Chapter 438

Second Day in Plafard
To probe the actions of Prince Corinius, we deliberately made camp right next to Plafard.
As a result, by the next morning, the enemy army had walked right into our trap.
Yep, a big haul.

"I'm the one saying this, but who would've thought that with Lily and her familiars, just shifting the patrol focus during camp would produce such splendid results."

"Humans really are surprisingly simple, aren't they? You'd think they'd suspect something if the defenses were thinner in a certain area."

"That's not something an army can afford to consider."

Marquis Vardmoi explained it to me, but I still didn’t quite get it.
This time, we intentionally left a gap in the patrols on the flank side of Plafard, and set it so that Tarachnathos's web would drop there. Apparently, that was enough to catch nearly all of them.
We left the timing to the Kiblinki Saltas, and even any who slipped through were caught by them too.
It seems no enemy soldiers escaped.
Ambushes really are strong—go us.

"Marquis Vardmoi, sir! The interrogation of the prisoners is complete!"

"Good. Speak."

"Um, is it all right? Lady Lily and her escorts are present..."

"Now’s not the time to be saying that. It was Lily who suppressed the night raid this time. There’s no need to keep secrets. It’s faster to share the intel here and formulate plans accordingly."

"Understood. The army that attacked us appears to be composed of soldiers directly under Credrius. There were no troops from Duke Plafard’s forces among them."

"Is that so? I’d heard they were being used for city defense, so I’d assumed some of the Duke’s men would be mixed in."

"It seems Duke Plafard’s troops are moving rather sluggishly. Apparently, the Duke himself issued orders for them to focus solely on defending Plafard and refused to go on the offensive."

"Hmm..."

Marquis Vardmoi put a hand to his chin and fell deep into thought.
It really is odd for their movements to slow down at a time like this.
If they were really thinking about city defense, this would be the perfect time to launch a night raid.

"… Marquis Vardmoi, may I have a moment?"

"What is it, Lady Plum? Don’t tell me—"

"One returned. They came to report the situation."

"Understood. You all, leave us. We’re holding a private meeting."

"Yes, sir!"

After all of Marquis Vardmoi’s soldiers left, a member of the vampire tribe, who had been acting as part of a separate unit in Plum’s shadow, suddenly emerged.
Did something go wrong?

"Reporting in. We have secured Duke Plafard’s secondary residence and successfully rescued the hostages."

"Is that true!?"

"Yes. However, due to the large number of people, it will be difficult to move them through the city unnoticed. Please enter the city and draw attention. During that time, we will relocate all the hostages to the inn we prepared."

"Understood. I’m counting on you."

"Yes. Now then."

She vanished again, melting into the shadows.
In any case, this makes our next move perfectly clear.
Our job is to march straight into the city and become a flashy distraction.
Either way, the deadline for the response is approaching, so I might as well just stroll in confidently.

What do you think about this chapter?