Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1311 - 1309: The Plan

"You deceived us? What do you mean?" the Gray Robed Man asked.

"Isn’t it true? The intelligence you provided earlier clearly stated that the Alliance Central Army could easily be defeated. But when we followed your advice, it was completely different," Black Shadow said angrily. "Not only did we fail, but because of your intelligence, too many elites were concentrated in the Central Army, leaving the wings too weak, leading to their defeat by the Alliance Army!"

"So, you’re going to blame it all on me?" the Gray Robed Man sneered. "If truth be told, you’re beyond hope. Yes, I did give you such intelligence, but I also told you to wait twenty minutes before launching a full attack on the Alliance Central Army, so that they could be defeated. Even if you couldn’t secure a quick victory, you wouldn’t have lost so miserably.

Instead, you acted arrogantly, mistrusted my intelligence, and prematurely sent small forces to probe, then increased your numbers gradually. Do you realize that this gave the Alliance Central Army time to prepare? Even with a full attack afterward, you couldn’t achieve the desired effect.

Don’t say your Central Army was defeated before it could attack; even a delay wouldn’t change much. From the start, you acted wrongly, with overconfidence; how could you expect to win?!"

"I—" Black Shadow was rendered speechless by the rebuke.

The Gray Robed Man, exuding an intimidating aura, slowly approached, forcing Black Shadow to retreat step by step.

The Gray Robed Man spoke, half mocking, half admonishing: "I know, from the beginning, you never fully trusted us. But ask yourself, what good has this doubt brought you? Aside from wasting energy and time, was there ever a time when our intelligence wasn’t absolutely accurate?

If we truly intended to trap you, would we wait until now? If we hadn’t provided the Alliance’s marching routes for you to avoid, your main forces would have been mostly annihilated by the Alliance half a month ago!"

"..."

Black Shadow was completely silent, lost for words.

"Alright," the Gray Robed Man looked at Black Shadow’s demeanor, exhaled gently, and softened his tone, "I’ve taken a risk to meet you here, not to say these words. My main purpose is to remind you, to help you recognize the situation, to know who you should trust. If you can stay clear-headed, you’ll have a chance to fight against the Alliance."

"Really?" Black Shadow asked, skeptical. "We’ve lost Kasha City, almost half of our territory is gone. The opponent can use Kasha City as a stronghold to continue advancing deeper into Sika given the convenient roads. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

In other directions, our forces don’t have much advantage against the Alliance. If the opponent wins a few more battles, Sika might have to consider changing its national name. The situation now is at its worst; can we really still fight?"

"I’m not as pessimistic as you are," the Gray Robed Man replied, "Quite the opposite, I think the situation is not bad at all, and actually favorable.

Indeed, the Alliance’s army has been victorious, advancing to this point and capturing Kasha City in such a short time. But on the other hand, their army is extremely fatigued, and their supply lines are stretched to the limit. The Alliance is like a giant with immense power but on the brink of starvation, perhaps only needing a small stone to trip and bring them down."

"So, what should we do next?" Black Shadow asked.

"In a moment, I’ll send you out of the city. You will convey my message to your Royal Family. Tell them to contract their lines, avoid engaging with the Alliance, continue to retreat, and wait for our signal.

Soon, within three to four days, or at most seven to eight days, we’ll offer you a perfect opportunity. You’ll concentrate your forces to launch a deadly strike on the Alliance’s weak points, breaking their encirclement.

After breaking through, we’ll offer intelligence support, enabling you to deploy a small number of elite troops onto the lost territories. There, being familiar with the terrain and with civilian support, you can effectively disrupt the enemy’s supply lines.

This way, within days, the Alliance army will be forced to retreat. At that point, you’ll seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack. If the enemy is unprepared, there’s a good chance you’ll turn the tide and win.

Even if they are prepared and you can’t inflict heavy casualties, you’ll greatly improve the current disadvantage, gaining more breathing room. After all, this is your homeland. If you hold on, the final victory will ultimately be yours."

The Gray Robed Man said slowly, as Black Shadow listened, his eyes brightened, seeing new hope. He turned to speak to the Gray Robed Man.

The Gray Robed Man gestured for silence and firmly said, "Enough. I know you just want to say some pointless words. Save them for your Royal Family, I’ll get you out of the city now."

"Uh..." Black Shadow was momentarily stunned.

"Oh yes!" The Gray Robed Man paused, contemplating something, and revealed the wooden box he had just received, as if knowing exactly what was inside. "This, you cannot take. It must stay behind."

"Hmm?" Black Shadow widened his eyes, slightly agitated. "Why? This cannot be left to the Alliance dogs!"

"No, it actually must be left for the Alliance," the Gray Robed Man explained. "Only by letting them get the head inside can they be sufficiently arrogant, overly enthusiastic, and towering overconfident. That’s how their failures later will be sufficiently tragic and ultimately fatal."

"But that would defile General Long Deshitaide..."

"Defilement? No, it’s an honor," the Gray Robed Man declared seriously. "I believe, if General Long Deshitaide knew that his remains would be so useful after his death, he would have chosen this without hesitation."

Black Shadow hesitated, his expression showing struggle. After several seconds, he agreed: "Alright."

In fact, he had no other choice; with the wooden box in the Gray Robed Man’s hands, he had no power to seize it.

"Good, it seems our cooperation begins with a promising start once again," remarked the Gray Robed Man after hearing Black Shadow’s answer, then he led the way to the door. "Let’s go, I’ll take you out. My time is tight. Once I take you back, I must hurry back to headquarters, as I don’t want to expose myself yet."

Black Shadow quickly followed, disappearing with the Gray Robed Man into the thick night.

Shortly after their departure, a small squad of Soldiers, escorting a First-level Wizard, patrolled to this location. After a brief inspection, they found nothing and turned into an adjacent alleyway, shaking their heads.