Stepping into the red and white central command tent, Randall saw Cumberland and several high-ranking Crusaders standing in front of the sand table.
"The enemy took all the food from the town and burned all the habitable houses." Cumberland stroked his silver beard. "There's no doubt they've withdrawn their forces, retreated, and gone into the forest."
The Crusader commander, Ackerman, asked doubtfully, "A forest? Why would the Church, which mobilizes troops from dozens of countries, send so many troops into the forest?"
Cumberland pointed the stick at the dense forests surrounding the Papal States: "Because this is the best tactical strategy that the Church's army can adopt after considering the balance of power between the enemy and ourselves."
"Our total strength is about 20,000 men. Although the number is less than that of the church's army, our combat strength is far superior to that of the enemy. Whether it is the Crusaders, the Knights of Twilight, or the Valkyries, any of these units can pose a fatal threat to the church's army."
Cumberland stared at the terrain map on the sand table and slowly said, "Therefore, under such circumstances, the enemy will absolutely not engage in direct combat. The best approach is to take advantage of the complex terrain on the battlefield."
"Look here, the Papal States are surrounded by more than 700,000 hectares of dense forests, with caves, rivers, hills and canyons... The enemy's best tactic is to break their forces into multiple battle groups, disperse them in the forest, build bunkers and tunnels, use signal arrows and smoke signals as means of communication, and use feints to lure us into the forest, then concentrate their forces to divide and conquer us piecemeal."
An orc shaman slammed his fist on the sand table and roared, "These are just a bunch of rats hiding in the forest! Our warriors, each one of them possesses absolute power; they can take on a hundred men each. There's nothing to worry about!"
Glancing sideways at the orc shaman, the elf shaman pondered for a moment before asking, "Fighting by hiding in the forest? Could the enemy commander really have come up with such a tactic?"
“Unfortunately, according to our intelligence, the enemy commander this time is probably an extremely difficult opponent.” Cumberland sighed softly: “Many years ago, when I was an officer in Silver Ring City and fought alongside the church army to resist the northern barbarians, I met a legendary figure from Tyro City through the introduction of that old tortoise Emerson.”
"Bromer Hesmond".
The elven shaman nodded thoughtfully: "I heard this name when I was in the North."
"The Father's whip that lashes evil, the most courageous and skilled saint, the headmaster of the Academy of Tactics, the paragon of church knights..." Cumberland said with emotion, "He has had every honor you can imagine."
Ackerman asked, "If I remember correctly, he should be in his seventies this year. I heard he retired from the army a long time ago."
Cumberland nodded and said, "That's right. Bromo stopped getting involved in military affairs many years ago, and he didn't even lead troops during the Battle of Holy City. I guess he's leading troops this time because this battle is a matter of life and death for the Church."
Ackerman scratched his head: "Getting back to the point, how should we fight this battle?"
The werewolf shaman suggested, "Perhaps we can burn down the forest and use the fire to force the enemy out."
Cumberland shook his head and asked, "Where to burn it? How to burn it?"
"More than 700,000 hectares of forest can perfectly conceal not only tens of thousands of soldiers, but also the entire capital of Tero, not to mention the caves, rivers, and hills that provide cover, as well as the pre-built bunkers and tunnels. To set such a large forest ablaze would require countless flammable materials and would take at least two or three months."
"Moreover, I suspect that Bromer Hesmond has already made thorough preparations for our army's expedition, and fire attack is naturally one of the tactics he anticipated. Fire ditches, emergency water sources, and so on must all be readily available."
Ackerman let out a long sigh: "Then what do we do?"
Cumberland frowned, staring at the sand table in silence.
A knight approached him and whispered something to him.
"His Majesty's special envoy?"
Upon hearing the knight's report, Cumberland looked up in surprise at the entrance to the tent.
Randall, accompanied by his five companions, entered the tent and approached Cumberland under the watchful eyes of everyone.
The latter extended his hand to Randall and asked in a deep voice, "I heard that His Majesty gave you an appointment letter?"
Randall calmly took out Todd's document from his pocket, handed it to Cumberland, and nodded, saying, "We are carrying out a mission personally assigned by the Holy King, and we must get to Tyro City as soon as possible."
After carefully reading the letter of appointment, Cumberland looked at Randall and said, "Besides what's on the document, is there anything else His Majesty would like you to tell me?"
Randall shook his head.
Cumberland sighed: "To enter Tyro, you must first cross that forest to the east. The enemy has set up traps, sentries, checkpoints, and troops there. They will thoroughly examine everyone who passes through, and anyone who looks suspicious will be executed on the spot. Believe me, I don't think you can get through safely now."
Randall carefully put away the letter of appointment and then asked, "Besides the forest, are there any other routes to Taro City?"
Ackerman stepped forward and explained, "Going north, following the Falling Star Mountains, traversing snow-capped mountains and plateaus, making a large detour, it takes three months to reach the Papal States."
Randall smiled wryly and said, "Are there any other ways?"
"Head south, find shallows at the edge of the forest, take a boat across the Mediterranean Sea, reach the port of the Eastern Holy City, then turn around and head west into the Papal States. However, I must warn you that the Eastern Holy City is now occupied by the Southern Empire, and it may be more dangerous there."
Randall said with a headache, "From what you're saying, it seems that going through the forest is the best option?"
Ackerman didn't answer Randall's question, but stared at him for a while before suddenly saying, "I know you, aren't you that..."
Randall shrugged. "That's right, I'm the human who appeared at the Crusader Inquisition."
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of everyone in the tent became incredibly varied.
Several shamans, including the elf shaman, glared at Randall, wishing they could drive him out of the camp immediately, as if he were the embodiment of evil.
Ackerman first glanced at Randall, then at Barbara behind him, and finally winked at the two of them with a wicked grin.
As for Cumberland and the knights, after figuring out what had happened, they all held their foreheads, feeling extremely troubled.
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