manynovel Chapter 53 Entering the game
Chapter 53 Entering the game
who am I?
This is a crucial issue that Aurelia must figure out immediately.
That night, the hill troops launched a surprise attack on the village.
With almost zero casualties, they quickly occupied the rear of the Wang army.
Fortunately, Aure acted quickly and immediately hid in a house, stole a woman's cotton skirt, and changed her disguise to become a local village woman, thus avoiding being imprisoned.
Hubert Peyton, a loyal and disciplined commander, did not tolerate any misbehavior among his men.
He ordered the construction of a temporary prison, disarmed and imprisoned all the officers and soldiers, and the villagers were tasked with taking care of the daily lives of the hill troops.
Including but not limited to cooking, cleaning, feeding horses, delivering supplies, and maintaining weaponry...
Just now, a drunken officer from the hills broke into the women's dormitory, wanting to vent his pent-up lust.
The village women were terrified, and Aure volunteered to go with them.
Aure has killed many people and now wields the dagger with ease.
Before her was just a drunken, staggering man; she killed him with almost no effort.
Those who fear killing cannot seek revenge.
It was this officer who violated military discipline first; Auley was merely acting as a substitute for the loyal dog in enforcing military law.
The corpse in front of me had a youthful face and decent armor, so it was probably the heir of some minor noble family.
After all, apart from the loyal dog, the other city lords of the hills are basically all imprisoned in the dungeons of Platinum Castle.
To move around within the Qiuling Army's camp, this person's identity was clearly much more convenient than that of an ordinary village woman.
Therefore, Aure decisively peeled off the other person's face and put on their clothes.
The most crucial thing right now is to figure out the name of this body.
As Aure walked along the village road, a hill soldier suddenly ran up to her:
"Lord Carlton, Baron Peyton requests your immediate presence in the War Hall."
Aurelia's face showed a slight displeasure: "What did you call me?!"
The soldier recoiled in fright, taking a step back. "Sir Carlton?"
"Who gave you permission to not address me by my full name!"
"I am terribly sorry, Sir Gavin Carlton," the soldier said, kneeling on one knee, "but this is a matter of military importance, and I urge you to proceed immediately!"
Gavin Carlton...
Without much thought, Aure ordered the soldiers to leave and immediately set off for the village hall.
Upon entering the room, one finds it already filled with officers, most of whom are young.
Standing at the far end of the hall, Hubert Peyton stared coldly at Aurelia with his rigid and serious face:
"You're too late, Gavin."
Aure bowed and said, "I'm sorry, Commander."
Then, I immediately found an empty seat and sat down.
The loyal dog didn't press the matter further; it simply glanced around before speaking again:
"Everyone should be here by now, so let's begin the meeting. We just received intelligence that Wang Jun has made another move."
"What are they planning to do?"
The man with a gray beard sitting next to the loyal dog asked a question.
He looked to be in his forties or fifties, probably the oldest among the officers present.
"The enemy is heading towards the central hills, seemingly intending to attack Earl's Castle of Hill Gardens," the loyal dog replied.
Upon hearing this, Aure heard many childish voices:
"We must provide support!"
"How can we stand by and watch our lord's city be attacked by the enemy!"
Faced with these suggestions, the loyal dog simply sat solemnly in his chair, without uttering a word.
The gray-bearded dog listened for a long time, but he didn't offer any opinion. Instead, he turned to look at the loyal dog.
"Lord Peyton, what's your opinion?"
The hall fell silent. The loyal dog placed his crossed arms on the armrests of his chair, looked up, and said:
"Let's wait and see."
A young man stood up excitedly from his seat and roared:
"We are all vassals of the Montero family. Now that the monarch's city is suffering a calamity, how can you stand idly by? You have absolutely no loyalty!"
"Enough! Harrison, when it comes to loyalty, no one in the Hills can compare to Baron Peyton. Sit down!"
The man with the gray beard scolded, then turned to the loyal dog again.
"Lord Peyton must have his own ideas."
The loyal dog seemed unaffected, calmly and slowly speaking:
"I did not take all my troops with me. I left fifty regular soldiers in each city for defense, and even left one hundred in Qiuyuan City. These troops are more than enough to defend the strong city walls."
"But Wang Jun has 3,500 soldiers."
The young man named Harrison continued to argue.
"Since we captured the village, the royal army has not suffered any casualties, and there are two Royal Knights and a Herald in the army."
"Each city in the hills has its own heraldic officer, and Hill Garden City is no exception. Although their talents may not be as good as those of the royal army's heraldic officers, they should be sufficient to command the defense of the city."
Despite the loyal dog's explanation, Harrison still seemed to have doubts and continued to argue:
"But what if? If the royal army captures and occupies the most fortified castle in the hills and uses it as a base, then all the other castles in the hills will fall one by one."
"No 'what ifs,' Harrison,"
The loyal dog looked Harrison in the eye for the first time.
"You only talk about what will happen if the Wang army captures Qiuyuan City, but why don't you consider their motives? Why would they make this move?"
Upon hearing this, Harrison's agitated emotions subsided somewhat:
"What do you mean?"
"Since we captured the village, we have cut off the main force of the royal army from the connection with Baijin Fort and their supplies. But the soldiers need to eat. They are trapped in the hills and it is a miracle that they have lasted this long. The royal army is already at its end."
The loyal dog explained,
"I predict that their attack on Hill Gardens this time is a desperate gamble, and their morale must be low. In this state, they cannot take Hill Gardens. Therefore, we only need to hold the outer perimeter and prevent the royal army from slipping out of the hills, and victory will be ours."
Upon hearing this, Harrison fell silent, seemingly convinced.
Aure couldn't help but marvel at how loyal this dog was a true talent in the military.
At this moment, the man with the gray beard asked, "Sir, did you foresee the current situation when you set the bait to lure the enemy?"
"Back then?" Loyal Dog scoffed. "That was just a move that happened naturally, Langdon, but that's not the real reason."
Hu Landon, with a frown, asked, "Please enlighten me!"
The loyal dog then began to recount its story:
"That attempt to lure the enemy was merely a test. If the plan succeeds, all the better. But if it fails, I will not suffer any loss. Moreover, I will know that there are cautious individuals in the king's army, and we can then switch to harassment tactics."
Upon hearing this, Langdon interrupted:
"My lord, you say there were no losses? I cannot agree with that. We had two hundred soldiers killed on the spot and another three hundred captured. If the royal army had not fallen for the trap, we would have suffered more than five hundred casualties. This is undoubtedly a heavy price to pay for Qiuling."
"Before returning to the hills to lead the army, I was hunting down a pirate at sea. Speaking of which, that pirate was much more troublesome than Mitchell. I chased him for months, but he always managed to slip through my fingers. In the end, I even outsmarted that pirate."
At this point, Aurelia noticed that the loyal dog's face seemed to turn ferocious.
Langdon asked, "What happened?"
"That night, I thought I was finally going to catch up with that bird-headed ship, but the ship sank to the bottom of the sea right before my eyes. However, before the ship sank, there were no pirates standing on the deck. That's when I realized that I had been led by the nose."
Aurelia saw the loyal dog's clenched fist tremble slightly.
"I have never been so thoroughly fooled, and I swear I will catch him and wash away this humiliation! I met that pirate once before, though I didn't realize he was the one I was after and let him go. But next time we meet, I will put him in chains."