Although not at the same time, it was at the same old oak tree root.

The two giants of the Knight Order (Grand Master, Knight Commander) and many Knight Commanders gathered again.

But compared to eight days ago, there were nine fewer Knight Commanders present.

Not all had died, four were injured, three were overseeing battles, and one was too stubborn to come.

Compared to nine days ago, Emmerick's expression was even more grim.

Since the incident with the women's clothing, they had fiercely attacked Ladan Castle for a full five days, and today was the sixth.

For six days, they hadn't managed to capture the first breast wall defense line and were repeatedly counterattacked.

Currently, seven Knight Commanders were dead or injured, and of the more than three thousand elite Extraordinary Knights who arrived this time, only over two thousand five hundred could still fight.

In the battles, out of tens of thousands of soldiers, nearly three thousand were dead or injured, and cases of desertion appeared to varying degrees.

Whether in close or long-range combat, the soldiers were almost no match for this group of Holy Alliance Army, even developing a Holy Alliance phobia.

As for those mountain folk on Dusk Bell Mountain, they were even more detestable!

These mountain folk scattered soldiers, when idle, would run to the camp to harass.

They dared not cause trouble in the knights' camps but instead specialized in harassing and setting fire to the soldiers' and peasant soldiers' camps.

Over several days, this left the soldiers' and peasant soldiers' camps in fear and chaos.

Last night, it almost led to a chain explosion in the camps, with over three hundred soldiers and nearly a thousand peasant soldiers attempting to flee.

It was the Border Knights who acted, finally capturing back over two hundred soldiers and more than seven hundred peasant soldiers.

Though the Border Knights and many soldier leaders could still rely on willpower to hold on, ordinary soldiers and peasant soldiers were gradually unable to sustain.

"The attack was too hasty." Knight Commander Cosme spoke first, "The casualties are too high, and there was no time for the soldiers to rest."

"But if we don't attack quickly, the time will run out." One Knight Commander retorted.

"If we choose to attack, time will inevitably be tight; we must either abandon the assault or extend the time." Cosme explained with some patience.

The Knight Commanders looked at each other and had to acknowledge Cosme's point given the facts.

They originally thought that with the combat power of the Border Knights, it wouldn't be hard to capture this small Ladan Castle if they just mustered determination.

But the facts proved not only was it not a small problem, but it was quite a big one.

As it turns out, a fierce assault was out of the question, and they had to switch to a slow method of burying fortifications and digging transport paths.

On the usually proud faces of the Knight Commanders, there was a look of helplessness and anger.

They didn't actually care about whether they had to do messy work themselves; it's just that they were knights.

For them, the most exhilarating and skilled was cavalry warfare on vast plains like the Shattered Stone Plain.

In the end, they were blocked by Bear Chomping Castle and Ladan Castle, two fortresses that couldn't even house two thousand defenders.

Not only was cavalry warfare impossible, but even infantry warfare was a luxury.

Every day's attack involved forcing soldiers and peasant soldiers to fill ditches, clear fortifications, and dig transport paths.

In the past, everyone avoided reconnaissance missions, but now the Banner Captains were vying for them.

At least this allowed them a bit of time in the saddle, instead of toiling hard near Ladan Castle.

"Come on, speak about any gains." The Grand Master deliberately spoke, pouring salt on these Knight Commanders' wounds.

"...We filled some potholes and trenches, and killed quite a few enemy soldiers."

"...My banner launched an assault yesterday afternoon, capturing the west section of the first breast wall defense, but due to delayed support from allies, we had to withdraw." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Don't spew nonsense. How long did you hold the west section, and how many got inside? We barely took a few steps before you got pushed back!"

"You are a knight, an Extraordinary Knight at that, and couldn't cover that few dozen meters? My good lads were wasted."

"You—"

"What's with the shouting? Haven't I enough to worry about?" Emmerick slammed his hand on the tree root, sending wood chips flying.

The two bickering Knight Commanders immediately fell silent, and instead, Knight Commander Cosme quietly said, "In the past two days, I've been interrogating the captured prisoners."

"How is it?"

"Among the Guerrilla Hunters on Dusk Bell Mountain, we captured over a hundred, but only about thirty on the frontline." Cosme hesitated, "The Guerrilla Hunters provided no useful intelligence, but among the thirty or so regular prisoners from Thousand River Valley, five have chosen to surrender and cooperate..."

"Any valuable intelligence?"

"I'm not sure if their words are true, but supposedly the Holy Grandson is currently inside Ladan Castle."

"The Holy Grandson? Demon Monk Horn? That mad Pope?" Emmerick asked three times about Horn's title.

"Are you sure this news is true?" Another Knight Commander still couldn't believe it.

"Not sure, but after repeated verification, there must be a big figure inside the castle, even if not the Holy Grandson, then the Saintess."

The Knight Commanders instantly became excited and even started whispering in front of the Grand Master.

Originally, they were having a tough time in this battle and were unlikely to get any reward.

But if they could capture the big figure in the castle, it would be worth more than any spoils.

To this day, the highest capture by Leia's Chao Character Army had only been at the Corps Commander level.

Like those higher-level Gatekeeper Monks or Battle Commanders, none had been captured.

If they could break the fortress and capture a Saintess or Holy Grandson, then the hardships they've endured wouldn't be in vain.

While the Knight Commanders were excited, they didn't notice a flash of anger on the face of the esteemed Grand Master.

"Whether it's the Holy Grandson or the Saintess doesn't matter." Emmerick raised his voice, "What matters is whether we can break the fortress."

One sentence from Emmerick cast a silence over all the fantasizing Knight Commanders.

At the current pace, in about three weeks, they would have exhausted all their knights.

A fierce attack led to fast casualties, while a slow attack couldn't be sustained due to supplies, leaving them in a dilemma.

The incident with the knights in women's clothing had raised the threshold for enduring damage among many hot-blooded Border Knights, but Emmerick couldn't really wait until that threshold was reached before retreating.

"Here's the plan, rest for three days to restore morale, but don't stop burying trenches." Emmerick stood up, "If we haven't captured the first line of defense in three days, we'll withdraw!"

The two Knight Commanders next to him trembled at the lips, about to speak, but were silenced by Emmerick's fierce glare.

"As the Grand Master, I have an unshirkable duty to the continuation of the Knight Order." Emmerick finally made up his mind, forcibly driving the order forward.

If he continued to let these dreaming Knight Commanders keep fighting, they'd surely burn through all their capital.

"Emmerick Grand Master." At this point, it was instead the Knight Commander who stood up to persuade, "Don't be so hasty, nine-tenths of the victories in war are determined by willpower, maybe if we endure a bit more, we might win."

"Yes, yes, Lord Emmerick."

"If we retreat now, we'll become the Knight Order in women's clothing."

"Even if we can't break through and have to retreat, at our speed, do you think the people in the castle can chase us?"

A vein twitched on Emmerick's forehead, and he was about to invoke the authority of the Grand Master to suppress everyone.

"My Lord!"

Before he could speak, he saw a knight tumble off a horse and rush to Emmerick's side.

"Grand Master, the rear horse camp was raided by the Guerrilla Hunters from Dusk Bell Mountain!"

As a rare Great Knight, Emmerick moved like a phantom around the stump, with those around not even seeing his action.

"Say that again!"

"The horse camp was raided by Guerrilla Hunters, all over ten thousand square meters of refined fodder was burnt, nearly all four thousand warhorses..."

The rest of the words Emmerick could no longer hear, he could only hear endless ringing in his ears.