"Everyone, stay calm and maintain your composure! The enemy forces are not that numerous!"

Chel Brans, who had been leading the ambush, shouted urgently to keep the chain of command intact, but he was just as flustered as anyone else.

'The ambush has been uncovered? Why? Why did this happen?'

How many messengers had been sent before he arrived here, bringing news of the current situation at the fortress? He had seen what appeared to be preparations for a ritual, and heard that the soldiers were on high alert, maintaining strict security. Most importantly, he'd received reports that the commander, Epinnel, was personally overseeing things, moving around and giving orders.

There was no possibility that the messenger had lied... so... in the end...@@novelbin@@

'Could it be that they somehow saw through our plan before we even made a move?'

The thought of "seeing through" brought to mind something Parfalle had said to him earlier.

Swen is an extraordinary strategist. He was already aware that the Aishus army, along with the Aleffel and Charam armies, were working on a deceptive strategy against us. He had also predicted the northern rebellion would occur. Surely, he must have also prepared for the defense of the fortress in detail.

'Could it be that all of this is part of Swen's calculations?'

At that moment, Parfalle had said, "As long as Swen is present, we cannot touch the fortress." But what if... what if everything, including her thoughts and actions, was something Swen had anticipated once more?

'What is this...!'

Come to think of it, the first time he had encountered Swen was when his lord—his younger sister, Lyn—had told him that "a great talent is hiding" and they had gone to deal with the now-destroyed Lunarian Army.

As those thoughts spiraled in his mind, Chel shook his head to clear it. Just because Swen had shown some miraculous insight didn't necessarily mean he was the one who had foreseen this exact plan. In uncertain matters like this, jumping to conclusions in fear would only paralyze him from taking action.

'So, should I withdraw the troops immediately now that we've been exposed?'

Parfalle had mentioned that the chance of failure was low, but if, by any chance, their unit's movements were detected before a proper siege could occur by the Aishus army, they should withdraw immediately. She had advised leaving only the minimum number of soldiers to delay pursuit, and pulling back the rest.

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