Chapter 64

The next day.

Vanguard Valley, council hall.

Rocco was sitting quietly at the head of the table.

"Bake, the latest intelligence."

Rocco's voice was calm, with no detectable emotion.

Scout Captain Bake stepped forward, his travel-worn face showing a hint of undisguised exhaustion.

"Reporting to Young Master, the main force of that Minotaur army has indeed begun to publicly retreat toward the Orc Wasteland in the north."

"The momentum is huge, stretching for several miles; it looks like they are eager to return home."

Martina clutched her precious ledger, her snow-white fox ears twitching slightly.

"Public retreat?"

"Hmph, would that cunning Minotaur be so honest?"

She clearly didn't believe it.

Captain Hart stood to the side with his sturdy body, his brows slightly furrowed.

"On the battlefield, public actions are often accompanied by secret plots."

"That Minotaur commander suffered such a big loss; he will never be willing to just let it go."

Rocco nodded slightly, deeply agreeing.

"Martina, do you think it's necessary for us to pursue this Minotaur main force that is 'publicly retreating'?"

Martina blinked her pure white eyes and quickly calculated in her heart.

"Pursue the main force?"

"Although they were defeated, their numbers are still not small; if they fight to the death, we will also suffer losses."

"Moreover, since they are retreating publicly, they must have already dispersed or transferred most of the plundered wealth in advance."

"Even if we catch up, I'm afraid we won't get much profit, and instead, we'll consume a large amount of arrows and supplies."

"Most importantly, gold coins!"

When Martina said this, her tone unconsciously deepened, and her snow-white fox ears twitched along with it.

"A large-scale pursuit battle costs quite a bit."

A faint smile curled the corners of Rocco's mouth.

"You mean it's not worth it?"

Martina nodded vigorously.

"Very much not worth it!"

"Unless we can be sure they are carrying a huge amount of wealth that we cannot refuse, and have full confidence in taking it with minimal cost."

Hart also agreed in a deep voice.

"Young Master, Martina makes sense."

"Do not pursue a desperate enemy, especially this kind of large-scale routed army; once they are forced into a dead end, the combat power they erupt with cannot be underestimated."

"Although our Storm Knights are powerful, every time they are dispatched, it is a precious consumption of combat power."

Fura stood quietly behind Rocco, her silver-gray cat ears twitching slightly.

Her heterochromatic eyes, intertwined with deep blue and shattered gold, remained calmly fixed on Rocco.

She would not participate in decision-making, but she would be the first to execute any of Rocco's decisions.

Rocco's fingertips slowly slid across the map, finally stopping in the rugged, complex, and uninhabited mountain forest area north of Vanguard Valley.

"A cunning commander, after suffering a crushing defeat and knowing that the enemy possesses powerful cavalry, what would he do?"

Rocco whispered to himself, as if asking everyone, or perhaps asking himself.

"He would preserve his effective strength as much as possible, especially his direct elite."

"He would find a way to take away the most valuable spoils, rather than those bulky, hard-to-carry supplies."

"And the public retreat of the large army—the greater the momentum, the more likely it is to be a cover-up."

Martina's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Rocco, you mean Kagerosh might be shedding his skin like a cicada?"

"He lets the main force attract our attention, while he takes the elite and the real treasure and sneaks away by another route?"

Rocco smiled slightly.

"It's possible."

"Bake, besides this public northern retreat route, have there been any unusual discoveries in other directions, especially in the areas leading to those secret mountain paths in the north?"

A hint of surprise appeared on Bake's face, which then turned into admiration.

The Young Master's train of thought always managed to reach places others overlooked.

He immediately replied: "Reporting to Young Master, there really is an unusual discovery."

"Just late last night, one of our squads patrolling the edge of the northern mountain forest discovered some very hidden traces."

"The number was small, about two or three hundred, but they were extremely cautious in their actions, and..."

"They seemed to be carrying a heavy load."

"The direction of travel was toward the northeast, into the deeper mountain area."

"Northeast?"

Hart raised an eyebrow.

"The mountain roads there are rugged, and there are many poisonous insects and fierce beasts; even ordinary caravans wouldn't take them, let alone a large-scale troop."

"How could there be traces of such movements there?"

Martina's breathing became slightly rapid, and her snow-white fox ears perked up in excitement.

The night was like ink.

The lights in Vanguard Valley gradually grew sparse.

A team of over two hundred people left the territory silently.

At the lead was Roko, riding a magnificent white Storm Colt.

He wore leather armor convenient for movement, his face covered by a black mask, revealing only a pair of deep, sharp eyes.

Fura followed closely behind; her petite figure appeared exceptionally agile against the backdrop of her silver-gray Storm Colt.

The fifty elite knights led by Hart followed silently like ghosts in the night.

The hooves of the Storm Colts stepped on the soft earth, making almost no sound at all.

The breeze swirling around their bodies seemed to have merged into the night.

This team was like a sharp blade about to be unsheathed, filled with cold killing intent.

Their target was a wasteland hundreds of miles away where Castilla Principality caravans often appeared.

The terrain there was relatively flat but interspersed with some hills and sparse woods, convenient for setting ambushes and pursuing.

After a night of forced marching, they arrived at the designated area just as the sky began to brighten.

This was a vast grassland; the morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the distant horizon was tinged with a fish-belly white.

The air carried the damp scent of green grass, and occasionally, the calls of unknown birds could be heard.

"Rest in place. Scouts, spread out and probe the surrounding situation."

Roko ordered.

The knights quickly dismounted to feed the Storm Colts a small amount of refined feed and fresh water.

They themselves took out dry rations and water skins to replenish their energy.

Fura sat quietly beside Roko, carefully wiping the longsword in her hand with a clean cloth.

The blade reflected a cold light in the morning sun.

Before long, the scout squad led by Luoen returned.

"Master, ten miles ahead, we discovered a caravan."

"The scale is not small—about thirty-some carriages, with around one hundred guards."

"Looking at the flags, it should belong to the 'Golden Wheat' Chamber of Commerce of the Castilla Principality."

Roko nodded.

He had heard of the Golden Wheat Chamber of Commerce.

It was a medium-sized chamber of commerce in the Castilla Principality, mainly dealing in grain, cloth, and some daily necessities.

Their guard strength was usually not too strong, at most led by a few knights.

"What is their direction of travel?"

Roko asked.

"It looks like they are preparing to cross this wasteland and head into the Black Kingdom."

Luoen replied.

"Very good."

Roko's lips curled into a cold sneer.

"We'll use them to draw first blood."

He spread out a simple map and discussed the ambush location with Hart and Martina.

In the end, they chose a section where there were low hills on both sides and the road in the middle was relatively narrow.

"Hart, you lead the main force and charge from the front."