Looking at the trembling nobleman of Sass before him, Lind began his routine interrogation.
"name."
The nobleman trembled even more violently and stammered:
“I…I am called…O…Odrich, a viscount of the Sass Empire.”
Linde frowned, wondering how such spineless and powerless nobles dared to step onto the battlefield.
Linde continued to ask:
"Purpose of my visit."
Aldrich's eyes flickered, and he hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"We are a unit that came here to harass the flanks."
Just as Lind had expected, it was merely a small harassment force.
"Tell me the defenses of your fortresses and the families they belong to. If you get even one word wrong, your family can start collecting their corpses."
Aldrich turned pale with fright, broke out in a cold sweat, his legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, saying in a tearful voice:
"My lord, I'll tell you everything! Please don't kill me."
He began to confess, his voice trembling.
"The fortress to the east belongs to the Green family. Their defenses are weak, with only two thousand soldiers, most of whom are new recruits."
To the south lies the Black family, with three thousand well-equipped soldiers, though their commander is a good-for-nothing.
To the west lies the Cavendish family, with four thousand soldiers, and they're in league with mercenaries..."
Aldridge spoke more and more fluently, as if he wanted to pour out everything he knew.
As Linde listened, he mentally calculated that he had finally obtained some information of some value.
Linde called over Lilens, who was busy directing the cleanup of the battlefield, and handed him the information he had just received:
"This information was obtained from that Viscount Sass just now. Take a look."
Lilens took the paper, which was filled with detailed information about the defenses of each fortress and the families to which they belonged.
"East...west..."
His eyes lit up, and he said excitedly:
"This intelligence is extremely useful! We can start by attacking the Green family's fortress in the east. Their defenses are weak, they have many new recruits, and they are easy to conquer."
Lind nodded, finding Lillens' plan feasible.
The two quickly began to mobilize their troops and arrange battle plans.
Meanwhile, Aldrich, who had been captured, hatched a wicked plan. He secretly hid a sharp stone, intending to find an opportunity to escape and inform his family.
Just as he thought no one was paying attention and was preparing to act, Lind, who had been secretly watching him, sneered and kicked him to the ground.
"Trying to run? Not so easy. Stay put, or you'll suffer a terrible death."
Aldridge was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, too afraid to make another move.
Looking at Aldridge, who was swaying like a quail, Lind suddenly had an idea.
The Viscount Sass in front of him clearly knew more than the previous young baron, and he was exactly looking for someone to guide him once he ventured deep into enemy territory.
This Aldridge is just right!
Lind walked up to Aldridge, squatted down, and patted his face.
“Viscount Aldrich, I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourself. As long as you obediently lead the way for us, I’ll guarantee your safety after the war ends, and I might even let you continue to be our viscount.”
A flicker of hesitation crossed Aldridge's eyes, but his will to survive made him nod vigorously.
"My lord, I am willing. I will definitely lead the way properly."
Linde nodded in satisfaction and ordered his men to take Aldridge away and keep him under close guard.
Subsequently, he and Li Luns accelerated their preparations for battle.
Lilens's army quickly assembled and marched towards the Green family's fortress to the east.
Meanwhile, Lind and his army led Audridge quickly into the territory of the Sass Empire.
Aldridge walked in the group, his eyes darting around every now and then, whether he was worried about his life or plotting something else, it was hard to tell.
But Linde had already secretly arranged for people to keep a close eye on him, and if he made the slightest move, he would pay a heavy price.
“Nix, if he does anything unusual, stab him with the dagger.”
"Okay, meow!"
…………
News of Lillen's siege of Greenburg quickly reached Sutherland's camp.
At this moment, Sutherland and his scribes and advisors in the tent were intently watching the sand table, pondering the current strategy to defeat the enemy.
The battle has now reached a stalemate. After capturing two Viscount castles, the Sassians have been unable to advance any further and have been stubbornly held back by the Crees.
The two sides have already engaged in several battles on the nearby plains, all of which ended in a draw.
Sutherland hadn't slept for days because of this. Although the stalemate was advantageous to his side, it was not a long-term solution, especially since the Sassians had already captured two of their castles.
Just then, an urgent voice came from outside the tent.
"Your Excellency, urgent report! Viscount Lillens has begun besieging Grinburg with his army!"
"What? How dare he! Bring him back here right now!"
Earl Sutherland was furious. Why was this boy from the Vonne family not following the rules?
"Wait a minute, something's not right!"
The clerk next to him seemed to understand something and quickly looked at the sand table beside him.
"Grinburg...what a great location!"
"What's wrong?"
Count Sutherland, standing to the side, was still somewhat puzzled. Could there be some hidden secret in this small Grinburg?
Greenburg was just a baron's castle and not very defensive, but the surrounding terrain was very open and suitable for open field battles.
"Sir, look..."
The clerk pointed to the location of Greenburg on the sand table.
"The area around Greenburg is very flat, mostly plains. Under normal circumstances, attacking the castle here would easily result in being repelled by the enemy's reinforcements."
He then changed the subject and said:
"But if we were to do this now, everyone would be tied down and no one would dare to go to the rescue. If they did, the line would definitely break, giving us an opportunity to counterattack."
Sutherland fell into deep thought and began to consider it.
Seeing that Sutherland still had doubts, his aides said:
"In this way, Lilens only needs to surround the castle. The Sassians cannot afford to wear it down. Once Greenburg is breached, the Sassians will definitely not dare to send troops to harass us again."
"We could even... send an elite force to ambush that mysterious unit that might appear..."
"Smack!"
With a loud bang, Sutherland slammed his fist on the table and stood up in anger. He hated that swift cavalry that raided everywhere; no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't catch them.
Upon hearing that they could be ambushed, Sutherland immediately summoned his subordinates and gave the order:
"Have the Silver Lance Knights stand by. This time, we must completely crush these despicable worms here!"
The aide hesitated upon hearing this:
"My lord, the Silver Lance Knights cannot..."
"fine!"
Sutherland flatly rejected his advisors' suggestions:
"We're at a stalemate right now, so the Silver Lance Knights aren't really needed for the time being. It'll be a good opportunity for them to have some fun."
"yes……"
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