The rain fell softly, making crackling sounds on the cowhide wrapped outside the tent.

This is Obersoden.

The Battle of Sodden Mountain two years ago seemed to be right before my eyes. The raindrops hitting the ground sounded like the crying of dead souls.

Unfortunately, after the Battle of Sodden Mountain, the soldiers of the North returned to their homes, but the Nilfgaardians stubbornly stayed here, built complete military fortifications, and still had their eyes on the North.

"marshal?"

Emperor Emhyr's executive officer stood behind the tall man and asked a probing question.

Marshal Menno did not take off his armor, and wore a combination of tight chain mail and plate armor in the tent; he still had his originally exquisite mustache, but the long period of fighting had made him neglect his appearance for a long time.

Executor Peter looked at the Marshal's back with reverence, because that was the legend of Nilfgaard.

To put it bluntly, even if Marshal Menno died suddenly on the spot at this moment, his position in the history of the empire is worthy of the comment "one of the greatest generals."

If he could faithfully carry out the Emperor's war plan against the North - even half of it - it would be enough for him to go a step further and remove the word "one of".

But at this moment, the great Imperial Marshal Menno Kuhn frowned.

"Did His Majesty specifically ask you to bring this secret letter to me? Even though he sent a sorcerer to support us, he still asked you to go an extra mile to bring me this secret letter?"

"Yes, Marshal."

Upon hearing the answer from the Emperor's executive officer, Marshal Menno remained calm, but sighed in his heart.

They had already sent a warlock over, but they sent an executioner for no reason. What does this mean?

——This means that His Majesty the Emperor relies on the power of sorcerers on the battlefield, but is unwilling to give them enough trust and does not want them to have access to confidential information.

"There are three whole warlock armies, but they are all gathered in our Central Army Group. There is not a single one in the Western Army Group, right?"

"Yes, Marshal."

…

The marshal sighed in his heart again. With so many years of experience in the battlefield and the palace, how could he not understand the emperor's intention?

If Lannister's record with the Eastern Army was true - no matter how he did it - then the situation of the Western Army was now infinitely more critical than that of the Central Army.

But the emperor still ordered all the warlock troops to be sent to his side.

Your Majesty, why do you bring politics to the battlefield? There are so many ways to do things in the palace, why do you have to sacrifice the lives of the soldiers on the front line to achieve your goals?

Your Majesty, do you want the entire Western Army to be buried with Duke Witte?

Marshal Menno clenched the letter tightly, his heart was in turmoil, but he did not reveal it in his expression.

"Your Majesty gave you a verbal message before giving you the secret letter, right? What did he say?"

The executor's face immediately became serious, and he imitated Emperor Emhyr's tone and expression perfectly.

Soldiers who can be used to carry out the message are all people with outstanding memory. Menno closed his eyes and felt as if the emperor was right in front of him:

[Tell him that I am not angry, I just feel ashamed. So I want him to send all the remaining Ade Fein Division and Alba Division to Rivia, and take the warlocks I sent to him. I want him to wash away the shame of the Empire, rebuild the right wing of the army group, and let our strategy continue.]

After delivering the message, the executive officer immediately regained his humble expression: "This is your majesty's order."

The marshal nodded noncommittally: "I understand."

The problem is bigger.

The verbal message requested the remaining Ade Fein and Alba divisions to move eastward, but the secret letter requested the marshal to send out Dellanny's Seventh Cavalry Brigade and Nausicaa's Division.

There is an essential difference between the two. The Ade Fein Division and the Alba Division belong to the Third Army. The Alba Division is a mixed division of heavy cavalry and heavy infantry, while the Ade Fein Division is a pure heavy cavalry division, but most of it had been defeated in Livia before.

The Dellani 7th Cavalry Brigade and the Nausicaa Division belong to the 4th Cavalry Corps, a pure cavalry unit with lighter equipment, greater mobility and larger numbers.

The marching and battle plans for sending these two were completely different.

It couldn't be that there was something wrong with Executive Officer Peter's memory. Someone who could be promoted to an executive officer would never make such a mistake.

There is only one possibility - the emperor does not even trust his own executive officers.

Not only were the legions sent different, but the objectives of the battle were also different. The Emperor's secret letter clearly stated that the primary objective of this battle was to oppress Rivia and Aedirn and force Lannister to support the war in the east again.

If Lannister really came with that weird magic, then the Marshal would have to send the entire Fourth Horse Corps and all the warlocks eastward to capture or destroy Lannister.

If the Lannisters do not come or run away, then the next best option is to occupy Rivia and Lyria and rebuild the right wing of the legion.

…

This is incredible from a tactical point of view. The emperor seems to have raised the value of Lannister to a quarter or even a third higher than that of the North.

But after the marshal put down the secret letter and thought about it again and again, he decided to faithfully carry out the emperor's orders, no matter how incredible the orders were.

There is a reason why the emperor is so suspicious. This shows that the political infighting in the empire has reached a very serious level. At this time, as the pillar of the empire, he cannot cause trouble for the emperor anymore.

Marshal Menno called over his adjutant and was about to give an order, but his eyes caught sight of the executive officer standing still.

"Did His Majesty give you any orders about what to do next?"

The executive officer bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, allow me to follow you for a while."

Menno was silent.

He even forgot to give the order to his adjutant to march the troops.

"I see."

After a long while, he said this in a complicated tone.

He turned his gaze and looked towards the west.

Good luck to you, Werther.

…

Joachim de Witt was sitting at his desk.

There were several sheets of letter paper spread out in front of him, and he was personally copying the original into several copies.

This kind of work should have been done by an adjutant or a servant, but because the content on the letter was so shocking, Witt did not dare to use anyone else to do it.

My like-minded friends:

I heard a bad rumor in the north, you in the south may not have heard it yet, or the "person we all know" may deliberately block the news. But I must say it - we may lose an ally worth relying on.

It's not just him. In recent days, I've often felt cold in the north. I can feel a biting chill crawling through my bones. All signs indicate that I seem to be following our allies...

I wrote this letter to warn you that I will continue to fight. But at the same time, we may have to put the plan that we once abandoned back on the table... elect someone who is more qualified to lead us, to replace the current ungrateful and violent person...】

The various names and references in the letter are very vague, but anyone who actually receives the letter will know what they mean.

Duke Witte and his friends were very cautious, and even if the letters between them were intercepted, it would be difficult for the imperial intelligence agencies to find materials that could be used as evidence in the imperial court.

However, they all overlooked one fact - sometimes the emperor did not need evidence at all.

…

After copying the letters with shocking contents, Duke Witte sealed them one by one and kept them close to him, waiting to send them out at the appointed time.

He then walked to the battlements on top of the fortress, and immediately the sentry on guard saluted him.

Duke Witte ignored them and just looked down along the jagged fence. He saw the city gate wide open, and another troop with a black sun flag was stationed outside the city under the guidance of the horn. Then, an officer led the troop into the city to register.

"How many people have come to Fort Otaga in total?" Duke Witte frowned when he heard this, and waved to the adjutant who had been following him closely and asked.

The adjutant was familiar with this information every day: "Sir, this is the fifth troop in ten days. Including them, there are now 18,000 people gathered in the Otaga Fortress."

After finishing speaking, the adjutant carefully looked at Duke Witte's expression and said, "The resistance of the people of Cintria has been very strong recently. Should we..."

"How intensely?"

The adjutant was interrupted by Duke Witte, and his thoughts were choked. He said stutteringly: "Their guerrillas are harassing our troops outside everywhere, and they also raided Hauchebz some time ago..."

"They are just guerrillas. Can they reach our fortress?"

The adjutant was completely silent.

Duke Witte saw the adjutant's expression and snorted, "The emperor has long given up on us taking Cintra. Our role as the Western Army Group is to build a passage for Marshal Menno and ensure that the Cintra people don't cut off the cavalry regiment's retreat."

"Yes, sir." The adjutant lowered his head.

The commander-in-chief has already defined his entire army as a logistics force, what else does his adjutant want?

…

"Sir, there is one more thing." However, even if the commander was in a bad mood, the adjutant could not just ignore everything.

He suddenly said, "Sir, recently there has been a message circulating around our fortress. It says that Duke Darcy of the Eastern Army was attacked and captured by the Lion, and the Eastern Army has now collapsed. The soldiers are now very impatient. Should we gather the commanders of the battalions and brigades to discuss how to solve the problem..."

"This is not a rumor." Duke Witte interrupted.

"……ah?"

Even though the adjutant had heard many of Duke Witte's outrageous remarks, this time he was really shocked by Duke Witte's response.

Duke Witte glanced at the adjutant who had lost control of his expression and said slowly:

"I've also heard that so-called 'rumor'. Darcy did miscalculate, and the Eastern Army Group did collapse."

"But the way the rumor described the Lannisters as if they were a myth... I can only say that it was spread by the people of Cintra. They are willing to say anything to boost morale."

"But no matter what, Darcy did fail, which shows that Lannister still has some methods. Therefore, during this period of time, I will not prevent the scattered troops outside from gathering in the fortress. This is the safest approach before we understand Lannister's methods."

"Don't worry about logistics. Although we were attacked in Hauchebz, we still have a steady supply of transportation from the south. It's just that our troops have shrunk a little bit, which is not a big deal."

The adjutant hesitated to speak.

This turtle-like tactic was harmless to Duke Witte, but it was difficult to accept for the other Nilfgaardians who were advancing rapidly from south to north.

"But if the soldiers are allowed to get into such chaos, it could lead to disaster," Duke Witte thought. "Then tonight, go and notify the officers above the rank of lieutenant colonel in each battalion or brigade to come..."

…

Duke Witte spoke slowly, but the adjutant's expression gradually became strange.

His attention was diverted from the Duke's orders and he suddenly looked in one direction.

"grown ups!"

The adjutant interrupted Duke Witte for the first time, and the duke, who was temporarily transferred from the palace to serve as the commander of the Western Army Group, also saw something wrong on the faces of his soldiers.

From the time they were talking, the soldiers stationed outside the fortress had already jumped up.

The ground shook slightly, and several experienced officers and scouts took the lead to look in one direction.

The sky was covered with thick dark clouds and there was not a single animal on the ground, but that place caught everyone's attention.

"What happened?" Duke Witte was not in the know, but he could keenly sense that something was wrong with the atmosphere. "What happened? Answer me!"

Duke Witte lacked military experience, which was why he needed an experienced adjutant to give him advice.

At this moment, the adjutant's expression had become very solemn: "It's the cavalry, sir. Coming from the north."

The ground rumbled and shook, and the sound of the cavalry's horses' hooves could be heard for miles.

The soldiers outside the fortress were the first to feel it. And now that even the soldiers on the battlements had begun to sense the cavalry's pace, it meant that the enemy was very close.

An urgent horn sounded immediately, and the soldiers who were originally resting gathered together immediately; everyone's eyes were focused on Duke Witte, waiting for orders.

"The cavalry regiment led by the marshal is stationed in Upper Soden in the east. The only ones coming from the north are..."

"Cintria people!" Duke Witte gritted his teeth, still wondering, "How dare they attack our fortress? Where are our patrols and other guard troops scattered outside?"

"The troops outside have been concentrated in the fortress due to logistical problems, sir!" The adjutant was sweating coldly, "and the scattered patrols have no chance of returning if they encounter guerrillas who are familiar with the terrain!"

"Sir! Please give the order!"

Even if Duke Witte tries to avoid fighting, it doesn't mean he is a coward.

He is a duke after all.

A series of orders were issued, and orderly trumpet sounds soon resounded throughout the fortress.

The black tide of soldiers seemed to be infiltrated into the castle in an orderly manner by the diverted lake water, and instantly armed the building for war.

Due to the large number of Nilfgaardians, the central fortress could not accommodate so many people, and more soldiers were arranged in formations outside the fortress, turning the fortress, which was like an iron barrel, into a hedgehog.

Soon, the Nilfgaardians who were on high alert saw a silver wave line rising and falling from the edge of their sight, and armored cavalry began to be visible to the naked eye.

The three lions flag fluttered in the air.

"It's indeed a Cintra person!"

Duke Witte exclaimed, but he was actually relieved.

The number of enemies was not large, in fact too small. At a rough glance, there were less than 5,000 of them. I didn't know how many more there were on our side than them.

…

Thinking of this, Duke Witte's expression relaxed. This army of Cintra might not even be able to defeat the troops outside the fortress, let alone himself who was inside the fortress.

"And they are all cavalry, and we are inside the castle. Is Lannister stupid enough to want to attack the castle with cavalry? Does he think his horses can fly?"

"Blow the horn, prepare to meet the enemy, and raise our flags!" Lord Wight turned around, "Since the Lannisters have sent us gifts, we will not be polite..."

“Ah—ho—”

“Ahhh!!”

Two roars like ancient bells exploded in the soul, suddenly interrupting Duke Witte's words.

Everyone felt as if they had been hit on the back of the head with a club. Their eyes widened abnormally and their necks tilted up uncontrollably.

Above the dark clouds in the sky that blocked everyone's vision, two dark shadows broke through the heavy obstacles and came over their heads with wisps of mist.

"That's..." Duke Witte heard his adjutant mutter, "...a dragon?!"