“What’s the situation on the western front?”

As Nail and Uncle Sang entered the central camp tent, the commander of the Northern Garrison, "Eagle Face," eagerly asked.

"The number of that group is still growing," the old soldier saluted and roughly recounted the week's surveillance itinerary, "It's quite shocking, I didn't expect the Kingdom of Dawn to muster so many soldiers."

"How many?" Eagle Face wasn't concerned, even pouring tea for the two, "A thousand? Or nine thousand?"

"I'm afraid it's over ten thousand," Uncle Sang finished the tea in one gulp, "The tents stretch for nearly a mile, and there are at least twenty banners with unfamiliar names. I don't know where they found all these cannon fodder."

"Over ten thousand?" Eagle Face's pen stopped.

"If you don't believe it, you can ask the squad leader," he pointed to Nail beside him, "In order to estimate the approximate number, we risked being discovered and approached the Old Holy City for reconnaissance. The suburbs of the entire city are filled with the Kingdom of Dawn's troops, they have blocked the passage between Hermes and the Kingdom of Dawn, and most of the refugees have turned back towards Wolfheart and Everwinter. There should be more here at Coldwind Ridge too, at least I saw a few teams of no less than a hundred people on the way back."

"The actual situation is indeed like this," Nail nodded in agreement, "The Kingdom of Dawn seems to be waiting for all the personnel to gather, and at the same time, the vigilance in the surrounding area has also been greatly enhanced. I suggest that subsequent reconnaissance teams should not get too close to the Old Holy City, to avoid being discovered by the enemy's patrol knights."

Ever since noticing the abnormality of Hermes, the Northern Garrison, with the assistance of Duke Kant, began to infiltrate the plateau area, hoping to obtain more intelligence and prepare for the subsequent siege. However, His Majesty did not approve Eagle Face's tentative offensive plan, only requiring them to remain vigilant and continue reconnaissance. The deputy battalion commander reluctantly suppressed his ambition, selecting suitable candidates from the garrison, disguising them as refugees and taking turns monitoring the New and Old Holy Cities, while continuing to send intelligence to Neverwinter.

Of course, he wasn't completely idle these past few months. After confirming that the Holy City was not using a feint, the Northern Garrison regained Coldwind Ridge.

As for the appearance of the Dawn army, it was a matter of two or three weeks ago.

"Lord, are you worried that this group will be detrimental to His Majesty's actions?"

"Hahaha, how is that possible," Eagle Face laughed, "Even if their numbers double, they are just slow-moving targets in front of the First Army. Even the God's Punishment Army can't break through the jiqiang-blocked defenses, how can they get close to His Majesty? On the contrary, more people are better, let them charge the Holy City's walls first, test the Church's strength, and hopefully they will suffer heavy losses on both sides. If it really comes to that, His Majesty will definitely approve my plan." He paused, "This round of reconnaissance has been hard on you, go and rest first."

"Yes, Lord," Uncle Sang saluted.

Nail didn't turn to leave, but hesitated before saying, "Can't we... repel them in advance?"

The two were stunned, "What?"

"His Majesty doesn't agree with us attacking Hermes on our own, but that doesn't mean he won't allow us to intercept the Dawn army, right?" Nail bit his lip, "If we wait until they launch an attack on the Holy City, the foot of Hermes Mountain will probably be turned into ruins."

The old soldier sighed.

"Did you see something?" Eagle Face frowned.

"Looting and tusha..." Nail covered his forehead, almost unwilling to recall those bloody scenes, "They haven't entered the Old Holy City yet, they are just stationed in the wàiwei, the surrounding residents are being captured and impaled on sharp wooden stakes, and these wooden stakes are used as barriers for the camp. As for the fate of the women, it's even worse—"

"Enough," Eagle Face interrupted him, "This is common in war! Whether it's the Church or the Kingdom of Dawn, they are all His Majesty's enemies. Letting enemies consume enemies is always better than consuming ourselves! And don't forget that we are an army, the sharp sword in His Majesty's hand! Killing is also our duty."

"But that's different!" Nail insisted, "We fight to achieve His Majesty's goals, but they... are simply killing for the sake of

killing, those villagers are not believers, but in their eyes, they are not even as good as prey!"

"Lord, he's just a little ciji," seeing the displeased look on Eagle Face's face, Uncle Sang quickly said, "And you too, do you know what you're saying? As long as the Church doesn't fall, we can't cross the Hermes Plateau under their noses, how can we stop that Dawn gang?"

The New Holy City is like a huge fortress, connecting the flat areas of the plateau into a whole. The four wàiwei city gates correspond to the four passages leading to various kingdoms. Although no one is guarding them now, and refugees can freely enter and exit, it doesn't mean that the Church will sit idly by as the First Army drives straight in, crosses the Holy City, and enters the Dawn territory.

Nail naturally knew this too. He took a deep breath, "In fact, there is a small path for passage."

"A small path?"

"When I came back, I talked to some refugees, one of them told me that on the seemingly steep cliffs outside the plateau, there is a path wide enough for two people. In winter, it will be closed due to the accumulation of ice and snow, but after the snow melts, this path can directly traverse Hermes without entering the Holy City."

Eagle Face stared at him for a while before shaking his head, "Forget about it."

Nail lowered his head and said no more.

"Actually, you also know that this is not a reliable... no, it should be said that it is a completely unfeasible combat plan." The deputy battalion commander surprisingly didn't get angry, "Let's not mention whether that small path really exists. Even if we can successfully reach the Old Holy City, we can't defeat the ten thousand enemies with just us – His Majesty made it very clear in the evening lessons that before an army action, the first thing to consider is logistics. A mountain path wide enough for two people is difficult enough to transport supplies, let alone jiqiang and dànyào. In addition, the entire Northern Garrison only has five hundred people, and the allocated bullets are not enough to support a protracted war. Once the enemy is not defeated, we will become an isolated army without assistance, and the entire army may be wiped out!"

Eagle Face stood up and walked to Nail, "I know you want a complete annihilation battle even more, but that's just my personal thought. His Majesty and Iron Axe have entrusted this army to me, so the first thing I have to consider is the safety and interests of the army, whether it's the previous resettlement of refugees or this decision now, understand?"

"...Yes, Lord." Nail clenched his fist and finally saluted.

"Go down."

As the two were about to leave, a soldier lifted the curtain and walked in, "Lord, His Majesty Roland's reply has arrived."

"Oh? Let me see it quickly," Eagle Face quickly took the secret letter and unfolded it. Before Nail and Uncle Sang could leave the tent, he stopped them again, "Wait!"

"Does His Majesty have new instructions?" the old soldier asked.

"That's right, the First Army has already set off by boat from the royal capital and is heading to the Northern Region at full speed,预计十天后抵达寒风岭。estimated to arrive at Coldwind Ridge in ten days."

Ten days... too late, Nail thought sadly. The Dawn army could enter the Old Holy City at any time. In just a day or two, they could turn all the towns at the foot of Hermes Mountain into hell. In a trance, the red-clothed woman struggling in the hail of bullets reappeared before his eyes, as if accusing him of what he was doing.

"Before that, His Majesty requires us to take immediate action to prevent the Dawn army from entering the Old Holy City – at least not let them loot the monastery."

Nail suddenly raised his head.

"This... can we do it?" Uncle Sang scratched his head.

"It's difficult, so His Majesty has sent a special reinforcement that will arrive in the Northern Region tomorrow night," Eagle Face closed the secret letter, "Only the witches can arrive here at this speed." Then he looked at the two, "Go and notify all the squad leaders to come to me for a meeting! By the way, what was the name of that refugee who knew the mountain path?"