Lai En’s men belonged to the Right Army, under the direct command of the Grand Duke of Tehran.
The Grand Duke had no notable military achievements to speak of and had shown nothing outstanding so far.
Calling him mediocre would not be an exaggeration.
But that mediocrity was precisely his cunning.
The Grand Duke of Tehran understood full well the greatest weakness of the Noble Alliance.
The so-called alliance appeared impressive on the surface, but beneath it, currents churned.
Every house had its own agenda, and their interests were far from aligned.
Without delving too deeply into the tangled politics among the nobles, suffice it to say that the Grand Duke of Tehran simply split the Right Army in two.
He led one half himself, and the other half he entrusted to Lai En.
The two forces advanced separately toward different objectives.
The Right Army numbered eleven thousand in total.
Its primary objective was to reclaim the territories of the Duke of York’s domain that the rebels had seized while simultaneously opening a supply line to the remnants of the Duke of York’s forces.
The Duke of York had once been a grand noble of considerable renown.
Unfortunately, when the old duke kicked the bucket, his son inherited none of his father’s competence.
Instead, he excelled in the art of pleasure, surpassing his predecessor in decadence and extravagance.
Moreover, he was ambitious beyond his means, coveting the territories of the Maximilian family on one hand while bullying the smaller neighboring nobles with his abundant grain and soldiers on the other.
With such reckless squandering, the old duke’s accumulated wealth was largely depleted in short order.
Then the rebels came and wiped out whatever was left.
Gregory City, the western gateway to the Duke of York’s domain, formed a pincer with Saxon City, guarding the most critical route into the Empire’s southern hinterlands.
Given the importance of this position, two generations of Dukes of York had not dared to be careless.
Not only had they built Gregory City into a formidable fortress, but they had also constructed two additional castles nearby, arranged in a triangular formation that firmly controlled the surrounding strategic points.
By the time the current Duke of York inherited the position, this defensive line had been smashed to pieces by the rebels.
The governor of Gregory City was his brother-in-law, and the commanding general was that brother-in-law’s trusted confidant.
Both were complete incompetents who relied on connections to appoint cronies, replacing all the officials in charge of grain, weapons, and logistics with their own people.
As a result, the grain stores were not only severely depleted but also filled with stale, old grain.
The weapons and armor that should have been meticulously maintained had long been swapped for shoddy, substandard goods.
The embezzlement of soldiers’ pay was a routine occurrence.
When Leonidas attacked Gregory City, it was said that he briefly wondered if he had come to the wrong place.
“Was this ragtag force really worthy of being called a strategic stronghold?”
The defending general’s wits were also truly questionable.
Leonidas used a simple ruse to lure the main force out of the city.
With a clean feigned retreat, he drew the enemy neatly into a nearby valley.
The commander of that force was named Smart.
Though he clearly did not live up to his name.
His head was thoroughly addled.
Chasing an enemy into terrain like that valley was pure madness.
The result, naturally, was utter annihilation.
He himself was pierced through like a pincushion by spears, and his head was chopped off and thrown back into the city.
And then?
When the Duke of York’s brother-in-law saw Smart’s head, he made a split-second decision.
He abandoned the city and fled!
The funniest part was that this fellow slipped out in secret, accompanied by only two guards.
But his luck was truly rotten.
He ran straight into a scouting party dispatched by Leonidas and was captured on the spot.
Then those two heads were sent to the Duke of York.
Gregory City, having lost both its commander and its governor, saw morale plummet to rock bottom.
After just one day of resistance, it opened its gates and surrendered.
That was what had happened during the three days that Alicia and Lai En had delayed their deployment.
The Duke of York was practically coughing up blood with rage.
A strategic stronghold lost in three days.
How could this be allowed?
If he wanted to keep any face among the noble circles, he had to march out and take the city back!
So he threw everything he had into the effort, mustering five thousand troops, including two hundred cavalry, vowing to fight Leonidas to the death!
And then?
There was no “and then.”
Insufficient grain, inferior equipment, low morale.
The five thousand troops were nothing but a ragtag mob.
After a single morning of battle against the rebels, they threw down their arms and fled.
Nearly all two hundred cavalry were lost, handing the rebels a windfall of warhorses.
Even the Duke of York himself was wounded.
The man took an arrow to the rear end.
As for why it hit him there, don’t ask.
Setting aside such a crushing defeat, the Duke of York had mustered his army and fought a battle of that scale without even laying eyes on Leonidas because the rebel leader never even took the field.
He simply sent his adjutant to meet the enemy.
What utter humiliation.
The Duke of York’s fury ignited his blood, and combined with the rough medical practices of the time, his wound became infected.
He lay sprawled on his sickbed, groaning like a diseased pig.
Upon hearing of the Duke of York’s plight, Lai En and his companions could only shake their heads and sigh.
That man was a true fool, embarrassing himself before the entire Empire.
“Alright, let’s stop discussing the Duke of York’s incompetence.”
“Alicia, don’t laugh! At least don’t bring it up in front of him!”
Lai En lightly tousled the girl’s head.
Making such a gesture during what should have been a solemn military council would normally never be permitted.
The other two nobles seated in the tent decided to pretend they hadn’t seen anything.
Who didn’t know that the new head of the Maximilian family was an odd one?
Why, he even brought a woman to the battlefield!
Unfortunately, the two of them combined commanded only fifteen hundred men, and their titles were lower than Lai En’s.
Why bother meddling?
They simply kept their mouths shut and waited for Lai En’s orders.
“Now, to business.”
Lai En’s finger landed on the map, tapping a marker north of Gregory City.
“The Grand Duke of Tehran’s objective is Highland Fort, with a garrison of about eight hundred.”
“But it’s closer to Gregory City, and reinforcements could sally out at any moment to bite him.”
“Which also means our situation is more favorable.”
Blücher leaned in closer to the map, pointing to the south.
“Rivermoor Fort has a garrison of one thousand.”
“Though that’s two hundred more, it’s much farther from Gregory City.”
“Even in a direct siege, our forces can simultaneously hold off any reinforcements from the city.”
“Siege…”
Lai En frowned slightly, a hint of hesitation on his face.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t fight a siege, nor that he couldn’t win.
He simply didn’t want to.
The rebels had just won a major victory and their morale was high.
If the siege dragged into a bitter stalemate, the longer it took, the more variables would arise.
There was no point in grinding it out here.
“But this terrain won’t allow us to cut off their water supply like we did at Biroen Castle, and their grain stores should be quite substantial.”
“Forcing them to surrender through starvation is also unrealistic.”
General Kledos added.
True enough.
The previous siege of Biroen Castle had been resolved quickly only because they cut the water supply and the girl had shamelessly slipped laxatives into their provisions.
This time, they couldn’t reuse that trick, and taking the castle would be considerably harder.
Despite the enemy numbering only one thousand, relying on their walls and various defensive works, even with a four-to-one advantage, they would suffer enormous casualties.
Preparing siege equipment would also take considerable time.
A siege was not the best option.
“Skip the siege. How about a night raid?”
The girl pinched her chin and spoke up.
“Both castles sustained damage in the previous battles.”
“A surprise attack on their weak points under cover of darkness would yield twice the results with half the effort.”
“Besides, I suspect a significant number of rebels suffer from night blindness.”
“Night combat favors us.”
“Night blindness?”
Blücher’s eyes lit up.
“Is my lord referring to the condition where vision severely deteriorates at night?”
“There have indeed been cases like that in the north in recent years.”
“Exactly.”
The girl clapped her palms together.
“The rebels have long been short on food and clothing.”
“If their intake of meat, animal organs, and dark-colored vegetables is severely lacking, their night vision will be greatly impaired.”
“With proper planning, taking the castle by night raid won’t be difficult.”
“Hmm.”
Lai En nodded slowly.
“Night raid it is, then.”
“Let’s build the plan around that.”
At those words, the expressions on Andrew and Mosos’s faces simultaneously fell.
Not being able to fight head-on was a considerable disappointment to two muscle-brains who could only think of hacking people apart.
General Kledos, however, smiled slightly and glanced at the girl with a hint of appreciation.
“Since we’ve settled on a night raid, I have an idea.”
The girl pointed to the gentler side of Rivermoor Fort on the map.
“This area is suitable for setting up siege ladders.”
“And according to intelligence, there’s a breach in this section of the wall that the rebels patched up with wooden planks.”
“The structure is unsound. It should serve as a breakthrough point.”
“If we can push through here in one surge, this one’s secured… I mean, victory will be ours.”
“My lord, wait a moment.”
Blücher frowned, his fingers tapping anxiously on the map.
“The enemy will certainly have reinforced their defenses there.”
“Even with a night raid, once we’re exposed, we lose the element of surprise.”
“We should first find a way to divert the garrison’s attention.”
“Good point!”
“Do you have something in mind?”
Instead of being upset at having her plan criticized, Alicia smoothly passed the conversation along.
After all, warfare was best left to professionals.
She was still far from their level.
“We should start with a feint, drawing the enemy’s attention to the opposite direction.”
A feint…
The girl’s mind immediately started whirring.
“Good method.”
“Let’s just do several feints, then!”
The girl instinctively snapped her fingers.
“Maybe the enemy will catch on to our feint, so we might as well do it multiple times!”
“Hmm?”
Blücher seemed to catch on, his spirits lifting.
He suddenly slapped his palm with his fist.
“Excellent idea!”
“I understand what my lord means.”
“Let’s do it this way…”
The two minor nobles sitting in the corner exchanged bewildered glances.
In their view, with superior numbers, they should just lay siege directly.
At most, it would take half a month, and even if they had to pile up corpses, they could take the castle!
They never imagined war could be fought this way.
Since when did you not need a siege to take a castle these days?
After further discussion, the girl and Blücher finally finalized the plan.
Her face lit up with excitement as she looked at Lai En, rubbing her hands together eagerly.
“My lord, what do you think?”
“Hmm, well done.”
“We’ll go with your plan this time!”
Lai En waved his hand with flair, his expression brimming with delight.
“You found yourself an excellent military advisor, Alicia.”
“Thank you for the praise, my lord.”
“Thank you for the kind words, Your Highness.”
“Enough, no need to fish for compliments.”
“If this night raid on Rivermoor Fort succeeds, you’ll be credited with a major achievement!”