Howard, the commander of the army besieging the castle, smirked as the gates shut behind the Fenris forces.

“Fools. They’ve finally taken the bait.”

Even when Count Fenris had been raiding other territories, Howard had refrained from engaging, deliberately allowing them free rein. The goal was not to scare them off but to lure them to this location.

Following the Marquis’ plan, the Fenris forces had naively fallen into their trap by occupying the castle.

“Still, it’s impressive. Only 400 of them managed to capture a castle defended by 3,000.”

Howard had briefly entertained the idea that the Dayker forces …