187: Chapter 187 'Hardship Fee'

Chapter 187: 'Hardship Fee'

Amidst the howling wind and snow outside the tent, Leif quickly explained his purpose.

Upon hearing this, Lister's expression immediately turned "shocked," and he stood up abruptly.

"What! A war of such severity has broken out in the Northwest Pioneer Territory?"

The slightly exaggerated exclamation startled Leif, causing his body to tremble, and the cup in his hand nearly fell.

Red, Spartacus, and Sejin, who were sitting on both sides, were also stunned for a moment, but they quickly reacted.

At this moment, Lister's feigned expression and tone were even more vivid than the best actors in the kingdom, as if he were the last person in the world to know about the war in the Northwest Pioneer Territory.

If they hadn't consulted with Lister so many times beforehand, they would have truly been deceived by his act.

While the three secretly admired him, Leif calmed his emotions and hurriedly responded respectfully: "Yes, Lord Howard. The situation has become increasingly unfavorable for our side, so I ask that you lead your troops to support us as soon as possible."

"This—" Lister paused, then sighed deeply, saying "helplessly": "Sigh~, the Earl has given his orders. As a Pioneering Lord, I should naturally comply."

"But, Lord Leif, before you came, you must be aware of my current situation. I am currently resisting the invasion of the Black Wolf Tribe together with the White Cat-Ear Tribe."

"Because of some uncontrollable conflicts I had with the Black Wolf Tribe previously, they now want to put me and my Pioneer Territory to death."

"If I do not fully resist here at Black Stone Fortress with the White Cat-Ear Tribe, once Black Stone Fortress is breached, my Pioneer Territory will become an unobstructed lamb waiting for slaughter."

"Moreover, the Shadow Leopard Tribe has been eyeing my Pioneer Territory covetously. It is very difficult to divert internal forces from the territory."

"So, as for supporting the northwest front line, I am afraid I—"

He did not finish his sentence, but any intelligent person could understand the meaning. Leif was no exception.

Before coming, Leif had indeed learned from Aier Sidi about the "difficult situation" Lister and his Pioneer Territory were in.

Coming here now was merely to verify the authenticity of the matter.

Since what he saw and heard matched, he naturally had no need to force it. After all, he had heard of the Black Wolf Tribe; it was a tribe that was not easy to deal with.

Furthermore, according to the kingdom's laws, Lister's current situation met the requirements for refusing military conscription without penalty.

It was just that he still felt very regretful. After all, with the strength of Lister's forces, if he reached the front line of the Northwest Pioneer Territory, he would surely provide great assistance.

Collecting his thoughts, he drank the hot milk tea in his cup in one gulp, stood up, and performed a knightly salute: "I understand Lord Howard's meaning. When I return to Coridinglo, I will report the situation truthfully to the Earl."

"With the Earl's wisdom, he will certainly understand your difficult situation, and I assume there will be no private repercussions."

Seeing that he was so easily deceived—no, persuaded by his own "sincerity"—Lister felt a bit surprised, but he still wore a sincere expression: "I have troubled you to make this trip in vain, Lord Leif. I understand the Earl's eagerness to repel the enemy. Once the Black Wolf Tribe is repelled, I will definitely lead my army to the front line as soon as possible."

"I have a small token of appreciation here, and I hope Lord Leif will not refuse."

As he spoke, he took a small bag of "hardship fee" he had prepared from his storage ring and stuffed it into Leif's hand.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but something he had planned long ago so that Leif would not say any lies or bad things after returning.

Even if Leif did not seem like a petty person, one could never be too careful. Doing a little extra was always beneficial.

Otherwise, even if his current situation complied with the kingdom's laws, he might still suffer from ruthless private suppression by Theodore.

Feeling the heavy weight in his hand, Leif was surprised and showed a look of hesitation: "This, how can this be?"

"It is just a small 'hardship fee,' Lord Leif, please do not mind it."

"This—" Leif paused, thought for a moment, and ultimately did not refuse: "Then, thank you, Lord Howard."

Finally, after bidding each other farewell and under the smiling gaze of Lister and the others, Leif, with a hint of joy amidst his exhausted expression, rode away from Black Stone Fortress, continuing to the next Pioneer Territory.

He was not the only messenger, but every messenger was responsible for delivering messages to multiple Pioneer Territories, and long-distance travel was indeed exhausting.

As to why Magic Cloud Eagles were not used for messaging, Lister guessed that Earl Theodore did not have many, and they were likely all being used on the front line.

Although the Magic Cloud Eagle was a semi-magical beast, its peculiar mutation made it rare, and obtaining one was naturally not easy.

After Leif's back completely disappeared, Lister returned to a calm expression: "Let's go, we are going to the main tent."

Inside the main tent.

Chief Lin Mu and the other tribal leaders and guards, who had already arrived, were gathered around the conference table, discussing heatedly while pointing at a simplified map.

Gradually, the warm air from their mouths merged with the heat emitted by the stove, making the tent increasingly hot.

But wearing animal fur coats, they seemed not to feel any discomfort, still immersed in their discussion.

When speaking about when to launch the decisive battle, Scott sighed anxiously: "Sigh, I don't know if Lord Howard and his men have recovered yet. This is a great opportunity to take down Prince Asa's army in one go."

"That's right." A guard echoed: "If we miss this opportunity, Prince Asa's army will definitely catch their breath, and it will be difficult to fight a decisive battle then."

"Chief, should I go and ask about their situation?" A small leader inquired.

"No." Chief Lin Mu waved his hand and immediately denied it: "Lord Howard is only cooperating with us; his kindness in sending troops to help is already a great favor."

"Last time we fought against Prince Asa's army, Knight Captain Red killed another Intermediate Totem Warrior of the enemy, greatly reducing our pressure."

"This kindness is already difficult for us to repay. There is absolutely no reason to make such demanding requests. Now we just need to wait patiently for them to recover."

Seeing that the Chief's attitude was so firm, the leaders and guards could not say much more.

In fact, they understood the meaning behind his words; they were just too anxious to crush Prince Asa's army.

Not long after the words fell, Lister, accompanied by Red and the others, walked in from outside the tent.

"Haha, Chief Lin Mu and everyone are here. I suppose you are discussing the decisive battle with Prince Asa's army?"

Hearing Lister's laughter, everyone looked up, and in the next second, joy appeared on their faces.

Chief Lin Mu, who had a calm expression, could not help but show surprise and hurriedly asked: "Lord Howard, have you and your men recovered?"

"Yes, we have fully recovered." Lister smiled and nodded, saying: "Since I have many things to deal with in my territory, I cannot stay here any longer."

"So, I came here today to discuss the decisive battle against Prince Asa's army with Chief Lin Mu. The sooner, the better."

"I wonder if Chief Lin Mu and everyone have discussed any good combat plans?"

"Of course, of course." Upon receiving Lister's definitive answer, the smile on Chief Lin Mu's face grew even wider.

He pointed to a spot on the map and said: "Lord Howard, before you and your men arrived, we had already discussed a good offensive plan."

"Look here—"

Following the position of his finger, Lister straightened his expression, walked closer, and looked down.

Next, Chief Lin Mu stated the plan for attacking Prince Asa's army unhurriedly.

Everyone, including Lister, listened very carefully.

Because Prince Asa's army had temporarily set up camp and had withdrawn some distance away from Black Stone Fortress.

The buffer zone in the middle was very empty, so Chief Lin Mu prepared to move the troops out of Black Stone Fortress.

They would build a temporary camp closer to Prince Asa's army and arrange for two teams to ambush in the woods on both sides.

The purpose of doing this was, firstly, to facilitate the efficiency of the subsequent decisive battle, and secondly, to create an illusion of defensive loopholes for Prince Asa, enticing him to take the initiative to attack.

However, Prince Asa was not a stupid person and would certainly not be fooled so easily.

Therefore, to ensure the success of the second objective, Chief Lin Mu would dispatch small teams to harass and attack from time to time to completely infuriate Prince Asa.

As long as Prince Asa's army took the initiative to attack, they would definitely enter the ambush circle that Chief Lin Mu had set up in advance.

Of course, this plan might not necessarily succeed. If Prince Asa did not take the initiative to attack, they would have to launch a frontal attack themselves.

The goal of this decisive battle, for Chief Lin Mu, was not to completely annihilate Prince Asa's army, but to deal a heavy blow to them so that they would lose the ability to continue attacking.

After stating this, Chief Lin Mu turned to look at Lister, looking expectant: "Lord Howard, do you think my offensive plan is feasible?"

"—" After thinking for a moment, Lister replied sternly: "The plan is quite complete, but I don't think Prince Asa will be fooled because he will be wary of our existence."

"And if we take the initiative to attack, it will give Prince Asa's army a lot of room for maneuver; they can easily choose to fight or retreat."

"If the battlefield traction is not enough, it might just be like last time, without causing them any significant losses."

"It seems I thought too simply."

Chief Lin Mu nodded, then said sincerely: "If Lord Howard has any high insights, please do not hold back and instruct us."

"Chief Lin Mu, you are too polite, it is not a high insight." Lister smiled modestly and said: "Actually, solving this traction problem is very simple. We just need to arrange an army on the path of their retreat."

"Under the blizzard, the reconnaissance of Prince Asa's army has been greatly restricted, which is a good time for us to send a unit to circle behind them."

"As for this unit, there is no other choice; it must be my unit, which has the strongest overall strength."

"Because this way, it can not only cut off the retreat of Prince Asa's army to the greatest extent when they choose to retreat in the face of our frontal attack."

"At the same time, it can also confuse the intelligence reconnaissance of Prince Asa's army, making them mistakenly believe that we have left Black Stone Fortress."

"This false news will surely greatly enhance Prince Asa's desire to attack. Perhaps, without waiting for our action, they will take the initiative to attack."

"By then, my unit, which has circled to the rear of Prince Asa's army, can join forces with all of you attacking from the front to surround Prince Asa's army."

Hiss. Chief Lin Mu and the tribal leaders and guards couldn't help but gasp.

They didn't expect that as soon as Lister opened his mouth, he would directly cut off the retreat of Prince Asa's army.

Compared to this ruthless operation, Chief Lin Mu's plan just now was too gentle.

At this moment, Chief Lin Mu's side fell into contemplation and hesitation.

In fact, in their hearts, they didn't want to really annihilate Prince Asa's army; as long as they could severely damage their fighting strength, that would be enough.

Otherwise, once Prince Asa died, the Black Wolf Tribe leader, Howell, would definitely be furious.

At that time, it would be difficult for them to disregard the threat of the Flame Tiger Tribe and initiate a full-scale war with the White Cat-Ear Tribe.

With the current strength of the White Cat-Ear Tribe, it was absolutely impossible for them to be a match for the entire Black Wolf Tribe.

Moreover, the battle situation between the Flame Tiger Tribe and the Frost Lion Tribe was currently unclear. What if the Black Wolf Tribe sent troops and the Flame Tiger Tribe did not interfere?

Regarding such matters that concerned the life and death of the tribe, no one in the White Cat-Ear Tribe dared to gamble, and they could not afford to gamble.

Seeing Chief Lin Mu and the others silent, Lister, after thinking slightly, understood their thoughts.

He smiled slightly and said: "Chief Lin Mu, I understand your concerns. Don't worry, I won't completely block Prince Asa's retreat."

"Our combat goal this time is still to eliminate the soldiers other than Prince Asa, striving to let him escape alone."

"Besides, the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing, and I dare not guarantee that I can kill Prince Asa."

Chief Lin Mu and the tribal leaders and guards, whose brows were tightly furrowed, immediately relaxed.

It was not that they were afraid of Prince Asa's army, but that they had to be responsible for the entire tribe.

Since there was no power to completely defeat the Black Wolf Tribe now, it was best to continue maintaining the previous situation.

Although they didn't know where the end would be, as long as they could continue to drag it out, it was more beneficial than harmful to them.

Chief Lin Mu expressed his gratitude sincerely with tribal etiquette: "Thank you, Lord Howard, for your understanding. If you need any help in the future, my White Cat-Ear Tribe will definitely do our best."

"Then thank you, Chief Lin Mu."

Lister did not refuse pretentiously. He was already contributing both manpower and effort, so obtaining this promise was deserved.

Regarding the thoughts of Chief Lin Mu and the others, he did not feel there was anything inappropriate; this was indeed the most suitable way of survival for the White Cat-Ear Tribe at the moment.

Rather than completely infuriating a powerful enemy that could not be confronted, it was better to be a little timid; after all, those who know the times are heroes.

Moreover, maintaining such a balanced situation between the two tribes was also the best result he had planned before coming to support the White Cat-Ear Tribe.

As for Prince Asa wanting to regain face and fight back after a humiliating defeat, it would not be as easy as just saying it.

Not to mention that there was also a rising Montague, who would definitely keep him overwhelmed, busy dealing with matters within the tribe.

Without external interference, the Iron Thorn Territory Branch could fully resist the invading Beast Tribe army.

Due to the stalemate on the northwest front line, Earl Theodore would certainly not send many people to support the southwest Pioneer Territory. As a result, the threat he and the Iron Thorn Territory Branch would face would be greater, but it would also be accompanied by the opportunity to gain a large amount of merit.

Such a rare and good opportunity was something he would absolutely not miss; after all, how could a mere Baron satisfy him?