Chapter 212: Operation Stockholm (3)

“They are heading towards Boros Castle, where our main force is headed, and they seem very relaxed, perhaps because it’s their territory.”

“Not bad. Then, are the barbarian light cavalry led by Istvan doing proper reconnaissance?”

“They are mainly focusing on roads frequently traveled by people, not paying much attention to places like plains that are difficult for people and wagons to traverse.”

Often, when we watch cartoons, novels, or movies dealing with strategy and tactics, we see scenes where people only scout the frequently traveled paths and the area around their forces and end up being ambushed, leading us to think,

‘If only they had scouted more carefully and broadly, they wouldn’t have fallen for such an ambush. Are they stupid? Tsk tsk.’

However, in reality, to scout every place without missing anything, a huge number of soldiers must be deployed.

Operating an army in such a manner could lead to defeat in actual combat due to the mental and physical fatigue already accumulated among the soldiers.

I took advantage of the enemy’s common sense thinking by selecting places without water for drinking near the roads and almost no villages for food supply, so I could observe the enemy’s movements without being detected.

“Do you know of any forests along the expected path of the enemy where we can hide?”

“About 15km from here, there’s a huge pine forest, and nearby, there’s a plain good for large military units to camp.”

“Good. Then, from now on, I’ll give out the operation orders. Everyone, listen carefully.”

When I said this, Laura, Anya, and the chieftains of the northern people all perked up their ears.

“As of now, we will hide in the pine forest 15km from here, as we just heard, and wait for the enemy to come.”

On the Raintlant Front, we conducted a surprise attack with a few mages added to one company, penetrated to where the division commander was, and successfully captured the division flag.

In Bisochea, acting as an advanced scouting party, we launched arrows and magic at the scouting company coming at the front to physically weaken the enemy.

Even now, the mere preparation of a surprise attack operation fills me with an exhilarating feeling.

And it seemed that Laura, who fought with me on those two fronts, Anya, and the northern chieftains, who had countless battle experiences in the north, felt the same emotion.

Their faces were openly filled with anticipation.

“Just thinking about the surprise attack makes my heart boil! As expected, the Khan Slayer is passionate.”

“I even gave up the alcohol I had hoarded to join the surprise attack force of just 1,000. But now that I think about it, it seems like I let it go for too cheap.”

“I’m reminded of the time in Raintlant, and I even miss it.”

“I find myself missing the times in Raintlant.”

“We can gather leaves and bark from the forest, and we can find plenty of oil in the enemy’s camp to use.”

“It’s an honor to be invited to such a fun game of playing with fire.”

But this alone wasn’t enough.

To be precise, this preparation for the surprise attack was enough, but it fell short of repaying the grudge against the bastard Istvan, who betrayed us and made the good soldiers of the Reich Empire come all the way to Stockholm.

So, I devised a plan to beautifully frame the detestable Istvan with a false charge during this surprise attack, sowing seeds of doubt among the Stockholm folks.

“Everyone, pay attention. If we’re going to play with fire, shouldn’t we give all the credit to Chief Istvan, who has granted us this glorious opportunity?”

Saying this, I took off the plate armor I was wearing and changed into the leather armor typically worn by nomads, which I had prepared in advance.

“So, when we attack, we’ll also take with us the document bearing Istvan’s forged signature and seal that we’ve prepared in advance, and scatter it in a visible place. If this is found, the Stockholm Kingdom’s army will start to doubt Istvan.”

The letter I wrote contained roughly this content,

[To the Chief of the Istvan Tribe, thanks to you informing us of the Stockholm army’s position, we were able to successfully ambush their headquarters. As promised, you will be granted the title of Count in the Reich Empire, and a countship within the territory of the Stockholm Kingdom.]

The likelihood of the Stockholm Kingdom’s army thinking that Istvan betrayed them and informed the Empire’s army of their position after seeing this was very low.

However, if we continue to exploit their weaknesses and keep winning, the King of Stockholm would gradually begin to doubt Istvan.

Then, without dirtying our hands, that bastard’s head would fall to the ground.

“Now, let’s all move out and prepare for the operation.”

Though we had done it a few times, a surprise attack was always thrilling.

The next dawn.

The sky was dim, and the Stockholm soldiers, about 500 meters away, were yawning while on guard.

They appeared careless, with no sign of caution, but such defenselessness could have been an act.

All of us in the Northern archer cavalry, including myself, were waiting cautiously, tensely.

After a few minutes, the five Northerners who had gone ahead as scouts returned and cautiously reported,

“It seems they haven’t noticed the ambush. If we attack now, we can win.”