Chapter 72 : Surprise Attack?
#072. Surprise Attack
Hiiiiiing-!
Gregory arranged the cavalry and began the sortie together. Currently, the Blandi Kingdom's regular soldiers were probably chopping down trees to secure visibility and advance.
It was obvious that the forest presented rough terrain, but they decided to strike before the woods could be fully cleared. Even retreating would be challenging for their own forces in such a harsh place.
Reducing the enemy's numbers and delaying their assault as much as possible—this was Gregory and his comrades' greatest mission.
"Everyone, be sure to properly distinguish between friend and foe."
Gregory issued orders to the soldiers under his command and distributed flags. This, of course, increased the likelihood of being spotted by the enemy.
But deep in the forest, with vision limited, distinguishing ally from enemy was difficult and could become dangerous, so the flags were provided with this in mind.
"Yes, sir. Good luck to you."
Having finished preparations for the sortie, Gregory moved a short distance away from his comrades. Because there were so many men, moving in one large group wasn't practical.
When a surprise attack was in order, splitting into several squads and attacking simultaneously was much more advantageous.
Increasing the operation's success rate took precedence over survival. Originally, Walter, the knight order commander, held the authority to mobilize the Dawn Order.
However, since anything could happen in wartime, command authority was delegated to Gregory, who excelled at battlefield leadership.
"Hm... What method would be most certain?"
Gregory felt the weight of responsibility, but without hesitation contemplated the plan. Of course, if pressed, he would choose to sacrifice the flesh to save the bone, but his ideal was to seize the advantage without any losses.
That was why he wanted a clever strategy. If they could annihilate a large number of enemies this time, they could definitely block the enemy's advance.
They could also buy time for other knight orders to join the battle. The plan was simply to delay as much as possible.
'Hmm... It probably won't be as easy as it sounds. This isn't something I can just put into action right away.'
Gregory wanted to craft an even more thorough plan. He reasoned that even with just the cavalry, an ambush might only inflict minor damage on the enemy, so he needed an alternative.
No matter how fast the cavalry moved, they would inevitably be caught in the enemy's encirclement.
If there was any delay, reinforcements might arrive, so he desperately needed a way to strike the enemy with one powerful blow.
'Is that method really the only option left?'
Soon after, Gregory came upon a clever plan: fire arrows. He knew this forested area was rich in usable resources.
Since it lay along the borders between nations, management was lax, and no one could gather the yields without royal permission.
Moreover, there were plenty of bandits and raiders in the area.
Gregory looked cheerfully towards the direction the enemies were heading. The regular soldiers, seeing him laugh, looked the other way, thinking that Gregory really was the terrifying monster the rumors painted him to be.
First, Gregory summoned his comrades. Since positions needed to be secured in advance, he intended to simply give out instructions. But what he shouted was an unexpected word.
"W-what? G-gunpowder?"
Alessandro looked bewildered upon hearing Gregory's plan. What he had come up with involved using gunpowder. Familiar with the habits of Blandi soldiers, Gregory believed this plan would definitely work.
The soldiers of the Blandi Kingdom were sure to gather resources into one place while exploring the area. Ordinary regular soldiers were forbidden to even inspect freshly gathered materials.
This was to hide them and prevent anyone from being tempted to steal.
Gregory planned to take advantage of this. The forest was teeming with resources, and since the regular soldiers didn't know exactly what was in those piles, he would plant gunpowder inside.
With that setup, if they suddenly attacked by launching fire arrows at those piles, they could inflict massive damage and ensure the ambush's success.
Gregory quickly relayed the plan, and when Ernest heard about it, he asked with a worried face,
"But if we do that, won't the whole forest just burn down? Besides, the Blandi Kingdom has way more soldiers, so it'll only hurt us."
Gregory replied, refuting Ernest's argument.
"It's dry, sure, but there's barely any wind, so the fire will spread slowly. And if we just endure for a bit, support from the other knight orders will definitely arrive."
Just as Walter had said, if the other knight orders joined, their overall strength would even out and assaulting a siege would become much easier.
Gregory judged that even if the forest burned, it would rarely benefit the enemy country. No matter how many regular soldiers they threw into the fight, it would be difficult to pinpoint responsibility.
At best, responsibility would fall on the commander who had carried out the operation.
If they won big with the ambush and the fire spread, burning down the whole forest, they would ultimately curb enemy incursions and clear visibility.
Apparently, Ernest seemed to catch on to that idea. Clearing the woods might actually help their cavalry maneuver more freely.
"Alright, so what do we do?"
Gregory shared the method with the others. Everyone looked puzzled, but maybe because it was Gregory,
There was no opposition or questioning—they just did as he said.
While instructing them on the procedure, Gregory made an additional request. For complete success, eliminate the enemy swiftly and quietly, then gradually encircle one side as they advanced.
"Good, let's get moving."
***
Everything proceeded quietly according to Gregory's plan. But Gregory couldn't help feeling uneasy. Things were going suspiciously well.
He thought about what he could have done wrong, but couldn't recall any mistakes.
'This just feels... too smooth. Something isn't right.'
Gregory and his comrades had set up a camp with a tent for the surprise attack, and were just about to launch the operation. At that moment, Alessandro and Adrian entered Gregory's tent.
"Gregory, something's happened. Come see!"
Alessandro and Adrian looked as if something bad had occurred, and Gregory felt a chill.
Following them, Gregory had no choice but to frown.
"What's this... Explain to me exactly what happened."
Adrian and Alessandro hesitated in response. It was because the Blandi Kingdom's regular soldiers had stolen not only the resource piles but also the gunpowder.
It had been the perfect opportunity to wipe out the enemies, but that chance had just vanished.
"We—we're not sure either. I think they caught on."
The Blandi Kingdom's regular soldiers, who had been advancing blindly as if they couldn't see anything, had suddenly altered their strategy. Gregory formed three hypotheses.
First, it was a strategic tactical retreat. Second, that someone had seen through Gregory's plan. And third, that there was a traitor in the knight order leaking information to the enemy.
"Assemble the knight order members at once."
Gregory judged that of the three hypotheses, the last—having someone collaborating with the enemy—was most likely. From his memories of his previous life, in reality, each land often had traitors hiding in service of enemy nations.
And Blandi's Kingdom, which used to hurl in enormous waves of troops, had started making strategic decisions from the midpoint of the war onward.
Even though the timeline had become twisted, this situation was truly absurd.
However, all Gregory could do was suspect—he had no definitive proof. With only circumstantial evidence, he chose to prioritize the safety of his comrades by assembling all knight order members, rather than focusing on rooting out a traitor for now.
Because if there really was a traitor, the positions of his comrades could be leaked instantly, and if targeted, their lives could be in grave danger.
"What are you doing right now? I said call everyone right now!"
Seeing Gregory so furious, Alessandro and Adrian thought he was scolding them for the failed operation.
***
"What? You think there's a traitor among us?"
Since Gregory couldn't spill his secret of his past life, he just implied he'd noticed something. His comrades all reacted differently.
Ernest insisted on rooting out any traitor immediately, while Adrian pointed out that with all the distrust between comrades, how could they even identify a traitor?
Brea, as usual, was busy complaining.
"So you're saying we could die any second? Ha. How are we supposed to fight like this?"
Gregory brought the situation to a close.
"Wait, calm down. There's a good tactic for this."
Alessandro, curious about Gregory's clever idea, asked,
"A good tactic? What is it?"