#796 - Intrigue (asking for monthly ticket recommendation ticket)

Inside the battlefield instance, after the first wave of engagement, the attacking team had been completely wiped out, while the defending members were methodically clearing the battlefield.

"Hehe," Ron stood on the hilltop of Stronghold Two, beaming with pride, "Those guys are nothing special, they were routed in a single exchange. I'd say the advantage for the defending side in this instance is too great. Not only do we start with all strongholds providing merit points and serving as respawn points, but we can also deploy personnel in advance."

"I advise you not to be so optimistic," Draco, also on the defending side, approached him. "At least judging from the result of this battle, we didn't gain much advantage."

"Are you out of your mind? We annihilated them all, isn't that an advantage?" Ron glanced at Draco with dissatisfaction.

"No, Draco is right," Hermione also shook her head with a solemn expression. "You need to know that in this instance, there's not much loss from being killed. What we need most is time. The best outcome of the ambush just now would have been to stall them, but the battle ended in less than 5 minutes."

"But what does that prove?" Ron raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"It proves the opposing commander isn't stupid."

Wood, the commander of the defending side, had arrived at the front line unnoticed, and took over the conversation, "It seems Percy also sees through the essence of the Battle of Hastings. It's actually a game of trading lives, the key is who trades lives more efficiently."

Then Wood looked at Hermione, "What was the situation earlier? Were our casualties high?"

"The entire battle lasted less than 5 minutes, we lost 22 people, and the enemy was completely wiped out."

Hermione answered truthfully, then glanced anxiously at the fire that had not yet been completely extinguished.

"The trouble now is that the terrain on the hillside has been severely damaged. Even if we put out the fire, there won't be many natural shelters available for the next battle, and the mountaintop is completely bare, which will gradually increase our defense difficulty."

"Hmm..." Wood nodded, "Percy's reaction was very timely. Knowing he was ambushed, he decisively gave up retreating and cut his losses in time, laying the groundwork for the next battle."

Ron immediately became uneasy upon hearing their explanation, "Then what do we do in the next battle? Do you think they will launch another all-out attack?"

"I hope they continue to attack Stronghold Two," Wood laughed, "We're not afraid of attrition warfare. After all, our respawn point is on the mountain, and our support speed is much faster than theirs."

"That's not safe either. Although we have the advantage of terrain, there aren't many shelters on the mountain, and it's easy to get into trouble if we fight head-on," Draco said hesitantly.

The larger the group battle, the smaller the role of individual bravery. In comparison, the importance of terrain and shelters is obviously greater.

"Don't worry, we gained a lot of merit points in this battle. I've already exchanged for a large number of sandbags to build trenches. It's just that our strategic military equipment is biased towards defense. I'm a little worried about whether the other side's military equipment has corresponding countermeasures. After all, the items in the merit list are quite astonishing."

"Judging from the results of the battle, their merit gain this time shouldn't be high," Hermione murmured, "In comparison, what's more worrying is... will the other side change tactics and let go of Stronghold Two, prioritizing the capture of Stronghold Three?"

"What's there to worry about?" Ron said dismissively, "What we need to do is delay time. As long as we build Stronghold Two into an iron bucket, it's not impossible to just spend this one hour."

"It's not that simple!" Wood shook his head, "If the other side controls two strongholds, the most direct impact is the merit point production. Their merit increase speed will be greatly accelerated, which also means our merit point growth will decrease."

"With this increase and decrease, the gap in military equipment will be widened. The power of those strategic materials is not small, and there are many hired beasts that can directly change the situation."

"In addition, when the other side has two strongholds, it means they can attack us from two directions. If we are surrounded on the mountain and they use large-scale magic to carpet bomb us, we won't be able to hold on for long."

Draco was shocked upon hearing this, "Then should we allocate some troops to garrison Stronghold Three?"

"We definitely have to allocate some," Hermione lowered her head with some worry, "The problem now is how much to allocate. If too few people go, it's like sending food. If too many people go, what if the other side chooses to go all out and attack Stronghold Two?"

"This won't work, that won't work, why do I suddenly feel like we're the losing side?" Ron sighed speechlessly.

"Hermione is just bringing up the possible problems in advance, so there's no need to worry so much," Wood smiled, "The core issue now is actually intelligence. I've already arranged for two groups to sneak over as reconnaissance teams, and I've also arranged for two squads who just died to respawn at Stronghold Three."

"Once we discover the other side's movements, we can adjust in time according to the enemy's decision."

"Ah?" Ron was shocked upon hearing this, "Wouldn't that mean a third of our troops have been allocated? What if the enemy launches another all-out attack on Stronghold Two?"

"Don't worry," Wood said calmly, "The two groups acting as reconnaissance teams are also mobile units. If they find that the situation is not good, they can actively attack and then die to participate in the defense, so what we really lack is only two squads."

"Similarly, if the enemy allocates most of their troops to Stronghold Three, then we can just push out and use our superior forces to take back Stronghold One."

"I see," Hermione nodded, "Then the next step is to react to the situation and adjust according to their movements."

"That's right, this battle is essentially an intelligence war and a resource war!" Wood looked at Stronghold One in the distance, "Next, it depends on the choices of the two commanders."

On the other side, the dead wizards gradually respawned in Stronghold One. Everyone looked a little dejected. After all, they had just been suppressed and slaughtered, and they couldn't muster any morale.

"I'm sorry, it was my misjudgment that led to this defeat," Percy faced the crowd waiting in the stronghold and sincerely apologized.

"What we need to do now is quickly get our revenge! I don't want to be looked down upon by those guys on the other side."

"That's right! Hurry up and give the order. It doesn't matter how many times we die, I just can't stand their arrogant faces," Ginny, the hot-tempered girl, was also pacing anxiously.

"Don't worry," Percy shook his head with a wry smile, "I just figured out the trick to this instance. It seems Wood and the others are preparing to use Stronghold Two as their main base. It would be unwise for us to rush up and fight head-on."

"Then you mean, we should first take down Stronghold Three?" Neville suggested.

"We need to take it, but we can't use too much force," Percy pondered for a moment, then looked up at the distant mountaintop, "What do you think Wood is thinking?"

"He definitely won't sit idly by and watch us take Stronghold Three, he will definitely try to counter us," Cedric stroked his chin and guessed, "Maybe they have already arranged for people to garrison there."

"Doesn't that mean they have loopholes in their defense now?" Ginny's eyes lit up, "In that case, let's do the opposite and launch another all-out attack on Stronghold Two!"

"No!" Percy shook his head, "It's too difficult to take Stronghold Two head-on, and I don't think the other side will station too many people in Stronghold Three either."

"I guess Wood will choose no more than two squads, which is 8 people."

"Then we'll arrange for three squads to sneak attack Stronghold Three and prioritize taking it down? Our squad can take on this task," Harry suggested.

"No, your squad's combat power can't be wasted in this place," Percy shook his head again. "Sending one more squad will leave a shortage of manpower on Stronghold One. If they take the opportunity to counterattack from a high position, we may not be able to withstand it!"

"Then what should we do?" Ginny frowned worriedly, then asked in confusion, "But how would the other side know how many people we sent to Stronghold Three?"

"This is the key point that determines victory or defeat!" Percy immediately became energetic when he said this, "I guess Wood must have arranged for one or two squads to go down the mountain to be responsible for reconnaissance."

"If we launch an all-out attack, these two squads can quickly return to defend through suicide attacks. At the same time, if we arrange for too many people to seize Stronghold Three, they can quickly react and launch a counterattack."

"So!" A cold light flashed in Percy's eyes, "What we need to do first is to eliminate the enemy's eyes! Only in this way can we take the initiative!"

"How do we eliminate them?" Harry's eyes narrowed, and he became murderous.

"With these!"

Percy stepped aside, revealing several items hidden behind him, which were 5 flying brooms. Obviously, he had exchanged them at some point.

"Cedric, Harry, Neville, Ginny, I'm now giving you a very important task," Percy pointed to the flying brooms, "I need you to use the flying brooms to find the enemies scattered in the wilderness from the air and eliminate them one by one."

"At the same time, I will also arrange for a wizard to fly a flying broom to Stronghold Three to scout and find out the opposing forces deployment."

"As for the rest, they will be divided into three groups and launch harassing attacks on Stronghold Two in a staggered formation to contain the enemy's attention, consume their energy, and further destroy the terrain, and also prevent the opponent from continuing to send reconnaissance troops."

"So your mission is very important!" Percy looked at Harry and the others solemnly, "As long as you eliminate them in time, the manpower I arrange can avoid the opposing reconnaissance and take Stronghold Three!"

"Good idea! We understand," Cedric approved of Percy's arrangement and immediately led Harry and the other two towards the flying brooms.

"You have to be careful!" Percy exhorted again, "This set of flying brooms cost all of our current merit points. If it's all for naught, we'll be passive."

"And the opponent is likely to have similar exchange items. We can't occupy the air supremacy for a long time, so the most important thing about this task is speed. The other side must be using all their resources to fortify their position. If they also exchange for air power, we will lose our intelligence advantage."

"Don't worry!" Ginny, the youngest of the group, patted her chest confidently, "We guarantee to complete the mission. After removing the ground reconnaissance troops, we will find a way to establish an air defense line and never let their hands reach out of that tortoise shell!"

"Okay!" Percy nodded with satisfaction, "It's good that you have such awareness. Hurry up and take action. The frontal troops must also set off immediately, so as not to give the opponent too much time to react."

Soon, the members of the attacking and defending sides acted according to their respective strategies.

The attacking side was divided into several batches and launched wave after wave of attacks on Stronghold Two.

Although these scattered attacks did not bring too much pressure to Wood and the others, this continuous offensive forced them to be on guard at all times.

At the same time, due to the attacking side's continuous destruction of the terrain, the mountain road leading to Stronghold Two had been beaten into potholes, and the trees on it had been destroyed.

In this way, although the field of vision during defense became better, it also made it difficult for them to counterattack. The unobstructed terrain made exposure too obvious.

Moreover, the attacking side's wave attacks were not without trouble for the defending side.

After repelling the attacking side's 4 attacks in a row, several wizards touched the forefront of the trenches.

Among them, Harry's roommate Seamus Finnigan, after rushing into the trench, unhesitatingly cast a Thunder Explosion Spell, instantly dying with 5 defending wizards, which also caused a small riot.

"What exactly are Percy and the others trying to do? It's really inexplicable," Hermione, who was in the trench, wiped the mud splashed on her face and cursed, "What's the difference between this kind of attack and sending them to their deaths? Don't they want to win?"

"I can't understand it now either, but I have a bad feeling," Wood, who was also in the trench, frowned in confusion, but after receiving a certain message from the headset, his expression suddenly changed.

Then he rushed out of the trench non-stop and came to the cliff on the side of the stronghold, constantly looking out with binoculars.

Hermione on the side was a little confused, and then followed and asked quickly, "What's wrong?"

"Percy and the others actually have flying brooms!" Wood cursed while anxiously scanning the sky, "A squad responsible for reconnaissance just had an accident. According to the news that came back, they were attacked in the air by Harry and Neville!"