Chapter 1438: Provisions

"Father, you are well-informed," Diana praised.

The priest said very modestly, "Small matter, small matter."

Diana smiled lightly and looked at General Ling Chen; during these days following the Dragon Flame Army, although Ling Chen had told her nothing, she had made deductions based on her observations over this period.

She also had a rough understanding that the Dragon Flame Army's provisions might be running low.

Now that news of Austrian provisions had been obtained, it should be able to relieve the Dragon Flame Army's urgent need.

She looked at General Ling Chen, and this general, who usually did not reveal much expression, was actually panting heavily at this moment!

A scorching light flashed in General Ling Chen's eyes!

Provisions—it really was like having a pillow appear just as one wanted to sleep.

He had not expected that provisions would arrive just like this.

"Father, how did you know the news about Austria's provisions?" Ling Chen asked.

Although he was excited inside, he did not blindly believe it.

The matter of provisions was no small thing, especially now; it was impossible for Austria not to know about the Dragon Flame Army's provision problem.

Now, a Protestant priest he had saved in passing was telling him that he had information regarding provisions here.

Although it was a coincidence, Ling Chen did not believe in coincidences that existed for no reason.

Ling Chen looked at the priest calmly, his sharp eyes seemingly able to see through everything about him.

The priest straightened his expression; seeing the face of this general from Dragon Flame change again and again, he also realized how important the provision news he had just spoken was.

"Regarding the news of the Austrian Army's provisions, we actually happened to know about it by chance. The Alps are connected to the Vienna Basin, linking many Austrian cities."

"Here, mountains connect to mountains, so naturally there are paths. When we were fleeing here, we happened to discover the Austria Jun transporting provisions along a very secret small path."

"They transport them periodically."

After listening, Ling Chen frowned tightly.

He did not hear anything wrong in the priest's words; it looked like a very simple coincidental event.

His own idea to split the troops into two paths was also a spur-of-the-moment decision; the Austrians could not have guessed it.

Unless...

Ling Chen looked at the priest and Diana, and asked in a deep voice, "There are not many Protestants in Austria; most of them believe in Catholicism, and now Catholicism has already issued an order to hunt down heretics."

"How did you manage to flee here?"

The priest and Diana revealed bitter expressions: "Originally, we were all part of the Insurgent Army in Austria, waging a Holy War against Catholicism, but you know that our numbers were small and our equipment was not sophisticated."

"So, as soon as the war started, our Insurgent Army was quickly routed."

"On the road, many people returned to the embrace of the Lord; of the original ten-thousand-man force, only we believers remain now."

"We were hunted here by the Catholic army."

After listening, Ling Chen did not say anything more.

The karst cave was silent, and the three people fell into silence.

Of a ten-thousand-man force, fewer than two hundred survived in the end.

How many things that could not be recorded happened during this, no one could know.

In war, how could there be no deaths.

Ling Chen patted the priest on the shoulder, looked at Diana, and said, "I will take you all here immediately."

The priest and Diana looked up at Ling Chen's expressionless face, but they felt the firmness in his tone.

An inexplicable sense of peace.

It was as if for this man to accomplish such a thing was as simple as him saying these words, giving people a sense of security.

Diana nodded heavily.

Ling Chen looked at the priest again: "Father, I need your help. Tonight, I need you to take me to see that small path you mentioned."

The priest agreed.

Ling Chen exited the karst cave; the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared. Although it was overcast, he could still see things clearly. He arrived at the camp outside and summoned the captain responsible for stationing the Dragon Flame Army.

"General, please give your instructions!"

Ling Chen looked at the captain, who stood as straight as a pine, nodded, and asked, "Has the terrain in this vicinity been thoroughly investigated?"

"Reporting to the General, our side has already mapped the weak points, high ground, and terrain of this area. Please review it, General."

Having said that, the captain handed over a topographical map of this valley.

Ling Chen opened it and examined it; the topographical map was drawn very detailedly. Although this place was in a valley,

there were not many high points that could form conditions for a surprise attack.

However, the jungle here was dense, which was the most dangerous part; if the enemy launched a surprise attack from the jungle, it would be difficult to defend.

After Ling Chen looked at it carefully, he suddenly thought of one thing.

"Send men into the natural karst cave to investigate the terrain inside. I don't want the enemy to attack us from behind!"

"Yes, General!" The captain looked at Ling Chen with awe.

The situation inside the karst cave had been automatically ignored by him; karst caves in the mountains generally do not have passages that go all the way through.

But there are no absolutes.

What the situation was inside the karst cave, and whether there were any secret passages, no one knew.

As for those Protestants, the fewer than two hundred who remained, counting on them was not very realistic.

At this moment, they had already been broken.

He hoped that time could heal all wounds.

For them to continue fighting, there was no possibility.

"Pay attention to the defenses. This jungle is indeed dangerous; you need to clear a portion of it to leave a line of sight and a buffer zone."

The captain nodded, but was somewhat puzzled; they were only staying here for one night, was there any need to be this cautious?

As long as enough hidden sentries were arranged in the jungle, the crisis on the jungle side could be resolved.

Even if there were a sneak attack, they would be able to retreat in time.

If they were to clear out an open area, the energy and time consumed would be far too long.

"Captain, do you have any questions?"

The captain nodded and immediately asked in return, "I don't understand why the General needs to be so cautious in this place."

"After all, we are only staying here for one night!"

Ling Chen looked at him and said in a deep voice, "Because this place might be a trap."

The captain was stunned; a trap?

When he had led the team to inspect earlier, he hadn't discovered anything, let alone the Austrian Army, aside from these Protestants.

There were absolutely no other traces.

How could it be a trap?

"General, this..."

Ling Chen let out a long breath, looked toward the direction of the natural karst cave, and said, "This trap is meant to lure us into protecting these Protestants."

"Now we are already in the snare."

"But, we don't have any signs of an ambush right now, we could completely leave," the captain responded.

Ling Chen shook his head with a bitter smile; the Austrian Army had gone to great lengths to make him step into their trap.

Now that he had entered the snare, if he were to act rashly, it would certainly cause the Austrian Army to launch their military operations even faster.

The Austrian attack would not come too late, and to prevent the Dragon Flame Army from not taking the bait, they had even prepared a piece of heavy news.

Provisions; they were currently what the Dragon Flame Army lacked most urgently.

Regardless of whether this news was true or false, the Dragon Flame Army would take a risk for the sake of the provisions and try their luck.