A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor-Chapter 971 - The Verna Army - Part 3
971: The Verna Army – Part 3
971: The Verna Army – Part 3
“Then I think we might be able to assume east for a certainty,” Verdant said.
“The General has been keeping up to date with his scouts.
I do not think he will have made a mistake here.”
“Hm…” Oliver said, falling back into thought.
The crux of their task was making it past the enemy line.
Then the question arose: how best was that done?
They needed a point where the enemy line would be thinnest.
They needed to break through, and go undiscovered for as long as they could.
Going around was an impossibility, or so it seemed.
The same mountains that they were targeting began to spring up towards the west.
The terrain was too unmanageable for wagons.
So too – it was presumed – was the east similarly blocked, by the enemy, if that was indeed the direction they were coming from.
“I’d want to risk the mountains rather than their line,” Oliver replied honestly.
“But I suppose that would be us failing to consider the other variable.
The fact isn’t just that we get there – it’s that we get there quickly enough to exert ourselves.
If we take anything but the quickest route, our castles will be under siege before we can harass the enemy.”
“That indeed seems to be the case, my Lord,” Verdant replied.
“There’s nothing but the harshest path ahead for us.”
“What do you make of it, Jorah?” Oliver said, asking his other retainer, who’d remained so quiet as he looked upon the map himself. freёweɓnovel.com
“I’m in agreement,” Jorah replied.
There was a time when he would baulked being asked such a question, doubting his own ability and the worth of his response, but these days he knew to simply give his opinion when asked.
“If we wish to make it to the designated point, the sooner we make contact with the enemy, the better.”
“Huh?
Why do you say that?” Amelia said.
“That doesn’t make sense, does it?
Surely if you spend less time fighting them, you can spend more time marching.”
In any other noble circle, Amelia would have been scolded for her interruption.
Even Pauline had the grace to wince on her friend’s behalf, despite knowing that she was unlikely to be punished for speaking out of turn.
“The hardest part of this mission will be the period after we make contact with the enemy, in which they are chasing us,” Verdant said, as willing to explain as ever.
“The enemy are marching – generally – up from the south.
Our target location is in the south.
For the shortest ‘secondary distance’, let us call it, we would be better off meeting with the enemy earlier, for it would mean that they are closer to our target location,” Verdant said.
“I suppose that makes sense… sort of,” Amelia said, immediately betraying that it didn’t at all make sense to her.
“Of course, that is simply one consideration amongst many,” Jorah said.
“It isn’t as simple as a mathematical problem, not when the Verna are not in a single line, and when the terrain offers so many fresh opportunities.”
“I would love to see them myself,” Oliver said.
“To really get a feel for the enemy…”
His men nodded at that.
They knew Oliver’s proclivities.
He connected far more with flesh and blood targets than he did with simple pieces on the Battle board – though that wasn’t to say his ability to move those pieces on the Battle board had not improved in the past years.
“Colonel!” Came a shout past their carriage.
“They’re gathering men of our rank on the hill.
Have your opportunity to take a glance.”
It was Colonel Gordry speaking again.
He’d already come back down after his stint with Karstly, and he was looking rather proud of himself.
He didn’t seem to notice that the door to Oliver’s carriage was open, and that he was staring at a map.
If he had, it was questionable whether he’d have reacted positively.
“…If I were a Colonel,” Oliver said, leaving the rest unspoken.
All he wanted to do was see, to put the information together.
He didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t predict his General’s next moves.
How was he meant to work with a man when he didn’t understand his intentions, and when he didn’t understand what information he was working with?
Apparently, the answer to that question was he didn’t need to.
As a Captain, it was his job to trust the Colonel that led him.
It was the Colonels that he was meant to understand, and it was they that were tasked with understanding the General that led them.
“Well, I suppose we’ve gotten all we can from this map,” Oliver said, giving the nod to Pauline, indicating that she didn’t need to hold it anymore.
At one point, her arms had gone numb, and she’d been unable to continue the half crouch that she was doing.
The end result had been her all but laying on top of her side, as she fought to retain her last bit of dignity.
His call came with a sigh of relief from Pauline.
He was rather confident that he’d memorized most of what was going on in the surrounding area.
Now that he was here and he could attach those geographical facts to the actual world around him, that was far easier to do.
Soon enough, he returned back to his horse to wait along with the rest, trying not to let it show on his face just how bored he was with waiting.
Another ten minutes went by, and another call came from the Colonel.
“Captains of my battalion – you’ve the opportunity to evaluate the enemy from the hill, if you wish for it.”
Oliver looked up with sudden surprise.
‘Us?’ He had to fight the question back.
The Colonel made eye contact with him as he made his way down the line, and the look that he gave Oliver seemed to be a look almost urging him to say something.
“The General Karstly seems to do things differently,” Gordry said, answering the unspoken question.
“He supposes that even lowly men like yourself might have seen something that he hasn’t.
Take Lady Blackthorn with you when you go – if your like is welcome, she will be as well.”
