Chapter 7 - 7 7 Want to Show Off but It's Hard_1

7: Chapter 7 Want to Show Off but It’s Hard_1 7: Chapter 7 Want to Show Off but It’s Hard_1 Bang! Bang! Bang! The clear sound of knocking arose. “The door is not closed, come in yourself!” came Zalanda’s slightly weary voice from inside. Gaven pushed the door and entered upon hearing this, walking inside while saying, “I noticed the captain didn’t go down for the meal, so I brought your share up.” After Gaven came in, Zalanda did not turn her head. With her perception, she had recognized him when he was three meters away from the door; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so relaxed. At this moment, Zalanda had already removed her armor and changed into a comfortable casual outfit. Even in loose clothing, her impressive figure could not be concealed. With years of regular exercise, she was robust where she should be and slim where she should be slim. Her womanly curves were proudly prominent yet not overly exaggerated. The ancient Earth saying, “Add an ounce and she would be too fat; reduce an ounce and she would be too thin,” could not be more fitting in this instance. Her fiery red hair, reaching her waist, was simply tied and draped down her back. The candlelight reflected off her smooth face, seeming to emit a pearl-like luster, with traces of fatigue and softness not usually seen on her. “Just put it aside for now, I will eat it in a bit!” Zalanda said, waving her hand without turning around, almost unguarded around Gaven, who she had watched grow up since childhood. “I know what’s troubling the captain. As long as you finish your meal, I will have a plan to offer!” Gaven came under the pretense of bringing food, but his real intention was to offer a strategy. “Oh?” Zalanda finally showed interest, “First, tell me, what is troubling me? If you guess right, I’ll consider your suggestion!” “Alright,” Gaven agreed readily, “The retreat plan for big sister is based on the complete rout of the Goblin Troops outside the castle. A mere defeat is not enough; it has to be a thorough rout, making them scatter and afraid to chase after us, not daring to pursue even if they see all of us leaving the castle with our families. But defeating is easy, routing is hard. Now, the captain has no good strategy and is worried about this issue. Did I guess right? Or not?” “First, eat your meal, eat your meal. Once I’m full, I will listen in detail to what strange ideas you’ve been spinning in that little head of yours, to see if they’re worth my borrowing,” Zalanda replied with a hearty laugh, responding to Gaven with actions rather than words. Gaven could clearly feel the doubt that shone from Zalanda’s gaze. There was no helping it; the two were overly familiar, with a relationship that lay somewhere between siblings, mentor and apprentice, master and servant. Before he was sixteen, almost everything Gaven knew had been taught by Zalanda. Although he had always shown intelligence from a young age, he was not quite a prodigy. It was no surprise that Zalanda, who was deeply troubled by the issue herself, would be suspicious upon Gaven suddenly offering a strategy. But now, Gaven couldn’t afford to care so much, because he was very clear about the path of events in the coming days. Zalanda indeed achieved countless glorious victories later on, with a record of a hundred battles and a hundred wins, earning the title of the Queen of Strategy. But that did not include the battle for Nort Castle. In that battle, Zalanda was not defeated. She indeed led her troops out of Nort Castle and brought the people there to Darama. If one overlooks the cost paid during that process—if at least two-thirds of the people of Nort Castle were left behind on the road of retreat—Gaven was among them. After becoming Queen, Zalanda still regretted that matter, believing that her strategies at the time should have been more cautious, more secure. Back then, Zalanda had only defeated and scattered the Goblin Troops, hastily leading her troops on the retreat. She didn’t expect that the Hobgoblin Warlord of that Goblin army, who was quite a character himself, would organize a pursuit squad in less than half a day, and viciously pursued the retreating troops of Nort Castle. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Moreover, there were various small troubles and disruptions along the way of retreat, far more numerous than Zalanda had anticipated. Most importantly, it was the foolish actions of Rogan that turned what should have been a guaranteed successful sortie into a pyrrhic victory, losing more than half of the Cavalry. In the situation where the mobile forces were seriously damaged, even if the enemy was defeated, there would be no way to pursue the victory. They could only move along, abandoning the women, children, and disabled who fell behind. By the time they reached Darama, the ranks had been greatly reduced. This time, thanks to Gaven’s efforts, all the Cavalry had been saved, leading to a divergence in the route. Zalanda ate with some level of masculinity, much like how she fought in battles, yet there was a trained elegance about her, and she quickly cleaned out her plate. At this point, even if you served her a “Hero’s Feast” summoned by a spell, it would taste like chewing wax to her. She was desperate for a cure, not expecting Gaven to have some earth-shattering insight, but simply to offer an opinion to stimulate her withered inspiration and see if they could come up with some good tactics. In other words, she still didn’t have much hope for Gaven. After all, they were too familiar with each other, familiar enough for Zalanda to know what Gaven was about to do even if he just lifted his butt. At times like these, it was good to have someone to talk to. “Although we have already decided to abandon the castle, the enemy doesn’t know we’re going to do this. We can definitely play on this intelligence gap, tampering with the inside and exhausting as much of the enemy’s living forces as possible,” Gaven didn’t hold back and put forth his ideas directly. True to her potential as a future Queen of Strategy, Zalanda caught on immediately, slapped the table, and stood up saying, “Why didn’t I think of that before? Not only do we have enough archers at hand, but we also have a unit of heavy infantry. We can open the castle gates and lure them into attacking at their leisure. When we’ve about exhausted their vassals and cannon fodder, it will not be too late to launch a counterattack. If there aren’t enough Goblin vassals, even if some Hobgoblins escape, they won’t have the guts to keep pursuing us. And even if they do come, our Cavalry Squad is strong enough to drive them away or even annihilate them!” Luring them into attacking isn’t difficult; the Leader of this Goblin Tribe doesn’t command well. Just by opening the gates, those little Goblin fools will rush in mindlessly. Three ten-man teams of Archers must be arranged here, three here, and five there. A ten-man unit of heavy infantry placed here will be enough, and then put another one here. The vehicles can also be utilized as obstacles, forming an arc of wagons, with more long-spear-carrying civilians placed behind them, working with the medium-armored infantry to ensure their safety and bring out considerable combat effectiveness. Someone, get someone here! Summon all the leaders of the ten-man squads for me; I want to hold a meeting!” “I’m on it!” Gaven dashed out but after taking a few steps, he turned back around and kindly reminded her, “Big sis, I suggest you might want to change out of your robe first. Holding a military meeting dressed like that might damage your image a bit.” “Got it!” Zalanda waved her hand impatiently, her mind fully engrossed in tactics, probably not even hearing what Gaven was saying clearly. “Sigh… My bait-and-hook strategy, my turtle-catching in a jar, my Herding Tactic…” Gaven shook his head and sighed as he walked away. Before coming up, he had taken half a day to plan carefully. Not only did he think through the plan, but he even came up with the names for the tactics, ready to show off in front of Zalanda and attract a few impressed glances to satisfy his small vanity. But it turned out that just as he began, she had grabbed the rope and pulled the rest of it out, even getting down to Tactical Deployment and making him hold everything back inside. Gaven, who had lived four lifetimes, felt a small sense of frustration. This frustration, however, came quickly and left quickly. Because the person was none other than Zalanda, who had taken care of him since he was a child. Her quick response showed that she indeed had an exceptional advantage in this area. He wasn’t afraid of Zalanda being powerful; he was afraid she wasn’t powerful enough. Only if she was strong could he leave with peace of mind and a clear conscience. Since she had sufficient talent in this regard, should he add fuel to the fire?