"I was just thinking out loud, you don't have to take me so seriously," Erwin said with a smile.

"You're such a bright-looking young man, why are you so wary of other people?" the elderly man complained as he stroked Erwin's hands with his own.

Erwin couldn't help but shudder slightly as he hurriedly pulled his hands back, then said, "As I was reading 'The Chronicles of the Reynold Empire', I recall there was a part that said that during the Battle of Orchid Water Pass, a group of troops had been deployed from the Reynold Empire along the Fulter Mountain Ranges to the south of Orchid Water Pass."

"So?" the elderly man asked as he grabbed another handful of nuts from Erwin's platter. "I've read that book as well, but it never mentioned exactly how many troops were sent to the Fulter Mountain Ranges. In any case, given the state of the Reynold Empire at the time, how many troops could they have possibly spared? If it had only been several tens of thousands of soldiers, then even if they had managed to make their way behind Canbad the Great's army, what could they have done against that formidable enemy army of 400,000 troops?"

"The Reynold Empire would've barely had any troops leftover at all, let alone tens of thousands of soldiers," Erwin said. "If you ask me, the group of troops that were sent to the Fulter Mountain Ranges would've only numbered in the thousands at the very most. On top of that, consider the terrain of the Fulter Mountain Ranges. It would've definitely been unsuitable for large armies to march through. Otherwise, Canbad the Great wouldn't have had to go through the trouble of attacking Orchid Water Pass."

The elderly man nodded in response, and he felt Erwin's analysis to be...