The soldier's intrusion, though a bit of a mood killer, instantly dispelled the ambiguous atmosphere that had just filled the tent, didn't bother Yun Zhe much, or rather, he didn't hold a grudge against the soldier. Akdina, however, was clearly not so forgiving; she glared fiercely at the soldier, sending a chill down his spine.
The soldier's mind raced. He looked at the crossbow parts on the table, then at the tent where nothing seemed amiss. He couldn't figure out what he had done wrong.
Yun Zhe noticed the soldier's panic and coughed softly at Akdina, signaling her to stop glaring at him. He then moved between the soldier and Akdina and whispered, "I'm discussing with Akdina the creation of a new crossbow. It's a confidential matter, so don't tell anyone."
The soldier understood immediately, nodding vigorously. He glanced at Akdina, who was no longer looking at him and continued fiddling with the parts. This relieved the soldier, but his face immediately fell. "Sir, those bastards Belvado have started running again!"
Yun Zhe nodded. "Who went to scout today?"
"Sir, today is the captain of the Elke Hundred-Man Team," the soldier replied in a low voice.
Yun Zhe thought for a moment, "You go first, I'll go ask them myself later." After the soldier left, he looked back at Akdina, "You've remembered everything I just said, right? If you have, disassemble it fifty times, then go and inform Valentine to stop what they're doing and come back immediately." With that, Yun Zhe rushed out of the tent.
He had indeed feigned composure earlier; the sudden turn of events had left him quite uneasy. Had the Belvado army cured the plague? Or had they used some kind of magic? Or something else entirely? Yun Zhe was in turmoil. Since this morning, everything had become out of control, not going according to his plan. Yun Zhe couldn't understand where things had gone wrong. His brow furrowed, and a sudden sense of powerlessness filled his heart.
At the entrance of the large tent in the center of the camp, several centurions were gathered together, with Elke, who was in charge of the reconnaissance mission today, in the middle. From afar, Yun Zhe could see Elke talking excitedly and gesturing wildly, looking quite anxious.
Upon seeing Yun Zhe arrive, everyone hurriedly bowed, but Elke rushed to Yun Zhe's side, "My lord, the Belvado army is advancing extremely fast today, I'm worried..."
"Were they all marching very fast?" Yun Zhe looked at the impulsive Elke in front of him, comforting him while asking, "Tell me in detail how they broke camp, how they marched, and what their formation was like..."
Elke steadied himself and began to tell Yun Zhe what he had seen and heard.
It turned out that last night, the anxious Yom realized that someone was deliberately slowing down their progress. As for why they were being slowed down, it was because a large force was coming to completely surround them. Although he didn't know which direction this "large force" might be coming from, one thing was certain: he had to speed up and stay here. If they continued to move at this slow pace, they would all die here sooner or later.
The current situation is that over 70% of the soldiers have been infected with the plague, and 20% of them have essentially lost their ability to move. The remaining 30% of the soldiers are clearly in a terrible state of paranoia and tension.
Worse still, even the Supreme Commander of the Army, Kluge, was suffering from vomiting and diarrhea and was unable to move.
"This can't go on!" Yom made up his mind. He immediately went to Kruger's tent, endured the pungent smell, and began to explain his plan of action.
Before dawn the next day, all the soldiers in the camp who had not been infected with the plague rose, packed their supplies, and broke away from the main force as quickly as possible, marching at full speed towards Gularburg. Yom allocated all the horses he could muster to this force, creating a cavalry unit of 20,000.
In addition, he ordered all sick but still able-bodied soldiers to take off their trousers and travel at a normal speed along with all the wagons carrying the treasure.
For the last soldiers who were completely unable to move, Jom made no demands, only instructing them to try their best to keep up with the main force. Whether they could actually keep up was not a question for him. In fact, Jom only sent a soldier to inform them after all the other soldiers had set off.
Thus, the entire force was divided into highly mobile cavalry units that marched madly toward Gularc. The normal but slightly slower treasure-carrying troops followed closely behind, and then the more than 10,000 soldiers who had essentially been abandoned and were practically incapacitated and waiting to die trailed slowly at the very back.
Although Jom was in a hurry, he controlled the distance between the first two armies to no more than a day's march. He also left a cavalry unit with the second part of the army as messengers to guard against possible attacks.
According to Yom's plan, the first contingent would be able to rendezvous with the troops at Gularburg in just three days. If the enemy didn't ambush or attack, they could wait a day or two, or return together to support the second contingent. If an attack occurred, with 20,000 cavalry, the enemy would certainly suffer. He would still have a chance to counterattack. And if the enemy attacked the third contingent, then let them do so. It would also delay their progress.
While dividing forces is a cardinal sin in warfare, in just one night, Yom concentrated all his manpower into the most advantageous mobile fighting force. He also left behind bait and sacrifices. By turning the tide of battle, he reversed his unfavorable situation to some extent and boosted the morale of his soldiers.
What Elke saw was the roughly 20,000 cavalry galloping at full speed. As for the rest, he left behind scouts and hurriedly returned himself, recounting his observations in detail to Yun Zhe.
Yun Zhe frowned after hearing this. According to Elke, it was highly likely that the enemy was sacrificing their main force to save themselves, freeing their most mobile fighting force from this slowing quagmire, and then rejoining the soldiers of Gularburg to maintain their strategic and mobility advantage in this area. With such a cavalry force present, even if they were to launch a surprise attack on the remaining troops, they would still be hesitant and dare not act rashly.
However, Yun Zhe did not draw any conclusions. He planned to go to the front line himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust Elke, but he felt that things might not be so simple. Moreover, even if the other side did act in this way, the reconnaissance mission left to them would be even more arduous. Yun Zhe needed to go to the front line to see for himself and confirm some things.
"Elke, prepare the horses, I want to go and see for myself!"
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