Surprising breadth of vision

The Bastion stands on the eastern edge of the Crimson Lake Forest, once the domain of the Osgrey family. However, with the decline of the Osgrey family and the death of its last heir, it has fallen under the control of the Rowan family.

However, being somewhat distant from the Rowan family's Golden Tree City, the care of the Bastion has been entrusted to the Weber family of Coldhowl Keep.

However, the Weber family is more inclined to manage their own Coldhowl Keep and pays little attention to the Bastion. Over time, it has fallen into disrepair, inhabited only by some refugees.

Although the Bastion has fallen into disuse, it doesn't mean it lacks value. In fact, for smugglers, the Bastion's location is ideal. Situated at the tail end of the Western Range Mountains, the Bastion provides a secret mountain passage that bypasses the border patrols of the Riverbaylands, reaching the Cornfields City in the Western Territories.

Only seasoned smugglers know of this secret passage. To ensure its secrecy and unimpeded access, they have even disguised themselves as refugees occupying the Bastion.

However, now all the smugglers disguised as refugees within the Bastion are hanging on wooden stakes within the castle, as a military force of three hundred has crowded the relatively small area.

From their equipment, it's evident that this force consists of one hundred regular soldiers and two hundred irregulars.

The regular soldiers are relatively well-equipped, each wearing leather armor and carrying various types of weapons. They also have dedicated logistics teams to provide for them.

The irregulars, on the other hand, wear all sorts of clothing, some reinforced for added defense, others simply laced with wooden planks for makeshift armor. Their weapons vary greatly, mostly spears made of wood, with a few pitchforks and sickles thrown in. Aside from a few captains, almost no one carries a sword, indicating that they are likely ordinary farmers conscripted temporarily.

Although this force intentionally conceals their banner, some of the knights bear obvious insignias indicating their affiliation with the Klayne family from Red Lake City.

At this moment, some figures emerge from the only intact hall within the castle. They are all knights, adorned in exquisite plate armor, with most of them strutting arrogantly, resembling proud roosters.

Among them, two figures stand out. One is the tallest among them, surrounded by others, likely the leader of the troop. The other walks behind them, the only one without a helmet, and slightly shorter than the tallest. However, what truly draws attention is the trio of claw marks running from his forehead to his cheek, rendering his once-handsome face somewhat ferocious.

This troop is none other than the one organized by the Klayne family to eradicate the remnants of the Dragon household hiding within the Red Lake Forest. The leader of the troop is none other than the renowned Sir Joel Flor.

Originally, this troop should have been coordinating with the Rowan family from Golden Tree City and the Oakheart family from Old Oak City to exterminate the remnants of the Dragon household within the Red Lake Forest. However, they have unexpectedly ended up on the edge of the Red Lake Forest, stationed at the Bastion, a move that perplexes many.

Not only are outsiders puzzled, but even the knights and squires around Sir Joel are also confused. However, during the movement of the troop, their trust in Sir Joel prevented them from asking any questions. Now, after two days of staying here, someone finally voiced their confusion.

"Milord, how much longer must we stay here?" a knight-squire asked anxiously. "Shouldn't we be inside the Red Lake Forest, exterminating those Dragon remnants?"

Upon hearing the knight-squire's words, Lynd, who was following behind the crowd, cast a meaningful glance at the knight-squire. It was evident that the knight-squire's deliberate use of the term "Dragon remnants" for the band of bandits who had strayed to this place had ulterior motives. After all, compared to combating bandits, eliminating the Dragon remnants would garner more attention and favor from the new king, Robert Baratheon. Correspondingly, the achievements made during the elimination process would also be more prominent.

Joel, the knight, naturally noticed the knight-squire's thoughts, but he had no opinion on the matter. In fact, upon hearing the bandits from the Red Lake Forest themselves claiming to be remnants of the Dragon family, he had already sensed something amiss. Undoubtedly, in the presence of a strong new king, they needed to do something to please him and demonstrate their current stance. At the same time, it would prevent the new king from causing them trouble.

"Our purpose here is to eradicate bandits," Sir Joel replied simply, casting a brief glance at his squire.

However, the surrounding people still didn't understand the connection between their presence at the Bastion and the eradication of bandits, and their expressions remained puzzled.

Seeing this, Joel couldn't help but sigh, patiently explaining, "If you were surrounded by enemies, and suddenly discovered a gap in the encirclement, what would you do?"

The squires glanced at each other, and one of them attempted to answer, "I would send someone to check if the gap is safe. If it is, I would lead my men to break through from that gap. Milord, am I right?"

Joel didn't respond but simply nodded slightly, continuing, "If you break through and find that all the retreat routes are very dangerous, and only one route is relatively safe, allowing you to completely avoid enemy blockades and quickly move to a safe location, and this route is also extremely secretive, known to few, what would you do then?"

"We would..." someone immediately tried to respond, but halfway through, he stopped, seeming to realize something. He then said, "Your meaning is that those Dragon remnants would break through from this side of the Bastion?"

Joel nodded, not hiding anything anymore, saying, "There is a secret smuggling mountain pass near the Bastion that can pass through the Western Range Mountains, directly bypassing the surrounding areas of Red Lake City and reaching the outskirts of Cornfields City in the Western Territories. There are likely many smugglers among those bandits, and they are bound to know about this smuggling passage and use it to escape the siege."

Upon hearing Joel's words, the knights also became excited, as it was evidently the best opportunity for them to achieve merit. However, one of the knights expressed concern, "I remember there are hundreds of bandits, and even if they suffer some losses during their escape, they will still outnumber us. Moreover, many of them are remnants of the Dragon family's defeated soldiers, who have rich combat experience. Can our small force withstand them?"

The knights' excited expressions gradually faded upon hearing this, and their faces became serious. Although they wanted to make achievements, the premise was that they could survive on the battlefield.

After some thought, someone proposed, "Coldhowl Keep, the Weber family's stronghold, is not far from here. Why don't we go there and request assistance?"

This proposal was quickly agreed upon by the knights, and they all looked to Joel, waiting for his command.

However, Joel said nothing, merely gesturing for everyone to follow him, and continued inspecting the situation of the various troops within the castle, as if he hadn't heard the proposal just now.

Joel's actions puzzled the knights, but they didn't have the courage to continue questioning him, so they silently followed him.

Soon, the group had inspected all the troops, and Joel issued his orders. Before they returned to the main hall, Joel instructed his knight-squires to each lead a squad to scout the surrounding terrain, searching for suitable locations to intercept the fleeing bandits.

However, before instructing the knights to leave, Joel called out to Lynd, who also intended to depart. With only the two of them left in the castle hall, Joel asked Lynd, "What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?" Lynd was momentarily confused, not understanding Joel's intention.

"About seeking assistance from the Weber family," Joel elaborated.

Lynd hesitated for a moment before saying, "Shouldn't you be asking someone else about such an important matter?"

"I want to hear your opinion now," Joel pressed.

Lynd didn't mince words either, saying directly, "I think we don't need to seek assistance. The Weber family should send someone to support us voluntarily, probably later tonight."

Upon hearing Lynd's response, Joel, who was slouched in his chair, straightened up with keen interest and asked, "Explain why the Weber family would voluntarily support us?"

"It's simple, to clear themselves of suspicion," Lynd gave a succinct answer, then elaborated, "After those bandits plundered the caravan of the Rowan family, they directly passed through the Weber family's territory without any interception. Allowing these people to enter the Red Lake Forest. Anyone can feel that there is something wrong with this. So, even though the Weber family is so close to the Red Lake Forest, there are no members of the Weber family among the forces summoned by the Rowan family of Golden Tree City this time. It shows that the Rowan family of Golden Tree City no longer trusts their subordinate family. If the Weber family doesn't want the Rowan family to hold them accountable later, then they will definitely need to be more proactive and assist us in eradicating the bandits, even at the cost of manpower and resources, to completely eliminate these bandits and leave no excuse for anyone to make trouble."

Joel was very surprised by Lynd's detailed answer, but he concealed his emotions well and continued to inquire, "Is that all?"

Lynd was silent for a moment before continuing, "The reason you stationed at Bastion, besides being the only way out for those bandits, is also to create an illusion for the Weber family, making them think that you were sent by the Rowan family to monitor them. In this way, they will be more inclined to assist us in eliminating the bandits."

At this moment, Joel could hardly conceal his astonishment, casting a strange look at Lynd, as if he were looking at a monster rather than a young man of fifteen or sixteen years old.

Without a doubt, Lynd's performance just now far exceeded the normal standard. Even if it were scholars or old knights who had undergone specialized training and had rich experience, they might not possess his insight and analytical ability.

Taking a deep breath to calm his unusual feelings, Joel asked again, "Do you think the Weber family has any connection with those bandits?"

Lynd shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter now whether there is a connection. What's important is that the Weber family must prove that there is no connection."

"But I want to know if there is a connection," Joel insisted.

After a moment of contemplation, Lynd said, "Personally, I think those bandits were secretly supported by the Weber family. It's just that the Weber family didn't expect those bandits to be audacious enough to rob the Rowan family's caravan and even kill an important member of the Rowan family. I believe that when those bandits passed through the Weber family's territory as usual, they should have kept some thoughts to themselves, not informing the Weber family of the truth, intending to drag the Weber family down. By the time the Weber family received the news and realized that something was wrong, it was already too late."

"Who taught you all this?" Joel stared at Lynd and asked, "This isn't knowledge a mere huntsman can acquire."

"This is thanks to my old man," Lynd naturally wouldn't tell the other party that he came from another world of knowledge and information explosion, nor did he say anything about being blessed by the warriors among the Seven Gods. Such words wouldn't have any effect on someone like Joel Forflower, and would instead raise unnecessary suspicions. So, he simply attributed everything to his father, Bain, as they had agreed upon.

Joel seemed to believe Lynd's words and said, "It seems he really values you. Not only did he find you a great swordsmanship teacher but also hired scholars to teach you. It seems he has placed all his unfulfilled wishes on you."

"Wishes?" Lynd curiously asked, "Sir, could you tell me about Mr. Bain?"

"He didn't tell you?" Joel asked back.

Lynd shook his head.

"To be honest, I'm not very clear either, just heard some rumors," Joel leaned back in his chair, reminiscing, and said, "Back then, both Mr. Bain and I participated in the Battle of the King's Guard besieging the Brotherhood of the King's Forest. I was with Lord Baelish and didn't have much contact with him. But on the battlefield, I saw him leading his spear squadron directly breaking through the defense line of the Brotherhood of the King's Forest, forcing them to retreat, ultimately leading to their collapse. Although in the eyes of others, various famous knights were the protagonists of that battle, and they were the ones who determined the outcome of the battle, but in my opinion, the real key influence on that battle was Mr. Bain's spear squadron."

"Father actually has such a glorious record?" Lynd was also somewhat surprised because during their time together, while Lynd didn't think Bain was ordinary, there still seemed to be a gap between him and legends. But now it seemed he had underestimated Bain's past. Just participating in the siege of the Brotherhood of the King's Forest was already legendary enough, not to mention earning merit in battle.