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"People have many flaws, and greed is the most dangerous of them," Ian remarked. Finally, he understood why Sir Wylis Ward had been penniless for more than half a year in the original story.
If Sir Wilder had chosen to raid the remaining group in the fishing village, they could have at least seized the treasures there. But, unfortunately, he hadn't.
In the end, judging by the results in the original work, no matter what plan Sir Wilder had chosen, it was bound to fail.
"That's what I said back then," Sir Wylis Ward said, rarely offering his support for Ian's thoughts. "After the caravan left, we should have attacked immediately, and the treasures they had hoarded in the village would've been ours. But Wilder refused to act."
"And it turned out that I was right, didn't it?" Wilder countered. "They're still stationed there, and there hasn't been a ship to pick them up. This means they'll wait until all the treasure is transferred to the fishing village. Only then will their ship arrive!"
Wylis Ward didn't seem convinced by Wilder's explanation, but he held his tongue, not contradicting him again.
"So your plan is to wait until the other side has transferred all the treasures to the fishing village and then catch them all at once?" Ian asked, piecing together Wilder's strategy.
"That's the gist of it," Sir Wilder nodded.
"Alright, then what is your full plan?" Ian asked, wanting to analyze it further.
Since he already knew the opponent's plan would fail, as long as he could figure out why Wilder's plan would fail, he could turn defeat into victory.
"First, we maintain surveillance of the abandoned fishing village to ensure nothing unusual happens," Wilder began.
"Are you sure the enemy hasn't noticed you?" Ian asked.
"Yes," Sir Wilder answered. "We occupy a secret high ground outside the village, and the group left behind has never sent anyone out."
"How many people did you deploy?" Ian pressed. "If you want to wipe out the opponent, you'll need to summon the full strength of the Knight Alliance. But if you're doing that, I'm confused—why not just ask Martha to help you recruit foreign knights? You won't need to sneak around."
"No, Sir Lucien, I did not summon anyone from the Knight Alliance," Wilder replied. "First, such an action would be too large-scale and might alert the enemy. And second..." Wilder hesitated, his expression darkening as he looked Ian in the eye, clearly deciding against hiding the truth.
"Second, I suspect we have an internal problem. While we always like to blame the mole on the Black Falcon Mercenary Group during our gatherings, I know that the mole is actually within our ranks." Wilder's face darkened even further after he spoke.
"A mole on your side?" Ian questioned. "But how did 'Black Falcon' Morgan find out about it?" He then asked, "Do you have any evidence to support this theory?"
"I thought you'd ask about the Black Falcon mercenaries," Wilder said, surprised by Ian's question. "You've always been thorough in your inquiries."
Ian simply nodded. "I have other sources of information, Sir. I recruited several mercenaries from the Black Falcon Mercenary Group in the past, and they've told me some things."
"You recruited Black Falcon mercenaries?" Wilder's interest piqued. "Then do you know what's going on with them? I heard Morgan died, and there was internal strife at their camp the night before yesterday. Did you hear anything about that?"
"I know very well," Ian replied. "I got first-hand information about Black Falcon's death, and I also got direct intelligence about the internal strife among the Black Falcon mercenaries."
"I heard that Sir Harrison did everything to compete for the position of Grand Master," Ian casually concluded, quickly moving on to drop the subject. He figured that would be the most likely explanation for the situation, and he had no intention of lingering on the matter.
"Now, let's talk about our own problems first." Ian smoothly redirected the conversation back to Sir Wilder's Knight Alliance. "What makes you think the mole comes from within our ranks?"
Sure enough, hearing Ian's question, Wilder stopped focusing on the Black Falcon mercenaries and turned his attention back to Ian's inquiry.
"After we parted ways with the Black Falcon mercenary group, one of our operations was leaked. At that time, Sir Wyli's brother, Sir Karn, discovered some clues about the other side. So we organized an operation, but it was entirely made up of our own people. Yet, it still ended in failure."
"So, how many people participated in this operation?" Ian asked, frowning. He was skeptical of Sir Wilder's strength. Even though the number of ghosts in White Wall City wasn't large, they were all cavalry.
The lightly armed guards Ian had just seen in the manor didn't stand a chance. Without at least three to five times the enemy's strength, they would be doomed, even with superior tactics or terrain.
Wilder began to explain, "My son and I, our retainers, 12 cavalry, and 40 infantry from our family. Sir Wylis and his brother, Sir Cregan Stark, brought 4 cavalry and 15 infantry from their family. As well as some of the knights I recruited through Martha—she made sure to find men from the Riverlands and other renowned families outside King's Landing."
"But you forgot to tell her not to recruit knights from overly powerful families," Ian said with a smile.
Wilder suddenly looked embarrassed. "Oh, Sir Lucien, please don't bring that up again."
"Of course, we're allies now," Ian responded generously.
"Martha helped me recruit a number of men, including Ser Beric Dondarrion, the second son of Lady Sheela Dondarrion from the Stormlands, and six of his companions, all cavalry. Two sworn swords from House Fossoway of New Barrel City in the Reach, along with their squires, and a mercenary knight from House Bulwer in the Reach—his group is called the Four Freedoms Riders."
Ian nodded as Wilder continued, "And then, you and your two heavily armed attendants. I can't call Rohr and Case knights, but it wouldn't be right to treat them as mere servants when calculating combat effectiveness. After all, none of the knights in my team are as well-equipped as they are."
"So, where are the others now? I didn't see them in the manor."
"We've deployed most of our men in an abandoned village to the north of the manor, closer to the abandoned fishing village."
"So, is this all your deployment?" Ian asked, still a bit concerned. "I'm worried this might not be secure enough."