After the Pannonia Alliance Army settled down, they vigorously built siege machinery while sending people to closely scout the situation in the "Mercenaries" camp, all the while waiting for reinforcements from the rear.
Meanwhile, the Nix Tribe showed no reaction to the commotion caused by the Pannonian Army these days, remaining holed up inside the camp with tightly shut gates.
"Great Captain!" Adobag ran hurriedly into the camp, waving and shouting even before he reached Pequot.
Pequot frowned. Ever since he last reprimanded Adobag, the young man had behaved much more steadily in recent days. But today, why is he all agitated again!
Then, he saw another scout running over, panting heavily, with an anxious look on his face.
He immediately sheathed his finely polished short dagger, hung it at his waist, stood up, and asked, "What have you discovered?"
"Great... Great Captain!" Adobag gasped for breath and said, "A large... group! There are many carriages... all loaded with food, and... many of our people, but the enemy... not too many..."
Pequot looked at the other scout, Lapuzas, who was an old soldier that followed him from Turi, a Great Greek with experience in reconnaissance. Importantly, he could do calculations; however, due to unfamiliarity with the terrain, he was temporarily assisting Adobag.
Lapuzas quickly chimed in, "Great Captain, this group indeed has a lot of people, and the supplies they are transporting are considerable. There are more than 30 carriages, all carrying food, approximately 2000 Skodisqi men... ahem... people, their hands and feet are bound with ropes, and there are over 600 Pannonian warriors escorting them, but no heavy infantry."
"Over 600 Pannonian warriors..." Pequot mused.
Adobag anxiously urged, "Great Captain, 600 is not many, and they’re spread throughout the entire group, while we can concentrate and strike at one point as you’ve trained us, then eliminate them batch by batch—"
"What do you know!" Pequot yelled sharply at him.
Adobag immediately cowered into silence, casting a pleading look towards Lapuzas.
Lapuzas made no gesture, but softly said, "Great Captain, before we left the camp, the leader instructed you to try to delay any assaults on the enemy’s rear, so that the enemy can attack our camp without reservation, thereby consuming more of their forces...
But these past few days, the western enemy hasn’t launched an attack on our camp. I wonder if... they are waiting for these escorted Skodisqi people?"
Pequot’s gaze suddenly sharpened as he fell into contemplation.
The issue was actually quite clear; he had just received the news and hadn’t had a chance to think it through. With Lapuzas’s reminder, he immediately realized: the Pannonians typically used Skodisqi slaves as cannon fodder and to charge first in battles. This time, they hadn’t assaulted their encampment, yet they were now transporting these Skodisqi slaves over, likely to use them as cannon fodder again to storm the camp.
In the camp are so many new Skodisqi soldiers. They surely wouldn’t want to strike lethal blows at their own compatriots, just guy next to him. By that time, the leader would be in a difficult position. Should he try to induce defections again? But the enemy has already been fooled once; they wouldn’t fall for it again...
Adobag saw Pequot standing with a thoughtful, unpredictable expression on his face and couldn’t help but try to speak again, only to be held back by Lapuzas, who shook his head at him.
After a while, Pequot finally made up his mind: since the battle conditions had changed, he had to deploy earlier. As long as the assault was successful, he believed the leader would not only not blame him for disobeying but would instead be grateful for him eliminating a major headache!
"Where is this transport team now?" Pequot asked in a deep voice.
"They’ve just set camp at that Dry Fish Village (referring to the Anrotas tribe, nicknamed because their tribesmen like to hang the fish they catch from the river on wooden walls to dry). Tomorrow they will certainly continue along the river. At their pace, they’ll probably reach the first village we captured (referring to Wallis’s village) by dusk."
Pequot bent down, picked up a branch, and drew a simple outline of the midstream of the Kupa River on the ground, then added three small circles at different points along the line, representing three Pannonian villages... Ever since he became the leader of this surprise attack force, he personally came out to scout enemy positions on several occasions and was already quite familiar with the terrain there.
He stared at the ground for a moment, tapping a spot with the branch, and said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow morning we’ll ambush the Pannonian transport team here!"
Lapuzas glanced down and was a bit surprised: "This... This is where we ambushed the enemy last time. I’m afraid they’ll be on guard!"
"Don’t worry, even if they take precautions, they’ll still have to pass through here." Pequot tapped the ground confidently and said, "This location is far from both the Dry Fish Village and Bear Head Village (named after Wallis once personally hunted a black bear and hung its head above the village gate, boasting his bravery), making it difficult for them to send reinforcements in time.
Moreover, it’s a very good place for concealment, making it hard for the enemy to spot us, otherwise the leader wouldn’t have chosen this spot for an ambush in the first place.
By then, we’ll divide our forces into two parts, concentrating our attacks on the head and tail of the transport team. Amidst the confusion, we’ll insert a few of our new recruits into their ranks to rescue their compatriots, working with us to completely defeat the enemy!..."