After a few days of this, Sigurd received a report from the reconnaissance force - the enemy was camping on the opposite side of the forest.
Sigurd rode his horse and ran to the front of the team. After running out of the coniferous forest, he saw the camp in the distance - facing a plain, backed by a hill, with many warriors floating neatly inside.
flag.
"Have you found that supplies are not enough to support them to Uprun, so have you planned a decisive battle in advance?"
Sigurd smiled proudly.
"Anyway, this plain is indeed a good battlefield."
The troops were exhausted from days of marching, so Sigurd ordered the troops to camp with their backs to the forest, looking at the enemy camp from a distance. He only sent some small troops on duty and let the remaining troops rest well and prepare for tomorrow's battle.
decisive battle.
During the whole process, the enemy did not send any troops to harass them, so they probably did not have much morale left.
The next day, he spent a long time arranging his troops on the battlefield and forming a formation. He carefully selected a group of the most elite warriors and went to provoke the enemy's camp.
After quite a while, the enemy made no move.
Sigurd couldn't sit still. He commanded the troops and slowly advanced towards the enemy's camp.
Ten arrows away, there was no movement in the enemy's camp.
Five arrows away, there was no movement in the enemy's camp.
Two arrows away, several people fell into the pit dug in advance.
The troops stopped suddenly within two arrows' distance.
"Don't panic! Send a few teams to explore the ground!"
After half a day, all the traps were eliminated. However, the number of these traps was so small that Sigurd regretted spending so much time investigating them.
The troops began to move forward.
Entering the range of the bow and arrow... there is still no movement from the enemy camp.
Sigurd looked at the enemy camp in confusion...
Many birds were landing on the tents, chirping non-stop.
He suddenly realized something, spurred his horse and shouted:
"It's just an empty camp! Charge on! Charge on! Charge on at full speed!"
An empty camp has no one stationed there from the beginning. What is there is only flags that make people feel intimidated when looking at it from a distance.
It was obvious that this camp was deliberately left behind to prevent Sigurd from supporting Uprun. From yesterday afternoon to today's noon, this empty camp actually delayed Sigurd's march for a whole day.
In order to make up for this day's journey, Sigurd began to force the troops to march. This made some of the weaker soldiers unable to hold up. When Sigurd arrived at the gate of Uprun, the troops around him had been reduced in number.
One fifth.
Outside the city of Uplon, everything is quiet and peaceful.
His subordinates came out of the city to greet him with joy, but he grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
"Where is the enemy! Where is Hestein's army! Where is Ira Cornelius Scipio!"
"Enemies...?" The man who was caught in the air replied with a puzzled look on his face, "We have never heard of any enemies..."
With a "pop" sound, he was thrown out by Sigurd and hit the city wall, hitting his head and bleeding.
Near West Fore, in the Ungolmark territory, there are about a dozen boats fishing in the sea.
A medium-sized fleet sailed down the river and entered the sea. The number of people was about a thousand. Gan, who was standing on the bow of the front ship, excitedly shouted to the fishing boat:
"Sister Shield Girl! We are back!"
A woman who was casting a net for fishing straightened up and wiped the mud from her face.
She is none other than Ella Cornelius Scipio.
"Thanks to you." She waved to the soldiers on the ship, "I have never commanded an army. Without you, my plan would not have been completed!"
From the beginning, there were only a thousand troops entering West Fore. They wandered around West Fore, changing their flags and leaders every day to grab a village, and then leave "traces" of a camp ten times the size.
". After setting up the last and first complete camp in front of the forest, they boarded the boat of their companions who came along the river to pick them up, and returned in a swaggering manner.
This group of pirates are not good at attacking cities, but they are very good at grabbing and running.
A fishing boat came from the other direction, and the people on it shouted to Ella from a distance: "Shield Girl, we have captured another messenger sent by Lorraine!"
"It doesn't matter anymore, let him go. Even if he doesn't report the news, Sigurd should have noticed it - the plan has been successful, and we should return."
"Your Majesty, I still don't understand. Why do we have to go all the way from Sealand to West Fore, run around it, and then retreat back to Sealand without doing anything? What's the use of that?"
On the way back, Amy still had doubts.
"I was looking for a way to double the speed of making trebuchets, but couldn't find it. At this time, I turned to a book that didn't seem to have anything to do with making siege weapons. Its author was in
The far east seems to be called the ‘Sage of Soldiers’. In this book, the Saint of Soldiers mentioned an interesting question.”
Ella proudly showed off the knowledge in the book to Amy:
"Suppose there is a dangerous terrain ahead. Whoever occupies it will gain a great advantage in combat. But it will take thirty days for our army to get there, while the opponent's army is closer to it and only needs two.
It can be reached in ten days. What should we do to occupy it first?"
"What to do... we can only force a march? Just like Hestein, roar to boost morale, and then the whole army runs over with all their strength..."
Ella shook her head.
"The Soldier Saint said this: If you march for thirty miles, only two-thirds of the army will arrive; if you march for fifty miles, only half of the army will arrive; and if you march for one hundred miles, then in the end
Only one-tenth of the army can arrive. And if you march forcefully, you will have to abandon your baggage and attack with light armor. If you do that, even if you occupy a favorable terrain, the war will fail. Although I don't know the actual situation during the battle,
But since he is a Soldier Saint, he is probably inseparable, right?"
"Then, what should we do?"
"The solution proposed by the Soldier Saint is surprisingly simple - since our distance from there cannot be shortened, then just let the enemy's distance from there be increased."
"Increase the enemy's distance? Your Majesty, I still don't understand."
"Amy, how many days will it take for us to make the catapult?"
"It will take fourteen days at the earliest."
"How many days does it take Sigurd to get from Frisia to Zealand?"
"It only takes a week to arrive."
"How many days have passed now?"
"Twelve or three days..."
"How many days will it take for Sigurd to travel from Uprun to Zealand?"
"It will take another twelve or three days..."
In front of Amy who suddenly understood, Ella smiled slightly:
"That's right, the trebuchet that was originally impossible to complete was completed before Sigurd arrived. This kind of weapon can help us gain a great advantage. And the method that helped the trebuchet to be completed was named 'Transformation' by the Soldier Saint
To be straight'."
Ella lay relaxed on the boat in a "big" position, looking at the broad, infinite sky.
"Father...it's my first time to command an army. Isn't my performance good?"
The ship was rocking on the waves. When she first left Constantiniya, Ella was still seasick because of the rocking. But in the past few months, she has gradually become accustomed to the rocking.
It's like... lying in a cradle.
Under the blowing of the sea breeze, Ella gradually closed her eyes. As if her mother's children's songs were heard in her ears, she smiled happily and fell asleep.
Amy tenderly put a piece of clothing on her body. She knew that Ella had been under too much pressure in the past few days, and she had not slept peacefully even a day.
"Your Majesty, take advantage of now to have a good sleep."
Zealand's coast appears on the horizon.
"This war is not over yet...no, it has just begun."
"War is very cruel, Your Majesty. It will test you soon."
"——Test whether you are qualified to become a real king."
