I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 86 Granting Power
Soon, Chris's team set up camp at the foot of a mountain near a water source.

After confirming that there was no danger in the surroundings, Chris led six squads of soldiers to set up camp and cook.

Most of the six squads were new recruits, with only twenty veterans serving as elites, who occasionally mentored these inexperienced young men.

The war with the White Deer family has caused the Earl of Falcon heavy losses, and he no longer has many experienced veterans under his command.

He must recruit more new soldiers as soon as possible to rebuild the military strength.

For Earl Falcon, the Lord of Blackpine Ridge was an excellent training ground.

Because he had many new recruits under his command, Knight Chris was extremely cautious.

He dispatched two patrol teams of five men each, and also arranged for four sentries to keep watch around the area.

Chris wasn't actually worried about any teams ambushing them; he was more concerned about attacks from wild animals.

As night fell, Chris casually tossed the bones he had finished gnawing into the fire by the campfire.

He then wiped his greasy mouth and let out a long, comfortable sigh.

Meat is food for humans; dry, hard bread is only fit to feed dogs.

Oren, who was standing nearby, put down his food, deep in thought, and asked in a low voice, "My lord, the count's orders are only to plunder. What should we take? It seems we can't take the town."

"Can't take the town? You overestimate that baron."

Chris gave a light snort and said confidently:
"First, find the town, then capture those who have left the town, understand the situation inside the town, find their weaknesses, and then launch a surprise attack on Frostleaf Town."

If that Rhodes were a veteran baron, perhaps he would still be wary.

But now, he is just a minor, newly appointed baron. What kind of military power could he possibly possess in such a barren place as Black Pine Forest?

Despite having mostly new recruits under his command, Chris remained confident he could take the town. He would never have brought these burdens along if it weren't for training new soldiers.

"Alright, don't overthink it, I've already arranged everything."

Chris yawned. "Get some rest. Understand that we need to get going as soon as possible and find that damn town quickly."

"Yes, my lord."

Oren nodded in greeting, then surveyed the soldiers and instructed the sentries to stay alert and be ready for the changing of the guard.

After finding nothing amiss, he returned to his campfire, lay down on the hay, and closed his eyes.

Late at night, the sound of snoring began to rise.

The moonlight cast dense shadows across the woods.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a slender figure silently moved through the nearby woods, circling the campsite once.

Then, they quietly disappeared again.

……

……

A moment later, a slender figure quietly appeared in the woods some distance from the camp.

It was Aleya from the hunting party.

Before her, Rod's team had already silently crouched in the shadows of the woods, patiently waiting.

Aleya knelt on one knee and whispered to Rhodes, "My lord, they have four sentries, one in the woods to the south, one in the meadow to the west, one in the ravine to the north, and one on the hill to the east."

In addition, two patrol teams were patrolling the perimeter.

She unfolded the map in front of Rhodes and pointed to the upper left corner, saying, "Their camp is at the foot of this mountain, and there are four sentry posts by the campfire."

Based on the number of their campfires, I estimate there were between fifty and eighty people.

"Their leader is very clever,"

Aleya's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "He used patrols to draw attention while setting up hidden sentries around the area."

If I weren't naturally low-profile and good at hiding, I wouldn't have dared to approach them so easily and figure out their plans.

Rhodes nodded and asked, "How many men are wearing armor?"

"Not many, I roughly counted, at most twenty-five. I think they should be the focus of attention; the rest don't seem to pose much of a threat."

Aleya couldn't help but frown. "There are only two people sitting around a campfire. I guess they must be knights like Lord Durant. They give me a dangerous feeling." "A group like that must be led by a knight."

Rhodes wasn't surprised and pressed further, "How many warhorses?"

“Five,” Aleya answered without hesitation, “all in the center of the camp, guarded.”

Rhodes pondered for a moment, then instructed the person beside him, "Rain, lead the hunting party to sneak over there quietly, and together with Aleia, take care of those sentries."

His voice was low as he instructed, "If we accidentally alert the patrol, don't hide anymore; finish this quickly."

Rhodes had great confidence in the hunting team's strength.

These people spend most of their time traversing forests. They may not be skilled at siege warfare, but they are absolutely adept at hunting enemies in the wild, just like hunting wild beasts.

But Rhodes also wouldn't underestimate any opponent, so he came up with a contingency plan.

He turned to Gunther and Durant and whispered, “If the enemy is alerted, you must attack from both sides as quickly as possible, break them apart, and give them no time to react.”

Keep a close eye on those two by the campfire; don't let them inflict serious damage on us.

These soldiers were all handpicked; even new recruits are valuable resources to the territory.

The loss of even one person would break his heart.

He continued, "The rest of you, engage them head-on and do not let any enemy escape."

“Yes, my lord!” Gunle and Durant replied in unison.

Rhodes turned to the White Frost Prophet: “Tell your savages that once the enemy becomes alert, I want you to throw all your spears at the crowd as quickly as possible.”

Don't worry about accuracy, speed is key. After all the spears are thrown, then pick up your axes and charge.

This time, Rhodes really went all out.

The hunting party consisted of thirteen hunters, five guards, five veterans, twenty soldiers, thirty reserve recruits, and forty savage spear throwers, totaling one hundred and thirteen men, which was almost eighty percent of the military strength of Black Pine Ridge.

The guards and soldiers were fully armed, and the new recruits were also given a leather armor. Forty savage javelin throwers carried three long spears on their backs.

He must completely annihilate this invader force in this place.

If the enemy advances further, they will enter the farmland area of ​​Frostleaf Town.

Rhodes couldn't be sure if the enemy would damage the farmland, so he absolutely couldn't let the enemy cross this line.

"Okay, okay, okay."

The White Frost Prophet nodded repeatedly and translated Rhodes's orders to the wildling leaders Graystone, Giantwood, and Tassa.

It's worth mentioning that the names of the two savages, Graystone and Giantwood, are actually extremely long, so Rhodes simply shortened them to "Graystone" and "Giantwood".

This was the second time the Savages had fought against the Empire.

Because of the psychological trauma left by their previous battle with Gunle, they were inevitably somewhat fearful, and even the White Frost Prophet's voice trembled slightly.

Noticing their tension, Rhodes explained, "Don't be afraid."

"Last time you used stone tools, but this time you're using iron. Your spears are incredibly powerful; even armor will have a hard time stopping them when the enemy is caught off guard. And also,"

Rhodes' lips curled into a slight smile. "Do you remember what I said?"

The White Frost Prophet answered softly, "I remember, you said you would grant us strength."

"Very well, now I will grant you power."

Rhodes was being deliberately mysterious, muttering to himself in a way that no one could understand.

In fact, he himself didn't know what he had said.

But none of this matters.

After he finished reciting the incantation, Rhodes said to the White Frost Prophet, "Tell them to eat all the half-pound of meat they brought today."

From then on, they would receive the power bestowed by the Holy Lord.

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(End of this chapter)