After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

After successfully splitting her forces, Luna's joy was short-lived; a great fire consumed all her hopes.

Black smoke billowed from the woods, and even across the river, the suffocating heat in the air could be felt from afar.

When the Northern army arrived at the lake, the fire still showed no signs of stopping.

Driven by biological instinct, the warhorse beneath her became agitated and restless, while Luna gripped the reins tightly, remaining silent for a long time as she watched the raging flames sweep in.

Kate remained calm as she raised her binoculars to carefully observe the military stronghold atop the mountain.

Clearly, after noticing their movements, the Southern Army did not hesitate to set fire to the forests on both sides of the lake in order to hinder their attack.

The military stronghold faces the large lake and occupies a commanding position. To launch an attack on the town, one must rely on the hills on both sides of the lake.

However, once the fire has burned away the forest, the bare ground will expose the Northern Army's every move to the enemy.

Setting down her binoculars, Kate confidently asked, "Let's set up camp, Miss. With the river blocking our way, this fire won't be able to reach us."

Luna, who was still pondering how to prevent her soldiers from becoming sitting ducks, was taken aback by what she heard.

"No wonder you became a division commander, Kate. Tell me, what's your plan?"

Kate smiled and shook her head. "Rather than getting answers directly, Miss, I believe that only continuous thinking can help you gain wisdom more quickly."

The Northern Army was fortunate. As the heir to the Duke, the eldest daughter was as approachable as the Duke and trusted and valued her soldiers very much. To this day, the eldest daughter's personal guard is the best-treated unit in the Northern Army.

But Commander Red's combat skills were ultimately lacking... and the Duke probably didn't have the energy to teach the young lady more detailed things.

As for Lady Elene, if her troops are all elite soldiers, she can certainly be considered a renowned general in close combat.

It's a pity that Count Camaro was good at defense but not offense, Count Rondo lacked long-term strategic vision, and the other commanders were not as good as him. Everyone had their own shortcomings to some extent.

Therefore, Kate believes that only he, the only division commander in the Northern Territory at present, can shoulder the heavy responsibility of training the young lady into a military strategist!

Staring at Commander Kate's profile, which suddenly exuded a heroic air for some reason, Luna scratched her head.

She's just better than me, is there any need to be so proud?

She pursed her lips, turned her horse around, and ordered the soldiers to retreat a mile to set up camp and rest. At the same time, she arranged for the construction of a pontoon bridge.

After the camp was set up, the soldiers took turns resting. Nothing happened overnight. The next day, Luna, who had just gotten up early, took the basin of hot water prepared by the female soldier, quickly washed her face, picked up her binoculars, and left the tent.

The mountain is still burning, but thanks to the backflow of water from the north, the fire is much smaller than it was yesterday.

The enemy on the opposite mountaintop remained steadfast and refused to come out. Kate was in no hurry to launch an attack, and instead ordered his soldiers to slowly set up a pontoon bridge over the river.

The enemy did not respond to their actions until the pontoon bridge was built.

"Everyone really enjoys defensive play."

After making a remark, Luna went back to brush her teeth, had breakfast with the soldiers, and then leisurely strolled to the command post.

Kate stood in front of the map, holding a cup of hot tea, her gaze fixed on the road behind the military stronghold.

It was a river valley, eight hundred miles long, with very flat terrain, leading directly to the core city of the Southern Territory: Honeywater City.

Two hundred and fifty miles behind Honeywater City lies the capital of the Southern Territory: Abundant City.

If Kate were the commander of this battle, his first step would be to concentrate all the soldiers, and then, before attacking Silver City head-on, to mobilize at least half of the forces to enter the valley and establish a foothold, thus tying down the enemy's main force.

At the same time, the elite forces were concentrated to break through Silver City in one fell swoop, like two giant pincers gripping the heart of the Southern Territory, leaving it with no room for strategic maneuver, and finally nibbling away at it step by step to win the battle.

Of course, if the only objective is Silver City, Commander Benjamin's strategic plan is also good. After capturing the east and west sides of Silver City, the main force can then take Silver City in one fell swoop, which can indeed ensure success.

Once the Central Guards capture Silver City, the Northern Army's direction of attack will no longer matter. Kate predicts that the two sides will fight to the death in this area leading from Silver City to the heart of the Southern Territory.

The Southern Army intends to use the terrain to its advantage to launch a series of attacks, while the Central Army will not back down either. If nothing unexpected happens, the decisive battle is expected to take place in the Southern Territory's capital, Plenty City.

"Kate, when do we attack?"

"No rush, Miss." Kate took a sip of tea and then turned her gaze to the attack direction he had arranged for the Northern Army.

This trip must yield as much wealth as possible to alleviate the pressure on the Duke and the Northern Territory.

Luna walked to the map and said confidently, "I thought about it yesterday, and you're planning to attack at night, right?"

"That's possible, but the enemy is definitely prepared for night battles, so we can't let our guard down."

That's possible... Luna couldn't understand what Kate was talking about. Did he not even know when to attack?

Suppressing her doubts, Luna decided to wait and see. After all, they were just there to help out and didn't have any missions they needed to carry out.

Another day passed, and the wildfire on the other side of the river was finally extinguished.

Luna sat at the dining table, yawning. She had thought about it for a long time last night but still couldn't figure out what Commander Kate was planning to do.

Luna looked up at the clear sky for a while, and before she could even have her breakfast, the female soldier rushed over and draped a thick coat over her shoulders.

She gently reminded her, "Miss, don't forget to put on more clothes."

Although the southern territory is not as cold as the north, many soldiers, like Luna, who had taken off their thick clothes in the dead of winter, began to catch colds, fevers, and runny noses.

The North, it seems, is reluctant to let these wanderers leave home. The wind howls, blowing coldly over them, less snowflakes, and more damp cold, making it hard to guard against.

After the wildfires were extinguished, Kate quickly issued new orders.

He ordered his soldiers to cross the river on the pontoon bridge, not to attack or to scout the enemy, but to collect the ashes from the fire in cloth bags and transport them to the camp.

Luna held the soup spoon, silently watching the soldiers continuously carry away the dust, her doubts growing stronger.

No, what exactly does Kate want to do?

What's the use of collecting the ash? Are you planning to block up the lake, raise the water level, and eventually drown the enemy troops on the mountaintop?

The Southern Commander's soldiers in the important military town atop the mountain were also puzzled.

Upon hearing that the enemy had begun crossing the river, they hurriedly gathered together, only to find a group of... farmers digging in the soil at the foot of the mountain?

After a tense standoff throughout the day, night fell and both sides fell silent again.

On this seemingly ordinary night, the north wind howled, and suddenly the bugle call for attack sounded in the Northern Army's camp.