The Medallion

Chapter 1959 An Intentional Defeat

Dominating the Wind Plain had truly been an impressive feat for the Ghost Fief's army. Therefore, Zain's hands were tied. He couldn't find any excuses to suppress them for now, so he had no choice but to let them be, and the morale of the Ghost Fief's army only grew higher as time went by.

On the flip side, when Enoch learned that the Ghost Fief's army had conquered the Wind Plain and that over half of his soldiers had surrendered, he flew into a rage.

Unfortunately, no matter how furious he felt, it wouldn't change the situation. The Wind Plain's loss meant the vulnerable towns at the border of his fief were at the mercy of the royal army, who could easily swoop in and take over the border towns. If that happened, nothing could stop them.

Enoch was well aware of this risk, so he hastily ordered the Elite Fief's leader to take fifty thousand men to the Wind Plain, where they were to intercept Gilbert's army.

However, the loss of these fifty thousand soldiers would undoubtedly weaken the defenses he put around the Red River Valley.

Without a doubt, Enoch had a quandary in his hands.

Rocky had expected as much. He had seen through these events, and now he could carry out the next move of his plan.

He had also anticipated that Enoch would send troops to stop them from entering his fief, so Rocky purposefully steered clear of the border towns. They instead lay in wait at the boundary between the Red River Valley and the Wind Plain, prepared to ambush the Elite Fief's leader and his fifty thousand soldiers.

The Elite Fief's leader was caught by surprise, so he wisely gave the order to withdraw. He pulled his army back to a favorable terrain where they immediately formed defensive ranks.

Similarly, the Ghost Fief's army didn't press forward. They encamped on the spot instead and waited for a better opportunity to make a move.

"Odin, I don't understand. What are we waiting for? Shouldn't we attack the border towns now while we have a chance?" Gilbert asked, looking confused by Rocky's decisions.

"Well, I reckon Enoch has suffered enough. It's time for us to do him a favor," Rocky answered with a mysterious smile.

"What are you planning now?" replied Gilbert as he shot Rocky a surprised but knowing look.

"What do you think, sir?" Rocky responded cryptically.

"Enough! Why do you have to be so secretive? Can't you just go straight to the point?" Vivian whined.

"Are you saying we should hand over the Wind Plain to them?"

Gilbert seemed to understand Rocky's mysterious words.

"Exactly. We promised Prince Zain that we'll force Enoch to divide his forces, and we have done exactly that. Therefore, if anything goes wrong from here on out, that's not our fault anymore. It's their responsibility from here on out," Rocky finally answered straightforwardly, a mischievous smile stretching his lips.

"So, what are we going to do next?"

"Vivian, you will lead us in the next encounter. Judging from the terrain we are in, they would likely lure us into an ambush. I want you to act clueless, take the bait deliberately, and then retreat in defeat," Rocky ordered.

"Understood." Vivian nodded in all seriousness, trusting Rocky wholeheartedly.

"Once they get a taste of victory, they will surely become greedy and try to attack our camp. We will resist them a little, but we will retreat to the Wind Plain in the end!" Rocky added as he turned to Gilbert.

The next day, Vivian did as Rocky instructed and led the charge with ten thousand soldiers. And just as Rocky expected, their enemy fought them briefly before abruptly withdrawing.

Vivian didn't hesitate to send soldiers after them, leading five thousand soldiers on their tail.

As expected, they were led into a dense forest, caught in an ambush, and suffered the loss of quite a few soldiers.

In the end, Vivian had to order her troops to retreat in defeat.

This small victory greatly boosted the morale of the Elite Fief's troops, and their leader decided to strike while the iron was hot and pressed forward with his men.

After resisting them for a while, Gilbert ordered his army to retreat to the Wind Plain. Their losses mounted in the following days as they continued losing ground, and they eventually lost the Wind Plain to their enemy.

Once the Elite Fief had retaken the Wind Plain, their leader immediately sent out troops to guard the main roads leading to Enoch's fief. In this way, they managed to hold the Wind Plain.

At the same time, the Ghost Fief's army retreated all the way to their location at the start of the war.

"Leader Gilbert, we should go and make our apologies to Prince Zain now," Rocky told Gilbert after they had reformed their ranks.

"What are you up to this time?" Gilbert remarked as he narrowed his eyes at Rocky suspiciously.

"I need an excuse to meet Enoch. If Enoch knows that I've failed Zain, he won't doubt me when I go over to him," Rocky explained.

"But isn't that too risky? Enoch might get wind of your plans and hurt you," Gilbert asked with a frown.

"Don't worry, I have a plan. Enoch can't hurt me," Rocky reassured him kindly.

"All right. I trust you." Gilbert didn't try to dissuade him further, knowing that Rocky had made up his mind already.

They soon headed towards the royal army, who were currently encamped at the Red River Valley, and offered their apologies to Zain.

As Rocky had expected, Zain was furious when he found out that they failed to hold the Wind Plain.

"I expected you to march into the border of Enoch's fief, and I would have given you distinguished merits if you had succeeded. Unfortunately, you got so carried away that you confronted your enemies head-on and lost everything you'd achieved! You fools!" Zain reprimanded them furiously.

"Please forgive us, Your Royal Highness. We intended to catch them off-guard, but to our surprise, the Elite Fief's leader is the one leading the charge. He is a formidable leader that can command his troops well, and he was able to trick us. Even my sister was seriously injured!" Gilbert put his acting skills to work, and he appeared sufficiently terrified and frustrated as he relayed what happened to Prince Zain.

"Okay, that's enough. I won't punish you because you volunteered to support the royal family in this war, and you're not under my direct command. But from now on, you are prohibited from participating in any battle of the royal family. You can still help us in logistics if you want!" Zain announced with finality. Although he wanted to punish them by court-martial, he couldn't do anything since the Ghost Fief's

army didn't belong to the royal family. Hence, he decided not to accept their assistance in any of the following battles.

The look on Rocky's and Gilbert's faces revealed their frustration and distress. Of course, they were only going through the motions.

They asked to be excused and then turned around, heading out of Zain's tent with stiff expressions.

"Your Royal Highness, what should we do now that the Ghost Fief lost the Wind Plain? Should we continue to attack the Red River Valley or dispatch troops to retake the Wind Plain?" Adrian asked once the two visitors had gone.

"No! If we spare troops to the Wind Plain, it will affect our progress in taking the Red River Valley. We should continue to focus on besieging the Red River Valley. I don't think Enoch could hold on for long. We just have to wait," Zain replied after thinking for a while. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"A wise decision, Your Royal Highness! I'm taking my leave now." After flattering Zain with empty words, Adrian turned around to leave.

Meanwhile, Rocky and Gilbert had left the royal army's camp, but Rocky lingered for a moment and asked Gilbert to go back first. He waited for a while before Adrian emerged from the darkness and moved closer to him.

"Prince Zain decided to focus on attacking the Red River Valley for now. What's your next plan?" the man curiously asked.

"Don't worry. You'll find out soon." After those cryptic words, Rocky disappeared.

He headed towards the stronghold of Enoch's army at the Red River Valley on his own.

Under the cover of darkness, he snuck into the stronghold of Enoch's army with no one noticing him.

It didn't take long for him to find the grandest tent, which was predictably at the center of the enemy's camp. At that moment, Enoch was enjoying the company of several women in his tent. He was quite preoccupied, and the sudden appearance of this unexpected visitor caught him off-guard.

"Who's there?"

Enoch asked coldly with a hint of danger in his voice.