I only wanted to retire, but I ended up becoming an extremely popular character.

"Great! Excellent!" Captain Spent laughed heartily. "Now I have to admire Colonel Xavier's foresight."

He laughed heartily, as if a weight had finally been lifted from his heart.

When Captain Spent learned that the garrison in Tono Village was a lieutenant from the Holy Kingdom, he actually opposed Colonel Xavier sending Zod on such an unequal mission.

Not only was the success rate of the mission taken into consideration, but also Zod's life and safety.

Colonel Xavier, however, remained steadfast, even stating with a degree of certainty, "He can do it."

Because of those two words, Spente couldn't say anything more.

Since it was Colonel Xavier's judgment, he had no choice but to believe it.

Now that he heard that Zod had not only completed his mission but also returned safely with his team, Spente could hardly hide his joy.

He was happy to have completed the mission, and also proud of Zod, a subordinate he had personally trained.

However, as he laughed, his gaze lingered on Zod's face for a moment, and then the smile gradually faded.

"What's wrong?" Captain Spent frowned. "Zod, what happened?"

He immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Zod's face showed no sign of relief at completing the mission; instead, his brows were furrowed, and his expression revealed a hint of seriousness.

"Captain Spinter!" Zod lowered his voice. "Let's talk in private."

He gestured to the side and led Spente to a nearby ruin that was half-collapsed.

There was no one around, only broken walls and ruins blocking the view into the distance.

The sounds of artillery and gunfire were still frequent, but at least there was no need to worry about being overheard by others.

Zod knew that what he was about to say was not suitable for ordinary soldiers to hear.

Rumors in the military are a terrible thing.

If the news spreads in the army that at least one division of Holy Kingdom reinforcements is approaching, it won't take long for the rumor to evolve into "at least ten divisions are surrounding us."

"Speak!" Captain Spent said solemnly, his gaze fixed on Zod. "Did you find anything on the way?"

Zod paused for a moment, then asked, "First, I'd like to ask, what happened to your Wingwave Messenger? I haven't been able to contact you."

Captain Spent explained, "That's because the Holy Kingdom used a large number of 'jamming' wave messengers to block communications around the city of Sallom. We usually call it 'full-band jamming,' and the purpose is to prevent us from communicating with the outside world."

He took out a Winged Messenger from his pocket and tried to call Zod with it, but facing Zod who was so close, the Winged Messenger could only make a "rustling" sound.

Spent continued, "This is the state of the Wingwave Messenger under 'full-band jamming,' completely unable to conduct any communication."

"Full-band blocking?" Zod asked in confusion.

This was the first time he had ever heard of it.

Spinter briefly explained the meaning of "full-band blocking" to Zod.

Zod nodded thoughtfully.

He was relieved that Captain Spinter had not suffered any mishaps.

Then, he took a deep breath and recounted everything he had seen and heard during his "reconnaissance" trip:

"Southwest of the city of Sallom, I personally witnessed at least one full division of the Holy Kingdom reinforcing the city."

"That was no small force, but a fully-organized division, equipped with artillery and supplies, and marching in a clear direction: toward the city of Sarlom."

"Not only that, the Holy Kingdom's garrison on the entire southwest flank is increasing, and even those remote locations that originally only required a small number of troops have had more outposts set up and a considerable number of troops gathered."

"This is only the information I can confirm. Is there only one division reinforcing the southwest flank? Are there more reinforcements on their way from the rear or other directions?"

"I have no way of knowing whether troops are also being redeployed to the northwest flank."

He looked up at Spinter, his tone growing increasingly serious: "But what if we consider the worst-case scenario..."

Spinter did not speak.

But his back was already covered in a layer of cold sweat.

He subconsciously pinched his chin, looked towards the still fierce battle in the square in the distance, and fell into a brief silence.

"One division..." Spinter began slowly, his voice much lower than before, "...we can handle it."

"Colonel Xavier still has reserves, plus the strength of three corps, so even if we fight head-on, we are not without a chance of winning."

Captain Spent paused, his expression growing increasingly grave: "But what if we consider a worse scenario? What if the Holy Kingdom has more than one division? What if they simultaneously reinforce their troops in multiple directions—the southwest and northwest? What if this network is larger than we imagine…?"

"Our 'Imperial Blade' legion, thinking itself the hunters, may actually have already been drawn into the encirclement woven by the Holy Kingdom."

"And we are still completely unaware of it."

Since Captain Spinter understands the implications, that's even better.

Zod said solemnly, "Please convey my words to Colonel Xavier! I will go with you, and I will take full responsibility for what I say."

"No, I will take you to Colonel Xavier. You must report to him personally, since you were the one who witnessed it firsthand. If I relay the information, its credibility will be greatly reduced."

It wasn't that Captain Spinter was trying to shirk responsibility. If he wanted to, he could have simply told Colonel Zod where he was and let Zod go there himself.

He had agreed to go with Zod to report to Colonel Xavier, so he had no intention of staying out of it.

Indeed, the credibility of a witness's account versus a relayer's account is drastically different.

Zod happened to be a young officer whom Colonel Xavier valued, so it was only fitting that Zod report on the relevant situation.

"Alright, I'll report to Colonel Xavier then!"

Captain Spinter's words made sense, and since Zod's life was at stake, Zod had no time to back down.

"Zod, come with me!" Captain Spent walked ahead, with Zod following closely behind.

Cassius and Hitis followed Captain Spente's orders and rested in place, awaiting further instructions.

On the way, Spent began to tell Zod his views on the battle: "Lieutenant Zod, I don't know if you are aware of this, but the preparation and launch of this war were very rushed. Due to certain special reasons, Colonel Xavier had to launch the war hastily."

"The main theme of the entire war was only one goal—'swift victory'—to capture the city of Sallom as quickly and fiercely as possible, before the Holy Kingdom could react."

Zod surveyed the battlefield, shells whizzing overhead every now and then, and added:

"But the current situation has turned into a tug-of-war, a war of attrition. The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us, and the more likely the Holy Kingdom will be to free up its resources to deal with us."

"That's right!" Captain Spent nodded thoughtfully.

Spinter was well aware that once the Holy Kingdom realized what was happening, it was only a matter of time before they sent reinforcements to Sallom.

The information Zod provided merely confirmed his suspicions.

Then, Zod suddenly stopped, turned around, and asked in a deep voice, "In your opinion, if the Holy Kingdom sends troops to reinforce Sarlom, will the Empire send troops to reinforce us as well?"