Act 111: Tonigel and the Young Lord (Part 1)

Pallas thought he had seen through Brando's purpose.

But the old knight would never understand what kind of being was fighting against him on the other side of the forest. Like Brando, who knew every lord of Eruin - whether he was past, present, or future - whether he was powerful or impoverished.

He was as familiar with these people as he was with his own fingerprints.

From the year of the Blossoms and Summer Leaves, until the beginning of the Second Age, he dealt with almost every lord of Eruin, large and small.

If Pallas knew that Brando could name a nickname that he didn't know decades ago, he might have reconsidered his choice.

But history has no ifs.

When Brando first got the news that the old knight had returned to Pallas in his study in Fir City, he couldn't help but smile and threw the information from the Raven back on his desk.

Raven was his name for the Front-Line Wizard Scout, as they often used Raven to convey information, hence the nickname that spread among the military.

"It's a pity." Fern had also read the report, and the former cavalry captain shook his head in disappointment: "That old fellow is really cautious, otherwise as long as he is hot-headed, we will win half of this war-"

"It's not a good habit to put your hopes in the enemy, Grand Master Fern." Antitina stood beside Brando, and she glanced at the Grand Master and replied coldly.

As time passed, the prestige of Brando's First Staff Lady in his group grew, and although she was in a reprimanding tone, it did not make Fern feel that there was anything wrong with saying it at this time, as if it should have been taken for granted.

Fern smiled instead: "It's just a pity, if he retreats, we will have to face a bitter battle next." ”

"Not necessarily." Brando replied softly.

He knew very well that the old knight was cautious, but there was an indomitable character in his blood, just as he knew very well what the other party liked to fight, and what choices he would make.

This so-called intelligence is just a small trap arranged by him.

No matter what choice the other party makes, it will not surprise him.

Hearing the young lord say this, Antitina glanced at him from behind, she had known about the plan since Tajib had left the city that day, and Brando's arrangement had struck her as strange - it was not a tactic, it was almost a prediction.

But now, the prediction came true.

The staff lady was also a little dumbfounded, she looked at Brando's back in a daze.

"Not necessarily?" Fern was puzzled.

"Sir Pallas graduated from the Royal Legion College as a young man and fought in the November War, and is the most serious academic non-commissioned officer." Brando replied, "Do you know that on the front wall of the Royal Non-commissioned Officer Academy there is a sentence written in Cruz—"

"'For both sides of a war, the means of war are to achieve an end and prevent the other from achieving an end.'" ”

"This sentence is the guiding core of Eruin's military thought, and it is regarded as a classic by all officers from professional backgrounds."

Fern nodded, along with Clenthia and Medisa. Fern was born in a military camp and was no stranger to this sentence, but Clenthia had decades of experience in the wilderness, and some of the truths were common, so he only had to combine his own experience to see the truth contained in this sentence.

As for Métisa, the princess general's understanding of war needs no explanation.

"And so it is with Pallas," Antitina said in a whisper, "right, my lord?" ”

"Yes."

Brando continued, "So I told the cavemen to harass, plunder, and invade the Pallas region with the power of their whole clan, just to tell the old gentleman this message. ”

"We are in a state of siege, desperate to find a chance to break the tide before the Count Denel's army can be assembled."

"Isn't that where we are?" Fern asked.

"Yes," Brando nodded, "but is there such a stupid enemy?" Will he tell you the truth about him so that you can complete a 'Criticalstrike'? ”

Brando sat down and reclined in a high-backed chair, completely absent from the appearance of a lord, which made Antitina's brow almost twisted, and Flo's face was not necessarily good.

But the young man seems to be in a good mood, and blurting out is the game terminology.

“Criticalstrike？”

"That's an old language," Brando lied without blushing and heartbeat, "It's called a fatal blow." ”

Fern nodded.

"So it's reverse thinking," Medisa whispered, "and we asked for war, and he naturally couldn't let us get it." But on the other hand, according to the strict thinking of the enemy, the enemy will not be able to expose his weaknesses to you so bluntly, and he will definitely try to hide his aims. ”

"Unless it's a trap." Fern said.

"What kind of message does this trap reveal?" Clenthia asked.

"The enemy wants to stall for time." Fern replied, apparently in the shoes of Sir Pallas.

"Then the way to destroy this purpose is to send troops as much as possible-"

"But what if it's a double trap?" The discussion quickly became heated.

"So anyway, now there are only two options left." Antitina pulled her mind out of this thought circuit, and she calmly replied, "Either stay still until the army is assembled, or send your troops immediately and cut through the mess with a quick sword—"

But Medisa shook her head.

"Military deduction is not so simple, after all, this is not a guess, only rely on the analysis of the opponent's psychology-" The little silver elf princess replied, "There are some things that cannot be concealed, troops, materials, morale, weather and geography, plus possible reinforcements. ”

"Two choices, plus this information, are enough for Sir Pallas to make a choice."

"And then add the factor of character." Brando added.

"So what's the trap that the adults are arranging?" After being reminded by Metisa, Fern came back to his senses and looked at Brando in bewilderment.

According to the Silver Elf Princess, isn't Pallas light enough to make a correct judgment?

And it seems that the old knight did make the right judgment.

As the young lord had said, they were beleaguered and desperate to find a chance to break the tide before the Count Denel's army could be assembled.

But now that Sir Pallas had chosen to stand still and wait for the army to assemble, they had lost this most precious opportunity.

Isn't it?

But Fern saw Brando shake his head, and he smiled, "Haven't I already laid the trap, and each of you is in it, but you can't notice it-"

"What?"

Everyone was taken aback.

The young lord smiled and nodded his forehead: "The so-called limitation of thinking is that I sue you a yes or no question, and you fall into the vortex of choice along this question-"

"But you don't think about it, this is a real war, and there are thousands of possibilities in a war, not just two options. If you can't get out of this labyrinth of thinking, then you can't see a third way-"

Everyone present was stunned.

"The third way?" Fern asked, frowning.

"If Pallas chooses to go in, then he will be hit head-on and we will break the game directly." Brando replied, "But of course he wouldn't be so stupid, and I don't think even Grudinin would make such a lowly mistake." ”

"But if he chooses to withdraw from the army, give me two months, or even three months, and drag out the war until after the spring dawn, then I will welcome it."

Brando spreads his hands: "What are we missing?" Time. ”

"But time isn't necessarily in our favor, my lord." Antitina frowned as usual, as if her brow hadn't been lifted in the month.

When the young man saw her like this, he reminded him solemnly: "You will always frown, Miss Staff." ”

The nobleman's daughter gave him a blank look: "Anyway, I'll let you take charge of the lord—" She pouted slightly.

Brando smiled slightly, as if it was a sense of accomplishment to make the deputy relax a little. He laughed and explained, "Rest assured, time will eventually be on our side." ”

He wasn't just talking, since the druids had returned to his territory, he knew they might already have news about Valhalla, as it was historically, and he made a series of arrangements for this.

Including instructing Tajib to harass Pallas and delaying the old knight's attack, it was all about achieving this goal.

Only Brando understood what Valhalla meant, so he had to delay the war as long as possible until the fabled territory was in his arms, after which a qiē would no longer be a problem.

Knowing this in his heart, he looked at the others, who would look at him with suspicion, but they at least knew that the young lord never spoke big.

"But won't that old fellow notice that something is wrong?" Fern still thought it was a little odd.

"Are you aware again?" Brando asked rhetorically.

"But that's just for a while."

"It's a decision for a moment, and the final result of changing in a war is actually just one or two details," Brando shook his head, "It's the most taboo for a commander to be indecisive, and it's even more taboo for a soldier to change his decision repeatedly." ”

"What's more, once he decides to withdraw today, he will have to deal with the harassment of Tajib from now on, even if by the time he understands it, he has already slowed down the pace of assembly, and then it will be too late to regret it."

"Isn't he going to lose?" Fern asked.

"I gave him an exam paper, and I arranged the two answers to choose from, so why didn't he lose?" Brando replied, "Sometimes you need to switch roles, but it's not a good thing to go with the rhythm of your opponent. ”

Brando stopped suddenly, for he felt silence around him, and all his men looked at him with a strange gaze, as if they were looking at a monster.

The young man was embarrassed, he was not really an unfathomable method, but it was just the rest of Instaron's play. This is how the Black Sir humiliated the old gentleman in the Second War of the Black Roses, and Brando himself could at best learn from it.

"So what?" Fern asked, "What do we do?" ”

"Do your own thing," replied Brando, "that's the second thing I'm going to say today, and I'm probably going to leave the territory for a month, or more." ”

He clasped his hands together and interlaced his fingers, "I don't want this place to be a mess when I get back to the territory." ”

"Your Excellency, are you leaving?" Antitina frowned again: "Shavlund? ”

"Secret."

The young man put his finger to his lips.