abcnovels
Chapter 320: Rising Smoke
Chapter 320: Rising Smoke
Chapter 320: Rising Smoke
Excellent as always, Your Highness.
You dont have to flatter me. With that much information, anyone would be able to predict their location with a little headache.
Lars and I were having such a conversation while looking at the mountain which is our original destination.
It has already been confirmed that the enemy transport unit has come out from that mountain.
That is probably where their supply base is.
Gordons military supplies are collected from the United Kingdom and the Dominion.
The supply collected by the United Kingdom came through the Dominion and was transported to the Empire through a hole in the northern border.
And the supplies that maintain Williams army which is engaging in a siege battle at the frontline are stored here.
However, this doesnt mean that they have an unlimited supply.
It costs a lot to transport the supply in from another country and the hole in our border defense is too small for mass transportation. If the enemy utilizes a large convoy, the Northern border patrol will be able to stop them.
Thats why they have no choice but to transport them over little by little.
Of course, they are not entirely living on this supply. Still, they would be in a tight spot if they lost it.
Thats where we will attack them.
After we ambush the base, set fire to their supplies and immediately withdraw.
Should we not make sure that their supplies are thoroughly destroyed first?
Giving them the chance to put out the fire will delay their response. Our goal here is not to destroy all their supply after all.
An army that has run out of supply is no different from a group of bandits. They will start plundering the surrounding villages for supply instead.
As long as we can not get rid of the enemy army in one go, I want to avoid destroying their supply completely.
Our purpose here is only to earn time.
However, our enemy has the fast-moving Dragon Knights. Once they see the smoke, they will immediately rush over. If they judge that the damage here is small, they might turn back.
Thats the reason for our immediate withdrawal. We will make them think that the situation here is much more serious.
Saying so, I grinned.
The general commanding the enemy army is William. Leading an army of another country should give him a hard time.
He must be especially concerned about the supply in this situation.
I can see that from the fact that he hid his supply base here.
If that is the case then there is one way that we can definitely gain his attention.
Do you have a plan, Your Highness?
We will target the enemy incoming supply convoy. Well, we will at least make it seem like that.
If their supplies get damaged, their incoming supplies will be very crucial to them.
If it seems like it is being targeted, the enemy would dispatch troops to protect it while searching for us even if they judged that the attack is only a diversion.
I see. So how do we make it look like we are targeting their supply convoy?
We will raise some smoke.
You mean to do it flashily? Will they fall for that?
They have no other choice. If they leave us alone then we can actually proceed to destroy their convoy after all.
If they wont fall for it then let them.
At that point, the defense of the sky above Castle Dick will be thin. We should be able to smoothly secure air superiority and transport the supplies to Leo by then.
If William turns back the Dragon Knights, we will not be able to deliver much supply to the castle but in return, we will be able to significantly reduce their supply.
I dont really want to do it. If they dont have enough supply, it is highly likely that they will target the civilians. But we can not win if we dont do that and I also have faith in William.
If he doesnt have enough supply I trust that William will be reasonable enough to withdraw. He is a commander who can make that judgment.
Thats why I will not hold back if he chooses not to fall for the diversion.
Well, Colonel Lars. I will leave the rest to you.
Yes, sir.
I am going to fall back. I am mapping out their transport route for you so you can just raise some smokes at these locations. That should frighten them.
Understood.
I told him to immediately fall back once they are done and put some marks on the map.
Williams face should cramp up when he saw smoke rising from the direction of the supply convoy.
By the time he sees that, the Narbe Ritter would have already left. Still, he can not leave it unattended.
Since he cant afford to let the supply get destroyed, he will dispatch search parties and a unit to protect the convoy.
Their personnel should be dedicated to putting out the fire and most of the Dragon Knights should be lured away.
What William can do is to leave this place to a reliable commander and turn back to the castle with a small number of his subordinates.
That being said, he wont be able to turn the table with only a few more Dragon Knights.
I feel bad that for your lack of reliable subordinates and how you cant just fight as a Dragon Knight but..I am going to wreak some havoc here, Prince William.
Saying so, I raised my right hand up and swung it down silently.
With that as a signal, the Narbe Ritter silently moved out.
The operation was successful.
The Dragon Knights standing by around the castle rushed over immediately after they spotted smoke rising from the supply base.
When they saw smoke rising away from the base, they divided into smaller units and behaved as I expected them to do.
They are falling for it.
Seems so.
I squint my eyes at the Dragon Knights who are hurriedly flying toward the smoke from a distance.
Their behavior was as I expected but their responses are faster than I thought.
What a swift judgment.
As expected of William I guess. He realized that it was a diversion but he understood that he cant leave the situation alone so he immediately entrusted the scene to a reliable subordinate and turned back.
He probably expects that something is going on on that side huh.
Still, even if he turns back now, it is impossible for him to prevent what is coming. I threw in a trump card for him after all.
Well, I dont think that the famous Dragon Prince would just take this lying down though.
I guess that isnt my job to deal with huh.
Yes?
Just talking to myself. Lets head out. Now lets start our journey to persuade the Northern Nobles.
That seems like a fun journey, Your Highness.
Theres nothing fun about this. Absolutely not fun. And stop calling me Your Highness. We are not a prince and the Narbe Ritter here.
Wearing a black hooded cloak, my face was completely hidden.
William might be able to see through my identity but others wont.
After all, I am officially still sleeping in the Imperial Capital, plus nobody would believe that I came up with this strategy myself.
However, once they confirmed my identity, they will have no choice but to acknowledge that.
Thats why I hide my identity.
From now on, we are a mercenary group that came from a faraway land. I am your leader and you guys are my subordinates. Keep that in mind. I will reveal my identity to the Local Lords but I want to avoid leaking information as much as possible.
Understood. But are you not too young to be the leader of a mercenary group?
Is it strange?
Somewhat, yes. So let us call you Waka-sama(Youngmaster) and we are the mercenaries serving your father. How about that?
Thats fine. Its not really a lie after all.
We can come up with a more detailed background on the way.
First, we must leave this place.
We are heading to Marquis Zweigs territory but is there really something that warrants your visit there?
Marquis Zweig is the only Lord I can trust in the North. He helped me a long time ago. He is a person I respect.
Saying so, I straddled the horse and headed out.