BXBX NOVEL Chapter 493 Entering The Scorching Wastelands (3)
The men only held their expressions steady and met Leon's eyes with determination. With that, they looked at each other and started to introduce themselves and a general overview of their abilities.
It finished quickly as the men only decided to tell the information most useful to the operations. After that Leon and the team continued the huddle to look into the map of the Scorching Wastelands.
Leon took out a large drawing and let the people crowd around it to observe.
Oliver and Blaze placed dummy soldier pieces of two different colors on different areas on the map. Obviously, the two colors denote their forces and their enemies.
Then they started to explain the information they managed to take regarding the enemy camps.
After the reports, Leon did not speak for a while. The men alongside him also did not make any sound and waited for their leader to speak.
Leon looked at the map and studied the positioning of both their existing hidden troops and the enemy's troops.
Of course, he knew very well that what was on the map at the moment was not yet the big picture as it was highly possible that there were still some hidden hideouts the crimson and roaming blades weren't able to detect.
Moreover, there might still be armies waiting for them outside the wasteland regions.
"Alright, we shall do it like this…" Leon finally opened his mouth and pointed at the map to control the dummy soldiers as he explained the strategy.
"We will attack from this area…" He pointed towards the middle section of the route.
"???" Looking at the place where their leader pointed, the men looked at him inquisitively. Starting to attack in the middle region will place their troops in an awkward place. If it turns out the worst, then they will be trapped there to die.
"I know what you were confused about, but here is what I have in mind…" Leon was not displeased to see the questioning looks in his soldiers.
Instead, he patiently explained.
"If we took the straightforward manner and encountered one of the troops nearest to the entrance of the region, the enemies would assume that we would report to the main army to take another route, which would lead them to either of the paths with other enemies lying in wait.
In short, it would not only be us who would be trapped, but also the main army who followed our 'advice' blindly.
But if we take the middle and startle them, the camps which we have just passed will be in a panic.
That goes the same with the spies lying in wait on the main army. They would be so confused in wondering what path did we take and how it would have been possible for us to go on a route that would never encounter any of the troops lying at the entrance of the region.
Moreover, they will surely be thrown off guard because there were no more other troops lying in the central region other than this camp because it was only meant to reinforce the troops for the vanguards to begin with.
That meant, once we got past the middle camp, we would have clear access to the central region and could reroute our way to the coast if we completely avoided the rear camps.
After all, in this scenario, the enemies would also think that our advance troops are now capable of successfully eliminating at least one of the rear camps. And if we could slightly deviate from the original route, our main army could also do the same.
Then we will take advantage of the chaos, wiping out the middle zone and ensuring that the enemy's distress message will particularly reach the spy's ears.
Finally, we will send the message legitimately to the main army and claim that we have cleared the way which is the middle. This will invoke panic on the spy's side, which is none other than the Crown Prince.
He will surely invoke one of the following moves, the first choice is to notify the camps in the entrance to regroup with the remaining troops in the central region to try to compensate for the lost opportunity to trap the main army.
They will force an encounter with our main army regardless if they have ample time or not. Because if they totally missed the opportunity, the main army will finally figure out everything and will surely report back to the Seirende Empire to retaliate.
His second choice was to call on the rear troops to advance and ambush the advancing main army while buying time for the vanguard troops to fall back and entrap us fully. Both of the objectives are the same, and that is to take hold of the advantage of an ambush to keep the Seirende Empire blinded.
But regardless of the choice, you can see how we are going to move next, I believe?"
Leon lengthily explained.
When the troops heard Leon's words, their eyes widened in shock and awe. Leon's plan clearly considered the enemy's mentality and also took into consideration what they wanted to have the most.
Targeting that matter, he came up with a plan that will surely destroy what the enemies have painstakingly prepared and force them to play a game that was unfamiliar to them.
Just imagining the enemy's contorted face the moment they realized the mishap pleased the men's hearts.
"Don't gloat this early, we are merely shredding off the smoke screen that they have set up. We are not yet even officially entering the boundaries of war." Leon looked at their expressions and calmed them down.
"Also remember, that we are not yet privy of the extent of the Vanderford and the Holy Island's armies. These people are known to have ties with the curse users, and if proven further, they might even be the originators of the Spectre.
We can never underestimate them in any way and we must be ready to go all out at all times." He added.
After all, no one would ever predict what could happen in a war especially, when they will possibly fight Spectre's followers.
"Yes, Your Highness!" The troops became calm and serious once again after Leon's reminder. The possibility of the troops having curse users took them back to reality.
After discussing the deeper details of the attack, Leon announced for them to set off after four hours.
Most of them spent the remaining time sleeping while a few others spent on sending some messages to their close friends and families, then eventually also rested. After all, they will never know when it will be the next time they have a peaceful sleep.
Leon also took the time to send a message to Eli and ask about their whereabouts. Unlike Leon and the rest, they were moving to the northwest where the Green Wave continent is located.
In essence, they could have just traveled straight passing through the vast lands of Silver Dew Forest, but the Forgeworns and the other non-human races in the Seirende Empire did not use this route because they wanted to preserve the forest and keep it thriving.
A travel path within the forest will cause a huge disturbance and will also desecrate the resting place of the fallen guardian Asani.
So they have no choice but to take the long route out of the bounds of the Silver Dew and redirect their path back to the northwest once they reach the coastal area.
"We are about to travel with the merfolk tomorrow. The kids were quite exhausted on the long journey so the elders decided to have a three-day rest in the coastal village. The merfolks will meet us tomorrow." Eli's voice rang on Leon's communication stone.
Her voice was soft and calming, making Leon feel a sense of assurance and relief.
"That is good to hear, it might be good for you and the rest to get out of the continent as soon as possible… Because we will start our attack tomorrow." Leon tried to calmly reply to her.
But he could not hide the fact that his heart felt anxious and worried for the first time in his life.
He didn't know what would happen from tomorrow onwards. Back then, he did not have many people to care about. Even toward his parents, he did not feel anxious because he thought that they still had other sons and people to rely on.
But now, with Eli and Little Han, who successfully took a significant portion of his being, he could not help but be scared of not being able to survive.
Hearing the tone of Leon's voice, Eli's heart also leaped. She knew that Leon was anxious.
As if he felt his parent's feelings, Little Han who was originally sleeping on Eli's side, started to wiggle sleepily and climbed towards Eli.
"Mommi, iz dat Daddi?" He adorably asked with his sleepy crystal blue eyes.
"Yes, love… want to talk to daddy?" Eli replied.
Little Han nodded and looked at the glowing communication stone, then he said with a childish voice,
"Daddi~ take care. Johann misses you~ Mommi misses you too!"