Chapter 153: Fellow Villager, Lead the Way
"The troops of Count Carisova have not yet reached the point where they are required to organize a defense line?"

Lisabel forced Moralich to return to the headquarters. After working for several months, Moralich finally found an opportunity to take a vacation, but before he could rest for two days, he had to end his vacation.

Originally, everything seemed to be on the right track in the principality. The resistance fighters were being driven towards the territories of the noble groups that did not obey him. The negotiations with the elves were also going smoothly. From now on, everything just needed to proceed according to plan. It seemed that Morarichi no longer needed to intervene and make any arrangements.

However, within two days, he had to appear at the headquarters again.

"Count Carisova has concentrated all of his mobile troops around the castle where he is. He did not mobilize them according to our request."

He was a noble who had surrendered from the Wind Whisper Kingdom, and he seemed to be frightened.

After the resistance led by Lisabel successfully broke through the defenses of several villages and manors in succession and hanged the nobles of those places on the charge of "treason", Count Carisova hid in his castle and never came out again.

"Tell him that there is a mountainous area to the west of his territory. If the resistance fighters are allowed to take root there, he'd better stay in the castle for the rest of his life. Tell him to at least transfer some of his troops to the designated location."

Morari did not have much expectations for these surrendering nobles, but the behavior of the earl still exceeded his imagination of a waste.

He never expected that the noble's troops could stop Lisabel's resistance. Their role was just a one-time human roadblock, appearing on the route of the resistance when needed, forcing them to turn around. Or forcing the resistance to spend some time and cost to remove these "human roadblocks".

This would allow the real pursuers under Moralich to get closer to Lisabel.

"Sir, we are very familiar with this mountain range. It looks like a cliff, but there is actually a place where the slope is not that steep. There is a small path, and a force of several hundred people can walk there."

Lysabelle was in front of the resistance fighter, studying the map in front of him with him.

This resister had just joined them and just a few days ago he was a woodcutter.

Lisabel's action of hanging those nobles received additional support from the locals. Ever since the defeat of the Windwhispering Kingdom, these nobles who surrendered early on have been exploiting the villagers more and more harshly recently. If the military force they wielded was not far stronger than that of the villagers, they would have been hanged on the gallows by their own subjects long ago without waiting for Lisabel to arrive.

The villagers provided supplies to Lisabel's troops, and many young people took the initiative to join the ranks of the resistance.

These villagers, who are familiar with the local terrain, bring new possibilities to Lysabel.

In order to supply these villages, Lisabel had to choose to fight with the guards of these small nobles. Although those guards did not cause them too much trouble, it still took some time to break through the low walls where they were stationed.

Originally, Lisabel had prepared herself to spend another month or two to put some distance between herself and the pursuers.

But now, it looks like it won’t take that long.

"They'll probably set up a perimeter there."

Lisabel drew a line on the map, which completely overlapped with the defense line drawn on the map of the Morarichi headquarters. Although she had not received formal military training, through actual command in recent times, she had been able to rely on her instinct to know where the other party had deployed their defense line, which could limit their range of maneuver to the greatest extent.

Only one or two hundred people and well-prepared fortifications would be needed to keep Lisabel and her group firmly outside the mountains, forcing them to take a detour.

If they took a detour, no matter which route they chose, it would not be out of Moralich's expectation. Next, they could only follow Moralich's plan and be gradually driven to the plain, fighting with those nobles who were not very interested in the principality. In the end, Moralich got the advantage and it was easy for him to pick peaches. "Which pass?"

The resistance fighter next to him frowned?

"Are they completely unaware of the situation there? After the last earthquake, the rock walls on both sides have become very unstable. Even we dare not walk there when we enter the mountain."

This kind of information should be updated on the map, but it seems that the nobles here haven't conducted on-site inspections of their territories for a long time.

"But that is the only entrance that could allow a large force to enter the mountains."

The resistance fighter beside him nodded. Even though he made a living in the mountains, he could not find any other entrance that could allow hundreds of people to enter the mountains at once.

"Most of the time, there's no problem. If you just stay there quietly, it should be safe."

Lysabel realized what the resisters meant.

"Then, if we can make a little noise, it means that place will become less safe."

The resister nodded.

The Count's troops were now setting up fortifications at the pass.

Although they followed a timid and cowardly lord, the commander of this army was quite professional and remembered to build simple fortifications first and then consider setting up camp to rest.

After all, as long as they are not completely useless, these nobles still know that the armed forces in their hands are the basis for maintaining their rights.

The king's appointment only gave them some legal reasons to rule these territories, but if they really thought that these laws could protect them, then the best outcome for them would be to become those landless nobles hiding in the city. After two or three generations, they would be completely degraded and become commoners if they were lucky. If they were unlucky, they would become beggars.

In order to maintain the strength of their armed forces, these nobles would basically look for powerful adventurers or retired officers from the kingdom's army to train and command the troops in their own territories.

"You don't need to pay too much attention to the passes on both sides. If you want to get there, you have to go around for at least ten kilometers. And according to the map, the small paths that lead up probably can't support a troop of more than 20 people."

The Count finally surrendered to Moralich and sent 500 men to guard this place. He didn't want Lisabel to take root in this complicated mountainous area and let him live in fear of being hanged from then on.

This was the maximum number of troops he could mobilize while maintaining the garrison around the castle to give him a sufficient sense of security.

He "fully" mobilized one-tenth of the castle's garrison. Now, around the small castle, 4,500 soldiers were patrolling day and night to provide the earl with a sense of security.

But the commander of the pass was already accustomed to this. Five hundred men were enough to guard the pass. Jesse Lai only needed to establish the formula step by step, set up guard posts, and obstacles and traps to delay the enemy.

As long as the resistance really chooses to attack head-on, they can at least delay until the pursuit troops behind the resistance arrive.

(End of this chapter)