“And once we accomplish this task, everything else will fall into place. Remember, Lieutenant Ben, a huge portion of this plan will rely on your precise timing. If I can't stall the enemy for long enough, then we can only retreat, regroup, and make another plan.” Baron warned everyone in the room.

 

“Understood, sir. Shall we get ready to meet at the rendezvous point?” Ben asked in an impatientent manner.

 

“Have the men eat their breakfast, if they haven't already, and then have them take down camp. We leave in two hours.” 

 

“Just leave everything to me.” Ben and the other officers left the big tent to complete their tasks. Soon enough, two hours had passed, and Baron’s army had set up in rank and file.

 

Baron looked back at his troops, then turned around, leading his men. 

 

“All troops, forward march!” 

 

Baron whipped his horse’s reins, and his army marched in pace behind him.

 

Baron, Lieutenant Ben, and the other officers led the army from the front of the vanguard. Given that they wished to conserve their soldiers’ energy, they set off at a slow walking pace. 

 

Continuing at this speed, they would reach their target location around noon. Then, they would set up camp, and begin their siege of the city in the afternoon.

 

They had just reached the halfway point to the city when a messenger whispered something in Ben's ears. The latter pondered for a moment before riding up to Baron’s side.

 

“Sir,” Ben said to get Baron's attention. “It seems our scouts have located a new point of interest in the terrain northeast of our current location, and it doesn’t seem to be shown on the map!” Ben exclaimed excitedly.

 

“A new point of interest? I'll have to go take a look then. Ben, keep leading the march.” 

 

Lieutenant Ben nodded. “As you command.” 

 

“Messenger, lead the way. Three hundred cavalry on me!” Baron yelled before galloping away with the messenger, accompanied by hundreds of horsemen. 

 

After riding for a short bit, the messenger slowed to a halt.

 

“We’ve arrived, General Baron.” The messenger respectfully said to Baron as they arrived at the foothills of a U-shaped steep incline only a few meters high. The incline was surrounded by many trees, as it was at the edge of the forest. 

 

“Hmm.” Baron hummed with satisfaction. “Excellent work! This discovery could prove very useful.” Baron continued to survey the land around it and played multiple simulations within his mind to see how best to turn this newfound discovery into an exploitable advantage. 

 

Officer Rick spoke up. “Sir, if this terrain is so advantageous, will we be changing our plans?” 

 

“No, not yet at least. We'll stick to the original plan and use this place as a backup if we have to.” After another little while Baron had finally figured out why this location hadn’t been marked on the map, it's because the other places he had visited were cliffsides and medium-sized hills whereas this place was fairly normal, just with a steep incline. 

 

“This has been a fruitful trip, but it’s time to return. All troops, back to the main army!” Baron shouted. 

 

In the time Baron had used to scout this additional point of interest, his men had already reached the rendezvous point, and were preparing to assault the city.

 

---------------------------------------------------

 

Yue Fei impatiently tapped his foot as he looked upon “Why haven't his forces arrived yet? They've exceeded my estimates by several hours. Could it be that Baron still hasn't thought of a strategy yet? He may be new to this simulation but he shouldn't be this slow, right?” Yue Fei thought aloud.

 

At this moment, Lieutenant En entered the room. “Sir, we have received word that the enemy army is approaching...but...” 

 

His voice trailed off.

 

“What is it?” 

 

“Well, our scouts estimate that the incoming army only consists of about five thousand soldiers. The enemy General was spotted at the forefront.” 

 

“Five thousand? What can their five thousand do against us? Is Baron underestimating me...or is something...hm.” Yue Fei’s voice trailed off as he looked out into the distance.

 

Returning to his senses, he said, “Well, no matter. Even if Baron has some special strategy, I'd very much like to see what he has up his sleeve. Lieutenant En, prepare the soldiers for battle. Although it’s past optimal hours for a siege, it won’t hurt to be safe.” 

 

“Leave it to me, sir.” 

 

As Lieutenant En left, Yue Fei chuckled to himself. “Let's see what you can do, Baron.” 

 

--------------

 

In Baron’s camp, they’d just finished setting up camp about three kilometers away from the city walls.

 

Officer Rick asked Baron, “General, will we launch an offensive today?” 

 

“Yes, I'd like to test the waters before we begin our true offensive,” Baron replied. 

 

“Split the infantry into two groups. Two hundred will stay by my side, while the other twenty-eight hundred will siege the city with me during the daytime.” 

 

Through his day and a half of experience in the simulation, Baron had realized that he didn't want for food or sleep. He just needed to rest his mind occasionally. This meant that he, and Yue Fei, could operate at all hours of the day and night. 

 

But, this perk wasn’t applied to their troops — thus, Baron had to think about how to best utilize his troops around the clock.

 

Officer Rick left the room, then returned after a short while.

 

“Sir, the preparations are complete.” 

 

“Alright, have our troops surround the city walls and mount offenses. Don’t commit the infantry too much, but have the archers fire to their hearts’ content. We have no shortage of arrows.” 

 

“Yes, sir.” 

 

Baron tapped his fingers. “Be quick about it. We have at most three hours of sunlight left.” 

 

“Yes, sir!” Rick left the tent and could be immediately heard barking orders at the top of his lungs. In just thirty minutes, the sounds of war could be heard from the city.

 

The two sides clashed for hours, until Baron sounded the horn for retreat. This opening clash had told Baron a great deal about Yue Fei’s characteristics and strategy.

 

Similarly, once Baron's archers were within range they too let loose numerous arrows into the ranks of people on the wall at an astonishing rate. One arrow is unlikely to kill someone unless it hit them in vital organs, but with this many arrows who's to say? The two sides clashed for two hours before Baron sounded the retreat signal. The sun was about to set, and their opening clash had allowed Baron to grasp some of Yue Fei’s characteristics.

 

Baron had seen that Yue Fei hadn’t appeared on any of the four walls. Baron reckoned that since his stats were that of fifty men, Yue Fei’s strength had been similarly increased. Yet, he hadn’t shown himself on the front lines. This meant that Yue Fei was likely acting as a “Back-line” strategist. If this continued to be the case, then Baron's initial plan would be completely useless. 

 

Baron frowned as he prepared to address his officers. “Night is about to set. Once camp has set down, have the infantrymen you picked out earlier join me at the front of the camp, along with two hundred fresh mounts.” 

 

“Yes, sir!” Officer Rick responded, then quickly left to complete his task. Just moments later, Baron and his soldiers set off quietly from the camp, riding towards the walled city.