——

"Sit down," Dylan said to Dingle as he entered the tent.

The sun had set, and the Yan army did not launch an attack on the pass during the day. At this moment, Dingle, led by his soldiers, entered the tent where Dylan was located.

Dylan was the only one in the tent. He was sitting on a camp chair, opening a bottle and pouring wine into a glass.

Dingle picked up a chair and slowly sat down, facing Dylan.

Two glasses of wine were poured. Dylan picked up one and handed it to Dingle. Dingle didn't say anything, but just waved his hand to refuse. Dylan held the glass and looked at Dingle.

After a few seconds of eye contact, Dylan downed his drink in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and said:

"Judging by their pace, the Yan Kingdom people may launch an attack tonight."

Dingle, his arms crossed and almost curled up in a ball, calmly replied, "They should attack the pass as soon as possible before the weather gets worse."

Dylan nodded slightly and said, "The Yan people mainly rely on combat squads in the mountains to capture many of our strongholds. This time, we cleared a lot of obstacles on both sides of the pass, so it won't be so easy for them to attack us by flanking maneuvers again."

"However, during this period, the Yan people have gained control of many areas, and their main force has entered the mountains to attack from the front. Their combat power is also very strong."

Dingle didn't speak. He lowered his head and stared blankly at the ground. He just coughed lightly and nodded.

Dylan picked up another glass of wine and suddenly asked, "What do you think are the chances that we will successfully defend the pass and repel the Yan people?"

Upon hearing this, Dingle looked up at Dylan.

Dylan's expression was extremely serious as he held the glass of wine and stared at him without moving.

Dingle pulled his left hand out of his pocket, rubbed his wrinkled forehead, and uttered a hoarse, indistinct voice: "I don't know."

"Huh?" Dylan raised an eyebrow, seemingly not having heard clearly.

So Dingle cleared his throat and looked at Dylan, saying each word clearly:

"Before the match, I felt I had less than a 10% chance of winning."

Despite hearing such pessimistic words, Dylan did not become angry. He downed his drink in one gulp and then suddenly laughed.

Dingle crossed his arms over his stomach and asked with a cold look, "Sir, do you think I'm telling a joke?"

As Dylan poured the wine, he said, "Why would I think you're joking?"

"Actually, I think about the same thing as you."

“But you mustn’t tell anyone. This is a secret between us, and you have to keep it a secret.” Dylan looked up and winked at Dingle.

Dingle was taken aback by his words and was momentarily stunned, helplessly lowering the hand that was clutching his abdomen.

"Sir, you..." But before he could finish speaking, Dylan suddenly stood up.

"I've fought so many wars over the years that I can't even remember how many difficulties I've faced, but I've never encountered a situation like this before."

“These Yan people are a bunch of monsters. All the impossible things have happened to them. I used to think that our empire’s army was only lacking in combat power at sea, and that on land, especially within our own territory, no foreign enemy could defeat us.”

"Of course, that may sound a bit absolute, but in general, it's not a big problem. Even a country as strong as Sa Ri has a very strong army. They might be able to win a few minor battles against us, but in important battles, we will definitely be the final victors."

"Do you agree?" Dylan asked, looking at Dingle.

Without the slightest hesitation, Dingle nodded immediately and said, "Agreed, sir."

Dylan gave a self-deprecating laugh: "But the more it's like this, the more powerless I feel."

"Our proud army has reached a point where it has no choice but to fight to the death with the enemy, even with our massive troop strength."

"What a terrible bunch of guys."

Upon hearing this, Dingle lowered his head and sighed softly, "Yes."

Dylan then walked to the tent entrance, gently lifted a corner of the opening, and after confirming that no soldiers were nearby, he turned around and said:

"Tell me something you don't know."

Dingle was taken aback by what he heard, and turned to look at Dylan.

"In a short period of time, no... given the urgency of this war, it can no longer be considered a short period of time."

"To be more specific, in the next month or two, the only reinforcements we can likely draw upon are Saskia's Fifth Army and the First Army commanded by Field Marshal Wolfgang, who is based in Salibia."

“The other three armies are currently tied up with the situation in the southeast region, and if we want to ignore it and immediately transfer them over there, there isn’t enough time to issue the orders back and forth,” Dylan said as he walked up to Dingle.

"How could this happen?" Dingle frowned.

Dylan patted him on the shoulder: "Because our rule is not yet stable, one war after another has left us with too little time to govern the country. The remnants of the restoration parties in the countries we conquered in the past are still hiding in the shadow of the empire, while the Kosovo rebels, taking advantage of the current war and the continuous setbacks on the front lines, are stirring up trouble among the people, saying that the Emperor's overseas colonization plan has attracted the Yan people and brought disaster to the people of this land."

"They say this war will completely destroy our country, and the Federation will disintegrate and collapse under the Emperor's rule, even worse than before."

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