The moonlight was dim, and the starlight was sparse.
Todd glanced at the closed church doors: "Are they still sleeping?"
Huggins nodded.
Todd touched the bridge of his nose: "Perhaps they've abandoned their operation for tonight."
The words had barely left his mouth.
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Cumberland appeared at the church entrance.
The old knight, clad in armor and wielding a longsword, cracked his neck, swung his arms, and took a deep breath. His men filed out one by one, some with bandages wrapped around their heads, others with their arms in slings.
Cumberland walked up to Todd, looked at his exhausted face, and said, "Sleep is the most precious enjoyment at any time."
The latter glanced at the old man and shook his head helplessly: "How could I possibly sleep at a time like this?"
“So what? I’ve slept soundly with a corpse under my head, limbs and blood all around me!” Cumberland gently punched the other man’s chest with his fist. “Young man! The most important thing is your mindset!”
"I'm back!"
A figure ran down the street in the darkness of night.
Todd looked closely and realized it was Edgar, who had volunteered to scout out the enemy's situation.
The rookie scout ran up to the two, catching his breath: "I saw it all clearly. The cavalry outside the town were divided into three groups, patrolling in shifts every two hours..."
Todd did a rough calculation in his mind: 25 "lancers" and 100 cavalrymen divided into three waves, meaning about 30 men per wave. The town of Muxi has a depth radius of about 5 kilometers, and as a port town, its outer land perimeter is about 16 kilometers (2 × 5 × 3.14 ÷ 2). This means each cavalryman would be responsible for patrolling and intercepting enemies within a distance of about 500 meters. If a three-man squad was adopted, the patrol distance would increase to 1500 meters.
Cumberland stroked his beard happily: "Good job, kid!"
Edgar, feeling a sense of relief from the praise, suddenly became very talkative, as if a floodgate had been opened and could not be closed: "Of course! I'm a scout! Oh, right, their camp is 7 kilometers east of here, surrounded by simple trenches, with tents arranged in three rows around the campfire, hitching posts on the west side, and they even sleep with their weapons... Ouch! Commander, why did you step on my foot?!"
Seeing Cumberland's mouth widen further, Todd had to use a special method to remind Edgar to shut up.
"He sometimes likes to talk nonsense, don't take it to heart."
"I didn't... um..."
Edgar's resistance was quickly crushed by Todd.
The old knight gave Todd a meaningful look, smiled, and said nothing.
Seven men in black cloaks led horses to Cumberland and said to him, "Sir, the first team is ready."
The old man asked, "Is everything arranged?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, he nodded and simply uttered three words.
Let's go.
Watching the seven cavalrymen, their figures concealed in cloaks, disappear into the distance, Todd asked Cumberland, puzzled, "Who are those seven people...?"
The old man gazed into the distant east and slowly said, "They were the first 'bait' I threw out..."
————————————
Outside Muxi Town, at the camp of the Eastern Legion's cavalry company.
"Commander! Someone has charged out of town on horseback!"
A middle-aged man hurried out of the tent, looked at his subordinate, and asked urgently, "How many people? Where did they go? Have their identities been confirmed?"
"Seven men, they were very fast, they rushed past the patrolling cavalry and headed south! Because it was night, and they were all wearing black cloaks, it was impossible to identify them!"
The cavalry commander frowned and muttered to himself, "Only seven men? All wearing cloaks... The enemy is Cumberland, renowned throughout the army. Could these seven be bait?"
The subordinate whispered a reminder: "Sir, what if these seven people aren't bait, but happen to be the fugitive we're looking for? The higher-ups have given a death order: that fugitive from the palace must be found alive or dead."
The commander rubbed his temples and asked, "How many men went after those seven people?"
"Three light cavalrymen and six horse archers."
"If we remove the palace fugitive from the seven men, and the remaining six are all knights, plus Cumberland is there, then nine men are simply not enough! Send some light cavalry and horse archers to provide backup! Tell them that once they confirm the enemy is bait, they must return immediately and not linger in battle!"
"yes!"
Twenty minutes later.
"Sir, more people have broken out of the town!"
The cavalry commander, unable to sleep and waiting by the campfire, suddenly sat up: "I guessed right, the first group was bait! But why haven't the pursuers returned yet? By the way, how many people came out this time?!"
The cavalryman who came to report hesitated for a moment, then raised seven fingers.
The commander's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Seven more?!"
The subordinate looked dejected: "Sir, what should we do?"
The commander, already furious, roared, "What do you mean, 'what to do'?! There are so many people outside the town, and you couldn't even stop seven?!"
The subordinate, with a mournful face, began to plead his case: "Sir, it's not that we didn't want to intercept them! It's just that the town's perimeter is too large, and there are no city walls or gates. We can only assign a cavalryman to patrol every so often. By the time they rush out, we can only gather three or four men at most, which is simply not enough to stop them."
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