Imperial Crown.

Chapter 587: Soldiers’ deceitful ways
Time rewinds to the moment Zolzahn had just fallen to his death.

Watching the crowd disperse, Heyaz remained behind. After pausing for a moment, he determined his direction and chose a secluded spot to head towards the enemy camp outside the city. His mind was in turmoil, and he was beginning to regret his impulsive actions. But it was too late; like an arrow released from a bow, there was no turning back.

In fact, when his childhood friends Banks and Lennon died, Hoyaz was already consumed by the flames of rage. Coupled with Beta's constant instigation and the enthusiastic participation of others, he was also infected by the atmosphere and chose to join them without hesitation.

But after calming down and reflecting, he realized his recklessness and inappropriateness. Although he had no idea why his father, Raven, had been so patient, or what he was waiting for, his experience in the Orc Empire taught him that his father always had hidden plans. Four crossings of the Tallinn River, concentrating forces to crush the goblin army in one battle. Then, an ambush with magic crystal cannons to capture the eagle-man leader, Igni. Following that, a blitzkrieg attack on the Bloodstone Wall forced the werewolf leader, Sliffer, to sign a humiliating treaty. But even more spectacular and breathtaking was the final battle against Silvermane and Broken Tooth at the Bloodstone Wall. In that final battle, his father unleashed a contingency plan Silvermane could never have imagined—the werewolves, the Holy Knights of the Holy See of Light, the necromancers of the Hand of Death, the dragon Zolzahn, the fifth-tier magic array Divine Kingdom Radiance, and the fifth-tier transcendent angel Simon…

The sixth-tier Silvermane was completely stunned and subdued. He could only slink away alone.

What surprised Hoaz and everyone else even more was his father's backup plan against Sliffer—the Spirit Prison Butterfly!
It could be said that Hoyaz had absolute confidence that no one else in the world possessed the almost monstrous wisdom of his father, Raven. He was like a god with a complete vision. His convincing performance manipulated almost everyone at will. His intricate schemes, one after another, were truly breathtaking.

Horaz was lost in thought, and time flew by in his state of mind. Before he knew it, he had arrived at the military camp outside the city. He randomly found an enemy soldier, twisted his neck, and donned the enemy's standard leather armor before heading towards Venice. Once inside the city, he meandered through the streets, heading towards a secluded location. Judging from Horaz's appearance, it seemed this wasn't his first time here… Of course, he was familiar with the place; he had passed through it twice when accompanying his father, Raven, to the capital, so he wasn't completely clueless.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Heyaz walked into a small tent and greeted the group.

Inside the tent, there were four other people, some standing and some sitting. They were the brothers Turo and Baido, as well as Hervi and Lamb, among others.

"Why are you alone?" Turo asked, frowning first. His attitude and tone weren't very friendly, after all, he was closest to Thor within the local faction. If Thor hadn't been absent this time, he wouldn't have followed Heaz's orders at all.

"Can't you see that?" Lamb, with his bright red face, chimed in sarcastically. "They're obviously going to their deaths, which is why they only called in locals!"

Hearing this, Heaz frowned and said coldly, "It's not too late to withdraw now." To be fair, Lamb wasn't wrong; he did have some selfish motives in this regard.

"Alright!" Herve, with his bushy beard, interrupted their bickering. "Hoyaz, you asked us to meet here without saying why. Now you can tell us, right?"

Hoyaz sighed softly. "It's simple," he said. "Ferdinand brought over 20 soldiers this time. With just us, killing more would be a drop in the ocean. So my idea is to strike at their vitals and burn down their logistics!"

Upon hearing this, the tent immediately fell silent.

Turo had to admit that even though he didn't particularly like Hoyaz, the latter's suggestion was indeed insightful and appealing. Everyone knew the principle that "an army marches on its stomach." If they could truly burn the enemy's supplies, although it might seem like they killed fewer people on the surface, it would be a fatal blow to the enemy army!

"So tell me, what should we do next?" Turo asked again.

Heyaz moved a chair over, sat down by the stove, stretched out his hands to warm them, and said calmly, "Wait."

"Wait?" "What do you mean?" Baido asked from the side, "Wait for what???"

Heaz remained silent, and in that instant, a question that had troubled him for years suddenly dawned on him: why his father always spoke of "secrecy in all things." He also suddenly understood why his father, Raven, was always reluctant to reveal his backup plans. Because some plans, once revealed, would lose their intended effect. For example—the werewolf reinforcements. If the mercenaries knew about the reinforcements before the final battle, would they still fight the orcs to the death? Certainly not. They would be thinking of hiding and surviving until the werewolf reinforcements arrived. Without a doubt, the result would be a one-sided defeat. And some backup plans… were even more insidious. They simply couldn't be revealed. For example—the contact with the Order of the Death Hand. Revealing this would be like handing over incriminating evidence to the enemy. What difference was there between that and handing over a knife to the enemy? Besides, the military camp was full of spies. It's possible that these backup plans, after going through many twists and turns, will eventually be revealed to Silvermane by the mastermind behind these informants. And Horaz's current situation falls into the second category. It's not that he doesn't want to tell, but that he has no way to.

"whispering sound"

Seeing that Heyaz was unwilling to speak, Baido grew increasingly dissatisfied. He felt that the other party did not trust him. However, he was too lazy to ask any more questions. He got up, took out a knife, cut a large piece of mutton from the iron pot on the stove, and began to slurp and chew it.

Fortunately, it didn't take long, only about half an hour, before a woman completely shrouded in a black robe walked in. The woman went straight to Heyaz's side and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I've found out everything. Ferdinand has divided the logistics into five parts. And there are only two logistics lines in the Foothills County, each hidden in a different location. Each logistics line is overseen by at least one fourth-tier transcendent executive officer."

"That old fox! Truly cautious and cunning," Hervé said, frowning. Clearly, Ferdinand had anticipated this move! Burning down the logistics system under these circumstances would be extremely difficult.

However, what drew even more attention was Ernada's condition. Her black robe was almost torn to shreds. Large expanses of her snow-white back were exposed, covered with gruesome red welts. Many striking red marks were also visible on her slender, delicate neck. Clearly, the other party had paid an unimaginable price to obtain this classified information. No wonder Horaz had been so hesitant to speak earlier.

"You've worked hard." Heaz stood up and hugged Ernada tightly.

Ernada's tears immediately rolled down her cheeks. She then forced herself to push Heyaz away and asked, "Time is limited. Let's decide on our actions as soon as possible."

“These two logistics hubs, one overt and one covert, are both within Marquis Huber’s territory.” Ernada produced a rough, hand-drawn map, pointing to one of the locations. “The overt logistics hub is closer and more numerous.” “The covert logistics hub is hidden in a desolate town, which used to be a gathering place. However, after the city of Venice was built, it was gradually abandoned.” “The town has no name; the locals call it ‘Julisagamania,’ meaning ‘where eagles perch,’ and it’s not inhabited by any natives.” “Moreover, the terrain is complex, and the journey is longer.” “The scale of the logistics hub is also smaller.”

"No wonder the city and its outskirts are in such chaos, yet we rarely see any fourth-tier transcendents coming out to command." "So a quarter of them are hidden in the logistics department." Lamb said thoughtfully. "Warfare is based on deception." "It seems Ferdinand's analysis of the Marquis is quite thorough." "He knows Marquis Raven likes to use surprise tactics."

Heyaz frowned and pondered for a long time before pointing to the desolate town and saying, "Let's go here." "Let's use a feint attack!" A feint attack, though simple, is also very effective.

Turo licked his lips, then hesitated slightly before saying, "Hoyaz, I can die." "But my father, Fili, only has my brother and me as his sons." "Let Baydo stay, to leave a lineage for my family."

Hoyaz glanced at him. "Then he shouldn't have come!"

"Do you think I'm afraid of death?!" Baido glared angrily at Hoyaz!
Heyaz ignored Baido and looked at Hevy, saying, "Actually, it doesn't need to be that complicated." "The ones who are truly doomed are the arsonists." "Count me in." "You only need one more person." "Ernada." "Including the rest of you, we'll lure them away from all directions." "Delay the enemy." "Delay as long as we can." "Perhaps there's a chance to survive." "I'll do it!" "Don't argue with me!"

Turo shouted loudly! His voice was filled with an undeniable excitement, "Hevy and Lamb are veterans, how can we send veterans to their deaths?" "I'll go with you to set the fire." "Let my brother Baydo harass them."

"Brother!!" Baido shouted urgently.

"Shut up." Turo frowned and gave Baido a deep look. Baido remained silent.

“No problem. Let’s go.” Heyaz nodded.

The group filed out of the tents and headed toward the deserted town.

Two hours later, the group arrived at the outskirts of the deserted town. After some reconnaissance, they discovered something amiss. While seemingly deserted, it was actually riddled with hidden sentries. The town was essentially a series of mud walls, many of which had collapsed. It covered a considerable area, with rows of mud-brick houses stretching out in an undulating pattern.

laugh

Heyaz poked the ground with a stick, casting a blurry shadow in the moonlight. "Find this spot clearly." "When the shadow reaches this point, it'll be about an hour." "Then you all move in together." "Create the illusion of a large-scale military raid." Someone had to go around to the other side of town to launch the attack, so it would take time. Heyaz then found several small sticks, broke them into roughly equal lengths, and handed them to everyone. "Of course." "This method isn't accurate." "Everyone has to keep a mental count." "Just roughly right."

Hervé and the others nodded in agreement. Having spent years on military campaigns, they had long since developed effective methods for dealing with this.

“Sometimes I really admire you.” As everyone left, Turo looked at Hoyaz beside him and said with genuine admiration. So far, Turo couldn't find a single flaw in Hoyaz's command. It was clear that there was a reason why Earl Raven valued him so highly.

Heyaz turned around, looked at Turo seriously, and said in a low voice, "If I survive, I will consider taking you as a concubine."

"Fuck you!" Turo spat. How come he never noticed how secretly lecherous Heyaz was before? After chuckling and cursing, Turo sighed deeply, lamenting with great regret, "Damn it, I haven't even had a chance to get revenge for being beaten up by Moas and Beta at the Paradis! Damn it! Now I've missed my chance. Those two bastards got off easy!"

Heyaz didn't respond. Both of them were already resigned to their fate. At this moment, any recollection would seem overly contrived and affected. It even had a hint of clinging to outdated ideas.

……

As a member of the drow race, a dark elf, Ernadar resembled a lithe, large cat in the night. She chose the right side of the town. Within half an hour, she was in position. After silently counting to nearly an hour, she took out a branch, crossed it to compare, and then tossed it aside, preparing to move.

With a flick of her right hand, the red thorn tattoo on her wrist instantly glowed with a scarlet light. These rays, as thick as fingers, danced and intertwined in the air like vines, finally converging into a longbow called [Withered Thorns]. "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" As Ernada swiftly drew the bowstring, invisible arrows shot out, tearing through the air and hurtling towards the desolate town.

A patrol of soldiers immediately collapsed into bed, not even having time to scream. Their bodies slowly slumped to the ground. Even so, urgent whistles immediately rang out throughout the camp, as too many hidden sentries, their locations unknown, had witnessed the entire incident.

Ernada remained calm, retreating while firing arrows. Occasionally, she would perform a somersault, headfirst, her long legs forming a split in mid-air, showcasing her skill in unleashing arrows. And yet, every arrow hit its mark, felling the pursuing soldiers one after another. The once silent, dark, and desolate town was instantly illuminated by lights. Large numbers of soldiers emerged from the deserted town in pursuit. However, these soldiers were clearly supply troops, as they carried a variety of weapons.

boom

Just as the pursuing soldiers were losing their morale, a figure burst out from the crowd, radiating a dense aura of battle energy. It was a third-tier transcendent! The man's armor gleamed, and he quickly closed the distance with Ernada.

"Death, little thief!"

Nasane, wielding his greatsword, deflected the incoming arrows and roared in fury. Even now, he still thought it was just a local transcendent trying to steal logistical supplies. After all, not many people knew about this logistical route. Besides Grand Marshal Ferdinand, only the fourth-tier transcendents who served as executors knew its exact location.

Ernada knew she was no match for this man, so she immediately put away her longbow and focused on escaping for her life.

However, Nasane had no intention of letting Ernada go, and relentlessly pursued her. He had to cut off the female thief's head and hang it at the entrance of the town as a warning to others. "Die!" Nasane swung his longsword, and three sword beams shot out, slashing towards Ernada.

Ernada threw out a seed, which immediately grew wildly on the ground, forming thorny vines that strangled the three sword beams.

Boom boom boom

An explosion rang out, and the vines were instantly torn to shreds by the sharp sword light. But by the time Nasane caught up, Ernada was nowhere to be seen. She had simply run too fast. "Damn it!" Nasane was about to give chase when a more urgent whistle suddenly sounded behind him.

"Oh no! The other party is not alone!" Nasane's expression changed drastically, and he immediately turned around and ran towards the deserted town.

……

(End of this chapter)