Chapter 153: Playing the Odds!

【Ding! Daily intelligence has been refreshed…】

【Intelligence One: After three days of travel, you have finally reached the route of the Central Army from the steep mountain path.】

【Twenty li north of your current position lies the main battlefield between the Central Army and the Tribal Army!】

【Intelligence Two: Days of relentless siege have pushed the Central Army to the brink.】

【Even though Commander Narsi daily reassures and warns the nobles to hold their ground, the rapidly deteriorating situation has inevitably stirred fear and dissent among some.】

【Farrio is one such man—he will, at midnight, join several nobles he has already contacted to once again open the camp gates and flee.】

【Among these fleeing nobles are two viscounts and five barons.】

【His act of desertion becomes the final straw that shatters the Central Army's morale.】

【The Tribal Army seizes this opportunity, storming into the camp and instantly fracturing it into chaos.】

【Intelligence Three: After receiving the distress call, Marshal Miuxi went without rest for three straight days and nights, leading thirty thousand troops on a long-range march to reinforce.】

【The reinforcements are now only thirty li from the Central Army's camp; according to timing, they will arrive after dawn.】

【But this is precisely after the Central Army has already collapsed.】

【Intelligence Four: Among the main force of the Tribal Army are over a dozen heirs of various tribes.】

【These include the heirs of the Black Tiger Tribe, the Black Panther Tribe, and the Silver Wolf Tribe.】

【To ensure the heirs' safety, during the full-scale night assault, these tribal heirs will remain within the Tribal Army's camp.】

【At this moment, the Tribal Army's camp will be at its most vulnerable.】

【Intelligence Five: As the Tribal Army breaches the camp, nobles of all ranks scatter in desperate breakout attempts, including Lady Catherine's unit.】

【Unfortunately, her Violet Army will be blocked by a thousand-strong Tribal force during the breakout.】

【They will ultimately be surrounded in a valley ten li north of the camp.】

【Intelligence Six: Five minor nobles who can testify against Farrio have, through relentless effort and long treks through the forest, finally reached the Central Road.】

【But the Central Army has already collapsed—and unluckily, they encounter a Tribal force.】

【The Tribal troops mistake them for fleeing nobles and immediately attack. The five minor nobles, exhausted from days of flight and without food, are overwhelmed.】

【The outcome: three dead, two captured…】

【Ding, today's intelligence refresh is complete…】

Damn! Gervas exclaimed Damn!

I just arrived at the Central Road, and this is what I get?

That shameless bastard Farrio is still pulling his tricks—choosing to flee again right on the battlefield.

Worse yet, he's caused the Central Army, which still had a chance to hold until reinforcements arrived, to collapse on the spot.

"No. This cannot happen."

Gervas could do nothing about the destruction of the Left Army.

Not only because the system gave too little clear intelligence, but because he had no voice at the time.

So self-preservation was clearly the wisest choice.

But the Central Army must not fall now.

If the Central Army falls, the Kingdom won't muster another punitive force for years, maybe decades.

And by then, I'll be deep in enemy territory—escape will become exponentially harder.

More importantly, if all the expeditionary troops are wiped out and those five minor nobles who can testify against Farrio die, won't he walk free?

And Catherine…

"So I need to find a way to change this."

Gervas gritted his teeth—he decided to play the odds with a daring gamble!

"My lord, three li ahead, a major road appears—there are signs of enemy supply wagons!"

At that moment, a subordinate's voice came from outside the tent.

"Issue orders: the entire army rests for the day. Tonight, we move—everyone must rest and prepare for battle!"

"Yes, my lord!"

That night!

After a full day's rest, the Storm Army finally slipped under cover of darkness onto the Central Road.

Presumably believing no danger could come from behind, the Tribal Army had posted no scouts along this pitch-black road.

Under the vigilance of the Magxun Eagle squad, the Storm Army advanced without fear.

Three hours passed. Ahead, Gervas's party finally saw a massive camp.

They were now less than three li from the Tribal Army's camp.

At this distance, Tribal cavalry scouts began appearing—so Gervas dared not press forward.

He ordered his men to lie low.

Though the intelligence system had already revealed everything that would happen tonight,

he had fewer than four hundred men.

The only moment he could possibly win against overwhelming odds was when the Tribal Army launched its full assault.

As for sending the Magxun Eagles into the Central Army camp to warn Commander Narsi—

Gervas looked up at the hundreds of third-rank Eagle-Mouthed Dragons circling overhead.

Those beasts would crush his second-rank Magxun Eagles with ease.

…

"Are you all ready?"

"Lord Farrio, are we really going to do this? If word gets out, we'll be tried by the Noble Council."

Inside the Central Army camp, though it was deep night, fighting still raged along the walls.

The Tribal Army sought to crush the noble forces as quickly as possible—even in darkness, they did not relent.

At the northern wall of the Central Army camp, several nobles had gathered in secret, whispering.

These were the nobles who had decided to flee—led, of course, by the habitual traitor Farrio.

It was Farrio's leadership that had persuaded them to unite.

Seeing their hesitation, their lingering illusions, Farrio snapped: "Do you still believe the army can hold?"

"The walls fell multiple times today—if we hadn't barely retaken them, the camp would already be filled with tribal savages!"

"So I ask you: do you want to live—or die at the hands of those cruel savages, your heads mounted on their banners?!"

The nobles shuddered, remembering the savages' brutality—they were instantly cowed.

And indeed, the day's wall battles had been terrifying; one misstep, and the camp would have fallen.

Seeing their expressions, Farrio exhaled—he'd finally swayed them!

He didn't want to die in this remote western wasteland, especially not at the hands of cruel tribal savages.

He already regretted coming here to gain glory—he should've waited, until the Kingdom later crushed peasant rebellions.

Those lowly peasants—he knew them well. A single cavalry charge would finish them.

That was the safest way to earn merit.

Now, he blamed himself for being too eager, too greedy!

"Gentlemen, if you've made up your minds, act now! Once the watch changes, we'll lose our chance!"

"And we'll all cover our faces—who will know it was us who fled first?"

Farrio pulled out a black cloth and pulled it over his face.