions, so even if Shalin truly attacks, the effect won’t be well."
Soron pondered deeply and asked, "Where have our fastest troops reached? And the slowest?"
"This..." The blue-eyed adviser paused, looking beside him.
A companion beside him, another aged grey-eyed adviser spoke to Soron: "General, as per the latest news, our fastest troops have already reached Wailing Mountain, and the slowest have just crossed Akra Pass."
Soron walked to the sand table in the tent, looked over it, squinting, "Wailing Mountain? Akra Pass?"
As if discovering something, he picked up a wooden stick, sliding it from Wailing Mountain towards Shalin’s direction, stopping in the gap between two mountains.
"Loxs Pass." Soron pronounced the name, then the stick slid back, stopping at Akra Pass.
Following Soron’s drawing, many advisors gleaned some information.
Starting from Akra Pass to Loxs Pass, the terrain in-between is relatively flat, like a basin held by numerous high mountains.
More vividly, it’s like a bag with an entrance at Akra Pass and an exit at Loxs Pass, with Reef Rock Castle’s central forces positioned right in the middle.
"If..." Soron voiced, "If Shalin is clever enough to station elite forces at these two passes, they can trap our tens of thousands of troops here."
Many advisors revealed shocked expressions on hearing this.
But the elder grey-eyed adviser remained calm, speaking up, "General, what you said is indeed possible, but the likelihood is low. Firstly, Akra Pass is at our rear, and we have ample reconnaissance capabilities, yet haven’t found Shalin people circumventing our back route, so Akra Pass is currently safe.
Additionally, Loxs Pass indeed poses a risk of being blocked, but Loxs Pass isn’t narrow, entirely capable of deploying numbers of tens of thousands, nearly a hundred thousand troops. Even if truly blocked, we can exert combat strength to fight our way out."
After hearing this, Soron glanced at the grey-eyed adviser, pondering for a few seconds before agreeing, "Mr. Noel’s reasoning makes sense, I overthought it."
"However, it’s still imperative to prepare defenses, better safe than sorry." Soron continued.
As he spoke, Soron took two small red flags, placing them into the sand table, saying while placing them, "Give the order to speed elite troops to Loxs Pass for vigilance and deployment. Additionally, mobilize forces from the rear to guard Akra Pass. This way, even if there’s no Shalin conspiracy, we can secure our grain routes, ensuring the safety of subsequent food and material transportation."
"Yes." A young adviser responded, stepping forward to proceed outward.
As he reached the tent’s exit, two deep, hammer-strike-like explosion sounds suddenly erupted from outside in the night’s darkness.
The sound was extremely muffled, like a giant hammer striking the ground, involuntarily stopping one’s heartbeat, creating feelings of being slightly breathless.
The young adviser prepared to issue orders was taken aback, followed by a crash sound from nearby. Before he could react, he was hit by a wooden frame holding maps, knocking him to the ground.
Several seconds later, the young adviser, pulled out by companions, was not severely injured, only somewhat puzzled about the situation.
Everyone in the tent was also puzzled, wondering what happened.
Soron perceptively looked at the sand table beside him, seeing the crafted terrain of mud and sand cracking under the vibration, tiny particles crumbling continuously from the fissures.
He angled his gaze towards the tent’s exterior direction of the two explosions, contemplating for two seconds, softly murmured, "Seems like it’s Akra and Loxs Pass direction."
This!
The faces of people in the tent changed instantly, and Soron was already striding out.
Everyone hurriedly followed, trailing Soron out of the tent, gazing into the night towards Akra and Loxs Pass locations. Then, they saw two enormous flames rising exaggeratedly in their sight, climbing higher, climbing higher...
...
