The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Hammond was slurping hot noodles in the military camp. To be honest, Hammond found it hard to believe that he was currently on the march and fighting a war.

After the initial contact, the enemy had already planned to huddle in the castle and wait for their allies. Hammond was not in a hurry. Instead, he bombarded the city walls while ordering scouts to clear the area around Whitefrost Castle, removing all the secret passages and troop transport routes.

The main attacking force has arrived, but overall command is still in Hammond's hands. Although Hammond's military rank is not high, it is clear that the military has recognized his abilities.

"We caught one of the scouts on the other side."

Darcy entered Hammond's tent and, as was his habit, sat down opposite Hammond and began to chat.

"Has the interrogation already taken place?"

The two were both teacher and friend, and had become quite close through a series of close encounters, so they omitted honorifics.

“I only came to you for advice after interrogating him. What do you think of this scout? He claims he came to surrender and brought important news from White Frost Fortress, but things are a bit strange. I’m worried there might be a trap.”

Darcy then handed Hammond a letter.

"This was written to us by the so-called garrison leader of White Frost Fortress."

Hammond looked at it carefully, then stroked his chin and began to think.

The letter stated that a force from Whitefrost Keep would launch a night raid through the troop transport route tomorrow night, but it would not be an elite force. The leader would be Emily, the youngest daughter of the Laurence family. This force posed no threat from top to bottom. If the Grey-White Collar army could truly refrain from fighting Northerners, it was hoped that the Grey-White Collar army would treat Emily well after capturing her.

"Is this some kind of conspiracy by nobles or the Dogg Army?"

Hearing Darcy's somewhat curious question, Hammond understood why Darcy had come to find him.

Darcy was quite talented in military affairs, but being a hunter by birth, he was not very adept at the intrigues and schemes among nobles.

After putting himself in Hammond's shoes for a moment, he flicked the letter and explained, "What's written in this letter should be true, and tomorrow night is indeed a good opportunity for a night raid."

At this point, Hammond's feelings were somewhat complicated. He had once tried to raid the Gray Collars' army at night. Although he hadn't caused any fatal damage to the Gray Collars' army, the army became very sensitive to night raids after that incident.

We'll definitely be prepared for the kind of weather that's perfect for a night raid tomorrow night.

Moreover, this is not the camp where Hammond launched his night raid. The main attacking force has been here for two weeks now, the camp has been set up, and the artillery is ready to be deployed at any time. This night raid is truly a one-way trip.

It can be basically concluded that the other party is unlikely to be launching a real night raid, but rather needs to use the pretext of a night raid to achieve some other purpose.

After carefully considering the letter, Hammond came to a conclusion.

"They are trying to curry favor by letting us capture their youngest daughter, Emily, hoping that since she hasn't accomplished anything, they will let her go in the future."

"Then why not just let Emily escape through the secret passage?"

After hearing this, Darcy became even more confused.

"And isn't he worried that we might do something to his youngest daughter?"

Hammond shook his head and said, "Escape is impossible. If the lord of Whitefrost Castle really sends his youngest daughter away through the secret passage, it's impossible for him not to be discovered. At that point, we probably won't even have to bombard the castle before they collapse on their own."

After all, even their eldest son had sent his youngest daughter away, so it was basically safe to say that White Frost Fortress was doomed to fall.

Although a failed night raid will certainly affect morale, it might actually boost morale if handled properly, since even the lord's youngest daughter is willing to go out and fight to the death in a night raid.

"As for how we will treat his youngest daughter."

Hammond looked at Darcy and asked, "Do you intend to do something to his little daughter?"

Darcy quickly shook his head: "How could that be? The Governor has always said that the Northerners don't fight the Northerners, emphasizing the unity of the Northerners."

“That’s right. Even the old nobles treat enemy noble prisoners well, so why shouldn’t we? We’re not demons, we’re all from the North.”

Hammond continued his analysis: "So not only can we not do anything to his youngest daughter, we even have to treat her like royalty. If something really happens, the governor's slogan that the Northmen don't fight the Northmen will become an empty promise."

"At that time, not only will you and I be blamed, but the public opinion environment that we have worked so hard to build will also be backfired. Regardless of what will happen to the common people, the minor nobles will probably change their previous attitude and fight to the death."

"After all, the Laurent family is not a small family. Even among the nobles of the entire Northern Territory, they have a certain reputation. How we treat the Laurent family will affect the attitude of the nobles who will attack us later."

Darcy sat for a while before he could sort out his thoughts and said, "So the other side was actually using a strategy of advancing as a retreat, sending his youngest daughter to launch a night raid, and then taking the initiative to contact us to safely capture his youngest daughter. In this way, they actually protected their own youngest daughter, right?"

Seeing Hammond nod, Darcy sighed and remarked, "You nobles are truly cunning and scheming."

“I used to look down on this kind of thing, but I still have to learn it.”

Hammond patted Darcy on the shoulder, clearly not wanting Darcy to follow in his footsteps.

"It's better to fight the demons; then we won't have to think about all this."

After saying that, Darcy turned his gaze to the north. The governor said that after defeating Doug, the next step was to reclaim the territory north of Broken Snow Territory.

Then we can probably have a good, satisfying fight.

Hammond nodded, and then spoke with Darcy about the arrangements for the night raid the following evening.

Halfway through the conversation, Darcy suddenly thought of something and said to Hammond, "Wait, the Emily they sent might not be completely useless."

Hammond looked at Darcy with a complicated expression and asked, "You really have feelings for that youngest daughter? Although she's young, this is still a military camp, and she's the youngest daughter of a great nobleman..."

Before Hammond could continue his joke, Darcy interrupted, "Aren't they planning a night raid? Why can't we actually be the ones getting raided at night?"

The following evening, Emily stood fully armed in the troop transport tunnel. Although the soldiers around her didn't look like elite troops, Emily believed that her father wouldn't harm her.

“Remember, your safety is the most important thing. If anything seems wrong, run away immediately, okay? Don’t worry about the castle, Emily. Your survival is the most important thing. As long as you live, the Laurent family still has hope.”

Pierre held Emily's hand and repeatedly gave her instructions.

Although Pierre's words didn't sound like they were spoken to someone who was about to launch a desperate night raid, Emily still grasped her father's hand and said, "Father, don't worry, I will definitely help you out this time. Just wait to hear my good news."

Pierre sighed, his face appearing older in the dim light, and finally let go, watching Emily leave the castle through the troop transport passage.

Emily was not surrounded by elite troops, but rather a group of ordinary soldiers from the castle, including Emily's brother and uncle, whose fighting strength was, to put it mildly, questionable.

Emily quickly located the castle after leaving, and then, taking advantage of the moonlight, went to the nearby woods. When the moon was obscured by dark clouds, Emily gave the order and led the soldiers to charge out.

Although she was puzzled as to why there were no sentries set up in such an obvious forest, Emily, who had finally gotten her wish, didn't care too much. Just as she was about to rush out of the forest, her horse, which was at the forefront, suddenly lurched forward, throwing Emily off with it. Only then did Emily realize that while the darkness was her best cover, it was also the best camouflage for traps in the forest.

Even though Emily was a professional and protected by armor, she was still somewhat disoriented after falling several times in this situation.

In her dazed state, Emily overheard a conversation between an old woman and a young girl: "Doesn't this young lady know she's here to be captured? Why is she rushing in so fast? We didn't even have time to warn her before she tripped over the trap we set."

"This is troublesome; we still need to treat their injuries."

"Hey, medic! Go get the medic right now!"