There were about 500 people in the ambush team, which was twice the number of members of the escort team. However, the situation of the battle was another form of one-sided.
Except for the dozen or so people guarding the carriage, the remaining members of the escort team formed two teams under An's suggestion and Leonhardt's instruction to meet the enemies on both sides.
According to Leonhardt, only thirty escort members were needed to deal with two hundred enemies, not to mention the many more people sent now.
The enemies who originally came with great momentum on horseback were cut down by dozens of people by the escort in just one encounter. Their arrogant attitude immediately changed drastically, and they scrambled to fight with the escort.
Ann silently watched the battlefield through the car window. Leonhart wanted to join the fight, but he stopped him.
Leonhart didn't feel angry, but said strangely: "With me leading the fight, the battle will end faster."
An shook his head: "No need, just give orders here."
Leonhardt nodded without asking further questions, controlling the horse to wander around the carriage and observing the battlefield.
The sounds outside reminded the members of the troupe of the dangerous experiences they encountered two times before, and they couldn't help but feel tense. Liliana, who had never seen a battlefield, felt the same way. Her hand holding Xiaoyue's clothes unconsciously tightened.
Miku looked at everyone who was nervous, hoping that she could say some words of comfort, but she was also nervous and couldn't formulate the right words at all.
She held An's hand tightly, but she felt that An's hand was also slightly stronger.
Miku then noticed that An had been looking out of the car, but there was no unnecessary change in his expression, which made him look as calm as Xiaoyue. As for what An is thinking in his heart, no one knows.
Listening to the sound of killing outside, Yinliu, who was obviously very nervous and a little scared, had an inexplicable urge to get closer to the car window and take a look.
But as soon as she made a move, she was pushed and stopped by Jerry beside her and An Yila by the car window.
"The scenes on the battlefield are not something you can see just out of curiosity." An turned back to look at Otoru, raised the hand pushing her shoulder, and flicked her forehead lightly.
Jerry, who was holding Neru's arm, was not so gentle. He clenched his fist and hit her head: "Don't think about everything!"
Yinliu knew that he could not act because of his mistake, so he muttered: "There is no need to use so much force."
Jerry was angry and funny: "How can you remember otherwise?"
The attack she encountered just after leaving the imperial capital almost scared Neru to tears. She still wanted to take a look this time. She was obviously too brave to forget her lesson.
Yinliu shrank her neck guiltily, and seeing what Jerry was going to say, she immediately got into Liuge's arms: "I was wrong, I was wrong!"
Jerry almost didn't come up in one breath.
Liuge touched Yinliu's hair and said, "We can't help with the current situation, but at least we can't cause trouble. Remember?"
Yinliu nodded quickly.
What happened in the carriage was just a short interlude, during which the battle outside had already produced results.
An looked outside the car and saw that the attacking enemies had been killed by the escort and fled in all directions. Those who had no time to mount their horses even took off on two legs and ran away while shouting.
Leonhardt rode his horse to the carriage window: "The enemy's morale has been lost and they have begun to flee. We killed about two hundred of them..."
Worried about the other people in the carriage, Leonhart lowered his voice when he mentioned the number of enemies killed in the second half of the sentence.
"two hundred……"
Only a few minutes had passed. Considering the battlefield scale of two hundred versus five hundred, this result was quite exaggerated. This shows the difference in combat power between the two sides.
If An was right, no one in the escort team was injured, only some were injured. In other battles, this situation would be a miracle.
Even though he had already witnessed the bravery and prowess of the Imperial Guard, An was still in awe of seeing such a beautiful battle again.
However, An's face remained calm.
After reporting the results with a little pride, Leonhardt quickly calmed down. He thought for a while and said: "Something is wrong. They were defeated too quickly. They looked like militiamen who had not experienced military training... They said they were militiamen." They are all a bit flattering, they are simply thieves without any rules."
The Imperial City Guards have outstanding combat capabilities, but after all, they are not soldiers and generals descending from heaven. If he faced an army that was well-trained and several times larger in number, although Leonhardt was confident that he could win the final victory, he would not be able to have such a beautiful record.
Since the mastermind behind the attack wanted to attack An under the protection of the escort team, and with a limited number of people, he must not rely solely on soldiers and generals, as that would be futile.
Leonhardt was prepared for a hard fight, but he didn't expect victory to come so quickly.
He looked at the armor scattered on the ground. The styles are patchworked here and there, and when put together they look very ugly, but the quality is passable.
Giving these equipment to this group of people is undoubtedly a waste!
After the victory, he should have pursued the victory with sufficient strength, but the enemy was so incompetent that Leonhardt began to wonder if this was another bait.
"Chase."
Leonhardt was startled when he heard An's voice.
"But……"
Leonhardt was just about to remind An that this might be a bait, but then he realized that the situation on the battlefield was clear at a glance. Since he noticed the abnormality, it was impossible for An not to notice it.
The matter was urgent, and An did not spare any words: "Destroy these enemies to the maximum extent, and wait until the terrain changes before shrinking the formation. During this period, be sure to be careful of enemy counterattacks... They are just an addendum, the real battle is not here."
There was only one sentence of explanation, but Leonhardt understood it immediately, and he immediately passed on the order.
After receiving the order, the convoy members immediately mobilized their horses to chase down the fleeing enemies.
Under the silent pursuit of the escorts, some of the deserters ran away on two legs and screamed exaggeratedly. They immediately stopped shouting, climbed on the nearest horse, or used trees to cover themselves, and began to flee quickly. His skills were nothing like those of someone who had been injured and defeated and fled.
Leonhardt noticed this scene and narrowed his eyes, his thoughts were true.
"Why did they do this? Wouldn't it affect the morale of the military?" Hairen asked doubtfully as he observed the situation from the other side of the car window.
"I don't have military morale in the first place, so what's the impact?"
The current situation of the battle has been decided. An withdrew his gaze, returned to his seat and sat down.
"Have no military morale?" Hairen realized something and widened his eyes, "These five hundred people are all bait?!"
"Yes, those who mingled with the deserters to create a rout are the best proof." An held Miku's palm with both hands and smiled at her before continuing to talk to Kaito, "But it's not like those two hundred people. At first. It was to invade the east and west, and now it’s to make us relax our vigilance.”
As a prince, Kaito is not as proficient in military affairs as Leonhardt, but he is not completely untouched. He quickly figured out the cause and effect, and covered his mouth with some fear, his fingers trembling slightly.
Most of the members of the troupe are smart, have traveled around the world, and have seen a lot of things, so they won't be ignorant when they hear the conversation. But because I am not good at this aspect, I am still a little confused.
Mei Ke rubbed her forehead in distress and said, "An, please explain."
Miku also looked at Ann.
Most of the people in the carriage looked at An, waiting for his explanation. Most of the people's eyes were puzzled, and some had other meanings.
"I was about to say..." An laughed and said clearly, "You didn't see the situation outside, but you should have heard the conversation between me and Lian, and my actions just now."
"This attack was divided into two waves. The first wave had more than 200 people, and the second wave had more than 300 people. The former was a bait to attract the escort troops to concentrate on one side. If it really succeeds, then in the second wave of three hundred When hundreds of people arrive, the escort troops will be mobilized hastily, and we may be in danger."
Jerry, who was listening carefully, suddenly looked at Liliana and said, "That's true. Even if nothing happens to us in the end, it will cause conflicts between us."
If you encounter danger several times, even the most arrogant and generous person will become dissatisfied. This dissatisfaction can easily be further amplified in extreme circumstances!
And if these dissatisfactions are poured out on a certain person, the innocent person will also be dissatisfied with the victim.
Going back and forth, conflicts will gradually accumulate, and the best case scenario is that both parties are strangers to each other.
"Hmph!" Otoru sneered, "You underestimate us too much. How could we be hostile to our friends because of something like this!"
Liliana, whose hands and feet were cold, felt warm in her heart when she heard what Otoru said, and her face became much better. She already felt guilty that the theater troupe was in danger. If the worst happened, she would be under great psychological pressure.
Under tremendous pressure, no one can guarantee what they will do.
"Cunning guy." Liu Ge, who knows the warmth and coldness of human relationships, can better understand the viciousness of this strategy.
Cracks in interpersonal relationships are the most difficult to mend. Under today's crisis, a small crack can expand into an abyss accidentally.
"The enemy is very difficult." Mei Ke sighed.
Everyone had the same feeling, because everyone knew that this was not the end, what An was going to say next was the focus.
"This first move, let's call it 'attacking in the east and attacking in the west'. The purpose is very insidious, and if it succeeds, it will hit us hard. But I guess the other party didn't have high expectations for this first move, and just made it casually. It doesn't matter whether he succeeds or not in the first move. He puts his main focus on the second move."
Under Miku's gaze, An said calmly.
"My basis is the terrain here and the people who were yelling while running away just now."
"Terrain..." Jerry suddenly said, "I'm telling you! How did these people ambush in this forest! Logically speaking, the terrain of the ambush site should be as complex as possible, such as crossing the town we are about to arrive, and then going further There was a valley in front of me. I expected to be attacked there."
The route the motorcade took back was similar to the one the theater troupe and others took when they arrived. At that time, Jerry and Ann were driving. When passing by this area, it happened to be Jerry's turn. He still remembered the surrounding terrain.
"I see, the first hand is a bait to make us relax our vigilance, and the reason why we choose this place is not to waste the best option of arranging the second hand..." Jerry already understood.
Xiao Yue, who was beside Liliana, looked at Jerry with some admiration in her eyes.
"...That's right." An settled for a moment before nodding.
"But, but, what are those people who are creating the momentum to flee for?" Enliu jumped up from Liuge's arms and asked.
Everyone looked like they had almost understood, which made her a little unconvinced as she was still a little confused.
Jerry looked at him "lovingly" and touched her hair: "It's to preserve her strength."
"Conserve your strength?" Otoru's eyes widened, "Shouldn't it be more important to preserve your strength than to maintain your morale? Isn't it counterproductive to scream and run away?!"
"The momentum of the rout was not created for our own people, it was staged for us to see." Seeing that the silly sister still didn't understand, Jerry sighed.
"???"
Otoru's face was filled with questions.
She knew her brother wouldn't speak nicely, so she simply looked at An.
An didn’t sell it either:
"Looking at the people who attacked us just now, with their fighting strength and discipline, they are probably bandits who were summoned together. Regardless of the means for the time being, these people can only be recruited to make up the number."
"In order to ensure a certain level of combat power to make the attack look a little more like, it is necessary to include soldiers who have undergone formal training to fill the facade. If the plan goes well, they will be transformed into the main force. Including those who create momentum, it is estimated that the same one of them."
"But as an opponent of the escort team, the accumulated combat power is still not enough. The defeat and failure of the bait is a high probability event. In order to ensure sufficient combat power for the implementation of the second-hand plan, it is necessary to ensure that the first-hand plan is participated in People who plan to survive as long as possible.”
"Then here comes the question. Since the 'make an attack in the east and attack in the west' in the first-hand plan is a move that is not taken seriously, it means that the enemy attaches great importance to us and thinks that we have the ability to see through this move. Those who can see through the scheme must be good at it. A thoughtful and cautious person." An looked at Yinliu, "What would such a person think if he noticed that someone among the fleeing enemy troops was deliberately creating momentum?"
Yinliu slowly showed a look of surprise, clapped his hands and said, "I am worried that the other party may have another plan, and plans to use the fleeing enemy troops as bait to lure me to the place where I am ambush in advance!"
An showed a smile of praise: "If such an idea occurs, the victorious party will not send troops to pursue. In this way, the escapers will complete their mission and preserve their strength to the maximum extent."
"Bah! My heart is so dirty!" Yin left a deep sense of empathy and cursed angrily.
The atmosphere in the carriage suddenly became strange.
An Dang said nothing happened and continued: "So we continue to pursue in order to weaken the enemy to the greatest extent in the subsequent battle. Of course, in order to prevent the enemy from actually setting up an ambush with the fleeing army, we will not pursue too far. , gather your formation before the terrain changes."
Only now did Yinliu realize that what she just said seemed to have included An, who had seen through the enemy's plan. She waited awkwardly for An to finish speaking, and immediately praised: "An is really amazing, he easily saw through the tricks of those bad guys. The strategy is so stable..."
"Pfft...haha." Jerry couldn't hold it back.
He opened his mouth, and the laughter in the carriage started one after another.
An, who was smiling, noticed that Miku beside him was motionless. He turned his head and saw her looking at him worriedly.
Are you afraid that I can't deal with such a cunning enemy?
An patted Miku's hand and whispered: "No problem, isn't my current performance exciting enough?"
Miku felt a little relieved, but still kept a straight face: "Huh, stinky!"
