Chapter 108 Discussion
Now she had finally gotten close to Holden again, fighting alongside him on the battlefield, but then Anne showed up, insisting on making her presence known in front of them, bit by bit trying to lure Holden away!
Candy wouldn't allow that to happen.
She narrowed her eyes, a cold glint flashing through them.
Hanks beside her didn't understand what was going on, but he could sense the murderous intent radiating from Candy. He frowned. "What's wrong with you?"
"Hanks, I think Holden's having a change of heart."
Candy said in a low voice, "He's been so cold to me lately. Ever since my duel with Anne ended, he's been distracted. Even when I try everything to please him, he barely reacts."
"Just now someone walked by and mocked me. Holden clearly heard it. In the past, he would've rushed over to fight them immediately, but just now he didn't even look at me and just kept walking."
Hanks was stunned, "You think Holden's gotten mixed up with that Anne again?"
"I'm not sure, but I feel like there's something unclear between them. Maybe he's even been sneaking off to see Anne these past few days."
"That shouldn't be the case. I've seen him coming to training normally lately, and he hasn't gone to the Ivy Knights' side, or even to Lord Friedel's tent."
Candy felt a bit relieved, "Then please help me keep an eye on him. If he really goes to see that woman, I'll make them give me an explanation in front of everyone in the camp!"
"Alright!"
Holden had no idea about Candy and Hanks's agreement to monitor him, and he didn't really care.
He'd been really troubled lately, especially since Friedel had sent word asking him to come to the tent tonight to discuss the attack with everyone.
Going to Friedel's tent to discuss battlefield matters meant Anne would definitely be there.
Actually, seeing Anne wasn't strange - she was now the knight commander of the Ivy Knights, so it was normal for her to discuss matters with them. But ever since Candy lost to Anne, she'd been paranoid, even threatening Holden that if he and Anne were having an affair behind her back, she'd slit their throats in the night.
Holden was exhausted dealing with Candy. Though the king had transferred command of the Dawn Knight Order to Friedel, Friedel still left him to handle the daily training and troop assignments.
Originally, when Candy said she wanted to go to the battlefield and fight together, Holden was willing to let her go, but most of the knights were unwilling. They'd rather be assigned to other tasks than fight alongside someone who refused to accept defeat in a duel and was even rude about it.
"Lord Holden, we understand your desire to let Candy participate in battle."
A knight said, "But please understand, we're unwilling and unable to put our lives in the hands of such a person. This isn't just about being responsible for ourselves, but also about our honor. Being commanded by such a person would make me unable to hold my head up for the rest of my life."
"Yes, Lord Holden, you can't ignore our wishes just because she's your wife!"
"Anyway, I refuse to be led by Candy. If we must follow orders in battle, I'd rather be led by any of the other three knight commanders."
"Exactly."
Although Holden was the commander, he couldn't refuse most requests from the knight order just for Candy's sake. Fortunately, those who had followed Candy before still stayed loyal to her after the duel. Since Candy would be leaving after the battle anyway, Holden decided to assign these people to her.
Everyone was preparing for battle intensely, racing against time to gain even a slight chance of survival on the battlefield.
When night fell, Holden looked at the other three knight commanders of the order. After exchanging glances, they headed toward the Lion Knights' camp.
They walked hurriedly, completely unaware that someone behind them was peeking out to watch where they were going.
When they reached Friedel's tent, Holden lifted the curtain and saw Anne standing to the side. The candlelight flickered, casting shadows on her beautiful yet cold face, and Holden could hardly look away.
But the three knight commanders following him weren't about to indulge Holden. Seeing him standing there refusing to move, they pushed him forward, their eyes full of undisguised disdain.
Anne felt Holden's intense gaze but deliberately ignored him.
As the vanguard commander in charge of the Ivy Knights' most elite scouts, these past few days she'd been leading them through regular training and also having them practice in groups of five, aiming to scatter the enemy formation when they attacked the allied camp, while also being able to split up and hunt down fleeing enemies in subsequent operations.
With Anne, Cynthia, and the other four supervising and teaching together, after several days there were already clear results.
Coming to the tent tonight was to discuss and confirm when to attack, as well as coordination between different units.
The people Holden led needed to gradually surround and intercept from the Soth Empire side, finally joining the forces attacking the enemy. They not only had to ensure the enemy couldn't easily break through the encirclement into Warlinekza, but also coordinate with the charging troops. In the end, he even needed to discuss specific details with Anne.
Noticing Anne's gaze sweep past, Holden's heart beat a bit faster. After finishing his arrangements, he cleared his throat and turned to Anne, "Regarding what I just said, do you have any suggestions?"
Anne nodded, "Although our goal includes preventing enemy attacks, there's no need to assign too many people to guard and intercept during battle. Better to divide into defense and offense groups, rotating in combat. This way everyone gets a chance to fight, and we can adjust the overall attack rhythm."
Holden nodded. Friedel also rearranged things on the sand table according to what had just been said. Everyone nodded, then continued the simulation.
During the simulation, everyone shared their thoughts and made timely adjustments. Especially Anne - she could always spot flaws in time and come up with better solutions to strengthen the plan. The more Holden listened, the more shocked he became. He'd originally thought that even if Anne had high achievements in swordsmanship, she wouldn't have much experience in military campaigns.
Reality immediately slapped him hard in the face. Anne's understanding of tactics and simulations was even more familiar than his own. Especially in several details - when Anne pointed out problems and proposed new solutions, Holden hadn't even figured out what the specific problems were yet.
This Anne, he had never seen before.
Holden had always thought noble ladies like Anne only read poetry, but when he saw her reading travel journals and biographies at Titan Manor, he dismissed them as mere diversions from boring noble life.
No matter how beautiful Anne was, she was just a boring beautiful woman, no different from other nobles.