Chapter 67
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Chapter 67: Turning Back
"So, everyone," Leo winked, "may I ask what you plan to do next?"
Hearing Leo’s question, Carter quickly picked up a stick and began to draw a map in the dirt.
This is the advantage of having built up a good reputation at Winter Fortress; everyone trusted Leo’s decisions.
"We plan to go south along the Winter River, heading towards Winterfell City in the southeast. It’s the closest place, and we can reach it in just three days."
"Although Winterfell City is not as strong as Winter Fortress, it should buy us a day or two against the Night Demons, which will be enough time to send Ms. Kalian back to the royal city."
"Well… it’s true, if we want to go south, there is only one road, and that’s the one from Winterfell Plain to Winterfell City." Leo looked at the simple map on the ground, deep in thought, while Miss Skuld stood beside him, keeping Kalian from leaning in too close.
"How many people have you lost in the past two and a half days?" Leo asked again.
"…Almost seventy percent," Carter gritted his teeth.
"This is still the forest. It is hard for the big army to chase us. If we go thirty more kilometers ahead, there will be a plain," Leo sighed. "This situation is more troublesome."
"Mr. Leo, isn’t the plain our advantage? Our warhorses should be faster than Night Demon’s Giant Toothed Lizard," Kalian asked, confused.
"Hmph, you don’t understand this at all," Miss Skuld huffed lightly and looked at her with a proud gaze.
"…" Kalian’s eyes twitched a couple of times; she felt the hostility from the White Knight towards her, "Then Miss Luna, can you tell us what the problem is with the plain?"
"I don’t understand either," Skuld said, hands on her hips and chin held high, showing no expression. "But Leo definitely knows."
Leo knew why she was so proud!
Kalian was almost at her breaking point.
"Enough." Leo interrupted the argument between the two ladies, looking frustrated. "On my way here, most of the traps set by Miss Kalian did not trigger, which means Night Demon probably does not plan to send a large force to chase us."
"What?" Miss Kalian said in surprise, "That can’t be! They have no reason to let us go."
"Yes, they certainly won’t let us go," Leo said with a bitter smile.
And Viscount Carter finally responded, "This is a trap…"
"That’s right, this is a trap," Leo sighed. "Since there is only one way south, and the Winterfell Plain is a must-passage, we just need to rush there first, set up a strong ambush, and wait for them to walk right in. If I were the Night Demon General, I would definitely do the same."
"So, the road to Winterfell City is a dead end."
Hearing Leo’s words, everyone present felt a chill down their spines.
If they continued to march according to their original plan, it meant they were walking straight into the enemy’s trap.
In that case, there would be no hope at all.
"Since that’s the case…" Kalian suddenly felt weak but still tried to stay calm. "Where should we go?"
With Winter Fortress fallen and the road south blocked, they were completely trapped in this forest.
The vast North Land no longer had a place for them to stay.
Most importantly, there was hardly any food left for the war horses or supplies for the soldiers; they were at the end of their strength.
"North!" Leo took the stick from Viscount Carter’s hand and drew an arrow on the map.
"North? Isn’t that going backwards?" Kalian stared at Leo, clearly frightened by this decision.
"Yes, it is going back, back to Winter Fortress," Leo continued.
Viscount Carter did not speak, looking at the simple map, and after a while, he raised his head to look at Leo, "You are really a strange one, Mr. Leo."
"What do you mean?" Kalian lacked knowledge of military maneuvers and could not understand Leo’s intention, and asked eagerly.
Miss Skuld wore the same expression as her.
However, Miss Skuld was eager to see everyone amazed by her master’s wisdom.
"Mr. Leo also said," Carter patiently explained, "if we head south, we will fall into the Night Demons’ trap, and the weakest point of this trap is in the north."
"Since we will eliminate the route of retreat ourselves, the Night Demons will not expect us to go north, which will catch them by surprise."
"Furthermore, the army of the Marquis of Logan has already been defeated, and in their retreat, they can only move west to get around and head south. This way, the main force of the Night Demons will be drawn away by the Marquis of Logan."
"So, the north is indeed the place where the Night Demons have the weakest forces."
"Mr. Leo’s decision is truly… the most correct decision."
Upon hearing this, Miss Kalian’s eyes sparkled with light.
The soldiers also nodded in agreement.
Miss Skuld stood with her hands on her hips, eager to praise her master.
"Not only that," Leo picked up where Viscount Carter left off, "the purpose of the Night Demons coming to North Land is to conquer our cities and steal our wealth. The Winter Fortress has already turned into a heap of ruins after being struck by that ancient dragon; they have no reason to stay there guarding a pile of rubble. By going north, we can easily escape the Night Demons’ trap."
"But this ruin, for the tens of thousands in the Night Demon Army, is not the same for our small team of a few hundred."
"Even if a large part of the supplies from Winter Fortress has been burned, the remaining part is enough for our few hundred people to eat for several months, or even years."
"The damaged buildings and alleys of Winter Fortress can become shelter for us to hide."
"At that time, we can use Winter Fortress as our base, send out scouts to gather information, plan our next steps, and decide whether to fight or flee."
"Even in the worst-case scenario… it will allow Ms. Kalian to survive and keep the spark for North Land alive."
After Leo finished speaking, the surrounding leaders were still trying to process his words.
Even Viscount Carter stared at him in confusion; he thought he had followed Leo’s line of thought.
But now it seems he only thought of the first layer.
Meanwhile, Leo had already considered the following layers.
"I still say this, Mr. Leo, you really are a monster." Carter sighed sadly and looked at Miss Kalian, "Your Highness, I think Mr. Leo’s plan is meaningless. What do you think?"
The Dawn Empire values hierarchy the most, and in this small team, Kalian is the highest-ranking commander.
"Of course, I believe in Leo." Miss Kalian gave Leo a bright smile.
"Hmph, I knew you would just say nice things." Skuld muttered quietly with dissatisfaction.
"Alright, let’s turn back and head north to Winter Fortress." Leo nodded.
At the same time, he sighed with relief.
Heading north is indeed the best way to escape the encirclement, but all those things about urban warfare, outposts, and scout riders are just nonsense from Leo.
He has only two reasons for going north to Winter Fortress.
First, there are many bodies of Superoperators lying at Winter Fortress. These are Miss Skuld’s supplements, and they must be recovered; they cannot go to waste.
Secondly, running from the Winter Fortress to the Mechanical Sect is clearly easier.
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