After sending off his youngest daughter, Pierre felt very complex emotions. Although he had investigated beforehand that the Graythorn Territory’s army had very good military discipline and was known for its credibility, treating prisoners quite well, there were still worries that couldn’t be dismissed.
After Pierre blankly stared at the military’s secret passage for a long time, he finally returned to his senses and walked out of the compartment. As soon as he emerged, his eldest son, along with his second son and other relatives, had been waiting for quite some time.
Pierre was not surprised, after all, many of the soldiers sent out were under these men’s command. Although this opportunity had balanced the power within the castle, making those who relied on holding military power to seize the right to speak behave a bit more honestly, it was impossible not to be noticed.
But Pierre did not expect that this matter would become known by everyone.
“Father, where is my little sister? The soldiers under my command and my little sister are missing! Did you send her to take refuge?”
The eldest son was the first to panic, but Pierre did not flinch. Instead, he delivered the prepared speech: “Little Emily said tonight is very suitable for a night raid, so she requested some troops from me to attack the enemy’s camp tonight. If it succeeds, it will greatly relieve our pressure.”
Upon hearing this response, others showed expressions of relief, but the eldest and second sons grew anxious, asking, “Father, have you gone mad? How can you let our little sister undertake such a dangerous task? It should be me, as her elder brother, who does it!”
Pierre felt very complicated. Although his younger brothers were a bit foolish, they still cared about their sister, but that made them too easily influenced by others.
Then, other members of the Laurent family reacted as well, and everyone began to express their concern for Emily. Some who had previously had a bad relationship with Emily came to check on Pierre, and some even started advising him to mourn.
No one thought anything was wrong, after all, Emily had once mentioned at a gathering in the castle that she wanted to go into battle; staying cooped up in the castle would suffocate her. It was no secret that Emily was a radical warrior faction member.
Just when everyone was about to disperse, a scout from the watchtower rushed in in a panic, shouting, “My lord! My lord! The enemy’s camp is on fire! A unit wearing our armor is setting fire to their camp!”
At these words, everyone showed horrified expressions, especially Pierre.
“Ah? Is what you said true?”
“Absolutely! It was confirmed by the professional mage on the watchtower with the hawk eye technique!”
As soon as the words fell, Pierre’s eldest son immediately took people to rush to the watchtower. The others quickly reacted and hurriedly left, leaving the bewildered old Pierre behind.
No, this couldn’t be possible. Although his youngest daughter had a promising future, Pierre knew very well what the current situation was, and the troops sent out were not elite soldiers at all. How could it be that the enemy would succeed in a night raid under the circumstances of knowing they would be raided?
Old Pierre immediately realized: it’s a trap!
At this moment, Darsi and Hammond were chatting in front of a burning military tent.
“Do you think this will really draw the enemy out of the city to fight?”
Darsi looked at the burning military tent, glancing expectantly at Frost Keep.
Hammond continued Darsi’s words, saying, “It’s your idea after all, how come you’re losing confidence now?”
“Because you once said that the enemy’s commander is also very rational. If conditions are equal, their strength is not beneath yours.”
Hammond laughed heartily upon hearing this, as this was a kind of indirect acknowledgment from Darsi.
“There are times when you not only have to consider the enemy’s overall command ability but also the abilities of their subordinates, as well as whether they will genuinely listen to the commander’s orders. People are very complicated beings. I think your plan is good; at least, even if it fails, we won’t lose much.”
Around them, many soldiers were running around with buckets, but upon closer observation, one would find that these soldiers were not trying to extinguish the fire; they were simply running around the fire scene, only putting out flames that might spread.
The ignited materials were some worn-out military tents and odds and ends, along with wood chopped nearby. Each fire point was surrounded by a circle of fireproof materials, ensuring it wouldn’t spread outside. To ensure safety, Hammond even calculated the wind direction, guaranteeing everything was foolproof.
Even if an accident truly occurred, it would only burn the forefront of this camp, without causing a widespread conflagration.
At first, Darsi thought it wasn’t so realistic, but Hammond insisted that if they were to do it, they should go all out, striving for realism in every aspect of the environment.
Watching the distant soldiers in the enemy’s armor rushing through the fire, Hammond said to Darsi, “Let’s go, I need to prepare the ambush, you watch over that young lady. After all, she is the ‘great hero’ of Frost Keep.”
Darsi nodded, “May we achieve victory!”
“Hahaha, I hope the enemy really takes the bait.”
After a simple salute, the two bade farewell.
Darsi arrived at a tent in the rear. Although they treated prisoners well, they couldn’t be completely free; at least under the current circumstances, these prisoners couldn’t play football.
Looking at the Frost Keep soldiers on the ground, stripped of their armor and tied up, sitting quietly without crying or making noise, Darsi felt relieved; they seemed to have no will to fight.
The eldest daughter of the Laurent family, Emily, was being restrained in a chair by two professional soldiers, with her hands bound behind her and shackles on her feet.
There was no other choice; this lady was a professional warrior, and Darsi dared not implement any measures without restraint.
At this moment, Emily was shouting inside the military tent: “Please! Kill me! Kill me!”
While struggling, she shouted.
A nearby priest who was applying medicine to Emily was caught off guard and was kicked out.
Darsi hurriedly helped the priest up, and then under the situation where Emily was once again held down by two professional soldiers, he continued applying medicine to her.
“Are you the general of this army?”
Seeing that the soldiers around were respecting Darsi, Emily scrutinized Darsi with curiosity.
“No, the real general is still in the rear.”
Darsi finished administering the medicine and surveyed the conditions inside the military tent.
“True, you are so young; how could you possibly be a commander of an army?”
Emily’s tone was filled with sarcasm, but Darsi did not intend to linger on this, sitting directly down opposite her.
“But even if you are not a general, you must be the general’s son, right?”
Upon hearing this, Darsi finally reacted and said, “No, I am an orphan. I grew up depending on my sister.”
“Then your sister married a general?”
“No, she is studying in Graythorn Territory, preparing to become a nun in the future. She said she is afraid it would affect me, so she isn’t married yet.”
“What about your other family members? Isn’t anyone in the army?”
“I am an orphan. I just said that.”
“…I’m sorry.”
After a moment of silence, Emily suddenly said, “Could you do me a favor and kill me?”
Faced with Emily’s sudden politeness, Darsi asked, “Why? What benefit would it bring us to kill you?”
“No benefit, it’s just that now that my family sent me for a night raid, and I haven’t even seen the shadows of the enemy before being captured, I can’t face anyone anymore.”
Then Emily suddenly began to cry, probably feeling increasingly embarrassed, realizing she was merely a talker who could only speak bravely.
Hearing her words, Darsi was certain that she truly did not know she had been sold by her own father; although her father’s intent was to protect her, it had indeed been achieved.
Watching Emily cry loudly, Darsi comforted her:
“Cheer up, isn’t there a possibility that your night raid has already succeeded?”
“What? We succeeded? How could we have succeeded?”
Emily immediately stopped crying, looking at Darsi in shock.
Darsi also pulled aside the tent’s flap, and outside there was indeed a blaze, but Emily quickly noticed that even though there was indeed fire, the military camp was not chaotic at all. In fact, there were soldiers who not only weren’t putting out the fire but were also rushing outside in armor.
Emily immediately realized what was happening and cried even louder.
