142 Entrapmen (2/2)

…

Meanwhile, in the castle, John Senior and John Junior sat facing each other, and beside them stood a number of young military officers.

The fire in the fireplace blazed brightly, illuminating everyone's faces.

Amidst the occasional crackling sounds, John Senior said, ”Now the Golden Sons have finished their assembly early, and they have also dug many long trenches two or three meters wide and deep near the docks, one after the other, such that there are ten, forming a semi-circular entrenchment that protects their docks—the warhorses will never be able to rush through. Moreover, they have also placed wooden planks on the trenches, so regular people can walk around freely, but our warhorses definitely can't. The load while carrying men is too heavy, it will collapse once they get on.”

A few young officers showed disgust. ”This kind of tactic is only for cowards; those Golden Sons have no chivalry at all. War should be fought upright. How incompetent are they for using this method to restrict our cavalry?”

The crowd all looked depressed.

They actually knew very well in their hearts that they could only say this in front of their own people, and if it really got out, it would be a wonder if the other nobles and lords didn't laugh to death.

If John Senior's battle tactics were truly upright, he would have emphasized heavy cavalry and would not have given crossbows to the cavalry.

It was nothing more than trying to take advantage of the mobility of the light cavalry to curb the deaths and injuries. This kind of fighting style was clearly one of the cowardly tactics they were talking about.

Especially John Senior: he thought that the light cavalry under his command was invincible, but the other side dug a few trenches and fatally limited his strongest fighting force.

After a moment of silence, John Senior said, ”I've fought and led for more than twenty years, and I've seen trenches before, but they were only used to keep out mages from intense fireball bombardment. Usually, there would only be one horizontal line that our cavalry can pass over in one jump. But the trenches made by these Golden Sons are ten in a row, and even the best horseman can't spur a horse to jump ten trenches in a row. And the distance between the trenches is too short. It's clear from this aspect that they know how to deal with cavalry.”

”I, however, think they didn't realize that this was the way to deal with cavalry. Perhaps they were just thinking of digging more trenches, and in the event of a battle, they could burrow into the earth and escape like rats.”

The young officer laughed after he said this, but no one echoed him, and he quickly shut his mouth in embarrassment.

”The fact that the other side didn't use cheval de frise, but this more prudent method, shows that they have at least learned how to conduct a war.” John Senior thought about it and said, ”This could be Roland's ploy—he's a mage, erudite, so it's not surprising that he has some military knowledge.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Even in a hostile relationship, they would acknowledge the erudition and mysteriousness of spellcasters.

But in reality… this decision was made by Hawk, who was the second-in-command of the guild, often taking over the command of large-scale PKs in games, and had also taught himself the art of command and military tactics and formation theories over time.

Digging multiple long vertical trenches against cavalry was as basic as it could be.

”Do you have any methods to force them out of the docks?” John Senior looked at the others expectantly. ”Otherwise, we'll have to fight a drawn-out war with them. While a long war would be good for us too, it would have a great effect on our reputation, and outsiders would say that we can't even defeat a few hundred beggars and four professionals.”

Everyone shook their heads.

They couldn't think of the right method at the moment.

There were four professionals on the other side: a mage, a priest, and two warriors.

Two were Elites, and the other two warriors were close to Elites.

Moreover, the other side had the geographical advantage, and in that situation, even if the infantry were to charge forward regardless of their lives, they probably still wouldn't be able to make it through.

Instead, the soldiers would just die in large numbers.

After all, the infantry in Delpon really wasn't very good.

Everyone sighed long and deeply.

At this moment, a scout trotted in and said, ”Mayor, there's movement on the target. According to our observations, they seem to have gotten into an argument, and the two spellcasters left the dock on a small boat, heading downstream.”

John Senior's eyes lit up. ”Really?”

This scout nodded vigorously. ”We can guarantee this one hundred percent.”

”An argument is beneficial.” John Senior stood up. ”Send a message for our navy to come down from upriver at once and go and sink those two men into the river.”

John Junior said somewhat worriedly, ”Father, I'm afraid this is a ploy.”

John Senior waved his hand. ”It doesn't matter even if it is a ploy. As long as they separate, whether it's a ploy or not, it's a wrong move. Separating the troops means dispersing the battle force. Immediately have the infantry and archers leave the city and surround them.”

John Junior felt something was wrong, but couldn't find a suitable reason to contradict his father, so he let it go.

The other officers ran excitedly out of the study to carry out John Senior's orders.

Then John Senior turned his head and said, ”Son, help me with my armor!”

[1] Meme; PY is the first letters for the words anus/friend in Chinese, essentially a dirty/scandalous trade, or simply a trade between friends

[2] Describes the Spanish Empire and British Empire

[3] An Old Chinese name for Japan; gentlemen, in this case, refers euphemistically to perverts