I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 187 The Captain's Experience

Perhaps God felt that there were not enough disasters in Bagniya this year, so the first snow fell early in late autumn.

The cold wind swept across the cliff top, carrying ice crystals. Carl's cloak rustled in the twilight. He took off his copper eyepieces, and the lenses were still stained with snow dust raised by the Prince's Army scouts three kilometers away.

"Can I fight?"

Carl turned his head and asked his friend beside him.

Captain Bock raised his telescope, observed for a moment, then shook his head at Carl.

"We can't fight... If we must fight, then we can only fight once, fire one shot, one salvo, and then retreat immediately."

"Why?"

Faced with his friend's questions, Captain Bock just looked back and said nothing.

Carl also looked back, and then he remained silent.

Behind the two men, on the leeward slope of the cliff top, were a hundred or so soldiers sitting scattered around, looking ragged and exhausted.

Some of them were wiping their rusty weapons, some were silently gnawing on dry bread, and some were just staring blankly into the distance, their eyes full of confusion and helplessness.

These soldiers came from different units. Some, like Bock, had returned from the front lines after being defeated, while others were refugees who were temporarily forced to take food from the streets by the military.

They had no unified organization, insufficient supplies, and even lacked basic warm clothing.

Looking at the enemy through the telescope, Bock could see their green coats, which were thick and warm, and they had ample ammunition and food supplies.

Captain Bock even suspected that the enemy's reconnaissance team was carrying some kind of light artillery. Therefore, the difference in equipment between the two sides was as huge as heaven and earth.

"We have too few people and too poorly equipped."

Captain Bock whispered, a hint of helplessness in his voice.

"Also, the soldiers' morale is low and they have lost the will to fight."

Carl nodded, a hint of worry in his eyes.

He knew that what Bock said was right. The team before him was more of a group of wanderers abandoned by the war than an army. They had insufficient training, no clear goals, and didn't even know why they were fighting.

"No matter what, we have to fight and snipe the enemy. This is the order given to me by the military."

Bock looked back at Captain Carl's soldiers and thought for a moment.

"Screen the people and pick out the twenty bravest ones. Then give them the twenty existing muskets. For the rest, have them retreat and set some traps along the retreat route we've chosen... Karl, I'll leave the trap-setting to you.

I will lure the enemy here in an hour."

Carl nodded. He didn't say anything nonsense about leaving the fighting to himself. He knew very well that he had no combat experience and it would be best to leave the fighting to his friends.

So Carl turned around and left. He quickly conveyed Bock's order among the soldiers, selecting the twenty bravest soldiers, giving them muskets, and letting the remaining soldiers go to the designated retreat route to set traps.

……

"Clap clap clap..."

Aku tilted his head and looked at the fire and gunshots on the hill ahead of the road. He stood there motionless, and so did the other players following him. No one hid, and no one panicked.

Just because the enemy is a little far away.

"Hey, man, 200 meters, wanna take him down?"

Wrapped in a coat and wearing a cotton armor underneath, the player came over like a bear and pointed to the top of the mountain.

The man called me Aku didn't say anything. He just turned around and looked at the other brothers. They were also wearing cotton armor and were eager to try.

On the contrary, Aku didn't want to fight.

"Climbing the mountain in cotton armor is a bit tiring. If you want to go, just follow him out for a while. When you get to the top of the mountain, plant a flag and leave two people to watch. But I think it's a bait. Don't chase them too deep, or you will fall into a trap."

A Ku said this and continued to hurry on his way. The other players looked at each other and then sent a few people to climb the mountain.

Aku hates winter a little bit, and hates climbing mountains even more.

What the guys on the hill ahead want to do is as obvious as lice on a monk's head.

It's nothing but harassment. Why bother paying attention to them? They'll come to you sooner or later. Why bother climbing the mountain and following them around?

Captain Bock was somewhat surprised that the enemy did not immediately launch a charge. He had originally thought that the enemy would quickly counterattack after being surprised, but it was obvious that the enemy commander did not want to be easily fooled.

"They're testing us."

Captain Carl's voice came from behind Bock. After waiting for a while but still not receiving any signal, he came over to check the situation.

Bock nodded, his eyes still fixed on the distant enemy.

Several enemies at the foot of the mountain separated themselves and began to approach the top of the mountain, but the whole group continued to move along the flat road towards Waterradnoy. Bock knew that the enemy was not stupid and would not easily chase him into a trap.

"what should we do?"

Carl asked, a hint of urgency in his voice.

Bock was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"Our plan has been exposed. If we continue to wait here, the enemy will become more cautious. We need to change our strategy."

"Change of strategy?"

Karl frowned.

"So what do we do now?"

A glint of determination flashed in Captain Bock's eyes.

"We can't give them time to think. We need to be proactive and create more chaos for them."

Carl nodded. He lacked combat experience. Although he had learned the theory, when it came to practice, he knew that the knowledge in books would not be very useful.

Since his friend said that he needed to take the initiative, Carl had no objection.

"Okay, I'll go inform the soldiers."

"Let's go together. No one can stay here. Let's go."

Captain Bock led his team to follow Captain Carl, and after half an hour of transfer, they arrived at their hiding place in the mountains.

In a simple camp consisting of a dozen tents, located in the leeward forest and leaning against the hillside, Captain Carl's soldiers were lying in a mess.

"Bros!"

Captain Bock shouted as he entered, his voice echoing in the cold wind, attracting everyone's attention.

"We are about to face a battle, a battle we cannot lose!"

The soldiers raised their heads and looked at Captain Bock, their faces so numb that there was no change in expression.

"I know you're tired, and I know you're confused. But please believe me, we still have a chance. We're about to launch an attack on the Prince's scouts, and this will be the key to turning the tide!"

The soldiers remained motionless, without talking or getting excited, but just stared at Captain Bock, as if everything he said had nothing to do with them and they were indifferent.

Captain Bock could tell at a glance that their morale... was flat.

However, at this point, Captain Bock had no choice but to continue speaking.

"We will wait for nightfall, and then quietly approach the enemy. Our artillery and rifles will catch them off guard. Remember, our goal is not to destroy them, but to let them know that we are still fighting, we..."

“Kill…”

However, just as Bock was trying hard to boost morale, he was interrupted by shouts and cries coming from outside the camp.

Captain Bock was startled and suddenly turned around to look at Captain Carl beside him.

"Didn't you arrange a sentry?!"

"Ah...I arranged it!"

"Well... never mind. Now is not the time to talk about this. Soldiers, follow me!"

Bock waved and turned back, wanting to lead his soldiers to resist the enemy. However, when he turned around, he only saw the latter's back, so much so that the captain was stunned for a long time before realizing what he saw.

Captain Carl's hunting company collapsed.

(End of this chapter)