Chapter 38 : Chapter 38
Chapter 38. The Hunting Grounds of the Windrest Plain
At the center of Lucerne City, inside the lord’s chamber.
The swaying lamplight stretched the shadows of the nine figures seated around the heavy oak table and cast them in twisted shapes upon the cold stone walls.
They looked like nine ferocious beasts lying in wait.
Grumm sat at the head of the table, with a crude parchment map spread out before him.
“Our scouts have confirmed it again and again,” said Veli, “Bloodthorn,” who was responsible for gathering and summarizing intelligence. His voice carried a trace of excitement.
“The place is here, about one hundred fifty li from Lucerne City, deep in the heart of the wasteland, at the edge of Nightsong Forest.
The camp is not small. There are rows of wooden houses, cultivated farmland, and the preliminary estimate puts the population close to a thousand!”
His gaze swept across the greed on the faces of his comrades before he continued.
“But their armed strength is laughably weak!
Even if you count every last one of them, they have fewer than two hundred men fit for battle!
There are only a very few decently equipped knights, and the strongest aura among them is only at the Bronze Tier.”
“Two hundred men?” Otto, “Bloodaxe,” slammed a hand down on the table, making the oil lamp sway violently.
“Veli, are you sure the scouts were not seeing things? A bunch of weaklings like that wiped out Vulture’s outpost and made Viper disappear? Vulture had nearly a hundred desperate outlaws under him, and he himself was Mid-Silver Tier!”
Veli’s face darkened.
“The intelligence was bought with our scouts’ lives. It has been cross-checked repeatedly. There is no mistake.
The traces at the site of Vulture’s destroyed outpost show that the enemy used firepower far beyond what the Vulture Gang possessed, and the battle ended extremely quickly.
Combined with the background of this force, House Black, a marquess house of the Royal Domain...
I suspect they used some kind of one-use alchemical weapon of immense power...
But no matter what, their actual strength is still that of a paper tiger.”
“My lord!” Karl, “Shadowhand,” leaned forward, his face gloomy and sinister.
“If that is the case, why make such a grand affair out of it?
A territory with nearly a thousand people, guarded by a mere two hundred men, is nothing but a fat sheep delivered straight to our mouths!
Allow Otto and me to work together. Give us three hundred elite troops, and we will ride fast and flatten Black Territory within a day!
I guarantee we will leave not even a chicken or a dog alive, and all supplies will be brought back!
If we mobilize the full army, we might alert the Western Frontier Army in Thorne City instead, and that would be troublesome.”
The other Silver knights all nodded one after another.
In their eyes, three hundred elite troops were already more than enough to butcher a small outpost made up mostly of farmers and slaves.
Grumm did not answer at once.
“The Western Frontier Army?” Grumm finally spoke, and a rare cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
“They... are probably never coming out again.”
“What?!” “My lord, you mean...?”
The eight knights all shuddered at once and looked toward their leader with uncertain shock.
The Western Frontier Army, that black lion entrenched in Thorne City, had always been the sword hanging above their heads.
What did their lord mean by this?
Mockery flashed in Grumm’s eyes, the look of a man who could see the whole board.
“You only need to know this,” he said in a low voice.
“That old lion... Federico La Roche... is not coming back.
The Western Frontier... is about to fall completely into chaos.
That is why I brought all of you... and stayed here.”
Boom!
It was as if a silent thunderclap had exploded in the hearts of the eight Silver knights.
That old lion Federico was not coming back? The Western Frontier was about to descend into chaos?
The sheer amount of information hidden behind those few short sentences was enough to leave them breathless.
If the guardian of the Western Frontier fell, then the land would be leaderless.
This was the heaven-sent chance for vultures like them, who had been hiding in the shadows, to finally tear away their disguises, gorge themselves to their hearts’ content, and perhaps even...
stake out their own dominion.
After a brief dead silence, the stone chamber filled with rough, excited breathing.
“So,” Grumm’s voice suddenly rose.
“Six hundred men! The eight of you will lead them together!”
“Six hundred?!” Otto cried out in shock.
To deal with a stronghold guarded by only two hundred men, they were sending six hundred elite troops?
This was no longer a lion hunting a rabbit. It was a giant elephant crushing an ant.
“My lord, this...” Even Veli could not help but try to object. It felt like far too much for the task.
“Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit,” Grumm cut him off.
He paused, and the cold smile at his lips widened, revealing pale, ghastly teeth.
“Besides... do you understand what a ‘complete’ territory with nearly a thousand people means?
Grain, tools, ironware, slaves... especially able-bodied slave laborers and women!
This will be the first rich reserve of capital we use to take root in Lucerne and weather the coming ‘chaos.’
Only with six hundred men can we swallow this fat piece of meat with the least possible losses and... strip it clean!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The eight Silver knights no longer had any objections. All that remained in their eyes was naked greed and the thrill of slaughter as they roared in unison.
It was as though they had already seen Black Territory reduced to ruins beneath iron hooves.
Countless terrified slaves driven along in chains, and wagon after wagon piled with supplies returning endlessly to Lucerne.
......
Almost at the exact moment Grumm gave his final order, far away in Obsidian Territory, over a hundred li distant.
Inside the crude yet increasingly imposing council hall, the atmosphere was equally grave.
Eli sat with his eyes closed, his brows slightly furrowed.
【Purple: Grumm’s rebel army in Lucerne City has confirmed Obsidian Territory’s location and approximate troop strength. They have decided to deploy a mixed elite force of six hundred infantry and cavalry, jointly led by eight Silver Tier knights, and strike directly at Black Territory along the Windrest Plain route. Estimated arrival: before noon two days from now.】
“Before noon two days from now... the Windrest Plain...”
Eli slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head to meet Buck’s gaze.
“Captain Buck, we are out of time.”
Eli relayed the warning from the intelligence system in full, presenting it as though it had come from Brandon.
“Grumm has gathered six hundred elite troops, led by eight Silver Tier knights, and their target is Black Territory.
They have chosen the fastest route, straight through the Windrest Plain.
By noon in two days, their vanguard will appear outside our camp.”
“Six hundred men?! Eight Silvers?!” Bol sucked in a sharp breath.
Buck’s face remained calm as ever.
“The Windrest Plain...” Buck murmured.
His rough finger traced across that broad stretch of land on the map, a relatively open region covered in low, drought-resistant pasture grass.
“It is open ground, good for cavalry deployment and equally good for the advance of a large army... but that also means there is nowhere to hide.”
He suddenly turned, his burning gaze fixed on Eli.
“Young Master, are you planning to fight them head-on there?”
“No. I have thought of a better tactic—an ambush.”
Eli rose to his feet and placed his finger precisely on the edge of the Windrest Plain nearest Black Territory.
There, a winding mark on the map was labeled the dried ancient riverbed.
“Right here. Although the old riverbed dried up long ago, the channel is deep.
On both sides, there are steep earthen bluffs several zhang high, carved out over years of wind erosion. They are like natural walls.
Inside the riverbed are jagged rocks and thick shrubs, enough to conceal troops.”
“If Grumm wants to reach us at the highest possible speed, the Windrest Plain is his best route.
And to cross that plain, this ancient riverbed is an obstacle he cannot avoid.
He will either have to cross the dry riverbed at the narrow Old Ford, or take a much longer route around it.
With their mindset of forced marching, they will definitely choose the nearest crossing, the Old Ford.”
Buck’s mind began racing through the battlefield at once.
“Brilliant!” A sharp light burst from Buck’s eyes, and he could not help but utter a low exclamation.
His gaze toward Eli was filled with unconcealed astonishment and admiration.
The only natural barrier that could be exploited on an open plain... a narrow ford creating a bottleneck...
High bluffs on both sides that favored a downhill strike... rocks and shrubs that provided cover...
In an instant, he understood Eli’s entire tactical design.
By using the terrain of the ancient riverbed, they could compress Grumm’s army of six hundred into the narrow ford area, preventing its numerical advantage from ever unfolding.
And then...
they would close the trap and slaughter them.
“How exactly do you want it arranged?” Buck’s voice carried a trace of excitement now.
“There is no time to waste.” Eli spoke rapidly.
“Captain Buck, your fifty Black Crow Knights are the core of this battle.
I want you to move ahead and lie in ambush behind the bluffs on the upstream side of the ford. The shrubs there are denser, and the sightlines are well concealed.
Your task is not to charge in immediately, but to wait!”
“Wait until half of Grumm’s vanguard has crossed over.
Wait until his main force is jammed up by the narrow ford and their formation is dragged out.
Wait until their men and horses are packed tightly together among the rocks in the riverbed...
Then I want you to drive straight into them from the rear flank.
You have only one target—to smash their command core.”
“Understood!” Buck struck his right fist hard against the armor over his left chest, his eyes blazing with battle intent.
“Clark!” Eli turned toward the eager blond youth.
“I’m here, I’m here! Finally, it’s this young master’s turn!” Clark rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“You will come with me, together with Bol and Aika.
You will command all one hundred fifty of our infantry and lie in ambush on the downstream side of the ford, behind the bluffs and among the rocks in the riverbed.”
Eli’s finger struck hard at the downstream position.
“Our job is to become the spike!
Once the enemy is held fast at the ford, and the knights launch their fatal strike and throw them into chaos,
you will drive in like a spike and nail down the downstream side, sealing off their route of retreat.
Use the rocks and bluffs. Use spears, bows, and javelins, and rain everything down on them!
Trap them in that riverbed and bury them there!”
“Leave it to me! I guarantee not a single one of them will slip past from this side while this young master is here!”
Clark thumped his chest, and Bol and Aika accepted their orders in unison.
“Wolfgang!” Eli’s gaze turned to the silent wolf king.
“My lord!” Wolfgang stepped forward, his towering body like a mountain.
“You and your thirteen strongest warriors,” Eli said swiftly.
“When the battle erupts at the ford, and Grumm’s rear army has its attention drawn there,
I want you to strike out from the depths of the wasteland on the flank like a real wolf pack.
Your target—their ranged troops.
Use the speed and mobility of the pack to strike once and withdraw. Do not get bogged down in battle!”
“Understood!” A savage light exploded in Wolfgang’s ice-blue wolf eyes as he struck his chest with his right hand.
Eli’s gaze swept over everyone present.
“In this battle, there is no retreat! Obsidian Territory is the home of every one of us.
Behind us lie our families, our fields, and our homes!
The Windrest Plain will become the burial ground of Grumm’s rebel army!
We will make every man know this: whoever covets Black Territory will pay in blood!”
“Victory!” Buck was the first to roar.
“Victory!!” Clark, Bol, Aika, Wolfgang... everyone roared in unison, their voices crashing against the ceiling.
“Move at once!” Eli swept out a hand.
“Captain Buck, take the Black Crow Knights and depart first. You must reach the designated position in advance and remain concealed.
Clark, Bol, Aika, gather all infantry and bring enough bows, crossbows, javelins, and rolling logs and stones.
Estor, mobilize every settler in the territory who can transport supplies. Move all the arrows and fire oil from the storehouses to the designated positions along the ancient riverbed.
Old John, organize men to reinforce the camp palisades and prepare for the worst.
Hadi, keep the elderly, the women, and the children in the camp calm.”
Eli drew in a deep breath and looked toward the direction of the Windrest Plain.
“The hunting ground is ready,” he murmured to himself.
“Now all that remains... is for the prey to walk into the net.”
At noon, two days later, the Windrest Plain would become the final stage that would decide the fate of Obsidian Territory and determine who the true hunter really was.