Chapter 215: Offensive Strategy

Chapter 215: Offensive Strategy

Luo Ning and his team observed from behind the hillside for an entire afternoon. Even when the sun set and dusk fell, no suspicious creature emerged from the cave. Honestly, waiting had become quite tedious.

Fortunately, as night fell completely and the sun disappeared, lights began to flicker inside the cave.

"Here it comes!" Luo Ning whispered, alerting the team.

Everyone's nerves tensed. After half a day of waiting, they finally spotted the enemy.

Soon, a team emerged from the cave. The last time, Redal had only seen three people, but this time the number had tripled to twelve. It seemed the enemy had become more vigilant, likely in response to Redar's previous intrusion, hence the increase in patrol numbers.

Under the moonlight, the group divided into four teams of three and began patrolling in the four cardinal directions: front, back, left, and right.

One of the groups was heading in the direction where Roning and his team were concealed.

From the information provided by Redar and others, this group was known to have a particularly sensitive sense of smell. They had concealed themselves well the previous night, but their presence had still been detected due to their scent.

Luo Ning noted that the wind blowing through the forest was from the southwest, which would carry their scent away from the valley below the hillside. Moreover, there was a distance of one or two hundred meters between them and the enemy. Even with a keen sense of smell, the likelihood of being detected from such a distance seemed very low.

These patrolmen showed no intention of climbing the hillside; they simply patrolled back and forth around the base of the valley.

If the flat land at the bottom of the valley was considered a rectangle, then the four teams were moving along its perimeter, appearing to guard the area to prevent anyone or anything from outside entering the valley.

"Their alert area is so small?" Both Rydar and McKen expressed doubt.

If they were responsible for the defense here, they would certainly set up a guard post on the hillside and arrange for personnel to stand watch. There was no need for twelve people in the exposed and flat valley below; three or four would suffice.

Time passed slowly—half an hour, an hour...

Roning watched the group move back and forth. They behaved like characters in a video game, just moving along a predetermined route.

Everyone's mood shifted from initial nervousness to confusion, and even boredom by the end.

"Sir, what are we going to do?" Redal asked quietly.

They had already made plans for handling conflicts should they arise, but they hadn't anticipated this scenario where neither side was engaging the other.

"First, observe and understand their habits, and then see if there's a chance to isolate one without making too much noise," Roning replied.

This observation continued for three days. During this period, Luo Ning and his team confirmed two things.

First, the people in the cave did not come out during the day. Every morning as the sun rose, the patrollers would return to the cave; they would re-emerge only at nightfall. Their behavior was repetitive, like programmed robots, never showing signs of fatigue or boredom.

Luo Ning wondered how these people managed their food and water needs. Was there a sufficient supply inside the cave?

The second discovery was regarding their strength. Based on observations of their clothing and Redar's account of the previous night's battle, it was estimated that this patrol team of twelve was likely led by a bronze-level knight, accompanied by two senior knights, with the remainder being junior and intermediate knights. Their overall strength wasn't formidable.

After observing for a while on another night, Luo Ning and his team quietly retreated from the hillside and returned to their temporary camp a mile away.

"There's no need to continue observing," Luo Ning decided. "This group doesn't operate on common sense. Further observation would just be a waste of time without yielding more valuable information."

Upon hearing their lord's decision, everyone was ready for action.

"Tomorrow morning, everyone needs to collect enough dry firewood. At noon, take a break to restore your strength and spirit. In the afternoon, we'll take the firewood to the cave and light a fire," Roning instructed.

"My Lord, are you planning to use fire to smoke them out?" one of the knights asked.

"That's the plan," Luo Ning confirmed. "They're in a sealed cave. If smoked, they'll have no choice but to come out."

Some were puzzled, but others understood Roning's intent.

"I've been pondering why they don't leave the cave during the day," Roning shared his thoughts. "I suspect they might be averse to daylight, or perhaps they are creatures that cannot tolerate sunlight."

Creatures that avoid sunlight are rare but not unheard of in various mythologies and stories, some of which Roning had read about in books before his time travels. In this world of magical realities, such creatures could very well exist.

"Since they don't want to come out, we'll force them out," Roning concluded. If they needed to breathe, smoke would be unbearable for them, much like smoking a vole out of its burrow. This should force them to flee the cave and into the daylight, where Roning and his team could confront them on more favorable terms.

After discussing the plan further, the group went to sleep, rotating watches through the night.

As dawn approached, Roning noted, "April has passed, and today is already May 1st."

Time had flown by, and with eight days since leaving Black Earth Town, it was time to act. Roning felt prepared to see what secrets lay hidden in the cave. He allocated his attribute points, closed his eyes, and rested, ready for the confrontation ahead.

Nothing unusual happened overnight. The next morning, everyone started collecting firewood. Soon, they had amassed a considerable amount, which they transported to the flat ground at the valley entrance by afternoon.

Standing up and looking towards the quiet cave entrance, Luo Ning declared, "It's time to attack!"

---------

Hey guys, VerseX here :)

If you want to support me and the work that I am doing, you can support me on pâtreon. It costs 1 dollar a month, and you get six early-access chapters. I know that it isn't much of an advantage, but I would love your support. 

Thank you for enjoying my translation and enjoy.

The link to my pâtreon is: https://www.pâtreon.com/VerseX

You just have to change the â to a