Black Pine Territory (6)

The young men who came to rescue Markut were all Markut subordinates. Over the years, Markut had come up with many ways to develop Black Pine Territory.

Especially after reaching a timber procurement agreement with Victor, the financial situation of Black Pine Territory improved significantly, and the lives of the young men under his command also improved considerably, many of whom had been helped by Markut.

Therefore, they were extremely loyal to Markut, and after learning that Markut was under house arrest, they naturally gathered together to try to rescue Markut.

Especially after the intelligence agents in the Two Rivers Territory could no longer contact Markut, they began to make contact with Markut's men and provide them with assistance, which ultimately enabled them to rescue Markut today.

The group avoided the main force that was fighting the fire and left the castle through a side door, where the rescue team had already prepared horses.

"My lord, how can we rendezvous with the army of the Two Rivers Territory? The two routes out of the heartland have been blocked by Viscount Perez and two battalions of the territory."

Cohen asked Markut a question.

"We can just go south by bypassing the Cavalry battalion's camp. Before Father left the castle, he discussed the battle plan with Captain Raman. Tonight, Captain Alman will lead a part of the infantry battalion to launch a night attack. There are troops guarding the north route, but there will be no troops patrolling or guarding the south route after midnight tonight."

"Okay, let's head south."

Markut shared what he knew with his men, and the squad headed straight for the south.

Around three in the morning, in a small clearing in the Black Forest, Arman and his four squads of soldiers had gathered. Most of the soldiers were wearing black leather armor, and their swords were painted with black paint. The moonlight shining through the gaps in the trees was melted away by the black paint.

The soldiers' mouths were all covered with black linen, and they all stood quietly in place, appearing from a distance as a black shrub, blending into the entire Black Forest.

At this moment, a soldier ran out of the forest ahead and went straight to Captain Alman, reporting to him, "Battalion Commander, according to our scouts, the enemy camp is located near the dock. Their Temporary Camp is very close to the edge of the Black Forest, only about 100 meters away. We can easily approach them under the cover of the forest."

Arman nodded. "How is the security at their camp?"

"On that side, we found four watchtowers and eight hidden sentries at the edge of the forest. The brothers in the reconnaissance team have kept a close watch on these sentries to ensure that they will not have the opportunity to raise the alarm."

Arman nodded in satisfaction, "As expected of our Black Pine Territory's Night Owl Platoon, no one can hide from you in the forest. You are the biggest contributors to this successful night raid."

The soldier said modestly, "This is all thanks to your usual guidance and supervision. The Night Owl Platoon will never bring shame to Black Pine Territory."

Arman patted the soldier on the shoulder, then turned directly towards the main force. He looked at the silent, Iron Stone- like troops before him and was extremely satisfied.

He knew that the army in Black Pine Territory was not large, consisting of two battalions and the territory's patrol teams, totaling only about 1,800 men.

Compared to other viscountries in the Northlands, its strength can be said to be at the lower end. In addition, Black Pine Territory is isolated from other noble territories and has always been looked down upon by other Northern Frontier nobles.

However, Arman was still proud to be a member of the Black Pine Territory army, who had fought against Barbarians forces many times their size to protect their territory, never retreating an inch.

That time, they fought alongside Viscount Perez to the very end, paying a heavy price to achieve final victory. Arman and the other Black Pine Territory firmly believed that they could protect their territory on their own.

Since then, the Black Pine Territory Army has rarely gone out to fight. Even when the Iron Birch Family conscripts troops, they only send a small force to participate in the battle.

As Lord Macut grew older, he continued to try to strengthen the ties between Black Pine Territory and other noble territories, increasing the wealth of the territory and its inhabitants through commercial cooperation with other territories.

He didn't care about this at first, thinking it would benefit the territory. Later, as Black Pine Territory established more connections and exchanges with other territories, the number of caravans in the territory increased.

Those young men who ventured out to see a wider world no longer felt proud to be Black Pine Territory upon returning to their territory; they even looked down on the Black Pine Territory Chieftains' rudimentary equipment.

The young men under Lord Macut generally shared this idea, Lord Macut once wanted his young men to join the Black Pine Territory.

Arman and his old comrades were furious about this. They rejected young people with such ideas from joining the Black Pine Territory army, believing that such people would corrupt the morale of the Black Pine Territory army.

Arman used various means to force these young men to leave the army, including cruel corporal punishment, which led to a conflict with Lord Macut.

Later, Lord Macut proposed to purchase military equipment from Two Rivers Territory, but this was rejected by Arman and others. This angered Markut, who said that the Black Pine Territory Army was clinging to outdated ideas and just hoarding its own territory.

This made Arman and the others even more resentful of Markut, but since he was the sole heir to the territory, there was nothing they could do.

But now Arman had found an opportunity to prove the strength of the Black Pine Territory Army. Looking at his troops, he thought, "My lord, after tonight you will know the strength of the Black Pine Territory Army. You have always praised the army of the Two Rivers Territory. Tonight I will let you see with your own eyes how they are crushed by us."

Arman, with a serious expression, made a gesture to the troops. Everyone looked at him, knowing that it was the Battalion Commander giving the order to depart.

Led by Arman, each team split into several groups and entered the depths of the forest, and soon the entire clearing was deserted.

Shang Ye was cleaning his swords in a tent near the perimeter of the camp when a soldier pushed open the tent door.

Shang Ye looked up at the soldiers and asked, "They're here?"

The soldier nodded.