"Looks like there's a little trap. Béral looked at the city in the distance and let out a low assessment. Behind him, there was a whole army, with a clear banner and neatly armoured. Not far from him was Leto, Ryan's Prince and the commander of the army.

It must be noted that although Leto has no military experience, this does not mean that he does not understand anything. Within the confines of the Central Seven Kingdoms, the practice of martial arts remains a strong tradition. For a nobleman, military knowledge and skills were always essential. And Ryan, the more prominent the family, the more concerned about this matter. There are even some aristocratic families who refuse to give the inheritance to a weak eldest son, preferring to choose between the second son and the concubine. Therefore, Leto only experienced a very small period of study, and initially mastered the dispatch and control of the army.

But in any case, this time, he commanded a full army of 80,000 under his command. In the process of preparing for the dispatch of troops, Bayral helped a lot. Without the guidance, help and even custody of a veteran soldier like Bayrell, Leto would have delayed for at least half a month, instead of arriving in Mill City as scheduled as he is now.

"Little trap?" Leto surveyed the city around and beyond. Traces of war are everywhere, and the distant city of Mir is particularly bad – as far as the eye can see, the walls are badly damaged. And it's the kind of thing where the entire section of the wall collapses to the point where it's almost defenseless.

It can be seen that the vampire war used gunpowder to blow down the city wall. In this case, Mill City would not be able to serve as a safe and secure forward base.

"That's it. Bayral gestured towards the particularly conspicuous and broken wall. "A little trick. However, despite his clear pointing, Leto did not seem to understand, and looked at the other party with a confused expression.

In Leto's opinion, although the walls of the city of Mill were damaged, the scouts in front had already inquired about the surrounding situation. It's been a long time since the vampire's undead legion retreated, and there was no threat in the vicinity. The inhabitants of the city also survived - of course, most of the original inhabitants of the city had already migrated in order to "lend" this place to the Bin, that is, to keep the original garrison of the city to ensure that the Bins would not bring any decisive damage to the city. So even if you experience a vampire massacre, there will be no special loss.

"It's time. Bayral explained. "At this level, if you want to repair it, it will take ten days and half a month, right? And it requires a lot of building materials and labor. It will cause a considerable burden on the logistics of our army. And right now, what vampires lack is time. He must have been hoping to drag the war into a summer that would be unfavorable to us, so that we would not be able to make a major offensive until the rainy season came, and he could calmly expand his army and recover. ”

This is also the reason why the troops were dispatched so quickly this time. The scorching sun, torrential rains, and the plagues that come with the scorching heat are the nightmares of the army. In Baylor's plan, the time from the beginning of preparations to the end of the war could not exceed two months. Because after that, everything can only be refuted by the gods. Once the war is dragged into the summer by the vampires, then there are many uncontrollable factors that make this must-win battle confusing.

"We had just the right time. Bayrell said. "There isn't any extra time. And vampires are trying to tempt us and waste precious time. ”

Once you've built the city, you'll have a solid and reliable rear base that can be defended with very few troops. There's no way the vampire trick could be played a second time. And everyone knows how advantageous it is for war to have a fortified city in the rear as a base.

Leto didn't quite understand Beller's logic, but he trusted him in this regard.

"So what should we do about it?"

"Just ignore the city. Bayral replied. "If I'm right, the vampires must have some spies, spies, or anything like that. And then they'll try to wreak havoc in this place, and if they delay for another three or five days, they'll be able to do their job. I suggest setting up your camp at a more advanced position to prepare for the next offensive, time ......" Bayral muttered. "All the preparations must be completed within ten days, and then immediately send troops to attack West Vania. ”

When it was dark, Leto set up camp at a distance from Mill City. Due to the relatively large army, a long dragon naturally formed at the time of marching, so in fact, the rear guard and baggage troops had not yet arrived at this time. However, this did not prevent Leto from summoning the generals and convening a military meeting.

The operation of the army was complicated, but fortunately, except for Leto himself, who had no military experience, the senior and mid-ranking officers under him were all experienced veterans. A large part of them have experienced more than one war, with border skirmishes and more wars with the Bina. But when it comes to combat experience with the undead legion, Bayrell is the first person to deserve. So as soon as the meeting began, Béral stood directly beside Leto as a matter of course, and the two stood side by side.

Not only that, but when it comes to terrain, vampire intelligence, and a series of other issues, Bayrell is the one who knows the most about the situation. So after a short period of time, the whole meeting became Bellell briefing the generals about the vampire and various points to be aware of, and so on. Unknowingly, Leto was pushed aside by Beller, intentionally or unintentionally.

Robin, who was standing aside (as Baylor's attendant, he also attended the meeting, but could only sit in on it) noticed that Leto's face seemed a little unpleasant. But Leto could not change the situation, because on the one hand, Béral was detached, and on the other hand, he did know a lot - his words were not something that Leto could say.

"That's the big picture. "Béral is finally done. "What do you guys think?"

"If you do what General Bayrell said...... The vampire's undead legions are numerous, but they are ...... weak," said an officer with a bearded face. "A vampire will inevitably choose a battlefield that is most advantageous to him. ”

"It should be said that he will inevitably choose to stop our army in the valley. Someone else chimed in. "Once our army enters Sivania and engages in the plains where the army can be fully deployed, the vampires have no chance of victory. ”

Leto waited for Bayer's briefing to be over, but he was surprised to find that Bayral was actually a little bit of a position and didn't leave, and his face couldn't help but change color slightly.

"Yes, but on this road, you can't put too many troops at once. "Bayral may have been caught up in strategic conception, or perhaps he ignored, in short, did not notice the details of the expression of the real main general, Leto. He cupped his chin and said with a pensive expression. "The previous wars between vampires and the Hama also proved this. ”

If you fight on such a narrow terrain, the large number of troops will not only not be an advantage, but will easily become a disadvantage. Because too many people can lead to too thick battle formations, slow command transmission, and the army cannot respond sensitively, and if there is a small setback, it will fall into widespread chaos. This is clear to everyone.

"If you want to line up, you can only do it here," Beller pointed to the map on the table, "It's called 'Purple Stone', and it's the only open place in the entire valley, barely big enough for a large army to fight." Of course, it can only be said 'barely'. ”

"Ahem!" Leto let out a cough.

"However, among the undead legions of vampires, there are some monsters that can fly, such as ghosts, and there are also some monsters that can climb over difficult terrain, such as dire wolves. If there is a battle in this narrow valley, the undead army has a certain advantage......" Bayral was about to continue, and someone secretly stabbed him in the waist. Béral looked at the man and recognized him as one of Leto's staff. The latter gestured to him, pointing to Leto, who had been pushed aside by Béral.

"Ah...... Sorry, Your Highness. Beller immediately came to his senses, and he had indeed gotten a little carried away just now. He stepped back, out of the middle, and closed his mouth a little awkwardly.

Leto returned to the center, and he gently knocked his chin with his fist and coughed several times in succession.

"Do you have any strategy for the current situation, and how should we deploy our forces?" Leto finally regained the right to speak.

"Your Highness, within three days, our army will be able to build a camp as a logistics base. Someone replied. "I think that the focus now, or the most important thing to watch out for, is still this path. ”

"Why do you say that?"

"The terrain of this trail is complex. The man said. "Unless two castles are built, it is difficult to build an effective defense here. And if we can't stop the vampires here, then we can't stop the vampires from going back behind our army...... I fear that once our army attacks, the vampires may resort to the most dangerous methods of warfare for our country!" he gestured to the map. "That is, ignoring the small place of Sivania, but taking advantage of the fact that our army is approaching Sivania step by step, and leading the army through this path to our homeland. If that happens......" The speaker paused to reinforce the tone. "I'm afraid there will be the worst and worst results. ”

Everyone gasped in unison. Ryan's main force has already poured out of the nest, and at this time, if the vampire comes to make such a move, the golden cicada will break out of its shell...... It would be difficult to stop him with the remaining garrison on the ground. Not to mention that the vampire doesn't need to attack fortified castles, he just needs to slaughter the countryside, loot the graves, and soon increase his army to an astonishing level. When the time comes, I'm afraid everything will become out of control.

"That's true......" Leto replied. "We have to prevent vampires from doing this. ”

"Can't you use cavalry to chase down vampires?"

"I'm afraid it's hard. Vampires also have cavalry, and the undead cavalry can march day and night without resting. Someone replied. "So if the vampires ditch the slow-moving undead to delay our army, and lead those fast troops deep into our country themselves...... Then it will be difficult for us to pursue and intercept him. And in just a short time, he can build a powerful army of undead, and even if he catches up at that time, it will be useless. ”

"Magicians have said that the undead need to replenish their dark magic energy. "Vampires can't assemble an army without enough dark magicians." ”

"That legend is not reliable. This time it was Bayral who answered. "At least we can be sure of the fact that before the vampire recruited the Dark Mages to serve him, he summoned tens of thousands of zombies and ghouls for him to drive on his own strength alone. ”

"This path must be properly guarded!" Leto thought for a moment, and immediately made up his mind.

"But there...... The terrain was complex, making it impossible to create effective defensive positions. Someone replied. "The soil is very thin, and if you dig a little, you can expose the stones under the soil, and you can't dig trenches or pile walls like in ordinary places. And there were no suitable trees around, so the timber had to be brought in from afar. It is impossible to build fortifications in a day or two. ”

It is not possible to use a small number of troops with strong fortifications...... Can we only rely on deploying a large army to defend it?, Leto pondered in his mind. But this is tantamount to committing the taboo of dividing troops. If there are more soldiers, it means that the main attack direction will not have enough troops, and if there are fewer soldiers, they may be directly swallowed up by the undead army.

"Your Royal Highness, I have a suggestion. ”

Leto looked up and saw that it was Beller. The latter smiled and held out three fingers.