The cheers coming from the opposite camp made Baron Arles on the castle look extremely ugly.
He was very familiar with this rhythm, because just over ten days ago, he had welcomed his departing soldiers in the castle in the same way, and the cheers were just as loud.
"Perhaps we'll have to fight a decisive battle before the infantry arrive." Ars suddenly regretted being too flamboyant today; perhaps his behavior had provoked Andrew on the other side.
Ars and Andrew had fought side by side and were somewhat familiar with each other. Today, his blatant charge of cavalry back to the castle was actually intended to intimidate the enemy.
"Yes, he must have guessed that I only brought back the cavalry first, and that the infantry and cavalry were separated. They wanted to fight fast and take the castle in one day before their own infantry arrived."
Ars grinned coldly at this thought. Andrew, that straightforward guy, would actually do something like that. But to think a thousand men could take down my castle in a day was pure fantasy. He had faith in his castle, and even more so in his command abilities. And most importantly, without a large amount of siege equipment in such a hurry, a pile of corpses alone wouldn't be enough to open the castle gates. Only a fool would do something like that.
“But Andrew on the other side is no novice in battle either. He should know his own strength and the cost of attacking the castle.” Ars thought again and hesitated. “He must have some secret weapon to be so fearless.”
Ars looked at the camp and suddenly felt something was strange. The camp's location was too odd; it was right between two groves of trees, with vast, dense forests on both sides. Ars suddenly realized something, and a terrifying light flashed in his eyes.
"Brilliant! Such a scheme! So you didn't intend to attack the city, but rather to lure me out for a field battle. Andrew, how did you suddenly become so cunning?" Ars ignored the cheers from the opposite camp and left the tower with a flick of his sleeve.
The next day, as the sun rose, it was another beautiful sunny day.
By this time, Arles Castle had been in chaos for some time. Almost the entire city had been mobilized. In the center of the square, huge iron cauldrons churned with thick, black oil, and beside each cauldron, a burly man, drenched in sweat, wielded a massive iron ladle, ladling the hot oil into wooden buckets. Bags of bows and arrows were piled in one corner of the square, and men of varying ages lined up nearby, waiting to receive their loads. Directly opposite the bows and arrows was the castle gate, where half a platoon of pikemen were assembled, ready to deliver a fatal blow to any enemy who dared to breach the gates.
At that moment, Ars stood atop the highest tower of the castle, giving orders to his brother-in-law.
"See the woods on both sides of that camp? I need you to take a few skilled men and scout them out."
"Is it just for reconnaissance? Shouldn't we take this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on them?"
“That’s what I was worried about. Look at those two groves of trees. They could easily hide a lot of people,” Ars said, pointing to the groves on either side of the opposite camp.
Hart suddenly realized, "You mean, they're actually waiting for us to launch a sneak attack?"
"Hmph, I thought of it last night. I thought they would leave a loophole during the siege to trick us, but when I saw the quietness of the opposite camp this morning, I immediately understood."
“Your Excellency is wise. Their main force is actually in the woods, isn’t that right?” Hart clenched his fist, thinking to himself, “The commander on the other side is really cunning.”
Ars nodded with satisfaction; it was indeed a pleasant thing for someone to recognize his intelligence.
"So we need to go and take a look, to confirm it. You take twenty or thirty people with you to take a look, but don't make too much of a fuss."
"Don't worry, I'm good at this kind of thing." Hatt nodded and quickly walked down the tower.
On Yun Zhe's side, they had been busy all night, and apart from the fifty-odd people who had been on guard duty during the day, who were still energetic, everyone else was sleeping like logs.
Yun Zhe handed a blueprint to Gao, saying, "You two will lie in ambush like this, in pairs. I scouted the locations yesterday. Just ambush them according to my positions. Anyone who gets close will face crossbow bolts from two directions. Remember, don't chase them. Just keep them from getting close."
Gao looked at the zigzag lines and dots on the paper, suppressed his curiosity, and nodded. "Don't worry, there won't be any problems on the right side."
Yun Zhe patted Gao on the shoulder, "Please, I'll go to the other side now. Oh, and after those guys wake up, have them continue to pretend they're cooking and preparing dry rations. We'll leave when I get back."
Gao nodded again, "No problem, leave it to me." With that, he waved his hand and led more than ten people to the right side of the camp.
Yun Zhe also darted into the woods on the left. In his plan, not attacking the city for a day would arouse the enemy's suspicion, and they would definitely try every means to investigate the situation. The woods on the left and right would be the best cover for the enemy's scouts, and it was also the most crucial point in Yun Zhe's plan.
As the sun rose high in the sky, wisps of smoke finally began to rise from the opposite camp. Seeing this, Ars breathed a sigh of relief and ordered everyone to rest. Such laziness and perfunctory attitude only strengthened Ars's confidence in his judgment. The enemy had probably realized that sleeping in early hadn't worked, and after breakfast, they'd likely move on to their next move: a feigned attack. Ars sneered; they were still determined to succeed.
Hart led his men into the woods on the left, a larger grove that seemed more likely to conceal soldiers. Eager for recognition, Hart naturally wouldn't let it pass. However, as they proceeded, they found no trace of anyone who had ever been there.
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